Caroline graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Mathematics and Computer Science from Eckerd College in Florida this May. Before starting a software development job, she wanted to undergo further training to get an understanding of the practical side of coding.
That’s why she joined Wiley Edge's Alumni Graduate Program, and is now working at a multi-national healthcare company as a software developer. We caught up with her to find out how she found the experience and what she’s been up to in the first few months of her job.
"I graduated college in May from a small liberal arts school in Florida. My aunt suggested I take up a computer science class and so I did. I fell in love with it and decided to major in it. When I graduated, I didn't know what I wanted to do. Then I stumbled across Wiley Edge and I really liked what they had to offer.
As I went to a small liberal arts school, I was one of only two graduating computer science majors and so our classes were very general. I didn’t feel completely prepared to jump into a job and so I was looking for a place where they were going to train me - that’s what made Wiley Edge stand out to me."
"I had already done Java so the training was more to refresh my memory but what I found really interesting was the fact that it was a practical review. The instructors showed us how to use Java in a workplace.
I had only written small projects before starting the training but joining Wiley Edge meant I was able to do a large project from start to finish. And now that’s exactly what we do in my job, so the training has been really useful.
College gave me a general overview of Computer Science, whereas the training taught me how to code in the real world."
"Working at home means you can get easily distracted so definitely pay attention and take full advantage of what the course is giving you. Even if it's something that you think you already know, still make the effort to learn it. I learned a lot, even in the areas that I thought I already knew."
"Before this I had never had a ‘real’ job, I was coaching sailing, which I got through people I knew so I had never interviewed before.
I was very nervous for my interview but Maxim from Wiley Edge was super helpful. In the time span of two days, I think I called him six times! He went over a list of interview questions with me and took the time to talk it all through with me and helped me realise this isn’t scary. We also did mock interviews and so I felt very prepared.
He also followed up with me after the interview to make sure everything went well. I don't think I would’ve been as calm and collected as I was during the interview if it wasn’t for Maxim’s help."
