Latest / The Career Change Podcast with Fexingo: Switching Fields, Bootcamps, and Reskilling / How Bootcamp Grads Can Land Jobs in Fintech
Transcript
- Lucas: You know the phrase 'follow the money,' Luna? In tech hiring right now, following the money means following fintech. Luna: That tracks. Fintech is basically the biggest consumer of developer talent outside of big tech itself. But there's a catch for bootcamp grads, isn't there? Lucas: Big catch. Fintech companies are notoriously picky about backgrounds. They love candidates from top CS programs or with prior banking experience. But here's the thing — the industry is growing so fast that they're starting to open the door to bootcamp grads who have the right specific skills. Luna: Right, because there just aren't enough traditional engineers to fill all the roles. So what's the 'right specific skill' they're looking for? Lucas: Let's start with the most obvious one: understanding payment rails. Not just knowing what Stripe or Square does on the surface, but actually digging into how money moves through those systems. If a bootcamp grad can build a simple payment flow — integrating a checkout API, handling webhooks, dealing with failed transactions — that's immediately relevant. Luna: So less 'I built a to-do app' and more 'I built a mini payment processor'. Lucas: Exactly. And you don't need to actually move real money. Build a demo that simulates refunds, disputes, recurring billing. That shows you grasp the core logic that fintech companies deal with every day. One of the Stripe engineers I interviewed once told me they hire bootcamp grads specifically for integration engineering roles — where the job is helping merchants connect to Stripe's API. Luna: Integration engineering — that's a great entry point. It's customer-facing but deeply technical. What about compliance? I feel like that's a huge filter. Lucas: Huge. Fintech is regulated, period. If you can't speak the language of KYC — Know Your Customer — and AML — Anti-Money Laundering — you're not getting past the first round. But here's the twist: you don't need a law degree. You just need to understand the basic concepts and how they impact the code you write. Luna: And showing that on your resume? I'd imagine mentioning a side project that includes a basic KYC flow — like verifying identity documents or checking against a sanctions list — would be a standout. Lucas: Absolutely. Even if it's just a mock. You can use a free API like the one from Onfido or Jumio for identity verification. Build a flow that accepts an image, extracts data, flags potential issues. That's a portfolio piece that says 'I understand the regulatory layer.' Luna: What about the interview itself? Fintech interviews are notorious for grilling candidates on system design, especially around reliability and data integrity. Lucas: Right — you can't lose a transaction. Fintech expects five-nines uptime, and they want to know you think about idempotency, retries, idempotency keys. A bootcamp grad who can explain why you need an idempotency key when processing a payment — that's someone who gets it. Luna: So it's not just about knowing a language or framework. It's about understanding the constraints of the domain. Lucas: Exactly. And the good news: many bootcamps are starting to include modules on API design and microservices. If yours didn't, there are free resources. Stripe's API documentation is actually one of the best learning tools out there — it's beautifully written and includes examples in multiple languages. Spend a weekend reading it and building against it. Luna: Let's talk about the different types of fintech companies. A bootcamp grad might think 'I need to work at Stripe or Plaid,' but there's a whole spectrum. Lucas: Right. You've got the big players — Stripe, Square, PayPal, Plaid, Adyen. These are highly competitive, but they have structured internship and new-grad programs. Then you have the challenger banks — Chime, SoFi, Revolut, N26. They're growing fast and often more willing to take a chance on nontraditional backgrounds. And then there are the legacy banks' innovation labs — JPMorgan's fintech arm, Goldman's Marcus, etc. They offer stability and brand cachet but move slower. Luna: The legacy banks actually have a surprising number of bootcamp hires because they have huge tech teams and need to modernize. They're not always the most exciting work, but it's a foot in the door. Lucas: Plus, they often sponsor visas and have better job security. But the trade-off is you might spend more time dealing with internal tooling and bureaucracy. If you want to move fast and build consumer-facing products, a startup like Mercury or Brex might be a better fit. Luna: What about geography? Fintech is obviously big in San Francisco and New York, but there are hubs in places like Charlotte, North Carolina — lots of banking infrastructure there. Lucas: Great point. Charlotte is a major fintech center because of Bank of America's presence and the growth of startups like LendingTree and AvidXchange. Also, London, Berlin, Singapore — fintech is global. And with remote work, you can work for a fintech based anywhere if your skills are strong enough. Luna: Before we go further, I want to bring up something that's been on my mind. We've been doing this podcast for almost 60 episodes now, and we deliberately don't run ads. That's a choice we made early on because we want this to be purely about helping people with career moves, not selling them something. Lucas: Yeah, and that's only possible because some listeners choose to support the show directly. If you've gotten value from episodes like this one — maybe you landed a job or even just got a better sense of direction — and you want to keep the show ad-free, there's a simple way. It's buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. No pressure, but every bit helps us keep doing what we're doing. Luna: Exactly. It's a small gesture that makes a big difference for us. And now back to fintech — I want to talk about networking specifically. How should a bootcamp grad approach events like Money20/20 or Fintech Week? Lucas: Great question. First, don't go in cold. Research the companies that are exhibiting and target 5 to 10. Reach out to engineers from those companies on LinkedIn a week before and say you'll be at the conference and would love to buy them a coffee. When you meet them, don't pitch yourself — ask questions about what they're building. Luna: So it's about being genuinely curious. And follow up within 24 hours with something specific you discussed. Lucas: Exactly. And bring a portfolio — not a printed resume, but a tablet or laptop where you can show your fintech side project. That's way more memorable than a piece of paper. Luna: What about certifications? Are there any that actually help? Lucas: The ones that carry weight are AWS Certified Developer — since many fintechs run on AWS — and the Certified Blockchain Developer if you're into crypto fintech. But honestly, a solid GitHub repo with a fintech project beats most certs. Luna: Let's zoom out. What's the one piece of advice you'd give to a bootcamp grad listening right now who wants to break into fintech? Lucas: Pick one pain point in fintech — like payment reconciliation or identity verification — and build something that addresses it. Document your process, put it on GitHub, write a blog post about what you learned. That narrative is your ticket in. Then find the companies that care about that specific problem and target them. Luna: And be patient. Fintech hiring cycles can be slow because of compliance checks. But if you have the skills and the story, you'll find your place. Lucas: Absolutely. The industry is hungry for talent that understands both the tech and the context. That's a combination bootcamp grads can absolutely deliver.