Career Shift: From Photographer & Marketer to Application Engineer
Wed Jan 28 2026
What happens when a side hustle photo business turns into a decade-long marketing career that no longer fits? In this episode, Michael Galo shares his non-linear journey to Nashville Software School (NSS). After feeling "stuck" in marketing and communications, Michael decided to follow the advice of local coffee shop regulars and dive into tech.
Michael discusses the intensity of the six-month Software Development bootcamp, the "fire hose" of learning, and why he chose to immediately specialize further by joining NSS's brand-new Data Engineering program through the ProTech initiative.
01:33 Life Before NSS: A Decade in Photo Production, Marketing & Communications
02:31 The Spark: Too Many Alumni at the Coffee Shop
02:57 Why Software Development?
04:59 Navigating the Bootcamp Challenge: The Capstones
06:52 The Importance of Community and Teamwork
08:01 Specializing with Data Engineering and ProTech
10:41 Deepening Backend Skills and Data Architecture
12:18 Expanding the Job Search Target
14:24 Career Development: Beyond the Resume
16:18 Advice for the Job Search: Stay Connected
18:00 Is Now the Right Time to Invest in Yourself?
20:10 Final Thoughts: Busting Through the Walls
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What happens when a side hustle photo business turns into a decade-long marketing career that no longer fits? In this episode, Michael Galo shares his non-linear journey to Nashville Software School (NSS). After feeling "stuck" in marketing and communications, Michael decided to follow the advice of local coffee shop regulars and dive into tech. Michael discusses the intensity of the six-month Software Development bootcamp, the "fire hose" of learning, and why he chose to immediately specialize further by joining NSS's brand-new Data Engineering program through the ProTech initiative. 01:33 Life Before NSS: A Decade in Photo Production, Marketing & Communications 02:31 The Spark: Too Many Alumni at the Coffee Shop 02:57 Why Software Development? 04:59 Navigating the Bootcamp Challenge: The Capstones 06:52 The Importance of Community and Teamwork 08:01 Specializing with Data Engineering and ProTech 10:41 Deepening Backend Skills and Data Architecture 12:18 Expanding the Job Search Target 14:24 Career Development: Beyond the Resume 16:18 Advice for the Job Search: Stay Connected 18:00 Is Now the Right Time to Invest in Yourself? 20:10 Final Thoughts: Busting Through the Walls