I began coding when...
I was working as a graphic designer, and a friend of mine told me about Ladies Learning Code, a non-for-profit program that teaches women and young children how to code all around Canada. I first was introduced to code, however, in 2012 at a college* in Toronto, but I never pursued it further, even though it peaked my interest. My friend and I went to a LLC workshop, where we created Valentine's Day e-cards using CSS animations. I instantly became inspired to continue to code. While working as a graphic designer, I worked with code often, and attending the LLC workshops helped me improve my performance at work. I then heard about HackerYou, a coding bootcamp school in Toronto. After researching, I decided to apply for the part-time program. I learned so much, but I was looking for more.
When I finished the part-time program, I was, at the time, working as a graphic designer at a print company. I knew that graphic design was something I did not want to continue as a career for myself. I applied for the full-time bootcamp program at HackerYou, and was so happy to be accepted. It was an incredible experience: I met so many awesome people, built websites/web applications and gained a lot of new skills. 3 weeks after graduation, I got my first job as a front-end dev! 🙂 Within months, I completely changed gears in my career trajectory. Code challenges me to think in a more logical way, and allows me to grow my skills everyday. As a frequent volunteer and mentor for workshops, I love to give back. I enjoy encouraging and motivating others to continue to code.
*Fun story: I went to an Android conference in Toronto in November '16, and the person who runs the conference every year is the same person who taught me how to code!! #FullCircleMoment
I'm currently working on...
developing themes for Shopify, perfecting my JavaScript and CSS animation skills.
I'm excited about...
taking a React workshop in April!
My advice for other women who code is...
apply for jobs you think you may not have the right skills for. It never hurts to apply anyways! When I was looking for a job after graduation, I sent applications in to many companies that were looking for devs with 3-5+ years experience. You'd be surprised by the amount of responses you may receive! Do not be afraid to put yourself out there. You are awesome! âï¸
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