HOW I GOT MY FIRST JOB as a SOFTWARE ENGINEER | no CS degree, job hunting after bootcamp

Hello friends! Here's a continuation of my career change story. I talk about how I landed my first job as a software engineer out of a bootcamp. If you have any questions at all, please comment them below! Enjoy :)
Link to my first video on this topic:
HOW I BECAME A SOFTWARE ENGINEER | no CS Degree, career change + advice
• HOW I BECAME A SOFTWAR... &list=PLn_3eMcs3MliXasJ5Kf0TMLuQVpO91Bgf
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BOOTCAMP (Full Stack Web Development) -- This is the program that I took! @careerfoundry
CareerFoundry: careerfoundry.com/en/courses/...
REFERRAL LINK to SAVE YOU 5% if you decide to enroll!
careerfoundry.com/en/referral...
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If you wanna see more details on what I do, here are some videos where I show in more DETAIL what tools I use!
AWS TOOLS:
• Day in the Life of a S...
SPRINT PLANNING + BACKLOG GROOMING:
• Day in the Life of a S...
PROJECT ONBOARDING + ENVIRONMENT SETUP:
• Day in the Life of a S...
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TIMESTAMPS
0:00 - intro
0:59 - job prep course offered at bootcamp
4:30 - networking events
6:02 - how I got my job
9:47 - tips and advice
11:40 - lil story after getting a job + more
14:22 - closing (why I'm making these videos)
_______________________________________________________________________________________
general/business inquiries → [e-mail]
Follow me on:
Instagram - @kylaslifeonearth
LinkedIn - Kyla Quilos (Connect with me if you'd like! But I'm not very active on here. If I'm not responding, pls don't take it personally haha)
#softwareengineer #softwaredeveloper #bootcamp #firstsoftwareengineeringjob #jobhuntingtips #careerfoundry

[@kylaquilos]

Hope you all enjoyed this video!! ☺If you have any questions, please comment them below! 0:59 - job prep course offered at bootcamp 4:30 - networking events 6:02 - how I got my job 9:47 - tips and advice 11:40 - lil story after getting a job + more 14:22 - closing (why I'm making these videos)

[@gloriankkl9521]

Proud of you Kyla. I just wish success in everything you do

[@kylaquilos]

Thank you so much for this comment. This truly just made my day 🙏 I really appreciate you being here. I wish you the best and nothing but success on your journey to become a full-stack web developer!

[@gloriankkl9521]

​@@kylaquilos❤

[@opshankaprabath]

Thank you for share your story. It gives more motivation

[@EstebanInTech]

thank you for sharing your experience. Have been self learning for a year now and i think about ready to start applying for jobs cant wait to get my first job as a software engineer

[@kylaquilos]

Wow, self learning takes so much discipline. I have so much respect for you! Getting to this point is really a huge achievement. Good luck on your job search! ☺️

[@br0ken_107]

Wow you actually look excited for your job, that's a new one. People usually seem like a burden lifted when they got a job but you seem quite enthusiastic. I am preparing for SDE role as well but through self learning, your video reminded me why I wanted to do this in the first place. Thank You, have a nice day.

[@kylaquilos]

Haha yeah, it really feels like a dream come true! I realized it's rare for someone to enjoy their job. I'm extremely lucky to have found this happiness when I knew it was a big risk switching careers. I have lots of respect for those who self learn because it takes a lot of work, so I wish you only the best on your journey! :)

[@anotherway917]

Thanks so much for the vid!! I am so glad you made it!! I am saving at the job I am at and at the same time stealing some time to self-learn Python using resources on free-code camp, but overtime means I could only learn a bit a day or once in a few days. I am actually considering a bootcamp once I get to a point where I can "safely quit my job", what has been your criteria in choosing one (what would seem to be of quality at your time of choosing, and what might deter you from choosing the others)? Thanks so much for the great videos, I am going to watch the next one now!

[@kylaquilos]

It's really great that you have a plan! I think it's important to have one especially financially. I completely forgot to mention that in my career change series. HUGE props to you for doing that! My criteria was mainly cost + mentorship. I wanted to find a bootcamp that had sufficient reviews to make sure it was legitimate (googled + youtube videos). For cost, I didn't want to pay more than $10k because I already had way more than enough loans from college. Luckily, the one I found also had a women in tech scholarship so I applied for that and got some money off (you should also try checking if other programs you're looking at has scholarships). I also made sure I would get mentorship because I was doing it by myself and I knew personally I would need the guidance of a mentor that I could talk to. I think though for every program, the mentors could totally be different. Some people care more and some people don't care as much is what I've seen. I was lucky to get a mentor who cared a lot. The biggest thing that deterred me was really the cost because some I saw were either close to or more than $20k which I just didn't see the point of spending that much unless they actually guaranteed connections with GOOD companies and a job after you graduated. I also just didn't want to spend all my savings just for tuition since I had other bills to think about. Another would be the timeline. I wanted to take it kinda slow so I was glad the full time I could do for the program I did was 7 months, but I also had the option to finish it early because mine was self-paced. Some bootcamps I know would require you to attend class everyday for a certain number of hours, and I just didn't wanna do that because of either the time they did it or I preferred to do it at my own pace. Thank you so much for watching!! If you do have any more questions now or in the future, please continue asking. I'm here to answer as much as possible :)

[@Kaysie04]

I have a similar story as well! I landed a job as a contractor as a Java Developer with a major financial institution and started that position two weeks after my bootcamp for a full-stack web developer ended. 6 months into my contractor role and I am now in the interview process for a full time position. I love hearing stories like yours, it's not impossible to career change... hard yes... impossible? No. Rooting for you and your continued success!

[@kylaquilos]

Oh YAYY that’s amazing news! Good luck on your interview process 🙏 I truly hope you enjoy what you’re doing in your career. Definitely wasn’t easy to get to this point. Proof of our hard work 💪 I appreciate the kind words - I also wish you the best on the rest of your successful career journey!

[@randychong429]

Interesting that YT recommended your video to me...I also did a bootcamp and switched into software development but from a customer service career. Not sure if it was going to be worth it when I started my journey but I'm a dev for JPMC now and definitely glad I took the jump when I did. It's awesome seeing another success story and wishing you the best in your developer journey! :)

[@kylaquilos]

Wow that’s amazing! I’m so happy to hear that. I hear JPMC is a really great place to work for and it’s definitely a huuuuge achievement. I hope they’re treating you well and you’re enjoying your time there! And thank you so much for the well wishes! ☺️

[@baobae759]

I'm looking into bootcamps too. I'd love to know which bootcamp you went to!

[@randychong429]

@@baobae759 I went to one called DigitalCrafts in 2021 and I chose it because I had a very good friend who worked as an instructor there. If you'd like more information, just lmk!

[@raymondsanjose3955]

Congratulations mam

[@balachandra4809]

Big fannnnn......🤗

[@alarmsquadnj]

Hi I’m new to your channel hello from Puerto Rico great information

[@kylaquilos]

Hello!! Thank you for being here!

[@miltonmeji7038]

Your welcome I’m 51 would that make me to old to start

[@kylaquilos]

Personally, I don't think 51 is too old to start learning. If you're absolutely interested in learning how to code, I say go for it! I actually do know someone around the same age who is coding because he enjoys it.

[@miltonmeji7038]

Great thanks I’m planning on go to WGU it’s all online

[@kylaquilos]

@@miltonmeji7038 Wow that's awesome!! Best of luck! Putting aside how the tech job market is right now, I've heard that companies hire people in the same age group mainly because of their qualifications on the job, so as long as you just keep working on it with interest and find ways to get more coding experience to stand out, I think you'll be fine. Huge props to you making the move!

[@user-vi5ru5kl1v]

Thank Jesus

[@relaxpinknoise]

🙏🔥

[@Workaccount-pr5tw]

Great video, maybe you could make a video on college for people like me getting ready to graduate from high school....i was planning on taking a gap year and learning how to code and then go back to school for like business but i'm not sure

[@kylaquilos]

I actually kind of mention how I was doing in college in another video! Spoiler, college was very stressful for me and I almost dropped out my first year thinking of taking a gap year. I think it's normal not to know what you wanna do yet. An option could be going to school for business and learning coding on the side (unless you wanna put all your energy on to that)! It definitely depends on your priorities.

[@BetYouHateMeNow]

I hope that I too can say that I made the right decision, I had over 20k excess. I could have spent vacationing but no i chose to stay home for a full year and learn web development which I am really good at both front and backend but no bite yet.

[@kylaquilos]

This was actually the same as myself… all my savings could’ve gone somewhere else, so I am thankful that I personally don’t regret my decision. I hope everything goes well for you especially because you are good at it. It may take a while because of the industry right now, and I probably sound like a broken record, but keep going because you got this far. I know it wasn’t an easy decision to do what you did and it probably isn’t easy right now. Having a bigger network helps. Trust me, if you put in all that time learning, you’ll feel that all of it was worth it when you finally get the job. I just really hope you enjoy it because it matters that you do 🙏

[@BetYouHateMeNow]

@@kylaquilos thanks

[@rohit8887]

First 🥇

[@VuNguyen-bo4mo]

Hi Kyla - I am thinking about changing my career over to Software Engineering. Out of curiosity, is there a particular reason why you choose Career Foundry over other bootcamps? Seeing your journey has definitely gave me a ton of motivation!

[@kylaquilos]

Hello! 👋 So for me my main priorities were cost, mentorship, and self pace. The cost was not as high as other bootcamps. I didn’t wanna spend more than I needed to because I already had college loans 😅 at the time of my enrollment it was about $6900. I think a lot of bootcamps out there do provide mentorship so for that I was mainly reading reviews about. And the self paced curriculum they had was a huge thing. It was really cost and the time for me that made me decide on Careerfoundry :) I wish you the best on your switch!! Thank you for being here 🙏

[@VuNguyen-bo4mo]

@@kylaquilos Thanks for the advice and information!

[@fernando-loula]

I see a lot of engineers getting jobs in software development, and many of them here in you tube kind of make this claim "got a job, no CS degree", someone needs to tell these people that is not what is meant, eletrical engineering is a degree in the same field, and for many decades engineers have been considered and hired for software development jobs. Generally what is meant by no degree is no degree in the area, like someone with no higher education, or a doctor or even someone with a major in art.

[@kylaquilos]

I completely understand where you’re coming from. I do, however, think that the EE specialization matters. I I knew and did nothing related to full stack web development which is what I am doing now. I did not know how to code for circuit design. If I was a DSP specialization then yes, I can see it’s in the same field as CS, but I technically did not receive a “CS degree”, therefore, I believe I can say I have “no CS degree.” It would be different if I got a Computer Engineering degree where I can see more of the relation. So I don’t think if I applied for CS jobs that I would be qualified because I had zero knowledge until I went through my program. It was definitely not my intention to make it seem like I’m tricking people and saying I got a CS job with “no degree.” I do clearly say “no CS degree” which is true in my case. I genuinely apologize if it came out that way.

[@xueyingwang1578]

How long did you spend on job searching after the bootcamp?

[@kylaquilos]

I was actually searching during my bootcamp so I think a total of 6 months, but full time job searching ~2.5 months I would say.

[@FactKi-vg9vk]

I'm just fall in love with you 😍💖

[@xGiiax]

Who you did the bootcamp with ?

[@kylaquilos]

I did Careerfoundry! It was a self-paced, online bootcamp. It’s in my description box if you’re interested in searching it up! 😊

[@balachandra4809]

Hello madammmm ...👋

[@morrymaasch7009]

"Promosm"

[@FactKi-vg9vk]

Will you marry me 💗💗

[@sirk3v]

which bootcamp did you take

[@kylaquilos]

I got my cert from Careerfoundry!

[@sirk3v]

Any thoughts on Coursera?

[@sirk3v]

I learnt app development from scratch, and landed my first role about an year ago, I have no degree in CS, I'm currently looking to move to backend development using meta backend developer certification from Coursera, your video is so inspiring, thank you I was almost giving up

[@kylaquilos]

I've heard good things about Coursera! My cousin actually got a cert from there for coding. I don't exactly remember what, but she said she liked it! @@sirk3v

[@kylaquilos]

Wow that's amazing! Honestly, it's such a big accomplishment landing a job with no degree in CS, so I'm so happy for you! Good luck on your cert!! I'm really glad I can be of help somehow on your journey :)@@sirk3v

[@FactKi-vg9vk]

I'm from India and I'm just fall in love with you will you marry me kyla 🥰😍😍🥰😍😍🥰

[@troyflatland5299]

Has anyone else noticed it’s always hot girls posting these videos who never mention the fact that maybe (definitely) they were able to do this because of said hotness?

[@temle7489]

Diversity, equity, and inclusion....

[@universal1772]