Craigen Chitate worked as a waiter in Johannesburg, but wanted something more. He knew that hard work and determination were half the battle; he also needed the right set of in-demand tech skills to find work and pursue a career with greater opportunities and a more comfortable lifestyle. He registered for a HyperionDev part-time online Software Engineer bootcamp. Only months after starting his first coding bootcamp, he has landed a job as a contracted software engineer, working in Java development for the ABSA group.
“I wanted a drastic career change and better pay. I always had the desire to work with computers: the idea of being a programmer fascinated me, and coding itself is something that I love. The reason I applied for a bootcamp was to better understand programming. I knew that if I wanted to work for companies as a programmer, I would have to develop the skills they were looking for.”
Craigen signed up for a part-time online coding bootcamp, which allowed him to strike a healthy balance between working and developing the skills he needed for his career as a Software Engineer.
“The Software Engineer bootcamp helped me to balance work and learning as I needed the cash for my day-to-day needs and studying times were flexible. It also allowed me to understand code.”
We get hundreds of students from different walks of life on our coding bootcamps, but many of them are just like Craig: they have work responsibilities and need a study program that is as flexible as it is accessible. Our bootcamps are specifically designed to accommodate these needs, and are designed to suit your educational and career goals.
Learning essential skills, with personalised 1-on-1 mentorship
Of course, learning a brand new set of skills in complicated programming languages isn’t easy. That’s why Craigen’s mentor was there every step of the way, to ensure that he was making consistent progress towards graduating with job-ready programming skills.
“It was a great opportunity for me, having mentors. They helped me whenever I got lost. The code reviewing process was also great, because it showed me alternative ways of solving programming challenges. The code review really took my coding to a new level.”
From newcomer to paid professional developer in just months
Soon after graduating from his coding bootcamp, Craigen was offered a job working as a Java developer for the ABSA group. In this contract position, Craigen puts the skills he learnt on his bootcamp to use every day.
“My new responsibilities are analysing code as well as implementing new ideas and programming in Java language. Let’s just say it’s very different from my old waitering job!”
Now a professional software developer, Craigen hopes to grow in his new career, become a better programmer, and help other young programmers on their journeys in learning to code.
“My advice, if you’re thinking about learning to code, is simple: go for it! Coding is the future, and it allows you to find out who you really are.”
Do you want to learn essential skills for a future-proof career? Software engineering is one of the fastest-growing fields in the world, and with millions of businesses and people coming online every day, talented developers are in high demand.
Our bootcamps teach you vital computer programming skills that give you a competitive edge in the job market, whether you’re looking for greater job security, better upward mobility, or even a new career. You’ll learn job-ready, practical skills in web development, software engineering, or data science with your own personal mentor and receive frequent expert review of the code you write. Best of all, our bootcamps fit your schedule, so that you can learn part-time from your couch, or full-time on our modern campuses to suit your needs.
It’s all a part of getting you ready to find your new career in tech in less than 6 months. Find out more about our affordable, accessible coding bootcamps by clicking here.
