u/smells_serious wrote (the comment Michael replied to):
I'm a Codesmith graduate that is still looking for my first swe job about 2mos after graduating. Not having a degree is definitely harder for me. People tell me that "it's possible" and to "trust the process" but all those people have degrees lol. I am currently applying to coll
u/michaelnovati replied · ★ FEATURED
Thanks for sharing, that's definitely interesting. And cool that you were a chef!
We have history, you don't like me, but nonetheless, I have some advice given that! I don't think you need a degree to get a job and if you have a strong history in the fine dining industry it would be cool to leverage that to get a job.
I know Toast is hiring a lot of people, generally senior, but like need to hire dozens of people and there could be a path there. Doordash is also hiring a ton of engineers, but they do have a fairly high bar leaning senior. OpenTable is also hiring a ton of people and is also super relevant for how a dining room is run.
Anyways I would double down on that experience. You might have insights into food-adjacent tech companies that can help land that role. I would make a resume that highlights this experience and have a good mini cover letter ready and send it to some recruiters at these companies.