How Jeremy Landed His First Tech Job Before Graduating from TripleTen

During his final year of college, Jeremy Rivera enrolled in the part-time, online Software Engineering bootcamp at TripleTen to learn a new profession. His education made Jeremy so hireable that he landed his first Software Engineering role before graduating from college and the coding bootcamp! Jeremy explains how he balanced college, a full-time job, family commitments and a part-time bootcamp. Plus, find out how TripleTen’s externship experience boosted Jeremy’s confidence in interviews. 

What inspired you to enroll at TripleTen while completing your college degree?

I enrolled in TripleTen while I finished my college degree in communications & media because I saw the market value of being a software engineer or a web developer. A good friend of mine is one of the tutors at TripleTen (which was then called Practicum) and he knew that my previous job in distribution wasn't sustainable in the long term and recommended I check it out. I liked that I got a well-rounded education — I have my technical skills in coding and programming plus my artistic and humanities skills in languages and communication. 

What was the enrollment process like at TripleTen? Did you feel like you had to know basic coding in order to apply?

Not at all. The enrollment process is very simple. You don’t have to have any programming knowledge to get into TripleTen — just a commitment to learning! 

How did you juggle working and going to school while completing the bootcamp?

I worked my distribution job 4-5 days a week. I would leave work, drive to school, go to class at 2:30PM and at 6:30PM, and get home around 10PM before waking up at 3AM to get ready for my job! I managed to fit the bootcamp in the time I would’ve spent binging Netflix or being out every weekend. I was a full-time student getting my degree, a full-time employee, a part-time student at TripleTen, and I’m married. It was tough, but doable. It just came down to time management. 

What did you actually learn in the TripleTen bootcamp?

We predominantly learned JavaScript and React.  TripleTen focused on tailoring my resume and getting me active on LinkedIn. They also encouraged putting my portfolio on Upwork for freelancing work, plus connecting with people word-of-mouth to build my network.

What kinds of projects did you work on in the bootcamp?

I was very active in participating in extracurricular activities at TripleTen. They have competitions and externships, and I made sure to participate in those as much as I could. The externship was for a real company, making a project they could implement and use. With a team of 12 students, we built the front end on an app and built the user experience for that app. 

Especially when you start learning, you need that extra experience away from the rudimentary project-based structure — the hands-on experience at TripleTen was invaluable. 

What were your instructors and tutors like at TripleTen?

The tutors at TripleTen are amazing — everyone was super kind, open, and professional. They are well-versed in the field of software engineering, though they came from different backgrounds. If they didn’t know an answer they were great at debugging to figure it out. It was cool to see people of different backgrounds and strengths because they could resort to each other’s specialties to answer questions.

How did you connect to and collaborate with other TripleTen students?

We connected on Discord where we could discuss topics in open channels and see if our question already got answered. TripleTen also encouraged brainstorming and doing your own research before asking questions, which is an important skill to learn!

Which tech roles did you feel qualified to apply for after graduating?

I applied for everything without even reading the qualifications. I saw it as a numbers game. I started applying early and I actually got a job well before I finished my bachelor's and before I finished TripleTen!

Congratulations on your new Software Engineer job at The Walters Institute! What was the interview process like for you?

I had three interviews and they weren’t as technical as I expected. TripleTen prepared me and I also studied a lot outside of the bootcamp. I was trying to prepare for the interviews with all the technologies I saw because there were a lot of technologies listed in the ad, but I felt pretty familiar with them at a baseline. 

Overall, I wasn’t nervous about the interviews — if I got past the resume clearing I felt confident I could sell myself in the interviews. You either know it or you don't, but if you come across someone who has the resources to find out, then that’s an asset. 

Was The Walters Institute interested in your bootcamp experience?

They wanted to know that I could do the job and that I wouldn't be a liability but an asset. They were interested in the projects I’d worked on at TripleTen. 

What team do you work on? What kinds of projects are you working on now? 

Currently I am the tech team! The Walters Institute is an on-demand tax planning, education, and support platform. I started out by doing a pretty heavy site migration to get it in a stable place. I intend to do further refactoring on the back end. We’re using the CRM and Salesforce, and I’m doing a lot with their data. 

Are you already using what you learned at the bootcamp now on the job? 

Absolutely — I use what I learned at TripleTen every day! TripleTen not only taught me programming but how to think logically about different things. On top of JavaScript and React, I’m learning TypeScript and other React frameworks. 

At this point in your tech career, was TripleTen worth it for you? 

Without a doubt! The structure they provided was crucial to my success. 

Find out more and read TripleTen reviews on Course Report. This article was produced by the Course Report team in partnership with TripleTen.