From Unhappy Degree student to Happy Full-Stack Developer in Six Months

We sat down with Kundani to learn about his journey via Code College to become a full-stack developer.

Tell us about your journey before studying coding

In Matric, I was already interested in Coding but decided to pursue degree studies in Maths and Computer Science.

What inspired you to study software development in 2023?

I was 2.5 years into my degree when I dropped out due to losing interest - financial reasons also played a role, however, was not happy with my degree studies because everything was too theoretical. I craved to see more practical implementations of what I learned. The practical side of coding interested me more like building nice apps. In my degree, it was more like solving small theoretical problems, not building of fully functional apps.

Why Code College? What stood out about Code College?

I started looking for options. I did some research and investigated the top boot camps in South Africa. Code College impressed me most with its practical approach, success stories and being deep-rooted in the ICT industry for a long time. They offered me financial assistance on top of it.

Did you have to know basic coding to apply to Code College?

No, you do not need to know how to code when you start - they teach you from scratch. All you need is determination - they are very supportive and go the extra mile to ensure your stumbling blocks are removed.

What was a typical day like in the Code College Java Bootcamp?

I spent 8-10 hours a day on my studies - even when there were no classes. When there is not a formal class, there is a daily progress meeting during which the mentor checks everyone's progress and assigns teamwork to ensure we exchange ideas and do our assignments in groups not only individually.

What was the teaching style like at Code College?

It was different to what I was used to at school and varsity - not theoretical. Not memory testing with yes or no questions, like in school. It was more task-oriented and planning your steps in the building of the solution. You also get a lot of encouragement to demonstrate your work to the team regularly.

Since this was for you an Online Bootcamp, how did you connect with your fellow students and instructors?

Our lectures were given in a 2-way fashion on CodeCollege’s screen-sharing portal. Students and trainers were screen-sharing in parallel all the time. Onsite and offsite students were communicating with one another on the classroom online portal. All teammates were respectful to each other. We have various chat groups to communicate 24/7 between peers and mentors. We also had ticketing forums where you could document your errors and search if the same error was reported before.

What did you learn in the Code College Coding bootcamp?

How to learn: Attempt things even if you do not know - rather than sit and fret. Try and if you fall - use your resources and someone will always help you if you are stuck. I learned self-confidence because the practical aspect of learning builds confidence at the same time.

What kind of projects did you build in the Code College Coding bootcamp?

I was finished with the Web Bootcamp which was half of the Java Bootcamp so I did only the following projects:

• A CV portfolio early in the Intro to Programming course.
• A cooking school app, where people could register their interests, and book various cooking classes in NodeJS (MVC).
• A fully-fledged E-commerce website in React.
• A Movie Reviews website which consumes a movie API and then allows users to rank and review movies - MERN Stack

How did Code College prepare you for the tech job hunt?

By selecting the projects that we did in the Bootcamp to encompass what employers want in the job interview projects.

My portfolio which I built in the first module, grew with me and highlighted my projects and experience. It was an integral part of my CV and was showcased to employers and recruiters

I was placed in the open job market with a new employer to Compuways existing client base

Which tech roles did you feel qualified to apply for after graduating?

• Junior Full-Stack Web Developer (MERN Stack)

I knew what full-stack was and what it takes to convert to another language like C#.NET Full-Stack developer. The concepts are the same - it is just learning a new language which is the smallest part of the learning curve.

Was the Employer interested in your Code College Bootcamp experience?

Yes, that was discussed in detail during the interview process. I had a technical interview in which the employer tested my technical knowledge as well as general team skills. I was questioned in detail about my technical knowledge, apps developed and my team skills - then the employer matched me with their projects.