How to start a career as a software engineer in 6 months

Becoming a programmer in 6 months is achievable. The main task is to stock up on motivation and perseverance. Students must be ready to study hard if they want to succeed. 

There are almost 2,000 employed graduates of Mate academy all over the world, many of whom don’t have any specialized education, experience in the tech industry, or a skill in mathematical sciences. Nonetheless, with the help of Mate academy, they are now programmers and do it perfectly. Our graduates work at Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and other well-known companies in Europe and the world.

By the way, about Mate academy

Mate academy is an international ed-tech startup that helps people get into tech at no cost before employment (as according to the income share agreement model). I’m the CEO here and I left my position as team lead at Google for Mate. Our main product is to provide a technological platform where people learn coding. We teach and employ globally.

Our main goal is to try our best to help students receive a job offer, not to earn a certificate. We have a 90% success rate, with this number continuously growing. Currently, our graduates come from the UK, Europe, Asia, Africa, the USA, Canada, and the list is expanding.

No doubt, the stories of our graduates are incredibly inspiring. Their backgrounds range from being former sailors, acrobats, teachers, to doctors, lawyers, etc. All of them are of different ages but were able to start their careers as programmers.

How did it happen?

I’ll tell you.

Our business model is based on an Income Share Agreement. Before the start of studies, all students sign an employment contract. The deal provides for free training before employment and assistance with employment in exchange for 12% of the student’s monthly salary in the first 3 years of employment.

We are so confident in our product that we invest our own money in students and get nothing if they do not find a job. That’s why our graduates can be sure that employment is guaranteed after the course.

5 key principles of #learn2code at Mate academy:

1.   Study what interests you and be all in

There are many different professions in the tech industry. You need to choose which one is interesting to you. How? You need to try out different and new topics to find what you like the most. For example, on the Mate academy platform, there are basic courses where you can test and understand what is for you and what is not. You will never become a good specialist at something you don’t enjoy.

If you want to become a programmer and work already in 6 months, then you must invest a lot of your time in education. For sure, you need to expect full-time study: from morning to evening, from Monday to Friday. Sometimes, you will have to skip a party with friends in favor of doing coding homework. But it’s worth it.

2.    Learning by doing

The foundation consists of theory, but a student must be able to apply this knowledge in practice. It’s not about the number of hours you spend writing code; the only thing that matters is the number of iterations. Effective training will guarantee employment. Our successful model: 20% theory and 80% practice. It is not easy for Mate academy students. The program is complicated. But it gives results. After their studies, our students can calmly compete with other junior specialists on the labor market.

Our students also analyze codes written by others. After all, with more exposure to other codes and ways of thinking, the broader the students’ view will become of how they can write themselves.

We are teaching students at Mate academy in a way so that they will have a decent portfolio for job hunting, even without commercial experience. That’s why they have many group tasks and technical checks during their studies, and at the end of the course, each student writes their own demo project.

3.   Studying with mentors

A mentor is a person who will become extremely important at the beginning of a student’s growth as a programmer. During the training time, students always need feedback from professionals. That’s why you should always learn to write code with a mentor who can check your work.

Mentors always work with Mate academy’s students. They are in constant online communication regarding: correcting errors in tasks, editing tags, and directing students to the right answer. Such support plays an important role at the beginning of a professional path.

4.   Mistakes – it’s okay

Learning to code is not an easy task. It can be quite often even difficult. Sometimes there will be moments when mistakes cannot be avoided. You must accept it normally. Do not give up, put aside the thought that you will not succeed.

It is important for us that students believe in their abilities. That’s why we make sure that our students have their community. Our team always supports them and is trying to contribute to a positive atmosphere. This provides an opportunity for them to communicate with those who are in the same boat as them.

5.   Support with employment

The job search step is challenging and requires a lot of time and effort. All study at our platform comes with career support and an employment guarantee. Our HR specialist works with students to help secure their employment. We help with CV and portfolio building and assist in creating profiles on all popular tech platforms. We prepare students for interviews and give them access to a vacancies list. Our career support is in touch with every student and works with every question that may arise until students accept a job offer.

Finding the first job in tech is surely not a simple task. But if you are prepared for challenges—everything is possible. Indeed, not receiving a job offer at the first interview is normal. However, even without a special university degree and previous commercial experience, when your training is of high quality, you will 100% find your first job in tech.

By Roman Apostol, CEO at Mate academy, ex-Googler