Learning to code to get a job in tech can be daunting. That’s why we’re sharing inspiring stories from the Codecademy community to show how people like you (yes, you!) are embarking on their learning journey and building a whole new career. We hope these stories remind you that there’s more than one path to a more fulfilling work life.
Today’s story comes from Ben Cunningham, 24, a software engineer at Commonwealth Bank of Australia living in West Perth, Australia. Read more Codecademy learner stories here —And share your story here.
Why I chose to learn to code
“After graduating from university, I wasn’t really into mechanical engineering. I liked math but I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t want to be a teacher or go into finance or actuarial science. So I tried a few things, worked as a recruiter for a bit and eventually realised I needed to get a maths job. I started thinking about data science and data analytics but didn’t know it would lead to a coding job.
Learn something new for free
I did extensive research on what would be the best field to go into, and Data Science came up again and again. Next, I looked into what programming languages I should learn, and naturally, Python came up. The final step was figuring out the best way to learn it. I watched videos on YouTube with typical titles like “If I were to start coding again, how would I learn to do it?” [The YouTuber] He recommended Codecademy and emphasized that to learn to code you need to actually do it and not just watch videos. Codecademy allowed me to do exactly that, he said. So I bought a subscription to Codecademy and I’ve been on it ever since.”
How to make time to study
I recently read this book Atomic Habits“And that helped me develop a routine. For six months, I totally dove into learning to code and treated it like a full-time job. It was probably the most academically intense thing I did in school or college. It surprised me, but I totally dove into it as if it was a 9-to-5 job from home.”
How to save money for a new job
“I’ve been pretty lucky. After I returned from the UK, I was able to cover most of my expenses for the six months between getting home and leaving again. I was doing the bare minimum to make ends meet financially but I ended up working one shift a week for quite a long time. Now I only do casual work – I’ve done a bit in hospitality and more recently with removals. [mover] work.
I guess in my case it was a little easier, but the timing was really good for me. Just when I thought I was ready to apply, a job opportunity came up for graduates. I was paying a monthly subscription at the time, but it was all I could afford for one weekly shift. I was struggling to extend my subscription, and my girlfriend loaned me a year’s subscription, which was cheaper. I then paid her back, and it took the stress out of my monthly expenses.”
By being flexible and pursuing the path of self-study, I realized how much potential I had.
Ben Cunningham, Software Engineer
How long did it take to get a job?
“I tried a lump sum approach when applying. A lot of jobs require five to 10 years’ experience, or even two to five years’ experience, which makes it harder to get a job when you’re entering a different field. A better approach was to apply in line with graduate programs, which usually start around January and February. [in Australia].
I applied to about 20 places and kept a record in an Excel spreadsheet of all the places I applied to, my last follow-up date, and what stage I was at with each application. I applied to other places as well, but the graduate program was the most successful.”
How did you open the door?
“I don’t have any connections at the bank, I just saw it on LinkedIn.”
How to Ace Your Interview
“Most of the application processes have been really slow. There are online interviews, usually recorded, gamified assessments and things like that. Some have assessment centres. I was lucky and one of the places that was pretty far along in the process was Commonwealth Bank of Australia. I haven’t heard from any of the others yet. It’s been three, four, five months.”
What I actually do all day
“Next year I’ll be starting as a software engineer in the Commonwealth Bank of Australia graduate program, which is basically in technology engineering. There will be three to four different six-month rotations in different areas like security engineering, software engineering, systems, testing, etc. The way it works is that for the first six months you fill in the role you want and then you get interviewed to be placed in other teams for the subsequent rotations, after which you get hired for the remaining two six-month rotations.”
The other was that I had landed a data science internship at a company in the city, and that was the first reply I received from someone who had seen my project on GitHub. Link to my accountMost of my projects are heavily inspired by Codecademy.”
What I wish I’d known before I started studying
“By going down the path of self-study with the flexibility I have, I realised how much I am capable of. If I had done something comparable in university, there would have been a set pace for everything. But by learning on my own time, I was able to control the pace. Some topics could be learnt in 1-2 weeks, while others could be learnt in 2-3 days. There was no need to rush or waste too much time on unnecessary things. I was able to get so much more out of the self-study approach.”
The tech industry values self-taught programmers. If you know how to build a website, it doesn’t matter where you learned. Your track record proves it. If you’re going to become a lawyer, you can’t just say you read all the slides online, but the tech industry values practical skills and results.
“Especially when it comes to coding, the constant random errors and syntax issues you encounter while learning can be extremely demotivating. You might think that these issues will go away as you learn the language, but even the most experienced developers encounter errors and bugs. They just get better at dealing with them and fixing them quickly.”
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