Could you imagine turning your hobby into a job? Sondos could.

"'Do you really need that many apps?'" Sondos' friends would always ask when they'd catch a glimpse of her phone home screen.

Sondos, a 22-year-old Iraqi accounting student, was always fascinated by apps, looking to explore all the newest releases. With over 360 apps on her phone and an average of 20 app downloads on the weekend, it's safe to say that Sondos is something of an app enthusiast.

But where did this all start? "I've always done it. But I'm not sure why, to be honest, it could be a lot of things, or maybe it's just digital hoarding," Sondos laughed.

One of the many unhappy students

Sondos had been let down by her career prospects so far. "I was one of the many unhappy students of the local education system. I studied a major I had no passion for and have never been sure about what will become of me or where I will end up in my career life."

During the work day, Sondos worked as an office clerk— doing bookkeeping, social media design, translation, and events. But the pay was not enough to support her.

All of this pushed Sondos to look for alternatives: "I was always looking for ways to make up for it by learning new skills that might get me a place in the job market."

Searching for the right match

In her search for an alternative career, Sondos had tried almost every free online course to explore new skills, but she found it difficult to replicate her passion for apps.

It was only when her favorite app switched to a premium subscription model that Sondos started considering a career in software development.

"I started looking for their [the app's] modded [modified] versions. And while Happymod is great for that, there were still some apps that I couldn't find there (and still can't)." Sondos said, " I wished I could make mods too."

"That was when I discovered that I wanted to be able to build software."

When she came across a Re:Coded frontend bootcamp, Sondos was one of the first applicants.

On a path to passion

Sondos is an active student and is now on the right path to changing her career. She's looking forward to doing what she loves to do for a living.

"I want to become a full-stack developer," Sondos stated resolutely.

"Frontend is the first step to becoming a full-stack developer, so being a Re:Coded frontend student has helped me get started with just that the right way."