My Journey from No CS Degree to AWS from Age 30 - 34
Tags: reflections, interview
Published: 2020-12-30 21:21:47

---
title: My Journey from No CS Degree to AWS from Age 30 - 34
published: true
description: I was interviewed by Pete from No CS Degree on my journey, here are some extracts!
tags: Reflections, Interviews
slug: nocsdegree-pete
canonical_url: https://www.swyx.io/nocsdegree-pete
displayed_publish_date: "2020-09-11"
---


I was interviewed by [Pete Codes](https://twitter.com/petecodes) on [No CS Degree](https://www.nocsdegree.com/shawn-noob-aws-job/), here are some extracts.

> **I see you started coding with Free Code Camp. Would you recommend that for newbies?** 

Yes! It can [genuinely take you from zero knowledge of coding to employable within the first 6 - 12 months](https://hackernoon.com/no-zero-days-my-path-from-code-newbie-to-full-stack-developer-in-12-months-214122a8948f) if you really keep at it. FCC was the only one that I've found that had the full HTML, CSS and JavaScript curriculum that I figured was in the highest demand. It's also free so you risk very little by trying it out.

> **How did you enjoy Full Stack Academy bootcamp?**

  - I particularly enjoyed the learning sections of the bootcamp because it gave me the opportunity to really solidify the knowledge that I had vaguely skimmed over during FreeCodeCamp.
  - The bootcamp is also laser focused on teaching employable skills and even organises **a hiring day at the end which is where I got my first developer job**. The job hunt is the hardest part of transitioning careers so it is very helpful to have an organisation dedicated to helping you succeed.

> **How did you get your first entry level software engineer job?**

  - I got my first software engineer job (at Two Sigma) straight out of the hiring day of my bootcamp! I think it was a combination of luck because it was the very first person I sat down with, and also a fit in terms of background because they were looking for someone who had some financial exposure.
  - What was more important was to be able to intelligently answer questions that were given to me during the on-site interviews, for example one of the interviews I had to justify why people use Redux, with the interviewer taking the other side for argument's sake. **It can be intimidating to debate during a job interview, but they are looking for you to stand your ground with technical substance if you can.** This is how you can show that you add value to the team before you join it.

> **What advice do you have for someone without a CS degree who wants to get their first programming job?**

  - Keep going! The software industry is far more open to people without credentials than most. There are two things that people want to know when hiring you: that you have **covered your bases**, and that you have **done cool things**.
  - “Covering your bases” means knowing fundamental knowledge like how to work with git and how to write a basic program in your chosen language or framework. 
  - “Doing cool things” can include a side project that experiments with new technology or having contributed to open source projects that the company uses.
  - Mekka Okereke, a hiring manager at Google, adds a third dimension - [something with a story](https://twitter.com/mekkaokereke/status/1266051694284038144?s=20). You’ll get these with more experience.

You can [read the interview in full here](https://www.nocsdegree.com/shawn-noob-aws-job/)!