Can you change careers in become a software engineer in 2022? Is this a realistic path to take? The short answer is yes, it is very much possible to switch to software engineering. I did and it worked out for me. While you might know what topics to learn, I’ll show you what it’s like to switch Software Engineering.
It’s a change in mentality
It wasn’t long ago that I graduated with a degree in Biology in hopes of becoming of doctor.
All my life I could only imagine myself in the medical field. I was young at the time and was very tunnel visioned. If I wasn’t in a high paying career in the medical field, that was not acceptable. If I couldn’t make it, try and try again until I do.
Understand why you want to switch. If you truly feel like Software Engineering is for you, you must reprogram your mindset to focus on your new space. Watch YouTube videos, TikTok, Instagram, etc about Software Engineering. Follow programming blogs (like this one!) and change your environment to fully immerse yourself into Software Engineering.
For me, the change of mentality didn’t happen overnight. Switching to programming to me was like starting a fire: you are putting in a ton of work at the beginning for a dimly lit flame. But once that flame starts lighting, it is very easy for it to grow in size. Learning to program is pretty much the same concept: you are putting in work to learn the fundamentals, but with time and dedication, you skillsets can grow exponentially.
You’ll follow tutorials, but probably have no idea what you just programmed
Tutorials might work for others and even may work for you. That’s great! However when I first started to learn how to program, I started by watching dozens of tutorials on C# programming. I know what was being programmed, but I didn’t know how. More importantly, I didn’t know why.
I watched 1 to 10 videos and tell myself “Yeah I get it!”. And then I move on to the next video. But I didn’t get it and it gave me a false sense of accomplishment. The materials are only useful if you apply it to your own code.
The main problem with tutorials is that each tutorial is already a solved problem. Meaning that the answer to the problem will be given to you without you having to think critically on how to solve it. As a programmer, writing code is only a small portion of what you do. You don’t just want to be a programmer, but a problem solver.
You will begin to doubt yourself…a lot
Picture this: you are highly motivated to learn how programming. You have an idea for a project you can get started on, which is to created a mock-version of Twitter. Your program runs flawlessly with no errors and feel that you can land your first programming job very soon.
But most of the time, that’s not what happens.
What ends up happening is you’ll eventually run in errors. These errors maybe small and you can fix them and move on. However another error occurs. You try updating the library and more errors occurs. Eventually though, the errors will go away, but so will your momentum. There will even be a point where an error may stop the project all together.
Doubt will eventually creep in. You’ll wonder how other developers are solving these errors so quickly but might take you days to figure out.
Especially if you are self-taught. You’ll begin to compare yourself to other developers and ask why you’re not at the same level as they are.
Should you switch to Software Engineering?
As in all aspects of life, everyone has a different learning path, different learning skills and different career plans. Comparing to someone is similar to becoming that person: you can’t. You have a particular set of skills that may work for you, but not for others and vice versa.
The only thing you can do is pick out small habits from other programmers and incorporate them into your own learning regimen. As for those errors, you’ll be able to deal with those as time goes on. StackOverflow is your best friend, so use it often!
-Bao