E165 | From 10 years in a Dead-End Job to Software Engineer–Kevin Johnson

He always had a flare for tech; Kevin’s Dad loved tech and, naturally, he followed in his Dad's footsteps.In high school, Kevin's fascination and proficiency with tech grew even more and he became the 'go-to-guy' for fixing phone and computer issues.Even though his big break wouldn't come until many years later, Kevin kept his dream alive by gaining more practice and insights about tech.This is why when the opportunity came, he was ready to take on a position in his dream career field: software engineering.Timestamps 02:23 — Kevin's blueprint for success (preamble)03:31 — Kevin's blueprint for success 05:22 — A realistic salary range for a software engineer (Hint: upper end is 6-figures)06:53 — Finding his passion and honing his tech skills in high school 18:04 — Journey to software engineering 21:26 — Steps to becoming a software engineer 25:52 — Timeframe from learning to getting interviews 26:51 — First interview experience (it was like a story out of a sitcom)32:09 — First job offer experience 37:48 — Part-time vs full-time job experience 44:40 — How connecting with people helped Kevin land his dream job 47:48 — Golden nuggets/words of wisdom Support/Contact Kevin:X (formerly Twitter) — @kevprodevYouTube — KevProDevBooks and resources mentioned in this podcast:Freecodecamp: www.freecodecamp.comCoding Phase: www.codingphase.comNeed career or resume advice? Follow and/or connect with Jonaed Iqbal on LinkedIn.LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/JonaedIqbalNDConnect with us on social media!LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/NoDegreeLinkedInFacebook: https://bit.ly/NoDegreeFBInstagram: https://bit.ly/NoDegreeIGTwitter: https://bit.ly/NoDegreeTWTikTok: https://bit.ly/3qfUD2VJoin our discord server: https://bit.ly/NoDegreeDiscordThank you for sponsoring our show. If you'd like to support our mission to end the stigma and economic disparity that comes along with not having a college degree, please share with a friend, drop us a review on Apple Podcast and/or subscribe to our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/nodegree.Remember, no degree? No problem! Whether you're contemplating college or you're a college dropout, get started with your no-degree job search at nodegree.com.