How I Became a Software Engineer with No Experience | Career Chat

~Please read~
Hi everyone,
Here is a first installment of a casual career chat series~
I'm sharing my non-traditional software engineering journey. To be frank, I went back and forth whether to publish this or not since my path to where I am currently was not a straight path at all. Although, I hope that by sharing my journey, it'll provide a reminder that we do not need to follow a specific career trajectory and that we all have our own timeline!
xx,
jenn
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♫ MUSIC ♫
❀ all music is found from epidemic sound
disclaimer: I do not own any of the music in this video
00:00 Intro
00:48 About me
01:09 My college experience
02:57 How my interest in tech started
06:36 My first job in Tech
08:39 How I became a software engineer
09:53 Interview Tips
13:40 Outro

[@m31uk3]

Speaking as an 8 year Amazonian, you perfectly captured the recipe for success. Regardless of which field/role you want to break into it comes down to focus, discipline, and consistency. Leveraging your network, friends, and coworkers to practice/grow will have an exponential positive impact both in the short-term (transfer to SDE) and long-term prioritizing your personal/professional growth. Great work! Keep it up and a HUGE thank you for sharing your experience with the world. :)

[@ellie4395]

You deserved this! You did the work and didn’t take shortcuts! You have really GOOD friends.

[@dan-ch8kr]

this is so encouraging to me as a cs major fighting with so much uncertainty about the future. thank you for reminding us that it's okay to have different paths and for also sharing your inspirational journey !

[@lezeroo2630]

You might have been lucky, as you kept saying, but you took your shots and kept on growing capitalizing on everything you have set up ( including of course Networking ). Great job! I hope I haven't missed any great opportunities by sitting back at times.

[@0xSingularity]

Love these kinds of videos, gives a great perspective on the different paths everyone follows. I just accepted an offer to become a cyber software engineer and i’m super excited!

[@imjenncho]

Congrats 🎉 and good luck!

[@attilapeter1588]

Another great video , it was funny to hear you were here at Budapest :). It was also very useful how you prepared your interview , I think most of us this is the missing thing what needed to get better jobs.

[@0xbinary]

I appreciate how beautifully and eloquently you described your experience. I had no idea about Pramp, but it's fantastic. Much thanks.

[@imjenncho]

Thank you :) all the best in your interview journey!

[@Mnguyen92]

I love your calming voice and vibes!

[@raymondong349]

This video is so relatable as I went through a similar journey - I took a Chemistry degree during university, found tech, felt excitement that I’ve never felt before, and finally ventured out to be a SWE Thank you for sharing your journey. Seems like you’ve been through your ups and downs but I’m glad you are happy where you are right now, Jenn! 🎉

[@imjenncho]

Thank you Raymond! It’s good to find someone who also went through similar journey as me. thanks for sharing~

[@raymondong349]

@@imjenncho you’ve gotten yourself an avid follower from Singapore! Enjoyed your chill day in the life videos & convo-based videos too

[@SofiaLimatube]

thank you for the video

[@imjenncho]

Glad it was helpful!

[@panitarn1922]

Very nice and so inspiring! Keep going Jen

[@Lambrodor]

Thanks for sharing your journey. You will do great things as a software engineer.

[@elleszabo8655]

so glad i took the leap and majored in cs cuz i knew it was interesting but didn't know much about it

[@yichanreaksmey8569]

Thank you for sharing. Great to hear from you. Keep it up.

[@imjenncho]

thank you ☺

[@user-xm5xf8ot6d]

thank you for sharing your experiences...it is really an inspiring one...im excited for the next episodes!|God bless!

[@setaverse]

hahaha, I went for chemistry - it didn't ended well, I'm in an IT like position and will try to move towards "real" IT soon.

[@4amoats]

I am currently in my final semester pf my chemical engineering degree and have been learning to code seriously from the past few months. I graduate in a few months, and hope to be able to learn enough on my side that I can apply for tech jobs.

[@nt4409]

I love ur videos keep uploading.

[@LydiaStrough]

I'm 6 months away from graduating with my B.S. in computer science, and I found this video to be super relatable. I want to become a software engineer, but I have no experience outside of class projects. I've never worked in tech. I wonder if I should apply for a software engineering position right off the bat, or work in IT, similar to you, to get my foot in the door. Regardless, it's nice to see that my experience is not unique. Thank you for posting this video. -Lydia, from AZ ☀

[@imjenncho]

thank you for sharing as well!

[@Arebamasrura_z]

Hi, Lydia! I’m also graduating with my software engineering degree in 6 months time! I’m in a similar position as you. Don’t worry, there are several jobs that specifically hire freshers, and they expect no sort of experience from you.

[@jaeshim9851]

​@Areba Masrura Zaman what jobs did you apply for which require no experience?

[@Arebamasrura_z]

@@jaeshim9851 software developers/engineer, web developer, etc. look for the ones that state they’re fine with freshers

[@TrellRomani]

@@Arebamasrura_z hey I'm in the NYC area and been having trouble finding an entry level job that accept freshies. do you have any job search recommendations?

[@aliaalea]

Hi Jen, I hope you are doing well I just found out about your channel. I watched all vlogs! And I enjoyed watching them! Keep it up🫡 Love from Malaysia🌸

[@imjenncho]

aw thank you!

[@kihoon]

Love your video! Thank you for sharing😊

[@imjenncho]

thank you!

[@nd7231]

From another chem -> math major late into college, I love you so much. And not just because you're darn cute. I'm happy with my career and fortunately didn't have to go through an internal transfer. But in another dimension, I could've done CS and math double major. Could've gone into SWE or done a MFE program before trying for a quant role. Given how much I love statistics and depending on how bad I would be at CS, I could've also gone the data science route. I'm where I was meant to be, but it's so fun thinking about what could've been. I always recommend a career that has a clear path for grinding. I probably would've enjoyed grinding leetcode problems, but I think certification exams are still the best.

[@PuchaiM]

Been waiting your videos :))

[@tarisadindadeliyanti8401]

Hi Jen, thanks for sharing the ups and downs of become a software engineer. This video is helpful to me ^^. If allowed, could you share the platforms or media that u usually use to learn algorithms and data structure also other materials that related to software engineering? Thank u :)

[@CrisMadla]

*watching on my lunch break as I think about transitioning from mechanical to software engineering* :D

[@10thGenPSIS]

Would love to hear about the ups and downs when you first started as well. I’m almost 6 months into my first SWE job and I’m struggling with everything. The oncall is a drag for me as well. I always need help. How long did it take for you for everything to start making sense? I try to learn the cases i’ve done but every case is different. So, I’m always stuck.

[@jacoblol901]

7 months later - How are you doing now?

[@miharin]

I just started my internship in July, 2 months in I still don't like it and neither do I feel like continuing it but it's unfortunately a year long internship. Though a lot of my friends are telling me that I might start liking it once I get the hang of it.

[@cj7870]

@@miharini no nothing about anything but i hope, for your sake, they’re just putting you through internship hell and everything goes well for you when you land your first job.

[@wamyy5]

Hey Jenn, loved hearing about your journey, because software engineering was something always interesting to me too! Would love to connect with a fellow female AAPI KZbinr :) btw your hair looks so good!

[@imjenncho]

hi Amy! Thank you so much 🥰 I’d love to connect as well~

[@kamertonaudiophileplayer847]

Many good software engineers made a switch from chemistry. So it looks like you are on the right way.

[@hindbouchtout5989]

i know someone too.

[@gmshadowtraders]

Respect!

[@michaelvela7637]

I'm currently on the same journey. I graduated with a B.S. in Kinesiology, but after graduating was lost for awhile until falling upon software engineering/data analyst. I'm going through courses from freecodecamp and Codecademy, but I wanted to know if you had any resume tips or if you had worked on any projects before applying for your first job at AWS?

[@lv6773]

Hey just found your channel, great content! The Amazon hiring freeze is a huge bummer as a new grad. Just wondering what the internal reaction is in Amazon about it?

[@kgr_alex]

good that you figured out you didn't like chem early. job prospects/salaries for chem aren't great. I did a chem degree, wasted idk 5 years of my life working various scientist jobs with bad pay, and not enjoying my work... then ended up as an SWE making idk 4x more, better working conditions, more interesting work, etc.

[@mohammedrehan4781]

which language did you code in your interview rounds? where there any restrictions of programming languages ( like you cannot code in javascript or something )

[@2002Poops]

Our daughter adopted a cat that looks similar to yours, then after college she returned home with her. Now when I conduct online training sessions the cat insists on getting my attention by jumping on my desk right when I'm in the middle of making any key points with my audience.😄

[@jaysizmir9432]

What is the tech stack you're working with at Amazon ? PS : I love your videos :)

[@stxllr4687]

wow this is the first time i've heard someone (on yt lol) do maths and compsci conjoint! im planning on doing this as well in uni, but i just wanted to ask what the course load is like? i know it probably differs from university and country, but my worry is that while i am interested in maths im not exactly the best in it lol

[@TimothyManito]

what profile are you in AWS Support? will be great to connect with the internal slack. SYD-based AWS Support here.

[@alizaaliza253]

Could you explain the technology stack that you use or think is important to have as a software engineer aspirant?

[@pjkim6588]

Heyy im tryna apply as an sde1 but i feel as if i wont pass the OA so i was hoping to ask the hiring manager to defer me to cloud support engineer if possible. Was there an OA for the cloud support engineer role? Hopefully i get hired after the hiring freeze~

[@Noah-zg5ts]

what is the name of the monitor that you're using . thx

[@youjunghong9160]

너무 멋져요!

[@abdowwm77]

so inspiring

[@iscog7260]

Hey Jen, what was your first programming language that you learned? And, what programming language you are currently using at your job?

[@imjenncho]

first language i learned was java! my team uses java and kotlin.

[@iscog7260]

@@imjenncho very helpful information for where to start a foundation on a high level language (Coding). Thank you Jen!

[@izhankhan305]

Which computer course is good to do job in computer company or software house

[@user-kt7ye7wo1y]

Out of topic but what's the color of your hair? Do you dye it yourself?

[@oscarapp162]

Can the foreigner find remote job in the united states? or any website to find job as an Software Engineer?

[@Suxanes]

Great video! How did you get into Cloud support Engineer?

[@imjenncho]

good question! I simply just applied for the role after college. It was honestly just random! lol

[@thugitz1990]

u came a long way

[@yudistiroadinugroho5840]

Thank you, nice share tho.

[@annasophia7977]

The keyboard link isn’t the same color as the one in the video…did you customize it yourself? :)

[@imjenncho]

Yes it’s customized! I changed the key caps

[@annasophia7977]

@@imjenncho do you have a link to the key caps? I really love that color… so creative! ❤

[@abdowwm77]

Great

[@highyielddividendinvestor]

What language do you program at work? Python? C++? Java? Assembly? Do you do backend or frontend?

[@imjenncho]

i do backend! Our team uses java and kotlin :)

[@RyskulSagynov]

Wow! It's interesting video. I like you, more more video

[@michellebarnermckeej.d.3347]

❤❤❤

[@saitejakunchanapalli1703]

Good video

[@gphsog763]

THAT TIME.

[@Andrew-pw6de]

💝

[@annelee4129]

Hi, can you share where I can get the same keyboard please?

[@imjenncho]

Hi! I updated the description to add the keyboard link :) the key caps were gifted but I’m sure you can find similar ones on Amazon!

[@_pebbled4741]

I cannot fold

[@tylerliu2760]

New Sev2: Cat sitting on laptop

[@gphsog763]

MANY DIMENSION(RIGHT_QM_):GRAMMAR THINKING~HUH^^ MANY COUNTRIES(NATIONS) IN THIS PLANET. HALLELUJAH

[@bigkuma6137]

You mentioned that your originally from Anchorage Alaska so are you ethnically native American?

[@imjenncho]

i also mention that i'm korean-american :) i'm ethnically korean...

[@bigkuma6137]

@@imjenncho I apologize i should have given more attention to your content before asking that question. But anyway I'm looking forward to seeing more of your videos... I really love and admire what you do..and maybe we can get some Korean language learning lessons from you... I will be your number 1 student peace and love 💕

[@three_water]

你好，Jenn，感谢你分享了这么多软件工程师的经历，我想问一下在美国的大多数公司使用的是jdk的哪个版本？？？因为我在中国大陆这边做开发，很多公司用的还是jdk8呢

[@mallillindantejr4920]

how old are you and how many years of experience in software engineer jobs what is your college course?

[@corpuzone]

Great video content! Do you listen to Blackpink? You almost could fit in as one of the members 😌.. Amazon is one nice company and any way to get your foot in the door works. Your path succeeded yay 😁

[@lovelydarlinghari]

HI SISTER I NEED YOUR HELP PLEASE REPLY TO ME

[@gphsog763]

CODING NICE

[@hamidraza1584]

What is the food of your cat? Love from Lahore Pakistan

[@gphsog763]

SHALOM. LIKE AN ACTOR'S FACE! YO(IS THIS EXPRESSION CORRECT_QM_)~^^

[@imshulei]

Are you a front-end engineer?

[@imjenncho]

im a backend swe!

[@gphsog763]

ANYWAY YOU ARE REALLY SO CUTE, ADULT!

[@jamescowans9471]

jk

[@kendor1000]

Meam

[@some.letters]

Yo no debí nacer en el tercer mundo 😭😭😭

[@gphsog763]

I can do everything through him who gives me strength. PHILIPPIANS 4:13/NIV

[@exposedthat]

you also need to know how to communicate

[@JDMorris81]

Do you think your degree was necessary for you to get a job in tech?

[@mr.erikchun5863]

you know the answer to that. stop being lazy and grow up

[@gphsog763]

TO WEMANㅡㅡ;;

[@lazybeastz182]

i want to be ur boyfriend becuse I also study software but I'm not software engineer yet

[@sebfox2194]

That's not a good reason.

[@seantheansea5792]

can we connect on LinkedIn?

[@jessyrider9565]

From Calvin Li

[@gphsog763]

IF YOU WANT TO GIVE YOUR HEART TO MARRY(KU HUCK)WITH ME, YOU MUST UPLOAD YOUR VIDEO AT DEEP NIGHT IN THIS FLATFORM. BECAUSE MAYBE I USUALLY HAVE NO GGACHIL MIND.HUH

[@user-qh3im1qc3s]

you are so cute 🥰are you Japanese?

[@sebfox2194]

She literally says in the video that she is Korean American!