Getting into IT with Grant

You can become a Senior Engineer in as little as 2 years after college, learn how I did it! Being a Senior comes with it's own career risks and not everybody should climb the career ladder to this level so quickly. If you're not motivated by job titles but are motivated by compensation instead, a different path may be better for you. I discuss both in this episode and give advice to my younger self, a college grad, or a self-taught developer who is just starting out on in their career.

College did not prepare me to be a software developer like I thought it would! I still think my college degree was valuable, but a self-taught developer can be just as effective as a college educated one. There are also many skills and tricks you learn from working at a job or an internship that you don't learn at a university. Like, are Big O notation or asymptotic analysis of algorithms something that's used a lot in the field, or just terms people use to sound smart? I'll get to the real stuff in this episode and tell you exactly what you should focus on as you learn how to be a software engineer.

I read a real question from someone in the field wondering whether or not they should accept a job offer for a position they feel unqualified for. Does this person have imposter syndrome or are they really unqualified? Is the position really too good to be true or are their expectations off the mark? These are just a few things we dive into in this episode.

Listen to my opinion then tell me: what do you think they should do?

Is it better to be a big fish in a small pond, or a small fish in a big pond? There are tradeoffs, advantages, and disadvantages to consider when working at small, medium, and large sized companies. Pick where you go wisely and don't work at a FAANG for name recognition alone.

Small companies give you freedom at the cost of career structure, and large companies generally provide the opposite. Don't go chasing a fancy career title or a company to name-drop on your resume thinking that it will accelerate your career. Instead, find a career at a company where you are happy and find fulfillment. Being engaged in your work will accelerate your career much faster than your technical pedigree.

Getting a software developer or engineering interview is not rocket science if you understand what a job posting really means! Set yourself up to impress the hiring team by following a few easy steps to land that interview and convince the hiring manager that you're as awesome of a developer as you say you are!

Small companies and large companies work very differently from one another, but one thing that stays the same is somebody or some piece of software pre-scanning and filtering resumes before they go to the hiring manager. There are ways that you can fast-track your application through this filtering process and get the manager to review your resume.

You don't need a college degree to be a professional software developer, there are many paths a person can take! Find out how to navigate these many career choices and become the *right* type of software engineer or technologist.

You may be looking into a college degree in science or engineering, or want to go to a 6-month boot camp, or you may be completely self-taught. Find out if any of these routes will be detrimental to you long-term in building a successful career for yourself as a developer at top tech companies.