How to Make a Career Change into Software Engineering

Chrissie was 34 years old, working in real estate and tourism, and believed that only people with degrees could work in IT. Within 12 months of completing Code College's bootcamp, her salary had increased by 140% and companies were actively approaching her with opportunities. This is her story.

Key result: 140% salary increase in 12 months. Promoted from manual tester to Automation Engineer within 8 months of her first job — by building a test framework from scratch.

Before Code College

Before I studied through Code College, I never thought I could become a programmer or even just make a change to the IT industry. I was 34 years old and I predominantly worked in the Real Estate and Travel Industries. I thought that only people with degrees could work in IT, so it was really just a dream.

What Inspired the Change?

I was going through a major change in life and I knew I didn't want to work in the previous industries so I decided to take the plunge. I originally only enrolled for the Web Development course, but then close to the end Arnold convinced me to consider doing the full bootcamp — and boy oh boy am I happy I did it.

Why Code College?

I found Code College on the internet. At first I contacted them because they were one of the only colleges that had everything on their website. But I finally joined due to how the Code College staff were so attentive, quick to respond — and you could see how passionate they were about the IT industry.

Did She Need Coding Experience to Apply?

I had done a few YouTube and free online courses on HTML and CSS. The JavaScript I played with was just copied and pasted from StackOverflow. I knew nothing of SQL, JavaScript, any frameworks, existing tools, or any other coding languages. And I was in my thirties — I knew nothing!

What Was a Typical Day Like?

On campus, we would all arrive, get our coffees and start up our engines. We would be sitting with the lecturer, working through the materials and practising as we got a chance. After each module, you have a project to submit. There was a lot of patience and no pressure if you did the work and kept up.

"On the days when I felt that I didn't understand the code, all I did was keep at it — and every single time it would click eventually. In hindsight, being made to figure it out yourself is the best thing Code College could have done. That's how it works in real life."

What She Learned

I got an introduction to various languages — which is very necessary for any IT position. But the most value I got from the course was understanding OOP (Object-Oriented Programming) and how apps are built. I became competent in:

Projects She Built

How Her Career Has Progressed

I took the first job I was offered — it was for a manual tester, but I knew I would work myself up and I had the skills. Within the first 10 days, I automated their API tests using Postman and JavaScript. Six months later, I had automated 40% of their UI using C# and Selenium, created an HTML interactive manual, and built PowerBI dashboards.

I then moved on to become a Test Analyst with an Insurance Software Company. Within 8 months I was promoted to Automation Engineer by creating a framework from scratch for my interview — using the knowledge I learned from Code College. I am coding every day, writing a project to test other projects.

My salary has increased by 140% in the last 12 months and I get more and more companies requesting to discuss opportunities with me.

Her Advice for Interviews

A show of skill is very necessary. Practice, create small projects as many as you can, and push them to GitHub. Not only will you improve your coding skills, but you will demonstrate that you are eager to work.

Ready to make your own career change? Explore Code College's bootcamp → or read Hassan's story →

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