Meet TaChyla Murray, a Thinkful alum. Recently Murray completed the online coding boot camp that took her through a five-month immersive training course. The outcome? She is now a full stack JavaScript developer.
Full stack JavaScript developers are coders that typically create web applications and are trained to work on both the front-end and back-end of an app. The job prospects for full stack developers is high; with many earning an average of $72,000 per year, according to Glassdoor, and the salary increases with experience. Here in Silicon Valley, full stack developers have been reported to make as much as $125,000 per year.
Black Enterprise caught up with Murray and she shared her experience during the Thinkful boot camp:
Tell me about the boot camp. What was your experience like?
I knew coding programs were a challenge, but the full stack program was H.A.R.D. in ways beyond learning the actual code. Learning about servers, and the ability to explain how data is requested and served was a challenge. There were so many times when I thought to myself ‘Whoa, I just built a full-stack application in a week!” It blew me away. The pace was fast and I had to prioritize my learning; sometimes sitting out on different events, which my family and friends didn’t always understand.
What are some of the products that you built?
One of my favorite full-stack applications, Simmetric, addresses the challenge of getting an Agile team to make decisions on assets, wireframes, or even user stories. Everyone is already locked into their phones, so the SMS text messages the application utilizes makes its functionality easily accessible.
Simmetric (Created by Harrison Wright, TaChyla Murray, Thien Pham, Zachary Williams)
Another is a front-end application Avail-a-Bikes, which gives you a visual of nearby bike rental stations and their number of available bikes. It’s convenient when planning for a large group or to reduce your own carbon footprint while commuting.
Avail-a-Bikes (Created by Thien Pham & TaChyla Murray)
What did you learn?
My biggest lesson learned was overcoming limitations I had put on myself regarding what I was capable of learning. Numerous concepts were difficult and I put in a huge amount of effort, but I don’t feel like my comprehension always represented that. I had to take a break, give myself time to process the things I had learned, and go at them again in the morning. It didn’t mean I was incapable of learning the concepts. I developed an even thicker layer of resilience as a result.
What did you take away?
The entire experience solidified that whatever I put my mind to, I will accomplish. Sometimes I had to find alternative resources or identify the way I best absorbed information, but overall, it is possible. Just don’t let doubt psych you out of trying.
If you are interested in the Thinkful Boot camp, you can check out the link for more information here.