Careers in Code Student Success Stories: Kyle Gilbert

Careers in Code Student Success Stories is a series focused on our coding bootcamp graduates. We’re following their progress in the six months after graduation to learn about projects they’re working on, job placements, and other exciting updates. Our first cohort graduated in August 2019.

We’re so happy to share that Kyle Gilbert, a Careers in Code cohort 2 alumna, has just taken a new, full-time, contracted position as a Lab Assistant at Density.

Her responsibilities include performing and documenting tests, contributing to designs of tests, and writing software for use in testing. Kyle said she hopes to grow into a permanent position within the company when the occasion arises.

Before joining Careers in Code, Kyle said that she was trying to learn Python on her own.

“When I got stuck I wasn’t able to help myself nearly as well,” she said of the process of learning coding on your own. “The Javascript I learned in Careers in Code gave me the ability to learn basic Python more quickly following the program.”

One of the first coding projects Kyle worked on at Density was a React app that changed the configuration of sensors. This is for eventual integration into a larger testing app. She said she had the basic version functioning by the end of her first week, and is now working on the layout and the appearance. During the project Kyle said she also built two basic servers in NodeJS and another one in Python with FastAPI.

Beyond learning the skills required for her current position through Careers in Code, Kyle said the program helped her in other ways as well.

“I wouldn’t have known about the opportunity without the network I formed through Careers in Code,” she said. “The knowledge I gained through Careers in Code enabled me to ask good questions in my interview.”

Kyle also mentioned feeling more confident through mentorship from instructors as well as through the career module.

She said that “relationships with instructors and our career coach helped me identify career goals and characteristics I wanted in an employer, and gave me the confidence to reach for them.”

Kyle cites the documentation of tests as the main way she is currently contributing to her work at Density. She mentioned that making diagrams outlining sensor data from testing in a clear and easy to understand way is a big part of her role right now. She looks forward to learning Typescript and expanding her knowledge of Python as she gains more experience and accumulates more roles and responsibilities.

Congratulations, Kyle, we’re so excited to continue to watch you grow and succeed!