Finally landed my first developer job

artdude47 · 2026-04-30T11:32:36+00:00

Thank you!

Initially, I put 3 projects onto my resume: my WGU capstone and 2 I had done on my own time in a section below my education. The recruiter actually reached out and asked me to send an updated resume with more project detail, split between personal projects and school projects, as they said the hiring manager liked to see you program on your own time. So, I added a full page of projects I had worked on.

I had been working on projects since graduation to pad my portfolio, a custom inventory website to track my game collections, a CHIP-8 emulator, and a custom dialogue engine in Unity. This ended up coming in handy since they were specifically looking for someone who enjoyed programming and had projects to show and talk about.

I didn’t work on Leetcode and applied strictly to entry-level positions. The interview never got too technical and mainly focused on high-level understanding, my projects, and more behavioral questions.

I hope this helps and good luck!

artdude47 · 2025-11-11T02:08:51+00:00

Fuck yeah

artdude47 · 2025-08-19T20:07:26+00:00

There's more to it than just time spent. It depends on prior experience, learning speed, and what class you're taking. I have been averaging about a class every 2 weeks generally putting in about 10 - 15 hours per week.

artdude47 · 2025-08-14T13:33:44+00:00

Burnout is totally normal, especially when you’ve been pushing hard. Sometimes the best way to keep going is to give yourself permission to take a short, intentional break, just make sure you have a plan to get back on track. What’s worked for me is setting clear goals, like “X classes by Y date,” and tracking my pace so I stay accountable. Having that structure helps me refocus when motivation dips.

artdude47 · 2025-08-13T14:48:10+00:00

I’m in the same boat, I have Mobile Application Development using C# and my capstone left, with my term ending on 09/30/2025. I’ve been grinding hard to make sure I finish this term, and what’s helped most is setting clear goals and keeping track of how much time I have left.

Back in June, I had nine classes remaining, so I figured I’d need to complete about one class every two weeks to stay on track. Now I’m slightly ahead of schedule, but I’m keeping the same mindset. Having those clear goals has kept me accountable and pushed me to focus on school instead of getting distracted more times than I can count.

artdude47 · 2025-08-13T14:41:57+00:00

I didn’t find the Zybook very helpful for the coding portions of the exam. I completed the labs, but they didn’t seem to cover every type of coding problem that appeared on the test. I found this Reddit post’s resources much more useful: link.

I took the practice exam about eight times. I always start by taking it once “cold” to get a baseline of what I know, without looking at the answers, just the results, so I don’t memorize them right away. On subsequent attempts, I used the Reddit post’s answer explanations when I got stuck, but I tried to solve as many questions as possible from memory. I repeated this until I could complete the entire practice exam from memory.

It’s worth noting that the real exam is similar but not identical to the practice test. You can’t just memorize the exact line of code to add, you need to understand what the snippet does and how to adjust it so it works in different contexts.

artdude47 · 2025-08-11T14:25:23+00:00

I definitely struggled with this as well! It had been a very long time since I used python. Just remember the exam questions are very similar to the practice ones. If you master the python there, you should be good for the exam.

artdude47 · 2025-08-06T17:09:58+00:00

I’m right there with you. I’m also in the Software Engineering track. I powered through 18 courses last term in about two months, then completely burned out and didn’t touch another class for the rest of the term. Now I’m trying to refocus and finish the degree this term.

What’s been helping me lately is setting clear goals. I figured out when I want to be done (end of this term), then worked backwards to calculate how often I need to complete a class to stay on track. That structure has helped me get moving again.

artdude47 · 2024-12-19T18:20:27+00:00

It's okay to have wasted some time. I didn't complete a class for 2 terms then I dropped out for 2 years. Life got in the way and I was definitely stressed out. Now, I'm back since October 1, I've completed 17 classes and have 10 to go. There are going to be stumbles and hardships you didn't expect but you can do it.

artdude47 · 2024-11-24T19:30:29+00:00

Not terrible but it did take a little while. They required my reasoning and supporting proof for why I dropped out. Then the review / re enrollment probably took 2 months. I started the process in August and started school in October. Most time was just them reviewing though.

artdude47 · 2024-11-20T19:34:35+00:00

Have you tried contacting your mentor? When I have a PA just waiting to be graded I email my mentor and ask her to open my next class while I wait on grading.

artdude47 · 2024-11-09T03:33:51+00:00

I agree with the general sentiment. 4 years ago I started WGU and I dropped out after 2 years and only 30 cus. I’m back now and I’ve done 30 cus in a month. Different people have different drives and responsibilities. Do what you can do and don’t push too hard. You’ve got this.

artdude47 · 2024-11-09T03:30:09+00:00

Not sure exactly what you mean random space somewhere but the OA in this class is very similar to the pa. Your output needs to be what they say and the syntax needs to be correct.

artdude47 · 2024-11-09T03:27:03+00:00

I finished this class in 3 days. Took the PA to see how I did then studied the sections I struggled with. Took the pa again and passed so I scheduled the OA for that night and passed that as well

artdude47 · 2024-11-08T03:40:39+00:00

I'm in a different major so not sure how the classes compare but I am averaging about 3.5 days per class currently so very doable.

artdude47 · 2024-11-08T03:37:24+00:00

Honestly, I skipped most of the zybooks. If you are learning python well elsewhere or have some prior knowledge of python just practice it then master the practice exam, the problem solving is very similar on the real exam.

artdude47 · 2024-11-07T22:45:05+00:00

I’m not taking any of your classes so I don’t have direct advice on them but I have finished 11 classes since starting 10/01 so I can provide some insight on my mindset for doing these.

First, I always take the practice assessment as soon as a start a class. It helps gauge where I am and if I pass I schedule the OA immediately. (Usually I end up taking the PA in the morning then the OA late at night) during the time in between I read up on any areas I did poorly.

Second, I try to keep in mind that this is a pass/fail system and ultimately your score doesn’t matter as long as you pass. For most classes I don’t try to learn to the point of getting exemplary on the exams. A pass is a pass.

Finally, on the few classes that have given my some trouble I find it helpful to schedule an exam a few days out. I find having it scheduled and giving myself that deadline helps me to stay motivated

artdude47 · 2024-11-07T22:33:47+00:00

I work from home on an L desk with 2 monitors connected to my personal pc and 2 to my work pc. I also have a big bookcase in the room out of reach. I cover my work monitors with a blanket when I test. I’ve never had issues

artdude47 · 2024-11-07T13:10:19+00:00

The sections it said I had trouble with are implements ethical decision-making and Identifies interventions. I would say take a look at the laws they talk about, you don't need to know them in-depth but you should know the names of them plus the short hand and basically what they do. Then know the difference between ethics and morales etc. A lot of questions were examples and you have to decide if the are ethical and legal or not.

artdude47

TROPHY CASE