The Proof (Reading) is in the Pudding

Katrina loves to read and has a natural talent for proofreading. She would never have guessed these skills would help her succeed as a front-end web developer.

After receiving a bachelor's degree in English, Katrina worked at a few different jobs: she worked in a call center, as a barista, and as a proofreader. "I was getting bored with these jobs and wanted a chance to learn something new," she explains. "That's when I discovered coding."

Katrina became fascinated by what she could do with technology and front-end web development. "I realized that with code I could make something amazing and see the results almost immediately," she explains. "It gave me a chance to apply my proofreading skills: if one comma or semicolon is off, the code doesn't work."

"With code, I can make something amazing."

Ready to turn her interest in coding into a career, Katrina learned the basics of software development from online courses. While searching for more educational resources, she came across LaunchCode.

"I knew this was perfect; it was exactly what I was looking for," she says. "LaunchCode helped me hone my languages and frameworks. They sent me a free subscription that allowed me to learn angular, which is the main framework I use now."

Katrina says she decided to learn front-end development because "I love design and being creative. I've always been into art, but I also love how you have to be detail oriented in front-end development."

"LaunchCode helped me hone my languages and frameworks."

LaunchCode placed Katrina in an apprenticeship at Bass Underwriters, and she is learning more and more every day. "I wasn't as skilled as other developers right away, but as an apprentice, I can still learn on the job, which is what I needed," she says. "I recommend LaunchCode to anyone who is interested in a tech career. I never thought I would be a coder, but now I'm building a website and learning new coding languages – it's fantastic!"