From Calculus to Code
Given it’s #NationalCodingWeek I thought I’d share my story of how I came to be a developer.
It’s been 3 years since I graduated from university and I’m now enjoying life as a software developer here at Red Sift. I would strongly encourage any recent graduate taking their next steps to consider a career in tech for the endless opportunities it affords, so to help people decide if it’s for them, here’s my journey.
Off in search of meaning
I studied mathematics at university and, whilst I enjoyed the challenges it had to offer, my studies were pure and abstract with very little meaning in the outside world. As a result I left university with less of an idea of what I would do next than when I came in. I was not interested in following friends into the City, taking finance or consultancy positions in soulless companies. I also had lost confidence, feeling as though I had no tangible skills or the experience needed for entry level jobs and so I was left stuck not knowing what to do.
I had never considered software development. I was always just a consumer of tech, able enough to navigate through an application but too scared to stray any further, opting for the ‘turning it off and on again’ approach to solving my problems. I remained ignorant until I was asked to help out on the rules for an application matching students’ grades to university places. Getting to work with a development team I got an insight into the working culture. It was a relaxed environment with friendly people, late starts and an informal dress code. However, with well managed and efficient working processes, this allowed the developers to really focus on building the best product and you could really see that they loved to code and enjoyed what they were doing. I was left frustrated by how little I could contribute but was encouraged to explore this path further.
But where do you start if you don’t know how to code?
Subscribing to different recruiter networks I saw there was a wealth of software jobs being offered. Some companies offer to take you on and train you whilst others require multiple languages and years in the game. It did not feel quite right joining and potentially being tied down to a company when I had no experience but I was also not yet sure if this was really for me.
So I decided to take some online courses. There are an abundance of great modules on Coursera, Udacity, Code Academy and a particular favourite Code Wars. I was certainly becoming more competent but the more I learnt the more I realised how much there was to learn. I became disheartened when a small stumbling block would prevent me going any further with no-one to help. I was locked into the safe sandbox environments they provided and again I was not confident to go further.
The learning was lonely and I was losing steam but then I came across coding bootcamps where you learn intensively for three months with other people. I wanted to take the next step, however they cost a lot of money: several thousand pounds. I knew I would be guaranteed jobs afterwards and it would be an investment but I was not in the position to take the risk of not working for three months and having to pay the fees on top. Then I found Founders and Coders.
I could write a whole new post on Founders and Coders and how great an organisation it is but I will keep it brief. They offered a free course in full stack web development in East London and I was lucky enough to get a place. Sixteen people from all different backgrounds were placed into one room; the best learning environment. There were people who were ex-poker players alongside pizza chefs, those with no degrees to a university professor, all wanting a change and the chance to code. With weekly learning topics we rapidly experienced all parts of the web development stack and were set team projects like “Build Instagram” and we did! It was collaborative, not competitive. If learning resources were missing, we would create them. We followed the best processes in software development; test driven, modular code always with an eye to write it as beautifully as possible.
Never have I felt so empowered
Not only was I able to create useful and practical applications from scratch, I could tackle any problem knowing that the answer could now be found on the internet if I looked in the right place. Publishing my own modules and contributing to the open source community was exciting and finally gave me a medium to be creative and innovative. On top of the course, we went to many hackathons, coding meet ups and conferences. We quickly realised how many opportunities there were to learn and get experience with new technologies in a community so open and willing to share, an education in software is accessible to all.
I stayed in the space and worked on three freelance projects for start-ups in small teams. Everyone needs coders! The projects were varied, a Tinder-like mobile application, spreadsheet and a matching engine for schools and supply teachers. I gained experience in team management, product development and design all on top of the code and knew that I would feel comfortable and enjoy working in small companies where I would have the greatest impact.
When I saw the job listing for Red Sift I was instantly excited and knew it would be the right fit. They offer a data computation platform geared towards being able to quickly create and iterate upon applications with integrations such as email and chat-bots. Not only can a developer code in any language but they do not have to worry about deployment with a secure protected environment. Perfect for any start-up with a MVP or a research student who wants to make use of their data. Helping to develop the platform further and enable more people to create and produce useful technologies is something I did not want to miss.
Red Sift is a mature start-up with a small development team but full of veterans of the industry with an ability to take on any challenge and get results. They are a source of inspiration with their can-do attitude, attention to detail and focus on doing things the right way. They provide the much needed experience as I continue my developer journey and I am grateful to be working as part of such an ambitious and diverse team.
I am now safe in the knowledge that coding was the right path for me. Even if I had never dreamed of being a software developer I have realised it is here that I can provide greatest utility and be part of the innovators shaping our future through technology. I now have a passport into any organisation I would ever want to work for and this really is the greatest freedom.
