Our alums come from all backgrounds—but they are often problem solvers, creative thinkers, master tinkers, and tech enthusiasts. We connected with Jack, a graduate of our software engineering program in London, to learn more about what brought him to Flatiron School, his interest in tech, and the future of tech in London.
How did you first become interested in tech? What brought you to Flatiron School? Where are you today?
My first interaction with tech was at a young age through games on the SNES and Gameboy. Eventually, I moved on to PCs, which inevitably broke or ran into issues. From early on, I wanted to solve problems and fix things. I tried to fix as much hardware and tinker with software as much as I could at the time. The ability to troubleshoot problems and fix them made me feel comfortable with handling software. Ever since then, I've been using various forms of technology.
After some (unsuccessful) time job hunting in the mechanical engineering field and completing the teacher training course, I came to the conclusion that I wanted to combine skills from previous experiences and contribute to the world of technology. I was choosing between a conversion course or a coding bootcamp. I felt that a coding bootcamp provided an opportunity to develop a small portfolio of work—and offered a much shorter path to my future. Out of my options, I chose Flatiron School as I enjoyed the format and style of the labs in the free coding bootcamp course.
At Flatiron School, I created a point-and-click game in the browser for my final project, which gave me a lot of confidence for my upcoming interviews. Now, I'm now a full-stack developer at Valtech, where my work also includes writing unit and integration tests and development ops.
How has your life changed since graduation from Flatiron School?
I was fortunate to be surrounded by a great cohort of classmates at Flatiron School and we continued to share our experiences in our new roles. I'm having a great time working full-time, which is something I didn’t expect. It's a great feeling to be able to earn money and fully enjoy the work that you do!
What excites you most about the next decade in tech?
The common buzzwords of AI and Machine Learning are ones I'm keeping an eye on. The tech used in medicine and healthcare are also very cool. Though most of all, I'm very excited about VR, Half-Life: Alyx looks very promising.
What do you hope to accomplish in your career in the next 10 years? What does 2030 look like for you?
I want to be skilled enough to make important architectural decisions within whatever company I am in and be in a position where I am able to build a robust, marketable product if I chose to start my own business venture.
