From Zero to CTO: a five year story 1/5
This post is the first of a series of five during which I will look back on my reconversion as a developer and my trajectory in “sky rocket mode”. I will talk about everything I did (you know, the good, the bad and the ugly) and I will also take the opportunity to give advice to aspiring developers (and maybe CTO as well).
This first post focuses on my preparation until my reconversion.
Year 0: beginning
Oh my god I am bored
It’s late November 2015 and I’m bored.
A few weeks ago I took a new job as a manager and left my previous sales position. Why? Because I was bored there too. I was so bored that I had started a degree beside my job to learn computer science, web development and project management.
Then I was contacted for a job by a company and I thought: hummm, ok, why not? Maybe it is the sales job that bores me. I’ve been working there for two and a half years and maybe I need a change, you know, in order to discover something new.
However I am already bored only six weeks after I started this new job. Even worse I can’t find the time to advance in my degree.
When I talk to my parents about my discomfort they tell me that it’s normal, that professional life is not necessarily very exciting, that you have to learn to deal with it. After all, that’s what most people do.
I am now getting seriously depressed. At Christmas 2015 I celebrate Christmas at my mother’s house. I am supposed to stay at her house only for a few days, but once the holidays are over, I can’t leave her house. I am not able to go back to my normal life and continue working this way.
So, at 25/26 years old, I find myself moving back to my mother’s house because I can’t stand my situation anymore. My mother doesn’t know what to do. She certainly pulled me out of a huge depression without really realizing it.
The Plan
Weeks go by and I try to think about my situation, about what I could do. Little by little the idea of doing a reconversion in computer development starts to germinate. After all my first bits of code go back to 2013/2014: it’s been my hobby for a few years and I secretly dream of doing it.
You know when people were going to parties or playing video games I would stay at home to learn how to code.
So I am starting to think about how I could make it work. Contrary to today, there were not a lot of alternative trainings available in early 2016 (I mean quality trainings that don’t necessarily go through the traditional engineering school circuit) . So I started to scan the web and to elaborate my plan of action.
At the time I already had an idea of the training I was interested in: https://openclassrooms.com/fr/paths/21-chef-de-projet-multimedia-developpement (this training is no longer available today, as the OpenClassrooms offer has evolved greatly in recent years).
Why this one and not another?
- It’s a diploma course — it reassures me to have a diploma (in France, the diploma has a very strong value).
- It’s complete — I will ll be able to learn code as well as project management.
- It is done remotely — for me this is a huuuuugggge advantage. It will allow me to go at my own pace and to organize myself as I want.
- It lasts one year — I think that this is the minimum time to learn something properly (3 to 6 months courses are really too short to retain the information properly).
- It is not expensive. It costs 3 600€ for 12 months of training against more than 8 000€ for bootcamps of just 8 weeks.
That said I don’t find the courses as comprehensive as I would like. So I am quickly looking for a second source of information that will help me reinforce my learning and help me building a strong mental model.
And then one day I come across this site: https://teamtreehouse.com
In March 2016 Treehouse has not yet launched its Techdegrees (I will come back in a future post on the evolution of Treehouse because I think there is a lot of god and bad things to say) but I find it a very satisfying source of information: the courses are complete and very numerous, they are well explained and I quickly decide to take a basic subscription with them.
My plan is starting to come together: I have found a primary (OpenClassrooms) and a secondary source of information (Team Treehouse). That said, before I jump in full time (in other words, quit my job and take a risk), I want to prepare myself in the best way possible. This way I was sure I do things the right way (or at least the way I think I should do it).
I spend the next few months training in development whenever I have free time:
- I regularly arrive at work an hour or two early to study on Treehouse.
- At lunch I take a quick lunch break and get back to it.
- Same in the evening where I regularly stay an extra hour or two.
In May 2016 I notify my employer that I do not wish to stay and together we agree to an end of contract at the end of July 2016.
Coincidence (maybe, maybe not) : also in May 2016 Treehouse officially releases their Techdegree. After a few days of reflection (I went on their curriculum a few times a day) I decide that in addition to my training with OpenClassrooms I will do two Techdegree with them: the first in front-end development, the second in full stack JavaScript.
In August 2016 I start my Techdegree in front-end development with Treehouse and I manage to get the OpenClassrooms training financed by Pôle Emploi (a French organism for unemployed people): I will therefore be able to train while receiving my unemployment (I still bless my Pôle Emploi advisor today for her reactivity and professionalism!).
And without knowing it the stars had begun to align. I will speak about it in the second post: Year 1 (no it is not a Batman’s Comic).
Some advice on how to prepare for a career change
Before I close this Medium post (because every good things come to an end), here are a few tips I would like to share for aspiring developers and/or people looking to make the switch.
- Prepare yourself. As personal development and sales coaches often say: “if you failed to prepare, you are preparing to fail”. It is important not to rush the steps and to take your time. For example if you want to become a developer, try to take some time to code in your spare time to see if you like it. This is important, it will allow you to project yourself.
- Choose the right training. There are a ton of trainings today (to become a developer, sys ops, salesman, HR, etc.) It is important (I mean really really important) that you take the time (we’re back to the preparation ;) ) to find out about these trainings: are they of good quality, are they expensive (special dedication to the 8 weeks bootcamps billed at more than 8,000€), do they have good openings, etc.
Try to contact former students (LinkedIn is your friend), talk about them around you: don’t forget that many courses around you are there to make money! - Develop multiple plans. At the time I had three plans in mind when I launched my conversion: one where I got funded, one where I only got half funded and one where I didn’t get funded.
- If possible do an internship or apprenticeship. I’ll come back to this in my next post.
- Surround yourself with positive people. You need to be supported in this process you need to be understood while providing constructive feedback.
If you’ve reached the bottom of this post, it means that you’ve read me, at least diagonally (so if we see each other a day deer reader, I will own you a beer; I mean if we can do this one day!). All that’s left is to say thank you. The next post will be dedicated to my training year!
Until then (as all the emails trying to sell stuff right now say), take care of yourself!
