From chef to "the person who handles everything"

From the kitchen to the keyboard

For more than 15 years, I worked in kitchens. Then the pandemic hit, and I was laid off.

I don't do well with nothing to do. So I signed up for a few Coursera classes, just for fun and to keep my brain busy. The third one was an intro to web development from the University of Michigan, and that was it. I was hooked.

I was 42. Kitchen work is hard, physical labour with pretty low rewards, and I couldn't picture myself grinding through many more years of it. I wanted something better for me and for my family. Coding gave me what I didn't know I was missing: a challenge that never runs out and the satisfaction of figuring things out.

How I actually learned

There was no bootcamp and no degree, just three things that worked together.

• Coursera. This was the spark. I loved the course, but parts of it were dated, especially the JavaScript section.
• Scrimba. Their free JavaScript course led me to sign up for the Frontend Developer path. You code right inside the tutorial, which built my coding muscle memory. The Discord community kept me motivated.
• The Codecademy Detroit Chapter. This was my people. They ran study sessions and a JavaScript support hour, gave feedback on my projects, and offered a ton of moral support.

If I did it again, I'd find a community even sooner. Courses teach you syntax. People teach you that you can actually do this.

Shooting my shot

This is the craziest part: I never formally applied for my job.

While I was learning, I heard Danny Thompson and Alex Booker talk about shooting your shot. Maybe you don't meet every requirement, but if you never ask, the answer is always no. So I worked up my courage and emailed a company on my bucket list. I told them what I was learning and asked what else I'd need to learn to be hired someday.

I had an interview the next day.

The first round was a 10-minute recorded interview with questions like "tell us about yourself" and "what's your experience with frontend versus backend?" The second was a 30-minute call where I showed a couple of projects. There were no technical questions, just "what do you want to learn?" and "where do you see yourself in five years?" They told me upfront that they hire for fit over technical ability.

In my first couple of weeks, they asked me to build a small script that took info from one app and added it to a spreadsheet, on my own time and with help offered. Looking back, it was probably a test. I passed.

No resume. No LinkedIn. No portfolio. No whiteboard interview. Just one brave email.

How to shoot your shot

Becoming the person who handles everything

I started as a 16-week intern in a support role, helping clients whose websites we'd already built. My Project Manager called me a generalist. It felt like being a detective: every ticket was a new mystery on a new stack.

Five years later, that hasn't changed, but the list has grown. In one week I might build a members' portal with two-factor login, clean up a compromised WordPress site, set up Google Tag Manager, wire in a third-party API, patch a server, or walk a client through updating their own content. The sites range from Sanity with Next.js to headless and traditional WordPress to Laravel apps.

The job has also changed my life outside work. I have evenings, weekends, and holidays with my family. I can buy groceries without worrying about my bank balance. I'm healthier, happier, and the job is fully remote.