From Customer Outreach to Software Developer

Like many professionals, Katie found herself in a bit of a bind. Her job in Customer Outreach gradually became automated. As she began to look at new opportunities within her company, she discovered that technical projects interested her the most. With the encouragement of developers at her company, she decided to study software development. Katie enrolled in Bloc’s Web Developer Track and now is a Software Engineer at Home Chef!

Tell us: what were you doing before Bloc?

I was a Customer Outreach Associate on the marketing team at Home Chef.

Why did you end up enrolling at Bloc?

My role as Customer Outreach Associate was changing — many of my tasks became automated, so I began to take on a new role for the marketing team. The technical tasks became the most interesting to me, so I began talking to developers on the engineering team. I eventually learned that becoming a Software Engineer was something I wanted to pursue. I wanted to enroll in a coding bootcamp, but I didn’t have the means to quit my job. Bloc was the perfect opportunity to build my skills during my free time.

How did Bloc impact your career and life?

Enrolling at Bloc was by far the best decision I’ve made for my career. My role was going through a transition, and the company I work for was growing. I was able to prove to the tech leaders that I have a growth mindset and am capable of developing software. I went from apprentice to junior software engineer within about six months.

Now that I’ve finished my apprenticeship, I’m able to keep growing as a software engineer at Home Chef and I’m confident I can transfer my skills. Also, it’s been incredible to be able to take on some of the financial burden for my family. Because of my new salary, my family is beaming with pride. I’m grateful for this experience. I’m excited to start a new journey towards becoming a mid-level engineer and getting involved with bringing diversity to tech community.

What was your favorite part of the Bloc curriculum?

The one-on-one mentorship and career coaching were great to have, especially when I was struggling. Everyone I had the opportunity to talk with was extremely helpful and supportive.

Tell us about your favorite project. What was it?

Bloccit, my first Ruby-on-Rails project! I was able to work on this while I was learning my company’s Rails app. Making it was hard and challenging, but I had fun. The most rewarding part was the feedback loop of Rails knowledge I received while working on this, and getting to know my company’s rails app during my apprenticeship!