Unfortunately, I soon discovered that finding a job wasn’t as simple as getting a ‘bootcamp’ qualification and sending off hopeful applications. Although employers were seemingly happy to hire junior developers, the big stipulation was they had to have experience. It was a catch-22.
Thankfully my current employer, DirectlyApply, was less interested in my work experience and more interested in seeing the way in which I approached their coding test. They also loved that I had committed hundreds of little side projects to my GitHub—even though half of them were unfinished!
Having landed my first job as a software engineer, I decided to volunteer at Code First: Girls, and teach evening classes to women who were thinking of getting started in the industry. Speaking with my students, it quickly became clear that there’s a problem of self-belief computer engineering vs computer science female developers which has deep roots. Many of my students previously believed they were not ‘smart enough to code’ and a larger number only felt they could apply for jobs if they felt 100% qualified for the role.
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