I've always considered myself very tech savvy - growing up, my happy place was my computer. Not much has changed now, but I've always felt intimidated by coding, likely because it's such a male-dominated field.
Luckily, I found an incredible community that welcomes all kinds of people who are normally underrepresented in tech. I heard about Juno College last year through work and I was really intrigued by their inclusive focus, and just overall ethos. I thought it was really cool that they were actively combatting the norm of the IT world, and making it something that feels approachable for everyone.
Juno was founded in 2012 as HackerYou by the team behind Ladies Learning Code (now Canada Learning Code) and Heather Payne, when she was only 24 years old. Since then, Juno has welcomed over 3,000 students to their Live Online and In-Person courses - their downtown Toronto campus is just a few blocks from my old Queen West storefront! They’ve also helped over 800 graduates of their award-winning Web Development Immersive Bootcamp land their dream jobs in tech.
According to Heather: “In Roman mythology, Juno was the protector of the entire community, but especially the women. We've always been passionate about supporting underrepresented groups, and that’s one of the reasons why we chose our new name when we rebranded from HackerYou in 2019.”
I’m currently one week into Juno’s 8-week Live Online beginner-friendly Web Development course. In this coding course, students build beautifully designed projects from scratch, and friendships that last beyond the classroom.
I feel like this is the most approachable, and least scary way I could imagine to learn coding. Before my first class I was incredibly nervous, which rarely happens for me anymore. I didn’t realise how intimidated I had been to do this, and I actually took the class with my partner because it seemed so daunting. Midway through my first class I was smiling, realising that this was not only going to be something I can do, but also this is going to be fun! My teacher is absolutely amazing, and one of the most bubbly and engaging people ever. I’m actually excited and look forward to each class. I’m learning so much with each session, and I can’t wait to see where I am once I’m finished. It’s such a great feeling to learn a new skill that was so foreign to me as an adult.
If you’ve been thinking about learning to code, but have felt intimidated or were waiting for the right time - this is it! Let's make the most of the extra time we're spending at home and learn an amazing, empowering, and incredibly useful new skill.
Check out Juno’s upcoming free coding workshops or learn more about their Web Development course. You can also follow me on Instagram to see more about my learning journey throughout the rest of my course!