There are all kinds of myths associated with becoming a programmer.
- You have to be good at math.
- You’ve been programming since you could walk.
- You read nothing but science fiction. Probably know a little Klingon.
- You hang out at Renaissance Fairs and belong to a guild of some sort. Some people look for Bigfoot, you look for dragons.
But like all assumptions, these are outdated stereotypes.
What type of people come to The Iron Yard to start a new career in programming? Could you be a good candidate? Check out the interviews with a couple of our students:
Alyssa
Tell me about the best time you had in school.
The hands down best time I had at school was when I was taking the commercial art course at a community college. We spent a lot of time talking about art history, and the psychology that goes into advertising. I love that aspect of design. The teacher was really inspiring, and had a pretty huge wealth of knowledge that he couldn’t wait to share.
Why were you interested spending 3 hard months learning to be a programmer?
I’ve been working full time since I was a senior in high school. I was expected to work and go to school because I had to pay for things. I have been saving for the past year or so to move out on my own, so I have some savings. I decided I’d rather invest that back into myself and be able to really dedicate some time to learn. I read the iron yard blog. Its true. Working on school work on nights and on the weekend is exhausting, and it’s not enough.
I found myself telling my coworkers, if I could just learn all day and be able to focus I could get so much further. This opportunity presented itself and thats all I can see it as. Opportunity.
You’re learning to build web applications using JavaScript. What kind of background did you have in programming?
I had never programmed before. I had taken a web design course in basic html and web design but it didn’t give me the job skills that are needed today.
Bill
Tell me about the best time you ever had at work.
One of my favorites job roles was as a “Fixer” for Checkers. I was responsible for assessing all aspects of a store, identify theft, document and release bad apples, retrain successful behaviors, create the construct for continued growth of the crew and leave the store once it was improving. I enjoyed working with different people at each store. I found that sharing successful strategies with others in this format was incredibly rewarding.
Outside of learning to program, what are you passionate about?
Understanding the homeostasis of a healthy body at every stage of development. Currently I am learning a lot about the latest developments concerning our symbiotic bacteria partners. Fun fact…. there is an average of three pounds of bacteria in and out of each of us and there are literally ten bacteria for every one cell we have! I am finding we can take much better care of our partners in health.
You’re in our Rails Engineering course. What kind of background did you have in programming?
I had two years of failed attempts at Ruby. I would try some online courses, read books, occasionally work with some local experts. Nothing really worked for me until I started the immersive Rails Engineering course at The Iron Yard.
Is a career in programming right for you? We’d love to hear from you. You can learn about our campus, our courses and ask us any questions here.
The Iron Yard 