A Guide to Becoming a Software Engineer with No Experience

💻 There are three ways to enter the software engineering industry, ranked by success rate.

🎓 The most common way to enter the industry is through a college degree in computer science, math, or engineering.

📚 Despite the high demand for software engineering skills, there are alternative paths to enter the industry without prior experience.

🎓 Most professional developers have a college degree in a computer science related field.

👥 Internships are crucial for gaining work experience and getting ahead in the industry.

🏢 Having work experience gives an advantage over bootcamp graduates or self-taught individuals.

💼 Going to college and getting an internship is a standard way to become a software engineer, but it takes a long time and a lot of money.

📚 Another option is to attend a boot camp or program that provides all the necessary materials and schedule, usually within 3-4 months.

💰 Boot camps can cost around $20,000-$30,000 and may require relocation.

💼 Attending on-site bootcamps allows for interactive learning but may require a full-time commitment.

💰 Consider boot camps with income sharing agreements to minimize financial burden.

👨‍💻 Self-taught software engineering is possible without structured programs or schedules.

🎯 To become a software engineer with no experience, you need to figure out what you need to learn and how to learn it.

💡 For self-taught individuals, there is no set path, but you can mimic the work of a boot camp by making a list of technologies mentioned in job posts and learning them one by one.

💸 Online courses can provide a predefined list of technologies to learn, but they come at a cost.

Attending a bootcamp can save time and provide a portfolio of projects

Creating a personal website is a valuable project for a software engineering portfolio

Building a project with account login functionality is recommended for a software engineering portfolio

🔑 Having a project that mimics real software is crucial for showcasing skills.

🔑 Incorporating external APIs and advanced features in a project demonstrates versatility.

🔑 There are three paths to becoming a software engineer: college, boot camp, or self-teaching.

🎓 Becoming a software engineer with no experience requires learning and building a portfolio of projects.

📚 Self-taught individuals should focus on acquiring knowledge and practical experience.

🌐 The goal is to make a tech career accessible to anyone.