My Success Story

My Success Story that Started With Codecademy

console.log("Thank you Codecademy!"); // from a new C++ Developer in Portland, OR

I’m writing this success story because I really owe it to Codecademy. :thumbsup:. Good job you guys.

Not too long ago I was finishing up an engineering degree and had no programming experience. Late in 2014, That degree got me a job at a web company where I was introduced to a weird language called JavaScript. I used Codecademy to teach myself the language for work, but that first step led me down a path to a career and a life-long hobby.

For 18 months, I worked my a** off learning about programming. I was laid-off in the last 6 months of that time, which caused me to turn up the dials on learning to code. A lot of late nights, mistakes, and fear :fearful: for the future got me to where I am now. Last week, I started my first day as a junior software engineer.

Codecademy did not get me 100% of the way, but it did get me started. Getting a good handle on syntax in a simple coding environment is so attractive to beginners! At the start, I went through most of the courses on Codecademy (JavaScript, HTML, CSS, Git, Python…), but eventually I wandered the web looking for deeper understanding.

Since I liked JavaScript, I naturally was interested in Node.js. One of the first video-learning services I subscribed to was CodeSchool.com. They have an excellent course on Node.js. I also regularly used NodeSchool.io, which also got my feet wet with using a package manager and the command line.

My first project was an Express.js web app that I did with a friend. He was quite a bit more experienced than me, having a CS degree and real software work experience. I learned a lot from him. It was my first big project and also my first big flop. I had a lot of “firsts” in that project, and mostly “first mistakes”.:bomb:

# don't do this 
# i.e. make sure you know what you're doing

> git add .
> git commit -m "added lots of stuff and things"
> git push origin master

After I put that aside, I was eager to get back to work. I knew that I did not want to be an engineer or a tester again. I really wanted to code.

I noticed that .NET job openings were prevalent in my area, so I decided to learn C#. I tried out Microsoft’s Virtual Academy, and some youtube videos, before I settled on a C# Udemy series by Mosh Hamedani. I could not be happier with his teaching style and I recommend his courses to anyone learning Visual C#.

Learning C# (and later C++) was my first exposure to object-oriented programming. Coming from the JavaScript world, this was quite new to me, and it made me respect aspects of both dynamically typed and strongly typed languages.

I worked for a few months trying to get interviews. I made it to a few short lists, but my typical down-fall was experience (catch 22!). Finally I was able to get to an in-person interview with a company near my home-town. There were plenty of technical questions about best practices, object-oriented design, and coding exercises. I walked out of that interview not feeling super great. They had asked a question about recursion that I felt I answered terribly!

That interview was on a Friday. Weekend passes…Monday morning happens, and I get an email in my inbox with an offer letter :tada:. Possibly the happiest day in a long long time. Happier than graduation day :mortar_board:. Getting a job that you love, after being out of work is just the best. I quickly accepted the offer.

To anybody learning to code: it is worth the effort, so put it in. When learning programming alone, you have to be kinda obsessed. My point is, you have to want it really bad. It is not easy, so don’t make it a choir. Make it a ritual. Make it something you do for fun. :relaxed:

Don’t give up. If you really want it, go get it. Let me (and so many others with success from codecademy) be proof of this!

You You::Code()
{
  WriteCode();
  WriteMoreCode();
  HaveJob = this->InterviewForJob();
  if (!HaveJob) this->Code();
  else return new SoftwareDev();
}

My feedback for Codecademy is: keep it up! I would love to see more languages and more topics discussed. I would also like to see more incentives to go for the subscription. I would return to Codecademy for regular learning if you there were courses in C#, C++, or Scala. I would also be interested in data structures and algorithms courses too.

Codecademy: You changed my life for the better. Thank you so much. :heart:

17 Likes

That’s awesome! Keep going! :grin:

WOW Awesome, brilliant story! Thanks for being so inspirational :slight_smile:

1 Like

Thanks! Coming up on 3 months. Feeling awesome still. Work is still really fun to go to everyday.

3 Likes

That’s great. Keep being sucsessful!

So Nice,be successful:heart_eyes:

2 Likes

That’s what I want to do when I grow up…

1 Like

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