Career change from teaching

Question

I’ve been teaching for the last decade but am in need of a more lucrative career change. I assume most active users here don’t have relevant degrees in this field either since we’re all learning, but does anyone have a sense of how likely it is that excelling in SoloLearn or other similar programs can get you interviews in the field without having a relevant bachelor’s degree or taking a bootcamp?

Answer 1

I think if you have a great interest in computer science, Sololearn and other course can be a good bonus.

I see that you learning Python which doesn't really teach you what really goes on under the hood like other languages,so I would actually encourage you to take a course called CS50 from Harvard. It's completely free and a lot of people who are professional (or even just amazing hobbyist) programmers have taken the course. It's going to be hard at first, but if you are serious about the career change, it will definitely be worth it!

And like Lisa said, doing some code projects is very important for getting interviews, but I wouldn't start out with those just yet until you've done a bit more learning or complete a course. That way you're not "swallowing a horse whole" as they say. Baby steps! :D

Answer 2

Hi Ted It depends on where you get your certificates from. Sololearn is a great place to learn the fundamentals. I think they have one of the best learning methods. Bit sized learning. A comment section where people share their knowledge after each lesson. And a Q/A that helps when there is still doubt.

But I don't feel their certificates are recognized like other websites or boot camps. I see a lot of positives coming from free code camp. Where they have more extensive learning practices. And I read constantly on the forums how people are getting interviews and jobs after learning from there.

I've started here on Sololearn. Learned a lot. And learned on many other platforms. However all of the web courses feel the same. I think a real Boot Camp would be beneficial if you're actually looking for a job since they set you up in a job type enviroment and teach new trends. And they usually offer interships while you learn.

Answer 3

Ted No problem at all! :D I would though recommend to see if you even really LIKE programming before you start thinking about jobs. Programming and computer science in general requires a lot of patience and a special kind of love to do on a regular basis. It's extremely frustrating and can be mentally exhausting but if you're a person that just like to learn for the heck of it, I would say keep going.

But if you're only in it for the money and jobs, I don't know if it would be the best to pursue. It's an industry that's always on the move with different languages and frameworks always popping up and the sorts. If you don't really have a love for learning (which is very much needed to be a programmer in my opinion), you're going to be really unhappy.

Answer 4

Ted I don't think it matters how much you know, sure you can have a portfolio to show work, have all sorts of degrees and certificates. It all looks good but from what I hear the most important step is being able to answer the interview questions. If that goes well you are in. All developers search the web for things that they don't fully understand and continue to learn while on the job.

Answer 5

Thank you so much.

Answer 6

What do you mean by "excelling in sololearn"?

For applying to jobs work experience and showing own code projects is relevant.

Answer 7

well, if you are serious, then you will be able to do it.
don't give up.
1.Use sololearn to grasp basics
2. Look around and try to copy something you think is great.
3. in this step when you start to make a project, you will come to stack overflow. As far as you will ask questions... And seek answers
4. Then you will come up with an idea that you need more wider and deeper knowledge. At this time you will buy specialized books. (Or download, who cares)
5. Eventually you will finish your project which you have been building for couple (+1,2) of months. And you will be proud of yourself.
6. Then you would like to share your masterpiece with others and get their opinion too. You will be ruined.
7. some days(weeks) later you will rise up again and start to think (seek) idea for new project.
8. Probably in this period you would like to work in team...
9. Seeking job
10. Please give any I am cool
11. I am hired. Salary? it is free they are testing me
12. first job (after blood and tears, and sweat)
Was it easy?NO

Answer 8

Hello,

Many good points have already been made, and as a way to put some of the most important ones together, keep learning until you have enough to build a very small project or program for yourself. When I learned enough Python to simply allow users to input answers, I realised I can build a quiz out of that. And if the users put in the right or wrong answer...oh, I can use a control flow and deal with that with a certain response.

After the questions are finished: "Actually, maybe it would be a cool idea to have a score to keep track of the progress etc. Let's see if I can incorporate that".

This is how I started really learning, but I'm aware that is personal. You'll be increasing the range and complexity of your skills in baby steps, increasing confidence while keeping things manageable.

Any projects will show you how much you may REALLY enjoy work in this field. Forget salary for now; think 'mentality'. And do not let anybody put you off.

Answer 9

Oh, and I hear you about not wanting to spend a year learning and then failing to make progress in interviews etc.

You know what? If you like what you do and you get better at it over time, you'll only fail until the day you make it. Even if you change course, that year of investment will tell your future self that you can rest easy, knowing you have no regrets in trying.

Time invested in something is seldom a waste, it is a damn good way of knowing what you really want to do and do not. Far better that getting to your 80s and saying, "I wish I had at least tried to get a development job!"

I'm in a similar situation to you, btw:)

Answer 10

Bad word choice, sorry. I mean note taking, making sure you grasp all the material instead of rushing to finish the classes, etc. Like if I can demonstrate knowledge of all the classes in the Web Developer or Data Scientist sections and have projects to showcase as a result, does anyone know if that’s enough for some companies? Or does a lack of a relevant degree or completion of a $15,000 boot camp mean that my resume wouldnt stand out enough to warrant an interview without being incredibly lucky?

Answer 11

Justice, thank you for the suggestion of CS50. I did the intro Python course because it was recommended after my initial questionaire on here. I don’t have a preference yet of what I’d want to do in the field. I am thoroughly enjoying the experience here. I know it’ll be a long process before I’m ready to start applying for jobs in the field. I just don’t want to spend the next year or so diving headfirst into this and then fail at getting interviews because of the lack of a relevant degree or bootcamp completion when I feel ready.

Answer 12

I’ve always been interested, but I ended up switching from computer science to music education during my first year of college. I know I’ll enjoy the learning process, but would rather the end result to be employable, not just enjoying a new hobby. So… both?

I do absolutely love the finality of “either you got this right or you didn’t” in these lessons. Teaching in general and teaching music specifically is a lot of “well I *think* I did an okay job with this group of students” and not a lot of observable, easily provable successes. It makes “a job well done” a lot less open to interpretation.

Answer 13

Yeah and to add on to watch Ted said, I would recommend trying out some Leetcode (but not with just the beginner Python course, I would strongly recommend doing CS50 or learning a more verbose language on SL).

There's a great site called https://neetcode.io/ where you can keep track of the questions you do based on the topics and they have the BLIND-75 interview questions that pop up in a lot of FAANG interviews.

I also recommend checking out the person who made it called Neetcode on YouTube. Here's a link to his page: https://youtube.com/c/NeetCode