Jesi Sumeg-ang | Front end Developer and Designer

Where do you currently work and what is your job title?

I’m currently working remotely at Auswalk Walking Holidays Pty/Ltd as an App Designer and Developer for our walkers’ companion app which would be replacing the printed walk notes we currently provide our walkers.

I was already with the Victoria-based company pre-COVID as a remote admin assistant.

How would you describe what you do every day in your role?

I’m currently juggling three projects intensively, all three progressing from design to development to launch at varying stages.

As a noob in design and tech, I must say that I have my work cut out for me.

Nevertheless, I’m so glad that my roles now are focused on developing the skills I’m truly interested in. But I hadn’t realized that switching between coding and design can be disconcerting, especially if you switch tasks too quickly.

To make it work, I try to always batch my tasks by project for each day of the week. So far, this has helped me stay focused and productive.

Apart from my billable hours, I try to fit working on the Break Into Tech blueprint (and a few more essential learning) into my schedule.

What motivated you to break into tech?

Breaking into tech has been a long time coming for me, actually. The pandemic, welp, it was also a catalyst. I belonged with the folks whose jobs got affected, and so did my husband. So when I was looking at my options at the time, I knew it in my bones that breaking into tech was the universe telling me that “We’ll be okay, the family will survive the pandemic and thrive more than ever.”

So far, I haven’t been wrong.

Well, it’s either coding and design or farming for somebody who lives in Sagada, Philippines hehehe, and my un-green thumb is the last thing I’d like to cultivate – pun intended.

What did you do before your current job?

I consider myself awfully lucky that just a few months after I started working on Skillcrush’s Break Into Tech blueprint, I was able to land a design-to-dev project with a friend’s local taco shop, the Cantina. And then around April last year, I was able to successfully pitch to my pre-COVID employer about taking on the design and development of the company’s walking companion app for our customers.

Before my current roles, I was into property management and virtual assistance. The revenue was okay, but not impressive enough to get us to where I want my family to be at. And after a while, it just wasn’t challenging enough for me anymore. Needless to say, there wasn’t any more growth, and I wanted to work smart, not hard.

What was your level of tech experience before enrolling at Skillcrush?

I was already comfortable with tech. I have some extensive experience working as tech support for a few big-shot telcos (like Accenture, Comcast and Time Warner), but those were mostly for internet connectivity and devices, and I was able to hone my soft skills while I was in the BPO industry.

As for anything close to coding and design, though nothing professional, I played around with Wix and a couple of its predecessors, and maybe some light WordPress.

What advice do you have for other Skillcrushers?

Keep at it. Even if there will be days when life gets overwhelming and you would be feeling like the world is simply out to disrupt your focus. This is pretty much every day for me, in fact. Especially since I have two young adorable boys as my co-workers. Be resigned to the fact that life would ALWAYS get in the way. Don’t whine about that but give yourself grace. Hey, if you’re really interested in code and design, you’ll find your groove.

Oh, and gamify your learning!