Developer Stories: Meet Adam, Self-Taught Aspiring Developer

Hi Adam! 👋 Thanks for taking the time to chat to us. Firstly, could you introduce yourself and tell us a little bit more about you?

Hi, I’m Adam and I’m 30 years old from the United Kingdom. I am a F1 super fan and have been self teaching to code for nearly two years! Follow Adam's story on Instagram 👉 instagram.com/developeradam

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When did you start learning web development, and what sparked your interest?

So I actually was nearing a midlife crisis and wasn’t entirely happy with where I was in life, so I decided to do something about it. I was researching different careers and came across web development and was instantly interested. I think the ability to create is what pulls people in to web development. There are so many languages/technologies, so many things you can create it’s nearly endless! I’ve been self teaching using online resources for nearly two years whilst working full time. It’s more than a hobby and I hope to be able to switch into a junior development role by the end of this year.

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What is your background, education and career wise - is this a logical step for you to dive into software development or is this a complete new path for you?

So other than messing around with html when I was young I had zero background in web development and zero education on the matter. It’s a entirely new path for myself.

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How do you find the motivation and stay disciplined to learn each day? Do you have a set routine?

Some days are hard, especially with the world imploding at the start of last year, I have times like others where I have zero energy or motivation but that’s life and the same with everything! What keeps me going is change and wanting more from life, I keep turning up because it’s the only way it’s going to happen! No one is going to do it for me.

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You’re now learning React and Redux, how did you decide upon those technologies to work with?

When doing my research react kept coming up and from what I’ve seen online it is one of if not the leader in that field. Redux I have less experience with but it’s something I’ve picked up when working on projects because you find yourself needing something so you tend to reach for these things. I’m late to the party, at least it felt like that starting this journey so I wanted to learn the new technologies to try and gain an advantage.

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When you come to look for a full time role, what is important to you? Is it working from home, flexible working, the industry you work in, the kind of engineering practices the company holds?

Honestly the first role I’ll just happy to take. But ultimately I work to live, work life balance is an absolute must.I’d rather an office environment so I can learn from others but working from home would obviously be great too. Once settled and have some experience, I want somewhere I can continue to grow as a developer and a person.

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You’re very active on Instagram, what kind of benefits has this brought you in your journey?

The biggest thing I got from Instagram is meeting such awesome people in the community. I have friends I talk to everyday that I met on the app through web development. The whole community is great, full of hard working, helpful individuals who love assisting people like me through tough times. I think it’s a great benefit to be some what active and post updates on your journey, you meet people, you learn new things and you also yourself get to stay up to date with what others are using in terms of technology etc.

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What advice would you give to someone looking to do to start their journey into software development?

Just start, starting is the biggest hurdle. Then just know it’s going to be a long tough journey, but it certainly will be worth it once you’re done. The possibilities are endless in terms of what you can create, what you can build and work on, software development leads the world forward.

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