From accountant to developer: Saif's journey

It was a regular day at work when Saif Ali’s path crossed with Re:Coded.

“What made me interested in this program was Re:Coded itself! Before I started working as an accountant, I was working as a cashier in a supermarket in front of Erbil Innovation House where the Re:Coded office is. I was always watching and thinking to myself ‘What is Re:Coded? Is that a company?’. I was so curious about it. Then, one day after work, I decided to find out for myself. I went upstairs and I saw work stations and the communities about coding. I was very impressed and I started following Re:Coded on social media”.

That’s how Saif Ali, one of graduates from our Frontend Bootcamp in KRI met with Re:Coded, but he says he was interested in coding and technology long before his very first visit to our office.

Passion for tech

Saif Ali says his interest for technology and specifically for computers sparked when he was only six years old. He says he was naturally drawn to anything related to tech. And when he was a teenager, he recalls how much he enjoyed playing video games and browsing through the Internet.

His enthusiasm for computers made him ask himself why he is not the one developing the software - and that’s how he got interested in coding. What started as a hobby has become Saif Ali’s life now.

“I started my journey of programming in 2018. I was very interested in coding - I was trying to understand what one could do with programming languages. Then, I discovered Udemy and purchased a 40-60 hours long web development course which taught about HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and some backend as well. I was waking up every day to discover more about the web development.”

Saif Ali says Udemy is a good place to start from scratch to learn anything, however, by the time he finished the course, he felt the need to find a place where he could learn more. And, that’s where Re:Coded bootcamp came in.

Often when people want to learn to code, they take self paced courses and tutorials but many struggle to continue learning after finishing the course - and that’s what we aim to provide our students at Re:Coded: providing them with tools for them to be life-long learners.

A learning experience that exceeded expectations

When asked how he got into the bootcamp, he starts telling the story with his witty personality.

“At that time, Re:Coded posted on social media that there is a Frontend Bootcamp. I looked at myself and I definitely knew my bad luck. Nevertheless, I applied and started waiting. I was checking my emails every single day. And then, I saw that I got the acceptance email for the coding challenge - I literally broke the jinx! The next phases went by really fast and I found myself on the kickoff day in the blink of an eye!”.

He says that the bootcamp was beyond his expectations, because learning at Re:Coded has been really fun for him.

If I am completely honest, the bootcamp was above my expectations.

Actually, the last day of the classes was a sad day for me, because it was really fun to have a class for web development, making connections in the bootcamp and having friends who go through the same challenges with you. It was a fun journey that I will never forget”.

However, he says as much as he had fun in the bootcamp learning, there are some parts of the bootcamp that could also be challenging, and one would need grit to overcome them.

“I had three main challenges. My biggest challenge was the assignments. Sometimes, they were really difficult. However, in this way, you can learn the subjects really well. Second of all, the capstone project has been challenging for me, because you are not only applying what you learned at the bootcamp, but also you research, learn and apply different technologies that the project needs. And lastly, it was challenging to manage time between my work and the bootcamp at the beginning. That’s when I had to have a critical look at the scene and decided to quit my job”.

Commitment is the key to succeed at the bootcamp

Quitting a job can be daunting and we asked Saif Ali what it takes to be successful in the bootcamp and if he had any suggestions for future candidates.

“I quit my job so that I could be fully dedicated to the bootcamp. You need to think about what deserves your time the most in your life. It was not actually very worthy to be in that job for me. So, I decided to invest my time in the bootcamp and I said ‘Re:Coded would be the best for me’”.

He says he would have three suggestions for anyone who is considering applying for our future programs that he learned from his own journey.

“If you want to apply for Re:Coded bootcamps, you would never regret it. And I would recommend everyone to submit their applications. At the same time, If you decide to apply, I would recommend you to make time for the bootcamp in your life in the first place, then have a plan for the bootcamp - commit to it and do what is required from you-, and lastly, connect with fellows in the bootcamp, see their story and witness how they are achieving their dreams”.

Career Dreams

Now that Saif Ali graduated from the bootcamp, he says his ultimate goal is to find a job abroad, however, he says he first would like to develop his skills even further.

“I would like to master frontend. And then, I will continue with learning backend development. My aim is to become a fullstack developer so that I could know everything about web development. However, I also would like to learn UX/UI as well. Who knows!”

This bootcamp was funded by the European Regional Development and Protection Program (RDPP II) for Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq, which is supported by the Czech Republic, Denmark, the European Union, Ireland and Switzerland. *