One Year After Bootcamp: Jackson Cunningham By: Lauren Girdler August 15, 2018 Updated May 5, 2020 Taking the Web Development Bootcamp in Vancouver allowed Jackson to make the switch from mortgage broker to web developer. He now works full-time on his own business (that he founded) called Tuft + Paw which sell beautiful, modern cat furniture. What were you doing before you attended Lighthouse Labs? Before attending Lighthouse, I was a mortgage broker and I had just started my first ecommerce store selling masquerade masks. What made you decide to apply to Lighthouse Labs? I needed to develop a custom app for my shopify store, so I hired a developer on Upwork. However, the process was extremely frustrating because I was not able to communicate technically with them. Tell us about living in Vancouver as a Developer? There seems to be lots of jobs available in Vancouver. In general, the tech scene is very strong here. I don’t think you ever need to worry about employment if you’re a developer. However, it seems like there are a lot of junior developers and not as many senior developers. So I’ve found that the quality of jobs goes way up once you become a bit more senior. Otherwise, you need to accept a lower salary for the first few years until you build up some experience. Any great Vancouver meetups you like to attend? I like the ecommerce meetup hosted by The Jibe. There’s also an online forum called ecommerce fuel that has a very tight knit crew that meets up every few months in Vancouver. Tell us about your first year as a developer. When did you find a job? I got a job right after graduating Lighthouse Labs as an MVP builder. I would build MVPs for clients using Rails. After my first job as a developer, I realized I was better as a project manager, so I got a job as the ecommerce manager at Wiivv. One of my first tasks was redeveloping the website, and the fact that I could communicate technically with the developers was crucial to the success. What has the culture been like? It’s very energetic; work hard play hard, with lots of passionate people. Have you been working on any side projects? I started a new company called Tuft + Paw and we sell beautiful modern cat furniture. It’s been growing really fast and I recently quit Wiivv to work on it full time. Having development experience is a huge asset, as I can create my own custom apps and advance website functionality. Becoming a developer also helps you improve your problem solving techniques, so overall it’s been a great experience. What technologies are you currently working with? Liquid, Javascript, Shopify. What advice would you give someone who wants to become a developer? Go to Lighthouse Labs! Don’t focus as much on pay, instead look for good companies that would look good on your resume and help you build experience doing something you’re interested in.