Stories by Makers for Makers

Massive thanks to Rob, Simone, Angela and Charlotte for sharing their stories about becoming a Maker.

We take a lot of pride in being an inclusive and transparent community — ‘once a Maker, always a Maker’ is a tagline often heard among our alumni.

This is why we’ve always encouraged our Makers to share their stories along each stage of their journeys.

We make a concerted effort to highlight these unfiltered and independent stories on our own social media channels. Every month, we pick a specific Maker to highlight — below are our latest picks.

Rob Faldo (May 2018 cohort — May winner)

Rob was a technology recruiter at Bloomberg LP before deciding to retrain as a software developer himself. His blog can be found here.

He talks about his first group coding project; how to set up a Postgresql database for your test environment in Sinatra; and overcoming limiting beliefs when learning to code.

We loved this post on proof that YOU can learn to code:

“With no technical background and at 28 I decided to learn to code. That was about 6 months ago and since I made that decision, I’ve embarked on a career change and am currently training to be a software developer at Makers Academy coding bootcamp.

When I spoke to people about it, I can’t tell you how many people have responded with ‘oh that sounds great, but I could never learn to program. I’m not [clever/technical etc…] enough’. This blog post is for you, self-doubters.”

Simone Smith (May 2018 cohort — June winner)

Simone worked at a literary agency as a Foreign Rights Manager before coming to Makers. Her blog can be found here.

She talks about Ruby, feedback, the pre-course, and how she went from publishing to coding.

We loved this post on her reflections of her first week at Makers:

“The week began with a bit of a shock, for me at least, when one of the introductory talks referred to the fact that on day one of the course we were already about halfway through our journey to becoming a developer.

Typically, the time between the first expression of interest and coming in for an interview is 3–4 months; the pre-course then lasts 1 month, and so the first day of the 3 month course marks a mid-way point of sorts.

Twelve weeks is really not a very long time given the amount we have to learn, and looking back on the last week helps to hammer that point home — this week has gone by in a flash.”

Angela Wolff (July 2018 cohort — July winner)

Before coming to Makers, Angela was the Assistant Director of Finance for the largest NHS Trust in the country. Her blog can be found here.

She talks about Pairing; TDD; sourdough and coding productivity.

We loved this post on why she quit the NHS to come to Makers:

“So now I’ve actually started week 1 of the pre-course and I’m having fun setting up my new daily routine. The pre-course is conducted remotely so for a month I will be living the dream, working from home with my trusty laptop (I will not miss that clunky, old windows desktop back at work).

I need to make the most of this time, which will be a combination of learning how best to learn as well as becoming a passable Ruby novice so I can start the main course on a good footing.

One of the reasons I chose Makers Academy over the other bootcamp options is that they focus as much on how you learn and work together as they do on actual programming. I love all this productivity stuff.”

Charlotte Payne (May 2018 cohort — alternative blog winner)

Charlotte worked in the entertainment industry before finding a love of code online. She decided to record her Makers journey through an Instagram account that’s racked up over 600 followers in three months. Check out her account here.

She shares screenshots of code and reflects on the successes and challenges of her experiences at Makers.

We loved this post on listening to her emotions and getting back on top.

…“When I came to look round Makers 5 months ago, I asked “what makes people succeed when trying to learn to code in this environment?”. On receiving the clear and emphatic answer, “a growth mindset”, my mind straight away ran to what ifs, “but what if I don’t have a growth mindset?”. And “what if this is just a really painful way to learn that I don’t?”. There was a considered and slow response (typically Makers), “I think you do, because you’re asking that question”...