Katie

In her own words, Katie loves 'trying my hand at anything and everything.' She is a big fan of nature - including kayaking 🛶 and hiking 🥾 - as well as exploring new cities, playing some tunes on the guitar 🎸 and piano 🎹, has a passion for art, theatre and just spending time with friends and a pint of shandy (editor's note - this is a popular drink in the UK!)

With all of these hobbies and interests, it makes sense that Katie would discover coding eventually! In her previous job, she led projects as a Mental Health Projects Manager...

"I worked directly with people with mental health problems to understand the problems they faced with mental health services and the system and then worked with the National Health Service, Public Health, and voluntary sector to find ways to improve things at a strategic level."

Katie's interest in coding was first sparked by attending a Code First Girls event years before.

"I was immersed in a crowd of empowered and inspirational women all working in tech, and I wanted to be a part of that community."

She embarked on a day course that immediately demonstrated the power of code. Katie realized that there are so many opportunities where tech can change and improve people's lives, and decided that she wanted the skills to do just that. 💪

Katie found that SheCodes personalized approach was most valuable to her. It's one thing learning how to code, but we also think it's important to learn how to apply those skills when working in tech!

"It was especially useful to learn all of Matt's tips and tricks from working in the industry, and particularly valuable to see how he tackles the challenges as an experienced developer. The content goes beyond just the technical languages, but also the workflow and little hacks."

Katie completed the SheCodes Basics and Plus workshops, giving her fundamental knowledge of HTML, CSS and Javascript. She completed another in-person bootcamp after SheCodes too - all of this combined gave her the skills for a role in front-end web development! Amazing work Katie! 🙏

"SheCodes was a fundamental stepping stone into the coding world and my career change. I'd played around with online coding courses but SheCodes gave me more structure and deadlines to keep me in check with 24/7 support via Slack when I got stuck."

With SheCodes you're part of a community of learners - like Katie, it's always best to keep an open mind and learn from others! 🎓

"The key thing for me was Matt's industry experience and insider knowledge which he shared throughout the courses. Seeing how an experienced developer tackled a problem was so useful. It was the knowledge from SheCodes courses that allowed me to complete the technical challenges to get onto an in-person bootcamp."

Katie has now completed her digital education and works as a junior front-end developer, helping to build the user interface for a world-leading piece of tech. Congratulations Katie! 🥳

The entrepreneur and product designer Lauren Mosenthal once said that "life is a series of building, testing, changing and iterating."

This is also very true of coding!

Katie offers similar advice for future SheCodes students... 🔍

"The one thing I always try to remember is that, although even just a tiny bracket in the wrong place can break your whole app, it also means that sometimes it only takes that tiny bracket to fix it all."

“I've absolutely loved this course and highly recommend it. The key thing for me is how Matt teaches you the 'tricks of the trade' as he goes and shows you how real coders do it, not just teaching you the code in isolation from the real world. I've found Matt really easy to follow, pace is perfect, and I've been shocked at how much I have learned in just 10 hours! I was skeptical of an online course (as I struggle to keep motivated usually) but the videos are short and manageable, and there are fun challenges after each one, with instant solutions. It's very inspiring and the tools and community are excellent too - if you need help, it's there 24/7. Can't wait to move on to the 4-month course!”

 
Katie's SheCodes Plus Testimonial

“Some tricky and challenging coding, but Matt does a good job of explaining and walking through examples. Really enjoyed adding real live data into the app - feels a bit like a Frankenstein moment - and great to learn the workflow, not just the granular detail of the coding.”