Getting Started in Tech
January 2018
bit.ly/hired-in-la
1
About Thinkful
We train developers and data scientists through
1x1 mentorship and project-based learning.
Guaranteed.
2
About you
What's your name?
What brought you here today?
What is your programming experience?
3
What is "tech"?
Tech isn’t just one industry anymore — it’s the new business
model. Every company is now a tech company.
4
Largest in their areas - all tech based companies
Retail / Entertainment
Transportation Media
Entertainment
bit.ly/hired-in-laWIFI: CrossCamp.us
Events 5
The good news
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics + White House
6
The implications for jobs
Increased demand in for technical skills
Creation of new “software plus” jobs
Diffusion of tech organizational culture, roles, and processes
7
One such process — career trajectory
Junior sales
Account
executive
Sales
Manager
VP Sales
8
In “tech” career trajectories are varied
Front End Developer
Back End Developer
Full Stack Developer
QA Developer
9
In “tech” career trajectories are varied
Manager / team lead
Reliability Engineer
Growth Hacker
Product Developer
Dev Ops
Architect
Front End Developer
Back End Developer
Full Stack Developer
QA Developer
10
Common first jobs
Front End Developer
Back End Developer
Full Stack Developer
QA Developer
11
Front end developer
bit.ly/hired-in-laWIFI: CrossCamp.us
Events 12
Back end developer
bit.ly/hired-in-laWIFI: CrossCamp.us
Events 13
Full stack developer
+
bit.ly/hired-in-laWIFI: CrossCamp.us
Events 14
QA Developer
Write software tests and conduct manual tests to catch bugs
before they’re shipped
bit.ly/hired-in-laWIFI: CrossCamp.us
Events 15
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
16
Coding plus Roles
Coding + Product = Product Manager
Coding + Marketing = Growth Hacker
Coding + Sales = Sales Engineer
Coding + Data = Data Scientist
17
Product Manager (Coding + Product)
Skills & 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
18
Growth Hacker (Coding + Marketing)
Skills & Tools
Rapid prototyping
Analytics
Communication
Design & implement experiments to drive customer
acquisition and engagement
19
Sales Engineer (Coding + Sales)
Skills & Tools
Customer Support
Communication
Sell complex technical product by helping customer
understand how it works and how they’ll use it
20
Data Scientist (Coding + Data)
Skills & Tools
Curiosity
Statistics
Analytics
Machine Learning
Use statistics and programming to find valuable insights
from extremely large datasets
21
How to get in the door?
Learn the skills
Build a portfolio of high quality work
Develop a relevant network
Prep for technical interviews
22
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
23
Networking the right way
80% of job openings are never advertised
120+ average applicants per job posted
At Thinkful, roughly 10-12% of cold applications yield a
phone screen
Source: Forbes
24
Networking the right way
Cold applications are the least effective way of landing a job
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
25
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
26
Thinkful students find jobs through connections
Out of 100 students, this
is the breakdown:
Application: 35%
Thinkful community intro: 20%
Existing employee referral: 15%
Networking: 20%
Cold contact from recruiter: 10%
27
The technical interview
Phone screen
Take home tech challenge
In-person interviews
28
Resources
Prep sites (e.g. Interview Cake)
Books (e.g. Cracking the Coding Interview)
Mock interviews with technical friends
29
Ways to learn to code
bit.ly/hired-in-laWIFI: CrossCamp.us
Events 30
Thinkful's free course
HTML, CSS and JavaScript
Unlimited group mentor sessions
Personal Program Manager
Slack Channel
Thinkful Coding Prep Course
http://bit.ly/web-dev-free
31

Getting started-jan-9-2018

  • 1.
    Getting Started inTech January 2018 bit.ly/hired-in-la 1
  • 2.
    About Thinkful We traindevelopers and data scientists through 1x1 mentorship and project-based learning. Guaranteed. 2
  • 3.
    About you What's yourname? What brought you here today? What is your programming experience? 3
  • 4.
    What is "tech"? Techisn’t just one industry anymore — it’s the new business model. Every company is now a tech company. 4
  • 5.
    Largest in theirareas - all tech based companies Retail / Entertainment Transportation Media Entertainment bit.ly/hired-in-laWIFI: CrossCamp.us Events 5
  • 6.
    The good news Source:Bureau of Labor Statistics + White House 6
  • 7.
    The implications forjobs Increased demand in for technical skills Creation of new “software plus” jobs Diffusion of tech organizational culture, roles, and processes 7
  • 8.
    One such process— career trajectory Junior sales Account executive Sales Manager VP Sales 8
  • 9.
    In “tech” careertrajectories are varied Front End Developer Back End Developer Full Stack Developer QA Developer 9
  • 10.
    In “tech” careertrajectories are varied Manager / team lead Reliability Engineer Growth Hacker Product Developer Dev Ops Architect Front End Developer Back End Developer Full Stack Developer QA Developer 10
  • 11.
    Common first jobs FrontEnd Developer Back End Developer Full Stack Developer QA Developer 11
  • 12.
  • 13.
  • 14.
  • 15.
    QA Developer Write softwaretests and conduct manual tests to catch bugs before they’re shipped bit.ly/hired-in-laWIFI: CrossCamp.us Events 15
  • 16.
    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 16
  • 17.
    Coding plus Roles Coding+ Product = Product Manager Coding + Marketing = Growth Hacker Coding + Sales = Sales Engineer Coding + Data = Data Scientist 17
  • 18.
    Product Manager (Coding+ Product) Skills & 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 18
  • 19.
    Growth Hacker (Coding+ Marketing) Skills & Tools Rapid prototyping Analytics Communication Design & implement experiments to drive customer acquisition and engagement 19
  • 20.
    Sales Engineer (Coding+ Sales) Skills & Tools Customer Support Communication Sell complex technical product by helping customer understand how it works and how they’ll use it 20
  • 21.
    Data Scientist (Coding+ Data) Skills & Tools Curiosity Statistics Analytics Machine Learning Use statistics and programming to find valuable insights from extremely large datasets 21
  • 22.
    How to getin the door? Learn the skills Build a portfolio of high quality work Develop a relevant network Prep for technical interviews 22
  • 23.
    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 23
  • 24.
    Networking the rightway 80% of job openings are never advertised 120+ average applicants per job posted At Thinkful, roughly 10-12% of cold applications yield a phone screen Source: Forbes 24
  • 25.
    Networking the rightway Cold applications are the least effective way of landing a job 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 25
  • 26.
    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 26
  • 27.
    Thinkful students findjobs through connections Out of 100 students, this is the breakdown: Application: 35% Thinkful community intro: 20% Existing employee referral: 15% Networking: 20% Cold contact from recruiter: 10% 27
  • 28.
    The technical interview Phonescreen Take home tech challenge In-person interviews 28
  • 29.
    Resources Prep sites (e.g.Interview Cake) Books (e.g. Cracking the Coding Interview) Mock interviews with technical friends 29
  • 30.
    Ways to learnto code bit.ly/hired-in-laWIFI: CrossCamp.us Events 30
  • 31.
    Thinkful's free course HTML,CSS and JavaScript Unlimited group mentor sessions Personal Program Manager Slack Channel Thinkful Coding Prep Course http://bit.ly/web-dev-free 31