Learning to code so that you can land a job in tech can feel daunting. That’s why we’re sharing inspiring stories from Codecademy’s community — to show how people like you (yes, you!) can embark on a learning journey and end up with a totally new career. We hope these stories serve as a reminder that there’s no single path to a more fulfilling work life.
Today’s story is from Mohamed El-Sharkawy, a 27-year-old with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering turned Front-End Engineer living in Cairo, Egypt. Read more stories from Codecademy learners here — and be sure to share your story here.
Why I chose to learn to code
“I’ve always loved technology. I started working in tech at a young age, covering various fields, including a role as an IT help desk specialist, where I encountered clients who were looking to have websites built. At the time, my company was using drag-and-drop platforms to build these websites, but I wanted to learn how to create websites from scratch using coding.
Interestingly enough, I actually got my bachelor’s degree in civil engineering. Then after college, I did a year of military service. After that, I decided to switch to coding due to the challenging nature of civil engineering jobs and the impact software engineering can have. So, I started by taking front-end and full-stack courses with Codecademy.”
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How I made time to learn
“Anyone who wants to do anything will find the time. I had to manage my time daily to ensure I made time to learn — and my structured routine in the military service definitely helped me. Each day, I dedicated an hour or two for learning. The hardest part was the economic pressure to find a job quickly, paired with the added challenge of interviews.”
Discover time management tricks from other learners who landed jobs!
How I saved up money to switch careers
“I started working at a young age so I had money saved to live on, which allowed me to invest in myself during my transition from military service to learning to code.”
How long it took me to land a job
“After my military service ended, I had a friend working at Banque Misr who referred me for a role as a Front-End Engineer. I went through the interview process which included a technical interview, a project submission, and an hour-long interview. It helped throughout this process that I had previously worked with Banque Misr as an intern. Once I received the offer, I made sure to do my research and compare it with average salary and employee experiences on websites like Glassdoor. I determined I was happy with the offer and ready to get to work. On my first day, I met the Scrum Master of my team, who introduced me to the rest of the team. We spent time talking about the Angular framework that was used at the bank. In total, it took me about five months to find the job.”
Do you want to practice your interviewing skills? Check out Codecademy’s interview simulator.
What I wish I knew before I started learning
“I wished I knew the basics of software engineering, such as data structures and algorithms, before I started learning to code. Having this foundational knowledge would have helped me significantly.”
What advice I would give to others
- Just start: Don’t wait for the perfect time or environment; it may never come.
- Find a mentor: Have a friend or someone with the same career path to ask for help when needed.
- Appreciate your efforts: Be happy with any progress you make, even if it’s small.
- Make a plan: Create a roadmap to understand what to do next and stick to it.
- Trust in yourself: At first, my family disagreed with my decision to change careers. But, you need to trust in yourself. Now, all of us are happy with the decision I made.
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