Four years ago, I was dealing with complaints and data requests from customers. Now I work for the UK’s favourite online property portal as a Backend Software Engineer.
If you had told me this back then, I probably would have laughed in your face. How could I completely change my career and achieve that within just a couple of years? I would not have even known where to start that journey – but here we are.
I studied Mathematics and Music at university and worked a few random office jobs in Cardiff throughout most of my 20s. It always bothered me that I did not have a clear career path and had no idea what I actually wanted to do. Apart from one module in my first year at university (maybe not my most productive time), I had never really ventured into coding. It was towards the end of 2021 when I was properly exposed to it. I started flying through courses on Codeacademy and working my way through tasks on Codewars. It felt like playing a game and solving puzzles, and for the first time, I had found something that challenged me and that I was genuinely excited about. That was when I discovered the Makers coding bootcamp.
Makers was an intensive four-month bootcamp where you learn the foundations of software engineering. I was absolutely thrown into the deep end and independent learning was critical. My days were filled with pair programming and team projects, and I made some great friends along the way. At the end of the four months, you move into the next phase: the Careers Bootcamp. They held a careers fair a couple of weeks after I finished, and that is where I met Rightmove.
As you can probably guess what happened next, I got a job as a junior software engineer at Rightmove, packed my bags, and moved to London. I thought the bootcamp had thrown me into the deep end, but starting a new job in a brand-new industry, in a brand-new city, after only coding for four months, felt like being dropped into the bottom of the ocean. I was surrounded by experts in the field, and there I was – a complete fish out of water.
The company, the team, and the people at Rightmove were incredibly friendly and supportive, but I was riddled with imposter syndrome, something I had never experienced before. The first six months were difficult and an emotional rollercoaster. I could not shake the feeling that I did not belong, that I was not good enough, and that I had made a mistake by changing careers. I completely went into my shell.
It all started to feel overwhelming, so I had a catch-up with a mentor from Makers who was checking in on how things were going. I explained everything I was feeling, and that conversation marked the start of a turning point. They listened and reassured me that my feelings were completely normal, but also something I needed to work on by shifting my mindset. They recommended a few books: You Are a Badass by Jen Sincero, Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway by Susan Jeffers, and You Can Heal Your Life by Louise Hay.
Honestly, I cannot fully explain how much these books transformed my life. They not only reignited my love for reading but also gave me the tools to start chipping away at the negativity within me. The doubt, the fear, the lack of confidence – it all had to go. Nothing is linear, but from that point on, my experience as a software engineer slowly began to change. It did not happen overnight, but over the course of a year, my confidence grew, my mindset became much healthier, and I could finally enjoy what I came to do: coding.
Changing careers to become a software engineer was one of the best decisions I have ever made. Not only is Rightmove a great company to work for, but there are always exciting projects to get stuck into, and I have made so many good friends here too. It has been an absolute rollercoaster, but in the depths of those difficult moments, that is when you learn the most about yourself and grow – both in your career and in your life. There is no timeline for figuring out what you want to do, and it is never too late to decide.
If there is one thing I would tell my past self, it is this: you do not need to have it all figured out – just curiosity and the courage to begin.
