Charlotte's scholarship story
After winning a scholarship that helped fund her studies, Charlotte’s decision to move from midwife to junior developer proved to be an intense yet rewarding one.
Background
A typical shift for newly qualified midwife Charlotte started at 8am or 8pm and lasted 12-and-a-half hours. After three busy shifts in a row, it would take her a few days to recharge her batteries.
“I said to myself at the beginning of my midwifery studies, ‘The moment you realise that you are not enjoying the work is the time you will look for something new,’ and that’s exactly what happened,” says Charlotte.
On the advice of a friend’s boyfriend, Charlotte began considering a career in the tech industry and successfully applied for a scholarship from Be-IT Resourcing, which helped out significantly with the cost.
She enrolled on the course, much to the surprise of her friends and family. “I think a lot of people thought (and still think) I was nuts to leave such a stable profession as midwifery, but I’ve never experienced such self-determination within myself before.”
“Being completely new to coding, there were weeks where I doubted my ability. I’m very fortunate to have a strong support network behind me.”
Training at CodeClan
Although Charlotte had dabbled with Java, CSS and HTML before the course, she found the learning process an intense, almost vertical learning curve – but one that was extremely enjoyable.
“There was always someone at CodeClan able to guide you through the process,” she says. “Being completely new to coding, there were weeks where I doubted my ability. I’m very fortunate to have a strong support network behind me.”
Charlotte appreciated the chance to socialise with her fellow students during her down time. “There’s real encouragement to take time out and relax, which is why there’s no homework on Thursday and a later start on Friday.”
Towards the end of the course, students’ receive help with CV writing, interview preparation and general questions about the tech industry. “Employer partners who were looking to hire came to Speed Networking and (like speed dating) you’ve just under 10 minutes to impress them and learn as much about that particular company as you can,” notes Charlotte.
“I really enjoyed it and came away with a couple of companies that I was interested to learn more about and the one at the top of my list is where I got my first job.”
Working as a Junior Developer
Following her graduation, Charlotte joined an Edinburgh company as a junior developer, subsequently moving to a major investment bank as a developer.
“If you’re looking for an industry which is supportive, ever changing, current, exciting and gives you the opportunity to grow and develop, tech should definitely be considered,” states Charlotte. “However expect to work hard and learn constantly!”
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