I also came into tech from a non-traditional background and I struggled at the beginning to get my foot in the door. I studied math and econ in school, and even though my passion was writing software, it was hard to start applying without any projects or connections in the field.

To find a job, I spent money on a coding bootcamp post-graduation from college. This seemed like the only option at the time. If there was something like this at the time, I would have rather have gone that route instead.