From Airman to Software Engineer: How I Broke Into Tech
As a middle schooler, I was mesmerized by the world of online flash games. I wanted to learn how to create them, so I taught myself the basics of flash game development. This motivated me to expand my skills to include phone apps and web applications. I was particularly drawn to the functionality and convenience of web apps like Facebook, Flickr, and Twitter, and I was determined to understand how they were made. With this new found knowledge, I began to learn Ruby with Rails, as well as Python and HTML/CSS, in order to become part of the tech industry. As I delved deeper into the world of programming, I started learning Ruby with Ruby on Rails and also learned HTML and CSS. I quickly became enamored with the web and the ability to quickly build and deploy a site for anyone to see. My curiosity and passion for programming only grew from there, and I eventually added Python to my list of computer languages. The more I learned, the more I realized the endless possibilities and potential for creating impactful and useful applications on the web.
In June 2014 I graduated from high school and I was working at a restaurant and attended community college in my hometown, I struggled to find a clear path towards my goal of becoming a programmer. I felt stuck and frustrated with the slow progress I was making. In search of other options, I stumbled upon bootcamps, which at the time were still relatively new. Unfortunately, most of these programs required financing out of pocket, and as an 18-year-old, I didn't have the financial resources to pursue them. That's when I decided to enlist in the Air Force, hoping to gain valuable skills and experiences that would help me achieve my dreams.
Joining the Air Force was a big decision. I knew it would give me stability, financial support, and useful skills that I could use in future jobs. In April 2015, I began my 4 year Air Force journey as a Ground Radar Technician, starting with basic training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas. Basic training was physically and mentally demanding, but it was also a great opportunity for personal growth. It was amazing to witness the camaraderie and respect among the people of all backgrounds in the Air Force, and I was grateful to experience a truly equal-opportunity environment. Following basic training, I received specialized radar training, where I learned about the various types of radar used by the Air Force to track aircraft. This training allowed me to develop a strong foundation in electronics and radar theory which gave me the confidence that these skills would be useful for my future goals.
Inspired by my new-found knowledge of electronics and programming, I decided to experiment with Arduinos while I was still in Air Force Technical School(AKA Tech School) and see what I could create. I ordered an Arduino electronics kit and spent hours in my Air Force dorm room playing around with different sensors and LEDs. I built projects like an ultrasonic sensor that used sound waves to measure distance and a water sensor to measure the moisture in the soil. It was incredibly satisfying to combine my software and hardware knowledge and create functional projects. This experience sparked my curiosity to continue exploring the intersection of software and hardware.
In January 2016, I graduated from Tech School and became a Ground Radar Apprentice stationed at Travis Air Force Base in Northern California. This location was ideal for my goal of entering the tech industry, as it was near the Bay Area, home to many of the world's largest tech companies. Being near Silicon Valley was highly motivating for me, as it meant I was one step closer to realizing my dream of becoming a Software Engineer. I continued pursuing my interests in electronics and programming by building various projects. One of these projects was I built a battery pack raw cells for an electric bike. I also built a small weather station with an LCD display that used an Arduino to stream weather data to a Raspberry Pi, which was then displayed on a web page using Python. These projects allowed me to continue honing my skills and exploring new possibilities in the field of programming. However, I still wasn't sure which specific area of programming I wanted to focus on, as there were so many options to choose from in the field of programming.
A project that was important to my development was called “hobby organizer because it was the first project I built from my own needs and ideas to a functioning fullstack app. These types of projects bring confidence. Building something without explicit instructions/guidance force you to learn how to combine many different resources to build a single project, it makes you be creative and innovative.
Shortly after building Hobby Organizer and with the thirst to continue my web development journey, I discovered a website called FreeCodeCamp. FreeCodeCamp was a relatively new resource at the time, but it proved to be an invaluable tool for learning HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. I dedicated nearly every evening after work to completing exercises on FreeCodeCamp and made steady progress through the early HTML, CSS, and a significant portion of the JavaScript curriculum.
As I worked my way through the FreeCodeCamp curriculum, I had the pleasure of meeting my good friend Jordan through my Air Force squadron booster club. Jordan and I quickly bonded over our shared interest in programming, and as we got to know each other, I learned that he was also working through the FreeCodeCamp curriculum. We kept in close contact and frequently discussed our progress and challenges. Jordan was a great source of support and guidance as I navigated my transition from the Air Force to software engineering, and I am grateful to have had him as a mentor and friend during this time.
Jordan and I worked together to stay motivated and accountable as we pursued our programming goals. One thing that really stood out about Jordan was his ability to reach out to people and make connections. He was actively engaged in learning about startups and networking with early stage founders, and I have to admit that I didn't do a great job at that. But I quickly learned the importance of networking and saw firsthand the benefits of Jordan's efforts. He had met a number of people through his job in the Air Force and through reaching out online, and one of these connections led to a tour of the Twitter headquarters on Veterans Day. I even got to me Jack! Needless to say it was an amazing opportunity and I was blown away by the office space and the work that the employees at Twitter were doing. It was then that I became convinced that this was definitely the path I wanted to pursue.
I continued to learn programming and eventually learned Node in order to build APIs. I also learned Vue, as I found it easier to learn than other UI frameworks at the time namely Angular and React. I became proficient with Vue and enjoyed working with it, but I noticed that most companies were hiring for React developers. This prompted me to switch from Vue to React, which ended up being a smooth transition as most of the concepts were transferable between the two frameworks. This decision ended up paying off, as it landed me my first internship in the field of Software Engineering.
After learning React, I became more active in attending events such as hackathons, including one at the Facebook headquarters specifically for veterans on the week of Veterans Day in 2017. It was there that I met many amazing people in the military and veteran community who were working in tech. In early 2018, Jordan introduced me to one of the founders of Career Karma, Ruben Harris. Career Karma is now an app that helps people research and compare coding bootcamps, but at the time, it was still an idea in need of refining. I was one of the very first early users and had the opportunity to provide feedback and contribute to the development of the concept. It was a great experience to be a part of something from the ground up and see it grow into a successful resource for aspiring programmers.
During the early days of Career Karma in 2018, they held weekly meetups on Friday afternoons where various people in tech and those interested in breaking into the field would come to speak and network. These meetups were a great opportunity for me to introduce myself and get to know others in the tech community. It was through these meetups and conversations with the founders of Career Karma, Ruben, Timur, and Artur, that I was offered an internship with the company. I was able to take advantage of the amazing Skill Bridge program offered by the Air Force, which allowed me to do an internship or apprenticeship with a company during the last six months of my contract.
I was overjoyed when I finally landed an internship in the tech industry, but the wait between being eligible to start and actually starting was excruciating. I was eager to get started and gain real-world experience building software. Finally, in November 2018, after a lot of paperwork and processes, I was approved for the internship by the Air Force. In the meantime, I had done a lot of preparation, honing my skills in React and Node. The internship was an amazing experience, as I got to work for an early stage startup and be a part of its growth and success. It was an invaluable opportunity to learn from experienced professionals and contribute to the development of a product.
During my time at Career Karma, the company went through the Y Combinator accelerator program. For those who may not be familiar, Y Combinator is a startup accelerator that provides funding and resources to early stage companies, and has funded over 2,000 companies, including well-known names like Airbnb, Dropbox, Reddit, and Coinbase. It was an exciting time for Career Karma as it grew quickly, and I was working hard to secure a job before my Air Force contract expired. It was a challenging but incredibly rewarding experience. At Career Karma, I had the opportunity to help build their first landing page on the website, work on early versions of their admin tools, and contribute to the development of their React Native mobile app.
As my internship at Career Karma came to an end, I intensified my job search and applied to a large number of positions. At first, I was demotivated by the lack of response to my applications, but eventually, the calls started coming in. Every step in the process brought me closer to landing my first tech job, but also presented new challenges to overcome. Once I received my first call from a recruiter, it was only a matter of time before I had my first phone screen with for a Software Engineering role. While I definitely had some setbacks and failed a few interviews, I persisted and eventually landed and signed a job offer after putting in around 150 applications.
I was overjoyed when I finally received my first job offer in the tech industry, but I learned a valuable lesson to never stop applying and taking interviews until I was seated in my new software engineering role. Unfortunately, the company ended up withdrawing their offer just a week or two before my Air Force contract was set to expire. While I had enjoyed my time in the Air Force, it wasn't my passion and I was dreading the possibility of having to sign another contract. But I didn't let that setback discourage me and continued to apply to companies, attend events, and take phone calls. During the last few weeks of my Air Force contract, I was required to return to my duty station to out process and I remember one of my wingmen telling me that I looked visibly stressed out. However, within a day of the first company canceling their offer, I received another job offer from Walmart Labs.
Overall, my time in the Air Force and the transition out of it has been one of the most challenging and rewarding periods of my life so far. It has taught me the importance of persistence and the need to actively pursue my goals rather than waiting for good things to come to me. I am grateful for the lessons and experiences I gained during this process and am excited to continue my career in the tech industry and this is something that I couldn’t be happier that I did. There were so many people who helped me out during this time and if you know you helped me out in any way during this time: Just know that I owe it to you all and thank you so much.