3 stories

During the bootcamp different cohorts will overlap slightly. This gives the seniors a chance to remember how far they’ve come, and the juniors a possibility to ask questions and get inspired — because in just a few weeks they’ll know just as much. We asked 3 people from 3 cohorts after each other to answer a few questions about the course — one who has just started the camp, one who is nearing the end of it, and one who has finished it and is now working as a front end developer.

Beginning of the course — Jade

Jade has just started her journey. She’s from British Columbia, Canada, and is a fresh commerce and international business graduate. She moved to Stockholm a couple weeks ago in order to join the program. She’s always been interested in programming but never really set aside time to do it, so the bootcamp really forces her to immerse in learning for the whole 12 weeks.

Why did you choose to join this bootcamp?
I chose to join the bootcamp because it was something completely different than what I’ve done before, and also a skill that I’ve wanted to learn for a long time. It seemed like such a hands on experience, which is a learning style I much prefer, and it was a great excuse for me to move across the ocean! I’m just out of university so most of my professional experience has just been finance internships and also teaching piano, so I’m definitely looking to get more experience. Doing this bootcamp is a great way for me to push my boundaries and explore a field I haven’t had the opportunity to get my foot into, and I really think that this is a career path I want to pursue. Even though we’re facing error messages and problems all day every day I’m still really enjoying solving them!

What are you looking forward to the most?
I’m definitely looking forward to feeling like I have a basic grasp on a variety of areas so that I can be more efficient in doing my own projects. I get such a sense of fulfillment even completing our various challenges I can’t imagine how I feel when it’s a project of my very own that I’m able to see from beginning to end. I’m also really enjoying working with my classmates and pair programming so I’m also looking forward to collaborating a lot more! It’s nice to feel like we’re all in this together.

Do you have a plan on how to handle the bootcamp?
So far it hasn’t been too stressful yet, but now I’ve just jinxed it so I plan to remedy that with lots of chocolate and exploring the city since it’s all new to me. I love cooking and travelling so I’m planning a lot of trips for after the program to keep me looking forward. But it’s only week 2 so far and I feel like I’ve already learned so much! I can’t wait for what’s to come (:

During the course — Sophie

Sophie is getting close to the end of the bootcamp. She’s lived in Stockholm most of her life except for a couple of detours abroad to Sydney and London. Before the bootcamp she worked in television for the most part of her adult life, it wore her out but now she’s back to her old self. She has an extraordinary memory when it comes to all things related to movies and television. Test her — she dares you!

What’s a project you would like to work on?
I would love to work more pro bono, especially helping people to care for their elderly relatives. I have a grandpa with dementia that me and my mum cares for — and it’s a jungle out there. So I would like to be able to provide a platform to help people take care of their elders.

What was hard in the beginning, but you know how to handle now?
Mainly it was to find the actual logic behind the code. It started out as words and symbols and when you finally understood it, it was definitely a hallelujah moment. Also working in teams with people that have such different backgrounds, it was some frustration in the beginning but now we gotten in to the groove.

What’s been the most fun challenge so far?
It’s too hard to pick just one, I’ve loved all our challenges. But for me working with rails and APIs have been the most fun. Especially the Movie database API, something new for me, APIs, and something I really relate to, movies, the perfect combo.

After the course — Ólöf

Ólöf recently graduated from the Craft Academy bootcamp, but even before she was done she got recruited to work as a front end developer. Now she’s working with AngularJS, JavaScript, some html and css.

Can you tell us a little bit about who you are and what your work has been until now?
I’m a 28 year old girl from Iceland that decided to move to Gothenburg Sweden to pursue a career in development. I signed up for the coding bootcamp at Craft Academy with no prior experience with coding. Before the bootcamp I studied history and museum studies, worked a bit in museums and for a telecom company.

During the fall and winter of 2017, you participated in the Craft Academy bootcamp. What made you decide to learn to code?
When working at the telecom company I felt a need to pursue a career in coding because that’s the future.

What would you say was the most important result of your time with Craft Academy?
My most important result was to push on through — you can do it, and the results come in the end. It was really hard in the beginning, and I was always comparing myself to other students and felt bad about myself. But when I found my inner peace and just kept on coding the results came.

Craft Academy is a Tech Education Provider that aims to bring new talent to the market and help to solve the shortage of tech workers. We are founded on the belief that modern development standards, agile methodologies and business skills are fundamental for ITC professionals.

Our primary service is a 12-week coding bootcamp designed to provide individuals with a foundation of skills that allows them to enter the industry as junior developers.

With that foundation, our learners find employment in various industries or start their own businesses that bring new innovations to the market.

Would you like to know more about what we do? Follow us here on Medium, Facebook, Twitter or visit our website.