The Hours of Struggling Paid Off

The hours of struggling have finally paid off, I got a web developer job.

I started FreeCodeCamp in March 2017, and since have completed my front end certificate and am currently doing the backend projects for my backend certificate. It only took 7 months. Before then I would just dabble in code, I never buckled down like I did here. I actually was studying Computer Science at my community college before I dropped out.

After I dropped out I really wanted to join the military, I talked to Marine recruiters and went to MEPS multiple times, I ended up deciding not to follow through after one of my friends got kicked out for a medical condition that I have. I didn’t want to have a fraudulent enlistment charge like he did so I decided to come back to what I liked best and that was coding. It was the right decision. Although the military may not even seem relevant to this there is one thing I learned from that tangent that has helped me through this. The most bad ass of bad asses like Navy Seals, Marine Raiders, Army Rangers all have grit. Their commitment to excellence and the will to never give up always gave me some motivation to keep to studying. If they don’t quit even when their lives are on the line in the middle of combat, then I should be able to make it through all the difficult challenges I face when learning.

So all in all, for only 7 months of studying, and no student loan debt, FreeCodeCamp is an awesome way to become a web developer. It’s curriculum is relevant and challenging. Don’t give up. Also when applying for jobs apply to as many as you can. Indeed said I had 67 submitted applications before I got my job.

Good luck to all you guys, don’t give up and feel free to ask me any questions.

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Awesome! Congratulations on getting your first developer job after only 7 months of intense study, and on being debt-free.

67 job applications isn’t all that many job applications, either (many campers apply to hundreds before getting an offer).

Thanks for sharing your experience with us.

Looking back, what was the most surprising thing about your coding journey so far?

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The most surprising thing I discovered is the number of developers who are self taught. I used to think it was impossible or at least more difficult to get a developer job without a CS degree but after listening to podcasts and being a part of this community, I found out many developers are self taught. I’ve heard stories of people learning on their own but I thought it was always extremely rare. It turns out there are many developers who are self taught and do great! Knowing that information gave me reassurance that I was on the right path, especially when you explain to others that you’re not going to college and learning on your own. To them it can seem like you’re wasting your time. It’s not, it’s a skill that’s in demand and if a person sticks to it and is continuously learning he/she will be good to go.

Congratulations! All of these stories are so inspiring! May I ask how many hours a day you spent a day learning?

About 4-6 hours a day. A lot of it was and still is fighting distraction. I could of probably cut off a month or two if I could better control my impulsivity.

Congrats to you @XLpacman805!!

What’re the chances of you sharing your portfolio/GitHub you used for applications?

@XLpacman805 Congratulations! I’m very happy for you. Very encouraging for me, thanks for sharing!

Here’s my portfolio, my GitHub link is in there as well.

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Congrats man. histories like that inspire me to not give up

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