Hey, I’m Josh! I'm a software engineer at Citi, but I used to work in sales for LA's fast fashion industry. I transitioned through General Assembly’s Software Engineering Bootcamp and did an SWE internship before landing my current position.

1. Tell us about your journey landing a SWE role at Citi

I spent around 4 months actively interviewing for jobs and attended virtual career fairs during the pandemic. I landed the opportunity through networking - a member from my bootcamp referred me to the role. He was actually one of the very first people I reached out to while I was still only a couple of weeks into the bootcamp. 

There were 3 rounds of interviews for my role at Citi which lasted around a month. It’s hard to quantify the hours I’ve spent preparing for interviews, but it was over 5 months or so.

2. Do you have any advice on networking & mentorship?

I generally network through LinkedIn. Being a part of the broader junior engineer/new grad/bootcamp grad community on LinkedIn has been very helpful. I’ve also found my mentor by posting something like “How do I find a mentor” on LinkedIn. 

3. What advice would you give to someone transitioning into SWE?

While not having a degree isn't an insurmountable obstacle barring the transition into tech, it certainly slowed me down. It's more than "just a little" more difficult to get interviews from cold applications without any college degree. If you’re looking to get into software engineering, having a CS degree is ideal, and having any degree is still better than having no degree.

4. What advice would you give to someone lost in their career?

There's no such thing as a one-size-fits-all piece of advice (except for this one, go figure). Introspect deeply to learn your strengths and growth areas, and take it further by getting into the roots of it. It can be a painful experience if it requires that you uncover and process trauma (therapy and coaching can help a TON here). 

As you speak to more and more people, you'll find that much of the advice you receive directly contradicts each other. Sift through the advice and figure out what plays into your strengths in your job search strategy while you shore up those weaker areas.