From a Sous Chef to a Full Stack Developer

Hi! My name is Evan Watton. I’m a 31 year old Full Stack Software Developer living St. John’s, NL.

What did you do before Get Coding?

I’ve worn a few different hats over the years, but when I started Get Coding in 2021 I was working as the Sous Chef at The Grounds Café in Portugal Cove, NL.

What made you decide to switch your career?

I had the opportunity to take a few weeks off work because of a lockdown, and having time to focus on some of my passions outside of the kitchen was key in realizing that I didn’t see myself working in that industry forever.

I had been on auto-pilot for a couple years. During that time, my fiancé sent me a CBC article, “From turnaround to tech: St. John's company training people for high-demand jobs” which details Clark Oake’s career transition through Get Coding program. It was perfect timing.

Did you ever think of switching your career to tech?

Until that point I hadn’t.

Why did you choose Get Coding?

After having the initial consultation, there were two key points that really appealed to me.
First, being able to have my coaching sessions and time to work my on projects flexibly around my work schedule was ideal for my financial situation at the time.
Second, the one-on-one coaching model with an industry professional offers an efficiency of information coming in – everything you learn is useful and relevant.

Were you working during your time at Get Coding?

Yeah I was working full time for the majority of my time. In the last couple months I dropped to 4 shifts per week to focus on my career transition.

What did you build during your time at Get Coding?

The first project I built in Get Coding was a keyboard keyboard – a synthesizer, that looks like a keyboard, that you play by using your computer keyboard. The first iteration was completed fairly quickly so we ended up rebuilding it a few times with increasing complexity – the latest version being are usable web component that anyone can drop into their website with 2 lines of code.

My main project for the next few modules was an organizational toolkit for recording projects. I’m really into music production and recording in my free time, so this project was particularly fun to work on and share with my peers.

There’s a demo version available here: https://ao-demo.vercel.app/

Big shout-out to my coaches Jack Harrhy, Dylan Brine & Devin Marsh.

What are you doing now?

I’m a Full Stack Developer with Milk Moovement, a dairy logistics software company head quartered in Halifax, NS.
My day to day on the LTS (Logistics, Transportation and Scheduling Development)

Team includes building out exciting new features, tracking down and troubleshooting bugs, and tackling any other quality of life improvements my team or our customers may need.

How do you think your previous career helped you in achieving your goal?

There’s translatable skills across any field. Being able to keep a cool head under pressure, being kind, being able to work well with others, and being efficient when working independently – useful everywhere.
Anytime I’m having a bad day I remind myself I’m not working fryer station on Good Friday in St. John’s.

What would you say to people considering switching their career to tech?

You are capable of making changes that will grant you a more fulfilling life. Also, go to every networking event you can. Not only will you make friends for life, but those friends will get you a job interview.