I suppose that, as with everything else, becoming a web developer is a goal that can be reached by many different paths. There are the more conventional paths, such as engineering or higher education, and other less conventional ones, such as bootcamps or even self-training.

In my case, we could say that I have arrived by one of the most conventional paths: the Superior Degree. But who am I and how did I come to be writing this? I am Carol, 29 years old, translator, instructor, teacher, trainer... and developer. What a lot of professions, right?

The path to become a web developer

After a degree in translation and a master's degree in French (because they always say that languages open many doors), I found that the only doors that were really open to me were translation and teaching.

I liked socializing, working in a team, and I was not particularly enthusiastic about formal education in the classroom, so I decided to leave the field I had originally chosen and, after finishing my master's degree, I decided to start a higher degree in education and social and sports animation (formerly TAFAD). When I found myself faced with the possible opportunities of this degree, I realized that being a Zumba teacher was not something I was particularly excited about, but I felt that I was getting to be of an age, and I needed to find some stability in my life.

After a lot of thinking and talking to my friends and family, I came to the conclusion that having computer parents (programmer and sysadmin), being good at math and logic, and having an affinity with computers, I could probably have a good future as a developer. That's how I started looking into programming on my own, starting a little bit with HTML, CSS and JS, while waiting for the course to start. During the previous months, I discovered that I was quite good at programming, and that I not only liked it, but also had fun.

With that certainty, I had to decide whether to go into engineering or higher education, but valuing the investment of time and money, in addition to the opinion of several articles, I decided that engineering was very long, very expensive, and I needed stability as soon as possible. So, in September 2022 I entered the Superior Degree and I have been studying it until a few months ago. Certainly, the degree is not a cakewalk, although I have been lucky enough to be good at it and I liked programming, but with hard work and practice you can do it.

Internship of a web developer: An odyssey with a happy ending

After finishing the second year subjects in March, the internships and the final project are due in June. The issue of internships has been a constant concern among all classmates during the second year, because depending on the company where you finish, your future can change a lot: 

• The most feared company was the passive companyDuring the internship they don't pay attention to you, they don't teach you anything, they don't ask you for anything, and when you finish they don't want to know anything about you. 
• Second from “places where you don't want to end up”The exploitative company was there: they teach you almost nothing, they only listen to you to give you work, and they expect you to pull your chestnuts out of the fire and work overtime.
• The last place on the podium was occupied by “the meat industry”quite exploitative companies, with a high turnover, where at least you know that when you finish you will be hired, you will spend a year with anguish and when you have experience, you will leave in search of better environments.
• On the other hand, there was the star company, The unicorn; no one knows if it exists, but everyone wants it: the company that bothers to train you, does not exploit you, gives you opportunities and has the option to hire you.

Not being hired for an internship may not seem very serious, since at the moment there is a lot of demand for our profession, but in reality even junior offers ask for at least one year of experience, so finishing the internship without a contract is equal to uncertainty and a desperate search for a job, probably to end up in a meat processing plant or in a company where people with more experience do not want to be. Obviously it is not all dark, there are some good companies that are willing to offer positions to juniors without experience if they show good predisposition and positive attitude, but they are more difficult to find.

As you can imagine after all these paragraphs, I have been lucky enough to have been hired after my internship here at Secture. What kind of company was Secture during the internship? I know this is going to sound like a joke, but they have really been a star company. Since we joined in March, they put us under the supervision of three of the most senior people in the company, who designed a project for us interns, with no responsibilities and no exploitation.

They were attentive to solve all our doubts at any time and followed up on progress and problems on a daily basis. In addition, they have given us the opportunity to attend events as part of the company (take a look at their networks, I'm sure you'll see me around) and they have welcomed us warmly, making us feel as if we have been with the team for years.

During the internship, every two weeks we had to go to the institute for a mandatory review and to hand in the daily records of what we were doing in the internship. All my classmates complained a lot about their companies and how they were either ignored or exploited. At a certain point, I was even a little embarrassed to talk about how I was doing, since I felt comfortable and learning, but it seemed like I was the only one.

For me, being able to do an internship that really trains you was a lucky thing, and I think it should be like that for more people. Unfortunately, not all companies think alike, so it is important to spend enough time reviewing your resume and reading information about different companies in the area, in order to find one that fits you and has a truly formative internship policy. As a first experience in the working world of web development, I think it has been quite complete and real, and has given me an idea of what I can expect when I start working.

In short, it is a path like any other: it starts with a decision to learn something new, it feeds on small decisions depending on the circumstances of each person, and with hard work and willingness, one can become a developer.