Introduction
Hi, I’m Emma, 26 years old, based in Pampanga, Philippines. I took a coding bootcamp while I was living in the States and specialized in the PERN stack. For our capstone, we built an e-commerce site.
Before I Learned to Code
I went to the States when I was 19 and lived there for almost five years. Back then, my dad wanted me to become a pilot. I made it halfway through the training process… until financial problems, the pandemic, and rising expenses made it impossible to continue.
These were dark days. I had no backup plans. I had invested years of my life thinking I’d become a pilot. I watched my co-pilots earn their licenses, helped them study, flew with them, and hyped them up for their flight exams. Deep down, I wished I was also achieving their milestones.
It was heavy. It took a long time to accept that I wasn’t going to make a career out of flying. But I knew, at some point, I needed to stop wallowing and start over.
How I Discovered My Passion for Coding
Coding gave me a way forward. I loved that I could sit in front of my computer and make things happen.
There’s room for error, for creativity, and for flow. I could get lost in it for hours and not feel drained.
Coding is everything that becoming a pilot is not.
In learning to code better, I also learned so much about myself.
I love designing: playing with colors and grids. Learning to balance between functionality, aesthetic, and what I can actually code.
I love writing: expressing myself through well-thought words. I have so many stories to tell, lessons to share, and love to give. I want them all in writing.
I’m an introvert: I’m good with people, but at the end of the day, being alone with my thoughts is how I bring ideas to life.
designing + writing + coding = web developer
Learning how to code in order to build websites became a gateway to putting myself out there, letting people in, and helping them get to know me better.
It Wasn’t Instant Success
I thought graduating from a bootcamp would make things easier. I was wrong.
Freelancing through Upwork and Fiverr was hard. I didn’t have real-life client experience or a solid portfolio. I had to grind my way into establishing myself as a web developer. And of course, a bootcamp doesn’t teach you everything. There's still a lot of self-learning involved.
It was a cycle I had to repeat over and over. I realized I still had a long way to go. I realized I wasn’t special.
Looking back, I wasn’t hopeless. I was just focusing on the wrong things. I wanted to freelance right away when I should have been looking for a job to gain experience.
Why I Had to Come Home
I wanted to work in the States, but I was on a student visa. I wasn’t allowed to work, only study. That meant I had to find a company willing to sponsor my work visa.
With little to no experience, and a highly competitive field, I didn’t stand a chance.
Why would a company sponsor me over someone who was already a citizen?
I had nothing to prove… yet.
It was one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever made. But I needed to show how committed I was. So I flew home to the Philippines to start over.
The Break I Needed
When I returned, I didn’t go straight into tech. I took a break from coding. I needed to improve my work ethic, re-learn how to be around Filipinos, and reconnect with my family.
But it was tough.
What am I gonna be now?
What am I gonna do here in the Philippines?
Am I back for good?
I was swarmed with questions not just from them, but from myself.
I worked as a Call Center Agent
While I was figuring things out, I worked in customer service. It exposed me to a different field and taught me soft skills I still use today. I worked as a call center agent for a Telco company, grinding through the night and sleeping during the day.
It wasn’t easy. But it made me stronger. I have so much respect for people in that line of work.
But I knew it wasn’t the life I wanted.
Finally Breaking Into Tech
After everything, I finally landed two jobs in tech.
My first was as a Junior Web Support at Olly Olly, a digital marketing company in the U.S. It was my entry point into the industry, a solid first job in my field. I learned a lot about maintaining websites, troubleshooting technical issues, and working with a team. It gave me the validation I needed and motivated me to keep going.
Later, I worked as a Freelance Web Developer. A client, through a personal connection, hired me to build a platform to showcase his articles and promote his consulting services. I had full control over the layout and design. It was the first time I built a real website for a real client. From start to finish, I got to bring something to life. It was both challenging and deeply rewarding.
I’m still building, still growing. The journey hasn’t been easy: frustrating, exhausting, and full of uncertainty.
But I wouldn’t trade it for anything else.
