Student Spotlight: From the Courtroom to Coding

Gy’s experience is representative of the path taken by many of our career-changing students, and we hope this interview will give you an insight into the daily life of a Coder Academy student and inspire you on your own journey into tech. 

“Coder Academy gave me the structure, skills, and confidence to start a new career in tech,” Gy says. “It took me from a curious beginner to someone who could actually build, ship, and talk about real projects and keep growing from there.”

From the Courtroom to Coding

After studying law, Gy began his career as a solicitor, but after years working in the industry, he decided to see if he could find a fulfilling career that allowed for better work-life balance. 

“Law was something I truly loved, especially criminal law, but I also knew that love came with compromise,” Gy says. At the time, I wouldn’t have said I was burnt out, but looking back now, I probably was. I wanted to see what else was out there, something different, something more hands-on.” 

“That led me into construction, a short-term pivot that turned into five years and a general manager role. It was never the long-term plan, but I gave it everything, and I’m proud of that chapter.”

While trialling different jobs gave Gy a sense of what he did and didn’t want from a career, it was ultimately something much closer to home that made him re-evaluate his career decisions. 

“What really prompted the shift into tech, though, was life,” Gy says.

“Watching a close friend navigate the death of her mum from overseas.”  

“It made me think about the kind of life I wanted long-term: more flexibility, more autonomy, and the ability to spend time with my parents, who live overseas.” 

“Watching someone close go through something difficult made me realise I needed a life that gave me space to show up for the people who matter. I wanted more flexibility, more room to grow, and a future that felt more aligned with how I wanted to live.” 

From HTML to “Hello World”

Gy enrolled in a Web Development Bootcamp at Coder Academy towards the end of 2023.

“My experience before the bootcamp was pretty limited, just a bit of HTML,” Gy says. “But it was enough to show me I enjoyed coding. I also realised early that self-paced learning wasn’t for me.” 

“I needed structure, deadlines, and a live class to stay motivated.” 

“I also knew I wanted something intellectually challenging. I’ve always been curious about starting my own business, and tech offers a unique mix of creativity, logic, and opportunity. Plus, it’s part of a growing industry.” 

“I wrote more about this in a blog post, but the short version is I wanted a future where I could be present, build cool things, and keep learning. Coding offered all of that.” 

So Gy began searching for a course that would teach him what he wanted to know, but he found that this search came with its own challenges.

“I was mostly afraid of wasting time. That I’d invest all this energy and not enjoy it or not be any good at it. But I also knew I didn’t want to stay stuck doing something just because I was already doing it.”

And then Gy found Coder Academy, saying there were three things that made him decide this was the course he wanted to pursue.

1. There was a recommendation from a past student.
2. FEE-HELP options* made the course a wise financial choice.
3. The course offered a recognised diploma qualification. 

Once Gy began his course at Coder Academy, there was no looking back. 

“My first real project was my portfolio website, built during Term 1 at Coder Academy.”

“It’s clunky, outdated, and looks like it was built in 1997. But I still love it. It was my “Hello World” moment,” he says, referring to the simple program most students experience as their introduction to coding or to a new programming language. 

How to Survive a Coding Bootcamp

Like many of our students, Gy was a career changer. That meant that while his previous experience of coding had been limited, he already had a whole set of useful skills behind him.

“The logical thinking from law carried over surprisingly well into coding,” Gy says. “In law, you’re often faced with a complex problem, and you solve it by applying the right combination of statutes, principles, or case law, sometimes clear-cut, sometimes open to interpretation. Coding felt familiar in that way: breaking things down, working within a framework, and applying logic to get a result.” 

There were other skills that Gy found transferred surprisingly well to his new life as a Coder Academy student.

“Report writing from law helped with theory assessments,” Gy says. “Public speaking and presentations were second nature thanks to past work. Basic maths made the computer science sections less intimidating.” 

Gy took wholeheartedly to his studies, and soon found himself working on projects with real-world applications.

“I created a terminal-based tracker for logging and viewing rowing stats for a bootcamp assignment, and the idea came from a mate who’s a rowing coach.” 

“It was one of the first times I took real-world experience and turned it into code, and it worked.” 

When asked if he has any tips for future bootcamp students, Gy has a list. 

• Have a plan, and stick to it.
• Do the coding challenges, even if they’re optional.
• Celebrate the wins, small and big.
• Ask questions early and often.
• Make time to connect with your classmates.
• Don’t skip the tools: Trello, Figma, Coolors, and ResponsivelyApp were lifesavers.
• Start networking from the beginning.
• Make time for rest and trust that stepping away can sometimes be the smartest debug strategy.

Life as a Full Stack Developer

While studying at Coder Academy, Gy continued working at the construction company, and soon found that he could bring his new skills to work and make an impact.

By working on a digital resource for employees, contractors, and stakeholders, Gy was able to fully embrace his new identity as a full stack developer.

“This was built for my workplace and is still being used today. It’s a real-life application that replaced outdated paper-based processes and a great example of code that actually solves a real problem.”

So, what else has Gy been working on? Well, apart from improving his workplace systems, he also likes to help his friends out by coding elegant solutions.

Frustrated by the need to track scores using pen and paper for one of their favourite games, Gy told his friends that he would come up with a solution. 

“I built this for tracking scores while playing with friends – and now I use it all the time. A few other people have started using it too. On the design front, I think it’s my best work so far.” 

But Gy wasn’t content to stop there. Now that he has created a functional app, he’s already thinking of the expanded possibilities and is dreaming up something that can be used for multiple games, including crowd favourites Phase 10, Monopoly Deal, and Pass the Pigs. 

Of course, even once you finish studying, there’s always more to learn. Every developer knows that there are times when the code just refuses to do what you expect, and Gy has some solid advice based on what he does in these situations.

“Walk away. Try again later. Or talk to myself, which I now know is officially a technique.”

“If nothing works, it’s usually time for ChatGPT, a deep sigh, and maybe a snack. Debugging is hungry work.” 

Gy also finds that some background noise works wonders for his concentration, so he’s always got a playlist lined up.

“Usually lo-fi, ADHD playlists, or white noise.” 

Like most recent graduates, Gy is still discovering all the possible pathways he can take in his new career. While he has experimented with both backend and frontend development, he finds that bringing it all together is a uniquely satisfying experience. 

“I’m leaning full stack. I love the mix. Being able to touch every layer of the app is like knowing how the whole machine works, and that’s pretty cool.” 

So, now that his bootcamp studies are behind him, where does Gy see himself in the future?

“Plan A: Win the lotto, retire on a beach somewhere (travelling), build an app just for fun and pretend I’m still ‘working remotely’.”

Not a bad plan, Gy.

If you’d like to see where coding can take you, then why not check out our courses? Whether you’ve dabbled in programming, already have a background in tech, or have never touched a line of code before, our course advisors can help you discover the right path to a rewarding career. 

*If you’d like to learn more about the eligibility conditions for FEE-HELP you can visit our ‘How to Apply’ page.