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“The international environment is the most important thing I got from Microverse. It puts me in the spotlight in my country. People are reaching out to me and they are curious why I have this network.” - Eyüp Sercan Uygur
Microverse students work incredibly hard to become professional software developers and we’re so proud of all our students and the work they put in. Our alumni have landed jobs around the world, earning an average of 2x more than what they made before — without paying Microverse anything until they’re employed.
We are delighted to highlight another alumni, who is using his global experience to communicate across cultures in the developer community. Eyüp Sercan Uygur currently works as a Ruby Developer for Azerion. We asked Sercan about how he shifted from materials engineering to coding and his journey as a software developer.
Sercan took materials science and engineering in college and pursued a master’s degree in energy science: a hybrid program of mechanical, chemical, and materials engineering.
During his education, he did some problem solving with softwares. This was Sercan’s first taste of software development. Seeing the changes he made through writing code, Sercan realized that this was what he wanted to do, instead of being in a construction area or laboratory.
“I wanted to spend my day with this because I feel more valuable by doing some challenging things.”
While in college, Sercan did front-end freelancing while following online courses for React. Even though he was already doing jobs for React development, he felt like his skills weren’t enough. His code was faulty at times because his knowledge of React was limited. “I didn’t know how to write the code, I just learned some parts of it.”
Sercan found Microverse while searching for coding groups to support him in improving his coding skills. When learning how to code, Sercan emphasized that having a methodology is important for learning how to write a code.
“I was the person who can follow a path. I was searching for a path. For me, the answer was easy. Choosing Microverse was easy.”
Sercan joined Microverse in 2020 and finished the program at the beginning of 2021.
Rejection is something everyone faces at some point in their career. Sercan experienced having his code rejected and he used this opportunity to learn how to overcome this obstacle. “It’s better to experience this feeling beforehand and get the benefit from it: learn how to get the positive side from it.”
To help with moments of rejection and frustration, Sercan relied on his standup team. They talked about their problems and supported each other. Through this, it was easier to handle rejection.
Having a standup team lets you look at different perspectives and identify your mistakes, Sercan explained. If you only study by yourself, you only have one perspective. There is no one who can help you find other solutions in your code or point out your weaknesses.
The international environment and network is one of the most important things Sercan got from Microverse. Through the program, he was able to communicate with people from different cultures. His ability to reach a broad range of audiences made recruiters interested in him.
“In some cultures, talking directly is more common and more normal than others,” Sercan explained. When communicating with others to solve a problem, he considered their backgrounds and identified the best way to approach them.
“Don’t just think of yourself. Try to put yourself in other people’s perspectives and then the problems are going to be solved.”
During his job search, a recruiter reached out through his LinkedIn profiles and gave him a take-home assignment to work on. From that point, it took a month until the recruiter, his now-manager, offered him the job as a full-stack web developer in Istanbul.
At first, Sercan underestimated the importance of career coaching. But once he finished the program and began applying for jobs, he realized how helpful it was to have someone who can guide you through the process.
“If I didn’t get the support, it would be much harder for me to earn the job because the most important thing is your state of mind.”
Sercan didn’t have any doubts about himself when he was doing the program. But after finishing the program, he began to think that no one would hire him because he was too old. However, at Microverse, he saw different paths and backgrounds that gave him power knowing that the coding community is very diverse.
“This community and all the people around me helped me overcome this imposter syndrome.”
One of the biggest takeaways Sercan got from Microverse was the connection with his standup team. Learning doesn’t come from reading only. You also learn from those you interact with, like his standup team, and you can share what you have learned.
Microverse’s multicultural environment has also helped Sercan in his current work. In his office, he comes across new people every day. With the soft skills he gained at Microverse, he’s more confident in his interactions with others.
Sercan’s advice for Microverse students is to search for open source projects and other resources to apply the coding conventions you’ve learned. “The real learning is seeing them in action,” Sercan said. He also suggests taking some preparation classes so you learn how to solve coding challenges.
When Sercan was applying for jobs, many recruiters reached out to him because of his LinkedIn and Github profiles. Sercan’s advice when job searching is to polish your online profiles so recruiters can easily get a good first impression of you.
Believing in yourself is very important too, Sercan notes. You’ll be able to express yourself and show your ideas in a solid way. This will make recruiters compelled to hire you.
To those doubting if they should change careers, Sercan assured that a technical background isn’t necessary for starting your career in coding. What’s important is your passion. Sercan said that if you are passionate enough, it’s the right choice to change. You can show people that you are passionate in your work and you are able to do it.
Lastly, Sercan said to look at the positive side. “It’s not going to be as you imagined but it will all work out.” This is especially helpful for dealing with impostor syndrome and those who have doubts in their journey as a software developer.
For others like him who decided to change careers, Through a lot of hard work, focus and dedication, Sercan overcame his doubts of changing careers to become a full-stack web developer. To date, Microverse has enrolled full-time students from 100+ countries in its full-time online program, and helped alumni from around the world land life-changing jobs. If you’re ready to change your life by becoming a remote software developer, get started below!
Ariel is the founder & CEO of Microverse, an online school for software engineers. Read more about Microverse and how it can help you.
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