My road to professional re-invention

So I’m 30-something, with a kid. When I was in university I assumed that that was the path I would follow through my working life. But for several reasons I lost the spark I had in my previous field. I felt like I needed a new challenge in life and to try out a more creative profession. But I had no idea what I wanted to do or how to reinvent myself. I only knew I didn’t want to go back to uni for several years and that I wanted a more practical and creative skill.

My husband’s a developer and that world was always a black hole for me, like some weird Matrix styled universe. I just assumed it was completely uncreative and math heavy, hence not for me. Then on a whim he created a CodeCademy account for me and I realised how wrong I’d been and how empowering it is to create something from scratch. One second the screen is empty. Add a few lines of code and voila, the page comes alive!

I realised that frontend is more up my ally and found Technigo. 6 months to become a frontend developer. I’ve always liked the idea of painting and drawing but have never had any talent for it. But what I love about frontend development is that it’s like drawing but with the help of the computer. I tell the computer what to draw and it does it for me so there’s no giving up because of my blindness for symmetry. So now I’m learning to create with the help of a computer.

My deep dive into the code universe is not a tale of corona, even though the timing, it’s just a tale of time-for-a-change-of-life-direction since I’d reached a point in life where change was very necessary.

A few of the reasons I was drawn into this world is the team effort that goes into coding, the constant problem solving and the very supporting community. I’ve reached out to strangers (developers that is) for tips and tricks and found nothing but excitement, support and willingness to help and guide us newbies and I find the thought of being a part of that community in the future inspiring.

Halfway through the bootcamp I can tell you that it’s been a real rollercoaster, for many reasons, but I’m learning a new craft and I’m enjoying every second of it! Is it frustrating? At times very much so. But I would encourage anyone who’s thinking about reinventing yourself to not throw the idea in the bin and to not give up if you started pursuing something. If anything I’ve realised that it’s never to late to reinvent yourself, if I can do it anyone can and with a bit of grit you can make your re-invention happen!