Ep 4 - How To Become A Software Engineer with Victor Bolofinde

This week we chat with Victor Bolofinde, a Senior Software Engineer specializing in big data infrastructure and engineering. He has been at Apple since 2022, he previously excelled at Marqeta and Visa, significantly contributing to software and infrastructure initiatives. Beginning at Osprey Zenith in Nigeria, he brings a rich Java and Spark focused background optimizing Hadoop and AWS environments. Resources: Educative.io - https://www.educative.io/ AlgoMonster - https://algo.monster/ Follow me guys: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/juwonthetechie/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/JuwonTheTechie Threads: https://www.threads.net/@juwonthetechie IG: https://www.instagram.com/juwonthetechie/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juwon-io/ Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@juwonthetechie CHAPTERS Intro - 0:00 Who is Victor Bolofinde? - 0:36 Why Tech? - 1:59 App Dev.t and Data Engineering - 4:50 From Nigeria to the U.S - 8:20 Overcoming the Learning Curve - 10:55 Resources - 14:11 Job Application Process - 16:40 The Importance of the First Role - 25:31 Doing It Without a Degree - 27:58 Salary Progression - 30:39 Salary Negotiation Strategies - 35:43 Importance of Certs - 38:13 Most Valuable Lesson - 40:35 Answering Technical Interview Questions - 42:24 Work Life Balance - 45:44 How to Build Portfolios - 47:40 How to Learn AWS and Spark - 48:51 Biggest Mistake - 51:01 Adapting to a Rapidly Changing Industry - 54:34 Starting All Over Again - 56:16 Conclusion - 1:01:57