Anneke graduated from UCT with a Bachelor of Music in Education, as well as a PGCE (Postgraduate Certificate in Education), and taught in schools both locally and internationally for 9 years. However, she found she couldn’t ignore her passion of becoming a web developer. She says:
I always had a love for computers and gaming, and became more and more inquisitive over the years about how websites and software development work. I decided to take a leap of faith and leave my comfort zone in teaching, and start studying programming.
Anneke came across HyperionDev online. Aside from the positive reviews, she felt comforted that she would be rewarded with a certificate at the end of her bootcamp. She also knew she’d be assigned a one-to-one mentor for when she found herself in a coding corner – a not uncommon experience for a newbie developer. Throughout a HyperionDev course, a personal mentor is there to review your code and be there if a student ever feels stuck.
I was allocated an amazing mentor. Valerie was always so kind and patient, and there to help whenever I needed her. Having the one-to-one mentorship was one of the reasons why I chose to do my course with HyperionDev, and Valerie has been an absolute star and amazing teacher.
Anneke enrolled on HyperionDev’s Full Stack Web Developer Bootcamp. She acknowledges it was a jump in the dark, but explained she felt comfortable making the leap due to her relationship with Wessel Bosman, her brother-in-law.
He’s an extremely talented and knowledgeable software developer, working in the UK. Through talking to him and watching him, my passion grew to a point where I actually wanted to take it seriously and start pursuing a career in web development. He, together with my family, gave me the guts to take a leap of faith and move into the tech world.
Where’s Anneke now? She’s currently a junior front-end web developer at Pole Star in the UK, even though she still hasn’t yet completed her bootcamp. (Due to time constraints, she is yet to finish her bootcamp, although she is close to achieving this goal.) She started applying for jobs during her bootcamp and due to her good foundation in JavaScript, which her company required at the time, she got lucky.
She says about her job experience:
For the first 2 months I was the only front-end web developer, so the pressure was on and the experience gained was profound! I have mostly been modifying and building onto existing code to ensure a pleasant and visually appealing user interface for users. I absolutely love working for this company, and have been offered support and welcoming arms from the very beginning. I am very blessed to be a part of this awesome, talented team and the amazing things we build together.
Anneke acknowledges she couldn’t have done her current job without her HyperionDev training. HyperionDev courses are structured to include several practical assignments, as well as various niche capstone projects, where students can apply their learning, allowing them to build up a portfolio of their work while studying.
The coursework has definitely helped prepare me, and the knowledge I have gained from studying full-stack has also helped me understand the back-end and how it works together with the front-end, which is crucial for my job. I loved being exposed to different languages and frameworks. Being thrown into the deep end however is the best way to learn, and Google very quickly becomes your best friend!
Anneke has really carved out a new life for herself. Her one piece of advice to someone looking to move into a new career in programming would be the following:
Take a leap of faith and do it! If the passion is there, go for it. In today’s ever-changing, tech-orientated world, what have you got to lose? Be a part of the change!
Want to be a web developer like Anneke? Register for a free trial on our Full Stack Web Developer Bootcamp and switch careers within 6 months. Alternatively, you can enrol on an immersive, face-to-face Full Stack Web Developer course.
