Capetonian Kalin Pretorius is one of many HyperionDev graduate success stories. No stranger to the IT industry – he previously worked as a systems engineer – Kalin attended our Software Engineering Bootcamp on an online, part-time basis. It provided the exact boost he needed to take his career to the next level without having to pack it all in and start from scratch. We caught up with him to find out more about his journey to realising his dreams.
Taking the step
While being employed as a systems engineer at Technolutions, a tech innovator in the education industry, Kalin was focused on network and systems engineering and administration. However, he always yearned to explore the software side of things and wanted to expand his skills to not only make a complete career change but develop the skills needed for in-demand programming jobs.
Unable to drop everything and pursue a degree in computer science, he researched courses he could do while still holding down a job. That’s when he came across the HyperionDev bootcamps – it was the perfect solution.
He chose software engineering to build on his existing knowledge and because it would enable him to work creatively with software, hardware, and other computer systems in a wide variety of industries and jobs. As a software developer, you are placed at the heart of the digital economy, with endless scope for growth, which is exactly where he wanted to be.
Managing a bootcamp while working full-time
Kalin’s background in the IT industry meant he was no stranger to online courses, and he used his spare time before and after work, as well as on weekends, to complete the course. He says:
“The bootcamp was perfectly structured and provided me with a clear outline of what I needed to do to complete it.”
The subjects he felt immediately drawn to were the programming language Python, data science, and machine learning. In fact, it has sparked his interest in data science, a field he plans to conquer next. Pressed to give us a downside of bootcamp, he admitted he found learning Java somewhat boring, but at the same time difficult to fully get his head around.
As with most of our graduates, the code review process was invaluable. Kalin says it showed him how to solve programming challenges in different ways while alerting him to whether he was on the right or wrong track.
Life as a software engineer
Straight after graduating from the HyperionDev bootcamp, Kalin landed a job as a DevOps engineer at the eCommerce platform, OneDayOnly. Just over a year and a half later, he made a move to a DevOps engineer position at Mobiquity.
He says the interview process to join the Amsterdam-based digital consultancy was grueling. It consisted of five interviews, starting with HR, two technical tests, a culture-fit assessment, and finally, an interview with the Director of Engineering. Turns out, Kalin had all the skills needed.
Now Kalin works in tech stacks including Azure, Terraform, Ansible, and Python. He tells us the coolest project he’s been involved with is migrating a platform over from a third-party cloud platform to Microsoft Azure.
A future without limits
Kalin builds APIs and web apps in his spare time and urges other people thinking about learning code to start by tackling a project that they find interesting – and sticking with it until it’s done. He says:
“Sooner or later you’ll get to the bottom of the problem and have that gratifying ‘a-ha’ moment.”
On a personal level, learning code has helped him sharpen his problem-solving skills. It has made him rethink what can be achieved with software development, and how important it is to the modern world.
Committed to continue studying and acquiring industry-specific skills, Kalin hopes to become a solutions architect in the cloud infrastructure space within the next five years. We can’t see anything stopping him!
———————
Follow Kalin’s exciting career in tech on his Github portfolio. If you’re inspired by his story and feel ready to embark on your own journey toward a fulfilling career in the tech industry, consider registering with HyperionDev here.
Who knows, your success story may be next.
