This guide will help you find a career in tech that interests you and pays well. We will list college and self-taught options. First, we will discuss some things to help recruiters find you and set up interviews without applying!
LinkedIn is a professional network connecting you with many people to help launch your career. The best benefit of LinkedIn is that it enables you to get interviews without applying! How does this work? By correctly filling out everything on your profile, recruiters from small and top tech companies will reach out to you. You will still need to provide a resume, but this saves you time by not having to fill out job applications. You can still fill out job applications easily on LinkedIn as well.
How to get recognized on LinkedIn by recruiters
The main areas that will make you show up in the recruiter’s search results are filling out the About Me, Skills, Education, and Projects sections. To have an even more effective LinkedIn profile, fill out everything! Also, don’t forget to add a good picture and cover photo ( maybe related to the career you’re targeting ). I would also consider adding your resume and portfolio to the Featured section. You will build up your portfolio as you learn.
Local Technical Courses for all ages
Amtech Career Academy
Amarillo College Computer Information Systems
WTAMU Computer Information Systems
Amarillo College Computer Science
https://www.actx.edu/com-sci-eng/
WTAMU Computer Science
Amarillo College Graphic Design
https://www.actx.edu/graphicdesign/
WTAMU Graphic Design
Reputable Non-College Online Courses
Google Courses
Google has online courses through Coursera. These are paid courses but you can get them for free if you have a business.
Courses provided by Google include Digital Marketing, IT Support, Data Analytics, Project Management, UX Design. There is also a free course, Android Development.
https://grow.google/certificates/
Free Code Camp
Code Academy
App Academy Open
https://www.appacademy.io/course/app-academy-open
Local Tech Communities
Bash Script Crazy
https://www.actx.edu/bashscriptcrazy/index.php
Buffteks
https://www.wtamu.edu/academics/college-business/academics/student-organizations.html
Amarillo Tech Meetup
https://amarillotechmeetup.com
Amarillo WordPress Meetup
https://www.meetup.com/amarillo-wordpress-meetup/
Free software with your college credentials ( GitHub Student Developer Pack )
https://education.github.com/pack
Salary Negotiation
Levels.fyi – http://www.levels.fyi/
Software Engineering Interview Preparation
We weren’t prepared well for interviews. We hope to change that by providing the following resources. There are multiple parts of a software engineering interview which include the coding interview, system design interview, and behavioral interview. The coding interview depends on the company. For top companies, the problems given usually contain data structures and algorithms, also called whiteboard interviews. Other companies just want to see if you can code. System design interviews are interviews that are usually only given to mid and senior-level candidates. These interviews test your knowledge of designing a performant distributed system. Behavioral interviews are interviews given to see if you fit the company culture. You should answer these questions in the t
Leetcode
https://leetcode.com
Leetcode is an online platform where you solve algorithm and data structure problems. These are the problems given at top tech companies including Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, and Google ( aka FAANG ). The Blind 75 list is a great list of problems that will cover the base of most questions asked in interviews.
Hacker Rank
https://hackerrank.com
Hacker Rank is another popular platform to practice data structures and algorithms. A lot of companies use Hacker Rank to conduct their interviews, so it is good to get familiar with this website.
AlgoExpert
This is another great platform to practice algorithms and data structures. They also have mock interviews integrated within the platform.
Pramp
https://www.pramp.com/#/
It is great to practice mock interviews with others to prepare for your interview. These mock interviews are focused on solving leetcode questions.
Companies that give don’t give algorithm and data structure interviews
https://github.com/poteto/hiring-without-whiteboards
System Design Primer
https://github.com/donnemartin/system-design-primer
System Design Interview book
https://www.amazon.in/System-Design-Interview-insiders-Second/dp/B08CMF2CQF
Tech Interview Handbook
https://www.techinterviewhandbook.org/
