How did you find your time on the bootcamp?

Being at Northcoders was absolutely instrumental to me being able to transfer into this new wonderful career. In just three months I went from having an extremely basic understanding of HTML/CSS, to having been offered a job working in game development before the bootcamp was even finished!

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

I'd sort of floundered between a few career paths for a while, I see myself as a very creative person but I also have a particular knack for maths and problem-solving; everything else I've tried had left me feeling pretty unfulfilled. Honestly, I'm surprised it took me so long to put together that programming was exactly what I was after - scratching both my creative itch and granting the satisfaction that comes with solving difficult problems!

What was the support like on the course?

The people I met at Northcoders were honestly wonderful. I wouldn't necessarily call myself shy, but I'm also not a particularly confident person either and especially while working purely online, initially I found myself feeling a little anxious, particularly when it came to paired programming - but between the incredible support from my seminar group's mentors and all the lecture staff, and a bit of luck that I happened to gel well with the people from my pairings, I found myself thoroughly enjoying what was initially a source of fear!

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

The careers team were instrumental in helping me to find work; with sessions on making our CVs as good as they can be, master classes on public speaking to help us nail interviews, and admittedly more than one panicked chat via Slack when I started receiving offers and was at a bit of a loss of which job to accept!
The staff are great at their jobs, but more importantly, they're fundamentally nice, caring people who want to see you succeed.

What advice would you give to anyone thinking about applying?

I'm sure it isn't for everyone, but if you feel you have any joy from coding or feel an affinity for/interest in problem-solving at all - just give it a go.
There are SO many resources out there that can help guide you when you're starting out, and honestly, programming can be so fun and relaxing once you've got the hang of it. I often find myself finishing spending a day at work only to unwind by working on a new language or playing on some personal projects for a bit.

Oh, and the pay isn't exactly a negative either!