“Makers made me feel that what I want to do isn’t actually impossible and I really believe that everyone can do it.”
Makers alumni, Emanuele Gorga, graduated in 2018. Since finishing the course he’s risen through the ranks to become a Technical Lead at Aza Finance, he writes his own tech blog and is a Codebar mentor.
Emanuele Gorga
Opening the doors to tech
Before embarking on a career in tech Emanuele was a Casino Dealer. A role that demanded logical thinking, fast decision-making and effective communication. While Emanuele enjoyed Casino Dealing he had a passion for tech since he dabbled in website design as a teenager. However, he didn’t believe a career in tech was an option for him at the time.
“I designed some random websites — very bad-looking websites, but never thought to do it professionally. I never thought it would have been possible.”
Attending Makers events, like Demo Day informed Emanuele on what a career in coding entailed and that it was an attainable career path. He became interested in a career as a Software Engineer, as it provided the opportunity to be creative and independent. He could “be self-sufficient in an idea and have the freedom to create it.”
Emanuele started to believe that he could turn his passion into a profession, initially deciding to teach himself to code, but was drawn to Makers supportive and diverse community of like-minded individuals. The process felt achievable, as he saw the alumni from various non-technical backgrounds succeeding which reassured him that his career change was feasible.
“I saw a lot of people trying to do what I was trying to do and going through the same struggles. I saw the opportunity to join Makers strong community.”
Starting from scratch with Makers
Once Emanuele started the course it was a steep learning curve, but his commitment to learning and the positive diverse environment helped him gain confidence as well as overcome self-doubt. “I could see a lot of diversity at Makers. In my case English was not my first language but I didn’t feel I was at a disadvantage and I quickly realised we are all in the same boat. We all have the same goals”
“I had a fear of asking questions. That was a challenge for me at the beginning. A fear of being judged for asking a silly question, but Makers Coaches were clear with us saying there are no silly questions. No one is going to judge me. It was a really judgemental-free environment.”
The curriculum had an emphasis on self-sufficiency, which taught Emanuele the balance between knowing when to ask questions and when to problem-solve independently. A skill that has since served him well in his career.
Getting your next role in a competitive market
After completing the course, Emanuele faced the challenge of job hunting in a competitive market. What helped him stand out and land his first role as a Junior Software Engineer, was being consistent with coding practice, keeping up to date with industry knowledge and aligning with the company’s mission. Emanuele advised people starting out to network straight away and found that Makers hosted great events, which made creating professional connections easier.
Additionally, Emanuele considered working during the Bootcamp, but decided to dedicate full time to the course, which he believes “made it all possible to get a job quickly after the course.”
“I would advise to fully commit and trust the process, get passionate as much as you can throughout the Makers experience limiting distractions.”
Since graduating Emanuele has been promoted three times from Junior Software Engineer to Software Engineering Technical Lead and recommends indviduals looking to progress in their career should start by developing a strong foundation in the coding fundamentals and then go the extra mile to advance their skillset, document their work to make it easy for colleagues to understand the value their work brings and where possible help colleagues on their projects.
“I’ve started studying the hardware of the computer. I feel like the more I get the 360-degree knowledge the more I understand how the code I’m writing impacts the performance, so I’m trying to really learn the basics of the basics.”
Codebar Mentor
Emanuele is a mentor with Makers community partner, Codebar, a charity that facilitates the growth of a diverse tech community through workshops for minority groups in tech. When asked what are the common scenarios he helps Developers with there were two that stood out:
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Emanuele has seen an abundance of Developers trying to jump too fast between technologies. He urges Developers to “be very good at the basics, the fundamentals, study those basics and stick to one technology for a long time to master it.”
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He also sees Developers changing companies frequently but has experienced the value of growing with a company for a rich experience. He found “it is important to invest in your company, trying to learn what the company you’re working for is doing and why and try to get passionate about the problem the company is trying to solve.”
Navigating AI in Software Engineering
AI tools are popular and can be tempting to use when first starting out as a Software Engineer but Emanuele emphasised the importance of having a good foundational understanding rather than relying solely on AI tools. He believes that AI tools are great and should be leveraged, but encourages the user to understand and test the solutions AI provides, making adjustments when needed.
The Makers Community
Emanuele was pleasantly surprised by the strong network he gained from Makers. Even years after graduating Emanuele catches up with fellow alumni and has experienced immense value in connecting with peers who share similar struggles. “I have a decent network on LinkedIn. Most people came from Makers, so I could have taught myself to code but not have these networks, so it’s very valuable.”
Emanuele encourages everyone to stay open to career changes, as it can lead to unexpected opportunities.
“Makers was one of the best decisions I’ve made in my life.”
