Working in retail is a tough, often unglamorous job – especially during a lockdown, where customers start spending less with each new month of lockdown belt-tightening. For Johannesburg-based Sales Consultant Sonny Dube, it was a temporary stepping stone to what he had always wanted to do: software engineering. He knew that companies relied on tech to keep their businesses competitive, and that learning the skills they needed were the best road to a brighter future and more fulfilling career. So he decided to enrol in a HyperionDev Software Engineer bootcamp.
“I was a Sales Consultant at an iStore in Sandton, and I’d been working in retail for about 3 years. I decided to take the bootcamp because I’ve always had the passion to be in the technology sector. For me it was about upskilling. Originally I had a Computer Science background, but I didn’t finish up my degree. The HyperionDev course really boosted my existing skills.”
Sonny wanted to upskill, but didn’t have the luxury of going back to college full-time. He needed to work and pay his bills – and our Software Engineer bootcamp allowed him to do that with the freedom to learn programming skills in a structure that suited him.
“The bootcamp fitted quite well. The only thing that I had to do on my own side was just time management, but it fit quite perfectly with my needs at the time.”
The bootcamp didn’t just teach him in-demand programming skills, it also challenged him with things he’d never encountered before – a task he found exciting. Thanks to the close attention of his personal mentors and the frequent expert code review he received on his work, he always made steady progress towards graduating a job-ready software engineer.
“I really enjoyed the Java programming part of the course, but the bootcamp also had its share of challenges. For me it was the Data Science section . It was really challenging for me, and by the grace of God , I managed to complete it! It was really helpful and the mentors knew what they were doing. I was filled with knowledge and insight from them. Plus, the code reviewing process was great, because it showed me alternative ways of solving programming challenges.”
Now, just months after starting his first coding bootcamp tasks, Sonny has found a long-term position as a Junior Solutions Architect at ABSA group.
“My responsibilities are pretty widely varied. My main role is to manage the nodes that are running in the system, but day-to-day programming and systems maintenance is also really important. I’m learning every day, and using new techniques in languages such as OpenShift , Kubernetes, Docker, and Kibana . For now I’m still learning how to go about doing that – I’m still new in the field, but it’s exciting to learn so much new stuff, like how containers help with developing and deploying applications. The bootcamp really helped me in finding this job, because the Bootcamp qualification was valid and the skills that I learnt were in demand.”
Sonny’s journey from selling handsets and phones to being a professional developer is something that fills him with excitement, and he readily recommends that anyone thinking of learning to code and uplifting their future and career go for it.
“It is the greatest decision that you will ever make . Software is slowly eating up the world , and the demand for software developers will forever be high. So I would advise people who want to code to actually take the chance and become software developers . It is really a rewarding career. And when you’re learning to code , never give up and always ask for help . Learning from other people as well , will make you a better coder!”
Software engineering is one of the largest, fast-growing, and highest in-demand fields in the world right now. With millions of people coming online every day, and thousands of businesses across the world relying on software and computer systems to keep their operations afloat, demand has never been higher for talented developers. If you’re looking to potentially double your salary and open up career opportunities that could take you overseas, we recommend you learn to code on our online and on-site coding bootcamps in Software Engineering, Data Science, and Full Stack Web Development.
Click here to find out how our coding bootcamps will take you from beginner coder to job-ready developer in as little as three months.
