With the help of TechSwitch, Arda transitioned from a career as a photographer and designer to a full-stack developer, and he’s thrilled.
TechSwitchers come from all walks of life. Creative backgrounds, technical backgrounds, and everything in between. What unites them, however, is a delight in problem-solving and working with technology to build solutions.
Arda, a recent TechSwitcher now working full-time as a developer, is no different.
Although Arda studied engineering at university, his passion was for design and photography – and he’s spent most of his professional life as a freelance photographer.
So what was it that would bring him TechSwitch’s way and lead him to his exciting new career?
For Arda, software and coding have always been part of his life. Back in 1998 he was building small websites for school clubs using Microsoft FrontPage, and soon after he was teaching himself graphic design and photography skills.
He’s always enjoyed finding creative, technology-driven solutions to everyday problems:
“I noticed that I always try to solve problems with tech. For example, my cousin tried to book their wedding venue but the availability was so hard to catch – so I wrote a script to solve that problem.”
This creative, driven mindset continued in his professional life:
“I always looked for solutions in software, even when I was a photographer: managing my photographs, printing, organising emails. I noticed that it’s how I approach life and that I feel really fulfilled with the software.”
These experiences led Arda to decide to pursue a career in software development, and naturally, his first thought was to turn to self-taught online courses. However, he found he struggled to make real progress:
“I spent a couple of years trying to be a self-taught developer, but it didn’t work. The internet has endless courses but they just repeat in a safe environment and you can’t learn real life development. It wasn't until I joined the TechSwitch bootcamp that things started to fall into place.”
“The structured learning environment and the supportive community made a world of difference, and I found myself progressing at a much faster pace than before. Through TechSwitch, I learned not just the technical skills to be a developer, but also how to approach problem-solving from a developer's perspective. I gained invaluable insight into how to continually grow and improve in this field, and how to effectively put these skills into practice.”
His biggest challenge during the training? A change of mindset.
“I’m coming from 15 years of freelancing, different companies and projects. I’m so oriented to photography. Changing from the left side of the brain to the right side was my biggest challenge, specifically – understanding how to implement technical concepts. Luckily, TechSwitch is an extremely supportive environment, and I never once feared making mistakes.”
For Arda, the switch to a full-time career has been fast and seamless:
“I started to interview with People’s Partnership a month before the TechSwitch course finished. I was very lucky they offered me the position directly – I took one week off after the course and then I started.”
Crucially, Arda has found that the technical content from TechSwitch – as well as the developer mindset – has proved directly relevant to his work.
“The technical content 100% fits the market needs. What I learned there I’m using in my daily life in my role. It’s perfectly aligned.”
Similarly, he’s found the transition easy to manage:
“TechSwitch isn’t really just a course – we are literally mimicking real life. Every day we are set on a task, we join our daily meeting, and we get to work coding. It’s the same as my work now. Because of that the transition was so smooth. It was like nothing changed.”
Five months into his placement, Arda is delighted to have been offered a full-time position by People’s Partnership - a leading workplace pension provider, based in Crawley, West Sussex - where he’s been working on a React migration project.
“I get to work directly with senior developers and participate in technical discussions that influence strategic decisions. This has not only deepened my understanding of the technology but also allowed me to contribute to the project's future. It's an enriching experience that accelerates my learning and enables me to be an effective member of our team.”
“I also have the opportunity to communicate directly with both the design team and the business side. This gives me a valuable, wider perspective and allows me to understand and align with the broader goals and vision of the project.”
So what’s next for Arda? Building user interfaces, learning how complex development works, and sitting deeper into his newfound developer mindset. Another TechSwitcher thriving in their new life.