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Alyne Alvarenga
Alyne Alvarenga

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My journey into tech

I have always enjoyed working with computers. When I was a little kid, I would play around with my parent's computer, breaking it several times. I would play with any and all programs that were available (Paint! Microsoft Power Point! You name it)! As I grew up, I suddenly became the family's go-to "IT person," despite having no formal training. Using different software and learning new things just came naturally to me.

When the time came to choose a University course, I was drawn to any subject that steered clear of Math - which made me not even consider a Computer Science degree. I looked at all the Math behind it and ran as far away from it as I could, earning degrees in English and German.

After graduating University, I worked as a translator for several companies. I enjoyed the daily challenge, figuring out the solution to different problems, and never having a dull day. But after moving to Canada, I had to work any job that would allow me to earn more "Canadian experience." I started working different office jobs, in various fields, to pay the bills and insert myself in the Canadian workforce. One thing that stood out for me in all of those jobs, was how easily and quickly I would learn any new software, and how comfortable I was working with computers. In every job I had, I became (once again) the unofficial "IT person." As I began seeing a pattern, I decided it might be a good idea to pursue a career in IT.

Not having a lot of money to invest in more education, I enrolled in a free government program that would allow me to earn certifications in computer hardware and networking. It wasn't exactly what I wanted to do, but at least it was in IT! Once I was in, I figured, I could pivot into something I was more interested in: programming. Two months into the free course, I realized that it was not what I needed, and that it might not make a lot of sense for the path I actually wanted to pursue. I decided to get another office job, but this time for the sole objective of saving money to pursue the education that I needed.

While working and saving money, I researched the different areas within Computer Programming, and found Web Development very interesting. I enrolled in free online courses to learn the basics of HTML and CSS, and fell in love! I had found the career that I wanted to pursue. My only other obstacle was figuring out where to learn more advanced concepts and prepare for a career change. The more I read about bootcamps, the more interested I became. After visiting Juno and learning about how so many other people like me had changed careers into web development, I knew I had an easy choice to make. Two part-time courses later, here I am in their Web Development Immersive program, getting ready to be a web developer in a few months! I look forward to using all of my problem-solving skills to once again be in a career that will challenge me daily.

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