From Software + SEO To Building Apps At Oracle

Imagine graduating from College and almost immediately getting a job at a Fortune 500 company. And not just any company either, but the 3rd largest software company in the world… that’s no small feat.

So when a student of ours shared this exact same success over on our private Discord server, I just knew that I had to reach out and learn exactly what happened.

This is their story…

Meet Mann (aka the man himself)

My name is Mann Jaiswal and I am a recent graduate from Grand Canyon University with a BS in Software Development.

What do you do?

I am a Software Developer who recently accepted a job offer as an Application Developer 1 (Entry Level) with Oracle, a Fortune 500 company that focuses on Cloud platform services and applications.

What did you do before you got your new job?

I worked in a Software Developer role during college, for an SEO company known as NPAccel. If you don’t know them, they are the SEO arm of Neil Patel’s digital marketing agency.

Editor’s Note: Neil is HUGE in the marketing world.

I started as an intern with no prior experience in SEO and worked my way up until I was offered employment. I then worked on some coding projects for tools, but I also helped to work on various Content Management Systems for the agency client's websites.

Often the clients don’t have anyone on staff to implement things, or they use pre-built themes that need changing. This could be as simple as optimizing images, SEO tags, meta desc, improving titles and modifying blog posts, or actually having to code and edit the front-end changes.

Why did you want to join Zero To Mastery?

I love self-improvement and I always wondered if I could do better than I was at the time. I would see these people working at big tech etc, and I wanted that to be me.

I knew I had some knowledge gaps to close first, but I was certain I could get there if I stuck to it.

Editor’s Note: We wrote all about long-term goal setting and more in this guide here.

What was your learning experience like?

I think when you’re learning anything new, you’re always going to have problems and difficulties, but the key is to embrace them.

Thanks to the support in the Discord server, and chatting with previous students from the courses I was taking, I got through any issue easily enough.

How was the job interview?

Once I worked through ZTM’s training and interview guides, I had enough confidence to apply and then sit the technical interview with Oracle.

Most of the questions were SQL / JavaScript / HTML / CSS and Linux related, which I had covered so it wasn’t too bad. I’m guessing I made a good impression as I heard the great news the very next day after I interviewed!

Now that you have your new position, how do you feel?

I feel blessed! Not only is it a great job, but I achieved my goal and I’m working in an area that I’m passionate about.

Don’t get me wrong, it was a struggle at times, but I believed in myself because I saw that other people just like me had done the same.

My new goal? It’s to continue to skill up and gain as much experience as possible and then apply for leadership positions at Oracle in the Software Development field.

Is there a big difference in earnings in this new role from what you made before?

Yes, I went from making $15 an hour at my previous job to making a salary of $75K base with a 12% bonus and stock options, and many more benefits.

I will also get to travel to different states and work at different office locations 😀

Editor's note: If we assume a 40-hour week, then Mann just jumped from $15 an hour to $39+, not including any benefits and bonuses. Not bad right!?

Do YOU want to start learning to code?

If you’re like Mann and are looking to fill any knowledge gaps to skill up in your current role, transition to a new career, or even just get started learning to code, then you can check out the multiple courses we have here at ZTM. We have a whole selection ranging from coding, design, cyber security, ethical hacking, blockchain, and much more, as well as advanced advice on how to get hired, even without a degree!

Or if you’re not sure where to start, check out our custom career path quiz for some advice on where to start.