The world is changing, as well as the job landscape. According to the Future of Jobs 2020 report by the World Economic Forum, automation and a new division of labor between humans and machines will disrupt 85 million jobs globally. This is one of the reasons why it is necessary to continuously invest in skills development, refine your craft, and learn new expertise.
Majority of Zuitt’s bootcampers are career shifters, but there are also IT professionals and graduates who join Zuitt’s Developer Career Program. Despite already having a career in tech, what are their goals and expectations in joining a coding bootcamp?
Find out why Ken, Jean, and Philip choose to upskill with Zuitt.
“You should have done it sooner, Ken!”
This was Ken’s response when we asked him what his message was to his pre-Zuitt bootcamper self. He is a Full-time Mainframe Developer working with legacy languages like COBOL and CICS for the past decade. He graduated with a Computer Science degree in 2012 and jumped right into the tech field.
“Even before the pandemic started, I was already planning to retool myself with more exciting and modern technologies and skillsets. Now, with the amount of free time I had because of the work-from-home setup and travel restrictions all over the place, I felt like now’s the perfect time to learn something new without quitting my day job.”
He felt challenged with the front-end development part of the program because, according to him, design is not his strong suit. However, he most enjoyed the back-end part in learning MongoDB and NoSQL because he only knew relational SQL databases before the bootcamp. Finally, he found the full-stack part was the most challenging because of the React concepts discussed, which he had never heard of before.
“I must say I was impressed with how well-designed the curriculum is, the career assistance provided afterwards, and also the free short courses that we can take after graduation. I got totally convinced that this is a worthy investment of time, effort, and money, and I wasn’t wrong!”
Since Ken is employed full-time while enrolled in the bootcamp, his main struggle was trying to squeeze the demands of the bootcamp into his jam-packed schedule. There were multiple occasions where he had to multitask, stay up late, and sacrifice some weekends. Nevertheless, he didn’t mind the grind since he was passionate about what he was doing. Moreover, he felt a sense of community with Zuitt, where everyone looked after each other’s success.
Like the other bootcampers, Ken has a passion for continuous learning. His immediate goal is to finish his Master’s Degree while doing part-time web development work. That’s why this is his message to aspiring developers:
“I agree that the best way to learn a programming language or framework is to actually code it, and so, always strive to apply theoretical concepts into code-able projects, no matter how simple they are. And do not be afraid of errors! I’d like to think of them as learning opportunities, that the sooner I encounter them, the sooner I’ll start knowing how to resolve them.”
“To the future bootcampers, let go of your fear. Learn to manage your time and you should have your own milestones.”
Jean is already a Software Tester before enrolling at Zuitt Coding Bootcamp. She was a graphic designer and image correction specialist who shifted to a Quality Assurance role because she was looking for a more challenging role. Despite having no experience in software testing, she was given a chance to be a part of the testing team. And in order to upskill, she started to learn coding with Zuitt.
“I learned the basics and foundations of web development. I am working and studying at the same time, so I struggled in time management. I almost wanted to quit because I felt that I am not a fast-learner, and it was frustrating, but I have courage. Well, programming is not easy, and you need years of practice to be an expert. Despite crying every time my codes weren’t working, I smiled and turned those frustrations into determination.”
Her goals before and after she joined the bootcamp didn’t change – she wanted to step up to automation testing and white box testing in which programming skills are required. During the building of her 2nd capstone, she finds it the most demanding since it involves back-end web development, and there are a few conditions and factors to consider for the project.
Another challenge that she encountered was the last capstone, because it involves integration and consolidation of what they’ve discussed from the 2 previous capstones. Jean mentioned that she focused on the overall functionality and features of her website. On the other hand, she discovered front-end development interesting but uncomplicated.
According to Jean, having programming knowledge really helped her to have career options. Her current role is software development related, and she is looking forward to stepping up to developer through the process.
With how the world is evolving, this is her advice to future bootcampers:
“To the future bootcampers, let go of your fear. Learn to manage your time and you should have your own milestones. I know that you have tons of things on your mind and you wanna do a lot of features on your projects, but focus on the requirements and finish them on time. If you have plenty of time left, then you can exert more effort to make your project visually perfect. Remember, functionality is the priority. That’s how it is in the real world.”
“The best thing about Zuitt is that their instructors are professional, technical, and approachable.”
As an IT graduate, Philip opted to study Web Development with Zuitt because he believes that you can also express your creative ability in technical proficiency, where you can share your masterpiece by developing functional and appealing websites.
What made Philip decide to enrol at Zuitt is through the suggestion of his brother. He also researched about the bootcamp, read reviews and articles, which helped him with his decision to upskill with Zuitt.
“The best thing about Zuitt is that their instructors are professional, technical, and approachable. Payment wise, the bootcamp provides flexible payment methods, and the online platform makes Zuitt more accessible wherever you are.”
During the capstone building, one of his struggles is the difficulty of understanding make the codes function properly. But by asking questions to the instructor, and collaborating hand with his classmates as a team, they identify the problem then come up with the right solution.
According to Philip, his expectations of the coding bootcamp is to be a part of a company where he is appreciated, at the same time, to make innovative websites that will solve problems, and create a positive impact on the community.
With the soft skills and technical expertise he learned with Zuitt, this is his piece of advice:
“You don’t have to be great to start, there is no need to be perfect and keep in mind that you are not competing with others but are constantly striving to be better. That is all that matters.”
In Philip’s opinion, there is no easy path to success. And it also reflects when asked what it his message to his pre-Zuitt bootcamper self:
“In life speed doesn’t matter but direction does, take risks and step out of your comfort zone where your heart truly desires. It is very fulfilling to invest with something but investing with yourself for new skills is something that no one can ever take away from you. SUCCESS IS NO ACCIDENT! It’s hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice, and most of all love of what you are doing or learning to do.”
Whether you are a career shifter, or you just want to improve your current programming skills, it is possible with Zuitt Coding Bootcamp. Just like Ken, Jean, and Philip, you too can achieve your success in the Tech industry.
Zuitt’s curriculum is also crafted for IT professionals who want to update their IT skills, and this just reflects with our bootcamper’s testimonials.
Are you inspired by Ken, Jean, and Philip’s stories? Do you want to be in the tech industry like them?
At Zuitt, we will teach you all the necessary coding skills you need to know to become a Full Stack Web Developer. Our Developer Career Program is beginner-friendly and career shifter friendly.
To know more, book a Live Consultation via zuitt.co to talk with one of our Career Advisors. Learn more about our curriculum, schedules, and the Study Now Pay Later payment plan.
Let’s get you started! Zuitt is here to be your Lifelong Career Partner!
