Student Success Story: Switch to a Coding Career You Love

From Price Book Analyst to Front End Developer, Engage Software

"I grew up playing sports and had a lot of hobbies. I was always passionate about things without thinking about it, they were just fun. When I got older, I never found anything that would bring the same enjoyment. When I was in the midst of learning to code at Nucamp, I discovered that I really enjoyed it and realized I could make my ambitions a reality.”

This is Zach Beckwith, a Nucamp Front End Bootcamp graduate and now a Front End Developer at Engage Software.

Zach started his career as many do; he went to college and got a job with a solid work-life balance and decent pay.

But, at the end of the day, he didn’t have any passion for what he was doing.

Zach’s job checked the primary boxes but missed capturing a sense of pride or having room for growth.

After five years of working as a price book analyst, Zach decided it was time to find work that was meaningful to him, especially with the looming uncertainty of the pandemic.

He had a few relatives working as Software Engineers so Zach considered a career in web development himself.

Zach liked the idea of being able to freelance, earn a higher salary, challenge himself as a problem solver, and also be creative.

Since he already completed a degree, Zach wasn’t interested in going back to a full-time university.

Zach also didn’t want want to go into debt or quit his full-time job.

This led him to the world of online coding bootcamps, but before enrolling he compared his options and watched Udemy classes for about a year to gauge his interest.

Halfway through one of the Udemy courses Zach bought a house and lost all his momentum for 3 months.

From there he tried doing a few projects and applying to jobs, but since he couldn’t show any collaborative work with others he didn't get any interest.

This is the point Zach knew enrolling in a coding bootcamp needed to become a reality.

Working with other students and having the guidance of an instructor was going to be the key to his success.

Out of all his options, Nucamp coding bootcamps had positive reviews, a flexible schedule that fit around his current job, a supportive community, and an affordable price.

Zach enrolled in the Nucamp Front End Bootcamp and enjoyed the experience.

“The weekly work was helpful. I could follow the videos, but also figure things out myself. Then the 4-hour workshops were really helpful for getting questions/concerns answered; they were always heard. The class I was in was a really good group of people.”

Describe your job search process.

After graduating from the Front End Web + Mobile Developer Bootcamp, Zach took the time to build a portfolio website and complete a freelance project.

Once his portfolio was live he started sending out his resume on LinkedIn and Indeed around late November.

During the first month Zach had around 1 or 2 interviews a week.

Zach reached out to people working in the field and was told to keep building, applying, and preparing for interview questions.

Three months later in mid-February, he started his current job.

What advice do you have for people who are thinking about attending a bootcamp, but haven't yet registered?

“One of the most important things is to know if it’s something you want to do. Nucamp was really good about communicating that it wasn’t going to be an overnight success. It’s going to be a process, it will be difficult, but if you put in the work, you can be successful. Going in with some foundational knowledge is helpful.”

What advice do you have for people who have already started the bootcamp and they are just about to finish Bootstrap?

“Devote a few hours a day at least, but once you’re past Bootstrap, the whole object-oriented coding for React throws a lot of people off, so doing some supplemental exercises can help. Use CodePen and look up ways to try and make things work, like a navigation bar, a card slider, etc. Practice what you learn.”