TeacherSoftware Engineer
Self-attested. The author confirmed their identity to us. The content itself is unchecked.Starting conditions
- Institution
- Community College
- Major
- Education
- GPA band
- 3.0-3.4
- Graduated
- 2018
- Location
- Toronto, Canada
- Started late
Limited exposure to the destination field at the start.
The sequence5 steps
- Financial1 yr 2 mo
Saved a nine-month runway before leaving teaching
Saved a nine-month runway before leaving teaching. This took 14 months and was slower than expected.
Obstacle
Could not afford to stop earning during the transition.
How it was resolved
Kept working and extended the timeline instead of taking on debt.
- Project10 mo
Built classroom tools that real teachers used
Built classroom tools that real teachers used. This took 10 months and was harder than expected.
- Setback2 moPivotal
Left teaching before securing a role; four months without income
Left teaching before securing a role; four months without income. This took 2 months and was slower than expected.
Evidence for this stepObstacle
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.
- Networking2 moPivotal
Found an education technology community that led to referrals
Obstacle
No existing contacts in the field, and cold outreach mostly went unanswered.
How it was resolved
Stopped sending generic messages and wrote to a much smaller, more specific list.
- Job1 mo
Started as a software engineer
Started as a software engineer. This took 1 months and was slower than expected.
Start this earlier than feels necessary.
Outcome
Junior developer 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.