There’s more than one way to be happy.
You could love your work so much that it becomes total joy.
You could ALSO choose to separate your passion from your paycheck!
There are plenty of people who’s greatest joy in life is making art, but they earn a living in a completely different way.
That’s what Aaron Cohen has chosen, a recent grad at BloomTech.
In 2022 he was finishing a Master of Arts degree in Creative Writing, one of his passions, but realized he wanted to shift when it came to his career trajectory.
“The idealized version of why being a writer in academia is good is because you’re not reliant on your work to drive your income. But that means there are other things that are driving your income, like what they care about when hiring for professorships.”
Aaron pivoted. He chose to go all into software engineering, specifically Backend Development at BloomTech, and continue creative writing on the side. ; )
Choosing the Backend Development Course
Now, by separating his creative writing passion from his income, it’s not like Aaron was signing up for just “any ol’ job” to pay the bills.
He followed his other interests in math, (and doing puzzles), to move into development, where he also had some initial experience.
“The reason I decided on BloomTech was 100% the Backend Track.”
While BloomTech offers courses in Full-Stack Web Development, Data Science, and Backend Development, Aaron focused on the Backend Track because it’s more logic-math based, where as Frontend (building the visuals for a website, for example) is more design oriented.
“I’m not a visual person, I’m a logic, algebra, abstractions person,” Aaron expressed.
Related: watch Uma’s story going from stay-at-home-mom to software engineer.
With BloomTech, you can break into tech with a world-class, proven support system. No tuition until you’re hired (terms apply). Start a risk-free 3-week trial now.
Thriving with Structure with BloomTech
The structure of the BloomTech program actually allowed Aaron to feel more free and relaxed.
“Everyday I could just log on,” he said, meaning he’d simply show up and he’d be presented with a coding task or project, e.g. a 1/2 built web app to finish.
“The onus is still on you to show up….but the ‘what’ [to build] is somewhat answered for you….it’s so much easier to make daily progress towards your goals, where there’s a scaffolding.”
It’s true that you could learn to code by yourself….but why not surround yourself with that scaffolding?
Related: How Taylor Switched Careers even with the “Wrong” Major
Find What You Like, What You’re Good at, and What Others Value
Even if you don’t merge passion with paycheck, you still want to find the intersection of:
-what you like to do
-what you’re good at (or don’t suck at)
-what others value
For Aaron, he knew that Backend code was valued by the market and that he had an initial knack for it. But he also found it interesting.
“In [fiction] writing you’re taking real people and turning them into characters….and in Backend code, you’re trying to [take something like] a financial bond, and turn that into the database. That translation is what I find most interesting.”
But at the end of the day, Aaron concedes “I don’t know if I have some super special passion” for coding, but he knows he likes it well enough, is good at it, and that it is valued in the marketplace.
So, Aaron chose to separate passion from paycheck, but he was still able to be intentional about how to earn that paycheck! He didn’t have to do something he hated to make a living.
And he gets to come alive most while writing fiction, without the pressure of monetizing that joy.
At least that’s one way to do it!
Starting from Ground Zero
Aaron encouraged others to give coding a shot, even with no background as a coder. There are plenty of resources out there to get started, like BloomTech.
To nurture your motivation, he conveyed, get curious about how a career in programming can cater to your interests.
“You want to be writing code in service to something that makes you excited. If you’re someone who likes to cook, find a way to learn something about coding to make it easier to find recipes. Link your existing real world passions into your programming learning.”
What It’s Like To Start at BloomTech
At BloomTech you can hop in with a risk-free 3 week trial, which means not only starting a course but interacting with instructors and the community.
“The instructors are great. They’re very practical minded….and able to get you very relevant information,” commented another BloomTech alum, Taylor Curran.
So take that action bias. Give it a try. Know that with BloomTech, you can break into tech with a world-class, proven support system.
- No tuition until you’re hired (terms apply)
- Personalized platform to track your progress and know exactly what to do next
- Gain the skills employers want—no fluff
- Build your portfolio with real projects for real clients
- Take a test drive with a 3-week free trial
With BloomTech, you can break into tech with a world-class, proven support system. No tuition until you’re hired (terms apply). Start a risk-free 3-week trial now.
