Career change maxed out: from accountant to chef, then to full-stack developer

What did you do before Green Fox and why did you decide to change?

This was my second career change. I worked for 8 years as an accountant at a multinational company; I quit in 2016 because I was missing creativity. I found two fields attractive: cooking and software development. At that time I hadn't heard of bootcamps, and I wasn't convinced by the OKJ programming courses, so I became a chef. I could take advantage of my creativity in my new profession, but I wanted to use my brain more and I wanted a job that was predictable and compatible with social and family life. Then I saw an advertisement of Green Fox, and after some thought, I took the plunge in the summer of 2019.

How did you like the course? What were the best thing and the biggest challenge for you?

These courses are called super-intensive – and that is not an understatement. We spent 8 hours every day in Andrássy út 66, then we spent a few hours at home on the curriculum, so we were practically coding in our sleep. Meanwhile, a very good community was formed and I made friends – that was one of the best parts. The biggest challenge was that even though I knew what I was attempting, there were difficult times. In the beginning, when I did not understand something, I felt that I would never be able to understand it at all. Then at Green Fox I learned that if I can't do something today, it doesn't mean I can't do it later. Even today I follow this approach called “growth mindset”.

What technology did you study at Green Fox?

In the first, Foundation phase of the course, I learned embedded software development and C++ programming language. Since I was more interested in web development, I requested to move for the Orientation phase to the full-stack class, where I learned JavaScript, and in the Project phase I learned about the React framework built on JavaScript.

How did the job hunt go and how much time did you need to find a job?

I found a job in about 3 months. The course ended in November 2019 and I entered the job market in December, the month when companies are the least focused on recruitment. Green Fox organised an event in January the following year, where we gave introductory presentations to companies. I got a job offer there and soon started working for a 6-person startup as a front-end developer with React. Recently, in the autumn of 2021, I moved to a larger (about 20 people) US-Hungarian startup development team. Here I also work with React, mostly as a front-end developer, but this is a full-stack position. 

Can you briefly tell us what you do?

We work on an educational web application for high school students in the USA. We continuously develop both on the front-end and on the back-end side. A front-end developer is responsible for programming the client-side user interfaces, while a back-end developer is responsible for server-side development. However, as a full-stack developer, you need to be proficient in both areas. 

What type of people would you recommend full-stack development to?

As this area is a mixture of back-end and front-end, I would either recommend it to those who don't want to choose between the two fields, or to those who are interested in end-to-end processes and want to see the whole web application.

How do you spend your usual workday? 

Every day at 11 a.m. we have a team meeting called standup, where we tell what we did the day before and what we're going to do that day. We have a weekly planning meeting, and every week we have a team meeting, which is attended by everyone in the company. The rest of the time is mostly spent with individual work, but there are some ad-hoc meetings, and we also talk a lot about professional issues. We work from home once a week, the other days we go to the office when the epidemic situation allows. It's more efficient to work together in one place, but there are also community benefits to being together. For example, after work we sometimes stay in to play board games or we go out for a beer.

What skills do you need in your job? 

You need to know the programming languages you use and keep your knowledge up-to-date, so continuous self-improvement is required. Problem-solving skills are important, and one of the most useful things we have been taught at Green Fox is how to use Google efficiently. I work in a team, so communication skills are also necessary. 

In hindsight, do you think it was a good decision to switch?

It has already been proven several times that it was the right decision. I had just started to work in the IT sector before the Covid-19 outbreak, so I was lucky to have a stable job that I could do from home by that time. I have always believed that learning a new profession improves you, but lately I really feel that the energy and money I invested is starting to pay off. And this November, for the first time in my life, I went to the USA to take part in a corporate team-building. The two weeks I spent there meant a great experience, and essentially I also owe that to my career change. I hope there will be more opportunities like this in the future.

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