I never thought I would be living in San Francisco working as a software engineer for a tech startup. I had graduated from UC Irvine back in 2005 as a Drama major in pursuit of a career in acting. Even before that, I had always thought I would have had a career in entertainment industry or business. I was on the 10 year plan with no backup when I was 22. Impulsive, aggressive, and sometimes stupid.
After spending a few years in LA, I called it quits. I didn’t know what I wanted to do for a living. I had circle of friends back home in OC that were working as software engineers and making great careers. It never occurred to me that this was something I could do for a living. I spent so many years training how to sing, act, and dance. What do I know about coding and making programs? This was something that my dad, who was a DBA by trade, tried to make me learn as a kid. Visual Basic for me was a horrible experience at 12 years old without any guidance whatsoever.
My best friend told me to just try it out and so I bought a book on C# programming. After spending a few months on it, I had built my first program and applied to graduate school. It was a huge leap into something I had no idea how to do, but I had a really strong support group of friends, who knew how to do it REAL well. I am super fortunate to have had great mentors most of my life. I think its definitely a key part of my success. I excelled in my masters program for Computer Science because I surrounded myself with people who were smart and driven.
After moving to SF, I noticed that all these educational startups started popping up. I thought to myself what a great idea this is. You don’t have to spend years at a university to become a programmer as long as you have the drive to learn. What I would advise to those going into this industry is keep an open mind. Find a mentor. Find what part of the industry you would enjoy working in. Find amazing coworkers that you get along with and build meaningful relationships that will continue throughout your career. Most importantly, find great managers that will help guide you through your career path goals and are honest about that. At thredUP, I feel fortunate to have been able to move towards a leadership role and then move verticals from web development to iOS.
A lot of people getting into this industry come from different backgrounds, educations, and experiences. Use those things to your advantage. Learning to program can be a struggle, but find your support. It helps. Trust me.