Approaching a Career Change with a Growth Mindset
Approaching a Career Change with a Growth Mindset
Lambda School is a unique online coding program built for students ready to commit to a career in tech. We’re not a bootcamp, and we’re not a university degree program. Our curriculum was created in collaboration with hiring managers across the tech industry, and our deferred tuition model means we’re invested in your success. Your goals and our goals are one and the same: to help you get a job you love.
Our courses in data science and web development can prepare you for any number of careers in the tech industry. Graduates in our H1 2019 cohort were hired by over 150 employers in more than 30 states, including at companies like eBay, Amazon, Capital One, and Blue Cross Blue Shield. Lambda School alumni work within a broad spectrum of industries, from financial services and healthcare to retail, logistics, and technology. And they’re making good money, too. The median average salary of H1 2019 graduates was $70,000, with 20% reporting a salary of more than $100,000. The most important thing to remember, though, is that behind all these numbers are real people who successfully made a change into a fulfilling, high-paying career path.
As a graduate of Lambda School, you’ll be able to tap into the ongoing support of our community of entrepreneurs and tech leaders. And with a well-rounded software engineering education, you’ll have a wide range of job opportunities available to you.
Web developers are the architects of a website. They build the guts of the site — the data, scripts, files, and programming required to make it function. Think of it like the foundation of a home, from wall framing to the furnace and plumbing. Web developers are also in charge of the home’s facade — the engaging front-facing page that attracts potential buyers, or in this case, customers. It’s a complex field of work that requires collaboration and integration across a variety of teams.
From entry level web developer jobs to mid-career and beyond, tons of opportunities exist in the tech world for those who are dedicated to finding a fulfilling tech career. Here are the three main roles that come together to produce a website:
Back-End Developer
Back-end developers take on the behind-the-scenes work to ensure that a website functions properly. In this role, you might build an algorithm that powers your product, write code that processes transactions, or work with a data scientist to create a new database. Skills you’ll need for the job include framework utilization, database management, and programming languages like Python, Java, and SQL. It’s not a showy job, and it may not earn you accolades from your non-developer friends… but the back-end engineering work — your home’s “good bones,” if you will — is foundational to a great website or app.
Front-End Developer
When you visit any website — whether on mobile or desktop — you’re interacting with its “front end” (i.e. the visual, consumer-facing part of the site). Front-end developers prioritize the user experience, thinking through and facilitating every behavior someone might take on a website. Navigation menus, images, button clicks, text layout, and forms all fall under your domain. Because front-end developers work on the visible elements of web pages, they often need to interact more directly with product designers, user experience designers, clients, and customer-facing teams.
Full-Stack Developer
In the world of web developer jobs, full-stack developers get the best of both worlds. These versatile engineers maintain both the front-end and back-end of a website, doing everything from database maintenance to creating functional, aesthetically-appealing web pages. If you like variety and consider yourself a jack-of-all-trades, this might be the path for you.
Aside from these core functions, there are plenty of other tech roles to consider in your search, like mobile web developer, machine learning engineer, or data scientist. Our graduates have found their niche across all of these positions and more.
Once you’ve built the skills needed for a career in tech (ahem, we can help with that!), it’s time to begin your search. A high volume of jobs are based in large cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York at companies of all sizes. But if you don’t live in a major city — and have no intention of moving — fear not! Tech jobs can be found in both the public and private sector in all kinds of cities. And given that engineering work primarily happens via platforms in the cloud, many of these positions can also be done as remote web developer jobs. Just make sure to hone in your search at companies open to work-from-home.
In addition to general job boards like Indeed, LinkedIn, and Google Careers, there are a handful of tech-specific sites where you can search for both advanced and entry level web developer jobs. When you’re ready to begin your search, we recommend you get familiar with these popular job sites:
Keep in mind, though, that job boards aren’t the only place to search for your next role. If you’re wondering where to look for web developer jobs, a good place to start is within your own network. Technology touches nearly every industry in today’s workforce, so chances are good that there’s someone in your network who can help connect you to the right people. Don’t underestimate the role of your community in broadening your search.
And if you’re part of the Lambda School community, you’ll have a leg up! Our program offers students professional development opportunities with mentors and career coaches, and even connects you with hiring managers within our network.
Remote web developer jobs are becoming increasingly common, so why not remote learning? Online programs through Lambda School happen in real-time, with live, interactive classes in data science and engineering. Our student body represents all 50 states and a diverse set of backgrounds, interests, and career goals.
The Lambda School curriculum prepares students for a variety of careers in tech, with hands-on experience, real projects to bolster your portfolio, and academic theory at its core. Check out our most recent Outcomes Report or read testimonials from real Lambda students to see where you could be a year from now.
