Serena Bertozzi · Junior Frontend Engineer for the BBC

From Italy to London, to Tokyo and back: The journey of a content creator turned developer

• Serena Bertozzi

• Edinburgh, Scotland

• Started as a content creator on YouTube

• Completed 2 coding bootcamps

• Sent more than 300 applications to land her first job

Behind the scenes

I met Serena (LI: @serenabertozzi, IG: @cosy.dev) for the first time in 2022 while working for a civil engineering company called Mott MacDonald.

She’s this super positive person who will keep smiling even if she’s really struggling with something. I remember joining calls with her to help out, and she would be all enthusiastic about this problem that I knew she spent the last 3-4 days on. Other developers would have been banging their keyboards with fury by that point.

So Serena, what's your backstory?

Okay, so my background is really diverse because I've done so many jobs. My friend always jokes and says there should be a Barbie line for all the jobs that I've done. [Serena laughs]

But like I was a content creator/YouTuber for most of my 20s. And then I moved to London, and I knew that I didn't wanna do it anymore because I was doing it mostly for my Italian audience. And with the upcoming Brexit, it was going to be really hard to continue doing sponsorships and collaborations.

And also it was very... it seems like a very, very nice job from the outside, but from the inside it's hard. Especially because you have to sell yourself continuously, you know, and produce, produce. So I just wanted a life change.

What kind of content did you create?

My content was predominantly lifestyle and traveling. I started my YouTube channel when I was 20 and I lived in Japan. I was living in Japan and I wanted to have a diary about it.

And it became weirdly popular in a moment where being a YouTuber was more like a hobby for everyone.

It wasn't really considered a job, but then I found myself doing this and started doing some sponsorships. And yeah, that's what it was.

But after many years of traveling, I wanted to have a little more stability because traveling for work is not the same as going on a holiday. Being with a backpack every week can be fun for some years, but as you get towards your 30s, you just want to have a nice living room and play games.

How did you get into software development?

So the first job I got in London was still related to YouTube. But I was creating ideas more than content and it wasn't my channel anymore. But I kept doing my own YouTube channel as well. And while I was doing that, I joined a group in London called Codebar. They teach minorities such as women and LGBTQ+ communities how to code because they want to increase the presence of such minorities in the coding space.

I thought that was really interesting, and then during the pandemic, this Italian coding bootcamp reached out because they were doing massive campaigns with a lot of YouTubers. They said, can you do a video about us? And I was like, because I don't like to promote stuff that I haven't tried, I was like, yeah, but can I also join the bootcamp as a student and experience it?

And they said yes. So I was really lucky to do my first bootcamp for free.

At the end of the bootcamp, even though I studied PHP, I liked it so much that I decided to have a career change, basically.

What happened when you finished the bootcamp?

Okay, so I tried to find a job, but I didn't feel ready. Like, I didn't feel ready at all, especially because they teach PHP in this bootcamp. In Italy PHP is still a popular language, it's heavily used. But I was like yeah, I don't really want to work with PHP.

So I was so lucky, I feel like everything happened to me. Because the UK government just launched this program where they were giving pay tuition for bootcamps and I literally just finished my last one. So I applied, and I had to do different tests and send up many forms and I was like oh my god, I really, really hope I get this. And I did!

And so I did Makers Academy in London which was really good and really intensive. I have to say the experience was amazing.

First of all, I made great friends there who are now all developers. We still have an amazing friendship. At the same time, it gave me a lot of experience because they don't teach you directly, but they teach you how to learn by yourself, which is super interesting because you get the skills. Like if you don't know something, what do you do? And I think that's invaluable.

We had a lot of group projects as well. And at the end of the bootcamp, you ended up with a GitHub full of projects that you could show to your future employers.

Then when I graduated, I noticed a lot of companies in London, they knew Makers and they were like, okay, this position is a little bit more for an experienced person, but because you did Makers, we're still willing to give you a try for this. And I thought that was very good.

What did you do to get your first job after Makers?

Okay, so I love organizing and planning. In fact, I'm a heavy Notion user, or like I use iPad planners and things like that. So I remember I had my goal of applications I had to send every day.

So even though it was a Christmas break, I would send literally 30 to 50 applications every day.

Then in the mornings, I would either do some tech tests or work on my own projects or I would take katas and I would TDD them basically. So I divided my days into applications in the afternoon and learning in the morning.

Then, when the new year started, Makers would assist you in finding a job, but I already found my job because I've been doing all of this. So I was the first one in my bootcamp to find a job because I was so determined.

You must have sent like 300 applications

Yeah, it's not quality, it's quantity, I think. The funny thing is, the job I got, I didn't send an application for. I think I must have sent so many applications that somehow my CV ended up in my employer's hands for some magical universe reasons.

And yeah, they don't even know. It's so weird. They said they don't know how they got my CV. I was like, okay. I accept that. I accept it.

How many interviews did you have?

I think in total like eight or nine, but it was the holidays so a lot of companies were closed. As soon as the holidays were over, I got a lot of responses, but by that time I already had my job. I remember I had to say no to a couple of interviews.

Do you have any advice for someone doing an interview?

I think some interviews have to be your training grounds.

So that's why I applied to so many jobs. Even though I wasn't good for a job or a job wasn't what I wanted, I could still use the interview.

Especially if you're just starting out and you have zero experience, you have to do as many as you can and not get too attached to a job. Psychologically speaking, it’s a very hard process and you go through a lot of rejections. So you have to be a little bit detached emotionally from a job because you could put all of your hopes into it and then it might not happen.

What was your experience as a junior in your first job?

My first month was quite hard because I was the only one joining the company and I didn't have any senior to talk to. There was a senior from another team, but he was available just an hour a day. So I remember being completely lost for the first month.

I think it's normal, you know. As a junior, I wish I would be able to go to the office more often and like compare with or even just look at what my seniors are doing. I think it's helpful because sometimes you just review a PR, and you don't really know the thought process, like how it got there.

And I think the process is really important. So I wish there was maybe another way that wasn't just pair programming for juniors to witness what the seniors are doing. I guess just watching YouTube videos, but it's not always about the same things. They're not doing what you need to do.

What is the hardest thing you've ever learned?

The hardest thing… it's something I'm still trying to learn and it's not something technical. It's more like my approach to the job and because of who I am, it's not easy for me to ask for help. Sometimes I have in my mind like, well I have to do this myself or I'm not a good developer, you know, like I'm not good at my job, which is so silly.

Especially if you're a junior, you can't know everything.

Most of the knowledge comes from experience, but if you never experienced it, you're not supposed to know how to solve this straight away.

And it's such a mind battle I have with myself every time. So, that's it I think. Asking for help and asking questions. I guess in a way just the fact of being remote 100% doesn't really help because you have another barrier. You don’t just see someone and you're just like okay I'm gonna ask this person.

Do you think pair programming is useful as a junior?

Yeah, yeah, definitely. Because it's so easy to get lost. And then you have imposter syndrome, and you get an ache of working. You just don't want to feel like that. But when pair programming, not only do you get unblocked, but you can also make contributions and point out things that maybe your other colleague hasn't realized. And that builds confidence.

Do you have any advice for someone starting out?

A lot of people ask me this because I'm still talking about it on social media and they are like okay, should I join a bootcamp? I say before joining a bootcamp, and because bootcamps are quite expensive, just do some courses. There are a lot of free courses you can do online. It's just so easy to find.

Maybe go through that and join a community. I think doing this on your own is really hard because you can get lost easily and you might think it's not for you just because it's hard. But if you have other people you can talk to you'll see it’s not just you, but everybody goes through that, especially at the beginning.

So maybe try out a free course and join an online community.

Codebar does online sessions on Discord, and it's really good because they pair you with an experienced programmer who can help you learn whatever you want to learn.

Do you think a degree is necessary?

No, I don't think it is necessary, but I think it depends on what you want to do. It's helpful. That's why I started my computing and IT degree this year because I feel like I lack knowledge in some areas, like algorithms and data structures.

And I think if you then want to apply to certain companies, like let's say you want to work at Google or Amazon, having a degree would help in the selection process. So it's not necessary, but you know, it is good to have.

So I did it backward. I got a job first and now I'm doing uni. If you get to know me, you realize I don't like doing things the normal way. I'll always have to do it like the opposite.

What do you like the most about coding?

I think I like the learning experience. I like that it's not the same thing every day. My brain likes always having new things to learn, and new challenges. And I think that's what I like and what I was lacking, like for example, in my previous job, because I felt like, oh, I know everything about this and I don't really know how to improve any of my knowledge.

But with coding, there's always something I don't know and there's always something I could learn or I could improve on.

So it’s never boring. It's never just the same thing every day.

Where do you see yourself in the future as a developer?

That's a good question. Probably just like the more confident version of myself. And that I have like a better process for problem-solving. So I need to polish these skills. I'd also like to be of help to my colleagues as well. Being able to support them and not being the one who always gets supported.

Do you have a dream company? Someone you'd like to work for?

I do not at the moment. I remember I wanted to do something in fashion, like work for a fashion-related company, but there aren't many in Edinburgh right now. I could work remotely, but like I don't think I have a dream company. Maybe more like a dream salary [Serena laughs]

Are you still actively trying to grow your social media?

So right now I just started a new profile on my desk setup, which I use for work and gaming. And I decided to share there a little bit about my day and how I became a software developer.

A lot of my followers asked me about it, especially women, which I'm really happy about. Because it's like, oh, this is something I could do. How did you do it? And so I was like, yeah, I can make some content because there's definitely people who are interested in knowing.

If you could go back to that Christmas when you were searching for a job, would you say something to yourself?

I would say I know it looks impossible and I know it looks like you think you're not good enough for this, but you are.

And even though you don't feel like it, you will eventually be. Just show up and do the thing every day. Just keep doing it even if it doesn't feel like it's getting you anywhere.

---

That’s a wrap!
If you have any questions for Serena, reply in the comments below.

See you next time ❤️