Meet five of our Software Development graduates

Our students come from a range of diverse backgrounds but have one common goal, to learn new digital skills.

We caught up with a few of our Professional Software Development graduates to find out a bit about their experience of learning with us. Here’s what they had to say:

Marion

Marion had worked in the NHS as an audiologist for 12 years when she decided she wanted to change careers and applied for CodeClan’s remote Professional Software Development course. 

Since graduating from CodeClan in January 2022, Marion has started a new role as a software engineer at Skyscanner

“I had been aware of CodeClan for a long time before applying – there was a time in Edinburgh when the buzz around tech and startups was really taking off.  Places like CodeBase and the TechCube offices were opening, and at that point CodeClan caught my eye.”

“Changing careers is a really big decision and one that shouldn’t be taken lightly. I came from a very secure job, and for some people it might seem pretty wild to walk away from that, but I didn’t have many avenues for development and I wasn’t particularly happy so I felt like I owed it to myself to try to improve the situation.

“If something has been in the back of your mind for a long time, there’s a reason for it. Sometimes you need to listen to your intuition and just go for it!”

• Read Marion’s full story

Princess 

Princess left behind 14 years in the hospitality industry when she applied for CodeClan. After graduating from our Professional Software Development course last October 2021, Princess has started a new role as a software engineer at Skyscanner. 

“I’ve always been interested in anything to do with computers and coding and software from a very young age. But I think when I was at school, there was not much external motivation for us to learn how to code, it was something that most people did in their own time, as a hobby not as a career path.”

“The best thing I ever did. I didn’t think it was going to happen as quickly as it did, my turnover from quitting my previous job, starting CodeClan, graduating and finding a job with Skyscanner within six months.”

“Anything is possible I guess, is a cliche but it really is true- not just for me, I speak for other codeclanners that are here. They all say the same thing, and pretty much every day we walk through these doors we are like “Guys, guess what? We work for Skyscanner now!!” And it may sound very sad, but this is my fourth week and I still can’t believe it! It’s amazing. On Sundays I can’t wait to go back into the office!”

• Read Princess’ full story

Alina 

Since graduating from our Professional Software Development course last October, Alina has started a new role as a software engineer.

“My path into coding was a bit of a coincidence and to be totally honest, I was very reluctant at the beginning. I did computing at school and to say I was bad at it is an understatement. After moving to the UK, I wanted to apply for graphic designer roles as this was my previous career. All of the jobs required a basic knowledge of HTML, CSS and JavaScript, so I started with free online resources. The more I learned, the more I enjoyed programming and I decided that it was what I wanted to do going forward.

“I now feel excited to learn something new every day. And sometimes I remember what one of my instructors, Sandy, used to say to us during the course (and I am paraphrasing here): 

“It is okay to not understand 100% how it is working, for now it is okay to understand how to make it work.”

This really encourages me whenever I need to do more reading even after I solve the problem.”

• Read Alina’s full story

Helena 

After feeling like her career prospects weren’t great in the tourism sector, Helena retrained in software development and recently started her very first job as a Software Engineer.

“I found out about the Professional Software Development course through a friend who was a CodeClan alumni. She’d worked in customer service just like myself, but at the end of this 16-week course she got an amazing new job in the tech industry. This immediately sparked my interest as I was really craving a meaningful career change. I tried out some free online coding tutorials and I was instantly hooked – that’s when I knew that CodeClan was the right choice for me.”

• Read Helena’s full story

Francesca

After taking a career break from tech, Francesca was drawn back to it and she knew CodeClan was the place to go to further her existing knowledge. 

“So when I had an opportunity to move to Glasgow to work as a software developer I accepted on the condition that I would be trained at CodeClan. As a self-taught UX developer I really needed a course exactly like what CodeClan provided. I knew already that it’s impossible to know everything in technology and even if you do, it will be obsolete in a few years anyway – I didn’t expect miracles in that respect. I needed to learn in a non-judgmental environment, and learn concepts and mindsets rather than the syntax of specific language. This course really delivered what I expected and helped me to have more confidence as well.”

Ready to accelerate your career? Join us at our next information session to learn more about our Professional Software Development course.