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| Image by Clément H |
If you would’ve said to me this time last year that I’d be studying to become a frontend developer, I wouldn’t have believed you. I would’ve said that it’s a career for people who are really good at Maths, that have studied Computer Science at university or that are really into computers. Not in a million years, me! Someone who’s worked in the arts and customer relations and doesn’t have a computer science degree.
Since I stopped working in design I’ve thought long and hard about which career to switch to. Social worker, medical administrator, art therapist? All of these sound pretty nice and reliable, however I was feeling pretty lost making such a big decision. Wondering which path to take. That being said I was sure that I wanted to work in an industry where I know there are plenty of opportunities. Then when I felt like I couldn’t decide anymore, out of nowhere I decided to do a 5 day coding course run by Tjejer Kodar. After this week of learning about HTML and CSS I was hooked.
Little by little I found my way into the tech world and landed a spot on the Technigo Bootcamp. It was weird, things started to fall into place after a long time of wondering which direction my life was going in. Getting on the bootcamp felt like a big step, a mixture of emotions, nervous, excited and optimistic. But also a big pang of feeling like, will I be able to make it? or will I be able to get a job at the end of it? or will I even be able to understand more complex logic and languages like JavaScript?
So here I am now, October 2020, week 11 of the bootcamp. I still have these feelings. I’m still learning, a newbie. But despite it being a massive roller coaster, I feel empowered. I’m making the change myself. I’m learning totally new languages like JavaScript, getting into React, creating components and props as well as fetching data from an API. An API!? I didn’t even know what this was 11 weeks ago. My mindset is changing also. I’m still thinking creatively, but also more logically and I think this is why I’m enticed by programming. It’s allowing me to use my creative skills whilst challenging me to learn new languages and ways of thinking. A great combo.
So as I leave you with my experience getting into frontend development and feelings thus far, I hope that I can report in the next month about more revelations and ah-ha moments. Something to reflect on is that no matter what you’ve done before, or how long it takes you to realise your path, or if something seems out of your reach, you should never be afraid to try something new.
/Claire 💥
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