Career shifting is never easy, especially when you’re a working mom of four kids living in Japan; but moms make it possible.
Meet Jhovy – a supermom who learned web development all the way from her home in Japan. As a mother of four, her schedule is always bustling – she’s busy taking care of her kids, while working as an English tutor. She decided to take on an additional challenge, which was to study Zuitt’s Tech Career Program and fulfill her goals of adding programming in her tutoring skill sets.
With Zuitt’s online class setup, alongside stellar instructors, and her fellow batchmates, she has successfully reached her breakthrough in Zuitt’s Tech Career Program.
In this article, we’ll learn how Jhovy managed to overcome her challenges with time during our Tech Career Program while balancing her life as a working mother.
—— Introduce yourself to the Zuitt Community.
Hi! My name is Jhovy Kitagawa. I’m a mother of four and I’m currently living in Japan. I studied web development in Zuitt from Batch 230. I wanted to learn web development because I want to work in the IT industry.
—— Why did you study web development?
The first reason why I studied web development is because I wanted to learn how to code. The second reason is I want to work in the IT industry. I studied Computer System Designing and Programming when I was in college but I had no chance to work as a programmer in the Philippines since I only graduated a two year vocational course so at that time, I didn’t pursue it.
I worked in different sectors such as F&D, HR, Admin, Finance, and Education but since I have four kids now, I’m looking for a remote work environment which is what the IT industry offers.
Sharing My Passion For Learning
—— Why did you enroll in Zuitt’s Tech Career Program?
There are many online courses available but since I have no experience in Web Development, I decided to find an online course that’s designed for beginners. I found that Zuitt offers a beginner-friendly course with a virtual classroom with instructors and co-learners which encouraged me to complete the course.
I have my own english school. Normally, I teach English., Here in Japan, you can teach English alongside other things. Another one of the reasons why I studied web development is because I want to teach programming to kids in the future- that’s one of my goals.I’m not sure when I can teach English, so for now, I want to have different skills so I can have other options in case that I cannot work anymore in a school setting due to my hectic schedule.
My kids are also still too young which is why I also prefer to work-from-home which is why I asked myself: ‘What other things can I do to support my family?’. Since my husband is also a software engineer, he actually encouraged me a lot. He told me that I should try programming again since I already did it when I was in college. When my husband told me that, that’s when I decided to search for bootcamps and online training courses.The thought of studying alone was what initially got me dismayed from pursuing my goals, it made me lose courage to try, which is why I looked for training that has a classroom setting with classmates and instructors.
But since this was during the pandemic, I have kids to bring to their own schools and nurseries, I had to look for online settings. That’s when my husband found out about Zuitt. He’s the one who actually found it first. He was the one who researched Zuitt for me and told me that it was a good school for me to start studying programming. That’s why I decided to go to Zuitt to learn web development.
—— What’s the best thing about Zuitt?
This is the first thing that I like about Zuitt, they offer the Study Now Pay Later scheme. Not all online schools offer this. I think it’s good, even though I didn’t use it. I think it is really good for those students who really want to study web development but have not money to pay. It’s really good that they offer this for those students which is what I believe is the best thing about Zuitt.
—— What were your challenges during the bootcamp?
During the front-end course, I was actually so nervous since I didn’t know what to expect at that time. I was just nervous and it made me have a hard time with activities. It gave me the courage to search and study before class. It was hard because I was working at the same time. I struggled a lot when it came to managing my time, but later on, when the back-end started, I got used to coding. I was enjoying all the activities we did including the full stack. Of course it wasn’t easy, but overall, I genuinely enjoyed the tech career program.
Since I have four kids and I’m studying and working during the day, It’s very busy because I have to prepare my kids’ lunch boxes, their bentos that they need for school. Then I have a 2 year old toddler as well so it’s almost always a very busy day every day. I always make sure that everytime I enter my study room, every 5:30 pm, I already prepared the dinner for the kids and my husband. I make sure that they’ve been taken care of and that I have done what needs to be done. Once I enter my room, there are no more distractions.
—— Any message to Zuitt’s Future Students?
Just be committed.
Sometimes, others join programs like these because someone advised them to take these courses. Actually, it’s better to join if you really want to join, and you really want to study web development not because someone told you to do it. You have to give your time, your energy, and your willingness to learn once you join the program.
This is the same for any other learning programs. I think to become successful and to achieve your goal, you have to be dedicated to what you are doing. Especially with young people now, they always want to try things. There’s nothing wrong with trying, but you also have to think first what it is you really want. You can’t just think ‘Okay I can do this’ and then all of a sudden you give up midway – it’s such a waste of time and money. Just always think that you have to give all your time, your effort, your energy, and your willingness once you’ve joined the program.
If you are a Zuitt student and you have a similar experience to share, drop us a message at marketing@zuitt.co.
