Graduated in 2016 with a major in Music Business. Principal instrument: drums.
Position: Software engineer at TRED, a tech startup that facilitates the sale of used cars between individuals, bypassing dealerships — and thus getting the seller a better price — while eliminating the risk and hassle involved in the transaction. The most junior employee on the 8-person team, Scott focuses on internally-used features. Though at his small company, engineers are expected to handle every aspect of the development process, including design and quality assurance.
Overview: After finishing Berklee in August, 2016, Scott moved to Nashville and rented a house with his bandmates, also recent Berklee grads. He worked as a valet during the day for money and the band gave it a go, but after several months the band broke up. A new housemate worked for ASCAP, and Scott wanted to put his Music Business degree to use, so through that connection he got a job as a licensing associate — effectively a sales job. After several months, he was able to work from home. Scott missed Seattle, where he was from, so after one year in Nashville Scott moved to Seattle, still working remotely for ASCAP. Scott found his job not very challenging, and wanted to work at a fast-moving startup. He looked at job listings, and after a few months in Seattle found a listing for a sales job at TRED. Always passionate about cars, he found the job very attractive, applied, and was hired. After several months, he received a minor promotion from sales to transaction management — essentially facilitating the last stage of the sale.
In the transaction management role, Scott would correspond with the developers regarding how to improve the software and what features would help, and he decided he might want to move into a tech role. During the spring of 2018 he’d get up at 5:30 am and spend 60-90 minutes coding, taking advantage of Free Code Camp and Codecademy., determining what this was what he wanted to do. Unable to go to U-Washington because he already had a Bachelors degree, Scott left his job at TRED in July, 2018 to do an intense, remote, 9-month program at Lambda School, attracted to their guarantee that you didn’t pay a cent of tuition until you got a well-paying job. While in this 9-months program, Scott kept in touch with TRED. Most of the way through his program, they gave him a tech internship. As his program was nearly done and he was interviewing with other employers, Scott made it clear that he needed to earn a salary and TRED hired him into his current job.
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You can see Scott’s LinkedIn profile here.
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Choice Quotes: “Software engineering is as as creative as playing an instrument. I like having the power at my fingertips to build what I want. I also like the lifestyle that comes with being a software engineer — no dress code. Also, I’m introverted. I did fine in sales, but that job took a lot out of me — this role suits me better.”
“Berklee prepared me better for my career than a traditional school. One of the biggest things Berklee taught me was work ethic and determination. Seeing people grind in the practice rooms for 10 hours/day inspired me a lot. I took that dedication to heart in all aspects of life.”
“If you’re thinking about a software engineering career, try it out and see if you like it. It sounds almost too good to be true to get a good job after only 9 months of school, but it’s a ton of work — more intense than Berklee! Also, to succeed in it, you’ve got to like it. Start with the free stuff. I chose Lambda for the structure, but it’s out there for free. You can learn it, but it’s like learning instruments, though. you have to go at it hard every day, not just noodle around once or twice a week.”
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See the full index of successful Berklee alumni.