A career change in under a year? It's possible!
Sharon Yi pivoted from retail and graphic design to coding in less than a year, graduating from Juno College's Web Development Bootcamp in 2019. She's now a Software Engineer at Electronic Arts (EA) — that's right, the company behind beloved games like The Sims, Mass Effect, EA Sports, and more!
Get inspired by Sharon's journey into tech below:
Sharon's Career Change Journey
What was your job before breaking into tech?
I was working as a web designer and then as a visual merchandiser for a retail store. There, I spent my days dressing/styling mannequins and ensuring that the store's visual displays were always updated and well-presented.
How did you feel about your job?
I originally applied to work as a retail sales associate "temporarily" while I started preparing and applying for graphic designer roles. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to land anything and I just felt very discouraged and burnt out.
I knew I wasn't truly passionate about graphic design, so I wasn't sure if this career path was really something that I wanted, or just thought I had to pursue since I already have the degree. So I took this time to reflect and to figure out what I actually enjoyed doing, and my mind kept going back to web development.
Growing up, I always liked using computers and playing around with HTML and CSS on different sites and blogs – anyone remember Piczo?
Why did you decide to make a career change?
Growing up, I always liked using computers and playing around with HTML and CSS on different sites and blogs — anyone remember Piczo? I was also an artsy kid that loved painting and drawing, so I thought, "hey... computers + art = graphic design! Pursuing a career in graphic design would be perfect for me!"
I ended up attending university for a Bachelor's degree in graphic design but throughout the program, I realized I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would. I had the opportunity to work as a web designer while in my last year, and I ended up working on projects with WordPress using HTML and CSS.
This sparked my interest again, as I was designing but also bringing these ideas/designs to life! At the time though, I thought it was too late for me to switch my degree to computer science, so I decided to learn/teach myself coding in my spare time.
Why did you choose a bootcamp program over other learning options?
I've watched a lot of YouTube videos and taken some online courses like Harvard edX CS50 and some Udemy ones. It was going well for the first few weeks, but I realized that I kept getting distracted. It was getting harder for me to stay focused and actually motivate myself to do the assignments/projects. I felt like self-teaching was difficult for me and that I would do better with a teacher or someone to hold me accountable.
I felt like self-teaching was difficult for me and that I would do better with a teacher or someone to hold me accountable.
I was looking into these university courses for web development, computer science, and programming, but they were all 2-4 year long programs and I wasn't sure if it was worth the time and money. That's when I found out about coding bootcamps, and that piqued my interest, as they were only a few months long and I could learn so much within a short amount of time.
Why did you choose Juno College in particular?
Juno (formerly known as HackerYou) was actually one of the first search options that appeared when I Googled "coding bootcamp". There were so many good reviews about how Juno’s community was very friendly and supportive. Not only do you learn real, industry front-end web development skills, but you're also taught soft skills like how to prepare for tech interviews, how to brand yourself, and more!
Everything about Juno intrigued me and I knew that it would be the perfect learning environment for me. However, bootcamps are pretty expensive, and at the time I couldn't afford it. So I just thought that for now, I can try to continue with self-teaching and look back into bootcamps another time.
But fast-forward a couple weeks, and as if Juno knew of my situation... I got an email announcing that Juno was introducing Income Share Agreements! This basically means that instead of paying the bootcamp tuition upfront, you can choose to pay less, and once you graduate and get a job that pays more than $50,000 a year, then you can start paying Juno back on a monthly plan.
I'm so grateful for Juno having this option available because I know one of the main reasons some people can't enroll in coding bootcamps is because they can't afford it — but with this option, it's totally possible!
Juno College's Web Development Bootcamp
What was Juno's Bootcamp like?
Juno's Bootcamp was such an amazing experience and I wish I could go through it all again! My highlights include the morning kick-off games, having salad club Wednesdays, staying after class to work on group projects, going for bubble tea runs, and the list goes on — it really felt like I was in summer camp (but in the winter) with a big group of friends!
It really felt like I was in summer camp with a big group of friends!
What I enjoyed most about Juno was how inclusive and supportive everyone was. I felt really motivated working in the space alongside like-minded individuals who all have the same goal: to become a developer!
What did you learn/build?
One of my favourite projects that I built during bootcamp was my Into the Void Javascript web app. I wanted to challenge myself by creating a mini-game for the web since it was my first time creating something with JavaScript.
I had so much fun with the process: coming up with the concept, creating the designs, actually coding it, and finding the perfect music to set the tone — it was a great experience and I’m very proud of what I created!
I also thought Juno's Career Services was super helpful! We learned how to write cover letters, make our resumes stand out, how to do job interviews well, and more.
Life as a Developer after Juno College's Bootcamp
What was your first job after graduating, and where else have you worked since?
Around 5 months after graduating, I got my first job, a 3-month internship as an Interactive Developer/Designer at Nexxt Intelligence. I was responsible for designing and building out front-end features for an NLP-powered (natural language processing) chatbot using React.
Right after the internship, I began working at Indigo as a Front-End Developer. There, I created and updated Indigo's website using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. I worked closely with designers to build out their designs, while making them responsive across devices and accessible for all users.
What do you do today?
I'm currently working as a Software Engineer at Electronic Arts! I work on a smaller team that's currently working on a secret project... 👀
I get to build out new features using TypeScript with React, and eventually I'll have the chance to learn React Native as well. My days usually consist of a couple meetings and then I'm just building out various components for our project. Since the project is fairly new, we're building everything from scratch and using new libraries/tools along the way. It's a fun process!
What do you enjoy about your job/working in tech?
I love that almost every day I'm learning something new! I'm still at the beginning of my tech career journey so of course there are always going to be new things for me to learn, but I've also had the chance to teach my senior developers some stuff as well!
I love that almost every day I'm learning something new!
That’s what I love about working in tech, there's always something new to learn and different solutions for one problem. And sometimes it’s challenging to keep up with the constant updates/changes in tech, but that's what makes it exciting for me!
What’s an accomplishment you’re proud of in your tech journey?
I'm very proud of where I currently am in my tech career. Just being able to get into this industry and to work at a company that makes one of my favourite games (The Sims!) is an achievement for me! I honestly think that I couldn't have gotten where I am today without the help of Juno’s Bootcamp.
Sharon's Closing Thoughts/Advice
Advice for those looking to break into tech?
It can be scary to think about jumping into a new career path, so I'd look into taking some free online coding courses or watching YouTube videos! There are a ton of free online resources that can help you get a sense of what you'd be doing in the tech industry before investing some serious money and time into it.
I'd also recommend taking a part-time course with Juno like their Web Development course or JavaScript course! It'd be a great experience to grasp the fundamentals and also experience what Juno offers before jumping into a Bootcamp.
Advice for current Bootcamp students?
Take the time to ensure you have a solid understanding of HTML, CSS, JavaScript! Ask as many questions as you can during the lessons, and if there is anything you're really stuck on you can reach out to your peers, mentors, and even alumni. It's really important to have that strong foundation (especially JavaScript) because it'll help you in the future when working with other languages and libraries like React.
Advice for recent Bootcamp grads?
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Practice job interviews with a friend or a group of people to get comfortable speaking about yourself and explaining your thought process behind coding decisions.
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Even if you think you're under-qualified — apply anyways! In my personal experience, I feel that most companies hire based on your personality/work ethic because anyone can learn the job requirements but the interviewers want to see if they will enjoy working with you and if you have the potential to grow.
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Really take the time to not only practice technical interviews, but practice your soft skills, and don't be afraid to show your enthusiasm when interviewing!
What have you learned about yourself during your career change?
I feel like I've really learned a lot about myself during my journey into tech. I've always thought that it was too late for me (someone who just graduated university) to change my career path! I was so focused on finding a job that matched my degree and just working to get the bills paid even if I wouldn't enjoy it. But why would I want to do that? As cheesy as it sounds, deciding to change career paths into something I was passionate about was the best decision of my life.
As cheesy as it sounds, deciding to change career paths into something I was passionate about was the best decision of my life.
I love what I’m currently doing and I don’t regret one thing of my journey because it’s brought me to where I am today. So even if you think it's too late, it's really not! If you're really passionate about something, don’t let fear hold you back — just go for it! :)
Ready to make a change like Sharon?
Juno College's Web Development Bootcamp is designed to help you break into tech, fast. See what you’ll learn and build below: