I decided to change careers because I wanted a profession where I could spend more time with my family and make more money. Additionally, I wanted something I enjoyed doing, could be learned in less than two years and was projected to be in demand both in the present and future.
I began my career search with Google and was quickly drawn to software developer/engineer. It just seemed to check all of the boxes: good starting salary, high demand and one could make the change in less than a year. Most importantly, however, was the fact that the more I looked into it, the more I could see myself really enjoying the work. I decided to give it a try and began teaching myself HTML and CSS, and really enjoyed it. I was surprised by how empowering it felt to gain the ability to create something, especially in a medium where the only limits are knowledge and imagination. I knew that this is what I want to do.
I first found out about Flatiron School through an article that mentioned free lessons on their website so I decided to check it out and saw that they offered a bootcamp. Not knowing what that was, I decided to have them contact me for more info. A day later, I received a phone call and had a really good conversation; so much so that I scheduled interviews with three other bootcamps. It wasn’t a hard choice, Flatiron was clearly my favorite. After talking it over with my wife, we decided to sign me up for a time where my mother-in-law would be here to help with our daughter. I also decided to change jobs to one that would allow me enough study time to attend the full time program. So here I am, at the end of “The First Mile”, and very excited for my future and the challanges that await.