Embracing Change & Leaving Comfort Behind
Roughly a month before I began my journey to become a web developer, I can remember sitting in the car with one of my best and oldest friends as we drove to visit a mutual friend out of town. I had just been accepted into my first course at Juno, and as we traveled, we discussed our respective decisions to take the leap into a new career in web development. As a Juno bootcamp alum herself who had recently made the same career leap and helped support me with my own decision to do so, she could uniquely relate to starting this journey and the flurry of emotions that comes with it. I remember turning to her and saying “this feels the first time in a very long time that I’ve truly done something for my own happiness and not because it felt ‘safe’”.
As I said it, I was struck by how true that statement felt for me. Quitting a stable, full-time position in real estate administration to pivot into an entirely different industry could be described as anything but “safe” — it was daunting, and a part of me was terrified at the thought of leaving my comfort zone that I had been in for so long. I had worked at my office for well over four years, and I was darn good at my job. Sure, I didn’t really like my job…but I liked that I was good at it, and it was secure, stable employment during a time where that felt too precious to pass up. Leaving my stable but unfulfilling career behind for a chance at something more felt like the riskiest thing I had ever done. It might sound silly, but this metaphorical leap into a new career with no guarantee of success felt scarier to me than the actual physical leap I had taken bungee-jumping 160 feet off a bridge a few years prior.
Silly, right? But the comfort that came with secure employment and the familiarity I felt within my career made it feel safe, and choosing to reject that and walk into the unknown that change brings felt downright dangerous.
However, I knew I needed to do something. I felt stagnant — I had no real opportunities for growth where I was, and the dread I felt when I thought about my job was eating me alive. I felt like I was going through the motions each day, not really living my life but rather just…existing. Surviving. Once I finally admitted to myself how trapped I felt in my current career and how unhappy it made me, being good at my job and feeling “safe” wasn’t enough — I wanted a career that challenged me, interested me, and made me feel like I was living a life I could be proud of.
Luckily, I had no shortage of friends who had all made their own career leap to show me that change was possible. I had first heard about Juno (then HackerYou) from a friend who took the bootcamp and transformed from pastry chef to web developer in 2018, and it had sat in the back of my mind ever since, jumping to the forefront ever so often when I thought to myself “what if?”. Years when by, and then another friend did the same, and then another — suddenly my thoughts were turning to Juno, web development, and the quiet whisper of “what if” in the back of my mind more and more. The more I spoke to my friends in tech and learned about web development, the puzzle-solving, the blend of logic meets creativity and the constant growth and learning that comes with it, the more excitement I felt. And seeing the positive impact that switching careers had in my friends’ lives helped me understand that I didn’t have to keep prioritizing feeling safe over my happiness. Finally, I took that first baby step outside of my comfort zone and booked a session with Juno’s Student Success Consultant.
Since that first baby step, I’ve only grown more confident in my decision. Juno offers an incredible program, and their focus on inclusivity and community makes me feel at home and excited for class every day. Coding offers me such a perfect outlet to challenge my brain and flex my creativity. I love finding new ways to solve problems and watching a website come together before my eyes like magic. The satisfaction and empowerment I feel when I figure something out is nigh unbeatable. Web development is a career where you will never stop learning, and it makes me so excited to know I am taking steps toward a career that will never stop feeding my curiosity. Leaving my comfort zone may be scary, but I know now that so much joy can be found outside it, if you just let yourself take the chance.
