4 ms·

I think there's an under-noticed property here: you have an engineering degree - an ME degree. Hiring boards will often be concerned that the person applying d

I think there's an under-noticed property here: you have an engineering degree - an ME degree. Hiring boards will often be concerned that the person applying doesn't have an engineering level degree, and may not have the intellectual horsepower to do the work. (I'm not defending this - I'm saying it is a thing). You have an ME degree - which, say what you will, is, intellectually speaking, a lateral move, as compared to software engineering. They are comparably hard. This is great! You won't get dinged nearly as hard, which will make your transition vastly easier. You will have more opportunities than someone without an engineering degree, so that's a bright spot on your resume.

shinder 6y ago
As a hiring manager, this is completely true. I've interviewed a lot of mechanical engineering / physics graduates as well as humanities & other non-technical people who have gone through a boot camp. I am a self-taught developer with a humanities background, so I absolutely support people without technical backgrounds, but the reality is that rigorous math and science backgrounds are a good signal. That said, the other comments about having to deal with a year or two in a junior dev role are also correct. No way am I recommending someone for a senior role who hasn't had hands-on experience building and deploying software professionally. I will happily teach that person and argue for them to be promoted quickly once they prove themselves, but I can't just gamble and fill a role with someone who looks like they might have an aptitude for it.