#Clinical lab scientist -> Front-end Engineer

33 messages · Page 1 of 1 (latest)

arctic ledge
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Hi Scrimba folks! I'm Vanessa, from the SF Bay Area. I'm so excited to share my journey during this terrible tech market. I just accepted an offer as a Front-end Engineer at a company that creates solutions for research laboratories and to protect scientists.

I worked in healthcare/biotech as a clinical laboratory scientist for the last 9-10 years, and I've always tried to shift careers because I always wanted to learn something new. In biotech and healthcare, new things move slow as equipment or tests can take years to validate and implemented in the laboratory.

Last year in April, I decided to take a full plunge into learning web development as a self-taught dev. I started first at Codecademy but the reading style wasn't for me. I got stuck at learning React until someone in the Codecademy forums suggested Scrimba.

I checked out the free React course and through this course I finally understood how React worked. I continued to learn through the Advanced React course as well. I am a big fan of the visual and interactive style of Scrimba. This is why I'm sharing my journey here because Scrimba was the highlight of my learning journey.

In September, I started applying for jobs through mass applications even in the midst of mass layoffs. It was a terrible experience. I only had 2 responses and the feedback I got was that I didn't have "enough experience".

To change that, I volunteered for a Coding Brigade that creates civic apps/projects for the city, did an unpaid internship which I got a lot of value, and served at Women Who Code as a San Francisco hack night host. I also stayed active on LinkedIn and networked with as many devs as possible. During this time, I interviewed at 2 big tech companies but those didn't pan out ok.

Through grit, patience, and taking breaks to prevent burnout, I kept applying and applying. Eventually, a company found my background experience interesting enough to interview me. After 6 weeks, they decided to take a chance on me as a career changer!

Don't be afraid to change your strategy and try everything you can. Like what @thin crag from the latest Scrimba podcast had said about expanding your luck surface area: "the more you put yourself out there, the greater your chance of being lucky."

upbeat escarp
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Congrats ! This is inspirational. I am around SF, I am in a tough situation myself, seeking a job. I am working on my portfolio, would be great if we could connect

arctic ledge
red ibex
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Congratulations Vanessa! I follow your LinkedIn posts as well, you are always very inspirational, so happy for you

arctic ledge
arctic ledge
red ibex
spring sleet
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Noticing a trend that people tend to do some charity work and volunteering to get experience! Great job and all the best!

sage surge
arctic ledge
arctic ledge
wispy wolf
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Congratulations!

tall sonnet
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Congrats Vanessa!

sterile pelican
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Congratulations!! Can I connect with you in linkedIn?

wispy tree
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congratulations, Vanessa! Im so excited for you!

subtle moss
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Big congrats! I think I followed you on LinkedIn! I found your story is very inspiring. When you mention network with as many devs as possible, would you mind providing some tips on how to network with them? I find myself maybe have two or three back and forth messages with one dev, and then it didn’t go anywhere in a deeper level. Thank you for your help in advance.

timber plover
proud hawk
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as a career changer myself, I can relate how hard it can be.
You did good, you deserve this.
Congrats!!

wanton socket
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@arctic ledge can you share portfolio you applied with?

arctic ledge
arctic ledge
wanton socket
arctic ledge
wanton socket
arctic ledge
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Seems to work. Check your message.

hybrid silo
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Hi @arctic ledge! I produce the Scrimba podcast. I know you’ve recently done a townhall, but would you like to also be a guest on the pod? I tried sending you a message, but Discord says you only accept messages from friends 🙂

arctic ledge
arctic ledge
ember radish
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@arctic ledge congrats! I loved your journey and portfolio! can you please share where did you find the inspiration to build it?

arctic ledge
# ember radish <@780976850607669263> congrats! I loved your journey and portfolio! can you plea...

Thank you.

Sure. Check out the Portfolio Ideas section in this comprehensive resource list I created on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/vanessas-tech-resources-faq-vanessa-vun?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios&utm_campaign=share_via

Vanessa's Tech Resources

Here is a collection of some of the resources that helped me with my learning journey. I'll be pointing folks to this post since I've been getting a lot of frequently asked questions.

upbeat escarp
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Hi Vanessa, in your experience in CA, during the the interview process, do most companies ask the leetcode style OA or there are companies here which ask qustions relavent to JS/react?

delicate juniper