Johannesburg-based Kaylan Palmer is a double HyperionDev graduate. In fact, his professional life has been a continuous journey of learning and growing, learning and growing – a process that has enabled him to finally switch careers and do the kind of work he really enjoys.
Not too long ago, he was working as a business analyst intern at FNB, where he was exposed to both the business and technical sides of operations, which sparked his interest in software development. He googled his options, found HyperionDev’s bootcamps, and the rest is history. Let’s take a closer look at this go-getter’s journey.
All paths lead to tech
During his internship at FNB, Kaylan created a simple solution to automate one of the support tasks. His mentor at the time suggested he look into software development, as he clearly had a knack for it. That’s when he signed up for our Software Engineering bootcamp. Upon completion, he immediately moved over to the Full Stack Web Developer bootcamp. He completed both courses full-time, online.
Kaylan says the courses gave him the technical skills needed to develop quality software and web applications and, on the soft-skills side, great technical project management discipline. It also allowed him to explore and discover talents within himself that would have otherwise remained dormant.
All this hard work resulted in him landing a job as a developer and support specialist at a geospatial and location intelligence company, Geo Intelligence Corp. Here he has been involved in several projects in both frontend and backend roles. He has also been given the huge responsibility of advancing the technical front of the company to meet its objectives. He says:
“The combination of the two bootcamps gave me an edge as a new techie and allowed me to make tremendous strides in my career.”
Building on bootcamp tools
Looking back at HyperionDev’s bootcamps, Kaylan says he most enjoyed the capstones projects and learnt the hard way how “overcoding” (the act of programming unnecessary details) can become a problem.
The tools and skills he learned are currently helping him with product development and maintenance, and technical support tasks. He says Javascript, Python, and SQL help him in his day-to-day tasks and projects at various scales. He also performs multiple support tasks that involve data distribution, in-house and client deployments and updates, and management of API-delivered services. The stack he mainly uses is PERN (Postgres, Express, React, and Node) with Nginx and Docker.
As far as development tasks are concerned, he is involved in building web applications, for both internal use and for external clients, as well as maintaining and improving existing applications – all of this with the support of an amazing team.
As a side project, Kaylan has developed a service asset management system – a plug-and-play helpdesk with a user-friendly interface and a database-agnostic backend. He has also built web map applications, including one for the Cape Town Marathon.
Asked how learning code has empowered him to achieve his personal and professional goals, he says:
“I’ve been able to upgrade my lifestyle and do the things I’ve always wanted to do, like travel and become self-sustainable. I’ve found a career path that inspires and allows me to set bigger goals for myself.”
The future looks bright for this double HyperionDev graduate
Kaylan’s journey of learning and growing is not going to end any day soon. His dream is to one day build an innovative tech company that journeys from a startup to a multimillion-dollar business; one that will make waves in the geospatial tech industry and contribute to the advancement of society and its safety.
His advice to others thinking about learning to code or changing careers to become developers?
“Figure out what kind of developer you want to be and research the industry you would like to go into before choosing which tech stack to learn. Remain curious and eager to learn because this profession is a lifelong learning experience.”
Because of their broad knowledge and flexibility, full-stack developers are in big demand across the tech industry. Kaylan’s decision to change careers to one that is coveted across the globe has, along with his solid background in software engineering, provided him with one of the most sought-after skill sets in the industry right now.
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If you’re inspired by Kaylan’s story and feel ready to embark on your own journey toward a fulfilling coding career, sign up for a bootcamp by registering with HyperionDev here. Who knows, your success story may be next!
