Landing my first tech job after the CFGdegree (as an education-only learner)
How do you get a tech job without prior experience? CFG Ambassador Hannah shares her experience.
Code First Girls Ambassador Hannah Killoh, Python Developer @ Sensational Systems Limited, shares her experience on the CFGdegree as an education-only learner. With a previous background in publication design and photography, Hannah completed the Summer 2023 Software CFGdegree sponsored by Skyscanner to help her career switch into tech.
Read more to learn about Hannah’s career change, her current role, and her jobhunting tips after the CFGdegree!
THE HOT SIX QUICK FIRE QUESTIONS!
What is your favourite coding language?
Python
What is your choice of beverage whilst coding?
Coffee
What is your favourite way to destress after a long day of coding?
Gaming, drawing, listening to/reading books or working on personal coding/electronics projects
What is your comfort food?
Jolibee
What is your favourite season?
Autumn
What do you listen to whilst you code and where? Spotify, radio, vinyl or fave CD?
- Spotify every time, everywhere
- To hype myself up: early 2000s Trance
- To chill myself out: LoFi
Hi Hannah, please tell us a bit about yourself, how you got into tech, and why you wanted to be a CFG Ambassador!
Hello! 😀 My name is Hannah Killoh. I live and work in Edinburgh as a Python Developer for Sensational Systems Limited, a Long Range Wide Area Network Internet of Things (LoRaWAN IoT) hardware redistributor and solutions company. After completing the CFGdegree in September 2023, I started my Python Developer role in early December 2023. I wanted to become a CFG Ambassador because switching to a career in tech through CFG has totally changed my life, and I want to do all I can to pay it forward and help other women and non-binary people make the same switch.
LoRaWAN IoT = LoRaWAN is a low-power, wide-area networking protocol that connects battery-operated devices to the internet for the Internet of Things (IoT). It’s designed for long-range coverage and is ideal for applications that require extensive coverage in remote areas.
You have a background in publication design and photography! What inspired you to pursue a career in tech?
I reached a plateau in my previous career and was looking for something new. I’ve been passionate about tech from a young age, always being the go-to ‘techy person’ in any situation I found myself in. However, and it seems silly to say this now, I genuinely didn’t think I was smart enough or good enough for tech. Until one day in early spring 2023, my partner Justina suggested I apply for the CFGdegree, having heard about it from her colleague who was pursuing the degree at the time. The rest is history!
Coming from a non-technical background, Did you encounter any initial challenges or uncertainties whilst pursuing a career in tech? How did you overcome them?
Oh for sure! And I think we all know what I’m gonna say… Imposter Syndrome. It’s just so overwhelming and all-consuming, especially when you have no idea what you’re doingTM. Switching to such a drastically different career is a big gamble and there’s so much pressure to ‘make it count’. I still struggle with these feelings but I’m able to manage them due to the support of my partner Justina, the CFG community and ensuring that I have regular pep-talks with myself. And sometimes I get through it by crying while eating Jollibee, and that’s fine too.
Congratulations on completing the Summer ‘23 Software CFGdegree! Could you share what drew you to apply to this specific specialisation, and how you found the overall learning experience?
Software Engineering (SE) was the most attractive to me because of the heavier focus on the back-end and object-oriented programming (OOP). As a designer, I already had a good knowledge base for front-end and therefore wanted to choose something that would fill in my gaps in knowledge.
The overall learning experience was Fast and Furious, 2 Fast too Furious and The Fast and Furious Tokyo Drift all rolled into one. But I learnt A LOT in a very short space of time, became part of an incredible community and, ultimately, completely changed my life in the space of six months.
When on the CFGdegree, we used GitHub to organise our code and submit projects. This, along with our final group project were two of the closest experiences to a day-to-day role in tech as a Software Engineer, and really helped me to settle into my role, especially in the first few months.
I learnt A LOT in a very short space of time, became part of an incredible community and, ultimately, completely changed my life in the space of six months.
Congratulations on your role as a Python Developer @ Sensational Systems Limited! Could you tell us a bit about your role, and a current highlight in your role?
Sensational Systems is a very small company of five people. So, I’m not just in the software department, I am the software department. This means I’m responsible for maintaining and developing the main codebase we use for processing orders, shipments and managing stock. My day usually involves resolving smaller issues first and spending the rest of the day on larger enhancements.
We’ll be opening a European branch soon, so a highlight for me has been developing the code for this and preparing for a business trip to the Netherlands, where Sensational Systems Europe is based, to help implement new features.
Could you share some key tips and insights into your job-hunting process that helped you land a job in tech after studying the CFGdegree as an Education-Only Opportunity?
About halfway through the course I prepared my CV, covering letter and LinkedIn to be ready for applying for jobs after the degree. This was encouraged by my CFG tutors and, if possible, do this before you do the final project, because it’s definitely the most intense part of the degree. I also signed up for a 3-month free trial of LinkedIn Premium which gives you better insights and job recommendations.
There are loads of job sites out there, but in my experience, LinkedIn was the most successful. So, I’d recommend going ‘all in with LinkedIn’, get your profile up to date and take advantage of things like Quick Apply. The Quick Apply feature was actually how I landed my current role, so it does work! Also, keep an eye out for jobs and opportunities posted on the CFG sponsored/education-only Slack chat.
When filling in application forms, and in interviews, I explained what the CFGdegree was in terms of the learning material and intensity of the course. I usually said something along the lines of: “The CFGdegree is an intensive 16-week coding course, often with funded places and jobs from leading tech companies, that launches women and non-binary people into a career in tech.”
What advice would you give to others who would like to transition into tech?
import random
def coding_advice():
advice_list = [
"Don't overthink it, just jump!",
"Even if it doesn’t turn out exactly how you imagined, you’ll learn so much along the way.",
"Coding is awesome! Think of it as 100 cat puzzles, a Rubik's cube, Monopoly, blackjack and an escape room all rolled into one!",
"If you’re struggling to figure something out, step back, have a snack and break it up into small steps.",
"Have fun and enjoy the challenge!",
]
return random.choice(advice_list)
print(coding_advice())
