As I watched my screen in anticipation, Marcus began to type back. “I have availability tomorrow after 1 PM,” he responded. “Sounds good to me!” I replied as I looked down at my set of questions waiting to be asked with equal anticipation. Moments like these are hard to not get excited for. Speaking to devCodeCamp graduates who are now working full-time as a developer is the definition of what our courses are designed to achieve. Being able to have some one-on-one time with one of those success stories that obtained their coding knowledge directly from our bootcamp is the best part of the job. Marcus Baumgardner is one of those success stories and hearing it in his own words sparked unmatched enthusiasm as I interviewed him for our newest alumni spotlight.
After close to a decade in the coffee industry, Marcus was ready to transition into something else. “I have always been interested in learning how to code. But my biggest problem was I didn’t know where to start or how to learn how to code. It’s one of those disciplines where there’s so many different places that you can start, that not having any sort of game-plan going into it makes it really hard,” Marcus stated. In November 2020, he decided to enroll into one of the coding bootcamp courses devCodeCamp offers. It was his answer to wanting to change industries and also gave him the exact answer on how he was going to make that jump. “I didn’t have to worry about coming up with a curriculum for myself,” he continued.
Marcus went from a barista to a full-time Software Engineer because of the decision to enroll. Our courses are set up to be as in-depth and full in every detail we teach our students. Not only to teach them in the short timeframe the courses are, but to also make sure they are able to walk away after graduation with a skillset to make them job ready. “For a long time, I had tried and failed and tried and failed at learning how to code. I thought to myself I couldn’t really do it. Just being able to prove to myself that I could do it, pass the course, and then eventually get a job doing Software Engineering, that to me was the rewarding part,” Marcus said as he reflected on what he believed was the most rewarding part of graduating.
Coding can come across as intimidating to the average person who has little to no knowledge on how to do it. To some, looking at a wall of code can resemble some form of gibberish created by hitting random keys on a keyboard. And that’s normal to feel that way. Because the truth is, it’s not for the faint of heart. Being able to make things come alive from scratch because of something you wrote is an incredibly complex process that is close to impossible to do without the correct practice and knowledge. But the best part is, anyone is able to learn coding. Our courses are set up to give that skillset regardless of your technical background. Whether you are wanting to start a new hobby, launch a career, create the next best app, or simply just ready for change like Marcus was…devCodeCamp is ready to show you how that dream can become a reality as soon as 14-weeks from now. When Marcus was asked what he would tell himself if he could go back in time, he grinned and said, “Stick with it and probably learn how to code a little sooner than I did.”
We are ready when you are. Let’s talk.