Before the beginning

Joining a coding bootcamp was not on my to-do list for the year but here we are. So, what led me to take the plunge and sign up? I suppose it’s a combination of a few things.

Firstly, I’ve been learning front-end web development sporadically for the last few years. I’ve learned much from working on my own projects. On a trip to my local barber, I had a conversation with the owner about building a new website for them. What I enjoyed most about this project was taking an idea and seeing it come to life. I was able to use everything I’ve learned to build a website and apply these skills in a way that represented their brand voice while also improving user experience. My additional goals focused on developing my Javascript skills. I wanted to utilise a nav bar that disappeared on scroll, I wanted to add a scrolling customer testimonial section and I wanted to build a mobile hamburger menu that improved on what I’d made for my portfolio.

Secondly, I’ve gone as far as I can in my current role. For the last three years, I’ve been a PR and Internal Communications Assistant for a financial services organisation. The opportunity recently came up for a newly created Digital Marketing Coordinator role in the same department, and the job description made it seem like the perfect fit. At the time. I put together a strong application that included my experience as a content author and project lead during our migration to Sharepoint. I included my experience using Umbraco to maintain and update both company websites. Not only that but I picked up an award for internal support at the annual team conference at the start of the year. Take a look at my avatar. Part of my award meant that I got to be immortalised in the style of our CGI characters. This role felt like a natural progression. My track record at the company is built on my ability to learn new things and be a safe pair of hands when handed tasks. However, I didn’t get the job. They went with an outside hire because they felt I wouldn’t be able to hit the ground running for the scope of the project they were working on. I hoped to increase my income while continuing to code in my spare time.

The final reason is random or incredibly well-executed marketing. I was doom scrolling on Instagram one day when I saw an advert for a bootcamp open evening webinar. I attended, and they presented well displaying their accolades and success stories. I completed their five-day coding challenge before this, which I enjoyed, but something didn’t click with me. It didn’t feel like a place I wanted to be. That’s not me throwing shade at them by any means. They’re university accredited. Then a few weeks later I saw another advert for another open evening. This time it was for Command Shift. This time it felt different. I have to give credit to the other bootcamp for putting the initial idea in my head. Anyway, I put in my application that evening or the next morning. I met my cohort for the first time last week, and now it kicks off properly tomorrow.

There we have it. I’m enrolled because I want to immerse myself in learning web development, I feel (like many of my cohort) that now is the right time for a career change, and all because of well-placed social media marketing. I’ll be keeping a weekly diary of my bootcamp experience to give myself the time to reflect on my progress.