Getting into tech is harder than I thought - my journey so far

This will be my first post. I have been jobless for a few months. And I'm chucking every reader right into the deep end with me haha. Brace yourself.

So to set the scene, I first wanted to 'get into tech' at the age of 18 when I realised I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life. I was taking a gap year after my A levels and decided the least I can do is enter a field where there will be money. Logically, this would give me the freedom and power to open up my options further should I have an epiphany later on about what I would want to do with my life.

So, after the gap year, I took up Computer Science at Hallam university for a year which I found interesting. I enjoyed the problem-solving aspect of it all. This was during 2020-2021 so I spent the year at home in isolation, communicating with classmates via teams calls. Long story short due to some logistical issues I had been taken out of the course because of my failure to repay my student loans. However, once I presented the university with evidence that I had indeed applied for Student finance to pay for my loan it was already too late, my short spell of a university dream had come to an end. The only way I could get back in (or so the uni said) was by applying for the year and retaking it all... Sorry, I choose self-respect.

Anyway, I tend to tackle problems instead of dwindling on them too long and I realised by then that yes, tech is the industry I want to work in. I started a full-time job and decided to study in my free time and secure a role that way. However, little did I know I would become complacent and comfortable in this job and my tech dream would be put on hold for another year.

Let's fast forward a year. It's September 2022 and my friend Abdulkarim, who is also interested in tech and is looking for a way to get in, is speaking to me about plans. I can't remember exactly what was said but he told me "be honest, are you working towards your tech goal?" and it just hit me like a brick. I hadn't realised that I completely swept my dream under a rug and gotten so complacent with myself. A few days later I took dramatic action and applied for a boot camp that was supposed to start towards the end of October, and I left the job. I realised, that sacrifices had to be made. Fun fact, I turned 22 during the boot camp.

It is now March 2023, I have completed the 12-week boot camp with QA, and have been job hunting. I am now documenting my journey and the skills I will learn. Hopefully, this can reignite hope in anyone that has found it a challenge to get into tech, we are on the journey together! Or at least potentially score me an interview with someone in the industry. I'd like to think the outcome will be both, haha. Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Expect more posts from me soon ;)