Reel in job-ready skills with a coding bootcamp

By Chevas Balloun

Last Updated: November 16th 2021

From General Contractor to Front End Developer & Tester, BlueArmor

"Price was a factor, but the main reason I chose Nucamp was the flexibility to learn online. Other bootcamps I looked into were either onsite or cost $10,000, which is way too much."

This is Daniel Constante, a Nucamp Full Stack Bootcamp graduate and now a Front End Developer & Tester at BlueArmor.

Daniel enjoys both staying in with a good video game and enjoying fishing with his kids in the outdoors.

He had been casting for his dream job for some time, but with his luck, he wasn't getting any bites.

He started studying HTML and CSS in high school, got his college degree in Ecuador, but unfortunately his degree didn't transfer to the U.S.

So, he went with the flow and took the opportunities life floated his way, including working at a tattoo shop, roofing supply warehouse, and then eventually moving into construction.

As a general contractor he felt like he was in the weeds; though he was paying the bills, he still dreamt of being in tech.

When some friends started looking into taking a coding bootcamp he began to wonder if that was what could get him where he wanted to be.

Nucamp was an option they were all considering, so he looked into it as well.

The price and ability to attend from the comfort of his home was the hook, line, and sinker for him.

So, Daniel set out to cut the line on his contracting job and registered for a Nucamp coding bootcamp.

Working through React and Redux was the most difficult part for Daniel while going through the bootcamp.

He tackled the challenge by putting in extra time on those specific lessons and even creating extra side projects, even though he wasn't required.

His experience going through Nucamp taught him valuable decision-making skills and how to think through problems logically.

"The community and Slack channel was helpful. Any question or problem I faced, I was able to ask or search for it and the answer was right there. The people there are always willing to help."

Describe your job search process.

Daniel focused his job search efforts on LinkedIn and Indeed.

With the robust portfolio he built for himself, he ended up being contacted directly to for a React developer position.

He landed his job two weeks after starting his job search process.

His interview included explaining his Nucamp Honors project, how he passed data, how he stored the images, and how he wrote the hooks.

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

"Once you start, you go along with the flow. You learn one thing, you start building on that. I always say, if I can do this, you can do better. Just find a way."

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

"When it seems too difficult, it may not make any sense at first, but in the long run you'll laugh about. That's what happened to me. The first day, the imposter syndrome was real, felt like too much, but I got used to it."
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Chevas Balloun

Director of Marketing & Brand

Chevas has spent over 15 years inventing brands, designing interfaces, and driving engagement for companies like Microsoft. He is a practiced writer, a productivity app inventor, board game designer, and has a builder-mentality drives entrepreneurship.