My place in the tech world
Enspiral Dev Academy is a web development school for everyone, based in Auckland and Wellington, New Zealand
“At some point in 2017 my life felt busy. I was working 2 jobs and planning a wedding for the end of the year. For a bit of extra cash, I started driving for Uber at night. I had a good paying job but we wanted to have a big family wedding and save for a house at the same time. I enjoyed the driving which made it easier. Switching the brain off and talking to genuine people was great. Probably talking too much every now and again. It was during this time I met a passenger like no other. She was heading to her graduation ceremony. Naturally we started talking about her study and what her course was like. She was so happy, excited and loved the study. I sat there thinking, “Man she is going to be great at this if she loves the study this much.” If her work didn’t feel like work then imagine what her days would be like. Ironically, I had been told before to make sure you find work you enjoy because it will make life so much more pleasant. The problem for me was I didn’t know what I wanted to do in my career.
“I left this day feeling like a million dollars. A mix of genuine people and passion felt great. It was so simple to start.”
I googled this school called Enspiral Dev Academy and to me it looked fairly simple. I liked some of the ideas on their website so I started to follow them on social media. I then saw an ad for A Day in the Life of a Dev Academy student, which I thought was great. Ten bucks to really see what this school was like and you got lunch. As I’m easily motivated by food this was a no brainer. I turned up expecting to be sitting through a lot of talking and trying to absorb what I could. Instead they talked though some basics and then said let’s give it a go. Damn. I didn’t know any of this. I didn’t ask enough questions. I don’t know enough about tech. I plucked up the courage to ask and I found that it’s not hard to start. Some teachers walked me through programs and helped with a real understanding that not everyone has done this before. I left this day feeling like a million dollars. A mix of genuine people and passion felt great. It was so simple to start.
I thought bugger it, and tried to organise myself enough to give the course a nudge. Obviously, we didn’t have spare cash lying around so I borrowed some cash from my family. They were surprisingly very willing to lend or give money for school. Next, I needed to find the time. I started reading while driving for Uber and coding during breaks. This worked well to start with then as the wedding got closer cracks started to show. I had to take some time to chill. After the wedding, I got back into my school work and handed in my notice at the 9–5 job. They really wanted me to stay but the relationship I had with my employer was not the one I wanted.
A few weeks later I started bootcamp. An experience I’ll never forget. Easily the best learning experience I have had. I have tried a few from private to public schools, apprenticeships to degrees and many in between. It felt like we were being shown how to do a job. There is a real link between the exercises we were doing and the jobs that were on offer. Working in teams to create code just like you would in a workplace. Using agile processes just like a workplace team would. Even taking in mindfulness learnings which help to create a great industry team. To cap off the learning experience, Dev Academy even helps you find work, supporting you with the basics like CV and cover letter writing for specific industry roles. To sum it up I felt like they weren’t just teaching us content, but instead were teaching us to be better people along a path we had chosen. This felt great.
“To sum it up I felt like they weren’t just teaching us content, but instead were teaching us to be better people along a path we had chosen. This felt great.”
Right now I am looking for a job with the right company to continue my learning and grow as a developer. Whilst searching for a job I’m continuing to write code for projects I started in bootcamp. There is still so much for me to learn and I enjoy finding new things to work on . Does it feel like I did the right thing? I enjoy this work more than anything that I have tried. I would do it again even if I didn’t want a career change. I have found some clarity which has been great. I am always happy to have a chat to anybody so feel free to get in touch: bradley.wayne.adams@gmail.com”
If it’s time to upgrade your career, apply for Dev Academy today and see how tech can work for you → https://www.devacademy.co.nz/apply-now
