Catching Coders: Recent Episodes
Code Institute
Welcome to Catching Coders, your Code Institute podcast. Hosted by Megan Armstrong, Tech Careers Counsellor. Megan's professional background in Psychology and keen interest in career change drives the content in this podcast. Megan is going to spend her time looking deeper at the psychology of change and speaking to some radically different career changers who embarked on similar journeys to become software developers. She will be picking the brains of students, alumni and even staff to discuss their lives before Code Institute, during the diploma and their lives after taking the plunge!
This month's episode is a special one, not only is it the last episode of season 1, but my guests are Code Institute celebrities!! What better way to end the season than sitting down for a chat with Jane Gormley and Jade McMeekin-Quinn.
For those of you that don't know, Jane is the Director of Employer Engagement and Jade is our Careers Coaching Executive and together along with myself and Jim Morel we make up the careers team here at Code Institute! Join us today for a chat about all things careers, upcoming career events, tips when approaching a career change and why Jane's favourite song is happy birthday.
Thank you to all of our listeners for all the love on season 1, and an even bigger thank you to all my guests so far! See you all soon for season 2 :)
If you want to follow in our alumni's footsteps and take the plunge, check out our courses here and set up a call with one of our education advisors! Otherwise, why not try our free Five Day Coding Challenge here! Good luck :)
This month I am joined by two of the funniest guest's I've had to date, Laura Hartnett and Raevynna El Messaoudi (Raven), both of whom were part of the first iteration of the Coding Careers for Women initiative and have gained not only a new career but a life long friendship. Raven and Laura have both had such an inspiring journey in the space of a year, and in this episode we cover the highs, lows and everything in between on this journey in such an honest and relatable way. I hope this episode inspires a lot of you but most importantly makes you laugh as much as I did throughout. Enjoy :)
This month I am thrilled to be joined by the man, the myth, the legend, Simen Daehlin. Simen did the course back in 2016 and has been at the heart of the Code Institute Community ever since as an Alumni but also a Mentor. This episode is a little longer than usual but Simen is a wealth of knowledge and I know each and everyone of you that listen to this will take something valuable away from it. Come join us and listen to Simen's incredible story to landing his dream job with his dream company not too long ago as well as a few other milestones along the way! Enjoy :)
Ps. here is a link to the motivational video Simen mentions!
On this week's episode I am joined by Jon, who relocated to Ireland from the UK about 8 years ago. He quickly realised his career in retail buying wasn't as in demand in Ireland, while many would panic about this, Jon took it in his stride! Jon's determination was exceptional - while changing careers Jon also decided to renovate the house, raise a family all while a pandemic was going on outside!! Jon would argue that this is exactly how you shouldn't change careers but I on the other hand think it's inspiring, and I think a lot of you will agree! Enjoy :)
On this week's episode I am joined by Jose, who had spent the last 7 years as an IT manager but felt he wanted more. His interest in coding had always been there and he decided it was time to try make it work as a full time career instead of a hobby. Jose took the plunge, put the work in, utilised the supports Code Institute had to offer and most importantly believed in himself and with that landed his dream job after just 1 interview! It was such a pleasure chatting to Jose and hearing about his attitude towards changing careers and approach to the job hunt. If you take anything from this episode, I hope it is how important it is to believe in yourself. Enjoy :)
On this week's episode I am joined by Frannie who like many, after working for many years, took a career break to raise her children. Frannie decided she was ready to get back into work but knew it was also time to do something different. A childhood interest in computers suddenly became a possible career and after some research and trying out some YouTube tutorials she found Code Institute, threw herself into the Five Day Coding Challenge and she hooked from day 1!
Meet Nico, Sales Solutions Consultant turned Software Developer. Nico's Sales Career had given him great insights into the tech industry but he needed to learn how to code, this is a super example of combining previous and new skills to launch a career in tech. Nico's first developer role happened pre graduation and he's hear to tell us how he managed to achieve this so quickly. Nico was a pleasure to chat to as always, join us to listen and I'm sure you'll agree!
This week we are joined by Kirsty Chatterton! Kirsty was a professional musician in the Band of Her Majesty's Royal Marines - yes it is as cool as it sounds! During Covid Kirsty pursued her existing interest in Software Development. Kirsty had an fledgling interest in tech but it was one of those things that got put on the long finger, which Covid allowed her to realise. Join us to find out more! Enjoy, Megan :)
Welcome back listeners! This week we are joined by the lovely Nuala Greenwood! Nuala went from working as a secondary school teacher to a Software Developer in an EdTech company. Nuala met her new employer at Elevate (Code Institutes annual networking event)! Nuala's story is definitely one that will give you that kick of motivation you might need - grab a cup of tea or head out from some fresh air and give it a listen! Enjoy, Megan :)
Welcome to the first episode of Catching Coders!! Paul King is here as my first guest. Paul went from working in construction to working as a Software Engineer for GOOGLE within the space of a year, which was nothing short of incredible to witness. Come join us to hear about Paul's journey to success!