Why you should buy me lunch :-)

I received an email today from a guy in Winston Salem N.C.  who is learning how to code.

So what?

I loved his outside the box thinking!  He asked me if he could buy me lunch and "pick my brain".  Mind you he will have to drive 100 miles EACH WAY!!!  I've had this happen before, I had someone drive over 150 miles to buy me coffee at Starbucks :-)

Why do I tell you this...to brag?  no.

Coding bootcamps are churning out fresh new coders everyday, thousands and thousands of new coders every year.  Coding bootcamps are the solution to getting a job...except they're not.  Bootcamps are having a harder and harder time getting they're students hired, I receive many emails that tell a similar sad story.

Attend bootcamp >> land job >> 3 months later laid off

There are only so many junior level jobs on the market at any one time.  There is a glut of bootcamp grads these days.  Also the entry level skills required to land an entry level dev job are becoming harder thanks to Javascript usage growing everywhere.

I have some good news, there will always be jobs for people who know where to look, and who think outside the box.  What do I mean by this?

College was a great way to get a high paying job back in the 70's - 90's 
Bootcamps were an amazing way to get a junior dev job 2013 - early 2015

There is a new way to break into the tech field that I have touched on before, but the point is - there will always be jobs for people who don't follow what everyone else is doing.  If you wait until everyone is doing something you are too late.

The best way to predict your future is to create it! When I was shoeing horses for a living I used that to my advantage to stand out from the crowd with my unique story.  I needed help with coding but couldn't afford to go to a coding bootcamp, I met David Bock ( a very senior Rail developer ) for coffee, I had to drive 1 hour and 30 minutes to meet him.

Meeting with David helped me learn about the tech industry, and helped me meet people I didn't know. That relationship eventually helped me land my first tech job as a junior developer.  I am constantly emailed and asked by people to give them personalized private coaching for free.  Most of these people have not paid $10 for my book or course, they simply want my help for free with absolutely ZERO effort on there part.

That's what 90% of people ask who email me. 

Guess what I say when someone offers to drive 100 miles and buy me lunch???  YES!  I love helping people, I just can't personally help every single person do to the number of emails I receive.

I have 2 final thoughts:

Be different, think outside the box - don't do what everyone else is doing.
Buy me lunch :-)  Think about it $10 - $15 to hang out and get my personalized advice for 45 - 50 minutes is a deal.  It's the cheapest coaching program ever, if you ever are in the Raleigh area, feel free to reach out to me and I'll do my best to help you!