I graduated from a software engineering bootcamp almost a year ago, and to say the job search has been brutal would be an understatement. Most of my interactions have been with AI systems, automated rejections, or silence. I’ve only had one real conversation with a human—and honestly, I wasn’t fully prepared for how different that experience would be.
Still, I haven’t let that discourage me.
That’s partly because I already have a career. I’m a musician.
I hold a degree in music from the University of North Texas, and I’ve spent over 20 years performing, teaching, and producing. Music isn’t just something I do—it’s how I think and how I connect with people. And interestingly enough, it’s also what led me to software engineering.
As a musician and producer, I rely heavily on software—tools for recording, editing, mixing, and creating. Over time, I started to see software not just as something I used, but as something I wanted to understand and eventually build. Software engineering became another tool in my toolbox.
And while breaking into the industry has been challenging, learning to code has already paid off in a different way: it’s allowed me to start building something of my own.
A web application inspired directly by my experience as a musician and educator.
One thing I’ve noticed is that many early-stage apps are built by developers trying to solve problems within the world they know—often development itself. And that makes sense. You build from what you understand.
But I think there’s a unique advantage in coming from a completely different background.
You see gaps others don’t.
You understand real-world problems from the inside.
And you’re not just building for the sake of building—you’re building because something is missing.
That’s where my idea comes from.
Now… what is it?
I’m not quite ready to share all the details yet. I will say this: it lives at the intersection of music, education, and fun. It’s something I haven’t seen executed the way I envision it, and it fills a gap in a niche I know deeply.
I’ll share more as development progresses.
But for anyone out there making a career change—especially into software development—this is what I’ve learned so far:
Your past is not separate from your future.
It’s the foundation of it.
The skills, experiences, and insights you’ve built in another field aren’t wasted—they’re your edge. They give you perspective. They give you ideas. They give you something real to build from.
So instead of trying to leave your past behind, use it.
Let it shape what you create next.
Cheers,
Ruben
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