The Career Change Podcast with Fexingo: Switching Fields, Bootcamps, and Reskilling

Lucas and Luna break down exactly how coding bootcamp graduates can land their first tech internship in 2026. They walk through a concrete case: a career changer named Priya who went from retail management to a summer internship at a mid-size SaaS company in Austin. The hosts discuss three practical strategies: targeting internships at companies that specifically hire bootcamp grads, building a po...

Episode 56 of The Career Change Podcast. Lucas and Luna explore how coding bootcamp graduates can pivot into data engineering roles, focusing on the specific skills, portfolio projects, and interview strategies that make candidates stand out. They break down the difference between data engineering and data science, the key tools — Spark, Airflow, dbt — and how to build a project using the NYC Taxi...

In this episode of The Career Change Podcast, Lucas and Luna dive into the art of the take-home coding challenge — a common gatekeeper for bootcamp grads entering tech. They dissect a real-world case from a mid-sized SaaS company where a candidate's thoughtful README and test coverage beat flashy algorithmic solutions. Lucas shares a four-step framework for structuring your approach: read the spec...

Episode 54 of The Career Change Podcast breaks down salary negotiation for coding bootcamp graduates. Lucas and Luna walk through the data: a 2025 survey of 1,200 bootcamp alumni found that only 34% negotiated their first offer, but those who did earned an average of $12,500 more per year. They explain why bootcamp grads often hesitate, how to research market rates using tools like Levels.fyi and...

We explore a specific strategy for bootcamp students to land a tech job before they even graduate: leveraging the last month of the program for targeted, high-intensity applications. Lucas and Luna break down the approach used by a successful bootcamp grad named Marcus Chen, who applied to 40 companies in 3 weeks using a 'no-frills portfolio' and a scripted cold-message sequence on LinkedIn. They...

Episode 52 of The Career Change Podcast tackles the system design interview — the most feared round for bootcamp grads aiming for senior or mid-level roles at top tech companies. Lucas and Luna break down why this interview isn't about memorizing distributed systems theory, but about structured thinking and trade-off communication. They walk through a concrete example: designing a URL shortener li...

Lucas and Luna break down what a whiteboard coding interview actually tests—and it's not just code. Drawing on 2026 hiring data from Google, Meta, and Stripe, they reveal that communication and process matter more than the right answer. Lucas shares a specific three-phase framework (Clarify, Plan, Execute) that bootcamp grads can use to structure their approach, and they discuss how to handle nerv...

Episode 50 of The Career Change Podcast explores how coding bootcamp graduates can transition into teaching roles online. Lucas and Luna discuss the growing demand for coding instructors on platforms like Coursera, Udemy, and Codecademy. They break down the specific skills bootcamp grads already have that transfer well to teaching—like breaking down complex concepts and providing feedback. The epi...

Many bootcamp graduates focus on coding challenges but overlook technical writing—a skill that can make or break their job applications. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore how clear documentation, API guides, and README files demonstrate communication skills that employers value. They discuss the rise of technical writing assessments at companies like Stripe and Dropbox, share tips for struct...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna dive into the shifting landscape of remote work for bootcamp graduates in mid-2026. They break down a recent study by FlexJobs showing that tech roles now account for 42% of all verified remote job listings, up from 37% in 2024. The hosts discuss why the 'remote-first' wave is different this time—companies are not just allowing remote work but actively recruiting fo...

Episode 47 of The Career Change Podcast explores a path often overlooked by bootcamp grads: nonprofits. Lucas and Luna break down why mission-driven organizations are increasingly hungry for tech talent, using data from the 2025 Nonprofit Tech Impact Report. They discuss how to find the right org, what these interviews look like versus for-profit roles, and how to frame your portfolio around impac...

In this episode of The Career Change Podcast, Lucas and Luna break down the single most effective strategy bootcamp graduates can use to stand out in a crowded job market: building a compelling GitHub portfolio. They walk through three concrete steps — picking one problem domain, writing documentation that tells a story, and making one meaningful open source contribution per month. Lucas cites dat...

In this episode of The Career Change Podcast, Lucas and Luna explore how bootcamp graduates can leverage the gig economy to build experience, earn income, and land full-time roles. They focus on a specific case: a bootcamp grad who used Upwork and Fiverr to secure a contract with a mid-size tech company that later turned into a permanent offer. The hosts discuss practical strategies like niching d...

Episode 44 of The Career Change Podcast explores how coding bootcamp graduates can successfully transition into product management roles. Lucas and Luna break down the specific skills PMs need—from customer discovery to prioritization frameworks—and discuss why bootcamp grads' combination of technical literacy and career experience is a hidden advantage. They walk through a concrete case: how a fo...

Getting an interview at a FAANG company like Amazon is the dream for many bootcamp graduates, but the process is famously demanding. In this episode of The Career Change Podcast, Lucas and Luna break down the specific strategies that bootcamp grads can use to prepare for Amazon's technical and behavioral interviews. They discuss how to leverage bootcamp projects to demonstrate leadership principle...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna drill into one specific question: why do so many bootcamp grads build portfolio projects that hiring managers ignore? They walk through the difference between a 'tutorial project' and a 'demonstration project', using a real case: a career-changer named Priya who built a volunteer-schedule app for her local food bank and got three interviews. They break down the four...

In this episode of The Career Change Podcast, Lucas and Luna dive into practical strategies for bootcamp graduates to build a personal brand on LinkedIn. They discuss a specific case: a bootcamp grad who pivoted from retail management into a product analyst role at a mid-size SaaS company by consistently posting about her learning journey. The hosts share actionable tips like posting code snippets...

Episode 40 tackles how coding bootcamp graduates can pivot into cybersecurity, a field that's booming but notoriously opaque about entry points. Lucas and Luna break down the specific roles that don't require a security background—think vulnerability triage, GRC analysis, and security operations center (SOC) work. They walk through the key certifications (Security+, CySA+), the importance of build...

Episode 39 of The Career Change Podcast explores a surprising but stable path for bootcamp graduates: government tech roles. Lucas and Luna break down the U.S. Digital Service and 18F models, discuss why agencies are hiring coders without degrees, and walk through the concrete steps to find and land these positions. They cover the unique hiring process, the culture shift from startups, and how to...

Episode 38 of The Career Change Podcast tackles a common fear for bootcamp graduates: that breaking into artificial intelligence requires an advanced math degree. Lucas and Luna dispel that myth with a concrete case study — a former English major who completed a six-month full-stack bootcamp in 2024 and now works as an AI prompt engineer at a mid-sized marketing tech firm. They unpack the specific...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna discuss how bootcamp graduates can create portfolio websites that actually help them land tech jobs. They break down the anatomy of a high-impact portfolio: specific project descriptions over generic 'I built an app' claims, the importance of live demos and case studies, and why a clean design with measurable results beats flashy animations. They share a real exampl...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna dive into how bootcamp graduates can break into the fintech industry. They discuss the specific skills that fintech companies value beyond coding, such as regulatory knowledge, data privacy, and UX design. Using the example of Stripe’s hiring practices and the rise of embedded finance, they explore how bootcamp grads can position themselves for roles in payments, le...

In Episode 35 of The Career Change Podcast, Lucas and Luna explore a specific and often overlooked path for bootcamp graduates: landing a job at an early-stage startup. They break down why startups are a natural fit for career changers—less rigid credentialism, faster hiring cycles, more hands-on work—and offer a concrete playbook. Lucas cites data from a 2025 LinkedIn analysis showing that 43% of...

Episode 34 of The Career Change Podcast tackles the number-one struggle for bootcamp graduates who didn't go the traditional college route: building a professional network from zero. Lucas and Luna break down why sending cold DMs on LinkedIn usually fails, and share a specific, repeatable strategy called the 'Value-First Introduction.' They walk through a real example using a junior data analyst n...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna tackle a topic many bootcamp grads dread: salary negotiation. Drawing on data from the 2025 Stack Overflow Developer Survey and real-world examples from companies like Buffer and GitLab, they explain why bootcamp grads often leave money on the table — and how to avoid it. Lucas breaks down the concept of 'compensation anchoring' and shares a specific tactic: using s...