Starting a Computing Career as a Mature Student

Transitioning from Law to Computing

As a mature student at 25, I made the initial change from law to computing after a careers meeting and some personal realisations. On reflection, being able to set aside certain morals and personal views I could not uphold, plus enjoying the creativity behind previous IT study, both academically and in my personal life, helped me decide to pursue this path. Throughout school, I was never accepted onto computer science or coding courses due to my grades. As time has gone on, I have used my own personal time to try to learn independently.

A Fresh Start, Built on What Came Before

As a new chapter in life, I wanted to treat this as a fresh start: learning new skills, doing things differently, and keeping an optimistic outlook, while also bringing forward skills and experience from previous study (law) that others may not be able to bring to the table. This encourages overall personal development and commits me to more self-reflection and improvement. I have recently gained a placement on a computing course, which should hopefully lay the building blocks towards academic credibility in computing and development. In the meantime, I am building a portfolio of projects in my spare time to showcase my understanding and knowledge.

What This Website Is For

This website is also a working project in itself. My goal with it is not only to showcase myself as a person and enhance networking and potential work opportunities and collaborations, but also to build other soft skills and coding abilities. I’ve always enjoyed writing, so offering my personal perspective on topics through blog posts lets me showcase the highs and lows of someone who doesn’t come from a traditional background, starting from beginner and working my way up without always having access to the same opportunities as others due to academic setbacks. This website and its various projects serve as a reminder, and living proof, that in the end it was possible.