Be ready to feel uncomfortable!

You may think it’s another article about motivation and all other related stuff. You are right!
I would like to share with you my story about how and why I decided to make a career change and join the IT people. I hope some of you will find it inspiring and motivating if you are in a similar situation.
I’m 38 and one year ago I’ve decided to start my career in the IT area. Some people advised me to become a tester as it might be easier but I didn’t want the easy way. I wanted to become a front-end developer so I started learning HTML, CSS and JavaScript. First I bought a book and started watching video tutorials and reading online articles about front-end technologies.
Actually, my first thought was, “If I were a real front-end developer how would my day look like? What Twitter accounts would I follow? What Youtube channels would I watch? What podcasts would I listen to?”. Thanks to this approach I have discovered a lot of valuable resources online available for free and found out that tech people are usually helpful and eager to share their knowledge.
So I’ve decided to become a front-end developer (let’s say I have already become it in my head at that point) and after a few months of self study I started (in Oct 2019) a 1-year front-end course at the local university.
After all this time I’ve spent studying I can tell you that it’s not easy and you need to be ready to feel uncomfortable but at the end all this hard work pays off.
If you are moving into IT from another industry like I am, don’t ever feel discouraged because of your age. If you put enough effort and self-confidence you are able to do it. Don’t stick to one learning method only. Try as many as you can. Watch videos, read articles and books, listen to podcasts and write a code.
Probably you have heard many times that the most important thing is to write a code as much as you can. It’s true but if you become a front-end developer in your head and follow a daily routine of a real front-end dev even before getting a real job it may be actually easier for you. It works for me so it would probably work for you, too.
If you think that if you are moving into IT from another industry you have to start from zero you are actually wrong. You may lack technical skills but don’t forget that some of your experience can be transferable.
I worked more than 10 years with international business development and cooperation issues, lived in 3 countries and speak 6 languages. Based on this experience I know what I bring to the table and even though my IT knowledge is on the basic level I’m convinced that my adaptability, ambition, experience in the international environment and languages I speak can be of a real value for a company with an international presence.
I am still waiting for my first IT job and even though I’ve applied for dozens companies the only feedback I’ve got is that they need a junior developer with experience. Is it going to discourage me? No, it is not, because I know the value I am bringing to the table and I know that there is a company out there that wants to grow and needs my help.

Look at the bigger picture and believe in yourself!

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