A Love of Computers and Gaming Leads to a Career Change

How a bit of courage with the right support can make all the difference

Have you ever had a moment at work where you reach down for another sip from your mug just to realize it's empty, so you look out the window to notice it’s a calm sunny day, and then the realization hits you that you just don't want to do this job anymore?

When the pandemic hit, Jim Chimento’s busy life slowed down enough to bring him to that exact moment.

The lockdown created the mental space for him to think more clearly about his life and evaluate what he really wanted to be doing.

Then he did something that so many of us know is difficult to do; he took a hard look at his career and made the decision to make a change.

Jim asked himself, “What do I enjoy doing?”

And what was the first thing that popped into his head? Computers and gaming.

Unfortunately, a Computer Science degree wasn’t feasible.

Both the 4-year commitment and the extensive money drain of a CS degree had Jim turn his attention to coding bootcamps.

I asked Jim what made him choose Nucamp.

He gave me a knowing look and an answer I’ve heard from many graduates before him and it was this ONE thing that made Nucamp stand out.

You’re probably thinking it was the price.

Even though that was really enticing, he also knew he had the discipline to study on his own, so why even pay for a course with all the free options available?

Jim heard great things about Nucamp on YouTube from Don the Developer and also loved hearing from Nucamp’s CEO.

“Ludo is a real down-to-earth guy. Having heard from the CEO, I felt reassured that Nucamp wasn’t too good to be true.” - Nucamp Graduate, Jim Chimento

And all those things mattered, but the one thing that mattered the most was that Jim could keep his job and continue to work while attending the bootcamp.

Put all those elements together and Jim pulled the trigger to change his life.

That’s when I asked him, what was it actually like going through the Full Stack bootcamp?

Jim answered, “I have nothing but great things to say about Nucamp. The instructors were supportive. I especially loved the Slack channel, everyone collaborates. Sometimes people from other classes came in to help with problems.”

He also appreciated that each instructor was a working professional.

His instructors made time to connect with him and help out whenever he needed; two instructors even became part of his network.

I told him that was great to hear, but also asked if he ever had a moment of doubt or difficulty.

Jim recounted a few moments while learning React and React Native that were a challenge to work through and even though he may not be able to handle working with Redux and other more complex technologies…

Thankfully he and his classmates leaned on each other through each bump in the road and if things still weren’t clicking, his instructor would give special attention to concepts that the class was struggling with.

Then I asked him what it was like actually getting a job, as we know it's only half the equation.

Jim waited until graduation to start his job search but looking back on what he knows now, he recommends others to start the process during the bootcamp.

He continued to work on building projects during his job search and ended up receiving a few phone interviews.

Then after one month of dedicated searching: NO OFFERS. Why?

It could have been a number of things, but he had a hunch.

Even though he wanted to get a front-end developer job, Jim decided to switch up his approach by applying for different roles—ones more junior, ones in demand, but STILL related to front-end roles.

That’s when he set his sights on HTML email development and QA (quality assurance) positions.

Then something happened.

The callbacks started rolling in.

Jim ended up getting substantially more callbacks when applying to these roles.

Two months after graduation Jim secured his first role as an HTML email developer at Banyan Hill Publishing.

I congratulated Jim on his first job and his perseverance on the path to earning it.

Did he break into tech? Yes. Did he get the job he wanted? YES, but not right away.

You see, taking that HTML email dev role gave him valuable experience directly in the industry.

6 months later he moved up within the company to a front-end developer role.

I asked him if he had any advice for people considering attending a bootcamp but haven’t yet registered: highly consider it.

He added that he knows everyone has different things going on in their lives, but he highly recommends someone considering a bootcamp to check it out.

Jim noted it’s much faster than a traditional CS degree and you can still get a job.

He said he had nothing against traditional college, but that you can very well succeed through a coding bootcamp.

Lastly, I asked Jim for advice for those who already started the bootcamp and are just about to finish bootstrap.

Thinking back to the difficulties he shared about learning React, Jim wants those who are struggling with tough concepts to keep their head down.

Jim empathizes that you will get stuck a lot, but if you stick with it, you will get through the rough patches.

He also wants to remind everyone to reach out to your instructors.

Jim’s parting words were, “My instructors were fantastic. If I ever got stuck, they were very quick to answer questions and were always responsive.”