Marine

Meet Marine 🇫🇷! Originally from France and now living in Porto, Portugal 🇵🇹, Marine is a former ballet teacher who still loves dancing whenever she can — even while cleaning the house! 💃 She enjoys staying active through sports like CrossFit and yoga, especially to balance out the time spent sitting at a desk.

Before starting her tech journey, Marine built a strong academic and professional career as a criminal lawyer and university researcher. After earning her law degree and passing the bar exam in Brazil, she moved to Europe to pursue further studies. She completed a master’s degree, several specializations, and began working on her Ph.D., all while staying committed to understanding and addressing complex societal issues.

As she neared the end of her thesis, Marine began to feel like she had reached a limit in her current field, but her curiosity hadn’t faded. Passionate about technology and always seen as the "geek" of the group, she became fascinated with AI and criminal liability. To dive deeper, she decided to learn coding and explore how things really work behind the screen.

“I wanted new challenges. During my research, I stumbled upon the intriguing topic of AI and criminal liability. To write effectively about it, I decided to learn how to code and understand what happens behind the machine.”

That’s when she discovered SheCodes through an Instagram ad. SheCodes instantly stood out because of its structure, support, and mission to empower more women in tech, a cause she deeply believes in. ✨

Marine’s experience with SheCodes was both enriching and empowering. She especially appreciated the strong support system that made her feel guided and encouraged, despite it being an online course. She found the topics relevant and thoughtfully chosen, and she enjoyed how the modules were clearly structured and easy to follow. What stood out most for her was the chance to work on larger, real-world projects that brought everything together and made learning feel even more rewarding. 💪

“The subjects covered were relevant and well-curated for learning how to code. The modules were clear and well-structured, making it easy to follow along.”

One of the most memorable moments in her learning journey was when she started working with React. At first, she expected it to be much harder than JavaScript, but to her surprise, it actually made more sense! React quickly became one of her favorite parts of the course. When she redid her React weather project later on, she was proud to see how far she had come in such a short time — an experience that gave her a major confidence boost and confirmed that she was on the right path. 🚀

“Many people find React intimidating, and I was no exception. To my surprise, React made more sense to me than JavaScript. I later redid the React weather project and was amazed at the progress I had made in such a short period. This experience really boosted my confidence and reinforced my love for coding.”

With SheCodes, Marine gained the technical foundation she needed to enter the IT field and bring her career in a new direction. She is now working as a Business Analyst at Accenture on a large French energy project, where she has already taken on additional responsibilities such as Scrum Master and team management tasks. Her unique combination of legal experience and coding knowledge has helped her stand out and thrive in her new role. 🌟

“While I have a strong functional background and over 10 years of experience in law, my coding skills allow me to stand out in the IT field. Although I can't compare my legal knowledge directly with my programming skills, I can uniquely combine them.”

A solid programming background was a key reason she was considered for the position. Although she later received additional training through the company, the skills she gained from SheCodes allowed her to perform confidently and excel in the learning process. Her coding experience, paired with her fluency in French and eagerness to grow, made her a strong candidate — and opened the door to an opportunity she’s truly excited about. 🚀

“The company was looking for someone fluent in French, eager to learn, and able to work well in a team. My SheCodes experience and coding skills were key components of my evaluation.”

Marine has some heartfelt advice for future SheCodes students. She says it’s normal to feel scared and overwhelmed at the beginning, but she encourages you to keep going because it’s absolutely worth it. The skills you’ll gain can open doors to a more flexible and fulfilling future and help you get closer to the life you want to build. ✨

“I know this seems scary and overwhelming. But you will make it, and it will be worth it. The doors that will open will bring you closer to your dreams and your family. Embrace the challenge, because the rewards are immense.”

One of the biggest rewards for Marine has been the mobility that a career in tech offers. Since her life is spread across three countries, working in IT now allows her to stay connected to both her personal and professional goals. She also shared a fun bonus — thanks to SheCodes, she can finally understand her husband when he talks about his job in tech! 💜

We are so proud of you, Marine! 🚀

Check out Marine’s Testimonials:

🎉 Marine’s SheCodes Basics Testimonial:

“I love learning new things and got a little scared when I decided it was time (and important) to learn how to code. But luckily, the SheCodes team was very supportive and answered all my questions even before starting. I'll be here for all SheCodes Pro, and getting the Basics, it's just the beginning, but I'm feeling pretty confident that all the foundations through this course will make me a great front-end developer!”

🎉 Marine’s SheCodes Plus Testimonial:

“I’ve got to say that I’m really impressed by SheCodes Plus content. Matt is a very good teacher, and the staff on Slack is always available for you if needed. I’m a criminal law Ph.D. candidate using my “free” time (and brain) to do the courses. It’s not easy to manage everything together, but it’s doable. You’ll need to dedicate yourself to it, maybe more than 5h a week, and practice as much as you can, trying new things inside your challenges and homework. The course will give you a full understanding of how to work with JS and put your code online; the rest is up to you. Practicing and exploring are crucial, especially if you want to pursue a development career. SheCodes is a very good first step into it!”

🎉 Marine’s SheCodes React Testimonial:

“I had a lot of fun working with React! It was a most logical library for me, and Matt made it very easy to understand. As always, SheCodes gives you a great impulse for the first step into coding!”