Whether you’re trying to break into tech, prepare for the job search, or level up in your current role, it helps to know that you’re not alone in your journey to build your technical skills. That’s why we’re sharing stories from learners like you: to motivate and inspire others in their learning endeavors.
Our latest learner story is from Faith Yim, a recent college grad who switched to a career in software engineering after earning a degree in English. Faith enrolled in a coding bootcamp after graduating and now works as a backend Java developer focused on identity authentication. She uses CodeSignal Learn to deepen her understanding of Java and Java frameworks to advance her skills and her career.
What are your learning goals?
“I want to continue to deepen my understanding of backend development, particularly in Spring Boot and Java so that I can further align myself with my role as a software engineer. Beginning this career coming from a nontraditional technical background means that I have a lot to catch up on while staying updated with the best practices and technologies. I eventually want to bring myself to a point where I can make an even more impactful contribution to my team’s success.”
How do you like to learn? How do you make time for learning?
“I personally enjoy reading, watching videos, and note taking to learn, but since entering the tech field, I’ve had to get more comfortable with live practice as my main form of study.
Leaving a little bit of time each day to learn is very important for me to continue bringing myself up to speed on concepts, so whether it is after dinner or on my commute, I make sure to get in however much time I can to study. Different types of learning can also be done at different times. Maybe I’ll be reading on a bus, listening to a podcast while walking, or live coding at home—everything counts.”
What are you learning right now on CodeSignal Learn?
“Right now, I am learning more about hashing, dictionaries, and sets in Java. I have wanted to dive deeper into integral topics like data structures since I was only able to briefly touch on these during my training. These topics have been hard for me to grasp, so it’s very helpful to have detailed explanations that actually make sense to me.”
What has it been like using Learn and interacting with Cosmo?
“Learn has helped me to get access to personalized training that I would not have been able to get without another person’s help. I don’t need to rely on a tutor or hope my Google searches come out successful, Cosmo knows exactly what I need for the lesson. The course moves along naturally and at a good pace for me—I don’t feel rushed or get lost on new concepts. I especially love the options you have as I am able to choose what angle I want to take for a topic to best understand it. Whether I want to read a portion or watch a video for it, my level of interactivity can vary depending on my choices. Cosmo’s adorable character is certainly a plus!”
What advice would you give to other learners?
“It doesn’t need to be a perfect moment to study—take every opportunity you can get. Whether it’s an hour or five minutes, every moment will add to your development. If you ever feel intimidated or insecure about your learning, know you are not alone! Just keep going.”
What’s next for you?
“I hope to sign on as a full-time employee once my contract ends so that I can prove that it’s never too late to learn something new. Backend development comes with tons of skills that I can always continue to learn about. This journey has been filled with both success and challenges, and I want to continue building my knowledge of technical concepts.”
Get started
Ready to learn in-demand skills like AI, data science, and Python programming? Sign up for CodeSignal Learn to get started for free.
