After graduation, Miguel got a job as a Front-End Developer at a company called Spongelab. This company focused on creating educational videogames and interactive experiences that inspired young people to get into STEM. He enjoyed development more than consulting because when he had full control over his output, was able to problem solve, and was able to manage his own schedule.
Five years later, Miguel is now happy to carry the title of Manager, Web Development at ecobee - a Canadian startup focused on creating smart thermostats. Miguel is one of three managers there working under the Director of Web, and though he codes less today than he did in his previous roles, he’s happy to be co-leading a team.
As a Manager, I am able to engage the part of me that loves to help and to listen to people. That's why I am enjoying management a bit more than pure development. But, to be clear - I would not be a Manager of developers if I didn't become a developer myself, first.
Since graduation, Miguel hasn’t only excelled in his career, but has returned to Juno to give back to the Bootcamp program on an ongoing basis, becoming one of our most active Alumni. Over the years, Miguel has done it all: participated in mentoring sessions on specific topics known, at Juno, as fishbowls; been a regular Bootcamp Buddy, partnering with students to provide support throughout the Bootcamp process; providing online support and troubleshooting to students on Slack; participating in career panels focused on preparing students for their job search; and even creating and running Lunch-and-Learns focused on giving students additional learning outside of class hours.
Juno was there for me during an extremely tough and low point in my life. It was the supportive community and the structured, yet very progressive learning environment that allowed me to rediscover myself and keep myself going, instead of continuing down a destructive spiral.
"The least that I can do is to share my experiences and build an empathetic bridge to help others feel safe, secure, and supported. Selfishly, helping others makes me feel fulfilled and improves my mood quite a bit so there's that positive feedback loop there too.”
Today, Miguel continues to give back, and has learned some valuable lessons from his experience at Juno and his career as a developer. His advice for those considering a career change into tech, or those about to graduate from Juno’s Bootcamp is this:
“Tech is a large universe bounded inside a small word; Take an inventory of what it is you want to find in a job, stick to that list and be honest to yourself about it. Use that knowledge of yourself bluntly and ruthlessly - if a job has too many things you dislike - just keep looking - never subsume or suppress your true self to justify a job. Tech can be a bit scary, but with places like Juno and communities like the Juno alum community - you need not self-discover alone.”
Ready to make a career change into tech like Miguel?
We’ve doubled the number of Bootcamp sessions in 2020, so we’ll be helping more people than ever break into the tech industry. Book a call with a Student Success Consultant now to talk about your goals and how Juno can help you reach them.
