“I found out the hard way that the world in which a person could achieve a good career as long as they had a college degree no longer existed.”
Jim went from self-taught developer to web development director. Although Jim Syphokham had always loved technology, he was intimidated by programming and never had the confidence to consider a career in web development.
Instead, Jim chose a very different path after high school, expecting a college degree to secure him a good career.
However, a few years later when he graduated, he learned the harsh reality that that’s no longer a guarantee. For 2 years he struggled to find a job related to his degree and eventually found himself working in an entirely different job, but something was still missing.
At that time, Jim was enlightened and inspired by an old friend who ran a successful graphic and web design business. What was most inspiring was that he didn’t have a college degree, thanks to Treehouse, he had taught himself to code.
Jim decided he had found his new career path, and committed to learning to code. It took him 7 months of dedication and tireless learning, but with the support and encouragement of his friends and family, he was able to build his coding skills.
Jim landed his first job as a junior developer at ROI Online, and it has been an exciting adventure for him ever since. Two-and-half years later, after learning and growing within his role at the company, Jim is now the web development director and manages an incredible team of developers.
Melanie went from owning a bakery to Traveling The World with her family as a freelance web designer.
Melanie Pellegrino owned and ran a bakery while her husband worked on the Web. From observing her husband and his lifestyle, Melanie was drawn to the flexibility and constant evolution of the web industry. Instead of being tied down to one place, he was able to work remotely from anywhere and Melanie strived for a career with the same freedom.
With no prior coding experience, Melanie began learning with Treehouse. Soon she was hooked by the innovation and challenge of coding and excelled with her learning. Today, Melanie has since launched a freelance web design business, worked with over 20 clients and has another web business in the works.
What’s more, Melanie is now successfully running her businesses from across the world. With both Melanie and her husband able to work remotely, the Pellegrinos – joined by their 2-year-old son – are currently traveling the world for a year.
How Jeffrey became a developer by choosing self-study over a college degree.
Jeffrey McKim worked 50-70 hour weeks in service jobs. He was exhausted and in need of a significant career change. Then he was introduced to coding bootcamps and the idea of a career in web development.
However, the $10,000 cost of a bootcamp and the time it required wasn’t an option for Jeffrey.
Although people told him he was crazy for choosing to learn to code online over a college degree, he was determined that it was the right career fit for him. Jeffrey began learning with the intention of learning the basics and then applying for a scholarship to attend a bootcamp.
However, with Treehouse self-paced learning turned out to be all that he needed. There were challenges and frustrations along the way, moments where he wanted to quit, but Jeffrey was dedicated and disciplined.
Soon he was building websites for friends and freelancing, which built him an impressive portfolio of projects. 18 months after he first began coding, Jeffrey landed a position as a full-time developer.
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