Before joining Hackbright Academy, many of our students have little-to-no computer science or technology background. Hackbright graduate, Stephanie Mow, shares how she used our 12-week coding bootcamp to make a change from construction management to software engineering.
What were you doing before Hackbright?
Prior to Hackbright, I worked in construction management for a real estate developer.
Why’d you decide to join a coding bootcamp and what was your experience like?
I developed an interest in software engineering while integrating my projects to a construction software platform and seeing the benefits first hand. After one month of self study, I discovered that solving coding problems and learning basic data structures stimulated my mind in a new way and that it was actually fun. The 12-week experience was definitely immersive, challenging and rigorous. At the same time, the environment was uniquely encouraging which I believe helped me to push through and thrive.
How’d you land your new role and do you have any tips?
On Demo Night I was able to meet and connect with reps from a handful of companies. I interviewed with the Conversational AI team at one company and received an offer in the following weeks. My tips would be to network with as many people as you can in person and on LinkedIn, and to be open minded to all types of companies for your first software engineering role.
What’s your advice for current and future software engineering students?
A helpful piece of advice I received during my bootcamp was that imposter syndrome never fully goes away, but we can learn to acknowledge it for what it is, squash it as soon as possible and continue to ask questions!
Want to learn more?
Are you interested in investing in yourself? Learn more about Hackbright Academy’s Full-Time Software Engineering course today.