Erica Prenga is currently an Experience Developer at Adobe. Aware that she had a different learning style, she decided to quit college after her fourth year of studying graphic design until she ultimately figured that going to a coding bootcamp was what she wanted to do and how she wanted to learn.
Erica is a Dev Bootcamp graduate and in this episode, she shares how she approached her job hunt differently as well as a couple of negotiating techniques, which people wouldn’t have normally done. Erica is big on having confidence in what you’re capable of doing and understanding your value so you don’t end up selling yourself short.
About:
| Years in Tech | 2 |
| Home Town | Texas |
| Current Job | Experience Engineer |
| Date Recorded | 5/5/2017 |
Show Notes:
[01:38] Erica talks about using their wedding gift to support their transition from Texas to California and a portion of it to pay for the coding bootcamp.
[02:53] What an Experience Developer does on a day-to-day basis and why she finds the agile methodology better than waterfall.
[07:26] Erica discusses tech transfer, how her design background comes handy with building prototypes, and why you need to add coding to your skill set if you’re interested in design.[10:50] Why Erica quit college and what options she took to move forward until running into the idea of a coding bootcamp.
[15:10] Her advice to folks struggling in school, what led her to apply to Dev Bootcamp, and why it’s more than just a bootcamp.
[21:30] Erica’s biggest fear going into Dev Bootcamp, how she compares her bootcamp experience to traditional schooling, and her day-to-day life at Dev Bootcamp.
[27:53] Erica had a unique approach in hunting for jobs (internet stalking involved!) and she shares some effective strategies to help you land a job that you want.
[34:30] How she landed a job at Adobe, how networking actually helped her get a job, and why you have to find non-traditional roots into the position you’re interested in.
[43:36] Negotiation tactics: Erica shares what her greatest motivator was, an insane job offer she got from another company, and a negotiating tactic that ultimately led to a job offer from Adobe.
[53:10] Negotiation tactics: How Erica negotiated her salary and a funny story of how she got her ideal salary.
Contact Info:
Erica Prenga
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/coderica/
Articles & Mentioned Resources:
Learning Resources
Practical Object-Oriented Design in Ruby by Sandi Metz
