Leave 250K TC to do coding camp? Plz advise

Jan 17, 2019 29 Comments

Long time lurker first time poster so thanks for everyone’s input on this in advance. I’ll keep this short as this has been on my mind for some time.

Background: CS undergrad from top 15 university, master from top 3 bschool (non-mba)

Work: consulting 2 yrs and been in strategy and ops role over the past 7 yrs. currently at Walmart ecoom doing corporate strategy as Sr. Manager

Situation: not happy with current career trajectory and looking to switch to full time SWE role. What’s the best way to do this? I’m thinking quit my job and do a 3-month coding camp - is this a goof path? Basically I don’t care about my current TC since it’s not sustainable and the people around me are just so lazy and not ambitious. Walmart.com pays inflated TC but the culture is shit and engineering/tech culture is non-existent. It’s still a retail company controlled by the business no matter how hard they try to convince you it wants to be a tech company - not happening and LMAO.

Also it doesn’t help that prob 80% employees in Bay Area are contractor/vendors.

Goal: want to be full time SWE and so I can be intellectually simulated and the goal is to land at Tier 1 software firms.

How do I make the switch? Teach me masters!

TC: $250k, late 20s

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TOP 29 Comments
  • Why not do the same kind of job in a better company?
    Jan 17, 2019 2
    • I just don’t see myself doing excel/ppt as a long term career path. I’d like to be location independent someday and have a hard skill set that’s transferable no matter where I go. Also it doesn’t hurt that TC is good
      Jan 17, 2019
    • Just be aware that you're trading a good amount of TC for a most likely more demanding job. It depends on the person, but just make sure you have the mental fortitude to handle a shitty day at your new job. Other than that, good luck to you. You might even be able to land it w.o. having to go to coding camp.
      Jan 17, 2019
  • I would kill to get 250K TC doing excel and ppt I love that shit
    Jan 17, 2019 1
  • Facebook
    job-huntin

    Go to company page Facebook

    job-huntin
    Switch internally first, learn coding on your free time, pick a technology, web, mobile, data engineering and learn. Rely on online resources and talk to people from that area in your company. Take some pay cut if u have to make this switch. Then after some experience say 6 months to a year, start looking outside. Attend tech conferences, meetups, gain the market trend and perspective, leetcode and interview at multiple places. You will get a much bigger TC later. It will take some time and persistence, but it won’t be very hard. Speaking from personal experience.
    Jan 17, 2019 3
  • Try boot camps while employed. Also start with Coursera Algorithm and Data Structure course to refresh your basics. Also did you try Product Management outside Walmart ? You might find it interesting considering your background and in certain companies even intellectually stimulating.
    Jan 17, 2019 0
  • New
    Mantel

    New

    Mantel
    How do your hours look? Do you have energy to tackle some of this in parallel? The three months is one consideration. Finding a role that you have the liberty to be selective around would also come into play. Also - is there room to move internally?
    Jan 17, 2019 5
    • So you are saying I can land SWE interviews just by showing I’ve done some side projects coming from totally different background?
      Jan 17, 2019
    • New
      Mantel

      New

      Mantel
      More about having the experience to write code on the job (LC tends to focus on solving interview problems vs. practical experience)
      Jan 18, 2019