This book is for informational purposes only. Except when an external source is cited, everything in the book is the author’s opinion. The author makes no guarantee about the correctness or accuracy of any content in this book. Furthermore, you may disagree with and/or find certain content offensive.
Read at your own risk. Do not continue reading if you do not accept full responsibility for all actions you take as a result of reading this book. The author is not liable for any damages including, but not limited to, academic failures, career path mistakes, financial loss, feeling upset, and physical/mental injury.
My real name is not Luis Marksson. I write under a pseudonym because I don’t want to be publicly known. I grew up in the United States and completed an undergraduate program in computer science not too long ago. Today, I work a full-time software job and I’d say I’m well-off. Overall, I’m happy with how my career has played out.
Did I get here through hard work? Absolutely. If I hadn’t worked hard, I wouldn’t be where I am today. Did I get here solely through hard work? Absolutely not. I got to where I am because I had strong mentorship growing up and where there were gaps, I got lucky and correctly filled them in on my own.
I had strong mentorship through grade school that made my college academics a cakewalk; more importantly, I filled in a major gap on my own: the lack of big-picture advice in college. I attended college to get a software job when I graduated and yet, how many employees at a university can speak from experience about getting a software engineering job? Close to zero. Your professors have PhDs and focus on research. Your career counselors didn’t even study computer science. The best advice you get is from older peers, who often don’t know much better than you.
Your university dumps a bunch of resources on the table: courses, career fairs, summer research, academic advisors, extracurriculars, peers, networking events, and so on. It’s up to you to assemble something. Some people build remarkable careers and others fizzle out.
In recent years, I assisted people navigating the computer science major and it became clear that many people miss the same big-picture concepts and lose direction. Here’s an example of a common issue: “I’ve applied to a bajillion internship positions online and didn’t even get an interview.” The solution is to quit wasting time applying online and connect with recruiters directly. Everyone keeps making the same mistakes and learning the same costly lessons. Don’t waste your valuable time in college learning from silly errors you can avoid by reading this book.
I wrote this book to illuminate a smooth, direct path towards getting a computer science degree and a solid software job. I get it: software engineering pays ridiculously well and making six figures right out of college appeals to a lot of you. Everyone is born capable of getting that well-paying software job. Some people give up or settle for less than their true potential because they didn’t get the right guidance. Let me help you on your journey by filling in that missing mentorship.