Career change: Becoming a developer
When is the right time to decide what you want to do with your life? With a parent who taught electronics and informatics, it was assured that computers would be a big part of my life. It was never too early for me to sit in front of them.
I started using computers very early on. I remember printing Sailor Moon pictures that I downloaded from the internet — you can imagine how young I was. 🙂 When I was 14 years old I started to experiment with website development, and I built two websites for my favorite musicians at that time.
But back then I didn’t really know that web development was a profession. I thought that for programming you had to be a genius and only boys could do it. So it never crossed my mind that I could do it for a living, but I always remained interested.
My early years as a professional
I studied economics at university to later start a career in marketing. I saw the combination of the creative side and the factual side in it and as I also loved numbers, this led me to a position of Account Manager at an advertising agency in Budapest, Hungary. During the 5 years I spent there I learned a lot, and I still have fun memories from that time. Then I tried myself out in Dublin, Ireland helping a multinational technology company with its social media communication. When I came back to Hungary, I started to realize that maybe it was time for a change. My profession was no longer a good fit for my personality and I wanted to create something with my own hands.
It was time for a change
My interest in website development strengthened in this period of time, and I started learning more about programming through online courses. In an attempt to figure out which direction my life should take, I applied for jobs at my old profession to have some financial stability. My plan was to work and study programming in parallel, then after a year I would change careers. I got offers, but something just didn’t feel right.
One morning I discovered Green Fox Academy, and this showed me a new perspective. I realised it would be easier to switch careers with their help than learn coding while in a full-time job. So I applied.
Meanwhile, I was interviewing with a big multinational company. Soon I was offered both the job and a place in the bootcamp. So I had a hard decision to make: to be comfortable financially immediately with an outstanding salary or to start school with limited financial resources at that moment. I took a leap of faith and dove in: I chose the school, Green Fox Academy.
As a little fox — my time at Green Fox
The school was a great experience; it was probably the best summer I’ve ever had. The first 4 weeks were about the basics. It was relatively easy as I prepared online beforehand. Still, it was tiring, thanks to the 8–9 hours at school plus the 2–3 hours of studying at home. I would highly recommend to anyone to prepare with online courses for a bootcamp, it could be a major help when starting out!
Everything got more difficult in the second phase. This was the part where we built smaller webapps, including frontend and backend tasks. I had the first breakdown: I dreamt in code! But I thoroughly enjoyed being able to create something on my own from scratch.
There were times when I got stuck, devastated by the thought that I might not be able to solve the problem. But this is the part that you have to get used to as a developer — getting stuck and getting yourself unstuck. This is the part where you have to push through, keep going, and keep trying. Take a break. Clear your head. But don’t give up. As I’ve often said to myself and others:
Embrace the challenge, embrace the struggle!
Kick-starting a career
In the project phase, I was chosen for a React full-stack project that simulated a real-life workplace. I worked on both frontend and backend tasks. In this phase, senior people from partner companies often visit the demos looking for junior developers to hire. That happened in my case, too. Aliz was a partner of GFA, who invited me and five other classmates to interview. They were looking for a Frontend Developer for a React project. Bingo! It was a match made in heaven.
After a two-hour interview process, they chose me and I started my first developer job three weeks after the course ended, even before the graduation ceremony.
My team was working on a multi-branded, integrated, modularized web application which is used in several countries for several clients, where the frontend is running on Google App Engine.
I dove into the work immediately, and started working on my first issue within a day. Thanks to coming from a very similar stack I didn’t need any major training period to start with. However, the company had its resources for training, which new hires often used during their onboarding process.
It has been almost 3 years already that I voted for a career change, and I spent more than 2 years working at Aliz, my first job as a Frontend Developer. It was a great experience and I am grateful for the time I could have there. However, I was curious, wanted to see more and apply my knowledge in something that has a good impact on the environment and on a sustainable future, so I changed, and started working at Loop, TerraCycle late 2020. I hope with my work I can help changing minds about the consumerism and lead society to make more conscious decisions in our everyday life.
I know I am still just in the beginning of this new chapter of my life, but I can’t wait to figure out what the future holds for me in this new profession.
Are you considering becoming a developer, too?
Things to consider before making the move
- Think about the long-run: What are your prospects in your current position and what opportunities will open if you make the move?
- Is your current job fulfilling for you? Even though you have a good salary, is this all that matters?
- Are you willing and ready to sacrifice a few months or a year now (in your personal life, financially, etc.), and be a junior again in the hope of future possibilities?
- What is a good fit for your personality?
Benefits of developer life:
- Creativity: You can build and create.
- Versatility: You can try yourself out in lots of different areas and technologies without changing professions. It offers and needs continuous learning.
- Security: Demand for developers is high. You can see all kinds of positions at all kinds of companies. It’s easier to find something that fits your schedule and life circumstances.
- Freedom: You can move abroad more easily as the language barrier is not as big as with other professions.
- Flexibility: In this field the chances of finding remote positions or working from a home are higher.
- Financial reward: In the long run, salary-wise, there is room to grow.
These platforms and resources can help you learn the essentials for starting a new profession.
Professional learning platforms
- freeCodeCamp.org — https://www.freecodecamp.org/
- Treehouse — https://teamtreehouse.com/
- CodeCademy — https://www.codecademy.com/
- Udemy courses: There are numerous software developer and programming courses available on Udemy, and you can always find some discounted courses for $10; others are completely free.
Web development courses that I enrolled
- Colt Steele — The Web Developer Bootcamp: https://www.udemy.com/course/the-web-developer-bootcamp/
- Rob Percival — The Complete Web Developer Course 2.0: https://www.udemy.com/course/the-complete-web-developer-course-2/
To get inspired
Bootcamp graduates and self-taught YouTube vloggers I followed to familiarize myself how it feels like starting a new developer career:
- Aaron in Beta — https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXym52jGe7cb5deJRWM3paw
- Joshua Fluke — https://www.youtube.com/user/Tychos1
- Chris Sean — https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCu1xbgCV5o48h_BYCQD7KJg
Motivational podcasts and books
A book and podcasts that helped me getting into the right mindset for starting the next chapter in my life:
- Lewis Howes — The School of Greatness — https://lewishowes.com/sogpodcast/
