i remember the days when i was in my coding bootcamp thinking i will never will i ever
get a job is this something i can ever achieve to becoming a software developer
going from this broke fashion student can i possibly become
something make something of myself in the tech industry this is something i think to
some degree a lot of us have had questions on if you are someone who's transferring into the tech
industry from another industry it can be very overwhelming where it's like i don't know where
to start i'm very confused is as possible and really questioning your decision to break into it
today i'm going to be sharing with you a bit about my story as to how i went from a
broke fashion student to becoming a six figure software developer before we get into it though
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if you've been on my channel for a while now you probably know to some degree in my story of
my background being in fashion transitioning into tech now this video isn't going to be me repeating
my story to you but i really wanted to highlight as i get asked a lot or get messages from people
that have self-doubt as to breaking into tech or if they are in a coding boot camp really can they
do it is it worth it and today i wanted to really talk to you about how i overcame those thoughts
and how i really made that transition growing up and even the first bit of my my 20s i thought
fashion was the only way to go for me i wanted to be part of something that was creative building
different things working in teams and to me that meant fashion mainly though because i didn't even
really understand what tech was or not what tech was but what the tech industry had to offer so i
just related that being creative working in teams well that meant fashion when in reality there's
so many other industries tech included that these traits apply to i remember when i started
self teaching and teaching myself how to code feeling almost very lost and overwhelmed as to
i feel like i got to a certain point through teaching by myself but i really need to get the
help and support of a community and for that reason is why i ended up going to a coding
bootcamp i knew i needed to have the structure have people i could communicate with and talk to
people who would support me and really be there for me along my journey now the next question
i get asked a lot is well how did you decide on what coding bootcamp to go to for me here's
how i made my decision i wanted to go to a coding bootcamp that supported me that i felt once i left
the coding bootcamp they would support me still in helping me find a job and also too was teaching me
the most up-to-date technologies now i'm not going to share with you necessarily what coding bootcamp
i went to because a lot of those things were not actually checked off when i left that coding
bootcamp but that brings me to i want to share with you a coding bootcamp that i if i was to
do it all over again i would go to which is coding dojo you know i had been a huge fan of coding dojo
for a while now actually last year i actually attended some of their classes because i really
wanted to get immersed into what they have to offer and i wanted to share with you some of the
reasons that coding dojo has stood out to me first is it's a three-stat curriculum which provides
graduates with a complete skill set you're not just focusing in on one area but you're really
leaving the program with a full stack of skills so it's one of the things that really stood out to
me about coding dojo is their lifetime support you know once you graduate they're there for
you helping you find a job but not just any job a better job than what you had before you went into
the program which i think is really huge and says a lot about the program i think one of the biggest
challenges about breaking into the tech industry if you want to become a software developer isn't
actually learning the code but landing your first job so the fact that they are supporting you and
being there for you during that time as well is key and on the note of jobs coding dojo has
over 8 000 students who have completed the boot camps and landed reputable and well paying jobs
in the tech industry so i always like to say let the numbers speak for themselves they also offer
a wide variety of courses you can specialize in i talk a lot about software development
because that's my career path but there also is options from data science cyber security
and uiux design i have linked them down in the description so make sure to go check them out
okay now that i feel i've answered one of the most popular questions i ever get asked is what coding
bootcamp to go to i want to share a little bit about more my story so once i graduated from the
coding bootcamp it was this moment of fear of okay now what where do i go what do i do i'm all alone
and it just felt very overwhelming for me one of the next best steps was to find people to support
me and that's really why i created this channel is because i didn't feel like i had that support
and what i did though was i went on linkedin and just started reaching out to people and taking
people out for coffee as an introvert that is pretty terrifying but i knew there was no way it
was like a do or die situation and one thing that really surprised me was just how friendly people
were they were willing to connect willing to sit down and really be like let me pick their brains
which was so huge and one of the other things i think is really important to note is to not let
your ego get in the way you're breaking into a new industry yes maybe you have tons of experience in
another industry that can be applied to different degrees to this industry but don't let your ego
get in the way in thinking your first job you're going to land has to be you become the next ceo
or steve jobs be realistic where is your current skill set and what roles really reflect that and
that's something that i saw so many people let get in their way when applying to first jobs was
they turned down so many jobs because they thought oh well i'm better than this and
yes of course and know your self-worth but be realistic in that and for me that was realistic in
i took a job at a startup and was it my dream job was it my dream company no it really wasn't but
i knew what it would do is get me the experience to really elevate me and take me to my dream job
and then from there once i gained that experience it was so much easier to move to a job that was i
was passionate about and really wanted maybe more so than the initial job i guess what i'm trying to
say is it's easy to glamorize this tech industry and thinking you're going to be making six figures
right out the bat and everything's perfect and you hear those stories and that's not the case
is it possible of course it is it's it's more than possible it's very realistic but it's not
like your first job i think i was making oh i was making so little my first job it was just
ridiculous but it i paid the bills and i knew it was that step towards making those bigger numbers
making six figures and you just have to start somewhere another thing that really helped me
was having a mentor having someone that when i was building out projects or learning new things that
i could really confide in and talk to and for me how i did that was i found through a mutual friend
someone who was a software developer and was mentoring on the side and we met once a week
and this was a paid kind of meeting i did pay her to to teach me and to tutor me and
just continue evolving with my skill set even when i was working and i did this because i felt like
there was so much that i still needed to learn and grow in and having someone support me in that when
i wasn't getting that maybe at work was really really valuable to me now a lot of you might find
that in your first job which is amazing but for me it just wasn't there at the end of the day there
is no secret formula or magic formula you just need to work hard don't focus on what others have
or what others are doing focus on your end goal and also to realize that there might be different
kind of steps you have to pay take to get to your end goal the path isn't always perfectly straight
but you need to kind of adjust as things come and go i hope this was insightful to you sharing a bit
about my story and i really wanted to take this down to a very realistic step because a realistic
video because i think too often tech is glamorized and you know people say oh right when you get your
first job you'll be making six figures or high six figures and maybe for some people that's the case
which is amazing but i think for most people myself included it definitely is not the case
is it realistic in the future of course it is very quickly you will get there but you need to
kind of take a step back see where your skill set is and then adjust accordingly i'm curious to hear
your thoughts about this so leave them down in the comments i hope you found this video very valuable
uh just sharing my insights and experience with you all and if you haven't already
make sure to click on the link below to check out coding dojo thanks everyone
you