When the pandemic disrupted life and livelihood, Rey Ocumen — a Business Administration graduate — turned a challenge into an opportunity. What started as a search for remote income led him to discover a passion for coding. Through Zuitt’s coding bootcamp, Rey didn’t just shift careers — he upgraded his family’s business with new digital tools, proving that code isn’t just for tech professionals, but for entrepreneurs ready to innovate.
(Interviewed and written by Akiko Iwai)
—— Introduce yourself to the Zuitt Community.
I’m Reynald Ocumen — you can call me Rey — and I’m a career shifter. I graduated in 2016 with a degree in Business Administration, majoring in Financial Management. I’m also a proud former Zuitt student from Batch 305.
—— Why did you decide to learn in a coding program?
I studied web development because when the pandemic started during 2020, I needed another source of income. After doing a lot of research, I was led to the path of coding. What really caught my attention was the potential to work remotely.
Once I began studying, I discovered that I genuinely enjoyed coding — especially the logic side of it. I never knew that about myself before. I realized I liked solving logical problems, and it was through coding that I found that out.
Before joining the program, I actually spent about a year self-studying. Eventually, I decided to enroll in a formal course because I started to feel lost after covering all the basics. If I compare self-studying and a learning program, in self-studying, you have many challenges. First of them is laziness and procrastination. Having thoughts about pushing your work aside often comes to mind. But in a program, there’s a clear path. There’s someone there to guide you on what to learn next. It’s like seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. That’s what a structured program like Zuitt offers.
—— Why did you choose Zuitt?
I applied to several programs and bootcamps. Out of the three I was considering, I ultimately chose Zuitt because they showed the most care for their students. They don’t just focus on teaching code — they also help guide you along your career path. On top of that, they have skilled instructors who are truly invested in your success.
—— How did joining a coding bootcamp help you and your goals?
My family runs a business focused on buying and selling industrial products. After graduating from the program, I came up with new ideas to market our products more effectively. Now, I can build a web application that focuses on e-commerce. Coding has helped us a lot, especially in transitioning to digital marketing. Actually, my main focus in the future is to become one of the best developers. I really love what I’m doing right now. I love code. I also love teaching others and giving them inspiration to study more about coding and show them how coding will help them benefit financially because of how generous the employers are in the tech industry.
—— What is your message to Zuitt’s future bootcampers?
When it comes to teaching in Zuitt to us students, especially in skills and soft skills, I would say that Zuitt really has a clear teaching method. My instructor was one of the best. He taught us the basics of HTML, CSS, and Javascript. When it came to the back-end course, NodeJs, ExpressJs and the database which was MongoDB, and for the full-stack which was ReactJs, he really taught us everything we needed to know.
My instructor was able to simplify the lessons so everyone in the class was able to understand and enjoy the lessons. I’d say when it comes to advice to those who are still deciding if they want to enroll in the program, access yourself. Make a lot of research especially for those who are career shifters. It takes a lot of courage to jump from one career to another. If you’re gonna join, you need to study a lot. It’s not gonna be easy, and I can say that learning web development really isn’t for everybody. But if you’re really interested and want to take the leap then Zuitt is one of the best programs here in the Philippines. They will teach you a lot, not just about the codes but how to handle problems, making those big problems into smaller ones.
For those whose main focus is for their business like mine, coding will help you a lot. It can widen your market, especially in today’s time where the battlefield is in the digital space. Coding will help, especially when it comes to the Search Engine Optimization (SEO). If you focus on that, your products and your business can become more visible on the internet.
If you have a similar experience to share with our boot campers, drop us a message at marketing@zuitt.co.
