How I Would Get Started With Coding in 2022

[@dyunior]

Thanks for sharing. I took the self-taught route in web development, starting as a hobby in 2007-2010 (I was into Flash animations at that time) while pursuing a degree in Marketing/Advertising. After graduating in 2012, I dedicated 1.5 years to self-learning Frontend/Wordpress Development without any IT friends. Despite the frustrations of encountering bugs, my patience and passion for web development pushed me forward and taught me the valuable lesson of finding solutions independently, rather than relying on others.

[@theemoryquince]

Thanks for sharing this, Tony! I’m still so torn about Boot Camp. I’ve been self-learning for 11 weeks and feel like I’m motivated enough to keep pushing, but definitely feel anxious about not being able to find a job if I don’t have Boot Camp certification. I am also networking as much as possible because I’ve found a lot of great encouragement in the tech community here (Indianapolis). I appreciate you sharing your take on it!

[@TonyCassara]

How’s your portfolio looking? That is what will make you stand out from other engineers. I had everything on GitHub, everything live on a site, and everything in screenshots on my website. Be unignorable!

[@SavageSanto]

Nice man I was Marketing Major too, learning to code and switching to Software Engineering. It’s more interesting to me than Marketing. 👨🏿‍💻

[@TonyCassara]

And way less subjective. Marketing is quantifiable now with ad campaigns but back when I was getting into it those tools weren’t as sophisticated and lots of people just “went with their gut.” I hated that!

[@tone396]

@@TonyCassara request for vid.. "old" in software dev...

[@TonyCassara]

@@tone396 This is actually an idea I've been kicking around for awhile, just haven't had the time while moving to make it happen. I know a few devs who transitioned later in life (50+) and I'd love to tell their story. Hopefully soon!

[@tone396]

@@TonyCassara ahh sweet would love to see!

[@gabrielfono844]

I remember two years ago when I watch your videos for the time. I started working two days ago and I have been teaching myself two years ago

[@TonyCassara]

Congrats!!!

[@gabrielfono844]

@@TonyCassara Thanks

[@gabrielfono844]

@@TonyCassara Thanks I appreciate

[@juliennegarcia4157]

Damn. I just finished my Bootcamp 2 months ago and applying like crazy

[@TonyCassara]

Keep going! It took me 3 months to get my first job and it took other friends of mine up to 6!

[@tone396]

I'm goin to school for cyber fell n love with coding interested n frontend dev.....I'm 37 my concern is being to old to get picked up

[@TonyCassara]

Nah dude you’re good, please keep coding we need more devs!

[@ResortGaming]

3 MONTH BOOTCAMP?! Sir, can you please explain how that bootcamp worked.

[@TonyCassara]

Yessir was thinking of revisiting the boot camp sfuff

[@marcosbey5017]

Bro! I think I found my other brother here! I too have a Bachelor's in Marketing and want to study too SE. What are the odds.

[@TonyCassara]

Get it dude! We need more engineers 🧑‍💻

[@Sanyu-Tumusiime]

if you go abroad to other countries you can get a college degree for real cheap. that's what i did. i went abroad and got a really cheap CS degree.

[@TonyCassara]

Smart move also!

[@AliColak]

Why did you decide to do a bootcamp post Marketing degree?

[@TonyCassara]

I was unhappy working in marketing / sales / advertising. Just wasn’t a career field that I felt interest in and was always struggling to find motivation to work.

[@edetmmekut809]

in all the places i have work we have more of backend engineer than frontend engineer maybe because it is a financial companies

[@TonyCassara]

That makes sense.

[@davidthevoyager]

hi Tony, do you know what happened to your friend who enrolled in the UC Berkeley Extension program? Did he/she end up getting that first job, and if so how long did it take?

[@TonyCassara]

They finished the program but decided they didn’t like programming. Now they are looking for a different career. It doesn’t work out for everyone.

[@RahimX]

i know i asked this in the other video but i keep noticing front end, back end, fullstack web development or software engineering bootcamps / classes. are these terms being used interchangeably “software engineer vs web developer “ or and they different titles. does software engineering require more knowledge other than html css and javascript? sorry if my question is confusing.

[@TonyCassara]

Each company will have their own titles. Most US based larger tech companies tend to just use “software engineer” as a title based on level. The area of focus is an after thought. Other companies will specifically choose to use “web developer” because they don’t have as large a tech org and have a smaller need. They’re sort of interchangeable but also not. Larger tech company will expect you to get stuff done even if it’s outside your skill set.

[@MrSemro12345]

Would you say that having a Master's degree in Software Engineering gives you an upper advantage compared to individuals who are self taught or who only have a Bachelor's degree?

[@TonyCassara]

Nope! In fact I think it works against you. You’ve spent more money and more time getting a degree that will land you in the same entry level position at FAANG as someone graduating undergrad or a boot camp. Now you have more debt to pay off and you spent 3-4 of your prime working years studying instead. Now by all means, it can have advantages with data science and if you’re genuinely curious then getting a masters could be worth it to you personally! But if your goal is to make money and start a career, you’re wasting time and working against yourself.

[@MrSemro12345]

@@TonyCassara The thing is in Scotland where I am located is that the government pays all of the fees for the entire 5 years of the course duration so I'm not really paying off any debt. Personally I have chosen to do my Master's is because in my final year there will a big year long team project which will be worked on and it's something I want to put on my portfolio as well as having some more time to improve my skills even further before applying for jobs, these are my reasons but I guess each to their own at the end of the day. The whole system is quite different in the UK compared to the USA I think, but I guess I didn't know all of this information when I first started in first year so I don't think it makes sense to drop out now in my final year.

[@TonyCassara]

@@MrSemro12345 thank you for sharing all that, yes I do imagine it is quite different in other countries and I can only really speak from my experience here. It sounds like you are excited, interested, and (most importantly) not going into debt to do your masters so I think it's worth it for you. Appreciate your feedback!

[@edetmmekut809]

my issues is alogarithm related question.

[@TonyCassara]

Yeah those are really tough. They just take practice. I have another video I just recorded on how I practice leetcode I will upload soon!

[@justcurious1940]

only batman would do it in 3 months u looks like him

[@TonyCassara]

I mean have you ever seen Batman and me in the same place at the same time? 🦇