From Valley to Peak: An Unfiltered Perspective on Being a Tech Student

by Britney Lunte, Software Engineering bootcamp student

If I’m anything, I’m honest, especially about my life’s valleys and peaks. So I can’t say my transition into tech has been easy. But it has been worth it. For anyone considering a leap into tech but having some concerns, read on. I did, too. Here’s how I’m overcoming them to pursue my new path.

What led me here? A bit of divine intervention and years of experiences all finally pointed to one obvious and clear answer: tech. For a few years, I’d been in a job that paid the bills, but it wasn’t meaningful, purposeful, or exciting. I was spending all my free time making 5 year plans, working towards goals and hopes while still searching for the right fit for my career and creative aspirations. 

Then in the late fall of 2023, that job let me go in a mass layoff. I was thrust into finally figuring out a direction for my career. While it was a disheartening and challenging experience, it was the best thing that could have happened to me.

Only about a week later, I came across an ad for TripleTen, and it piqued my interest. As I looked into the program, I realized this was professional training for something I had already been teaching myself. 

A few years prior, I had opened a small river recreation business. In that process, I had to learn how to design, market, and build a web presence. I fell in love with the process of graphic design and web design, and I received so many compliments on my business’s website that soon other local businesses approached me to design sites for them. Through that, I fell into web design and tech.

When I came across TripleTen, I realized this was a program that could truly teach me to advance in this field.

So I did my due diligence and took the plunge into TripleTen’s Software Engineering Bootcamp. During our introductory sprint, we were told that learning tech was challenging but highly rewarding and absolutely possible. We were warned about “The Valley of Despair” and “Struggle Mountain.” 

Our instructors were clear: there’s no shortcut around Struggle Mountain. Instead, we just need to embrace the challenges, the frustrations, and the despair and keep making mistakes and stumbling. Eventually, they told us, you’ll be at the peak and see it all coming together. 

To say I underestimated just how challenging scaling Struggle Mountain would be is an understatement. I have no tech background really. I’m just old enough that none of this was taught when I was in school or college and young enough that I depend heavily on tech and understand what a powerful tool it is in our modern lives.

In my time at the bootcamp, I’ve had days of frustration trying to grasp a concept, moments of doubting my ability to learn or get through this program, and moments of exasperation because my very visual learning style can sometimes make learning such technical material even more challenging. But, to get through this, I’ve sat down for conversations with my tutor and success manager to talk about my burn out, frustrations, and doubts.

After that much struggle you may wonder, “Why would you sign up to put yourself through this?” Well really only we can answer that for ourselves.

For me, despite the challenges, there also have been many wins.

I’ve designed logos and branding, made websites from scratch with code, and seen the results work. This has sparked the most remarkable sense of accomplishment.

I’m also adding to my soft skills via this program. Strengthening those soft skills is not only a benefit to my tech career, but to my personal life and development as well. In addition, among all that, I still have the motivation and focus to grow my freelance web design business. 

So now that I’ve been studying at TripleTen for some time, I have three key pieces of advice. First: know your learning style and don’t be afraid to seek out additional resources that cater to that. I read books that use many visual examples of code and their outcome. I follow YouTube channels hosted by tech pros who come down to level 0 to show tech newbies the ins and outs of the topic at hand. I practice and mess up my code constantly and learn from it. I find real life inspiration for things I’d like to create and start researching what coding skills are needed to bring such an idea to life. 

Second: take breaks and step away from tech and learning. The learning process can be so demanding and consuming that it’s easy to forget to refocus and do something less mentally intensive to let our brain refresh and absorb what we’re learning.

Third: know your motivation.

Have a thought-out end goal and motivation.

Write them down and keep them in mind every time you start your lessons for the day. When code makes you cry or wonder, “Why am I doing this to myself?”, return to these aspirations. It’s okay if your goals adapt as you go, but focus on them because this journey is worth it. 

By embracing Struggle Mountain and The Valley of Despair and meeting them with courage, you’ll find just how capable you really are. You’ll discover a whole new world of exciting career opportunities, creative ventures, knowledge, and valuable skills that this modern world depends on. You’ll find your place in this crazy world of tech and discover the unique style, passion, and purpose you bring to this community.

After all, the most challenging journeys lead us to the best views.