Breaking into tech: Success stories from Ironhack’s Tech Bootcamps and beyond

The phrase ‘The Great Resignation’ was coined back in May 2021, as the COVID pandemic entered its second year. And the movement is here to stay.

It has led millions of workers around the world to re-evaluate their job and how it fits into their lifestyle. Reconsidering where they want to work, what they want to be doing, or how to achieve a more positive work-life balance — the shake up in the world of work has been transformative. 

Meet 5 budding tech re-trainers who took matters into their own hands by joining one of Ironhack’s Tech Bootcamps, kickstarting career changes into tech and thriving in a whole new industry. 

To find out more about Ironhack’s bootcamps - ranging from coding, web development, UX/UI design and so much more - read their exclusive white paper here, and see how you develop a new set of digital skills for an exciting career in tech. 

“Ironhack gave me the skills and connections I needed to change career”

Brazilian-born Maria, who lives in Amsterdam, joined Ironhack’s Full Stack Web Development Bootcamp in May 2021 and went from lawyer to front-end developer.

After ten years in law, I realised I wanted to change the world in another way. I’d always been curious about trying new things and when I signed up for the Full Stack Web Development Bootcamp I was eager to learn. My experience at Ironhack couldn’t be better. I learned a lot about development, but I also picked up other skills like better communication. It’s very challenging and tiring, but definitely worth it and Ironhack encouraged me during my job search.

Technology is an area that grows every day and enables a flexible work culture, so this career change was perfect for me. I chose web development because I like the idea of being able to reach the whole world with my work and I like being able to test things I do before presenting them to other people. I’m now working at an agency, a job I found through Ironhack. When I finished the course I was a little insecure about looking for a job, but through one of Ironhack’s Meet Our Partner events I met Strangelove, which is a company that combines a remote-first approach together with flexible office spaces.

Changing careers is not easy, but it’s given me the freedom to spend time with my family in Brazil while still working in Holland. It’s never too late to pursue your dream and with effort and dedication everything is possible.

“I came out of the bootcamp energized, and ready for a new adventure” 

Jordane did a nine-week UX UI Design course at Ironhack Paris and it kickstarted a new career in tech - and a new lifestyle.

“When I left school I wasn’t sure what to do, but I knew I liked English, art and computer science. I went for what I thought was a safe job in international trade and then went on to explore my more creative side as an events manager in music.

But at the beginning of 2020, I was facing burnout and the pandemic forced me to think about what I wanted to do with my life. I’d already started to build websites for friends and had several clients when I discovered Ironhack, but I needed more confidence and to find a like- minded community. Ironhack has a very good reputation in the UX world, so I signed up for a nine-week course.

Learning in a group really suited me and I could see how much progress we were making day after day. I came out of the bootcamp energized. I was a new person, prepared for this new adventure I was about to embark on. The bootcamp proved to me I wasn’t a dinosaur who couldn’t learn anymore - quite the contrary. Too often we think we are too old to learn new things, change careers or start a business, but all you need is a good environment and a good mindset and that’s what Ironhack gave me.

I didn’t think I would find a job so quickly, but companies were impressed to see the work we’d managed to do in nine weeks. It’s important to me to follow my principles, so I wanted to work with entrepreneurs in ecology, health or well-being and in my job at Free I do that on a daily basis. I’ve also set up a volunteer project, UX Challenger, with another Ironhacker Morgane Favchtein and we want to give back to young designers.”

“A hackathon brought me new skills - and a new job”

How Dria used her web development skills to thrive at a hackathon and land a job at JP Morgan Chase.

After a year of teaching web development during the pandemic, I realized I have a big passion for the subject. This spark began when I was in my senior year in college - I noticed I had more fun creating/designing webpage than editing video. But I felt discouraged to look further into web development because I thought website builders such as WIX and Squarespace already existed so there was no need to dig deeper.

Everything changed when I became a middle school technology teacher during the pandemic. I found myself watching endless amounts of YouTube videos about web development on a Saturday night. That’s when I realized it was time for a change.

I decided to enrol in Ironhack’s Full Stack Web Development program. I’d heard great stories about Ironhack and have seen students go from zero to hero! After hearing so many success stories, I wanted that for myself.

I took part in the JP Morgan Chase Code for Good Hackathon, which is a great opportunity if you want to switch into or start a career in the tech industry. It’s a nine-hour virtual hackathon where you team up with six or seven team members to help a non-profit organization. Each team is also given two mentors who guide you throughout the hackathon.

It was eye opening to see the different approaches to web development. I wanted to challenge myself by working with the backend (as I usually work on the frontend) and see if I could learn something new. I gained so much knowledge and it was a great experience to meet and learn from other developers on the same level.

In the future I would love to become a unicorn developer because I love design and web development. A few weeks after the hackathon, I accepted a position as a software engineer at JP Morgan Chase, which was a great opportunity that came to me as a result of the hackathon.

“I had no experience in programming, but I achieved so much” 

Dionisio was surprised with how much he learned during a remote nine-week Web Development course at Ironhack Berlin.

My previous knowledge of programming was zero, but Ironhack gives you everything you need to prepare before you start the course. A week before it started I was invited to a HackShow, where previous students showcased what they’d achieved. I loved their presentations, but it did make me think: ‘How the hell am I going to make a website like that in just nine weeks?’

The remote bootcamps take place over Zoom and at around 5pm each day we were set ‘homework’, which was very flexible as we could do as many of the tasks as we wanted.

By the third week, we were working on a project, which was a video game. I like to push myself, so I decided to do something quite complicated and I had to ask the assistant teachers a lot of questions, but they were really supportive.

For the next few weeks, we were building a website from scratch and that was tough - there were days when I thought I didn’t understand anything. But we worked hard as a team and got through it. In the end, our team of three won an award for the project with the highest possibility of acquisition - and actually the best Ironhack project of 2020. We exploded with joy! We were three guys with no experience in programming and we’d achieved so much.

The Ironhack course was an unforgettable experience and in such a short time it showed me how to manage myself in a sector where there will be more work than ever.

“Ironhack remote prepared me for the job market”

Ex-architect Nuno was born in Portugal but lives in Berlin. An Ironack Remote UX/UI Design Bootcamp boosted his employability.

I spent five years working as an architect, designing museums, hospitals and schools, but I wanted to reach more people through my designs.

From an early age, I was curious about understanding how things work and are designed. It captivates me to keep learning, to create and to share my knowledge with others, towards bringing innovation into everyday life. So in 2020, I decided to expand my passion for human- centered design towards digital products and started learning UX/UI Design.

March '21 was the beginning of my journey at Ironhack. I was able to transfer some of my skills acquired in architecture into this new field. Throughout this astonishing adventure, I was able to learn many different skills and methodologies which naturally gave me a sense of direction that I want to take. I feel that now my mission is to empathize with people by understanding their needs, in order to design delightful experiences that will improve their life.

I chose Ironhack because the bootcamp was remote bootcamp and I could connect with people from all over the world, learning and sharing my skills. In the future, we’ll see an increase of digital nomads and the course reflected this. When I started I was in Berlin and I finished it from Portugal, being taught by someone from Miami. This course showed me how easily I could adapt to the remote way of working.

With the skills that I've acquired at Ironhack and the ones that I've transferred from my previous experience, I feel confident to work in any area of UX/UI Design. My goal is to enrol in projects that I believe in, towards bringing innovation while solving people's needs - and I’m also looking to share my skills with other people who want to pursue this career.

Ready to take the next step in your career? Apply for one of Ironhack’s courses now and you could be job-ready in as little as nine weeks. Boost your skills, join the community and get a high-quality qualification that employers recognise. Find out more here: