We had the joy of putting together our 2nd LearningFuze Alumni Panel of the 2020 year where we hosted it via Zoom. Our featured panelists were:

• Sam Nagle – Software Developer at Parcel Pending
• Dylan Widjaja – Software Engineer at SurePrep LLC
• Jacob Taylor – Web Developer at PriceSpider
• Tomas Cormons – Software Engineer at Verys

Imposter syndrome is just all the time, every day…That’s just a common thing I’ve learned and everyone has it and it never goes away.

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Oh, I’m the imposter. You know, I have no idea what’s going on here, but after a few weeks and just explaining it to other people and then starting to help other people in the cohort or be comfortable with asking questions, it really started to feel like this was the right pace for me.

Jacob Taylor & Tomas Cormons

1. What is imposter syndrome?

Imposter syndrome is the culmination of self-doubt that you can succeed in a role or position such as your first software development/engineering job. You can expect imposter syndrome not only during the coding bootcamp but also throughout your first job after the program. One of the main takeaways the panelists was being comfortable with asking questions. It’s important to acknowledge that imposter syndrome is a real and valid feeling. As you continue your journey and gain experience, you can then become more confident in your abilities to complete a task or pursue a new career.

There is a moment in the part time program where I was asked to do a thing that I just didn’t understand. And I came in and I came in and I came in and I got help. There were some very helpful people at the bootcamp to help me understand what was going on.

Tomas Cormons

2. Don’t be afraid to ask questions or get help from our team of instructors and staff.

Don’t feel like you are bothering us because we are here for you! We don’t expect you to pick up the material from the get-go and understand that everything we are teaching is new and each new material builds on top of the previous knowledge. It is important that you have the foundational knowledge in place as you continue your learning journey.

Know how to time box things and know your limits on things. Otherwise you can dig yourself into a rabbit hole and things will go overboard a lot…As long as you know how to allocate the appropriate amount of time for each task and knowing how to time box things as in like not starting a task and refusing to stop until you get it done. Just knowing how to limit yourself on those kinds of situations definitely helps.

Dylan Widjaja

3. Time management during a coding bootcamp and after is an important skill to hone and develop for working in a professional environment. Prioritization is also a key element when it comes to being able to manage your time well. One way I like to schedule out my week is to have a list of the top 5 categories of things to be done. Let’s say my top 5 categories are:
a. Work
b. Homework
c. Break Time
d. Family
e. Personal Time/Hobbies

I would list all the tasks/goals that would like to achieve within each category. Then I can assign timeframes of completion to each task/goal. I find it helpful to break even the single tasks into smaller steps. Another key element is to be realistic about your time and tasks/goals you can achieve in a single day. Remember that you can give yourself permission to continue the task the following day. Sleep and daily life maintenance are important to allocate into your schedule. You can check out a future article on time management.

I did a little prying, which is something I learned that you should do it doesn’t hurt to pry a little bit, like who’s going to be there…Before the interview, I went to all of their LinkedIns and stuff like studied the people that I was going to be in the interview with trying to get an idea of who they are, what they are, where they’re from, etc.

Jacob Taylor

4. The more information you have at your disposal, the more you are able to make a more informed choice to prepare for your job interviews. In the quote above, Jacob was able to ask a simple question on what could potentially be on the technical assessment. The main takeaway is

It never hurts to ask for something.

If the worst answer you can expect to be given is “No” then the best answer you can receive is “Yes.” In this case, Jacob asked for more information about the assessment and the hiring manager had the choice to give or not disclose information about the assessment, but they decided to give a hint to Jacob. Another note is that you get to choose what you want to do with the response received. Jacob decided to prepare for the assessment by studying relevant topics and questions.

I reached out actually to one of the alumni from LearningFuze who used to work at the company. And I definitely recommend this to like anybody who is applying to who applying to these jobs…Leverage any sort of connection you have to get that one step above the others.

Sam Nagle

5. Your personal network of connections is important. You never know who your connections are connected to. LinkedIn is a great way to start building a professional network of connections. The network of LearningFuze alumni is robust and continues to grow. We also constantly build local partnerships by attending networking events and meetups. Without people, there is no network, so continue to build your network. With each technological advancement, we can be even more connected to each other.

Your personal back-story is so important during these interviews, because it gives them a glimpse into what you’ve done in the past and how you can bring that into what you’re going to do in the future.

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We hire people based off of what the engineer that they could be versus the kind of engineer that they are today.

Sam Nagle & Dylan Widjaja

6. The one thing that amazes me about students who attend a coding bootcamp is how diverse their backgrounds are. These are the students who want to make the leap into a career into web and software development. These backgrounds and stories that you carry are unique to you are and what you have to bring to an employer’s table. You become so much more interesting to interview and consider as an applicant. Your previous achievements and lessons learned have contributed to who you are today. Now the question to ask yourself is what kind of engineer do you envision yourself to be?

Something to keep in mind is that most of the time people are more than willing to help you.

Dylan Widjaja

7. Just let that last quote sit in your mind. A successful career is not only built on your personal achievements but also with your support team. If you share your goals with people who are where you want to be, those people have the potential to help you in the journey you have decided to embark upon.

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Hope you were able to learn something new from our LearningFuze alumni! We, the LearningFuze team, are invested in your future and would love to hear from you whether you have a question or are interested in a cup of nice conversation. We typically post our upcoming public events on our Eventbrite so wee hope to see you at our next alumni panel!