don't panic, I was in the same shoes 3 years ago. Math phd with no prior coding experience except several lines of Matlab. I was so desperately searching for job opportunities and even visited two ICC near DC. The ICC I visited want me to start immediately, and they even offered some small compensation while you are training with them, like around $800 something. So I got them as back up plans, and spent the rest time on Leetcode and some cs interview books, which brought me an offer. So my takes are: a) you could use ICC as back up plans, but only go to ICCs that are willing to pay you even during training and get H1b for you. (I got talked with two Chinese from ICC that time, both very nice, confirmed with me that they worked with ICC and one even applied green card for him, so I guess ICC is not a absolutely no for you) b) Big firms tend to be more welcome to non-cs track grads, so prepare very carefully (leedcode, interview books) and seize the chance to interview with them. c) possible routes might be: leetcode -> big firm icc -> small/medium firm (focused more on your practical skills, which ICCs may train you better then big firms)
don't panic, I was in the same shoes 3 years ago. Math phd with no prior coding experience except several lines of Matlab. I was so desperately searching for job opportunities and even visited two ICC near DC. The ICC I visited want me to start immediately, and they even offered some small compensation while you are training with them, like around $800 something. So I got them as back up plans, and spent the rest time on Leetcode and some cs interview books, which brought me an offer. So my takes are: a) you could use ICC as back up plans, but only go to ICCs that are willing to pay you even during training and get H1b for you. (I got talked with two Chinese from ICC that time, both very nice, confirmed with me that they worked with ICC and one even applied green card for him, so I guess ICC is not a absolutely no for you) b) Big firms tend to be more welcome to non-cs track grads, so prepare very carefully (leedcode, interview books) and seize the chance to interview with them. c) possible routes might be: leetcode -> big firm icc -> small/medium firm (focused more on your practical skills, which ICCs may train you better then big firms)