How SheCodes Pro ignited Lea’s passion for coding and helped her snag her dream job
🙍♀️ Before SheCodes
Lea is a truly impressive SheCoder. 🤩 She was born and raised in Berlin, Germany and is still living there today. She is super creative and likes to spend her free time on crafts, analog photography, art projects, sewing, design, reading, writing, and now coding! She also loves spending time with her dog and traveling.
She studied bespoke tailor, pattern making and fashion design, along with business psychology and economics over the years. Whereas she didn’t study coding while growing up, her interest in coding actually started when she was quite young.
“I was interested in creating websites already in elementary school. Later in middle school, when I learned about the power of code, my interest in code was awakened, but I was told by 99% of the surrounding people, that women cannot code which is why I gave up on my tries of learning on my own.”
Over the years, coding stayed on her mind and she constantly thought of projects she wanted to do that required some coding knowledge. But she couldn’t find a coding course that was a good way for her to break into coding as a beginner.
“I wanted to create the first smart shoes around 2006, but wasn't able to because I didn't know how to code. With my fashion studies from 2015-2018, I also wanted to focus on smart fashion, but was limited again by my missing coding knowledge. I simply didn't find a place where I was able to learn code.”
Then, she found SheCodes on Instagram and decided to finally jump into coding. 😄
👩💻 Her SheCodes Experience
In 2020, Lea was unemployed and searching for a new career path. Coming across SheCodes reignited her interest in technology and we’re so glad that she decided to learn how to code with us! 😍
“I lost my job in 2020 and because of the lack of money I had to stop studying too. My life lost all of its perspective, and I was looking for a new professional way in my life. SheCodes combined my current situation with my old yearning for technology.”
She decided that she wanted to pursue a career that would give her more freedom, the ability to exercise her creativity, and the opportunity to keep learning. After joining our free introduction to coding class, Lea decided that coding was something that she wanted to pursue that would give her just what she was looking for. 🙌 👩💻
"After studying fashion design and economics, I was looking for a profession which combines creativity, logic, crafts, and offers me to keep learning my whole life. I do also believe in the power of serendipity and after attending the free coding class and testing on my own if I can really understand this, I learned that professional coding gives me everything what I was looking for. Freedom and community. Creativity and logic and never static craft. It forces me to have a flexible mind.”
Before SheCodes, Lea took one other coding course through the Hasso Plattner Institute. She was the only female in this course and says that she felt very intimidated, especially not having any prior knowledge. She said that the major differences between that course and SheCodes were the technical support, the fact that SheCodes is made for beginners, the quality of the lessons, the flexibility, and the final projects. Lea loved all of our workshops and we have absolutely loved having her as a student. 🤩
“A major difference was the tech support. It was really amazing. But besides that, Matt's lectures are made really well. The different lectures have the perfect amount of knowledge, repeating them helped a lot and the final projects were always fun and amazing for learning. What also helped me a lot was knowing that I am not the only coding beginner.”
“I loved all SheCodes workshops. I mean it. Especially the flexibility was wonderful.”
Lea’s experience learning with other women was also amazing in her eyes. She said that she’s been able to connect with fellow SheCoders from around the world and really enjoyed the sense of community and coding with others from non-technological backgrounds. 🌍
“It's a great beginning for women who are a bit afraid but interested in technology and code. SheCodes is amazing. It gave me the courage to follow my secret dreams and to be a nerd again. Finally, I can chase my passion regarding technology and I cannot await my next projects. For outsiders and newbies to code the price of SheCodes might look high but compared to other trainings it's affordable and the quality of the training is worth every cent you are spending.”
🙋 How SheCodes has Helped to Change Her Life
SheCodes was Lea’s entry into the coding world and it helped provide her with a solid coding foundation and ways in which to showcase her coding knowledge to attract the attention of employers - including her projects built from scratch and her verified certificates to display on her LinkedIn. 🙌 The friendly learning environment of SheCodes also played a huge role in her desire to transition to a new career.
“Having digital and verified certificates on my LinkedIn account was a huge help. Also, to connect the certificates with my portfolio website is very helpful. Still, I cannot emphasize enough how helpful this fear-free and flexible learning environment was for me.”
After SheCodes, Lea decided to pursue Full Stack development for a bit of time and attended a bootcamp in Berlin. Along with Full Stack Development, she also studied a bit of other coding languages and UI/UX Design. She says that the Front End Development knowledge that she gained in SheCodes was a total lifesaver. Thanks to her SheCodes knowledge, she got a position as a Web & App Development Intern at RGMT Network UG. She was part of the Flutter app development team for the Apple App Store, and was in charge of supporting the design of the WordPress website regarding UI/UX design, work on some JS projects, searching for bugs and their solutions, analyzing the community feedback, and supporting the re-branding.
Lea had big goals to become a developer after her internship, and she's succeeded!! She has snagged a job as a Front End Developer at eClever and she couldn’t be happier. 😍 The whole SheCodes team is so proud!
“Thanks to the React JS knowledge that I have gained in SheCodes, I was able to land my current job as a front-end developer at a company in the e-mobility industry.”
In Lea’s typical work day, she spends time in meetings, planning team sprints, fixing bugs, and either coding in a pair or coding new components on her own. She is loving her work as a coder, especially the result-oriented work, a higher salary, more interesting and creative work, and more flexible and remote work. We’re so thrilled that Lea has found a job that brings her so much happiness!! 💜
“The work as a coder is so much better than my old job in a huge office with fixed (and awful) working hours. I prefer the result oriented working life as a coder, the work is also so much more interesting, and I can create things. I get a much higher salary, I work flexible from home, and I enjoy work so much more. No chance for boredom.”
“Coding raised my happiness level from 0 to 1000000. I can't imagine myself in other work now. No other work sets me free and allows me to expand myself in knowledge and skills. It satisfies my logical side as well as my creative side.”
Lea said that SheCodes is the reason that she’s working in tech and has provided her with so many career opportunities. 🙌
“Without SheCodes I wouldn't have been able to start my career in tech which was always a dream. It gave me better basics than a 3 months bootcamp that I attended. Thanks to my gained knowledge I am even now being contacted by HRs all over the world to work for them as a developer or IT consultant every day several times while being already employed as a front-end developer.”
We’re so proud of how far Lea has come and how much coding knowledge she’s gained! 😊 In her coding future, she’s interested in studying cybersecurity and Python. We know that with her dedication and intelligence, she’ll achieve all of her coding dreams! 💪 💻
👩💼 Advice to Future SheCodes Student
Lea’s advice to future SheCoders is to connect with other students, learn from one another, never give up, and keep learning. She also says that JavaScript is important to learn because it’s a core technology to have in nearly every tech position, and we agree. 😉
“Connect yourself with the other students. You can learn from each other, but the best is that you can become friends who chose the same passion and way and are on the same point of the career. This encourages you a lot and helps you not to give up because changing your career to code is not easy. Your network is your treasure and like this you are never alone and gain so many friends”
“Don't give up. If you are new to this field, you will get a lot of denials but be grateful for them. A company which does not see the worth of a super grateful and loyal junior is no company you want to work for.”
“Keep learning. You followed Matt in the world of code like Alice the white rabbit in wonderland. She had to find her way also independently. You can do it, too.”
“Learn JavaScript every day. JavaScript is nowadays a core technology you have to know perfectly for almost every kind of tech job.”
Lea’s SheCodes Basics Testimonial
“I love this workshop! I had a lot of fun and even after I thought I would not get it the classes and the patient teachers let me the time to let it click into place in my head! Within 7 days I learned the fundamental basics of building a cool website and cannot await the next workshop SheCodesPlus!!!! I want to start it immediately and can recommend everyone this workshop!”
Lea’s SheCodes Plus Testimonial
“I can highly recommend this workshop. Within 40 days I coded a website and now finally a weather app. For me SheCodes.io is not only a career change but a life change. Originally coming from traditional crafts, I am now going to work in digital crafts. Dreams I have not dared to dream came true and now I can work in my secret passion that I had since elementary school. Thank you very much to the team of SheCodes.io!”
Lea’s SheCodes React Testimonial
“I am very fascinated by all the things SheCodes.io was teaching me within a little amount of time and the awesome international community. The SheCodes.io workshops opened a completely new path in life for me, were the perfect first steps into the world of coding and the React workshop gave me an idea about professional coding. SheCodes.io gave me the opportunity to change my life and now I am participating one more coding bootcamp to gain more self-confidence for the professional work as a coder. I am saying thanks to the SheCodes.io team and I look forward to my future in coding!”
Lea’s SheCodes Responsive Testimonial
“The SheCodes Responsive workshop is the front-end training you are looking for. Perfectly explained and trained responsiveness. Even in a 3 month bootcamp you won't learn responsiveness so well as in the SheCodes Responsive workshop. Attending this course gave me more confidence in my front-end skills for my work.”
