How did you find your time on the bootcamp?

I had worked in retail and hospitality for years and was struggling to find work with any future. While the course is entirely online, I travelled an hour each way every day to visit the office as I enjoyed connecting with the other students, and still speak to them regularly. For me, the 2 best parts of the course are the quality of the tutors and the curriculum. Every day for 3 months felt challenging yet manageable, and at the end of each week, I was amazed what I could do. Ultimately though, what matters is the result. I graduated on Feb 4th and started work exactly 2 months later, choosing from 5 solid job offers. It's a big choice, but the best I have made.

What were you doing before the Bootcamp and what made you apply?

I was mostly doing retail and hospitality before Northcoders, certainly, nothing relevant to coding at all, which meant applying for even entry-level jobs in the industry wasn't an option. I had spent about 8 years in Asia and when I returned, I had struggled to find a job that was interesting or had good future prospects. What a difference 3 months makes!

What was the support like on the course?

During the course, there are always tutors available for you to ask questions directly. Just send them a message and they will do a video call with you. They have done the same course as you so know it and are happy to help. The activities each day are also well explained, and these are notes for each day's lesson to refer to, so you can focus on what is being said. Also, you will mostly be working in pairs, so you won't be left on your own to figure things out

How much support did you receive from Northcoders with your job search after the course?

Once you finish your final project, you will get help putting together your cv and cover letter, which you submit for approval, which I found very useful. Once done, you have access to the job board, which generally has 30-40 jobs at a time, each employer knows the course content so you don't have to explain yourself each time. Generally, you just click submit and wait to hear from them, couldn't be simpler. There are also weekly presentations so you can get a sense of if the job is right for you, and ask questions.

What advice would you give to anyone thinking about applying?

There are a huge amount of great resources to learn to code, I tried a lot, and they are very useful to get you started and see if it's something that interests you. Try a youtube/freecodecamp/udemy course first, maybe HTML or javascript. You will quickly learn that ANYONE can code, and whether or not you have a passion for it, which matters. If you do, watch some of the Northcoders graduation videos, they will show you what you will be able to make at the end of the course. Then consider applying. I found I was going around in circles studying on my own, and nothing can replace a well-paced, carefully planned course with a set end date, live tutor support and a dedicated careers team.

Anything else you would like to add?

Just a big thanks to Northcoders! Without being dramatic, it has literally been life-changing and when I look at my abilities and opportunities after 3 months of study, it's mad.