How I Landed a Software Engineering Job with a Political Science Degree
Tags: Startup, Life Lessons, Entrepreneurship, Programming, Life

1 — Create a plan fueled by consistent habits

Learning anything new can be challenging and this was a problem I faced when I began to teach myself web development and cloud engineering.

If you look at everything you must learn with a big-picture mindset you will veer off track or get discouraged by the amount of ground that you must cover.

Analyze every aspect of what you are trying to learn as bite-sized pieces. Then take those bite-sized pieces and break them down into nano-sized pieces. From there we can begin to chip away at the nano-sized pieces of information one at a time.

This is why consistent habits are important. Schedule a set amount of time each day and start attacking each nano-sized topic that you’re trying to learn. If you replicate the same formula of consistent habits you will reap the benefits of compound learning. For me, this strategy made learning extremely difficult topics much easier.

It took me about two weeks to see the effects of compound learning but it completely enhanced the speed and depth by which I was able to learn to program. Learn, implement, repeat. There is no substitute for consistency, schedule out blocks of your time, eliminate all distractions, and train yourself to consistently focus on the topic at hand.

2 — Immerse yourself to grow

Programming languages are very similar to foreign languages. The only difference being, you practice programming languages by conversing with your computer through code, whereas with foreign languages, the best practice is done through interacting with people who speak the language that you aspire to learn.

Immersing myself was the single greatest accelerator of my programming skills. During my commute to work, I listened to podcasts about coding. During my lunch break, I watched youtube videos about coding. I read Medium stories involving coding tutorials and interacted with people via StackOverflow, to help them solve their coding challenges. Coding became embedded in my DNA because I constantly found ways to interact with it throughout my daily life.

One of my favorite YouTubers, Nathaniel Drew, taught himself to speak fluent Italian in 6 months. A large part of his growth can be credited to the fact that he lived in Italy during this time period. Nathaniel immersed himself and grew beyond the normal constraints of what is to be considered possible in a given timeframe. The key to agile growth is immersing yourself in whatever you want to learn. It could be programming, learning to speak Italian, or reading sheet music to become a better trombonist. Immersing yourself is a growth accelerator.

3 — Network, it matters

Once you have the skill, you must find an opportunity. Finding a job that will give you an opportunity in tech without a tech background or STEM degree is difficult. However, it is not impossible. The key is to accept a job that gets you closer to your goal without having taken any steps back.

My first job was in IT sales. This was by no means anything close to software engineering. Although it gave me access to engineering professionals, which ultimately assisted me in building a network of individuals who could vouch for my skills when the time was right.

When you are seeking a new career, your network is your net worth.

Because of my network, my first mentor found me. He’s a cybersecurity engineer, enterprise business consultant, and the author of “The Framework Life”. He helped me reconstruct my career plan into a tech-centric approach defined by descriptive goals and actionable steps towards my envisionment of success. If I wouldn’t have taken the IT sales job, I wouldn’t have met my mentor, and I wouldn’t be a software engineer today. It all started with building the right network. Focus on providing value to others, asking questions, and building friendships. The right people will take notice of your enthusiasm and get you closer to the decision-makers who are giving newcomers opportunities in tech.