Open Source
I began working on 2 open source software applications and had my updates accepted; however, I found that the time commitment with these projects would not be productive for me while I was not employed. This was astoundingly exciting though for what I learned from working with professional engineers on massively large software projects. More on my open source projects can be viewed on my Github or this blog post from Linux.com.
Job Search
My job search was very intensive, and probably the most challenging part of this entire process. While not as technically challenging, it was a highly emotionally discouraging process that lasted approximately 4 months (120 days). It began with revamping my resume, which was like the nail in the coffin for my career as a clinical social worker; I condensed 2 pages of my professional work as a social worker into about 2 sentences on my new resume. That process was difficult and cemented the reality that I was reinventing myself. I then, heavily improved my algorithm process by white boarding with peers and practicing algorithms. I managed to join the top 500 leaderboard (of over 400,000 users) on Codewars.com and reached the rank of 2kyu. While this is equivalent to solving game like puzzles and my guess is that most professional engineers do not take the time to work on this type of commitment, I feel that this work could be the equivalent to a few University CS courses at a University, maybe even a semester's worth!
Meanwhile, I worked on small and swiftly built projects such as learning new API's, building automated games such as go board game and minesweeper, and making quick builds of full stack projects to demonstrate on my resume and portfolio. My projects can be viewed at cecinestpasun.site, and the games are linked on my Github.
My Stats
I recall applying to approximately 30+ companies of which approximately 25 entirely ignored me, meaning I received an automated rejection letter via e-mail without even speaking to an HR recruiter. I communicated with around 15+ engineers for networking follow ups from conferences and my contacts with engineers in companies that I wanted to work for. I had approximately 10+ mock technical interviews, 5+ initial technical screen interviews with actual engineering managers, and 2 offers for on-site interviews. This application phase was the most emotionally challenging of all the training phases that I went through; I have tremendous gratitude for all the engineers that supported me by forwarding my resume to their HR departments even if I was immediately rejected by their HR professionals.
The Offer
Happy in the rainy season of San Francisco!
Finally, after quite an extensive process, I landed my first offer as a full stack software engineer with Pager Duty! It happened to be quite an amazing package from an amazing company that is growing quickly, with a great team, a great tech stack, an amazing mission, and great culture. I most appreciated the potential for growth and learning in the role they wanted for me and the company's emphasis on diversity with the appointment of Jennifer Tejada as CEO, who wrote this post on diversity. I'm excited for the work that I'll be doing as an engineer and to be a part of a company providing wonderful services to other software companies around the globe.