Alexa's experience report #9

From the Web Development Bootcamp to the new job 

All beginnings are exhausting but my first code is live!

Hi! I'm Alexa, 26 years old and I'm participating in the Web Development Bootcamp of neue fische - School and Pool for Digital Talent. In the next few weeks, I will tell you about my experiences during the course and provide you with information about our web development training at neue fische - School and Pool for Digital Talent.

Almost two months have passed since we finished our web development bootcamp at neue fische. Almost all of us have already successfully started in our first developer jobs. I myself have been employed as a Junior Software Developer at OTTO for seven weeks now. What can I say, I'm very happy. The start here was exhausting because, of course, there is still a lot to learn after the training at neue fische. But I can count on the support of my team, because learning on the job is simply part of it.

My first code is live

The biggest challenge when I started in my new job was finding my way around the vast amount of such a large company. There are over 20 teams working on the otto.de website every day. Even after a few weeks, I hadn't even seen every line of code in my team, let alone those of the other 19 teams. In addition, the IT architecture behind otto.de is very complex. In the web development training at neue fische, there is a very strong focus on programming practice, so I still have some catching up to do when it comes to the nuts and bolts of a complex site. What's important for me is that I'm already actively supporting my team with some tasks. In the meantime, I can proudly say that the first code I wrote has gone live on the website.

Fast track to the IT industry

The classic image of the typical male web developer dominates the team picture even in a large company like OTTO. Most web developers are male, which is certainly due to the fact that hardly any women choose to study computer science. Women are rare in IT professions. It's not hard for me to admit that - I would never have enrolled in such a degree program. But especially now, when the shortage of skilled workers in Germany is presenting companies with major challenges, real alternatives to a lengthy computer science degree are in high demand. There is no better time than now to get started as a developer, and neue fische's bootcamp not only gave us the right knowledge in a short time, but also provided us with valuable contacts to partner companies. I am very happy that I recognized and took advantage of this opportunity. For me, the offer from neue fische was the best choice for my successful career change. Dalia from neue fische has built a fast lane into the IT industry with her bootcamps - also for women.

In good hands as a woman in an IT job 

There are a few female developers at OTTO, and the company is doing a lot to help women gain a stronger foothold in more male-dominated professions. And it's having an effect: I was really well received in my team right from the start.
I've also heard very positive feedback from the other female graduates of my neue fische boot camp. Another graduate started working at polargold, a digital agency in Hamburg, through neue fische's corporate partners, and she also feels very well taken care of by her colleagues.