'Everything Big, Starts With Something Small' - Wesley Cheah

HI WESLEY! BEFORE WE BEGIN, TELL US MORE ABOUT YOURSELF. HOW DID YOUR JOURNEY IN CODING START? WHAT DO YOU LIKE ABOUT CODING?

WC: Hi, I am Wesley. I enjoy cooking in my free time and aglio olio and carbonara are some of my favorite dishes to cook.

Q1. WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO PURSUE THE DWA COURSE WITH TRENT AND THEREAFTER A CAREER IN TECHNOLOGY?

Prior to joining the bootcamp, I was working as an Economics Research Assistant at NUS (National University of Singapore). My coding journey started around two years ago. Interestingly, it
started while I was helping my younger sister, who enrolled in an online course called CS50X Introduction to Computer Science. Through that experience, I was intrigued by the applications of coding and loved the problem-solving aspect of it. So, I decided to enroll in the exact same course to expose myself to code. Since then, I have developed a passion for coding and desire to create something of my own.

I started small with a simple web application to record the blood glucose levels for my grandmother who is diabetic. After many trial-and-errors, and feedback from family members, I finally got the web application to work. That’s when I decided that I wanted to do this as a career and later joined the bootcamp at Trent Global College.

Robert Walters Tech Career Insights Talk

Q2.HOW DID THE COURSE PREPARE YOU FOR YOUR CAREER?

WC: The course took us through Basic Coding Fundamentals and slowly built on the concepts that we had learnt into more advanced frameworks. Throughout the course, our instructor, Paul, always took time and care to ensure that we understood the concepts before moving on. The hands-on practices and materials given were a great way for us to apply what we have learnt and explore the concepts further.

As a coding beginner, having started with Python it was a little challenging getting use to the quirks of JavaScript. But I came to like it more due to its versatility in being used for both the front and backend.

Q3.TECHNOLOGY IS ALWAYS DEVELOPING, HOW DO YOU KEEP YOUR TECHNOLOGY SKILLS CURRENT?

"Personally, I feel that there is still a lot for me to learn and improve in this ever-changing tech industry.”

WC: This has inspired me to work on more personal projects like a financial budget tracker and to explore creating my own CSS frameworks and templates using SASS instead of relying mostly on BootStrap in my future projects.

Q4.TELL US ABOUT A TECH PROJECT YOU’VE WORKED ON. WHAT WERE YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES AND CHALLENEGES YOU FACED?

WC : In my opinion, our final project was by far one of the most challenging projects, because it combines all the things we had learnt and we had to manage our time and energy well. As our programme manager, Alex, pointed out, ‘It’s is a marathon’. Given the timeframe, we had to design an e-commerce web application with an administrative panel (on the backend). For me, I tend to be ambitious in implementing cool features and designs to my projects, which can be a challenge in to fit within the timeline well.

Q5.WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS AND DRAWBACKS OF WORKING IN A TECH INDUSTRY?

WC: Personally, I think one of the benefits would be that you don’t need much to get started. It only takes a laptop, notebook and pen to start on an idea and craft something from there. Secondly, I learnt that there are different ways of implementing code solution and having something new to learn from others. As for drawbacks, it would be screen fatigue due to long hours facing the screen. It helps by taking regular breaks, through walks or bouncing ideas off my bootcamp classmates to gain a different perspective.

Q6.WHERE DO YOU SEE YOUR TECH CAREER GOING IN THE FEW YEARS?

WC: There is still a lot for me to learn and grow now, but I do hope to become a FullStack Developer in a team that develops products that benefits everyone. Something like what GovTech does with the TraceTogether application.

Q7.WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO THOSE CONSIDERING TO PURSUE THIER HIGHER EDUCATION?

“I would say go for it! You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take and may regret not taking a leap of faith to try something new.”

WC: Due to the intensity of the course, it would be ideal to be mentally prepared and stay committed to finish the bootcamp. Remember why you chose to pursue it in the first place.

Wesley (third from the left, 2nd row) and his course mates during a company visit to Wantedly Singapore’s Office

One of my biggest takeaways in this bootcamp, would be my classmates! Throughout the bootcamp, they have been my biggest supporters as we overcome different challenges and conquer various
milestones together.

We are happy to be a part of Wesley’s coding journey, and we can’t wait to see how he will impact the communities at large with his new skills.

Find out more about our Software Development Bootcamp Here