Getting Started in Tech
August 2017
WIFI: Cartel Guest
http://bit.ly/phx-techtalk
1
Instructor
Sean Jun
Thinkful Graduate
Software Developer, Intel
TA
Jessica Cottrell
2
About you
What's your name?
What brought you here today?
What is your programming experience?
3
About Thinkful
Thinkful helps people become developers or data scientists
through 1-on-1 mentorship and project-based learning
These workshops are built using this approach.These workshops are built using this approach.
4
What is "tech"?
Tech isn’t just one industry anymore — it’s the new business
model. Every company is now a tech company.
5
"Software is Eating the World"
“More and more major businesses and
industries are being run on software and
delivered as online services — from movies
to agriculture to national defense. Many of
the winners are Silicon Valley-style
entrepreneurial technology companies that
are invading and overturning established
industry structures. Over the next 10 years, I
expect many more industries to be disrupted
by software, with new world-beating Silicon
Valley companies doing the disruption in
more cases than not.”
- Marc Andreeson, WSJ, 2011
6
Largest in their areas - all tech based companies
Retail
Public Transportation
Social Media
Advertising
Entertainment
7
Goldman Sachs
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is a
leading global investment banking
Lloyd Blankfein, CEO
“Goldman Sachs is a Technology Firm”
9,000 out of 33,000 employees are on
tech team
8
The Good News
- Bureau of Labor Statistics
9
The implications for jobs
Increased demand in for technical skills
Creation of new “software plus” jobs
Diffusion of tech organizational culture, roles, and processes
10
One such process — career trajectory
Junior sales
Account
executive
Sales
Manager
VP Sales
11
In “tech”, career trajectories are varied
Front End Developer
Back End Developer
Full Stack Developer
QA Developer
12
In “tech”, career trajectories are varied
Front End Developer
Back End Developer
Full Stack Developer
QA Developer
Manager / team lead
Reliability Engineer
Growth Hacker
13
Product Developer
Dev Ops
Architect
In “tech”, career trajectories are varied
Front End Developer
Back End Developer
Full Stack Developer
QA Developer
Manager / team lead
Reliability Engineer
Growth Hacker
14
Product Developer
Dev Ops
Architect
Common First Jobs
Front End Developer
Back End Developer
Full Stack Developer
QA Developer
15
Front End Developer
16
Back End Developer
17
Full Stack Developer
+
18
QA Developer
Write software tests and conduct manual tests to catch bugs
before they’re shipped
19
Next Step: Senior Developer
Everything that came before with the ability to estimate your
work accurately, handle challenging problems with less
support, and add support for junior colleagues
20
Coding plus Roles
Coding + Product = Product Manager
Coding + Marketing = Growth Hacker
Coding + Sales = Sales Engineer
Coding + Data = Data Scientist
21
Product Manager (Coding + Product)
Skills & ToolsSkills & Tools
Customer research
Customer development
User stories
Wireframes
Project management
Analytics
Turn business goals into product requirements. Work with
designers & developers to deliver — measure success
22
Growth Hacker (Coding + Marketing)
Skills & ToolsSkills & Tools
Rapid prototyping
Analytics
Communication
Design & implement experiments to drive customer
acquisition and engagement
23
Sales Engineer (Coding + Sales)
Skills & ToolsSkills & Tools
Customer Support
Communication
Sell complex technical product by helping customer
understand how it works and how they’ll use it
24
Data Scientist (Coding + Data)
Skills & ToolsSkills & Tools
Curiosity
Statistics
Analytics
Machine Learning
Use statistics and programming to find valuable insights
from extremely large datasets
25
Breaking In
Massive shortages in tech industry
Hiring is based on skills, not credentials
Anyone can learn with a growth mindset
26
Anyone Can Learn How to Code
Students with a growth mindset - the belief that intelligence is not
just something that you are born with - have higher levels of success.
Neural connections grow and become stronger the more youNeural connections grow and become stronger the more you
struggle with learning and correct your mistakes.struggle with learning and correct your mistakes.
Carol DweckCarol Dweck, Professor of Psychology at Stanford University
27
Many Firms Recruit from Coding Challenge Sites
28
Technical Interview is Cornerstone of the Process
29
How to get in the door?
Learn the skills
Build a portfolio of high quality work
Develop a relevant network
Prep for technical interviews
30
Learning the Skills
Build stuff + Google
Free online resources (e.g. CodeAcademy)
Flexible coding bootcamps (e.g Thinkful)
Full-time coding bootcamps (e.g. GA)
Full degree programs (Georgia Tech)
31
Building Your Portfolio
Find a niche (based on your background)
Build a personal website
Get your portfolio on GitHub
Try and find contract work
Have professionals guide & review your work
32
Networking the Right Way
80% of job openings are never advertised
120 average applicants per job posted
20% get an interview
33
Networking the Right Way
Cold applications suck!
Figure out what you want (size, industry, role, etc)
Reach out to someone that works at company
Ask them about their work, genuine interest, build a relationship
Eventually (1-2 months in), ask for referral
34
Tech Recruiters
Tech recruiters serve as your agent
Can leverage their relationships to arrange interviews
They are incentivized to find you a job
You might get less say in where, but are helpful
Can be great in getting you feedback
35
Thinkful Students Find Jobs Through Connections
36
The Technical Interview
Phone screen
Take home tech challenge
In-person interviews
37
Resources
Prep sites (e.g. Interview Cake)
Books (e.g. Cracking the Coding Interview)
Mock interviews with technical friends
38
Thinkful - Structure and Support
More Structure
Less Structure
More SupportLess Support
39
325+ mentors325+ mentors with an average of
10 years of experience10 years of experience in the
field
40
Support 'round the clock
Your Mentor
Q&A Sessions
Career Coach
In-person Workshops
Slack
Program Manager
YouYou
41
Our results
91%91%job-placement rate + job guarantee
Kaeside IwuagwuKaeside Iwuagwu
Link for the third party audit jobs report:
https://www.thinkful.com/bootcamp-jobs-https://www.thinkful.com/bootcamp-jobs-
statsstats
Frontend Developer
Sierra GreggSierra Gregg
Software Engineer
JP EarnestJP Earnest
Web Developer
42
Take a tour!
Talk to me (or email shannon@thinkful.com ) if you're interested
Get a tour of the program to see if
project-based, online learning is a
good fit for you.
Discuss the curriculum,
mentorship, and how to create
your own learning schedule.
43

Phx-techtalk

  • 1.
    Getting Started inTech August 2017 WIFI: Cartel Guest http://bit.ly/phx-techtalk 1
  • 2.
    Instructor Sean Jun Thinkful Graduate SoftwareDeveloper, Intel TA Jessica Cottrell 2
  • 3.
    About you What's yourname? What brought you here today? What is your programming experience? 3
  • 4.
    About Thinkful Thinkful helpspeople become developers or data scientists through 1-on-1 mentorship and project-based learning These workshops are built using this approach.These workshops are built using this approach. 4
  • 5.
    What is "tech"? Techisn’t just one industry anymore — it’s the new business model. Every company is now a tech company. 5
  • 6.
    "Software is Eatingthe World" “More and more major businesses and industries are being run on software and delivered as online services — from movies to agriculture to national defense. Many of the winners are Silicon Valley-style entrepreneurial technology companies that are invading and overturning established industry structures. Over the next 10 years, I expect many more industries to be disrupted by software, with new world-beating Silicon Valley companies doing the disruption in more cases than not.” - Marc Andreeson, WSJ, 2011 6
  • 7.
    Largest in theirareas - all tech based companies Retail Public Transportation Social Media Advertising Entertainment 7
  • 8.
    Goldman Sachs The GoldmanSachs Group, Inc. is a leading global investment banking Lloyd Blankfein, CEO “Goldman Sachs is a Technology Firm” 9,000 out of 33,000 employees are on tech team 8
  • 9.
    The Good News -Bureau of Labor Statistics 9
  • 10.
    The implications forjobs Increased demand in for technical skills Creation of new “software plus” jobs Diffusion of tech organizational culture, roles, and processes 10
  • 11.
    One such process— career trajectory Junior sales Account executive Sales Manager VP Sales 11
  • 12.
    In “tech”, careertrajectories are varied Front End Developer Back End Developer Full Stack Developer QA Developer 12
  • 13.
    In “tech”, careertrajectories are varied Front End Developer Back End Developer Full Stack Developer QA Developer Manager / team lead Reliability Engineer Growth Hacker 13 Product Developer Dev Ops Architect
  • 14.
    In “tech”, careertrajectories are varied Front End Developer Back End Developer Full Stack Developer QA Developer Manager / team lead Reliability Engineer Growth Hacker 14 Product Developer Dev Ops Architect
  • 15.
    Common First Jobs FrontEnd Developer Back End Developer Full Stack Developer QA Developer 15
  • 16.
  • 17.
  • 18.
  • 19.
    QA Developer Write softwaretests and conduct manual tests to catch bugs before they’re shipped 19
  • 20.
    Next Step: SeniorDeveloper Everything that came before with the ability to estimate your work accurately, handle challenging problems with less support, and add support for junior colleagues 20
  • 21.
    Coding plus Roles Coding+ Product = Product Manager Coding + Marketing = Growth Hacker Coding + Sales = Sales Engineer Coding + Data = Data Scientist 21
  • 22.
    Product Manager (Coding+ Product) Skills & ToolsSkills & Tools Customer research Customer development User stories Wireframes Project management Analytics Turn business goals into product requirements. Work with designers & developers to deliver — measure success 22
  • 23.
    Growth Hacker (Coding+ Marketing) Skills & ToolsSkills & Tools Rapid prototyping Analytics Communication Design & implement experiments to drive customer acquisition and engagement 23
  • 24.
    Sales Engineer (Coding+ Sales) Skills & ToolsSkills & Tools Customer Support Communication Sell complex technical product by helping customer understand how it works and how they’ll use it 24
  • 25.
    Data Scientist (Coding+ Data) Skills & ToolsSkills & Tools Curiosity Statistics Analytics Machine Learning Use statistics and programming to find valuable insights from extremely large datasets 25
  • 26.
    Breaking In Massive shortagesin tech industry Hiring is based on skills, not credentials Anyone can learn with a growth mindset 26
  • 27.
    Anyone Can LearnHow to Code Students with a growth mindset - the belief that intelligence is not just something that you are born with - have higher levels of success. Neural connections grow and become stronger the more youNeural connections grow and become stronger the more you struggle with learning and correct your mistakes.struggle with learning and correct your mistakes. Carol DweckCarol Dweck, Professor of Psychology at Stanford University 27
  • 28.
    Many Firms Recruitfrom Coding Challenge Sites 28
  • 29.
    Technical Interview isCornerstone of the Process 29
  • 30.
    How to getin the door? Learn the skills Build a portfolio of high quality work Develop a relevant network Prep for technical interviews 30
  • 31.
    Learning the Skills Buildstuff + Google Free online resources (e.g. CodeAcademy) Flexible coding bootcamps (e.g Thinkful) Full-time coding bootcamps (e.g. GA) Full degree programs (Georgia Tech) 31
  • 32.
    Building Your Portfolio Finda niche (based on your background) Build a personal website Get your portfolio on GitHub Try and find contract work Have professionals guide & review your work 32
  • 33.
    Networking the RightWay 80% of job openings are never advertised 120 average applicants per job posted 20% get an interview 33
  • 34.
    Networking the RightWay Cold applications suck! Figure out what you want (size, industry, role, etc) Reach out to someone that works at company Ask them about their work, genuine interest, build a relationship Eventually (1-2 months in), ask for referral 34
  • 35.
    Tech Recruiters Tech recruitersserve as your agent Can leverage their relationships to arrange interviews They are incentivized to find you a job You might get less say in where, but are helpful Can be great in getting you feedback 35
  • 36.
    Thinkful Students FindJobs Through Connections 36
  • 37.
    The Technical Interview Phonescreen Take home tech challenge In-person interviews 37
  • 38.
    Resources Prep sites (e.g.Interview Cake) Books (e.g. Cracking the Coding Interview) Mock interviews with technical friends 38
  • 39.
    Thinkful - Structureand Support More Structure Less Structure More SupportLess Support 39
  • 40.
    325+ mentors325+ mentorswith an average of 10 years of experience10 years of experience in the field 40
  • 41.
    Support 'round theclock Your Mentor Q&A Sessions Career Coach In-person Workshops Slack Program Manager YouYou 41
  • 42.
    Our results 91%91%job-placement rate+ job guarantee Kaeside IwuagwuKaeside Iwuagwu Link for the third party audit jobs report: https://www.thinkful.com/bootcamp-jobs-https://www.thinkful.com/bootcamp-jobs- statsstats Frontend Developer Sierra GreggSierra Gregg Software Engineer JP EarnestJP Earnest Web Developer 42
  • 43.
    Take a tour! Talkto me (or email shannon@thinkful.com ) if you're interested Get a tour of the program to see if project-based, online learning is a good fit for you. Discuss the curriculum, mentorship, and how to create your own learning schedule. 43