We have a thriving alumni community here at Lighthouse Labs. In our ongoing alumni feature series, we interview graduates about their bootcamp experience and life after Lighthouse Labs.

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Viccy worked as a software developer and technical consultant in the UK and across Europe for nearly 10 years before she moved to Canada. Here, she started her career as an IT project manager, but always felt like she was missing the technical part of her former career. Because it had been so long since her time as a software developer (C, UNIX, SQL), she knew she needed practical and hands-on training to get her passion for work back.

Viccy had experience with intensive courses, and knew she was prepared for the challenge of bootcamp; still, it didn’t come without its challenges. “I loved it, even though it's probably the hardest thing I've ever done. The cohort was amazing, we all helped each other out. The mentors were great, especially when the times were rough and it was hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I worked my butt off 12 hours a day six days a week and loved that we just kept producing stuff every day.”

Viccy graduated bootcamp in March 2018 and found a job working for a small tech shop called Digital Pharos, where she still works today. She is currently working with node.js, Angular, jQuery, Foundation, and PHP--most of which she has picked up since graduating bootcamp. She loves the challenges that come with working for a small company and credits her success to the skills that she learned from her hands on experience with Lighthouse Labs.

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“I feel like I never could have done this job without having been on a bootcamp. It's a small company and I got thrown in the deep end pretty much on day one. On this job I really need to be able to figure stuff out on my own, setup my own environment and get stuff done with minimal help, which Lighthouse Labs absolutely set me up for. I honestly believe I couldn't have done this if I'd come out of a degree with limited hands on work but lots of theory and algorithm knowledge. I work on something different very frequently and most of the time using different technologies, so every day is a learning curve for me. And I love it!”

Viccy considers herself a pragmatist programmer and tries to focus her attention to her work and smaller coding challenges over large personal projects. She loves the flexibility that her job gives her and spends her spare time with family and performing with a local group called Revv52. While Viccy loves the balance that her career gives her now, she cites her passion for coding as what drives her every day.

“You have to love it. It's not for the faint-hearted or for someone who thinks it's an easy ride to earn a great salary [...] If you are strong-willed and like solving challenges every day then this is for you! It can be super frustrating when your code doesn't work and you feel like you've tried every angle... but then the success is a rush!”