I never really learned to ride a bike properly – I never saw my parents riding one, I didn’t have my own, and I never really saw the appeal of that middle speed. Drive, you get there quicker; walk, you see things clearer. As a consequence, I’ve spent my adult life slightly in fear of cycling and cyclists, and avoiding situations where getting on the saddle might come up.

But if Northcoders ran a bike school, I would totally do it.

The first three weeks have been exhilarating. Before this, I worked in education in various roles and places for nearly ten years. I’ve never really encountered this way of learning before – both acutely intense and profoundly relaxed. The progress I see in myself in three weeks is incredible, and the depth and range of concepts we have already covered seem so great, it’s incredibly exciting to think where else we might be going.

I have always made time, bitty and sporadic though it might have been, to mess around with programming and computers. I’ve experimented with making some games on Unity, as well as a few courses on Codecademy and the like. Why I never before made the mental leap from thinking that this was an enjoyable past-time to my actual career, I have no idea. After three weeks this path already feels distinctly tangible.

Another positive I was not expecting was getting to spend time and working with people who were as excited and interested as me. It has been a while since I have been in a group so dynamically focused on a common goal. The support from the tutors can’t be faulted, but it has been really enjoyable supporting and being supported by other members of the cohort. It really dispels the idea that programming is a solitary endeavour. Learning the likes of Agile and pair programming has painted programming in a whole new light for me too.

We’re still essentially covering the basics – albeit through writing games, data structures and challenging coding ‘katas’ that test both your knowledge and problem-solving skills. There’s a lot of ground to cover. And as such, I’m still not entirely sure what I want to do at the end. But making this decision to change career has been the best decision I’ve made for a while, and I can’t wait to see where it leads me. 

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