Military ServiceSoftware Engineer
Unverified. Submitted, nothing checked.Starting conditions
- Institution
- Non-target University
- Major
- Self-taught
- GPA band
- 3.0-3.4
- Graduated
- 2016–2018
- Location
- Toronto, Canada
- Started late
- No relevant experience
The sequence7 steps
- Certification9 moPivotal
Used tuition assistance for cloud certifications
Used tuition assistance for cloud certifications. This took 9 months and was harder than expected.
- Coursework1 yr 1 mo
Worked through a structured CS curriculum after hours
Worked through a structured CS curriculum after hours. This took 13 months and was harder than expected.
- Project7 mo
Shipped three open-source projects
Shipped three open-source projects. This took 7 months and was harder than expected.
- Relocation1 mo
Relocated for a lower cost of living while job searching
Relocated for a lower cost of living while job searching. This took 1 months and was harder than expected.
Evidence for this step - Application5 mo
First application round — 120 applications
First application round — 120 applications. This took 5 months and was slower than expected.
- Setback6 moPivotal
No callbacks; resume was reading as non-technical
Obstacle
The plan stalled here, and it was not obvious it would recover.
How it was resolved
Asked the people who rejected me what the specific disqualifier was, then fixed exactly that instead of everything at once.
- Job1 mo
Started as a software engineer
Started as a software engineer. This took 1 months and was slower than expected.
Outcome
Software engineer offer
Reflection
Would repeat
- Starting the outreach earlier than felt comfortable.
Would skip
- The first application cycle, which I entered underprepared.
Biggest obstacle
Underestimating how long the prerequisite work would take alongside everything else.
What was luck
- One person answered a cold email who did not have to.
Estimated cost: Roughly $5,000 across the whole transition.