Let Nucamp be your lift pass to a career you'll love

From Manufacturing Engineer to Front End Engineer, Copia Automation

"For a long time, even with an engineering degree, I thought computer science and software seemed too hard. I never thought I would learn what I needed, but if you persist, you can do anything you want. If you apply yourself, nothing is impossible."

This is Alan Renner, a Nucamp Full Stack Bootcamp graduate and now a Front End Engineer at Copia Automation.

Every year, Alan looks forward to spending his winters skiing.

Originally from Ohio, Alan now resides in Mountain View, California where he is never too far from a great resort.

Before moving to California, he earned a chemical engineering degree and entered the world of manufacturing.

There he was faced with many moguls of long hours, little flexibility, and a poor work-life balance.

Having friends in coding, he admired their lifestyles and considered following their path.

He had exposure to programming in collage and thought it was now worth considering.

To give it a test run, he took a few online courses covering topics such as React, and became very interested in learning more.

Alan looked into coding bootcamps because he wanted the accountability and guidance to move quickly into his next career, while still holding a demanding full-time job.

Nucamp was the choice for him as it afforded flexibility around his job, provided the tech stack he desired, and was substantially more affordable.

Alan really enjoyed the community he created with his classmates and learned from both them and his instructors.

Everyone helped each other and his experience was enjoyable and engaging.

Like many before him, he questioned the low price, but soon realized Nucamp was teaching the same information the more expensive bootcamps offered.

"The content and atmosphere was great! Nucamp exceeded my expectations for what the price point was at."

Describe your job search process.

Alan's job search lasted about 3-4 months.

After graduating he took time to work on his portfolio and built two web apps that he was proud to show off.

He updated up his resume and set up an online version that accompanied his portfolio projects.

His efforts were focused on LinkedIn and AngelList, but he started honing his approach applying to dozens a day without customization.

This didn't lead to the results he wanted so he switched to tailoring each application per job.

He then ended up landing his job through AngelList.

At his new job Alan is building apps in languages that he had worked on and it suits him perfectly as he is still able to leverage his background in manufacturing—he is making a version control system for manufacturing settings and most of his work is in Front End using React and TypeScript.

What advice do you have for people who are thinking about attending a bootcamp, but haven't yet registered?

"Do you have any exposure or aptitude to programming? There are things online that you can try and see if you like it. There are some pretty good online courses that are worth checking out for $15 to see if you like the material. Are bootcamps worth $16k? Probably not."

What advice do you have for people who have already started the bootcamp and they are just about to finish Bootstrap?

"At first, it will seem really weird passing data. I didn't even understand what they were talking about. But with some persistence, you will start to understand. It feels like drinking from a water hose, but eventually it becomes manageable. It's a ton of fun. You can see the benefits in a few short weeks."