Caitlyn Greffly chose software development because it made sense across the board (DevJourney #147)
Tags: devjourney, career, learning, bootcamp
Published: 2021-04-21 12:27:47

---
title: Caitlyn Greffly chose software development because it made sense across the board (DevJourney #147)
published: true
description: Caitlyn Greffly rationalized her way into development. After interviewing her for the DevJourney podcast, here are the key takeaways I personally took out of the discussion.
tags: DevJourney, Career, Learning, Bootcamp
cover_image: https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/md0tilsuxke764fm42zv.png
canonical_url: https://timbourguignon.fr/devjourney147
---

This week, I published Caitlyn Greffly's #DevJourney story on my eponym Podcast: [Software developer's Journey](https://devjourney.info). Among many other things, here are my main _personal_ takeaways:
* Caitlyn's decision for learning to code was a very rational one. After 10 years in the beer industry, she was tired. She wanted a new job with less travel, stable yet flexible hours, and which would be compatible with a family. She didn't go into software development because she loved to code, but because _"it made sense across the board."_
* Choosing a first step, i.e. a boot camp, was hard. Caitlyn didn't know any of the terms. She didn't have the feeling of making an informed decision. This is the realm of the "unknown-unknowns" we all face when treading into a new field. Caitlyn is writing a book about her experience. She wishes to encourage other non-coders to take the bull by the horns and follow her lead.
* When I asked Caitlyn how her state of mind was like coming out of the Bootcamp, her reaction was like _"I did it, now I am paid to learn."_ This is 100% true, and I wish more people would see it this way as well. And then she added  _"while there have been some struggles, I try to keep the mindset of the only way out is through._
* Caitlyn found her jobs by working in the open. Right out of her Bootcamp, she went to a software conference opened up with a lot of people, sharing her experience, and found a job there. Then, she asked to shadow developers and got to visit 6 different companies. She made a crucial contact there, who led her to find her second job later on.

Advice:
* _"Ask for advice!"_ 😅

Quotes:
* _"It is good to remember the simple things we struggled with early on"_
* _"The Bootcamp was very hard and I probably cried every week, but I felt positive coming out of it"_
* _"When I got my first offer, I was like 'I did it, now I am paid to learn'"_
* _"The only way out is through, I am going to have to learn how to do this"_
* _"I've never had a teammate tell me I ask too many questions"_
* _"An advice for newcomers? Get used to being frustrated"_
* _"I feel I have a lot of opinions, but I don't have the tools to express them yet"_

Thanks, Caitlyn for sharing your story with us!

You can find the full episode and the show notes on [devjourney.info](https://devjourney.info/Guests/147-CaitlynGreffly.html) or directly [here on DEV](https://dev.to/devjourneyfm)

Did you listen to her story?

* What did you learn?
* What are your personal takeaways?
* What did you find particularly interesting?