My name is Shaun, born and raised in the upstate of South Carolina. I graduated from Travelers Rest High School in 2005. After high school I went straight into the work force. I worked in manufacturing plants and fast food before working with North Greenville University for ten years as a supervisor. My big regret during that time is that I never had goals or aspirations of bettering myself.
I was in a dark place personally for most of my 20s and didn't progress much as a person. Luckily this where I met my wife and I finally began to work on myself. I went to work at the New York Butcher Shoppe after finally leaving NGU and really enjoyed it. I worked my way up to being an Assistant Manager but I still didn't feel satisfied. I remember during an evaluation the General Manager asked me about my goals, and I had nothing. I was 33 and still didn't have any professional goals. I knew at that point I didn't want to be in retail. I was burnt out and didn't want to move up the ladder, just stuck.
I started looking at careers I could get into without going to four years of college. There was things like HVAC technician and plumber, very important and good jobs but not for me. Then there was Web Development that caught my eye. Coding was something I always thought was for people way smarter than me, but after researching it's just something that you have to put work into. It's more of a mindset to constantly learn and solve problems. Freecodecamp was my first exposure, and I was instantly hooked after a few lessons. I knew it was something I wanted to chase, so I went to my boss and told him I wanted to step down and cut back some of my hours to finally chase a goal.
The drive to chase a career that would also make a better life for my family was there. The Butcher Shoppe fully supported my decision and worked with me so well. After learning in my free time from work I realized I wasn't making the progress the I wanted. After researching coding bootcamps I came across Carolina Code School. I wanted something in person with a comfortable learning environment. I had an hour sit down with Lelia about the program, and my mind was made up instantly.The next day I told my job that I would work the next 6 months through Christmas and I was out.
My wife fully supported me and never said one negative thing about the decision. Even though we had to take out a good sized loan and go in debt, she had full faith in me the whole time. In January I started the Code School, and it was the quickest most intense three months of my life. By far the hardest thing I ever done but I loved the experience. The support I had at home, plus the support of the code school community kept me positive. Also shout out to Mady, she is a tremendous instructor. When we got to Demo Day it felt so damn good, I never have felt so accomplished. When that high wore off though I knew it had just began, now I had to actually land a job.
I knew I needed to be in a place that wouldn't mind coaching me up on a professional level. I had a few interviews with no luck, but I knew Develop Carolina could be a possibility. Yes I wanted those full time pay checks right away, but Develop Carolina had exactly what I needed. Now here we are almost through week one, and I have no doubt this was the right decision.
I didn't expect to go into my background so much, so next entry I will dive into the Develop Carolina experience!
Top comments (2)
Shaun - I loved reading your back story, and I am so proud of how far you've come. When you set your mind to a goal, you accomplish it. That's grit, and that's something we can't teach - you are going to go far! Keep sharing with us - we are cheering you on every step of the way.
Thank you Lelia!