I became interested in mathematics and computer programming in high school. I ended up earning a B.S. in mathematics and took some introductory programming classes at my university in Russia. After that, I got a chance to join Intel Corp. as an Intern in Technical Recruiting, and suddenly found myself mastering skills in hiring top-notch software engineers.
A year ago I was looking for a new job as a Sr. Technical Recruiter and was interviewing with some very well-known tech giants. After a few weeks of intensive interviewing processes, I got rejection letters from all of them. But during the interviews, I got a chance to ask a lot of recruiters what their challenges are and what tech skills are most in-demand. Most of them talked about the Data Science field and that they are trying to be very flexible with hiring data scientists.
“After moving to the Bay Area, I worked as a technical recruiter with different tech companies in Silicon Valley. I enjoyed working with software developers; I loved technology and problem solving, and decided to switch my career path to software engineering.”
I was thinking about a career change for a while already, but I didn’t know what I wanted to do. After being rejected by all the companies I was interviewing with, I did some research about data science and its core skills. I already had a B.S. in applied math and had some coding experience in C++.
I started out trying another online education platform to learn excel, but the content there didn’t keep me interested or motivated. After that, I decided to refresh my math skills and took the course Data Science Math Skills by Duke University on Coursera for a change. The next one was Python for Everybody on Coursera taught by Dr. Chuck from the University of Michigan. This Specialization blew my mind. Each course was interesting, fun, and very motivational, which encouraged me to continue learning Python. I completed the Specialization and realized that I was in love with programming (again).
“After completing Python for Everybody Specialization on Coursera, I finally realized that I didn’t want to recruit Software Developers––I wanted to be a Software Developer.”
As a starting point in my career transition into software engineering, I completed the Python for Everybody Specialization on Coursera, and earned these certificates: Python Data Structures; Using Python to Access Web Data; Using Databases with Python; Data Science Math Skills; Internet History, Technology, and Security.
“A couple of weeks later I managed to successfully pass a technical interview at one of the top Bay Area bootcamps, and they accepted me into their full-time software engineering program.”
I recently completed three-month intensive SW Engineering course and a few days ago accepted a job offer for a Software Engineer role at one of Bay Area’s fastest-growing startups. I can now code, build software, and completely change my career path. It would not have happened If I hadn’t taken Dr. Chuck’s course on Coursera.
Congratulations on finding your new passion in life and successfully transitioning into a career in software engineering, Lisa!
