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I look forward to sharing more updates as I continue to navigate this path and work towards my programming goals. Stay tuned for the next weekly wrap-up!

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I started the week by enjoying a school day at home. Unlike last week, when I faced an unproductive day with no classes, this time I had the luxury of easing into the morning routine with coffee and breakfast. Unfortunately, the lecture I had planned was cancelled. Instead of being idle, I utilized the first half of my day by reaching out to companies via LinkedIn, sending emails, and finding relevant contacts to chat with.

The latter half of the day was dedicated to working on my final assignment before the winter break. With Christmas approaching, it was a great opportunity to wrap up everything I need to submit.

Gym and Productivity

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Weekly Update: From Noob to Software Engineer

Good morning and welcome back to another week in the life of a budding software engineer! This week marks Week 54, and although there's a little cringe factor in that number, I'm excited to share what I've been up to, especially with the focus on balancing school work, networking, and preparing for an internship.

A Flexible School Day

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I made a commitment to hit the gym early in the morning to keep my energy levels high throughout the day. Following my workout, I continued with my goal of sending out emails to various companies. I firmly believe that personalizing each email gives me a better chance of receiving a response. Aiming for 5 to 10 emails a day, I surpassed that and sent out over ten, feeling productive and hopeful about acquiring some positive responses.

Online job hunting can feel like a numbers game, and I reminded myself that persistence is key—whether it takes 1,000 or even 3,000 emails, I'll keep going until I secure that elusive internship.

Engaging Assignment and Networking

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As I transitioned into the assignment work later in the week, I began building a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system for a fictional furniture store. This involves working through the architecture and creating diagrams to detail the cloud infrastructure.

Additionally, I attended a breakfast networking event that I stumbled upon through LinkedIn. Despite not knowing what to expect, I made some remarkable connections with lawyers, entrepreneurs, and fellow programmers. The event was also a great chance to explore potential internship opportunities.

Good News on the Internship Front

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Later in the week, I received exciting news! A recruiter reached out, letting me know that a manager wanted to meet with me regarding an internship position. Initially, the company had filled all slots, but thanks to the networking efforts and the recruiters’ reconsideration, I secured a second meeting.

This was a significant victory; even though I haven't officially received the internship yet, the fact that they want to talk to me is progress.

Preparing for the Interview

As the day of the interview approached, I felt a mix of nerves and excitement. I made sure to prepare adequately and focus entirely on how I would approach the interview. Additionally, Bitcoin hitting $100,000 added a fun historical layer to the day, though it wasn’t the main focus of my thoughts.

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Post-interview, I took a walk to gather my thoughts. Overall, I felt I had performed well, though there were a few hurdles ahead. They would need to check for availability and I had to complete a coding test in C—something I hadn't done in a while.

To ensure success in this test, I planned to dedicate my time to practicing coding exercises online. It's a little nerve-wracking, but I’m ready to tackle any challenge thrown my way.

Conclusion

This week has been a whirlwind of activity, from handling school assignments, networking with professionals, to preparing for my interview. It’s all part of this learning journey from being a newbie to landing an internship and, ultimately, a job in software engineering.