Two months ago, I left my Technical Support job to study computer science and coding full time.

Since then, I’ve joined the piscine at 42 Singapore, a 26 days intensive bootcamp as part of the admission process, gotten accepted into the school and started the core curriculum. I’m writing this blog to document my journey and hopefully help others who are considering a similar switch.

Learning to code

I started learning to code by chance, when I had an accident in 2021 that left me home-bound for several weeks. During this time, I explored free online courses and came across Harvard’s CS50x, which I highly recommend as an introduction to CS. This was my first foray into coding and I absolutely loved it, specifically I loved thinking about different ways to solve problems, the constant learning and satisfaction that came from solving challenges.

Soon after, I accepted a Technical Support role in a software company. In the role, I was able to learn new technical concepts, work alongside a great team and explore various competencies. Nonetheless, being a fast paced support channel, the role leaned towards customer service as opposed to a deep technical focus. While I continued coding on the side, my attempts to learn weren’t as consistent as I’d hoped.

Reflecting on my goals, I was certain that I wanted to prioritize learning to code and transition to a technical role. Therefore, I made the decision to leave in July 2023.

Deciding on a school

The next step was to decide on how I was going to learn. Here are the options that were available:

• Self learning
• Bootcamp
• Graduate Diploma
• 42 School

My goal was not to get a job as soon as possible, but rather to spend time learning, creating projects I was interested in and to learn with other passionate students. Carefully weighing out the pros and cons led 42 to stand out amongst the options as it’s:

• Projects based – The curriculum is not taught through formal lectures, but projects based. We’ll be building interesting projects such as recreating a mini bash
• Tuition free – Thus I wouldn’t have to worry about financials and could focus on learning
• Encourages diversity – The school accepts students from all backgrounds and focuses on peer to peer learning
• Curriculum is primarily in C – I was excited about this as CS50x was also taught primarily in C. While the language has its 😠 moments, I found low level programming challenging and fun

My thought process

Thus began my journey to learn to code full time. This has been an exciting, albeit nerve-wrecking process, considering the tech layoffs in 2023. There were many times I considered staying longer at my previous job, and I did; but ultimately, life is short and if not now, then when?

One of the major contributing factors to my certainty was journaling. I had journaled every day of my technical support job, each day writing about what I’ve learnt and what was good or bad about the day. Over time, the trend became evident and my uncertainty slowly alleviated.

After two months, I am confident that I have made the right decision, as I feel happier, a greater sense of fulfillment and enhancement in my personal growth. 42’s core curriculum is estimated to take 12 months to complete and I’m excited for what’s ahead.

In my next posts, I’ll be sharing about the school and my piscine experience. Thanks for dropping by and till next time!