How SheCodes Pro helped Katrin change career paths and become a Front End Web Developer.
🙍♀️ Before SheCodes
Katrin is a hardworking SheCodes student who has used her new coding knowledge to completely transition careers in a difficult time. We’re so glad to have her in the SheCodes community 😍
She’s originally from Germany, but is currently living in Switzerland. She enjoys playing video games and playing with her dog in her free time. She has a background in wholesale and foreign trade management, wholesale processes, control and management, economic crisis and social processes. Recently, she was working as a Sales Agent and had established herself in this field.
“I have worked in sales in the building materials industry all my life. And had established myself in this male domain. Unfortunately, I lost my job in June 2020 due to the pandemic."
Due to her new job situation, she decided to explore other fields. Her fiancé was working as a developer and she had an interest in finding out more about what his job entailed. Coding really enticed her because she was so intrigued by the fact that coding languages can be used so creatively. Hence, her interest in coding started to grow.
“I was never a nerd. But when I met my fiancé and wanted to understand his work, the interest grew. Because I found it incredibly interesting to learn a language and then be able to use it so creatively. But what fascinates me the most is that on one side I enter something and on the other side there is directly a result... or not.”
Given this new interest, she began looking for programs to learn how to code online. She found SheCodes and thought it was a good fit because it would allow for her to gain a solid coding foundation in a short amount of time. 💪 💻
👩💻 Her SheCodes Experience
After finding SheCodes online, she decided to join the 4 month advanced workshop. The fact that the workshops were only for women was a big draw for her.
“I thought it was incredibly great that there was a course, especially for women. With a community of only women who want to learn to code. Because IT is still a male domain.”
Katrin said that her favorite parts of the workshop were the community, network, resources, and assignments.
“I like the community, Slack chat, and homework. Because there are countless courses on the Internet that you can take for coding. But there are only a few where you have to hand in homework that is also checked. And the community in Slack is absolutely amazing. So many girls who support each other so much. I also see the feature of LinkedIn to network further as an absolute advantage.”
Besides SheCodes, she has taken some other online courses on Udemy. In her view, SheCodes has many qualities that set it apart from other online courses, though, such as the speedy support, the sense of community, the assignment review process, and the creative freedom of the final projects. 🙌
“I have taken some courses on Udemy and am currently still taking some. Because there is always something to learn. The difference with SheCodes lies mainly in the community, the speed with which questions and concerns are answered by support. And in the homework, I find something like that extremely important. Because only in this way you can really check whether you have understood it. Also the final projects. Of course, there are also projects in the other courses but these are very fixed in the specifications, in SheCodes you definitely have more artistic freedom.”
Katrin has been a wonderful SheCodes student! Her overall view of SheCodes so far is that she loves the website, deadline reminders, and community.
“I love the way SheCodes treats the students. It's like being a part of something big. The website is great and totally modern. Also the friendly reminders about homework etc. are great. I love the community. It is great, it is supportive, it is incredible.”
🙋 How SheCodes has Helped to Change Her Life
Given Katrin’s job situation, she was inclined to pursue a different field and expand her skill set. SheCodes helped provide her with a solid coding foundation and a new career path. Thanks to her coding knowledge gained, she was able to snag a job as a Front End Web Developer at Zynex AG. 🤩
“When I learned to code with SheCodes, I saw this as an opportunity to start in a new direction. The company my fiancé works at was looking for a front end developer and my fiancé suggested me. Then I officially applied for the job and was able to convince in the interview. I’m happy to start the new year with my new job as a frontend developer.”
Her daily tasks include creating basic layouts, creating dummy pages according to the company’s designers’ specifications, and learning more every day about her new role. Thanks to her SheCodes knowledge, she now has more confidence in the development field and a greater understanding of what’s expected of her in her new role.
“I have more confidence because I understand what my fiancé and teammates are talking about. And I can solve tasks that are given to me or at least offer a solution. My colleagues are all great and super supportive.”
Plus, her new job has a few new perks that her old sales job didn’t have. 😉 These include better working hours, increased flexibility to work remotely, and a better work-life balance.
“I definitely have better hours and can work from home. The work-life balance is also much more balanced. Plus, I can listen to music all day if I want to. And I work creatively and learn something new every day.”
In her coding future, she’d like to expand her coding horizons and learn even more languages. She may even transition into full-stack development within her company. 😄
“I would like to learn more coding languages, because these are the languages of the future. The company I work for is really supportive and would like to train me to be a full-stack engineer.”
👩💼 Advice to Future SheCodes Student
When asked what advice she would give to future SheCodes students, Katrin said that although there are cheaper options out there to learn how to code, SheCodes offers an experience that is totally worth it. She referenced the SheCodes community, support, motivation, and coding technologies learned.
“I think there are many courses, even cheaper courses. But they don't have the community and support like SheCodes. I have never had to wait more than a few hours for a response, whether from the staff or the community. Something that is important to me personally, also to motivate me. And when you look for something like that, you usually only find boot-camps that are extremely expensive or ones that are super cheap but don't offer any support or community. The course content is clearly structured and makes sense.”
“Just try it. No.. just do it. Start with the smallest course. This does not take long and does not take up much time in the week. If you like it, keep going, if you don't like it, at least you've learned something that may help you understand other things better. I can say that within 2 months I learned 3 new languages, and about hosting, API’s and Bootstrap. And now I am learning React in my third and final SheCodes course.”
SheCodes Workshop Testimonial
“Thanks to this workshop I was able to deepen my existing knowledge. I am looking forward to the further weeks in the workshop. The course is really recommendable for everyone who wants to take the first steps into the field of web development.”
SheCodes Plus Testimonial
“I am so proud of myself. I completed this course again very quickly. The tasks are clearly structured and easy to implement. The explanations of the individual features and programs were also easy to understand. I especially like the fact that you get homework and that it is checked. I also have to say that the Slack Community is absolutely great and you get help really fast. Thanks to Matt and his team. It was absolutely wonderful and I am already looking forward to the next course.”
SheCodes React Testimonial
“It was an exciting time and I will miss the Slack Chat community very much. The React course was much more demanding and time-consuming, especially if you work full-time. I'm glad I took the course to the end and recommend it to anyone interested in React.”
SheCodes React Testimonial
“It was an exciting time and I will miss the Slack Chat community very much. The React course was much more demanding and time-consuming, especially if you work full-time. I'm glad I took the course to the end and recommend it to anyone interested in React.”
