Posted by For Thabiso Hlatshwayo, the tech industry offered a gateway to increased career opportunities and job security. As a developer, he could work in a career that would always need his skills, and would allow him to forge his own career. The online HyperionDev Software Engineer Bootcamp gave him the opportunity to do just that.
Preparing for the future
While working as a waiter in Gauteng, South Africa, he had the opportunity to complete some training in systems development. This opened the door to an internship as a full stack developer, where his new-found passion for programming deepened.
The more Thabiso learned about the opportunities in the tech sector, the more attractive the industry became.
“I wanted to develop skills for an in-demand and well-paid job, because I know that most companies need programmers. I wanted to work remotely – I love the idea of being able to control my time and being able to work from wherever I want.”
However, to make the jump to full, professional full stack developer from his intermediate-level understanding of coding, he knew he needed in-depth practical tech skills to break into the industry. That’s when he decided to enroll for a full-time HyperionDev Software Engineering bootcamp.
Taking the next steps
For Thabiso, the bootcamp was all about growing a job-ready set of skills for his newfound love of coding at an accessible, affordable institute that would prepare him for real developer work.
“I decided to take a bootcamp because I fell in love with coding, ever since my high school days. What actually made me take a bootcamp instead of going to university was two things. One, I knew that a bootcamp offered what I needed. I only needed to learn new programming languages. Two, at home we were not financially stable. So a bootcamp was the more accessible option. I have always wanted to be a developer – this is a step towards that.”
In just a few months, Thabiso graduated from his bootcamp, and soon found work as a professional developer. He now works as a full stack developer at Kartoza, a role that allows him to use the skills he learnt on his HyperionDev coding bootcamp.
“I did a short internship at Condurre, and now I’ve just started a new role as a full stack developer at Kartoza. In my daily work I use Django, React JS, React Native, and Node JS, MySQL, SQLite, Python for data visualisation.”
Learning to code wasn’t easy, Thabiso admits. It took hard work and long hours. Lucky for him, the HyperionDev coding mentorship structure helped him to make consistent progress. He also got regular expert review of the code he wrote and programs he was creating, so that he could know how his code stacked up against the code written by industry professionals.
“I feel like having a mentor is one of the best things, because you are not forcing yourself to struggle alone just to understand what’s going on. My mentor was there whenever I wanted help: he helped me with everything on the bootcamp, and he even made me trust in myself. The code reviewing process was very supportive – it really took my coding to a new level.”
Thabiso loved the challenge of his HyperionDev coding bootcamp, which allowed him to deepen his love of programming and his interest in becoming a full stack developer.
“Learning Python was my favourite part of my bootcamp. Right from the first level of my bootcamp, I felt like Python was for me. It’s easier to read Python code, but it gets complicated as you learn it in more detail. The most challenging part of the bootcamp was the Machine learning tasks. It was tough, but I did additional research and watched tutorials. That’s how I overcame the challenge.”
What the future looks like as a Full Stack Developer
Now that he’s officially started his career as a full stack developer, he has big plans for his personal and career futures.
“I hope someday I can be appointed as the group manager, and I see myself opening up a company in the IT industry someday.”
And if you’re thinking about learning to code, or considering taking that first step towards starting your own career in tech, Thabiso has two pieces of advice: go for it, and keep at it.
“Coding is a bit like playing a challenging game: the first stages are easier, and it gets harder as you progress. However, coding is fun and challenging! You will get used to the difficulty, with experience. Try it and test yourself!”
Our online and on-site coding bootcamps focus on teaching you the hands-on tech skills you need to start your new career in tech, just like Thabiso did. With our best-in-class expert code review, you’ll get the intensive support you need to graduate from your bootcamp as a job-ready developer in as little as three months.
As Thabiso (and hundreds of other successful graduates) proves, our coding bootcamps will help you to reach your desired goals, whether it’s upskilling to world-proof your career, or switching you whole career to developer role.Best of all, our bootcamps fit your schedule, so that you can learn part-time or full-time to fit your work responsibilities or future career goals.
Enrol in a HyperionDev coding bootcamp in just minutes here.
