Embracing Simplicity: How a Coding Bootcamp Led Me to Low-Code Development

Just over a year ago, I faced a bit of a hiccup in my five-year plan. After spending years chasing the dream of being a firefighter, an unexpected motorcycle crash meant I'd never regain full use of my leg. I could have gone through gruelling physio and somehow passed all the tests to continue my attempted firefighting career, but the thought of failing to save someone's life due to my injury haunted me, plagued by the ultimate guilt-ridden imposter syndrome, no matter how many standards I could meet.

While confined to hospital beds and undergoing surgeries, I decided to sign up for a programming bootcamp. I had pursued a career in tech many years prior (let's not count how many years, shall we?). But for reasons best left to fate, opportunities didn't quite pan out, leading me down different paths. Returning to tech felt like I'd wasted years on other pursuits, but the copious amounts of prescribed opiates quickly turned those negative feelings into distant memories—practically like magic!

The bootcamp was a whirlwind of feelings. From the slow progress through multiple weeks of HTML to loving life in UX design and CSS, to contemplating life with Python and Django, one principle really stood out to me: being DRY was key.

DON'T REPEAT YOURSELF

This mantra led me to appreciate the sheer power of frameworks and how they could speed up development. Bootstrap was a lifesaver for front-end work, allowing me to focus on features and functionality rather than endless div centring. Django, on the other hand, was a tad less impressive on the back end.

Enter low-code. Despite all the naysayers warning about low-code, I figured if frameworks are an improvement over pure code, why should low-code be any different? Job hunting myths warn that low-code roles are dead ends, sweatshop-esque, and not for "real" developers. Nevertheless, when a low-code position caught my eye, I hesitated, second-guessing myself due to all the sceptics. Fortunately, the same role appeared again a few months later, and this time, I seized the opportunity.

I'll document my thoughts and feelings over the next few weeks to see if I can come to terms with not being a "real" programmer anymore.