Transitioning from Teacher to Web Designer: Overcoming Challenges with Self-Motivation

Lesson episodes with instructors

-How did you utilize the lessons?

When I looked it up myself and couldn’t figure it out, or when I tried but couldn’t find a solution, I would ask all the questions in class. In the early lessons, the instructor told me that I
could feel free to ask any questions, which lowered my psychological hurdles when taking lessons.

-Do you have any memorable stories with instructors?

When creating my portfolio, I took lessons from Mr. Nakamura.
He corrected me many times, and in the last lesson, he praised me and said, “You’re good at code, so why don’t you do a job that makes use of that strength?” I was very happy and it gave me confidence.

-So you used the lessons to create your portfolio!

I proceeded with acquiring servers and domains and coding myself, and whenever I came across something I didn’t understand, I took lessons.
Regarding portfolios, I learned from the blogs of people who changed jobs from no experience to web designers, and I gathered information on Twitter.

*Currently, CodeCamp’s web design course provides teaching materials and lessons that allow you to create a portfolio site.

-Did you have any difficulties while studying?

I lost motivation when I was faced with something I didn’t understand, and it was painful when things didn’t go as planned.
Until I figured out what I didn’t understand, I went back to what I had previously learned and confirmed that I understood it so far, sorting it out independently.

However, when I still didn’t understand, I took lessons and sometimes received encouragement from the instructor, and I overcame the problem.

How to proceed with job change activities and create a portfolio

-When did you start looking for a job change?

After completing my studies and completing my portfolio, I began job hunting in earnest. When I took a Career Talk lesson, the instructor gave me the advice, “ Self-analysis is important, and you should start looking for a job. ”

Based on that advice, I did some self-analysis, narrowed down what kind of company I wanted to work for, and decided where to apply. As a result, I applied to two companies and received an offer from one.

– So you used Career Talk for your job hunting!

I learned how to do a self-analysis before applying, and when I found a company I wanted to apply for, how to appeal to the company in a way that would stick with me, and how to find job openings.

Thanks to his advice, I was able to clarify my strengths and was able to talk about them in conjunction with the company’s philosophy and vision.

-What kind of things did you receive from your prospective employer?

The recruitment requirements say “Politeness”, and I think I was highly evaluated because my “politeness” matched my own.

Before the interview, the representative looked at our portfolio at the code level and gave us feedback, saying, “The code has comments that are easy to understand, and I feel that they are thorough.”
I also feel that my personality was evaluated.

-Why were you able to reflect “politeness” in your portfolio?

When I was looking at various job openings during my studies, I realized that when I got a job, I would be working with multiple people instead of just one person, so I was conscious of creating something that would be easy for anyone to understand.

Even for the portfolio site, I was conscious of writing code that was easy for anyone to understand and modify, and I feel that this point was recognized.

-So you were researching job openings while studying!

I was watching because my instructor had advised me that it would be a good idea to check in advance to see if there were any job openings.

While studying, I was looking at job openings, and I realized that I wanted a position where I could do both design and coding.

-What did you do in your portfolio?

The hiring manager will see it, so I tried to create a design that conveys my personality.
Using the knowledge I learned at CodeCamp, I selected color schemes and fonts and created the content on the site intending to express my personality.

▼Portfolio site with a soft and calm impression

-Did you have any difficulties in creating your portfolio?

In general, the most difficult part was researching what should be included in a portfolio and thinking about the structure of what should be included in my portfolio.

Therefore, before starting production, I listened to a lecturer who had seen many portfolios about how people around me were progressing.

▼Posting works that were independently produced other than CodeCamp assignments

Future career

-What kind of career do you want to pursue?

I think the appeal of being a web designer is that you can choose to work as a freelancer when it becomes difficult to work as a company employee, but on the other hand, I don’t think I’ll be able to continue working if I can’t do direction, so I decided to work as a freelancer. I would like to learn more eventually.

-So you’re also interested in direction!

During the interview, the representative told me, “If you continue working for a long time, work will go to younger people if you can design and code, so if you can’t direct, you won’t be able to survive.”

After joining the company and gaining experience, I would like to try my hand at direction work.

-What kind of work do you want to do in the future?

I want to work in a way that allows me to have options and not panic even when life events occur.
I want to work anywhere, no matter how old I am. I am planning to work fully remotely at the company I have been offered a job at.

I’m a little nervous because I’ve always had to meet people face-to-face, but I’d like to try new ways of working.