Where I’m from.
Hi, I’m Jodie. I’m from a town just outside Brum — West Bromwich (probably best known for the football team). I’ve moved around a bit, having lived in Aberystwyth and Nottingham, but like a boomerang always end up back in Brum. I currently live in Harborne and am working my notice as Student Experience Officer at the University of Birmingham, before the School of Code Bootcamp commences on January 20th. Exciting!
How I got here.
My introduction to the world of code was through a level 1 front-end course. The course was hosted by The Economist in Birmingham in partnership with Code First: Girls, a social enterprise working on increasing diversity in Tech. During the two-hour sessions on Monday evenings, I was introduced to the basics of web development, including coding collaboratively and version control. At the end of the 8 week course each group presented the website they had made to the class.
Our group, ‘B.Hub’, won the course competition for our website (ft. a £20 Amazon voucher) and got some very complimentary comments from the course leader too.
We had all learned so much by the end and I was so excited about where this new found passion could take me, I promptly handed in my notice at work! I was sure that I wanted to commit more time to learning code and pursue a career in the industry. At that point I wasn’t sure if I’d been incredibly brave or stupid… I’m still not to be honest. But being offered a place on the School of Code Bootcamp has definitely made me feel more certain about my decision. I am really looking forward to learning more code and meeting like-minded people.
Why I Chose the Bootcamp.
I heard about School of Code while doing the Code First: Girls course at The Economist. A few of the junior developers there had gone through the bootcamp and it was recommended to me by the instructor. I met SoC alumni Alexandra at a Meetup. She was so friendly and enthusiastic about SoC that it made me even more determined to go for it. Ben, a Course Assistant for SoC, was at the same Meetup giving a talk about the bootcamp. It sounded brilliant.
The fact that SoC has such high post-course employment rates, you learn so much in such a short space of time, and is completely free for those who get on obviously added to its attractiveness!
Why now?
I have worked in higher education for 4 years. First I completed a grad scheme where I managed projects across different universities. After that, I got the Student Experience Officer job at the University of Birmingham. Whilst I have absolutely loved the job and am really grateful for the opportunity, I am ready for a change. My ability to develop student experiences has made working with other people one of my key strengths. I think this understanding of others is what shines through in my creative projects. As I transition from being a higher education professional, to a Bootcamper, to (hopefully) a developer in the Tech industry, I look forward to working with others to solve problems and create positive user experiences.
What did I think of Tech before?
I’ll be honest: I had definitely made assumptions about the kind of people that work in Tech. You know the stereotype… I imagined cripplingly introverted white men, locked away in solo cells, in a dungeon, handcuffed to their laptop for all eternity. Ok, I exaggerate slightly. I definitely didn’t think it was as sociable or collaborative as I have found it to be so far. I have been blown away by generosity and welcomeness. From meeting others on the Code First: Girls course and at their annual conference, to the awesome developers at The Economist and countless MeetUps (Brum JS, The Economist and Codebar are ones I’ve attended), it has been an education for me to see how much of Tech is about what you do away from your computer as well as on it. Long may it continue.
Here’s to School of Code Cohort 3!
Have you broke into Tech? What was your journey like? Get in touch..
- Follow me on Twitter: @JodieNeville
- Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jlneville/
Other Websites
- School of Code: https://www.schoolofcode.co.uk/
- Code First: Girls: https://www.codefirstgirls.org.uk/
- Codebar: https://codebar.io/birmingham
- BrumJS: https://www.meetup.com/meetup-group-MzfqIqCy/
- The Economist: https://www.meetup.com/topics/the-economist/
