Whether you are new to the tech industry, a fresh grad, or have been in the tech industry for a while, looking for a role that involves coding/programming can be overwhelming. I can 1000% relate and know the struggle can be way too real (speaking from personal experience). My journey in the tech industry started while I was still in college working on my B.S in Software Engineering, doing tech support and system administration type work. While in these roles, I did gain experience in other areas such as in customer support, dealing with end-users, and scripting for various types of systems but I never got the chance to work on something as complex as producing in an independent app or contributing code to a production-grade project. After college, I continued to look for roles where my day-to-day work would be mostly filled with coding, designing, and building something but by this point, most of the other grads/candidates had more experience than I did. Despite my love for coding and building stuff, I always felt like my lack of hands-on experience in the real world hindered me (Heck, I still feel like this sometimes). If you are not careful you can get disappointed pretty quick, like Drake quick "0-100 real quick". Like our boy Drake, sometimes you got to start from the bottom so that later you can reflect on it, and maybe the whole team will be there(If you don't listen to Drake this probably does not mean anything to you). If you find yourself not coding, scripting, or building like the pros, what can you do? Well unfortunately the only way to become a pro is to go pro.
To get ready for the big leagues, you need to know exactly what you want to focus on because there are tons of areas in tech where you can do some sort of coding, scripting, or building/designing. Now, if you are new to tech, a fresh grad, or feel like you don't have enough experience this may feel like it's easier said than done because of the knowledge and experience gap. (I still feel like this from time to time.)
As the meme suggests, it can seem very political because employers will require that you have some level of experience but sometimes the only way to get that experience is to have a job already in that area. The question then becomes how to get some level of experience in the area that you want to get a job in, without already doing that job?
Luckily the internet is full of resources and strategies that you can use to help you on your journey. Below are my top 5 resources/strategies that I use to help me on my journey to becoming a pro(I still don't consider myself a pro, I am very much a jack of all trades).
1. Networking Events
In any industry, networking and knowing people who are doing the jobs that you want, can give you huge insights on where you need to skill up. There are also lots of conferences, summits, and meetups available (physical/virtual) where you can see where the industry is going and in many cases meet industry professions. A lot of these meetups and conferences can be found by doing quick google searches or by using one of my personal favorites Eventbrite.
The point is to put yourself out there and get to know what everyone is working on and get advice from the pros so that you can also go pro. One other important thing is that some events provide swag "Look good, play good".
2. Talk to Recruiters
Remember recruiters are your friends. Recruiters can help you determine the specifics of what companies are looking for and provide you with interview tips. Yes, typically when you talk to a recruiter it's because you might be on the hunt for a job already but talking to a recruiter does not always mean you have to pursue the job at that point in time.
3. Coding Challenges
Practice makes perfect or at least that's what they tell me. In any case, you cannot get better at something if you don't practice. If you are not coding enough or at all in your current job/role, then you are going to have to find a way to practice outside of work. Coding challenges are perfect for this and luckily there are tons out there. My two favorite platforms for this are HackerRank and LeetCode. Both platforms present you with different challenges with varying levels of difficulty, ranging from easy to I am going stay up all night. The good thing about these platforms is they also include interview prep challenges/courses. I love doing these because I already have an academic background in Software Engineering, so doing these coding challenges helps me with skills that I may not get to use on a day-to-day. If you don't use it, you lose it.
4. Education, Training, and Boot Camps
If you already have a degree or are working on a different degree but have decided that you want to switch gears, I don't recommend that you should change your degree plan or go back to school to get another degree. The reason I personally don't recommend it is because of the cost, time commitment it takes to get a degree, and because there are other options in 2021. Unless you are going to go into a highly specialized area you should not need to go back to school, at least that's my opinion. My recommendation would be self or instructor-led training and boot camps. I have a friend (Bryan - shout out!) that I used to play World of Warcraft with that was a Highschool Chemistry teacher that decided to make the switch from teacher to software engineer with the help of boot camps. Boot camps usually take around 6 months which is a heck of a lot shorter than spending years getting another degree. I will say this, going to college does give you a different social experience but college is not the only way to start coding, so don't overlook these other options. Bootcamps and other similar training can range from free to expensive (still cheaper than college) and have proven to be a great way for many to start coding like the pros. Freecodecamp is a non-profit that offers tons of resources for free, if you are trying to learn on the cheap and don't know where to start, Freecodecamp is a good place to start. Another online platform that has received good feedback is Codecademy. Sign-up is free but if you want to get the most out of it, it will require a subscription (still cheaper than college).
5. Start A Project
Sometimes you just have to start your own project to get the training and exposure you need. Starting your own project is a whole lot more fun because it's something you get to do for yourself. You define the scope, requirements, project plan, timelines, and everything in between. Doing your own project will help develop some of those additional soft skills that you will need to get ready for a role in the big leagues.
There are multiple ways to skill up and become a pro in whatever area of tech you want to be a part of, not one approach is correct or better than the others. Just use what works best for you. The important thing is to never stop trying, never give up and try not to compare yourself to others. They have their path and you have yours.
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