3 vital skills for web development

When the Covid-19 pandemic hit Turkey, Ayşe was put on unpaid leave from her job. As a graduate of Tourism Management from Istanbul University she had worked in tourism for 6 years. She loved her job, but already at this point she felt that she made no progress and with the pandemic it all suddenly felt unsustainable.

Like many others with unwanted time on their hands, it made her think about what she was going to do next. It was only when one of her friends suggested she should try coding for a career in tech.

Coming from a different field, she says she had no knowledge about programming and when she decided to give it a chance with a YouTube video, she had no idea programming would be her whole life. Although her passion for coding sparked later in life, she found herself only thinking about coding, she says.

"During my whole life, I have been looking to develop myself. That’s why I love coding, you learn something new every day and it is also very visual! Also, I love challenging situations. When I see a problem, I am really happy. But most importantly, I feel that I can be helpful for people by creating projects that could change their lives."

With her passion for coding and problem solving skills, she quickly made a career change and found a job while still in the bootcamp as a Front End Developer at NicEye Group which provides services for IT Managed Services, Virtuatic for Server and Desktop Virtualization.

However, having learned from experience now, Ayse says technical skills alone are not enough to be successful for a career at tech. You’ll need a critical mindset and the right soft skills to really succeed.

These are the three skills she gained in the bootcamp she says prepared her for success for a job in the digital economy.

1. Teamwork and time management

Ayse says she didn’t know how to work in a team in the tech scene and the bootcamp provided her with tools on how she can better manage her time and work with people more effectively.

I learned how to work with people on the same team, because we coded together a lot in the bootcamp. When there was a problem, we were able to see different angles, different solutions from different people. That was really amazing.

I learned how to manage my time here, because I was working and studying at the very same time. Before joining the bootcamp, I was easily panicking when I got stuck or couldn’t find a solution. I was trying to do everything at the same time without planning. However, my trainers taught me how to create a plan and work step by step«"

In the bootcamp, students learn how to become team players and manage their time because these are some of the key skills needed to thrive in a career in the digital economy. She says mastering these skills prepared her for teamwork at her workplace.

"On a typical day at work, I receive sample websites and designs from my project manager and we have project deadlines. So, I create priorities for my work to finish the websites before the deadline. During the day, I start building the website and code according to the design. Once I finish it, I send the website to testers to see if there is any error or missing functionalities. Then, I correct them based on the results from testers. It is a lot of teamwork!"

2. Learn how to learn

The bootcamp helped Ayse to learn about technologies that she didn’t know before, but one thing that really helped her was learning how to find answers for herself, she says.

"Before joining Re:Coded, I didn’t even know how to search problems on Google. I was watching YouTube videos to learn how to solve problems and not actually reading documents. I learned that building and reading documentation is really important. Here I learned how I can find answers for my problems effectively."

The bootcamp aims for students to learn how to learn. Students become life-long learners who are not afraid to learn a new technology or programming language. By doing so, they start working with more agency and autonomy in their future careers.

"When I get stuck on a problem at work, I start searching for it on Google. If I cannot find an answer, I ask on Stack Overflow. And if I still cannot find anything, then I simply ask for help from my colleagues, but I do my very best to bring the solution by searching for myself first."

3. Growth mindset and hard work

Ayse says the bootcamp made her understand that effort is more important than talent, and if she puts her effort, there is nothing that she cannot achieve.

"The most important thing is that I didn't believe in myself and didn’t have any confidence before joining the bootcamp."

The bootcamp helped me change my perspective and increased my confidence — because it made me see that I can do anything and I have potential, if I put my effort in. It taught me not to give up in the first challenge I have, but to push my limits.

"And, that was a life changing mindset to have."

Students accepted to the program quickly grasp the difference between fixed vs growth mindset. They learn to say “not yet” if they don’t succeed on the first try and understand that they can cultivate their qualities through their efforts. She says she applied this mindset to her job hunt as well.

"I found employment one month after I was accepted to the bootcamp. However, the job hunt was so challenging for me, because companies require a lot of skills from you and you get a lot of rejections. But I never gave up. My one suggestion for those who are looking for a job or going through something challenging is to never give up, believe in yourself and trust the process. Believe that you will make it."

Now that Ayşe achieved her goal of making a career shift and started working as a Front End Developer, she says she has many more goals to achieve! She is looking to gain a lot of experience and become a React Developer in the future!

This project operates within the framework of the ‘PEP-Promotion of Economic Prospects’ programme which is financed by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) in cooperation with Re:Coded & Impact Hub Istanbul.

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