Q: About yourself

Hi. I’m Cheryl, living in Hong Kong. I was a consultant and maker in marketing, product and operations functions for tech startups and small businesses. Apart from work, I’m a fan of personal growth and holistic wellness.

Q: Why did you want to learn programming?

There are three main reasons why I wanted to learn programming. First, I wanted to become a better learner, while gaining useful technical skills that will help my career. Learning to code at a professional level fulfills both objectives.

Second, coding is fun and challenging! I enjoy the analytical thought process, the creation process, and the instant feedback. Plus I love to spend time building useful things.

Last but not least, knowing how to code will broaden my horizon and gives me more freedom in choosing my life’s path. Maybe one day I will build an online business independent from a physical location.

Q: What was your experience like at Altcademy?

Altcademy’s hybrid model of reading, coding, and on-demand mentorship worked well for me. I learn better with this model compared to learning by watching videos on other platforms that I tried before.

The learning materials are well structured and cover fundamental concepts in depth instead of just giving you a brief introduction then asking you to code without understanding the concept. This helped me build such a strong foundation that I was able to learn new skills after completing the program on my own.

The availability of mentorship helped smooth learning barriers and accelerated learning progress. My mentor was always able to explain things and help me get through my mental block - the timely guidance is very valuable.

Q: What are you doing now?

After graduating from the front-end program, I had opportunities to work as a full-time frontend developer and work on freelance projects. Now I am working at an AI startup in a hybrid role which combines my understanding of both the business side and the technical side.

By the way, I built a podcast explorer/player for my capstone project at Altcademy. Having a decent project was crucial in finding a job. You can check out my project at castalleys.com.

For those of you who are thinking about learning to code, my advice is that you should be flexible with your learning style. In other words, you should explore different programs and find out which medium suits you best. And don’t limit yourself with only one learning style. For me, reading text-based tutorials and working on projects is the most productive. That’s why Altcademy was such a good fit for me.

Finally, worry less, work hard, and enjoy the ride.