I come from a creative background, so it seemed highly unlikely that I would ever study a subject like coding. In many ways, the two seem to be worlds apart. It didn’t seem at all likely that I would be considered as a potential candidate for a coding academy like Mayden.
A music degree may seem an unlikely source of inspiration to spark an interest in coding and web development, but my final major project was based around a website that allowed the music students to contact students from other study areas to collaborate and further their educational development. Coding was entirely new to me, and at first the project seemed
like a pipe dream.
But with the help of a friend who produced UI and UX based websites and applications, I produced a basic functioning website that won us an end of year project award. My friend helped build the website, and also tutored me in some basic coding principles, sparking a new passion for coding.
Initially I thought coding was for a particular kind of person – someone with a computing degree, or someone that had studied it from an early age and who had a particular flare for it. I didn’t believe it could be for me too, and the first time I applied to Mayden Academy, I was not successful for that very reason. I was interested but lacked confidence both in myself and my coding abilities at the time. I believed myself to be underwhelming as a potential candidate.
Having finished my degree and realised that the music industry was not for me, I found myself in a less than desirable role, where none of the skills I had learned during my education could be put to good use. To remedy this, I started to learn more about the world of coding, and subscribed to an online course. Unfortunately it wasn’t to be. I found the course material very dry. Apart from some intermittent multiple-choice questions, there were no exercises or hands-on coding tasks. I completed the course but never took the final exam after failing each of the mocks provided. This knocked my confidence and for some time I neglected further learning. That all changed when I received an email from Mayden outlining that their hands on, tutor-led based course that was open to anyone who was interested.
Having failed to impress the first time around, I applied for a second time, this time without any expectations. My prime goal was to ask as many questions as I could to find out as much as I could about the web development industry. This actually proved to be very successful and I received an email confirming my place on the course.
I suppose what I’m trying to say is that coding can be for anyone and everyone. Don’t be afraid to take chances and ask questions, and don’t let yourself be limited by your own preconceptions of what you feel you’re capable of. Give it a try.
