Anaïs is a star in our eyes. Studying with OpenClassrooms on the Junior Web Developer Career Path she was able to completely transform her professional life from working as a cashier to now being a full-time, salaried web developer and on her way to her ultimate goal of being a Tech Lead.
Before mustering the courage to sign up for a Career Path, she had already taken 50 OpenClassrooms courses. And once she enrolled in the program there was no turning back for her toward a new career and bright future. Here is her story.
OC: Tell us about how you got started with OpenClassrooms.
A: My name is Anais. I’m 27 years old. And I am a web developer after having studied at OpenClassrooms. Early on in my professional life, I worked with horses. It was more a passion than a job. Later, I worked seasonally as a barmaid and restaurant hostess…as a cashier.
I wanted more for myself. And as my husband had changed careers after taking an OpenClassrooms Career Path to become a web developer, I said to myself, ‘why not try? Why not me?’
OC: How was your OpenClassrooms program?
A: I started the first course in my program 15 days before I found out that I was pregnant. I continued the program during my pregnancy. I even continued the program at the hospital because I had to spend a month at the hospital with my daughter after she was born. I alternated between baby bottles, diapers and my OpenClassrooms coursework.
OC: How did you juggle work and studies?
A: I was able to find a job that would finance my OpenClassrooms Career Path [during my first year on the job]. During the program, I had 5 projects to create in 12 months. I divided my time as was convenient for me given that [I worked Monday through Thursday and] my Fridays were dedicated to studying. Additionally, I had to study weeknights and weekends depending on the difficulty level of each project.
OC: What do you like best about OpenClassrooms?
A: The freedom. I’m not at a school. I’m not behind a desk, I am not under the thumb of a professor. I progress at my own speed. I know what I’m working toward. I have a goal at the end. When we make a career change we are proud to talk about our progress, to say something like “I used to be painter, a horseman, cashier and today I am your colleague.”
OC: Any advice to give?
A: At one point, I had the habit of studying and practicing coding for 10 to 15 days and then taking a 10- to 15-day break. This was a big mistake I made at the start of my program. When first learning to code, we are not yet autonomous enough to let ourselves break for that amount of time.
OC: Any other words of encouragement?
A: Today, I’ve completed over 50 courses with OpenClassrooms – read and finished – in addition to those included in my Career Path. I devoured them up! I would like to take more, learn more, and I’m not even close to finished.
People say, you need to have graduated high school or undergrad, that you need a special brain configured for learning and actually, no. It comes little by little.
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If you would like to learn more about the Junior Web Developer Career Path or any of our associate’s, bachelor’s or master’s-level diploma programs come on over to OpenClassrooms.com.
