From TTS to a Full-Stack Developer at a Tech Startup
Megan Tiu
Full-time Code Immersion – Summer 2015, Atlanta
What were your goals before learning to code with Tech Talent South?
I went into the class explicitly looking for a career change. I was introduced to programming through a Computer Science elective while in college at Georgia State and completely fell in love with building things and writing code. Unhappy working as a cook, I decided to make a big change via a coding bootcamp. As it turned out, Tech Talent South was exactly the right place for me!
What are you up to now?
I’m a Software Engineer with a local Atlanta startup, Fittery. When I’m not there, I try to spend my time learning as much as possible and teaching others what I know. In practice, I’m a full-stack web developer specializing in Ruby and Rails.
How did your experience with TTS shape your journey?
I don’t know where I’d be without TTS. The low price point and scholarship program allowed me to access a rigorous technical learning program and network of people and resources that I wouldn’t have had otherwise. Aside from the great curriculum, being able to sit in a classroom with my peers and ask someone questions for guidance proved to be invaluable in learning such a large skillset so quickly.
What did you find most challenging about the course and what were your big take aways?
Going through such an accelerated learning program allowed me to learn some truly valuable lessons very quickly, like how crucial it is to know when to ask for help when learning. A seemingly endless stream of confusing error messages can be rough when you’re starting out, which makes troubleshooting one of the most useful skills a budding developer can have. Recognizing once you’ve reached your own limits is difficult yet crucial, making asking for help one of the most valuable skills I learned at Tech Talent South.
Tell us about Fittery!
We help people find clothes that fit through our innovative QuickSize tool that calculates the dimensions of your body through just a few questions and our Fit Match algorithm that matches your body to the shirts and brands that fit you best.
What kind of projects are you working on?
Day-to-day, I maintain and develop new features for the Fittery site as a whole. The best part of working for such an early-stage startup is that I can get my hands dirty with so many different types of work. In a given day, I often handle our front-end development, back-end development, design, and even devops. I especially love that I get to play with big data on a daily basis.
How prepared did you feel starting your new job?
Being my first development job, I was certainly a bit nervous on my first day. That said, I was lucky in that everything in the Tech Talent South curriculum was part of our tech stack at the time. So, all things considered, I was very well prepared in terms of the languages and tools I would come to use at work and in the field.
What are your goals moving forward?
Learning as much as possible. I’m happy in this field and I absolutely love what I do each and every day, so all I want is to become better. I want to write cleaner, more efficient code and curate more pleasant user experiences, and the only way to get there is through practice. To the side projects!