Mat Mozer, Software Engineer and Startup CTO, brings the brains and the heart as a Nucamp Instructor

How a professional in the industry brings 20 years of experience, combined with empathy, to mentor his students through the challenges of coding

“Half of it is teaching technology, and the other is counseling and encouragement” -Mat Mozer, Nucamp Instructor

At 9 years old Mat Mozer started taking apart computers.

Around 12 years old, Mat learned his first coding language: Visual Basic 4.0.

He has always been fascinated with tech, so it was inevitable that it would continue to be a focus in his life through both work and play.

The dedication to his craft is obvious in each of his lessons and makes us honored to introduce you to him as one of our top instructors.

Tinkering with machines at an early age guided Mat into Networking Administration in college.

He quickly discovered hardware was not for him and decided to go back into the software side of things.

Now Mat is a full-time Software Engineer at the American Board of Anesthesiology; he is also both a CTO (Chief Technology Officer) at a prefunded startup called HireTalk and an instructor for Nucamp.

Currently with the American Board of Anesthesiology, Mat is programming an AI chat bot to be an anesthesiologist.

As CTO at HireTalk he leads a team of developers.

With Nucamp, Mat focuses on leading his coding bootcamps with empathy and councils students through the ups and downs of learning to code.

When doubt sets in he makes sure his students know they are not alone and their feelings are valid.

Mat coaches his students to work through difficulties with his teaching philosophy to not give out answers directly.

He instils the mindset of how to learn and think for oneself.

"Keep coding, that's how you'll get better."

What coding (or noncoding) skills are you specialized in?

A majority of Mat’s strengths lie within the tech realm, including a mix of both infrastructure and coding.

He specifically knows React, React Native, C#, Microsoft SQL, and MongoDB.

Mat is working on his DevOps certification and is Azure Admin certified.

He has also been doing some Android and Swift Development.

What is your favorite project you've created or are most proud of?

Mat is most proud of the digital signage he created for Casinos.

Mat built engaging promotional animations.

He used Unity, made a digital display, and put them on Android TV boxes around Casinos.

Why did you decide to become a coding bootcamp instructor?

Mat had to close his casino software business due to another business offering Mat’s exact services for free.

He decided he needed to learn more skills to avoid being pushed out of a job again.

One of Mat’s friends took a Nucamp coding bootcamp and recommended it.

Fate took hold as a member of Nucamp reached out to Mat, complimenting his resume and asking if he would be interested in instructing at Nucamp.

After leveling up his skills by taking Nucamp coding bootcamps himself, he became an instructor; and to this day is a highly rated member of the Nucamp instructor team.

What makes a great bootcamp instructor?

“Don't lose where you came from. Know that at some point you had been where the student is. Have empathy. Eventually they'll get to where you are. If you can remember where you came from, that can help you realize how students feel. Be their mentor.

Lastly, what is one piece of advice you would give bootcamp students (future or current)?

“The only way to fail as a developer is to stop. I have yet to meet a developer that quit and still is considered one.