Programming not for you? Think again.
Trying to find a job after university and failing miserably, I was one of those people. I received my Bachelor’s degree in Social sciences in 2014, majoring in Medical Anthropology As you might imagine, enough jobs to pick from… not. And especially if you want to work for interesting bigger organisations, for example Doctors Without Borders or Unicef, It was hard waking up from my beautiful dreams of changing the world and make a difference.
But I had finished studying and was ready to start working. So what to do? Become a programmer! It’s just the polar opposite from my previous interests, completely makes sense.
Find your inner geek
I took part in the first batch of a major coding bootcamp in their first edition in Amsterdam called Le Wagon. I started this to really instigate a change in my life, doing something like this that seemed so scary and out of my comfort zone. Coding. Wasn’t that for mathematicians and dudes that drink red bull and eat pizza in the basement of their parents? No, it’s not.
It’s for people who want to spend their lives learning new things. In coding, there is no final destination. Once you understand a programming language, a new version has appeared, or a new direction is taken with a different language. There is always more new things to learn.
It’s not solely about mathematical equations. it’s about logical thinking, and solving puzzles. And that’s where I found my inner geek. Besides getting all these difficult puzzles to work and feeling exhilarated when you solve them (you feel like doing a little celebration dance each time). You get the chance to really express your creativity. You could have spent weeks creating this complicated and amazing feature, but if it looks horrible who will want to use it? So besides getting features to work you need to spend time on color schemes, wireframes and logo designs. In web development if solving puzzles is not your cup of tea, you can still give it your all in design and the implementation of it on your website by using front-end techniques.
New chance
After finishing the bootcamp and learning about full-stack web development, I got a job offer: Would I be interested in managing the entire next Le Wagon bootcamp in Amsterdam? Yes, please! I found programming amazing, but I also really got hooked on the spirit of a bootcamp. I also got the chance to work for the Brussels branch of Le Wagon as a teaching assistant in between managing batches in Amsterdam. The people who participate join in from all over the world, hailing from a very diverse set of backgrounds and cultures. But together they share one mission; learning how to code. And I can tell you it’s exhilarating to be part of such an experience.
With this experience came the chance to teach people something new. I am not sure if there is anything more rewarding for me than sharing knowledge. You see an immediate twinkle in people’s eyes once they understand what you are trying to explain. It’s also a learning experience for yourself. Explaining concepts in an easy to grasp manner requires a full understanding of the subject. Each time you are explaining you learn more, you gain insights you did not have before. Being a teaching assistant during the bootcamps was actually a way of furthering my coding knowledge.
Dive into the unknown
But after six months of doing so, I saw all these people build amazing applications. I felt I needed to get back to coding and give it my all. Together with former teammate from my batch and colleague at Le Wagon Lars Böhm, we decided to start our own company; Unless. This has given us the chance to combine knowledge of concept development, design and programming by offering clients the chance to quickly build the basis of a strong product and continuously improve upon it by testing frequently. And with that in mind I realised that my dream of flying all over the world and making a difference, had come true in a different way.
Got a cool idea? Don’t hesitate to let me know at michele@unless.io
