How to Program with Java Podcast · Trevor Page: Java Guru | Programmer | Teacher

From Struggling University Comp Sci Grad to Employed Coder - Tony Edmonds

March 28, 2024·1 hr 4 min·4 clips

The advice was simple: find companies on LinkedIn or Google and email them your CV directly.

1. How to Program with Java Podcast episode 63 centers on Tony Edmonds' path from university computer science to employed coder. 2. Host Trevor explains the topic, and Tony Edmonds is the guest because he went through computer science study, travel, boot camp, and a job search. 3. The episode asks whether a bachelor's degree alone can prepare someone for a software job, and the answer is tested through Tony's own search for work. 4. Tony says he studied computer science at a university, traveled while studying online, and worked hospitality, brand ambassading, and teaching English online. 5. He describes being in Mexico when he found Trevor's YouTube videos and deciding they were helpful for learning Java and full-stack development. 6. Tony says meeting digital nomads in Latin America made remote programming look like a “superpower” and motivated his career direction. 7. He defines a digital nomad as someone who works primarily remote and can do the job from anywhere without employer location restrictions. 8. Tony says he was more of a hardware person before coding, working with car audio and fixing electronics, but he still had to learn the software side from scratch. 9. Trevor argues that many people overestimate the value of credentials, and Tony agrees that a bachelor's degree did not make him ready for the real world. 10. Tony says a mentor and IT guru pointed him toward a college degree, but he now thinks he could have gone straight to a boot camp. 11. Trevor says university can still be worth it for age, affordability, and personal growth, while Tony says he does not regret his degree. 12. Tony says university taught him some database theory and operating-system material, but not how to build a full-stack application. 13. Trevor compares that gap to learning separate tools without ever assembling them into one working system. 14. Tony says he found Trevor's Java and React material on YouTube while trying to build a full-stack app from an idea he wanted to materialize. 15. Tony says the boot camp remained challenging even after university because he had to work with frameworks, an ORM, and database integration. 16. He says Mia Share financing made the boot camp possible, and Trevor notes that income-share agreements align the school's incentives with student outcomes. 17. Tony says his job search started with “spray and pray,” a phrase he links to David Roberts from Crushing Digital. 18. He says he paused the search after graduating in July, resumed with a fresh mentality in Spain, and then used a more deliberate process from about October or November onward. 19. Trevor and Tony discuss how the episode mixes practical job-search tactics with travel, remote work, and the difference between theory and workplace readiness. 20. Listeners looking for Java boot camp, remote work, and first-job strategies should get value from this episode. 21. Listeners expecting deep theory, advanced algorithms, or a purely technical lesson may skip it.

As heard by us

A blunt, practical look at why credentials alone do not get job hunters through the door.

Tony Edmonds' story starts with a familiar irritation: he did the standard thing, finished a four-year bachelor's degree in computer science, and still did not feel job ready at the end of it.

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Why you'd press play

For when you have the degree, the skills, and still feel stuck outside the door.

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