World Leading Tech in the Sunny Hawkes Bay - Graduate Profile

Words by Courtney O'Leary - re-published with permission from Re-Leased

There is little enjoyment to be gained working in a career that you don't love. If you want to change your career, just get in there and do it! No one else is going to do it for you.

I always enjoyed technology and computers and I have always loved problem solving. Working as a customer experience specialist at Xero, I had an engaging team and work environment, but I knew my long term career was not in customer experience. However, I would never have guessed that I would one day be developing software for a world leading PropTech company in the sunny Hawkes Bay.

I got a taste of what a career in development could be through volunteering to help out with API queries and other development opportunities. I decided to pursue this interest further and took a week off work to build an app. I loved it and decided it was time to take the plunge and make a change. Talking to a colleague, I found out about Dev Academy, a 15 week crash course that equips you with all the practical skills you need to enter the industry, so I signed-up.

If I could do the course at Dev Academy all over again, I would. It was an amazing learning experience and completely changed my career. Despite reports on the gruelling nature of the course, I was pleasantly surprised. The course was both enjoyable and hugely practical and it set me up well for my first role at Xero, where I continued to learn a tonne, and my recent move to Re-Leased.

Courtney O'Leary at the Re-Leased office in Napier | Photo: Grundy Productions

As a developer, my primary role is problem solving. This keeps my brain happy and the constant feedback loop from users makes it all the more satisfying. I love breaking big problems into smaller problems, whilst still working to keep the big picture in mind. However, the thing that really makes my job is the people. Cool people make you want to come to work and I have an amazing team in the development powerhouse at Re-Leased.

Anyone who enjoys problem solving, collaborating and working closely with other people should consider becoming a developer. You don't need a maths or physics background, a computer science degree or had to have built an app. Just some problem solving skills and a bit of determination. So what are you waiting for?

Are you based in the Hawkes Bay? If you're ready for a change, have a passion for learning and the tenacity to work hard - this is for you! Learn more about one student's experience of the online Bootcamp here.

Re-leased is a Property Tech company based in Napier, that will be providing a Dev Academy hub in their office for our next two intakes. There are four places each in both Aihe (30 August 2021 start) and Tohorā (8 November 2021 start) for students to join the online Bootcamp, based at the Re-leased hub.