Lessons Learned: A Teacher's Shift to Software Engineering

by Veronica Steele, Software Engineering bootcamp student

“Technology is almost magical,” I thought as I navigated through the website into which I entered grades, attendance, and lesson plans. “How does all this work?” Little did I know that the answer itself would soon be something I would try to master. 

However, as the world of education continued to transform, I did know that I needed to make a career change. A close friend, a software engineer himself, recommended TripleTen, and I made the leap of faith in a new direction.

As a teacher, the power of a mind opening to new ideas had become almost routine, but the challenge of grasping completely technological concepts myself had yet to really sink in.

There’s a profound beauty in both teaching and learning. The complete, effective transfer of ideas is why my students and I have worked together to master reading, grammar, and even poetry. 

Learning coding languages, however, was a total shift in mindset. First, I had to set aside any misconceptions — this was going to be hard. It was going to be well outside the comfort zone that I had defined for myself in education. After all, only people who are really good at math become engineers, right? 

Still, despite the odds, here I was, a 24-year-old self-proclaimed history buff and word nerd, trying to break blindly into a field about which I knew nothing. My laptop became my constant companion, especially through late nights, early mornings, frustrated outbursts, even a few tears. 

To their dismay, sometimes I would even subject my friends and roommates to mini classes on the topic of the hour, hoping to understand more by explaining it to others. Even the wonderful tutors of the TripleTen platform weren’t spared. The learning curve was neither easy nor painless, and I can only look back and wonder at their patience with my many questions. 

Software development is a fascinating field, but completely different from education. The teacher must become the student.

While the field has a reputation for being relaxed, the code must be functional, so I had to learn the value of the rules of coding. Above all, I had to acknowledge to myself that I was starting at the bottom of a very tall mountain of information, and that asking questions and being willing to ask for help would be some of the most valuable keys to eventual success. 

Figuring out solutions on my own has also been a critical step in the learning process, and I now value a Google search like never before. If one values what is fought for, then the knowledge won from navigating forums and websites is a gem among others. This field is full of people who are ready and willing to share the wealth of knowledge that they have gathered, but it takes patience, research, and a willingness to accept advice to reach an understanding of the material.

Another concern in starting the program was the job market. It’s no secret that jobs in tech, while still common, are filling up. If I wasn’t qualified enough, there was a chance that this work would be for nothing. This became a full-blown fear, but as I moved through my courses anyway, I realized that the knowledge itself is valuable. 

All of us have seen the MGM lion roaring below a banner with the words: Ars gratia artis. Art for the sake of art, beauty because we are alive, learning because it’s essential to the human mind to question, discover, and understand. If I were to fail in landing a job in tech at the conclusion of my program, the knowledge itself would be valuable. 

Even more practical, there’s no hard and fast deadline in the industry, and there’s a certain freedom in that flexibility. There are bound to be swells and ebbs in the job market, but there are other opportunities. Chances to learn more skills and become still more capable (and therefore more qualified) are everywhere. 

Freelance opportunities are also plentiful. I started working on site maintenance for a client several months ago just for the experience, and it has been a truly eye-opening experience. It’s an opportunity to embrace the mindset of “If you work hard, it will come to you,” and to add skills and exposure to boost your resume, which is always helpful. 

Often during the program, especially mid-project, the temptation to quit rose to the surface. The challenges seemed overwhelming, or my fears kicked in, and it was easy to lean into thoughts about my incompetence or inexperience. Enter Max, a tutor with TripleTen. During a one-on-one coding lesson, I told him about my fears and that I was seriously considering giving up. “Don’t drop out,” he told me. “You can do this. You can become qualified. Just stay consistent and try to do a little each day. It’s better to learn five days for an hour than one day for five hours.” 

That was a canon moment for my progress. The confidence that Max had shown in me was what I needed to make it through the hardest sprint of the program.

The advice on consistency was vital for the rest of the bootcamp, and, as a teacher, it was surprising to hear those words directed at me – in the classroom while encouraging students to read, I often use very similar advice, but somehow in the middle of the hustle, I forgot to apply it to my own studies! 

The logic is sound, however. Research has proven again and again that slow and steady really wins this race. For example, a 2008 study by Cepeda et al. found that spaced repetition (seeing a certain concept over and over but at different times) steadily improved mental retention. Consistency then, along with determination, will be the determining factor in completing this bootcamp. The challenges are real and frequent, but there’s much help along the way — theory, tutors, other students, and of course, the ever-useful Google search.