How Do I Become A Full Stack Developer?

How An Unrelated Job Can Be Valuable In Your Job Search

"I can do more than I thought I can, like working while completing a bootcamp. At first, I didn’t know how hard it was going to be. But then I realized I knew I could do it. I made it through. I can do hard things. When challenges come up I have the resources to succeed." - Jerome Checketts, Nucamp Ambassador and Full Stack/ Back End Bootcamp Graduate

4:00 pm — I opened my Zoom meeting room early to prepare.

(I like to make sure I don’t have any unexpected software updates that might make me late.)

4:15 pm — I click accept and I wait for Jerome Checkett’s screen to load.

His smile flashes on the screen and we exchange hellos.

I ask how he’s been doing and he catches me up on a few things—this isn’t our first time meeting virtually.

You see, a few months prior I had interviewed Jerome to join Nucamp’s Ambassador program.

As a current Nucamp Ambassador, Jerome and his fellow Ambassadors host free coding workshops across the country.

Make sure to check out our Free Workshops page to learn more about coding and see if a tech career is right for you.

But this time I was meeting with Jerome to hear about the new Full Stack Developer position he had just accepted.

No, he wasn’t quitting his Nucamp Ambassador role to take on his new Dev job—he is rocking both!

As a recent Nucamp graduate Jerome was excited to share his story of becoming a developer and to share any advice to others following in his footsteps.

Jerome is known for his extensive volunteering track record and willingness to give back.

He served as a missionary in Panama for two years, he recently stepped in to help his community build a playground, and he now is a volunteer firefighter as well.

So, Jerome accepting my invitation to share his coding career story to inspire others was no surprise.

One of the first questions I asked Jerome was:

“What career did you have before deciding to learn to code?”

I was caught off guard by his answer!

Jerome responded with quite the interesting list: Truck driver, mechanical designer, and life insurance broker, to name a few.

He had always been interested in tech and learning to code but didn’t take a serious leap until his life insurance gig proved to not be the right fit.

Chasing down a commission-based paycheck was lucrative but an incredibly draining amount of work.

Jerome knew he couldn’t sustain sprinting at that level forever, so he started to pursue a software engineering degree.

My next question for Jerome naturally followed:

”If you were working toward a software engineering degree, why did you consider a coding bootcamp?”

Plain and simple: Jerome is his family’s sole income provider.

The pressure to get a job in the tech field as soon as possible was starting to build.

College was progressing too slowly, Jerome couldn’t take time off of work to study, and he couldn’t afford to pay much more for education.

That’s where Nucamp’s coding bootcamps came in.

The price stood out to Jerome right away.

He could gain real-world technical skills around his current schedule without sacrificing his wallet or an additional 4+ years of his life.

So which Nucamp bootcamp did Jerome attend?

Jerome first graduated from the Back End Bootcamp in January 2023, followed by graduating from the Full Stack Bootcamp in May 2023.

I then asked Jerome:

”What was your experience like as you were going through the bootcamp?

Jerome surprised himself — he thought he’d enjoy back end development more than front end, but he ended up understanding front end better.

He attributes this to his creative side, one of his hobbies being woodworking.

Jerome enjoyed both bootcamps and finds it incredibly valuable to have an idea of how the entire process works front to back.

After hearing the positives, I wanted to know if Jerome had other feelings as well:

“Tell me about a moment of doubt or difficulty and how did you overcome it?”

Jerome explained to me his bootcamps were fast-paced and essentially felt like trying to drink from a “firehose” at times.

But he knew that was the point — to quickly learn new employable skills, so he found ways to adjust along the way.

Jerome reminded himself during moments of doubt that it was worth it.

He did this by connecting with others going through the same thing; besides his classmates and instructors, he also listened to the podcast “Code Newbies”.

At the end of the day, he wasn’t going through it alone and could lean on his new community.

Jerome also appreciated that at anytime (even after graduating) he could go back and review past lessons.

As our conversations started to come to a close, I had only a few more questions.

Before asking him about advice he’d like to give other upcoming developers, I asked:

“What was your job search process like and tell me about your new role.”

Jerome explained he started applying for jobs before graduation.

Since things were still going very well for him in his insurance broker role, he wasn’t in a huge rush to focus on applications while studying.

Then something amazing happened.

Jerome’s networking paid off!

He was perfectly positioned at the intersection where hard work and opportunity meet.

Because Jerome was known as a top performer at his previous job, he was quickly recognized by a former colleague as a great fit for a full stack developer role at that college’s new business.

Jerome had casually brought up he was studying programming and the rest is history.

Some may call it luck, but this quote attributed to Roman philosopher Seneca: “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity" popped into my mind while Jerome explained what happened.

Jerome had a few call-backs from previous applications as well, but the role his college offered was the one for him.

“Work hard at whatever job you’re in now. You never know what opportunities it will open for you when you’re ready for something new.”

The same day as Jerome’s Full Stack Bootcamp graduation was the first day of his new job!

Last but not least, I asked Jerome for any advice he may have for aspiring developers:

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

“Definitely find a free coding workshop through an Ambassador to see what it is all about and get your feet wet. Hopefully, you can find a local or online one to see how coding could work for you. If someone has no experience, for $400 you can do Web Development Fundamentals as a great intro to coding.” - Jerome Checketts, Nucamp Ambassador and Full Stack/ Back End Bootcamp Graduate

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

“There are a ton of resources like Discord. I like to solve problems myself, but I used Discord a lot to reach out to instructors and fellow students. Use your resources. It is challenging and not for everyone but it will pay off in the long run.” - Jerome Checketts, Nucamp Ambassador and Full Stack/ Back End Bootcamp Graduate