My Tech Resources
My tech journey started when I quit my full-time role as a Clinical Laboratory Scientist in April 2022 after a decade-long of experience in biotech and healthcare. I started learning how to code in middle school but quit around high school because I had imposter syndrome and I didn't have a female mentor to encourage me to keep going. But I often thought about going back even as a lab scientist especially when I found manual processes in the lab to be replaceable with possibly a software solution. During the pandemic, I did some soul-searching and wanted to switch careers. I fell back in love with coding and wanted that as a career for the rest of my life.
Here is a comprehensive collection of resources that helped me in my journey. I'll be pointing folks to this post since I've been getting a lot of frequently asked questions.
Keep in mind that if you read someone's advice or journey, their advice might not work for you. It's the same with my resources and journey. Following my resources or journey will not be a 100% guarantee that you will land a job, but if you persevere, continue to improve, and put yourself out there, you will increase your luck and skills so you can get more opportunities to land that tech offer!
(Last reviewed/edited: May 1, 2024)
Summary of Contents
Learning resources
Guides
Portfolio ideas
Building experience
Learning and network communities
Tech women community
Resume help
DSAs and interview prep
Job search sites
Mentors
My journey
Learning resources
Before I quit my job in 2022, I weighed the pros and cons between coding boot camps and the self-taught route. Because I want to save money and have the capability to learn on my own, I decided on the self-taught route. Here are all the learning resources I used to learn web development and the coding foundations.
Guides
While on my journey, I look up guides and advice to see how I can best learn and sell my brand/resume so I can get a job. You can do a Google search to see other guides and advice out there too. Don't limit yourself to these. Honestly, I probably read over 20 guides but I feel like the ones below are the most impactful.
Portfolio ideas
As a front-end engineer, I love building my portfolio and showing my creativity. Here are some resources for my inspiration. As you read through Raymond's and Bryan's advice, take them with a grain of salt because everyone's experience in breaking into tech is unique.
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Building experience
This is the most important section because I found the best ROI here. The experience you get from here can go directly into your resume and if you're playing the numbers game and applying to so many posts, you want to ensure your resume is loaded with impactful roles and projects.
Learning and networking communities
It's tough being a self-taught dev. I was often by myself and I had nobody to turn to if I needed help or had questions. Fear not: the tech community has a lot of groups out there ready to help out. Check out these communities.
Tech women community
Being a woman in the tech industry can be lonely sometimes because you'd often end up being the "only woman" or non-binary person in the group. Finding a community that understands your position is crucial for your growth and mental health.
Resume help
Having an impactful resume at first glance will either put you in the "YES" pile or the "NO" pile. Aim to be at least in the "YES" pile right away by utilizing strategies and advice here:
DSAs and interview prep
Often you hear about the dreaded "DSAs" and Leetcode you need to prepare for, but those are usually required when applying to big tech/MAANG companies. If you apply for mid-sized or smaller companies, you might not need to prep for these types of interviews. Just do your research on the company and how you can prepare for them. You can also ask the recruiter what the technical interview will be like. But if you need to practice DSAs, check these out:
Job search sites
Most of my job search happened on LinkedIn but if it feels like a dry desert of opportunities, check out other sites below:
Mentors
Sometimes we need 1:1 consultation or direct help from coaches. Here are some mentors who I found to be awesome and have helped me along the way!
My Journey
Last but not least, I've talked about my journey to tech in these podcasts if you rather listen then browse through my posts or this page to figure out what I've done.
Software Engineer | TypeScript | React | Next.js | Remix
9 个月This is amazing. Thank you for sharing Vanessa!
CRM & Data Analyst Manager
1 年Wow, thank you so much for sharing! I've just listened to your scrimba episode and found it really helpful. I'll definitely be coming back to some of these resources.
Field Service Product Specialist @ Surgical Science
1 年This is an incredible resource! Thank you for sharing.
UI UX designer | Web designer | React developer | WordPress developer
1 年I am currently do a ztm Course. Do you have anob already
IT Technical Support Engineer || Comms Builder and Civic-Tech Advocate
1 年This is gold. Absolutely selfless of you.