The Ironhack Blog

So, you’re thinking about learning Data Analytics. Perhaps you’re just looking to pick up some new skills to help your day job, or maybe you’re a budding entrepreneur with dreams of building something for yourself. Or maybe you’re on the outside looking in, imagining what an amazing career in the tech industry might look like. Going back to college or university to start learning Data Analytics might sound like overkill-- especially when you can pick up new skills anytime, from any place. What better way to spend the summer than Learning From Anywhere? We’ve picked some of our best online masterclasses in Data Analytics so you can have a taste of bootcamp life, and get yourself ready for the adventure of a lifetime! We’ve also selected some great beginner resources to help you get started. Looking for something different? Whether you’re building apps in Bali or studying data from the comfort of your own sofa, we’ve got plenty to keep you busy and get your mind moving. Check out the rest of the Learn From Anywhere series: UX/UI Design Basics Cybersecurity Basics Web Development Basics Data Analytics Basics: The Masterclasses Grab yourself a coffee (iced, if you’re somewhere tropical) and dive into these beginner masterclasses. Give yourself the full bootcamp experience from the comfort of home or…wherever you are! Data Analytics 101: Python Programming Basics Python is one of the most popular languages among programmers for writing clear, logical code.  This free, interactive workshop will cover the basics of Python programming including objects, variables, and types. Python for Office: Automating Company Tasks How many times a week do you need to perform a repetitive task using tools like Powerpoint, Word, Excel, or email? In this video, we will take one of those examples and perform the automation of all the steps using Python. Machine Learning 101: Introduction to Decision Trees Interested in learning more about machine learning? Decision trees are one of the most popular machine learning algorithms. In this workshop, we’ll review some general concepts in machine learning, go over the main steps behind the decisions taken by the Decision trees algorithm, and show some use cases. The session will then follow up with a brief demo in Python. Machine Learning 101: No Code Concepts Interested in learning more about machine learning? In this webinar we’ll get a high-level view of machine learning domains and develop an understanding of the applications using very visual examples. We’ll cover examples of each type of ML domain, Supervised Regression, Supervised classification, and Clustering. Intro to Data Storytelling and Data Visualization with Tableau Learn the basics of Data Storytelling and a practical introduction to Tableau, the data-visualisation software, to help you build better insights. If you want to learn-by-doing, make sure you have Tableau installed. It’s free to try! Data Analytics Basics: Further Reading Don’t stop now! Your brain is buzzing and hungry for knowledge. Check out these great resources to keep you inspired and keep you learning. Find out how to tell compelling stories with data , and why it’s important that you do Get inspired by all of the cool ways that Data Analytics is changing the world Understand how to choose the right machine learning language Learn Data Analytics From Anywhere With A Remote Bootcamp These masterclasses are just a taste of what you can get done with Web Development. If there’s nothing that fuels your fire more than learning new skills, and you’re excited about becoming a part of the tech industry, check out our remote Data Analytics bootcamp ! While you're here, did you know that we wrote a whole eBook on becoming a digital nomad in tech? That's right! We did! Get your free copy for all the tips, tricks, inspiration, and non-nonsense advice.

How are you working on your professional abilities these days? Right now, everything is changing so fast. The skills you need to grow professionally are constantly changing, and fitting coursework into a busy schedule can be a challenge. Sometimes it makes more sense to get structured training and certifications to show off your skills, and remote learning is a great way to go. Going to school is time consuming and expensive, right? It doesn’t have to be. There are remote options that allow you to upskill on your own time . Since there are no brick and mortar establishments involved, you will get so much bang for your buck from wherever and whenever you want. We know it can seem like the only way to get ahead is enrolling in a full or part-time traditional in-person classroom, but with advancements in technology and lessons learned as work shifts to the home office, it’s definitely possible to get a quality education in a remote environment. There are some major benefits to keeping things remote. Here are some tips to make the most of it and continue your professional growth on your terms. Managing your time You are in charge of your time, which is priceless. When you enroll in a traditional, in-person learning experience, there are a lot of things that you’ll get to enjoy, but making your own schedule is not one of them. With remote learning, you have so many options when it comes to how you engage in your courses. You can watch recorded courses when it’s convenient for you, or you can join live events across time zones to match your schedule. Of course, part of this freedom and flexibility means you must be able to effectively manage your time. We suggest creating a weekly or monthly calendar for yourself , with dedicated blocks of time to focus on specific aspects of your professional development. It can be a hard habit to adopt, but without the structure of a schedule from a job or university, you may find yourself falling behind on your goals. Create the schedule for yourself and stick to it to make sure you keep moving forward. Time management is also critical for when you learn best. Whether you like to wake up early and knock your courses out of the way, or you’re a night owl who absorbs information best when the sun’s gone down, with remote classes you know you can find a group of people who learn in the same way. Plus, with remote, you get to connect with people all over the world. Setting up your workspace Remote learning might invite thoughts of sleeping in and watching videos passively while in your bed. Don’t do that! It’s really important to set up a work/study space that is devoted to the time you spend learning. Psychologically, if you work or study where you sleep, it will make it hard for your brain to separate work and rest, which leads to restless sleep and unfocused days! We suggest creating an office area somewhere in your home, or even choosing a local coffee shop or coworking space to create a clear boundary between work or study and relaxation. Don’t burn yourself out! Put on some music or a podcast that helps you concentrate and get down to business in your happy work space. Be sure to invest a little in a comfortable chair if you’re going to be at the computer for a long time, and set an alarm to remind yourself to get up and walk around throughout the day. We know it can be easy to get super into whatever you’re working on and time may fly, but physical movement is very important. Don’t get stuck at your desk. Connecting with your classmates We know socializing is a big part of going to school on campus. But online connections can be just as valuable, if not more. Imagine connecting with a classmate in Portugal or the United Kingdom during class, and going on to meet them in person when the course is completed! You’ll be networking with people all over the world, and the connections will allow you to make big bold moves when you’ve completed your studies. Ironhack bootcamps come with plenty of group and partnered tasks that will have you working closely with other Ironhackers who have a similar mindset to your own. Plus, when you attend an Ironhack bootcamp, the career enhancing skills you will learn are going to position you for international work. You’ll be training for the real world needs that come with the skills you’ll be acquiring. Tech jobs are increasingly remote, so studying remotely makes sense if this is the career track you want to pursue. Pick one thing and stick with it Focus, focus, focus! When learning remotely, focusing can sometimes be difficult. You may get distracted by friends and family, and life in general. With the freedom you’ll have schedule-wise, it can be very easy to try to take on a lot of new skills or projects. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking you can develop a solid understanding of one topic without putting in the time and dedicated effort. Unfortunately, that usually leads to nothing getting done well. We suggest you take on one main new project or skill at a time. That way you can truly master whatever it is you are studying. Then move on to the next thing. Basically, don’t try to learn data analytics, Korean, and the guitar all at once without prioritizing! Pick your battles or you’ll only end up getting confused, and probably won’t become an expert in any of the three. Focusing on a single main skill will help you retain information much more effectively! Give learning from anywhere a try! With just a few adjustments, you truly can learn important career-growing skills from anywhere in the world. If you can manage your time effectively and create a dedicated space for your learning and growth, you’ll be able to benefit from international colleagues and networks, and hone your focus. You will be taking a great step forward to building your career in the technology industry. Whether it is programming or design, there is definitely a masterclass for you. Just be sure to consider these tips to get the most out of your learning experience! Remember that you can always join an in-person bootcamp, but learning online is truly just as effective. Ironhack is guiding people who want to learn from on-demand masterclasses to upskill in the technology sector and land their dream job. Our Learn From Anywhere series is the perfect opportunity to take advantage of the online learning opportunity. Try out a series of online masterclasses that we’ve handpicked to introduce you to the tech world… from wherever you are! Whether you’re comfortably nestled in your own home, on your lunch break at work, or deep in the Amazonian rainforest (OK, maybe that one’s a stretch) pick up the fundamentals of: Web Development Data Analytics UX/UI Design Cybersecurity Or if you’re really committed, take the leap into tech with our fully remote tech bootcamps. Level up and land the job of your dreams. All you need is the Wifi and the will to try!

Technology has been making our lives easier for centuries. But art and creativity have always been at the heart of humans and with good reason: machines are incapable of feeling, choosing, inventing. Without personality, emotions, cultural context, political struggles... How could they create? And what for? In the 2000s, machines first entered the sphere of creating art as a medium. And for several months now, digital art has been making the most of the possibilities offered by AI and is now exploring the metaverse and NFTs. But it goes even further. Today, the development of sufficiently advanced artificial intelligence and other technologies, such as blockchain, make it possible for machines to create works of art from scratch . For the time being it still functions on human request, but for how long? So how does digital art interact with new technologies? Can an AI be creative? What is the future for art and the profession of artist? Let's dive into the most exciting and terrifying things about Web3. Web3 Refresher: What Is It Exactly? Web3, also known as the "decentralised Web," is a new generation of the Internet. Compared to the two previous ones, its key is data immersion and decentralisation. This version of the Internet was designed to repair the shortcomings of Web 1 and 2, which concentrated control of the Internet in the hands of a few companies. 3D will be at the heart of Web3's graphics as it will be focused on a virtual environment. The two most important pillars of Web3 are NFTs and metaverse; these two technologies will make a great deal possible, especially for brands that want to communicate with original and immersive content. What’s Happening to Art in Web3? Digital art and the metaverse were expected to meet. As early as 2004, the curator of the Whitney Museum in New York, Christiane Paul, distinguished between art that uses the digital as a mere tool for creation — for example, photography, printing or music  — and art that uses the digital as a medium in its own right. This form of art suggests that the digital, in the broadest sense of the term, becomes the material for the creation, transformation and/or functioning of a work. So, as soon as new possibilities open up (to host, sell or even create digital art), it rushes in. Hosting Art In The Metaverse Since the idea of this new Internet is to further immerse Internet users , the role of the metaverse is central. This new technology invented by Mark Zuckerberg's company (renamed Meta for the occasion), is a virtual universe in which people can interact with the environment and other users. It can be virtual or augmented and immerses users in a stimulating experience. It's a bit like the "Matrix" or the parallel universe experienced by Di Caprio's character in Christopher Nolan's "Inception." What is revolutionary and new in the art world is that established artists are taking on this new space while playing with the medium by constructing digital art pieces made for it. For instance, at this summer's edition of Art Basel, German artist Albert Oehlen presented his augmented reality avatar in the metaverse. This parallel space seems to be a new playground for digital art, a new branch of art established in the 2000s. Buying Stuff — And Art — Through NFTs Thanks to the NFTs, the mechanics of acquiring and owning digital works has reached a new level. What exactly are NFTs? This acronym, which stands for "non-fungible token," refers to a good or asset that can be exchanged for another good or asset of equal value. So it's no surprise that some well-known NFTs are crypto-currencies (e.g. bitcoin), since they are easily exchangeable. But we are also talking about works of art (digital art, films, music...) or digital products (for the record, the first SMS and the first Wikipedia page in history were sold as NFTs). When you buy an NFT, you become its sole owner and you also receive a certificate of authenticity. To prove the uniqueness of an NFT, it must be digitised and registered on the blockchain. Once digitised on the blockchain, the history of a work (purchases, resales, date of creation, name of creator, etc.) is recorded forever. This is why auction houses specialising in art, such as Christie's or Sotheby's, have adopted the technology behind NFTs. Jeff Koons, one of the most prominent American artists in recent years, has pioneered the interaction of his work with the metaverse and NFTs. Moon Phases , a 2022 creation, was composed both of physical sculptures that he sold as NFTs and placed on the moon (in the metaverse). Creating New Kinds Of Artworks With IA Now, the two previous examples were peripheral to human-made art. But what if art was actually created by a machine? This is exactly what is happening thanks to new software, which allows digital art to be created via artificial intelligence. This is the case with tools like DALL-E 2 , Craiyon , Disco Diffusion and the young Google Imagen . How does it work? You describe what you want to create. For example, Donald Trump as a bagel. Or a drowning gorilla plane, Claude Monnet style. Or Sleeping Beauty's castle in horror movie style. Are you still with me? AI is unique in that it can create intersections and synergies between things that have absolutely nothing to do with each other; it can quite naturally make mixtures that a human would not imagine or picture. AI has no historical or cultural background and no personal limitations; it does what it is told to do (for now). As John Mauriello, YouTuber on the By Design channel, states, “ this technology is like a distortion portal that reinterprets all the human experience and shows you a new world." So, what does it look like? I’ve tested Midjourney for you. Sunshine on the street at the parade, psychedelic A drowning gorilla plane, Claude Monnet style Paris Hilton in the style of Caravage Bagel Donald Trump Sleeping Beauty’s Castle in a Horror Movie Big Bang in the style of Joan Miro A crying antdog An animal that does not exist (original and 2 upscaled versions) A funny joke. Quite poetic this one! Several schooners flying underwater Vintage theme underwater Iceberg dark logo The Big Question: Can AI Learn to Be Creative? In the future, will works created by artificial intelligence and works by human artists be sold at the same price? Will there be a need for a dedicated property rights and what status would these works have? These are the questions we will have to ask ourselves if artificial intelligence continues gaining importance. It is clear that it is capable of learning. John Mauriello explains: “ I’ve dedicated my whole professional life creating designs. This IA created created more designs that I could do in several weeks. Now, to be fair, a lot of these designs are not finished concepts. (...) A lot of them probably could not even be manufactured. But if I wanted to get anything even close to this level of quality a year ago, it would have taken probably 100 times more time. (...) The fact that’s is this good that early tells me it’s going to be a revolutionary concept." The question remains: an AI can improve its algorithm, becoming faster, more precise, more relevant. But can it be creative ? In the opinion of Arvind Krishna, Senior Vice President of Hybrid Cloud and Director of IBM Research, we are still a long way off. “ Teaching AI what’s melodic or beautiful is a challenge of a different kind since it is more subjective, but likely can be achieved. You can give AI a bunch of training data that says, ‘I consider this beautiful. I don’t consider this beautiful.’ And even though the concept of beauty may differ among humans, I believe the computer will be able to find a good range. Now, if you ask it to create something beautiful from scratch, I think that’s certainly a more distant and challenging frontier. ” To sharpen her eye for art, but not to become an artist in her own right. And that is to be expected. Indeed, if we ask ourselves what makes up the substance of art , we notice elements that could a priori be compatible with creation by an AI (a touch, a technique...) but also other elements that are just as important, if not more so, that are specific to the artist's personality and choices. Their experience, sensitivity, the angle chosen, what they want to convey at any given moment. A work of art is also an evolving process: unlike the work of an AI which would have a beginning, an end and a mechanical pre-constructed process to get there, an artist iterates on a work of art, whose creation takes the form of meanders, with sometimes, according to the artist, a good dose of improvisation, errors, changes, forced compromises... And this is what makes the work unique and sometimes spectacular, touching, impressive, rough or shocking. The Future of the Arts Let's start by saying that AI will only be able to create digital art, music and film for the time being. The day we connect AIs with machines capable of automating the creation of sculptures, paintings or automating the movements of mannequins and sets to perform their own play, this will become a global issue. For now, AI brings both opportunities and risks for digital art, music and film, which must be contained. With its ability to improve so much faster than humans and to bridge seemingly unrelated objects, AI can be a tremendous source of creativity for artists. A kind of infinite reservoir of surreal ideas, to stimulate human creativity. Marcus de Sautoy, author of The Creativity Code , believes that artificial intelligence is indeed more likely to emerge as a collaborator than a competitor . In the opinion of this Harvard mathematics professor, one part of the art market will remain unchanged, while another will use this new tool to open up its creative possibilities, just as the camera or camcorder was once seized upon. An opinion shared by Mario Kligemann, a visual artist: “ As an artist, on the one hand, you want control over your work. But at the same time, you also want interesting accidents to happen. Using AI allows me to find the right balance between the two." And while a UK study has shown that artists' jobs won't be affected by the existence of AI, the technology is likely to raise issues that will require legislation in the medium term. An AI was able to create an original song in the same style and with her exact vocal pitch by listening to Ella Fitzgerald's discography. While specialists have doubts about the ability of this piece to become a new jazz standard, it does raise questions about the ability of an AI to industrialise the copying of original visual, musical and cinematographic creations, at low cost and on an industrial scale. Will the sale of these works be banned? Should their creation be restricted? Might we introduce a notion of plagiarism via AI? Only time will tell.

You’ve heard of the allure of study abroad, but do you know what it can do for you? While it may be hard to sum up all the advantages of studying abroad, the main points to consider can be grouped into the following three categories: social, educational, and professional. Curious? Here’s everything you need to know: Social Benefits of Studying Abroad Culture This might be the most obvious advantage: learning about a new culture. And although obvious, it’s crucial. There’s nothing like a complete cultural immersion to open your eyes to new experiences, different realities, and things you’ve maybe never considered before. Taking in a culture first-hand for an extended period of time will help you both connect deeper with your culture and learn more about surrounding ones. Friends Moving abroad, even just to study, may seem daunting at first, but there will always be others in your shoes. Studying abroad is the perfect opportunity to get out of your comfort zone and meet new people; there’s nothing like common experiences to bring people together. If you’re concerned about meeting new people, check out expat or student groups on social media before you leave to get a head start on making connections. Discovering new things There’s something to be said for the chance to be surrounded by new things: food, people, customs, traditions, and much more. When you study abroad, the world is your oyster and it’s up to you to make the most of the experience. Live a little and say yes to new things - you never know what you’ll discover! Educational Benefits of Studying Abroad Language The majority of students studying abroad will have the chance to improve their skills and pick up a new language. There is no better way to connect with a new culture than by speaking a language. Learn what you can and make an effort to talk to locals; even a few words can go a long way. As the world becomes increasingly globalized, the importance of multilingual employees is skyrocketing. If you’re studying abroad in a country that speaks your native language, don’t worry! There are ways to still connect with locals. Try to learn local slang and engage in traditions. Or make friends with other exchange students: you can learn from them too! Opening your mind Learning doesn’t just happen in the classroom; there’s nothing like regularly interacting with people with different backgrounds to help you open your mind, think in new ways, and consider new perspectives. And you never know: you may learn a new way of handling a tough problem or a new tool that will transform your learning process. Independence If you ask any study abroad alum about their time abroad, there will definitely be an anecdote about getting lost, trying to navigate a new school system, or having to look in six supermarkets just to find one specific thing. And there’s a reason for that: studying abroad will help you learn how to problem solve effectively in complex situations. Professional Benefits of Studying Abroad Soft skills It goes without saying that studying abroad helps your professional career, but do you know how? Studying abroad is associated with the following soft skills that are essential for careers in tech: communication, problem-solving, teamwork, confidence, and time management . And that’s not even mentioning the increasing importance placed on cultural sensitivity, a global perspective, intercultural communication and global awareness. Your CV 85% of employees look for candidates with international competence ; adding a study abroad experience to your CV could be the reason you get your dream job. The soft skills we just mentioned are key for a wide range of positions and employers are on the lookout for candidates that demonstrate an ability to adapt to new situations, work with people of diverse backgrounds and cultures and, most importantly, are up for a new challenge. Multi-sector needs Employers are no longer looking for candidates to fill just one role; the most attractive candidates can support in various fields, have a wide range of experiences and can use their diverse backgrounds to provide the team with innovative solutions. Combine the soft skills gained from studying abroad with your hard tech skills that you learn in your course and you’ll become the ideal choice for a wide range of companies and roles. Studying Tech Abroad Tech and similar fields have long been associated with the inability to study abroad due to the technical language and intense study times. At Ironhack, however, we’re committed to providing you with the necessary tools to both launch your career in tech and have that valued study abroad experience . Here are some of the main benefits of studying abroad with Ironhack: Remote programs : with the option of remote courses, you’re unstoppable. Our remote courses are designed for those who can’t make it to campus everyday - for whatever reason. Flexible learning programs: choose from part-time or full-time options Part-time: looking to get away for a longer period of time and fully explore your new city? Our part-time option is for you. Full-time : only have a short window you can dedicate to your course? All you need is 9 weeks to make your tech career a reality. Worldwide campuses: with 10 campuses across three continents, Ironhack’s bootcamps offer you both an intensive education and unbeatable experiences. Study Abroad with Ironhack At Ironhack, we offer wide range of locations across the globe: no matter your preference, you’ll find the perfect place to study: Madrid, Spain : take web development, data analytics, UX/UI design or cybersecurity courses in the heart of Madrid while taking advantage of the Spanish capital’s growing economy that hosts many start-ups. Barcelona, Spain : offering the same courses as in Madrid, head to sunny Barcelona where big name start-ups are based to kickstart your tech career. Berlin, Germany : Germany’s tech-friendly economy is on the rise; did you know that it’s the biggest start-up hub in Europe? Berlin is the place to be. Paris, France : head to the city of love to find your new passion: tech. Our home in the 11th arrondissement is the perfect place to get into tech. Miami, USA : With close to $1 billion raised last year in venture funding, Miami is the ideal place to get into the US tech market with courses in web development, UX/UI design, and data analytics. São Paulo, Brazil : located in the heart of this bustling Brazilian city, Ironhack São Paulo is here to help you get your start in the Latin American tech market. Mexico City, Mexico : with a unique connection to both the American and Latin American markets, studying tech at our Mexico City campus is your key to success. Amsterdam, the Netherlands : our unique hybrid method in Amsterdam allows you to learn remotely and collaborate in person, letting you learn on your own while still benefiting from making connections in this bustling city. London, UK : connect with locals while studying remotely in London; with a wide range of student events and support, you’ll get the full Ironhack experience in an incredible city. Lisbon, Portugal : Portugal is one of the most popular locations for those looking to get into tech, thanks to the availability of visas for entrepreneurs. Ready to make your tech and travel dreams come true? Click here to apply to one of Ironhack’s tech bootcamps today.

Are you a user experience (UX) designer? Then, you have almost certainly come across the term “information architecture” at least once during your professional career. And if you think that aspects such as information and data architecture are not necessarily going to involve you directly, you might need to think again. In our guide below, we will be delving deeper into the world of information architecture, its role within the user experience, and why you should definitely pay attention to it. What Is Information Architecture? To understand what information architecture is, it can be helpful to focus first on the term “architecture”. In construction and engineering, architecture describes all the processes involved in the planning, designing, and sketching of a building. Now, simply apply this concept to technology. Information architecture refers to the planning, designing, and sketching of data and information within a digital environment. Common examples of these digital products include websites and apps. Information architects, therefore, are tasked with working out how to best structure the content of that digital environment to enable users to find the information they need quickly and easily. This could be aided by using information management software . Image Sourced from Finances online Information Architecture and User Experience: Two Sides of the Same Coin? At this point, you might think that information architecture is pretty much the same thing as user experience. This, though, is incorrect, as we are going to find out in this section. As a user experience expert, you are routinely involved with processes that are aimed at making an online user’s journey on a specific web page or app as smooth, pleasant, and valuable as possible. Whether you are working on a mobile game app, or on something used by professionals such as digital signature software , your goals as a UX designer will revolve around ensuring that the person using that digital product can do so in a way that truly enriches their life and addresses a specific need. Things you will be focusing on are the usability, friendliness, and emotional enjoyment that users gain from that product – not just the way the product’s content is structured. Going back to the construction and engineering parallel that we drew earlier, we could say that, if an information architect is the digital equivalent of an architect, a UX designer is the digital equivalent of an interior designer. Information architects help lay the foundation for a digital product that needs to be ordered, well-structured, and informative. A user experience designer, on the other hand, takes that well-structured digital product and adds some finishing touches that can help users fall in love with the product itself. It's also important to remember that UX designers are not the same as web designers or web developers . The latter category, in fact, works on software programs to develop internet applications through a client-server model. The Importance of Information Architecture in UX So, now that we know exactly what UX and IA are, and what their main differences are, you might finally want to find out why information architecture is so crucial to the user experience. The reasons are many. One of the most significant ones is customer retention. With the average human attention span shrinking further and further over time, experts have calculated that you only have a maximum of 8 seconds to make a good impression on an online user who visits your website or app. If during that incredibly short timeframe, you don’t provide what the user is expecting, they will swiftly move on to one of your competitors. Therefore, solid information architecture is crucial to creating a user experience that is positive, engaging, and enriching. Digital content that is not only compelling and interesting but also easy to find, read, and digest is what can help you win against your rivals. On the other hand, even the most exciting type of content that’s not presented in a way that’s clear, organized, and well-structured can rapidly turn into an epic flop. Content that loads too slowly, doesn’t load fully, or is difficult to find or understand requires the prompt intervention of a capable user architect who can sift through the chaos and restore order and meaning. Let’s imagine, for example, that you are a user experience designer working on the content for a company selling voice over internet phone systems . The company’s likely clients – or potential ones – are going to be busy businesspeople with little time (and patience!) on their hands. This means that the content on that web page must be to-the-point and informative, but also straightforward to find, quick to access, and easy to remember. You may wish to consider developing SaaS roadmaps so you can connect managers directly with users and share what you have been working on. The Takeaway UX design is not always associated with information architecture. This, though, is a mistake, as our guide has demonstrated. If you truly want your digital product to hit the mark, in fact, you need content and information that is both valuable and compelling, as well as well-structured, organized, and quick and easy to find. This is exactly why combining a solid information architecture with a great user experience is a winning choice, whether you are working on a website for interactive voice response (IVR) systems , an e-commerce store, a tech product, or anything else. By doing so, you can attract more users, retain them, and get them to come back to you for more. About the Author: Jenna Bunnell - Senior Manager, Content Marketing, Dialpad Jenna Bunnell is the Senior Manager for Content Marketing at Dialpad, an AI-incorporated cloud-hosted unified communications system that provides valuable call details for sales representatives and business owners running an outbound contact center with Dialpad . She is driven and passionate about communicating a brand’s design sensibility and visualizing how content can be presented in creative and comprehensive ways. Jenna has written for other domains such as MacSecurity and CEO Blog Nation . Here is her LinkedIn .

If you're thinking of starting your new life as a Digital Nomad, we've made a new book for you! In partnership with Tropicfeel (the experts in gearing up for adventure), we're excited to bring you... Wild Tech: Becoming a Digital Nomad This is an all-you-need-to-know guide on taking your remote job on the road, finding work-life-adventure balance, and building a life you life. It's totally free - because we're just that nice - but if you're not ready to hit download, here you'll find the first chapter and a sneak peak of what's inside... Starting the Digital Nomad Journey There are two kinds of people who dream of becoming a digital nomad. There are the ones who have all of their backpack options bookmarked months in advance, carefully weighing up the pros and cons of each. They’ve got a shelf (digital or otherwise) full of guidebooks for all of the amazing places they want to see. They’ve already joined online communities and started chatting to locals and other fellow travelers. Theirs is a world of to-do lists, itineraries, and reservations. Then there are the more ‘by the seat of your pants’ digital nomads. They’ve got nothing but a one-way ticket and a thirst for adventure. (And hopefully, y’know, a job !) Whichever type of aspiring digital nomad you are, whether you’re someone that has every detail planned to a tee or you’re working with nothing but a hope and a dream, we made this book for you. Why Digital Nomadism? Why Tech? At Ironhack, we’re inspired by our community of career changers. People who join us knowing that they want a job they love, and having the ambition and conviction to go out there and get one! So it’s natural that in this community of fearless career changers, we’ve got ourselves a few digital nomads. In fact, the tech industry at large is ripe with them! Thanks to the great shift to remote in 2020, the working world at large has seen a great reduction in presenteeism. This means that bosses no longer feel like they have to see you physically sitting in your chair at the office to know that you’re getting your work done. From 2020-2021 we the tech industry learned how to work remotely, with those who have been remote work champions from Day 1 leading the way. In tech, all kinds of roles discovered that they could work from home quite easily. Digital tools and video conferencing recreating the office experience without having to factor in commute times, forgetting your lunch, and not being able to take lunchtime naps. Web developers, designers, data professionals, product managers, tech leads, digital marketers…the whole tech team managed to stay at home whilst getting their jobs done. Then in 2022, we got the summer of revenge travel. As countries opened their borders to tourists, many remote workers decided to take their jobs abroad, alongside the horde of regular tourists! Some of them took short ‘workations’ as they came to be known. Others launched full digital nomad lives, packing up everything they own for a life on the road. Digital nomads have been a popular topic for years, but now they’re experiencing a kind of renaissance. Do you want in on it? Why this book? You don’t have to fall into the latter camp to be a digital nomad in tech. If you prefer to call yourself location-independent, just taking a trip, or going full DN, we applaud your adventurousness! This book is for you if you’re… …just starting to dream about becoming a digital nomad …planning your first ever workation to test the waters …looking to take your current remote job to a new country …looking to apply to a new remote job ….already on your way and looking for something to read on the plane! What Else is Inside? 🏝 Reaping The Benefits of Remote Work in Tech by Valentina Thörner At the heart of digital nomadism is a much broader topic…remote work. Before you start your journey, you need to understand the benefits of remote work (to make sure you’re taking advantage of them all!) In this chapter Valentina Thörner, an expert at Remote-How, will take you through the highs and lows of remote work to help you make sure you’re doing it right! 🔧 Web Development on the Road: Traveling While You Work by Dan Parry Building a digital nomad lifestyle is an amazing adventure, but it does come with a few challenges. And we know from experience that the best way to learn is from people who have been there, done that. For this chapter, we spoke to Dan Parry, a Product Manager and Developer Relations Engineer. Dan has a long history of digital nomadism, and relocating for a remote work life. Now he’s bringing his five year experience of successfully combining work and travel to show you how it’s done. 😱 Tackling The ‘What Ifs’ of Digital Nomad Life by Rowena Hennigan Rowena Hennigan is an expert in remote work and digital nomadism. A speaker, professor and a globally acclaimed expert in the digital nomadism area, she has recently launched a successful LinkedIn Learning course on “ Becoming a Digital Nomad ”. Rowena is a long-tested digital nomad, and has lived in over 60 countries over the past 30 years. Her impressive nomadic career (she moves around with family in tow!) provide us with a treasure trove of tried-and-tested tactics! 🎓 Learning On The Go: How to Study as a Digital Nomad To grow, we need to always be learning. And that’s especially true in tech, as every day seems to bring a new innovation or methodology to learn. With the rise of remote learning, especially remote tech bootcamps, fitting education into a busy schedule is easier than you think. You just need to set yourself up for success. “But how do I fit study around work and play?” This chapter is all about how to throw studying into the mix, and carry on learning as a Digital Nomad. 🎨 Life as a Remote UX/UI Designer by Yasemin Acar Here’s another take on digital nomad life, from a different perspective. Remember the more you can research the lifestyle, and gain tips and tricks before you start out, the better. Yasemin Acar is a UX/UI designer (and Ironhack graduate!) working and living as a digital nomad. Currently in Berlin, she was a project manager in the pharmaceutical industry, but during the Covid pandemic she decided to completely change her career. She wisely joined an Ironhack bootcamp and today she is working for an agency in a fully remote position as a UX/UI designer. 🌎 Networking and Finding Communities Abroad by Cassandra Le Cassandra Le has been working and traveling for five years in countries like the United States, Argentina, Colombia, Chile and Spain, where she is at the moment. She’s in the city of Toledo, a historic city outside of Madrid, it is full of culture. However, it’s not necessarily a digital nomad hub. So building a digital nomad life in a city that isn’t a tech hub can be a challenge. After living for three years in Madrid, Cassandra finds Toledo a little more relaxed, and she tends to interact more with the local community as opposed to the tech/digital nomad community. In this chapter, Cassandra is going to help you re-define what being a Digital Nomad means to you, and help you figure out your own way of making it work. ✈️ Leaping Into Remote Life by Juliana Rabbi Juliana Rabbi is a recruiter-turned-career coach. After working for over 15 years as a recruiter and part of the human resources teams in multinational corporations all over the world, she has been working remotely for the past 8+ years and now helps professionals to create a career and a lifestyle that makes them happier. 🎁 The Digital Nomad’s Toolkit In this final chapter, we'll help you understand where to go, where to stay, what to take, and which tools to use. We'll also give you some top tips straight from Team Ironhack! So what are you waiting for? Your Digital Nomad life awaits! Grab your free copy right here .

Mistakes happen all the time . So why do they feel so horrible? Does it really have to be this way? Here is a mini guide to getting out of your mistakes and even making something of them. You will see that you can come out of a mistake unscathed, and even learn useful things for your work. Let’s get started. You’ve Just Made Your First Mistake! What Now? The package has just arrived. You open it in a hurry, eager to see the beautiful mugs and water bottles with the company logo for the new employees. And then you realise that you forgot to send the new logo and the rebranding colour to the printer. There are 500 goodies, the entire remaining budget for the year is gone and you have to tell your boss about the mistake. Ready to faint, you sweat profusely and lose your tongue. What should you do? At the coffee machine, you tell your story to your fellow developer. She tells you that she made a code error that broke the JavaScript infrastructure of one of your clients, who hasn't realized it yet, and that she can't fix her mistake. You both realise that mistakes (even those with serious consequences) can happen to anyone. Really anyone! You put it into perspective by saying to yourselves that you do not work in a hospital or in a nuclear power plant cooling area. Taking a step back and staying calm is the first step in dealing with a mistake , no matter how big or small. Take a deep breath and put your brain in solution mode . What can you do to fix the problem? If you acknowledge your mistake and come up with a solution at the same time, your boss shouldn't hold it against you for long. Why It’s Important Not to Hide Your Mistakes To confess or not to confess, that is the question... This Shakespearean dilemma is in fact not one at all. Like a boomerang, your little or big lie may come back in your face if you cover up your blunder. You will live with a sword of Damocles hanging over your head, you don't want that, do you? So get up the courage to tell your bosses everything. How do you phrase it in the most appropriate way? - Explain clearly and ask for help. ➤ "I made a mistake and I'd like to tell you about it so that you know about it and we can fix it together. - Say that you are coming with both the problem and the solution. ➤ "It's embarrassing, but I'm going to give you two ways I've thought of to fix my mistake. - Summarise the mistake. ➤ "In short, I... it had these consequences... etc". - Elaborate in a concise but precise manner, providing only the important details. - Propose the solution(s) you have thought of. - Be humble, calm and listen to your boss's reactions. You can say you are sorry or explain where the mistake came from, without trying too hard to clear your name or justify it. This posture will surely make your boss more empathetic! Good Companies Let You Make Mistakes Good companies and good leaders know that mistakes are part of the process. But they have their limits, and you have to make mistakes in the right way… Here are three tips that will help you make mistakes with panache and to make the most of your mistakes (for yourself and others). Own up to it The stress of being wrong can lead anyone to be defensive, self-justifying or even unfaithful or aggressive. Avoid these common parts and assume your mistakes with a clear head and composure. This mature attitude will make you a much more trustworthy professional. Your bosses will also feel more reassured that you are taking responsibility and keeping a cool head. This will be a much better basis for the discussion you will have about how to fix what you did. Don’t Make the Same Mistake Twice The key to successful mistake-making is to show that you learn from them. One of my bosses used to say that I could make as many mistakes as I wanted but never in the same way. And he was right. To err is human and some mistakes are inevitable. But the important thing is to understand how they came about and why, so that you don't fall for them again. If we take the two examples given at the beginning of this article, drawing up a checklist before sending a brief to the printer will ensure that next time you do not forget the graphic elements. Similarly, the developer can rely on experienced colleagues to sort out the bug at the client's premises and set up a team to ensure that this does not happen again. Here are three tried and tested tips to show that you learn from your mistakes: - Adjust the process that led you to a mistake to ensure you don't make it again. - Train yourself on what you didn't know how to do that made you go wrong. - Share the reasons for the failure with your colleagues to avoid the same unfortunate situation for others! Run a post-mortem In fact, sharing what you have learned by making mistakes is important at the company level. It does several things: - Let everyone understand how the mistake happened. Was it fatigue? Was it a moment of inattention? Were the company records confusing? - For the team to draw up a plan to ensure that the mistake does not happen again in the future. There are several ways to do this: - Simply a note by email or on a corporate social network channel (Slack...) - On the company's internal documentation, for example by creating a Notion sub-page on a project - At a meeting where you are given a small amount of time to talk about the subject - By giving a mini conference in front of colleagues during lunch break, if it was a very big mistake. Talking about your mistake to your team or even the whole company is impressive the first time. But it is the professionals with the most distance who do it best. It is therefore an indisputable mark of professional maturity. And if you can believe our long experience with dumplings at work, it will only make you more respectable in the long run. In a nutshell It's a bit of a vicious circle... We make more mistakes when we are stressed at work, but admitting them puts a lot of pressure on us. Owning up to mistakes is the best solution to make the office climate more conducive to a calmer way of working. We hope these tips will help you grow in your handling of mistakes, big or small.

The internet is evolving, and fast. On the web as we currently know it, information is stored on servers, which we can read on our computers. Today, we're moving towards a new type of internet called Web3; where data is decentralized and stored in many different places. From small startups to tech giants, a growing number of companies are investing in Web3, blockchain, and cryptocurrency — and are looking to hire skilled professionals to drive these exciting new technologies forward. But what does a career in Web3 actually entail? And how do you get started? In this blog post, we’ll explore what a career in Web3 really looks like: From what kind of jobs are available, to the skills you need to break into this emerging and innovative field. Let’s dive in! H2: What Kind of Jobs Are There in Web3? Web3 is an emerging space, with the scope for some really exciting and specialized roles in the future. But there are also multiple well-established entry-level Web3 roles; which include tech disciplines like software engineering, web development, community management, data analytics, and design. To give you a sense of what’s out there, we’ve pulled some examples of existing roles from a Web3 job board . Backend engineer @ Kodex UX/UI product designer @ Obol Data Analyst @ P2P.org What Kind of Companies Are Investing in Web3? The next generation of internet technology is happening right now. New, innovative companies are populating the space to create pioneering products and services that will change how we interact with the web. According to 101 Blockchain , the The web3 market could reach a total value of almost $81.5 billion by 2030 — making it a lucrative investment for companies across multiple industries, including finance , healthcare , and government services . Web3 companies are mostly startups, but there are also blockchain projects within larger companies (such as IBM and Twitter ). Most of these companies are working on infrastructure or tools for decentralized systems like Ethereum. Some examples of web3-specific companies include: ConsenSys ; a company offering consulting services, as well as development teams, focused on building applications on Ethereum's platform; and Melonport ; a Swiss startup who aim to create an autonomous community where individuals can manage their digital assets without intermediaries. Among the growing number of companies foraying into Web3 are tech giants like Twitter and Instagram , as well as FinTech companies in the crypto currency space (like PayPal and Alchamy ). Is Web3 Hard to Get Into? As a newcomer to Web3, you’ll be joining thousands of talented professionals seeking to help shape this new technological landscape. But before you do, you might be wondering how hard it is to break into the space. So, is Web3 hard to get into? Well, yes and no. As a new space, there are far fewer ‘guarantees’ than you’ll find in other digital discplines. It’s still unclear what long-term career progression looks like in Web3, as the workforce is technically still being formed. As so many Web3 and blockchain products are still being built, the baseline requirements for entry-level Web3 professionals can vary massively depending on the industry. On the plus side, joining Web3 as one of the early professional cohorts makes the Web3 job market a lot less competitive than other tech disciplines. You’ll be up against fewer candidates for Web3 roles, which means a higher chance of finding a job quickly and more leverage to negotiate a higher salary. Learning Web3 skills also demonstrates a commitment to staking your claim in this rapidly-growing space — which is bound to give you the edge you need when it comes to landing your first role. What Skills Will Web3 Professionals Need? Web3 is a complex and multidiscplinary field which requires a lot of problem-solving and analytics. Entry-level Web3 professionals are expected to be proficient in a wide range of technical skills, including: Front-end development. This includes frontend programming languages like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript — as well as object-oriented programming, DOM manipulation, version control, and ReactJS. Back-end technologies. You’ll need to know how to create a MERN stack application, set up a NoSQL server, and use ExpressJS, NodeJS to create and deploy robust applications. Blockchain and cryptography. Web3 professionals need to be well-versed in the blockchain trilemma and how hash functions, digital signatures and proof of work and proof of stake consensus mechanisms function in practice. Etherium, smart contracts, and token standards. You’ll a working knowledge of smart contract development, Solidity and the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) through writing and testing smart contracts. Decentralized applications (dApp) development and tooling . Understanding how to develop and deploy dApps using front-end libraries such as ethers.js and web3.js. For complete beginners, this list might seem overwhelming — and even intimidating. Worry not! Beginner-friendly courses like IronHack’s soon to be launched Web3 bootcamp will see you learn all the skills needed to forge a career in Web3 — as well as benefitting from tailored career support to help you land your first role. Sign up now to be the first to hear when spaces are available! What Makes a Good Career? Web3 isn’t just a hyped-up buzzword: It’s already a well-established space with limitless potential to transform the way we use the web, forever. With a growing number of big tech companies recognizing the value of Web3, it’s safe to say the field is here to stay — and the demand for forward-thinking Web3 professionals is only set to climb. Web3 might be fertile ground for a new career opportunities, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the right career path for you. High salaries, remote work, interesting projects, a future-proofed career, and other compelling factors might all sound good on paper — but in order to do the job day in day out, you need to feel passionate about the work. In the absence of a crystal ball, you might be wondering how to figure out what career path is right for you. We’ve come up with a resource to help you along your way, with our Career Vision Planner . Check it out!

70% . This is the proportion of recruiters who start their search for talent through their network. 40% of jobs in total would never be published, because they are filled in the so-called "hidden job market", since they can only be accessed by... networking. In his book Find the right job thanks to networking, Hervé Bommelaer writes: “ 75% of the hiring of senior managers is done through the network (...). The higher one is placed in the hierarchy and especially the more one advances in experience and age, the more this percentage increases. However, many of them rush to online advertisements, which account for only 20% of available jobs, or to headhunting, which places only 5% of managers in employment”. 20% of jobseekers only are actively networking. So, what is networking? How can you get the ball rolling and, above all, maintain your network on a daily basis to boost your career? Here are some tried and tested tips. Networking And String-pulling: What’s The Difference? If you think it's the same thing, we're sorry to say that you haven't (yet) understood anything about networking. String pulling happens when you put someone in a position. It is an act of authority that often has little to do with the suitability of the profile to a position or the hard skills or human qualities of the person. String-pulling is becoming increasingly rare, as recruiters have an interest in seeing the graft take hold. Moreover, for a high-level position, you need to have a very long arm to succeed in imposing someone. The network allows you to have access to hidden offers and sometimes to be recommended. Is this recommendation string-pulling? No, because we only recommend this person if he or she fits the position, if we have complete confidence in him or her. It is not imposed: if another candidate is better, he or she will be recruited. It is therefore important to understand that when you substitute string-pulling for quality networking, you are showing bad faith, jealousy... With this important distinction out of the way, let's dive into the heart of the matter. What Does Networking Mean? Networking is simply the art of building, nurturing and activating your own network . The professional network is the set of peers, colleagues and acquaintances that you know and can contact in the course of your work. What is the purpose of this famous network? It is the keystone of a flourishing professional life. It serves both to : - Develop your knowledge, by learning from your peers or other people - Explore the hidden job market by accessing offers before they are published or to apply for a job by being recommended - Or, on the contrary, to recruit your future colleagues - Develop your business or freelance activity - Find new prospects and clients - Build partnerships - Select suppliers - Nurture your relationships, whether you are employed, self-employed, an entrepreneur or even, who knows, retired... because man is a social animal! In short, whatever our professional situation, the network is a powerful tool . But you have to know how to activate it and avoid its pitfalls, so you don’t play yourself in the eyes of its members. Networking: The Don’ts Let's get to the heart of the matter with the common mistakes made when networking. Remember them well to avoid leaving a bad impression and never being contacted again. In his book, Hervé B lists the mistakes made by beginners: Making contact when you are still angry or in mourning with your former company . You are looking backwards, fragile, and your contacts can feel it. Not being clear about your professional project and therefore not being able to communicate clearly about it. We are not ready, not credible... We don't give people the desire. Looking for a job at any price , quickly. But who is capable of finding a job for someone, especially if they don't know it well or at all? Reading this networking expert, one understands other common errors. In a nutshell: Networking is NOT a one-way street. For a network to work, you have to give as much as you get. If possible, before you receive. Breaking someone's trust by not keeping a promise or sending an untrusted peer. Networking: The Best Practices So how do you build and nurture your network effectively? 1. Respect the values of the network The key value of the network? T.R.U.S.T . I send Y to Z if I have full confidence in her or him and if I think he will bring something to the table. There is nothing worse than getting negative feedback on someone you have introduced to a contact. It undermines trust with your intro but also the person you sent it to! Trust is built around other values, such as mutual respect, courtesy, tact, generosity, reciprocity, loyalty and discretion. When meeting people, active listening, solidarity and empathy will make you not a network robot but a sensitive and solutions-oriented person with whom you can build strong relationships. 2. Build a crystal-clear professional project It cannot be repeated often enough, networking with a flawed project is ineffective and detrimental to your personal branding. You can use the network to validate your project . In this case, you contact professionals and tell them that you need their opinion to know if what you imagine for your career is viable. Once you have clearly defined what you want to do, apply these simple rules: Communicate about one project . Do you want to do different activities? Make sure they fit into a coherent whole that you can talk about in no more than 2 sentences. Keep it silly simple . Simplify your project and use simple, well-known job titles. The more complex you make it, the less likely you are to be memorable. Work on your elevator pitch . You should be able to communicate your project clearly in 10, 30 seconds and 1 minute. Work in front of a mirror, recording the audio on your phone. Show this pitch to your closest network before releasing it into the wild. 3. Be clear about your target Choosing means giving up. You will not be able to meet everyone. Don't risk going around in circles without a goal, ask yourself the right questions to meet the people who will help you advance professionally: What is the list of companies that interest me? Who should I meet in these companies? (Leave the HRs in peace!) Which person in my close network can help me access this second network and what can I bring to him or her in exchange? Think about : Creating a spreadsheet of your dream companies, prospects, contacts Forcing yourself to make one networking appointment per week Passing on job offers, articles, resources that may be of interest to others in a selfless way 4. Ask for what you can get: anything but a job! Save yourself a lot of loneliness and embarrassment from your interviewers, never ask for a job . Instead, ask for... Information (job, sector, market…) Advice, an opinion on a specific subject or your project’s validation Sharing hard-skills Contacts and intros Partnership ideas A profile on a specific vacancy Or simply connecting to learn about each other’s activities. If you are pertinent, respect the networking rules and don't allow yourself to beg for a job or a recommendation , it will probably come by itself. That’s the way it goes! 5. Keep in touch and say 'thank you’ Did you get an intro, info, reco? You might be tempted to forget to inform your initial contact. Wrong! He or she wants to know if the meeting was successful and to be thanked. It will take you 5 minutes, at the same time as you do the follow-up with your new contact (to say thank you for his or her time and send the resources mentioned) to send a little note to the person who made the introduction. You can, depending on your level of familiarity, do this by email or LinkedIn message, by SMS or Whats'App, or even pick up the phone. "Hi Y, thanks again for connecting with Z. You hit the nail on the head, we found plenty of synergies! Don't hesitate if I can return the favour. I hope we can chat / have lunch / coffee soon". Why is this crucial? This completes your networking, gives you an additional opportunity to connect with that person and will leave them with an even better opinion of you. Where Does Networking Happen IRL? Networking can take many forms. In person, it can take place: In the office, in a coworking space, in an incubator In a café, in a restaurant At a recruitment event At a professional event (conference, etc) At events specifically dedicated to networking, for example within a school alumni network Woody Allen once said what he thought he owed his success to: 'I showed up'. Don't underestimate the power of the IRL meeting. Where Does Networking Happen Online? Online networking can be done: During informal video-conference cafés On LinkedIn instant messaging or directly in the comments (tagging someone on a job offer, for example) At online events: conferences, summits On Whats'App or Signal alumni groups You see, you have no excuse for skipping your networking routine. Do I Need Business Cards? The short answer: yes and no. When you network in person, a business card can help your interviewer remember you, especially if they have met many people in a short time. You can also offer to add them on LinkedIn, and send them a follow-up message. This will have the same effect. I would say that if you are an entrepreneur or in a stable position, the business card is useful. In other cases, an updated and attractive LinkedIn profile will be a good start. Bonus: How Long Will Networking Take? You now know what's in it for you in networking. But will you have the time? In her Ted Talk on Time Management , Laura Vandekam explains that time is elastic and that you put in what you prioritise. We advise you to make room for networking. The initial stake is a little higher than the cruising speed. But it is well worth it. Once your network is established, maintaining it will become a reflex, second nature. It will only take you a few minutes a day and a couple of 1 hour meetings a month. And it will pay you back a hundredfold, guaranteed.

As of 2022, there are almost a billion active websites in the world — with new websites and apps being built every day. It’s a user experience (UX) designers job to make those websites and apps easy to navigate, and enjoyable to use. It’s no wonder LinkedIn featured UX/UI designer on their list of the 10 most in-demand tech jobs in 2022 . With high salaries and low barrier to entry, a career in UX design has a very long list of benefits. But before you jump feet-first into a UX design bootcamp, you first want to know if a career in UX ticks all your boxes. What kind of companies could you work for? What kind of UX roles could you progress to? And how hard is it to break into the field? We address these questions (and more!) in this quick-fire beginners guide to a career in UX design. Before you know it, you’ll have all the answers you need to confidently foray into the exciting and innovative field of UX design. Let’s dive in! What Kind of Companies Hire UX Designers? If you’re thinking a UX design qualification will tie you to the tech industry for the rest of your life, think again. Today, almost every industry has an online presence; which means they need UX designers to facilitate a positive user experience. In fact, most companies recognize that good UX = good business — making UX design one of the most hired digital roles in the world. Beyond the tech industry, you’ll find job ads for UX designers in education, finance, non-profit organisations, healthcare, government, media, and sustainability (to name a few). A lot of the companies that hire UX designers tend to be those that have a strong focus on user experience, product design, and customer service. Some of the top (and highest paying) companies that hire UX designers include: Apple IBM ServiceNow Google Amazon Can You Work Remotely As a UX Designer? UX design is a highly collaborative (and versatile) discipline. Throughout the product design process, UX designers find themselves communicating with business stakeholders, conducting user interviews, and running live whiteboarding sessions with the rest of the design team. With so many moving parts, UX design might seem like a job best performed in the office. So what is the scope for UX designers to work remotely? As we saw throughout the pandemic, there are very few tech jobs that can’t be done from home — and UX design is no exception. Today, there’s an abundance of remote tools that make a UX designers life easier, from collaborative wireframing tools like Balsamiq and Figma , to user research tools like Maze or Userzoom . With a growing number of tech companies going fully remote, it’s never been easier for UX designers to wave goodbye to office life — and say hello to remote working benefits, like a better work-life balance and more autonomy over your working hours. To learn more about remote working in tech, check out our on-demand sessions on being a Digital Nomad in tech . Is UX Design Hard to Get Into? UX design is one of the most accessible careers in tech. It’s also a popular choice for career-changers, because it involves tasks and responsibilities that overlap with so many other disciplines — like psychology, research, and visual design. It’s one of the few tech careers where being a career-changer is seen as a huge plus — as it means you’ll likely be better at empathizing with the end-user, and advocating for their needs. What’s more, beginners have access to a vast number of UX courses and bootcamps, like Ironhack’s UX/UI design intensive bootcamp . This bootcamp seeks to train complete beginners in the in-demand skills and methodologies that today’s employers are desperately looking for. You’ll also learn how to think like a designer, and work collaboratively at every stage of the product design process. The best part? You don’t need any qualifications to enrol in a UX bootcamp. All you need is a laptop, enough time to learn the right skills, and the drive to make the switch! What Skills do UX Designers Need? UX design is a versatile and multidisciplinary field, which means UX designers need a diverse array of skills that stretch far beyond the confines of design. Entry-level ux-ers are expected to have skills in user research, wireframing, user journey mapping, user testing, and visual design. They should also be familiar with UX methodologies and frameworks, like design thinking and lean management. So, what about soft skills? UX designers are responsible for making sure the digital product is accessible, usable, and intuitive — which means putting themselves in the users shoes. To do this, they need empathy and curious; constantly striving to understand the users’ needs. They also need strong communication and collaborative skills, so they can work closely with UI designers, interaction designers, information architects, copywriters, and other stakeholders across the business. Overwhelmed by how much there is to learn? Worry not — beginners can master all of these skills (and then some) on a UX design bootcamp . What Does UX Design Career Growth Look Like? The phrase ‘the world is your oyster’ is particularly applicable to entry-level UX designers. UX design is a broad field, which can take you in a number of different directions across various sectors. Most UX designers stay in their entry-level position (like UX designer or junior UX designer) for a few years to get a lay of the land. Then, you might find yourself branching off into more specialized mid-level roles like interaction designer, UX researcher, UX architect, UX analyst, service designer, or motion designer. All these roles relate to specific parts of the product design process, which is why it’s so important to build up your portfolio as a UX designer first. You could also go in the opposite direction, into a more broad-scope position like product designer. Product designers work on every stage of the design process across both UX and UI design — even dipping into some frontend web development where necessary. They won’t be as involved in the day-to-day design as a UX designer; instead, they’ll be more focused on overall strategy and creative direction. Mid-level UX designers can quickly progress into more senior roles; like product manager or senior UX designer — as well as C-quite level roles like UX director, or VP of user experience. Don’t see yourself as a manager? You can continue building up your skills as an individual contributor, and choose a niche based on the types of products you design and the industry you work in. What Makes a Good Career? UX design is a popular career choice for a reason. It’s in high demand, offers rewarding salaries, and it opens the door to more specialised (and lucrative) career paths. But while these factors are all important, a good career boils down to one thing: How much you enjoy the work. The last thing you want is to go through the process of investing in a bootcamp course, and working hard to land your first role — only to realise it doesn’t fulfil you. Career changes are a commitment, so it’s worth taking your time with research. To help you figure out your dream career, check out Ironhack’s Career Vision Planner .

Are you stressed at work? Does it make it difficult and sometimes even spill over into your personal life? Any job can have its more intense phases and with them, its share of pressure. You can learn to manage them. But the most important thing is to identify the causes of your daily stress: is it the workload? Your work itself? Your environment (the company, your boss, etc.)? Because once you have identified the cause, you can work on it to find serenity at work . This article will help you to take stock of what stresses you at work. It will also give you advice on how to change things for the better. Keep your heart up! Figure Out Where Your Stress is Coming From…And Dealing With It! 1. You care too much Remember. Have you ever dreamt about that project you forgot to do or even talked about your job in your sleep? Your other half noticed and didn't hesitate to laugh at you in the morning. There's no doubt that you take your job very much to heart... A little too much, sometimes? It happens to all of us perfectionists that we find it difficult to compromise on the quality of our work. And when emergencies pile up, we don't always manage to prioritise 20% of the tasks that will yield 80% of the benefits... We sometimes get stuck on this micro-copy issue in a minor email, or on this bug on the front end that has few implications on the overall design of the site we are coding, even though we know it's neither rational nor efficient. And on top of that, we end up feeling guilty for not being productive enough. It's a double penalty. So how can you regain your peace of mind? Your perfectionism is the hidden side of the coin when you love your job. It's a feisty stallion that we'd like to teach you to tame. Tougher people than you have succeeded, so don't give up hope! Remember that : You are competent and your work does not have to be absolutely perfect all the time. It can be of very good quality overall, and no one will hold it against you. If your to-do-list spills over into your evenings and weekends, this is not a tenable situation. Your job is a marathon, not a sprint. Your colleagues and bosses need you to stay on top of things. So you have the right to prioritise and refuse tasks. The trick is to communicate about it . All successful entrepreneurs will tell you the well-known phrase: better done than perfect . I know, you hate that philosophy, it goes against all your work ethics and quality principles. But more often than not, it makes sense. Learn to delegate. Again, I feel you. That's time to train colleagues and freelancers who don't know your stuff as well as you do. But your mental load will thank us for the advice. Letting go is the key! 2. You don’t care at all At the other end of the spectrum of perfectionists who are passionate about their jobs and stress about doing them badly is you . The ones who are slowly dying of bore-out . Who hate their job. Despise their company's activity. Don't find it useful. And only dream of getting out . So how can you regain your peace of mind? Let me tell you a hard but necessary truth. It's ten times more stressful to work in a job you hate . So I'll be brief: if you can relate to this description, there's only one way out: get ready to leave . Whether it's to change companies or even jobs, take your courage in both hands and the bull by the horns and dream big about the next step in your career. And one last tip. In this hilarious TED Talk on procrastination , successful blogger Tim Urban explains that everyone procrastinates, but on different levels. And the power of his argument lies in his genius remark: the most pernicious procrastination occurs when there is no deadline . « Long-time procrastination makes people feel as spectators in their own lives », explains Tim. No one is going to chase you out of that job, except your willingness to leave . Tim shows a calendar on the screen that contains one square per week of a 90-year life. Spoiler alert: all the squares fit in one slide! Life is an extraordinary gift, and a short one. So please, get out of your job quickly and find one you love. Only this will make you feel better. 3. You’ve got too much to do Third configuration, your agenda is full . You work all day, during lunch breaks, in the evening and even on weekends. It's no wonder you're cracking up. So how can you regain your peace of mind? It's very simple. You will have to prioritise better, communicate well and delegate more . As far as priorities are concerned, use the Eisenhauer matrix . Prioritise the urgent and important tasks, plan the important but unhurried tasks. Delegate the less important and urgent tasks. And please, don't spend another minute on non-urgent and unimportant tasks! Just let it go. Also learn to manage your calendar better . Put the most important tasks on it first. Block off time in your calendar to make sure you have time. And specify your working hours. Even put an "Out of office" filter when you are not supposed to be working! On the communication side, it may seem counterproductive, but take more time to promote your work and educate your colleagues… and even your boss! The more visible you are and the more indispensable you appear to be, the more your time will be respected. If everyone is aware of all the big files you are dealing with, they will understand when you explain that there is no room for new tasks or projects. Finally, train your colleagues, interns, teams, freelancers to absorb some of your work . You’ll see, soon you will not be able to do without their help! 4. You’ve got too many meetings Your typical week, meetings from 9am to 7pm with a half hour lunch break . Not even time to take minutes, let alone do any real work. This is absolutely tiring, stressful and frustrating. It can even be blamed on you because as a matter of fact, you are not being productive. Start with Don't worry, it doesn't have to be that way . So how can you regain your peace of mind? Start by checking which meetings you are needed in . Explain to your colleagues that you will leave any meetings where you are not, and read their minutes if necessary. Help organise meetings better. They are often long and pointless, and not often followed by concrete action. Here are some tips: Appoint a facilitator to create the event, write the agenda and send it out the day before, be the timekeeper and take notes for the minutes. Invite only the necessary people and send the minutes to the team for information. Most meetings can be held between 15 and 30 minutes. Don't accept any delays, it will educate your colleagues and save everyone time. Don't run over. These tips should allow you to do two crucial things: fewer people in meetings (including you!) so time gained for everybody more efficiency and shorter meetings. Finally, remember to schedule deep work and no-meeting days in your agenda. Campaign for everyone in the company to have the right to do so, as it's beneficial for you all. 5. You don’t like your boss Are you stressed by your hierarchy? It is said that people do not leave companies, but their managers. Either you got off on the wrong foot with your boss . They are not a bad person, but you have different ways of working, sensitivities, which explains why things are not working out. If this is the case, you can put things right! The best thing to do is to call on a facilitator, someone neutral (from another team or even from outside the company) to help you talk. You can do this with the help of non-violent communication. This is the key. If, on the other hand, you have tried to establish dialogue but you have a toxic, stubborn and aggressive leader in front of you, it complicates things . Firstly, talk to your HR or management about the problems you are experiencing, in a factual way. Give examples of situations and what you have tried (unsuccessfully) to do to improve things. Put that in writing. Perhaps they will have solutions for you or even look to recruit a more constructive manager. If things don't improve, maybe it's time to open your eyes to other professional opportunities... 6. You’ve got real-life stress The last option is that it's not your job that's giving you a sore throat, but rather your personal stress that's spilling over into work . We all have our worries at home, with a sick relative, a child with school problems, arguments, family problems... One way of relieving the pressure is to talk about it (sparingly) to your colleagues or even your management. This is a temporary situation, but depending on the seriousness of your personal problems, it may require adjustments at work . In particular, it is not uncommon for companies to adopt the possibility of taking exceptional leave to accompany a loved one at the end of life, to recover from a miscarriage or to look after children when they are ill. If this facility does not yet exist but you need it, you don’t risk anything if you ask for it. Worst case scenario, your boss says ‘no’. Are you afraid your commitment to work will be questioned? Look at things from another angle. What if you can't concentrate, make mistakes or just have to leave the office? It would be brave and responsible to talk about this so that you can find the best way to organise yourself and no one else has to work twice as hard because you have to be away from one day to the other. Lessen Job Stress: Get a Job You Love To say the least, you now have a toolbox for reducing stress at work. Now, we'd like to give you THE simplest and yet most powerful tip. Love your work. You will do it without constraint. You will be great at it. You will feel useful. Your colleagues (or clients) will congratulate you. You'll be much less stressed, much more aligned with who you are (and want to be!). And if you're not quite there yet, consider enrolling in a bootcamp to retrain yourself.

Your heart is set on changing your career and diving into tech, but you’re facing one big question: whether to attend a full-time or part-time bootcamp . On one hand, you're eager to learn and to change careers as soon as possible and start your new tech job, but you do have a job and responsibilities and studying full-time is a serious undertaking. Both options have their advantages and drawbacks and in this article, we’ll dive into both, helping you make an informed decision that works for you . Part-Time Bootcamps Let’s first chat about the benefits of choosing a part-time bootcamp: Part-time bootcamps are more flexible If you choose to attend a part-time course, you’ll be able to continue working , be it in a company or freelancing. Some are lucky enough to have an employer to sponsor them, but if you don’t have this, you may need to rely on a steady income during the bootcamp; a part-time bootcamp will therefore allow you to combine your studies and work in a fairly flexible way. Generally speaking, the practical work of a bootcamp can easily be done asynchronously and in the case of group work, you can agree with the other participants to work online or schedule face-to-face meetings for evenings or weekends. With just a little organization, you're all set! Part-time bootcamps can be easier to follow There are as many ways of learning as there are learners; it's all a question of sensitivity and wiring: some learn by listening, others are more visual, and the last ones have to see everything written for it to stick. And still there are those who need to let the knowledge settle in over time. Sound familiar? If this is the case, then the part-time bootcamp will be the ideal choice for you. Less dense than its full-time counterpart, you’ll have time to reflect on what you discovered and plenty of room between classes to do additional research, reread your notes, dive deeper by listening to a podcast, or reading articles. Part-time bootcamps reduce the mental load In the same vein, bootcamps help to reduce the information load received in a short period of time. Just think about it for a moment: if you’re weighing the pros and cons before choosing, your life is probably quite full. Your job, whether salaried or self-employed, demands brain juice. Add to that your personal life, with family and friends who want to spend time with you. Sprinkle in your hobbies and add your 7 or 8 hours of sleep. Food shopping. Housework. The list goes on and on. Studying part-time can relieve some of your stress. Part-time bootcamps are still effective You’ll end up with the skills you were looking for at the beginning and some recruiters may even be impressed that you managed to hold down a job while taking a bootcamp, even if it was part-time. This will project the image of a dynamic professional, eager to learn and commit to continuous learning. Full-Time Bootcamps Full-time bootcamps dive right in If you're reading this article, you must be interested in a bootcamp and maybe a career change. So you’re probably eager to learn and to improve your skills; a full-time bootcamp will allow you to jump into a new field of study with both feet. It's a chance to get right to it: start that new job as soon as possible, plain and simple. Full-time bootcamps are incredibly fast If your goal is to quickly gain competence in specific hard skills to perform better in your job, full-time is the way to go. And if your aim is to reskill and start working as quickly as possible in a job that you really like, even better! Life is much too short to spend your days earning a living doing a job that doesn't feed you intellectually or make you grow and full-time bootcamps help get you ready for a new role in a matter of weeks or months. Full-time bootcamps help you focus Scientists tell us that the human brain is not designed to switch from one subject to another all the time, going so far as to say that multitasking is harmful to our neurons and our careers. Full-time bootcamps, designed to be incredibly intensive, allow us to focus on just one thing at a time, devoting ourselves to our subject of study for the duration of the bootcamp, allowing your mind to center itself. Full-time bootcamps hello you create strong personal connections Networking is an underrated yet central topic in career management and full-time bootcamps are more conducive to creating strong bonds with your fellow classmates, as you are all focused on the same thing at the same time, spending hours and hours together over the length of the course. For example, going out for drinks is easier after class sessions because you don't have work to do in the evening. And if your bootcamp is remote, this is still an option: you can use video calls for chatting or working on projects. However, it’s up to you to make the effort to reach out to other participants and make as many connections as possible. Full-Time or Part-Time: Questions to Ask Yourself We’d like to be able to tell you what to do, but this decision depends entirely on your individual circumstances and is something you have to decide on your own. But luckily for you, we’ve listed some crucial questions to ask yourself and help you make that decision once and for all. About your professional situation Will I continue to work while I study? Is it realistic to combine my job with a part-time bootcamp or will I have too much to do? Can my employer grant me a career break? If I'm self-employed, can I take a break for a few weeks or even months? About your personal circumstance Do I have any personal commitments that might be too much to handle alongside a full-time bootcamp? Am I surrounded by supportive people? Can they take on more organizational elements at home so that I can concentrate on my training? How will I organize my work/life/training balance? Is it better for me to have only two things to manage and therefore to do the training full-time? About your goals How soon do I want to graduate? Do I want to study continuously, without breaks? Am I looking to change jobs quickly? About your way of learning Do I love to switch from one subject to another and therefore won't have any problems with multitasking? Or is that challenging for me? Do I want something intensive or do I want to be able to take the time to rest and deepen my knowledge between sessions? In short, you have to find the option that suits you and your personal circumstances. As you can see, there are no good or bad choices, but there are trade-offs to be made. In relation to your career, your objectives, your personal constraints, and more, there’s lots to consider. We wish we could wave a magic wand to make your doubts disappear and help you decide, but we don’t have that power (yet!). The decision is yours but we hope to have given you something to make it with a clear conscience. Our awesome Admissions team will make sure you enroll in the bootcamp that'll work best for you–whether that's part-time, on campus, full-time, remote, or any of the options in between! Check out our bootcamps and start your journey!

Listen, jobs in tech are so hot right now. The Tech world is constantly evolving; no matter which specialty you choose, you can bet there’s a job with your name on it. That’s not all, with great jobs come great benefits and tech is an industry well known for its job stability, flexible work hours, paid time off, great pay, and don’t forget remote work! Yes, these things are all tempting, especially to workers just entering the field, but before you leap at the first opportunity that comes your way, you must take the time to find the right company for you. Here’s a little list to help you make the best choice for your future. Miami’s Tech Scene When it comes to the tech game Miami is at the top, no doubt about it. For years it’s been an industry secret. Now others are starting to catch on and it’s about time. Miami, The Magic City, has it all: fantastic weather, seaside properties, a culture that thrives on diversity, and a mayor who’s “all in” when it comes to cementing Miami’s status as the mother of all tech hubs. Miami is leading the charge in the tech world. It’s a trillion-dollar industry, drawing some of the biggest names and companies in tech and there’s no slowing down. The good news is that there’s always room for you to get in on the ground floor. Thinking of studying tech in Miami? Check out our Ironhack Miami campus! Best Tech Companies Hiring in MIAMI: Papa Let’s start things off with Papa , a healthcare company that’s truly one of a kind. Their focus is on human connection, pairing senior citizens with “Pals” to help them with daily tasks, arrange transportation for appointments, help with housing needs, or just provide clients with companionship. Papa is an employer known for taking the time to engage with its employees, offering diverse programs and initiatives for all, and striving to find ways to foster an inclusive environment where everyone can thrive. A career at Papa has all sorts of benefits like competitive salaries, great insurance, 25 days of Paid Time Off (PTO) + some paid holidays, access to impressive wellness and financial services, and gender-neutral paid leave. Right now, Papa is looking for more talent on their tech team, offering roles for Senior Product Designers, Senior Software Engineers, and IT Security Managers. Blockchain.com Next is Blockchain.com , the place to go for all things cryptocurrency. It’s one of the world’s most popular and longest-running wallets, working with individuals and institutions alike to provide a safe space to buy, sell, and store cryptocurrency. Founded in 2011, Blockchain.com boasts a network of 37 million users located in over 200 countries. On top of that, it’s backed by power players like Lightspeed Venture Partners and Google Ventures. They’re especially on the hunt for engineers: Back End Engineers, Data Engineers, Front End Engineers, Mobile Engineers, Low Latency Engineers, and Site Reliability Engineers. There’s even room for a Data Analyst or two. MoonPay Since we’re already talking about crypto take a look at MoonPay , a simple app with a simple goal: to let users buy and sell crypto-currency quickly, smoothly, and safely in one place. It offers various forms of cryptocurrency and conversions. On top of that, MoonPay is currently active in over 160 countries and has access to over 250 leading wallets and payment applications. It’s a small company with between 200-500 employees so there’s plenty of room for growth and since MoonPay is a startup, you’ll be working in a fast-paced environment where every day comes with exciting new challenges! Right now, MoonPay is hiring Full Stack Engineers, Front End Engineers, and Solutions Engineers. Kaseya When it comes to IT management solutions our next company, Kaseya , is the leader of the pack. Kaseya provides businesses around the world with the tools to manage, organize, and secure their operations using cutting-edge cloud solutions and on-premise software. Currently, Kaseya’s solutions use over 10 million endpoints worldwide to assist businesses in commanding every aspect of their IT departments, both centrally and remotely. Right now the career track at Kaseya is on fire, they’re searching for IT support, Senior Salesforce Developers, Helpdesk Specialists, DevOps Engineers, Software Development Engineers, Security Operations Center Analysts, Senior Engineering Managers, Software Development Engineers, and Test Automation Engineers. Note - Kaseya also makes sure to offer entry-level positions. Restaurant Brands International (RBI) Next in line is RBI , a true leader in the restaurant industry running over 29,000 restaurants in over 100 countries so far and with names like Popeye’s, Burger King, Tim Hortons, and Firehouse Subs under its belt, there’s no sign of slowing down anytime soon. RBI has been serving guests for decades, working to serve and improve its community through the research and development of sustainable resources for its products. RBI also has a reputation for working hard to keep employees happy. It offers multiple opportunities for training and development, paid holidays and generous PTO, Relocation assistance, company equity, 401K, customized development tracks, plus top-notch Health insurance and Wellness Benefits. They’re on the lookout for Software Engineers, Senior Analysts, Content Designers, Software Engineers, Senior Software Engineers (Python), and Frontend Engineers. Open English Open English is one of the most innovative e-learning sites around, hands down. Founded in 2007 Open Education, the parent company, has earned and maintained its reputation as the best way to make language learning affordable and accessible to students across Latin America. They offer digital English classes, test preparation courses, and level certification certificates, for students of all ages. Since this is an online learning site there is always a great need for talent to help keep things running smoothly so put this company on your ‘Ones to Watch’ list. Open Education is hiring Customer Service Supervisors, Workforce Analysts, Sales Team Trainers, and Quality Managers. Ryder Systems Ryder is a transportation icon, with one of the most recognizable logos in the USA. If you’ve taken a road trip in the last 80 years, there's a huge chance you’ve passed a Ryder truck or three. Ryder is a master when it comes to commercial transportation with a customer base that spreads through North America, Europe, and Asia. Fleet management is Ryder’s specialty, they offer truck rentals, leasing, used vehicle sales, fuel services, safety services, and maintenance services to clients. They also use their own Ryder Supply Chain Solutions (SCS) to manage transportation services, enable communication between drivers and dispatchers, and streamline routing/scheduling operations to keep businesses and their employees operating efficiently and safely. Ryder is actively searching for Hyperion Architects, Functional Leads, .NET Developers, Project Managers, and BPM Architects. OpenStore OpenStore is the new kid on the block. Founded in 2021, it’s become the go-to site for entrepreneurs looking to sell their Shopify stores easily and at the best prices on the market. It’s perfect for entrepreneurs looking for a unified experience using data and capital to connect to their target audience. It’s a smaller company but among the positions available you’ll find a lot of opportunities. With OpenStore, the magic word is “lead” - opportunities for Product Leads, Diligence Leads, Fulfillment Leads, People Operations Leads, and Procurement Leads abound. That’s not all, there’s also room for Software Engineers, Graphic Engineers, Webmasters, Search Specialists, Search Analysts, and Data Scientists. UKG Next up is: UKG , an innovative company that teaches companies how to operate every aspect of their business smoothly and efficiently, no matter the industry. Their mission statement is “Our purpose is people” and it shows in everything they do. It’s not hard to see why their rankings are so high! The reviews on Glassdoor are glowing, full of testimonials from employees expressing thanks and appreciation for the ways that UKG makes them feel valued and supported. Not only does UKG care for its employees, they go above and beyond to ensure that its clients feel the same passion for their workforce. UKG is a beast in the tech field, offering jobs for multiple positions including support analysts, data analysts, software engineers, test engineers, full stack developers, mobile developers, and that’s just the beginning! The company boasts great benefits, competitive pay, 401K, and numerous opportunities to learn and grow in whichever department you choose to join. Reef With thousands of offices and employees worldwide, REEF is one of the heaviest hitters on this list. This company specializes in showing companies ways to utilize extra spaces in office parks in a functional manner. REEF is best known for its ghost kitchens which operate in office parks and parking lots across the world. At last count, REEF has over 300 food trucks run by different international and independent restaurant brands. They are currently looking for an IT Asset Management Analyst and have several open positions for Project Managers. How to Land Your First Tech Job If you’re already imagining palm trees and long walks by the beach, you’re not alone. Think this is just a pipe dream? Well, think again! Don’t second guess yourself: landing a job at one of these incredible companies is doable! Ironhack knows what companies like these are looking for and will make sure you have the knowledge and skills to get your foot through the door. From Novice to expert, there’s a Bootcamp to fit everyone’s needs regardless of background. If you’re ready to change your life, start a new career, and work where there’s always an ocean view: check out our tech bootcamps today !

You're reading the next installment of our Tech Voices series! We want to make sure we share diverse voices from the Ironhack tech community so you, as a budding tech professional, get to know your peers and learn from their experiences. Tech Voices: Nicolaas Spijker, Growth Marketer at Rock Starting your first remote job opens up a lot of exciting opportunities in terms of personal and career development. After graduating from university I got a fully remote job in a globally distributed team. We have no office and people across 7 different time zones. My name is Nico and I work for Rock , a San Francisco based tech start-up with a globally distributed team. The team works together across continents and time zones by adopting an asynchronous by default work style. This allows me to travel the world as a digital nomad while keeping a full-time role. Here, I will write about what working as a digital nomad can look like and what skills I think you should invest in to succeed. I’ll also add in some personal productivity tips to get the most out of your work day. What working as a digital nomad can look like Working for a startup is super exciting, but learning how to stay organized and productive is crucial to also make sure you have enough time for the fun stuff. When working remotely, you have to reimagine what collaboration with team members, freelancers, clients, and partners actually looks like. Interactions must become more intentional without the convenience of casually bumping into someone in the office, or meeting over coffee. Creating a flexible work schedule with asynchronous work Within our team we follow the philosophy: “Communication should be asynchronous by default, and synchronous when really needed”. This comes in response to a corporate culture where meeting is often the default , causing people to burn out more often and be less productive. In response to this, our team tries to prioritize asynchronous work . We minimize the number of meetings and communicate more through tasks, messages, files, and notes. This opens up our schedule to maximize deep work hours. Additionally, it gives work flexibility and allows us to work from any location or time zone. What does this look like in practice? Well, my schedule typically has about 5 meetings for the week, and the rest of my day is spent on day-to-day tasks. Pick and choose where you want to work from Because my job is remote and my schedule is flexible, I can work from any location or time zone. Earlier this year I worked in San Juan del Sur for a few months. It’s a quaint little surfer town near the border between Nicaragua and Costa Rica. I would often wake up at 6 am, get in a 2-hour surf session, and start my work day afterward. Alternatively, as you can’t really control the tide, I would sometimes surf from 3 to 6. Work flexibility allows me to wrap up my work day by starting earlier or adding another hour after surfing. Currently, I’m working from Lisbon, Portugal. Because I only have 5 meetings a week and they are not our default communication channel, it was easy to reschedule most of them. This means that while the time difference is a staggering 7 hours, my work day has barely changed. Future locations I’m considering include South Africa, Taiwan, Indonesia, Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay. As you can see a lot of these countries are in different time zones. Thankfully, our team communication allows me to pick any location without negatively impacting my productivity. What skills do I typically use in my remote work job? There are a few different skills you can already start leveraging if you’re looking into a remote marketing or growth job. I’ll quickly walk you through a few I leverage on a daily basis for my different projects. Project management Mastering project management was naturally part of my job as Rock is an all-in-one messaging and project management application. Understanding the basics of project management is crucial in any remote tech job, even if you’re not a project lead. If you’re new to project management, it basically consists of juggling different communication channels (i.e. messages, task management , files, and notes) in order to move a project forward. There are a few frameworks such as Agile and Waterfall that you can use to structure the phases of a project. Following these frameworks is often easier said than done. Fully understanding them takes time. Nevertheless, once you master them, you’ll see more and more projects crossing the finish line in time. Digital Marketing and SEO As a growth marketer, I leverage different digital marketing and SEO skills to get more brand visibility and ultimately get new users to sign up for our platform. You don’t need to be a full-fledged expert with over 10 years of industry experience to start making an impact. Typical activities include ideating new content that fits with the interests of our audience, configuring the SEO of our website, working on backlinks with corporate partners and so much more! Fear not if you have no experience with digital marketing or SEO yet. Nowadays there are digital marketing and SEO bootcamps that can already position you in a great way if you’re trying to break into tech marketing. Data Analytics I have a data analytics background from my university studies. It’s important to measure the impact of the different activities you do on a day-to-day basis. Throughout growth projects, I have used tools such as R, Tableau, and Python. It’s important to understand what metrics you are trying to improve, how to measure them, and how to properly interpret the data. How does seasonality affect your data? Is there bias in your data or interpretation thereof? While data analytics can come off as an intimidating or daunting skill to build up, I have found that there is a steep learning curve once you get started. It also doesn’t have to take years or a full bachelor's degree to set up a strong data analytics foundation. Some data analytics bootcamps can already set you up for success within weeks. Some personal productivity tips Now, there isn’t really a playbook on how to stay productive while working remotely. Some people like to work from home, others from a coworking space or a cafe. There are also early birds and night owls, and different workspace setups. In the following section, I’ll discuss a few habits and activities that have helped me stay productive while working remotely. Say no to meetings Is it relevant for you to attend the meeting that has just been added to the schedule? If the answer is no, then you might want to consider declining it. It’s not common business practice but really should be. Of course, you shouldn’t just cancel and not communicate with your team. Ask the person who invited you what to expect from the meeting and what you’re expected to bring to the table. If the person struggles to understand what your role in the meeting is, they will most likely agree with either canceling the meeting or hosting it without you. Document as much as possible Documentation is key if you are looking to work remotely and asynchronously. Make sure that information and updates are easily accessible to anyone. This allows team members to find project details or track your progress without having to personally ping you. My two go-to’s for documentation are a task board and file integrations. A task board allows you to see what work is on someone’s plate. With filters such as assignee(s), labels, priority, and due/start dates it’s easy to keep track of who is doing what and what the progress is. File integrations: I store loads of information on Google Drive but it can often become tricky for team members to find information back. By adding relevant folders and files to spaces or individual tasks, it becomes easier for team members to find back important information. Keep a small to-do list Looking onto your task board and seeing 30+ tasks being assigned to you can be daunting. Instead, I like to add a few priorities for the day to a weekly to-do list. Our application has a unique feature for this, Set Aside. I can move any message, task, note, or file to this dedicated panel and check back on it later. Once I finish the activity I remove the object from the panel in order to make sure there are not too many items on it. My preference is between 5-10 items max on the panel. If there are more items, I try to reprioritize my activities in order to stay within the limits. This gives me a clear picture of what to work on in the short term. This can also come in handy when I have to answer someone but need to think about my answer a bit more. Adding it to Set Aside means I don’t have to scroll across spaces or chat history to answer this message as it’s directly connected to this panel. Stop context switching too much A remote setup can quickly get confusing with too many apps open while working on different tasks. Context switching is the practice of continually changing between tasks, tabs, or different platforms in order to get work done. It’s hard to focus if you have to think about two tasks at the same time or navigate different user interfaces across apps to communicate with your team. Try setting up communication strategies that are more streamlined and don’t require you to switch between platforms too much. Keep communications centralized so you don’t have to constantly switch between messages, tasks, notes, and files. I personally keep all my communications on Rock and integrate my video, cloud storage, and design files to the space so I can easily switch how I communicate with my coworkers or people outside of my team. Last but not least: set up a good tune list I spent vast amounts of time on Spotify listening to different playlists. I often find myself switching between deep house, techno, rock & indie, or pop tunes depending on my mood. Trial out a few different playlists and see what works for you. I find it much easier to get into a productive flow when the correct playlist is on. Setting up a good playlist makes it easier to zone into a task while reducing the noise of your environment.

You're reading the next installment of our Tech Voices series! We want to make sure we share diverse voices from the Ironhack tech community so you, as a budding tech professional, get to know your peers and learn from their experiences. Tech Voices: Magali Bejar, Product Manager at Toptal Magali Bejar is a computer engineer from Argentina, creator, and podcaster in tienequehaberalgomas.com . She worked as a technical product manager and became a digital nomad to travel the world in 2018. She has been recently recognized as Emerging Leader in 2022 by the London School of Economics. Magali organizes BA Digital Nomads in Buenos Aires, is an ex-TEDxUTN organizer, part of the Singularity University chapter in Buenos Aires, and is a hip-hop dancer. How to be Productive While Traveling as a Digital Nomad Around the World Working from home could be challenging already depending on your job and adding traveling on top of it is even more complex. When you travel, there are always a lot of distractions and things you could be doing instead of your job but the good news is that you can still be productive while you are on the road. I believe you need to be in a good personal place to perform at work so if you want to keep your productivity up, you need to clearly understand what you need and what works for you. Let's start with the basic know-your-self questions. Have you ever thought about what gives you energy and what depletes you? What activities do you like doing besides work? How do you have fun? If you are unsure about any of these answers, the next step is to go experiment. Travel by yourself, with family, and with new or old friends. While you do this, pay careful attention to what you feel comfortable with. Work What has worked best for me is when I was working in a safe place with a positive work culture. No matter if you are traveling or not, it is always better if you have clear responsibilities, and independence to execute your tasks and you are surrounded by a good accountable team. Choosing where you work is key. Would you rather work from a cafe, your own Airbnb, or a coworking space? You need to be comfortable without the extra stress of thinking about closing hours, safety, and plug availability. Most jobs require you to be online or on calls with either team members or clients, so the first step to picking a destination will be considering the time zone you need to be in. Have you thought about your work type? Ideally, you can ask for much asynchronous work as you can but if you have a lot of calls, when are those happening? In my case, I organized the day to be overlapped with the office during their morning so I worked by myself before they started their day and later had 4 hours of calls. When I started traveling in North and Center America, I was working for US west coast which could mean up to 5 hours difference. After a few months, I felt more comfortable traveling to Europe adding an extra 4 or 5 hours difference. I had 6 months with a 9-hour difference while being a team lead. During this time, my day was upside down. I had my morning free to go to the beach for a tour and then I worked from 4 pm to 11 pm. It was crucial to find a 24-hour coworking space with a kitchen that allowed me to cook and have dinner in between calls. If you have an employer they could pay for your membership cost. What always helped me is overcommunicating to get ahead of possible problems. I document as much as possible so the information is available for people to see when I am offline. Remind yourself to be flexible. Accessing your information on your phone, having backups and a local SIM card with internet can save you a lot of headaches. Destination You can design your life based on what a place has to offer. You could easily go to a place where you can visit a museum every morning or head to the beach after work. It is very different to pick a vacation destination than a digital nomad one. Think about the places that you want to visit and ask yourself these questions: What is the place's vibe? Are things happening during the day or at the night? If you are a morning person, you will have a lot of 7 am healthy plans in Bali but if you are a night owl, you could have dinner in Buenos Aires every day until 1 am. How do you feel about the high or low season? How does it affect your economy when places are packed and prices go up? Are there other digital nomads there? Does the place offer activities you like to do? In my case, I am a pool type of swimmer which is a very inconvenient sport when traveling. Also, being at the beach near the water is a good way for me to recharge so I keep that in mind to pick a summer location. Build a routine When you travel, you are constantly making so many decisions: where to go next, how to get there, where to sleep, what to buy in a supermarket, and what to do after work or during the weekend. We all have decision fatigue which is the idea that after making many decisions, our ability to make additional decisions becomes worse. Avoid this trap by making one choice that solves many because it could be really draining depending on the city. For example, with my diet that one decision was becoming vegetarian which crosses out 80% of the menu options. Now, it is much easier to decide what to eat. Physical health When you are on a two-week vacation it is not a big deal if you go off track with exercise, sleep, or food but in this type of trip, you constantly need to remember that this is your long-term lifestyle. There are some basic and very logical things that are hard to maintain on the road. Figure out how can you keep working out regularly. In order to keep a balance, you need to eat healthily, drink a lot of water and avoid eating out every night. Depending on where you are staying it could be challenging to have a good 8 hours of sleep. If you are sharing a room in a hostel you might not be very comfortable or if you sleep in a hotel check-in and check-out times might be an issue for you. Mental health During 2022, I have already traveled more than one round around the globe so I try to not normalize what I go through as part of my digital nomad travels. I know it still is very privileged to have this lifestyle so gratitude journaling keeps me grounded. My best trick to work on happiness is to invest in new and old relationships. Do not forget to keep in touch with friends and family back home as often as you can. This requires extra work but I sometimes schedule catchup calls with friends just to see what they are up to. As my way of meeting new like-minded people, I always join coworking spaces and meetups wherever I go. Ask another nomad what is the best way to connect with similar people in a city maybe you can find the right coliving space or Whatsapp group to integrate yourself with the city. If you are in Buenos Aires, you can join the digital nomads' meetups I host . Conclusion I always keep in mind that working allows me to travel long-term. I might only see a few new things a week but I still get to be somewhere else for an extended period of time instead of having 3 weeks of vacation each year. Having this lifestyle helped me become more efficient to finish my work and enjoy the city where I am. Parkinson's law shows that we will use all available time to complete a task. Figure out how long are you staying in each place to avoid being stressed that you will miss seeing attractions. A good idea is to stay at least a month or two in each place. Being a digital nomad is challenging because your mind and body might experience extra stress if you are not exposed to it back home. You have always the choice to design a trip that works well with your style. Remember that there is no right or wrong way of doing it, what is important is to enjoy the ride and have fun!

To those who aren’t familiar with cybersecurity, the word might conjure up mental images of robot security guards jangling huge sets of keys. While the reality is a lot less futuristic, cybersecurity is definitely one of the hottest digital careers out there. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics , the cybersecurity field is expected to grow by 22% over the next decade, and it’s predicted there’ll be 1.4 million jobs in cybersecurity by 2024. That growth is driven in large part by an increased need for cybersecurity professionals — especially as more companies move their operations online and into the cloud. If you're curious about what it takes to be a cybersecurity professional, you've come to the right place! In this guide, we break down exactly what a career in cybersecurity entails; including what kind of cybersecurity jobs you can get, and how hard it is to break into the field. Let’s get right into it! What Kind of Jobs Are There in Cybersecurity? As you break into the field of cybersecurity, it’s important to get a sense of the different directions you can explore within the field. Being a cybersecurity bootcamp graduate can mean there are multiple different roles available to you, which all involve a variety of different tasks and responsibilities. Some of the most popular entry-level cybersecurity positions include: Security auditor. Security auditors will audit and assess a company’s systems and processes to ensure they remain compliant. They’ll also flag any potential risks, and provide actionable steps for better protection against cyber attacks. Information security analyst. This is one of the most popular cybersecurity roles, and entails developing security strategies, researching IT security trends, and monitoring networks in order to protect an organization’s computer systems. Forensic examiner. Forensic examiners recover, analyze, and preserve digital evidence and data in the case of cyber attacks or breaches. They’ll also work out how the person was able to breach the system in the first place. Gaining entry-level experience, and building up your understanding of security systems, can take you into mid-level cybersecurity roles such as: Penetration tester. Also known as ‘ethical hackers,’ penetration testers will test and hack a company's security systems to identify weaknesses and opportunities for non-ethical hackers to strike. Security engineer. Security engineers design, test, and maintain security systems that protect companies and employees from cyber attacks. They’ll also lead incident response teams when security breaches occur. Experienced cybersecurity professionals can climb the career ladder to the very top, which includes c-suite roles like Chief of Cybersecurity or Chief Risk Officer (CRO) . What Kind of Companies Hire Cybersecurity Professionals? Accelerated by the global pandemic, a growing number of companies are recognizing the need to be protected from cyber attacks and data leaks. In 2022, there’s an average of 1.2k cyber attacks happening every week — which affects almost every industry and sector under the sun. For cybersecurity job seekers, this is great news: There are truly more cybersecurity jobs than ever, and you’ll be spoilt for choice with the kind of company (and industry) you can enter into. The industries which are fertile ground for cybersecurity careers tend to be the ones that handle sensitive information, including: Financial institutions (e.g., banks, credit unions) Telecommunications companies (e.g., wireless and landline carriers, internet service providers) Government agencies (e.g., law enforcement agencies and military branches) Healthcare companies & national health services Retailers & e-commerce companies Major companies like Deloitte , EY , and Accenture are also known to regularly hire cybersecurity professionals at every level. To keep abreast of new vacancies, we recommend bookmarking cybersecurity job boards like Cybersecurity Jobs and Infosec-jobs . Can You Work Remotely in Cybersecurity? Remote work is here to stay, so it’s important to understand how flexible your new career path is (and how much scope there is to work from home). Like many digital careers, cybersecurity is a job that can easily be performed remotely — especially with the addition of remote-collaboration tools that make it easier to update and sync with colleagues across time zones. External pen-testing, malware reversing, and other cyber-intelligence activities are usually best performed in a focused and autonomous way — making remote working an even better option for cybersecurity professionals who get distracted easily. Ironically, many cybersecurity professionals are hired into companies to help them manage the risks of remote work. As cybersecurity professionals help create — and act as the guardians of — cybersecurity and data protection guidelines around working from home, they’d certainly have the companies trust when it came to performing their job remotely in a responsible way. To learn more, check out our on-demand sessions on being a Digital Nomad in tech . Is Cybersecurity Hard to Get Into? Protecting a company from cyber attacks is a significant undertaking, so companies require at least 5 years of professional experience in order to trust someone to do the job, right? Wrong! As we’ve seen, there’s a global talent shortage for cybersecurity professionals — which means employers are looking to hire as soon as possible. They’re much more concerned about the technical skills needed to perform the role’s basic tasks than your previous experience or college degrees. When it comes to learning in-demand cybersecurity skills, beginners are spoiled for choice. There are multiple credible cybersecurity bootcamps designed specifically to transform you from complete novice to job-ready professional. On the Ironhack Cybersecurity bootcam p, you’ll get the chance to work on several projects that will establish and solidify your skills as well as doing a final review on risk and security management processes and security models. You’ll also get bespoke career support from industry leaders who know exactly what employers want to see, and how to succeed in your first cybersecurity position. In short, no — cybersecurity is not hard to get into . All you need is a laptop, the time to dedicate to an intensive bootcamp, and a vested interest in the field! We write more about this in our guide to breaking into cybersecurity with no previous experience . What Skills do Cybersecurity Professionals Need? In order to land your first role as a cybersecurity professional, you need a resumé that showcases the in-demand skills employers are looking for. Let’s unpack some of the most important hard and soft skills you’ll need to learn: Computing skills. Cybersecurity professionals need to understand how systems work, from the hardware level up to the application and software levels. They need to be able to identify vulnerabilities in these systems and find ways to defend against them. Problem-solving skills. The ability to investigate incidents, identify patterns, and resolve issues directly with stakeholders is essential for a cybersecurity professional. Communication skills: Part of problem-solving involves explaining technical details in ways that others can understand — and speaking with stakeholders who aren't technical experts themselves. Analytical skills: You'll be analyzing data from a variety of sources all day long as part of your job description, so if you’re considering a career in cybersecurity — chances are you already have an analytical mind! It’s equally important to master these soft skills as it is to get to grips with the technical skills. Employers want personable, proactive cybersecurity professionals who are able to slot seamlessly into tech teams and directly impact business goals. To give yourself the best shot, it’s worth investing in an intensive Cybersecurity bootcamp. There, you’ll go from complete beginner to job-ready cybersecurity professional in just 12 weeks. What Does Cybersecurity Career Growth Look Like? As an entry-level cybersecurity professional, you won’t have any trouble landing your first role. But what about beyond that? How much scope is there to grow and develop — and what does a typical cybersecurity career path look like? As they first start out, many junior cybersecurity professionals opt for jobs that’ll give them the most exposure to security systems — like cybersecurity specialist or security administrator — so that they can specialize down the line. After a few years of experience, you might find yourself getting promoted to a more specialized mid-level position, like penetration tester or forensic analyst. As these roles require a keen attention to detail, and a comprehensive understanding of security systems, you’ll need a few years of preliminary experience first. With career progression comes the opportunity to specialize — both in the work you do, but also in the industry you work in. Many industries have specific requirements when it comes to cybersecurity, so you could decide to build a niche as a healthcare or finance cybersecurity professional. This will allow you to get to know specific systems incredibly well, and understand exactly what cyber threats are most commonly faced in your industry. With enough years under your belt, you’ll also have the choice to explore management positions; like security manager or incident response team lead. That’s not to say that individual contributors won’t benefit from limitless career growth: If you’re passionate about cybersecurity, the sky’s the limit! What Makes a Good Career? There’s a reason cybersecurity has had 0% unemployment for nearly a decade. With a growing number of major companies investing more in their cybersecurity efforts, cybersecurity bootcamp graduates can take advantage of the numerous opportunities and steady career paths available. But cybersecurity might not necessarily be the right path for you. When searching for a new career path,  it’s important to consider what kind of work will be the most rewarding above all else. Here are some questions to ask yourself when figuring out your dream career: Do I like this field? Do enjoy learning about new things in this field, and networking with industry professionals? Will this field still be relevant in 10 years' time? After all, you don’t want to find yourself in the same boat a few years later. Is it lucrative? If you can comfortably sustain yourself while doing what you love, you’re onto a winner! If you’re still unsure which path to take, we recommend checking out our Career Vision Planner .

All education is good education and there are multiple ways to learn whatever you want through every possible medium, but when it comes to tech classes, there’s one burning question: are online or in-person bootcamps better? Let’s take a deep dive into the pros and cons of taking remote or in-person tech bootcamps so you can find an answer, make your choice, and get started on your tech journey. Remote Tech Bootcamps: Pros and Cons The advantages of remote bootcamps Pro: remote bootcamps boast flexibility and can be adjusted to your schedule. If convenience and flexibility are top priorities, then there’s no doubt that a remote bootcamp is perfect for you. Online bootcamps let you set your own pace so you can study the way that works best for you while getting the same quality education as an in-person course; on top of that, you can study and attend lectures from home, a cafe, a park, or wherever you want. And if you can’t make a class in real time, don’t stress out. Recordings are available online so you can watch lectures at a more convenient time. Pro: remote bootcamps get you ready for the increasingly remote corporate world Right now, working remotely is the way to go! Over the last few years, remote work has gained popularity around the world and workers are loving the change. Remote bootcamps give you a leg up by preparing you for the online business world, teaching you priceless skills like collaborating with team members in other parts of the globe, using Slack to communicate smoothly, and running efficient and productive online meetings. The disadvantages of remote bootcamps Con: remote bootcamps can trigger FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) Our campuses are always buzzing with awesome activities (ask the survivors of our Water Balloon Wars!) so it’s the perfect environment for social butterflies. Remote students are always welcome to join the main events, but you’ll find that outside of the main Ironhack events (Like our Friday Ironbeers), you won’t have much interaction with your classmates or teachers. Pro/con: remote bootcamps keep you in your comfort zone Whether this is a pro or con depends on you; if you’re someone who works best in your comfort zone, then maybe you should stay comfortable so you can learn more efficiently. On the other hand, maybe you need a little push to help you adapt to new surroundings and meet new people, helping you to grow and thrive. Either way, the decision is up to you. In-person Tech Bootcamps: Pros and Cons The advantages of in-person bootcamps Pro: In-person bootcamps offer an unparalleled community One of the pros of in-person bootcamps is connecting with your community. There’s always something happening on campus; at Ironhack, there’s rarely a dull moment. Attending classes in-person lets you spend time with your classmates (on and off campus), interact with teachers and staff, and participate in more on-campus activities. Pro: In-person bootcamps get you work ready Learning how to navigate the wild world of commuting and work in an office-like environment every day is guaranteed to prepare you for the in-person business world. If you decide that working in an office is perfect for you, then adapting to a new daily routine will be no sweat. The disadvantages of in-person bootcamps Con: In-person bootcamps require commutes That dreaded commute. Depending on where you live, it can be a blessing or a curse. As a commuting student, you’ll enter a magical world filled with traffic jams, packed trains, delayed trains, missed buses, no buses, and much more. The possibilities are endless! Now, there are ways to turn this con into a bit of a pro. You can always use that commute time to read, study, meditate, or listen to podcasts (ideal if you’re driving). If you can’t avoid the commute, embrace it! Pro/con: In-person bootcamps get you out of your comfort zone Yes, it bears repeating–whether this is a pro or con is entirely up to you. If you’re looking for a way to meet more people and expand your network, then getting out there and making some friends might be a great idea. But if you’re the indoor type, commuting and in-person classes may be more than you’re willing to take on. And don’t worry: you can meet people and make connections online as well. The most important thing is that you feel comfortable and make the choice that’s right for you. Choosing Between Remote and In-person Bootcamps So which option is perfect for you? Before you throw your hat into either ring, here are a few more things to consider for both remote and in-person bootcamps: Remote bootcamps: Frequently remove the stress of feeling scrutinized. If a student has a question or needs clarification on an issue, they can message the instructor or a classmate to ask privately without the pressure of feeling singled out. May require more discipline than in-person classes. It’s easy to get distracted in front of a computer screen, especially with phone alerts, social media, and more, so you must have great time management skills and ensure you’re able to focus on your coursework. Tend to be far more accessible than in-person classes. If there’s internet, you can access your coursework and attend lectures using multiple apps like Google Meet and Zoom. They also offer more flexibility to those with other responsibilities, such as childcare or jobs. In-person bootcamps: Often have set times and schedules so they don’t offer students much flexibility. In-person classes and lectures are rarely recorded–if you miss a lecture and can’t reach a fellow classmate for notes, you may be out of luck. Require a commute . On top of class time, you’ll also need to factor in time (and money) spent on travel and preparation. This means that in some cases, online classes may be the more budget-friendly option. Offer more in-person interaction between students and teachers, but that doesn’t mean you won’t get to know your teachers with remote classes! On the contrary, online classes let you touch base with your teachers at any time, so you can always ask for help or feedback. Still not sure which option is best for you? No worries, that’s what we’re here for! The Ironhack Admissions team is more than happy to provide you with personal guidance to help you find the best option to fit you and your career goals.

You're reading the first of our Tech Voices series! We want to make sure we share diverse voices from the Ironhack tech community so you, as a budding tech professional, get to know your peers and learn from their experiences. Tech Voices: Maria Samoshenkova, Senior Product Manager at FitXR Maria is a customer-centric and entrepreneurial Product Manager with in-depth knowledge of interactive multi-platform B2C content-based products that improve users' daily life. She has successfully led high-value products to new markets, developed new concepts 0-1, and built digital ecosystems using modern technology across the wellness, gaming, and entertainment industries. She is driven by innovation, a creative environment, and curiosity. Currently, Sr Product Manager, leading the Core Product Experience Team in the Virtual Reality fitness application. What Does a Product Manager Actually Do? Building a product is the most exciting and unique process. Unfortunately, there isn't a well-defined path to gaining the required skills and knowledge to be an effective product manager. There are no standard products to build and there is no degree or certification that product managers get before they start their careers. Everyone has their own journey and professionals come from very different backgrounds, which adds uniqueness to the way they manage the product. Before jumping into my personal story I will recap the fundamental hard and soft skills. While Product Management is a multi-dimensional role that looks very different across organizations or even teams. The key principles to understand would be: the ability to validate the opportunity and present it to the stakeholders; the design and development of the product process within your team; and how to launch and iterate that feature/ product. In the other words, naturally, you have to like to collaborate with people, be a quick learner and be extremely efficient in your actions and communication. Learning the fundamentals of product management through the courses, Bootcamp or being mentored at the start can be instrumental to accelerate your professional growth. Teenage years When I was in school I wanted to become a designer. I was not very clear about what kind of designer however, I do remember having piles of sketchbooks full of drawings of evening gowns, cars and some interior design bits. It wasn't just drawing of a real-life objects, it was re-imagined objects, my view on how cars and dresses should look like. Nowadays we call a “prototype” in Product (I didn't know the meaning of that word back then). I come from a relatively conservative family when it comes to studying, so going to study design at University was not “serious” enough. I had to choose to study Banking, Business Economics or Law. I was advised to select something “generic” which will “open many doors” once I finish. I am sure you did hear that too, didn't you? I chose an International Business with Spanish and convinced my parents I have to study in London. University I moved to London 3 weeks after turning 18. As an international fresher, I had to live in a Student residence as per University rules. So much free time. Nobody was managing my schedule. Psychological shock! Back home I had a busy schedule since I can remember myself. School, homework, additional tuition, sports, music lessons, swimming lessons, dancing lessons. You name it- I’ve done it all. Some days I had gymnastics before school at 6 am. My first year at University looked totally opposite. My mates and I were staying up late, sleeping through the afternoon lectures and even after completing all the homework, I felt like I had more free time than I ever had in my entire life. The first month I was kind of enjoying it but soon I started to get bored and wanted to do more. To begin with, I joined our local thousand-square-meter health club with a massive gym floor, multiple group exercise studios and an Olympic swimming pool. That's how my journey in fitness started. Fitness I could get lost at the gym for a good 3-4 hours every day after lectures. I trained and played sports all my life, so being around a buzzy evening environment at the gym felt so natural. Meantime, many of my university mates were getting their first part-time jobs. A typical student job was waiter, barista or receptionist at a hotel. Considering I cannot hold more than two plates at a time, without dropping them, neither of those appealed to me. One day I bumped into my trainer at our local coffee shop with piles of study materials preparing for a Kettlebell Workshop. I found out that getting a certification to teach fitness group classes does not require a full-on degree but a series of certifications that I could easily combine with my University studies. The next day I was already enrolling in my Personal Training course. I promised my parents that this is only my “little student” job and that after graduation, I will be looking for a “serious job”. Well, just over 10 years later, I guess it is safe to say that the Product Manager is serious enough and I can’t imagine myself doing anything else now. If a personal trainer with a business degree could switch to Product Management, I believe anyone can do it too and perhaps even quicker. Here are my five steps to transition and learning highlights for a successful transition. Making the Transition to Product Management Step 1. Understanding my natural ability I started my story by explaining my ideal job as a teenager and what kind of lifestyle I had. This is important. Because I believe this is the time in our life’s when we genuinely lean towards the things we enjoy doing without worrying about social status, average salary or “the seriousness” of those jobs. I wanted to be a designer. This is how I explained it back then. What I actually enjoyed doing is creating new things. Re-imagining objects, products and things that I saw daily around me. I truly think this is what drove me through my career and led me to Product Management. As this is the core principle in product management. We are constantly looking for ways to improve, re-imagine or make the product/ feature more efficient. I also mentioned that I was used to being “back-to-back” and doing multiple things in one day. This turned up being an important skill. As Product Managers, we wear so many different hats, and we manage so many different meetings and stakeholders, so it is essential to be able to switch concepts and topics jumping from one meeting to another. How to figure out what's your natural abilities? Think about what did you enjoy doing as a kid or what would you love to spend most of your time on if you would not need to worry about getting a job? If you like to lose yourself playing video games over the weekend, there are high chances you could be a good game designer with your experience understanding a consumer. If you like watercolour painting, why don't you try to paint in Gravity Sketch- an app that allows artists to sketch in real-life 3D format? Or if you are good at math, a data analyst could be a great place to explore your potential. Analyse, where your skills might be truly valuable and unique. You will be surprised how many horizons it might open. Step 2. How my personal trainer's skills helped me to grow A successful personal trainer is a product manager, where the product is you, and your user is a client with a real problem. Yes, it took me about ten years to figure it out. Working as a personal trainer taught me to focus on a user's problem. A good product is solving a real-life problem. As strange as it might sound, I see so many businesses/ products fail or can't find product-market fit, because founders would focus on the idea first, and then try to find what kind of problem and for whom it may solve. Working as a freelance personal trainer, taught me to listen to the clients, understand what worries them, prioritise what is important and focus on it. After hearing the similar problems, I started to see the patterns. Eventually, I had 2-3 types of clients who had common goals, were in a similar age group and had similar psychographics. Thanks to word of mouth, social media and primitive email marketing my client base expanded. I was sending emails manually at that time as I didn't know about email automation and CRM for small businesses didn't exist at that time. I had 30-60-90 days of outreach to all the prospects and a newsletter with fresh recipes for existing clients. These small actions helped me with retention and engagement. Later I managed to build training methods around those client groups and even moved some parts online before it was actually a trendy business model. Eventually, I wanted to grow professionally and be a part of a bigger organisation. My Business Degree and several years running different fitness projects got me a job as Operations Director for a fitness boutique scale-up. That's where the transition started. Step 3. Skills in Operations that lent me my first Product job Setting up and running operations for a new brick-and-mortar fitness studio concept is like Product Management in the digital world. My team and I were responsible for ensuring an excellent customer experience, engaging workouts (which is a core product) and of course very precise sales protocol to follow. The role in Operations helped me sharpen my skill across three important divisions: marketing, core product and customer experience. It also allowed me to have a qualitative and quantitative understanding of the users. I was seeking a customer's feedback in every conversation. That continuous feedback helped me to understand our database better and improve sales funnels via the CRM system. Additionally, our studio had a strong digital integration. I had a chance to act as a key stakeholder in multiple third-party product teams like our fitness wearables integration project, CRM and email marketing automation and content-based mobile app creation. This is where I understood that I want to be on the other side of the projects. Step 4. Once you got that first job, what are the main ticks in the boxes? Once I had it clear that I want to move into Tech, I invested a lot of time and resources in various digital courses and Bootcamps. From Digital marketing & growth hacking to Agile SCRUM master courses. I was actively involved in workshops, was connecting with mentors and was speaking to many experienced product managers. All of that led me to a unique opportunity to build a content-based multi-platform hardware + software product. I am not going to go into details about the role and responsibilities. However,  I do want to highlight that the reason my profile stood out for the hiring manager was my versatile experience in the fitness industry as opposed to other, perhaps more technical candidates. It was very clear to me that to succeed in that role I had to focus on delivery and achievements. My main objective was to work on the strategy of the product, however, I had to learn from top to bottom and I also dove into Jira management, sprint planning and backlog management. Luckily, I had an amazing engineering team and tech lead who were there at every step. Step 5. What's next? The achievements-based approach helped me to get my next job within health and fitness, which is a more innovative organisation and allowed me to expand my professional portfolio by working on various technologies such as virtual and augmented reality. I believe in finding a niche which will help to continue building my career on top of that core expertise. I found my niche within FitTech B2C content-based products. It doesn't mean that I will never move industries or platforms but I believe it is important to have a consistent theme in the experience, which serves as a hook for the next exciting gig. The best advice that I can give, is to follow your natural passion and do what you enjoy doing. With this approach even the most difficult digital tools or the skills you thought you will never be good at, seamlessly become achievable.

You're reading a guest article by Dialpad's Grace Lau. If you've got tech experience you would like to share, and you want to write for the Ironhack Blog, get in touch. Join our mission to elevate the diverse voices of tech! For SaaS companies whose website is their business, a good user experience is essential. But how do you monitor and improve it? The customer experience starts from your brand's monogram and runs through your site navigation, checkout process, and delivery. Real user monitoring isn't just important for the site developers, it's essential to the entire brand. In this article, we'll go over the art of real user monitoring, and what you need to track and improve your site's interaction performance. What is real user monitoring? Real user monitoring, or RUM, is a monitoring system that examines how online users are engaging with a website to analyze consumers' digital experiences. Real user monitoring analyzes everything from page load events, to HTTP requests, to frontend application crashes. It is also referred to as user monitoring, end-user experience monitoring, and digital experience monitoring. Google Analytics provides high-level information about the digital journey of your users: their origins, the pages they visit, etc. However, it doesn't gather the information required to quickly determine how satisfied they are overall. In this situation, RUM is useful. It gives you the ability to maintain control over your site's user experience. RUM enables you to map out friction points in a user journey with performance metrics based on a single user or multiple users' journey. With the help of this performance and user experience data, you can identify where anything went wrong and take steps to correct it so that fewer users are affected. Components of real user monitoring A RUM cycle has four major components: capturing data, turning it into real user sessions, automatic problem detection, and individual visit reporting. Let’s go through each component: 1. Capturing An application monitoring system that uses RUM collects object and page hits from sources like JavaScript within a web browser and server logs. RUM tools record information such as JSON and resource requests. 2. Sessionization An organized database of individual visits is built up. In "sessionization", the collected data is then divided into sections like pages, page components, and timing and duration information for each visit. 3. Problem detection An inspection of all items, visits, and pages is performed to look for any issues such as errors, navigational issues, delayed processing times, and other issues with your site’s user experience . All objects, pages, and sessions are examined for any odd behavior such as slow response times, system issues, and anything that looks like a navigational mistake the user shouldn't be making. 4. Individual visit reporting Individual visits can be recreated and examined by the tech team. Some tools repeat the screens exactly as they appeared on the visitor's device, while others provide a summary of the visit. With this captured data, developers can go deep into the sessions of particular users and see what they're doing as if they were looking over their shoulders. To determine whether there are any issues with performance across specific browser types or user categories, aggregate data is reviewed by the team regularly. Like many technical meetings, templates for meeting notes will make sure the team covers everything they need to. Best Practices Customers won't accept anything less than a quick, dependable experience in today's fast-paced world. Because it only takes a few clicks to visit a competitor, a business that makes its online clients wait for page load times will lose those customers. That's why tools for assessing the performance of websites are crucial. Identify objectives Setting clear goals is crucial to the long-term success of any online strategy. Businesses, especially newer ones, frequently fail to see the importance of defining and monitoring precise goals when developing a website. Whether it's social media analytics or a global parcel tracking service , enterprises can guarantee long-term success by setting measurable KPIs and focusing on improvement there. The tech team can match these goals with overarching business goals by using RUM to pinpoint and monitor metrics related to specific business objectives. For example, RUM can track a real rise in conversion rate in accordance with business objectives. Enhance mobile testing strategy Businesses are making significant investments in mobile apps, and this trend necessitates thorough testing of mobile apps across platforms and industries. It typically takes a lot of resources, extensive infrastructure, and experience to test smartphone applications. Mobile testers are employing RUM to increase visibility into the usability of native mobile applications in order to address these issues. Link performance to business operations Performance management is based on the idea that a busy worker does not always deliver beneficial or even noticeable results. Traditional training and supervision practices no longer provide the same outcomes as they once did as employment shifts to remote and online platforms. Tech teams' remote performance management metrics are quickly changing their emphasis from efforts to results. Organizations are making performance management measures that encourage employees to be effective rather than busy. These performance management metrics help to make sure that organizational objectives are achieved consistently and successfully. Performance management metrics can be tailored to concentrate on the performance of the organization as well as that of a department or team, no matter what web analytics tools you’re using. Productivity tracking techniques are evolving as more businesses move to remote work. In making sure that business objectives are satisfied, RUM can be used as a tool to monitor the productivity of tech teams. This is accomplished by contrasting actual measurements with anticipated trends and using RUM as a dashboard to track progress toward achieving business objectives. Monitor performance of new features As businesses strive to maintain a strong online presence, website performance monitoring solutions are developing to accommodate the speedy integration and testing of new features. However, it's not always enough to test out new features in a test environment. RUM can assist in identifying genuine issues experienced by genuine users and spending developer time on those real issues. Ensure transaction tracing, infrastructure, monitoring, and log management When a client transaction needs to be examined, transaction tracing gives the IT team a thorough overview of that transaction. Available database calls, function calls, and external calls are among the data that transaction tracing records. The value of real user monitoring Any digital platform's security, performance optimization, and troubleshooting are demanding tasks that call for a variety of helpful tools. In the end, the fundamental tasks for every customer-facing software organization are straightforward: improving performance, eliminating bugs, cutting down on downtime, and making sure consumers have a positive digital experience. RUM allows for the quick and effective identification of faults in code, databases, hardware, transactions, servers, and other areas of the online customer experience. About the Author Grace Lau is the Director of Growth Content at Dialpad, a contact center as a service solutions provider for better and easier team collaboration with services like international long-distance calls . She has over 10 years of experience in content writing and strategy. Currently, she is responsible for leading branded and editorial content strategies, partnering with SEO and Ops teams to build and nurture content. Grace has also written for other domains such as Whatfix and Polly . Here is her LinkedIn .

Bootcamp classes can open doors to a different dimension where your career possibilities are endless and thrilling! However, Fear of Failure makes the other side look like the Upside Down - dark, spine-chilling, and filled with winding paths leading to an uncertain future. Think of a time when you let a golden opportunity pass you by. Are you still haunted by the memories of amazing chances slipping right through your fingers? Well, it’s time to stop running from The Ghost of Missed Opportunities Past™ and face what’s behind the curtain: Fear of Failure (cue sinister laughter here) Fear of Failure, also known as "atychiphobia", is more common than you think. Ask around and you’ll find that many of the people you know have some example of how, at one time, the Fear of Failure stopped them from taking a chance in their lives. Let’s take a look at some of the root causes of Fear of Failure, figure out where they come from, and learn how to beat them in the future. Understand Where The Fear of Failure Comes From The first step on the path to beating the Fear of Failure is understanding it. There are several reasons you may feel afraid to leap into the unknown, even if the outcome is extremely promising. You probably don’t even realize some of the things that are holding you back. Insecurity We all experience insecurity at some time in our lives so it’s only normal that you do too. Perhaps you don’t feel qualified enough for a higher position, you think your experience doesn’t justify taking on more responsibility, or you don’t feel ready to enroll in a Bootcamp course. It’s possible that your insecurities are activating your Fear of Failure response and preventing you from seeing any positive outcomes that come from stepping outside your comfort zone. You want it too much Call it Witchful Thinking but sometimes you want to achieve a goal so badly that it seems almost irrational. When you discover a new specialty your excitement and imagination take hold. You arrange your life to accommodate it and spend every waking moment creating a future with this new endeavor at the forefront. However, the line between ‘Passion and ‘Infatuation’ is a thin one and at times it might be hard to tell the difference. After a while, your drive may become a deterrent. Before you know it you’re questioning why you even wanted to try something different in the first place. You think the stakes are high This one is usually spot on because without a doubt - every new opportunity has a cost, including a Bootcamp class. That doesn’t always mean money, though. “Cost” appears in different forms: time, resources, materials, etc. Not everyone is a gambler and it’s difficult to justify making an investment when there’s no guarantee of an outcome that will benefit you in the long run. Sunken investments Losing your investment is one of the top fears that hold you back when making big decisions. The thought of all work and no reward might make you run for the hills. Some commitments already feel like you’re jumping from the frying pan into the fire. The possibility of taking a risk, working constantly to meet a goal, and ending up with nothing is not the best incentive. As a result, some will decide it’s just not worth the effort, or stress, and move on to a project that may be less fulfilling but at least it’s easier. Someone else’s failure… or your own Everyone has a story about taking a chance and falling on their face. When people tell their (or someone else’s) stories of failure it’s usually a warning that ends with “don’t make the same mistakes I did” so when faced with a similar circumstance, our first instinct is to heed that previous warning and save yourself from what could be a bad situation. When we don’t succeed at something we worked hard for, it’s not a good feeling. That makes it hard to stick our heads out for something else. Self-preservation will kick in when we think it’s needed and to save ourselves from future pain and embarrassment, especially if we’ve already failed in the past, we tend to steer clear of anything that could put us in that position again. You think you don’t deserve it Fear of Failure often goes hand in hand with Imposter Syndrome, the fear that you may not be as capable as others think you are. It causes you to constantly doubt yourself, your skills, and your talents. Living in constant fear that you’re hiding behind a mask plays on your insecurities and sends your anxiety through the roof. A person plagued with Imposter Syndrome will simply avoid promising opportunities that come their way because they believe someone else deserves them more. Facing Your Fears Now that we understand exactly where our fears come from, we can take the necessary steps to face them and, most importantly, fight them. If your issue is insecurity, think about where the insecurity stems from and turn it on its head. Use your insecurities as motivation to push yourself further. For example: if you don’t think you’re ready for an advanced Bootcamp class, take an intermediate class instead. That way when it’s time for the next level you’ll move on with confidence. Embrace your passion! There’s nothing wrong with showing enthusiasm for learning new skills, think of it as drive . If something sparks your curiosity, pushes you to the next step, and excites you, then honor your feelings and follow your intuition. If you’re afraid the stakes are too high or you can’t stop thinking of what you may lose, remember that at the end of the day you’re investing in yourself and your future - the most rewarding investment possible. When you gamble on yourself you’ve always got a winning hand. Don’t let someone else’s past failures affect your present. Cautionary tales are helpful and come with good intentions but remember that your choices and experiences are yours alone. There are many reasons why something you worked for may not find success, and some of them we may never know. Everyone experiences failure but what’s important is that you learn from it and keep it moving. If you fall: get up, dust yourself off, and try again. Believe in yourself. Take that self-doubt and show it the door. The best way to deal with Imposter Syndrome is to remind yourself that you deserve great chances that cross your path. You already have the skills, knowledge, and tools for the brightest future possible and you are more than capable of handling any challenges you face. Beating the Fear of Enrolling in Bootcamps Don’t let Fear of Failure stop you from enrolling in a Bootcamp one minute longer! At Ironhack our admissions process will address any questions or doubts so you know you’re making the right choice. Our career services team is always on hand to make sure you get everything you want (and need) out of the Bootcamp. At Ironhack, you’ll have a built-in support system. Our network is made of outcome teams, teachers, TAs, and community managers who are all there, rooting for you. On top of that, your fellow Ironhackers will be right by your side, every step of the way. Now’s the time to leave your fears behind you and take the leap. Contact our admissions team and find the right Bootcamp that will take your career to places you’ve only dreamed of.

Every job is different and sometimes you realize that your current job just isn’t the right fit for you. If every day feels like you’re working at the Office on Haunted Hill it may be time to quit, and that’s okay! Going out into the great unknown is scary enough so how do you know when it’s time to Get Out? Here are some things to consider so you make the right decision… or escape plan. How to Know When It's Time to Quit Your Job: When something isn’t right at work, you know. There may be signs all around you but it’s easy to miss one when you’re focusing on deadlines, meetings, and answering emails. Here are some of the warning signs and, in some cases, glaring red flags to help you trust your gut and pack your bags. There's no room for growth When you start a new job everything is fantastic! There are training sessions, meeting new coworkers, working with new technology/projects, etc. Learning the ropes keeps you busy, It’s a relief when the turmoil dies down and you can focus on work. That is unless you don’t get proper training and have to figure things out on your own, there’s no mentorship to encourage you, you’re disconnected from management (especially in a virtual office), and the work never changes from day to day. After a while of doing the same tasks repeatedly, you’ll get chills (careful, they’re multiplying!) down your spine once you realize that you’re stuck in a loop and everyone in the company is going places ...except you. There’s no room for mistakes They say it’s a dog-eat-dog world but that’s not always a selling point when it comes to the workplace. Forget about trial and error, environments like this are unforgiving and if you have trouble keeping up, you may feel the need to hide it. It’s demotivational enough to work in a place that tears you apart for a mistake but on top of that, you’ll have to watch out for colleagues who will gladly throw you to the wolves to save their own skins. The only way to lift your spirits is to pack your bags and hightail out of there! When you're not excited about the mission Most times when you join a company it’s because their values align with yours. Something about the company mission drew you in and made you excited to work there. Unfortunately sometimes once you get a foot in the door, you realized those promises were just a bag of tricks and treats. Or perhaps you learned that not everyone seems to practice what they preach. If you and your company lose common ground it’ll be much harder to find the motivation to work on projects and meet your goals. Sometimes work is hard and stressful enough. Do you really want to spend your time and dedication on a mission you don’t believe in? You're not aligned with leadership This one isn’t a one size fits all situation, there are a few reasons why you may not feel comfortable with your superiors. Perhaps your company is going in a different direction and you’re not in line with their new values. Maybe you have difficulty with how your supervisors handle conflict or you don’t agree with their problem-solving strategies.  These conflicts rarely end well, so if the broom fits - ride it out of there and don't look back! Enjoying this article? Check out Ironhack's Career Vision Planner! The culture doesn't suit you Some companies like to have a workplace environment that reflects their philosophy but it can also send a message: “Come as you aren’t.” With startup chaos, boys' clubs, and tech bros running rampant, you might feel left out when you realize that you and your coworkers aren’t on the same page. The corporate grind is a thing of legend but let’s creep it real, it’s not for everyone. If the company motto is “Go hard or Go Home” and the latter option excites you, that’s a good sign to follow your instincts and head for the exit. There’s no work-life balance It starts slowly: You’re asked to stay late to help the team catch up with work or meet a deadline. The next time, you get an assignment five minutes before quitting time and end up staying an hour or two. Your work day goes from eight hours to twelve, you’re going in on weekends, and holidays are a thing of the past. After a while you find yourself canceling plans, medical appointments, etc. to stay late or just assuming you’ll work extra hours and adjusting your life accordingly. Congratulations, you now live at work. If your supervisors like to burn the candle at both ends, they will expect the same from their team. Some managers expect you to be on call at all times, sending emails and Teams messages at all hours or on weekends. When your life takes a back seat to your job, it’s time to make like Jack (Skellington) and hit the road! You feel unappreciated There are numerous reasons why you may be uncomfortable at work. Sometimes it may seem that your job doesn’t take you seriously. Perhaps your bosses are playing favorites, assigning better projects to your coworkers while you grow cobwebs at your desk. You spend a lot of time on busy work and unproductive tasks while your superiors constantly monitor your every move, even when working remotely. Maybe there’s the feeling that your ideas/feedback aren’t actually welcome and you’re annoying the ones in charge. If you find that you’re holding your tongue more than contributing useful ideas, it’s time to move on to a company that makes you feel valued and heard. You're ready for change While all of these are valid reasons to leave your job they may not apply to you. Everyone has their reasons but maybe your reason isn’t so cut and dry. Sometimes there’s just a feeling in your bones that says: you need to leave. Intuition is important so if you’re haunted by the urge to fly away, listen to what your spirit tells you. If the idea of a career change has you under a spell, then you’re in the right place. Ironhack is leading the way to new and exciting jobs with coding and development Bootcamps for every level. The tech world is booming with job opportunities. Our Bootcamps help you get in on the ground floor, so you’ll learn the skills that help you take your career to the next level. With our support team, teachers, and community behind you, you’ll be on your way to an exciting new career and an asset to any team you join. At Ironhack, we make sure you never settle for less when it comes to your career goals. Ready to see where we can take you? Contact our admissions team to find the perfect Bootcamp and get started right away!

Picture this: you’ve just started the Ironhack Web Development Bootcamp and you come across a job posting from a tech company that you’d love to work for when you’re done with the program. When you’re looking at the job title, you’re confused…what does “Front End Developer” do? Will I have the skills needed to apply? What does the day-to-day look like? Well, have no fear, Ironhack is here... to break them down for you. In this blog, we’ll go over the various web development positions and the essential skills for each. Decoding Web Dev Job Titles First of all, you’re probably wondering, what does someone working in web development do? Well, the simple answer is that web developers create, modify, and manage functional websites. But, what does that entail? Web developers not only program the site, they also develop the user interface, maintain databases, and perform functionality testing, among other things. For that reason, to become a web developer, you’ll have to have at least a basic knowledge of programming languages, such HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Additionally, you’ll also have to work closely with UX/UI designers, product managers, and other IT professionals to ensure the website or application fits the needs of the consumer. Even though your day-to-day will look different depending on your focus, no matter the web development position you choose, you’ll be able to use your programming expertise and problem-solving skills to develop technical solutions to common website and software issues. Since the discipline covers such a wide scope, encompassing information design, aesthetic design, and interface design, web development positions are broken down into several core categories; programmer, developer, and engineer. The term developer can be split up even further based on application type, such as web or software, and architecture specialty, such as front-end or back-end. Knowing this makes it easy to figure out the basic job requirements when you’re looking for a job. Just look at the base title and development focus to sort it out. Some popular positions to look out for include: Computer Programmer Front-End (Web) Developer Back-End (Web) Developer Full Stack (Web) Developer Mobile (Software) Developer Software Engineer So, what do these different job titles mean? Let’s break down those categories to get to the crux of it... Developer vs Engineer vs Programmer Let’s start off with the root classification: job function. When looking for a web development role, most positions you’ll find will fall into one of three categories: programmers, developers, or engineers. These titles can tell you a bit about what your day-to-day looks like in terms of job responsibilities and essential duties. Programmers tend to write basic code for specific phases of the project and then pass it on for someone else to build, test, and deploy. They’re often considered the most entry level position in the web development hierarchy. Developers are considered a step above programmers, since their job responsibilities encompass a broader scope.They’re usually the person that takes on the next step of the web development process when programmers are finished. Like programmers, developers write code, but they also build, test, and deploy the sites. Engineers , on the other hand, often perform minimal coding, instead focusing on the design and build of the web application. Since they guide the development of the site as a whole, similar to how a director oversees a play’s creative vision, they are considered the most senior of the three. Want to know which other jobs are trending in 2022? Check out the full list of most in-demand tech jobs! Software Developer vs Web Developer Now that you understand the differences between those three labels, let’s break down the category of developer even further, in terms of application type. There are two main types of developer: web developers and software developers. You can differentiate the two based on the complexity of the interface. Whereas website developers just focus on building web applications and websites that work across a range of browsers, software developers concentrate on creating intricate computer and mobile applications and programs that function on various OS platforms. Website and software development processes contain similar phases, including planning, analysis, designing, implementing, testing, and maintenance, although software development as a whole is often considered much more involved. Front-End vs Back-End We can break down both software and web developers based on application architecture layer, or more specifically front-end vs back-end. Front-end developers manage the client-side aspect of the application to create the look and feel of the website. They use programming languages, such as Javascript, CSS, HTML, to create visual user interfaces, aesthetics and layouts – the parts that people interact with – to ensure a functional user experience. Back-end developers , on the other hand, shape the server-side features of the application to streamline the implementation, performance, and functionality of the remote system. They utilize programming languages, such as Javascript, Python, and Java, to control the inner workings of the site by building and maintaining the server, application, and database – the areas that people usually can’t access. If you were to think of front-end developers as stage designers who create and organize the scenery, then back-end developers would be the stage managers who work behind the scenes to make sure the show runs smoothly. Enjoying this article? Check out Do I Have What It Takes to Be a Developer? What Does ‘Full Stack’ Mean? Okay, but what about “full-stack developer?” Well, {like Star Trek, or even Hannah Montana,} with a full-stack developer, you get the “best of both worlds.”  A full-stack developer excels in both front-end and back-end development, and, consequently, they can create a fully functioning website all by themselves. So, how do you learn to become a full-stack developer? Ironhack has your back... Our Web Development Bootcamps , available both online and in-person, teach you both sides of the web development process. Want to become a software engineer? Our course is a great first step. Just interested in front-end or back-end development? Our class works for that, too! Whatever path you choose, our web development course will help you develop the technical expertise and people skills needed to succeed in your next position. You’ll learn how to use programming languages, such as HTML, Javascript, and CSS, and how to display your creativity, by building games and sites for your bootcamp projects, so when you come out of it, you’ll be able to develop websites and web applications either on your own or with your team!

Ready to see where a career in UX/UI design can take you? The tech world is always on the move and if you have the right skills, the possibilities are endless. These days it’s not about who you know, but what you know. So how do you get started on the path to becoming a UX/UI designer? That’s where Ironhack’s new UX/UI Short course comes in. It gives students an inside view into what it takes to work in the tech world, consider it a sneak peek, and it’s absolutely free. What’s In The Course? The UX/UI Short course features a text-based scenario game that puts you in the shoes of a Junior UX/UI Designer working for a startup. Every step of the way you’ll learn the basics of UX/UI Design while developing the skills needed to work as a UX/UI Designer. The video instructions and core concepts you encounter throughout the game will guide you through the process of app creation step by step while emphasizing how each element of UX/UI Design is essential to the app development process. At the end of the course, you will know and understand core concepts such as Design Thinking, User research (with an emphasis on Survey and user interviews), identifying Problem Statements, Wireframes, Prototypes, and Usability Testing. The course will also leave you with a much better understanding of Ironhack, as well as the ability to define and list the stages of design thinking that create UX/UI context, know the keywords relative to each stage of the design process, and have the confidence to tackle a full Ironhack course on UX/UI design head-on. Who Should Take It? This course has something for everyone. Seriously, anyone can take it -  basic beginners searching for a quick intro to UX/UI design, graphic designers or visual artists looking to dip their toes in the tech pool, or anyone who feels like shaking things up career-wise. If you’re thinking of a career change and are new to the tech world, this course is just what you need to get started. Ironhack will teach you the basics, give you insight into the field of UX/UI Design, and give you the tools to build an app from the ground up. Ready to dive in? Check out Ironhack's new UX/UI Design course here ! At Ironhack, we specialize in working with students from diverse backgrounds, so previous knowledge of UX/UI design is always great but it’s not necessary to take this course. Neither is a university degree or any other specific education. If you have an eye for design, a passion for creativity, a knack for problem-solving, and a burning curiosity about the tech field this course is right up your alley. UX/UI is one of the fastest-growing jobs in the world of technology. If you’re ready for a change, now is the time to learn the skills that will help you climb the ladder toward a new career. With Ironhack in your corner, you have nothing to lose and the world to gain.

In a world where your smartphone is attached to your hand and even your appliances have access to the internet, companies have more information about you than ever before. But what is this data used for and, more importantly, how can you use it to guide decisions in your industry? You’ve probably heard the term “big data” thrown around in the news, but never fully understood what it means. Here we break down the term and explore its relationship to data analytics. Defining Big Data Starting off, you may ask, what even is “big data?” Well, the most basic definition would be the huge amount of information available rapidly growing day by day. According to the National Institute of Standards and Technology, big data can be defined as “extensive datasets—primarily in the characteristics of volume, velocity, and/or variability—that require a scalable architecture for efficient storage, manipulation, and analysis.” Since we are constantly connected to the internet in this day and age, not only through our personal devices, but public equipment as well, companies can gather an immense amount of information through our daily activities. Just going to the grocery store produces tons of real-time information for businesses, since they garner data from our car, our smartphone, the credit card portal, the store’s cameras, and more, all of which is connected to the internet. In the last few decades, there has been an exponential increase of diverse sets of data generated through smartphones, social media, consumer wearables, point-of-sale terminals, and environmental sensors, among other things. Some of this information can come structured, as in transactions and financial records, which is easy to organize, but most comes unstructured, as in images, text, and multimedia files. You can see why traditional data management tools have trouble storing or processing the data efficiently. When these large datasets are refined, due to the sheer amount of information big data possesses, businesses can use this to address company issues and find solutions that they previously would be unable to address. Since there is just so much data out there, businesses can also mine data to discover patterns about their customers to make their business more efficient or predict future consumer needs. Data analysts are a key function in  helping companies use big data to drive innovation and digital transformation. The Three Vs of Big Data The easiest way you can differentiate big data from traditional data is by the unprecedented magnitude of each of the 3Vs: volume, velocity, and variety. Volume refers to the large amount of data, which makes it necessary to process high magnitudes of low-density, unstructured data Velocity refers to the fast rate at which data is received, and lesser so, the speed that data streams must be processed and organized Variety refers to the diverse sources (smartphones, social media, etc.) and multiple formats (text, video, images, audio) of data available, including the vast majority that is unstructured data Due to the 3Vs, big data analysis can cause challenges but also bring immense opportunity to anyone trying to glean information from the sources. Companies often struggle to bring value due to the immensity. Since big data is useless without curation and preparation from data scientists, big data analysis requires specialized tools and techniques. Once this data is organized in a meaningful way, companies can gain more complete answers due to more thorough information, leading to more confidence in their conclusions. Where Did ‘Big Data’ Come From? Large datasets go back to the time of the 1880 census, the first time in US history that the Census Bureau required 7 years to process the amount of data it collected. However, the concept of big data didn’t begin until the tech boom in the 1990s. It wasn’t until 2005 that it became glaringly obvious the amount of data companies amassed from their users through sites such Facebook and YouTube. Businesses realized that they needed a way to store and analyze big data sets, which led to the development of several tools – such as Hadoop, NoSQL, and later on Spark – to get a handle on the sheer amount of information they had collected. Hadoop, an open-source framework that stores and processes huge amounts of structured and unstructured data on clusters of commodity hardware running parallel with each other, was one of the first systems created. NoSQL databases, which are data management systems that do not require a fixed scheme, came soon after. These programs allowed businesses to collect more data than ever before. Still, none of it compares to the boundless amount of information we have today. The amount of data has skyrocketed, not just from user inputted data, but through wearable devices and internet connected appliances. More objects in our homes, offices, transportation, and general public are connected to the internet, gathering data on consumer usage, and communicating to each other. This rise in the Internet of Things (IoT) has led to a larger set of consumer intelligence, like never seen before. Enjoying this article? Check out: Data Analytics is Changing the World - Here's Why You Should Care What Is Big Data Used For? Companies can use big data to address a variety of business issues within multiple sectors, such as healthcare, finance, entertainment media, agriculture, and more. Working with big data doesn’t just entail simple data collection and analysis. There is a myriad of positions types that you can explore, such as: Product Development - forecast consumer needs by creating predictive models for products and services using data from past and current offerings Predictive Maintenance - detect abnormalities and analyze warning signs to maximize efficiency in fixing issues before breakdowns occur Customer Experience - collect data from various sources, such as social media, web visits, and call logs, to improve the user experience and manage potential issues Fraud Detection and Compliance - identify potential fraud indicators, such data abnormalities or unusual data patterns, as well as organize large datasets for regulatory reporting Machine Learning - teach machines through data instead of programming Operational Efficiency and Innovation - enhance decision making and anticipate future demands by analyzing production, consumer trends, and customer feedback Environmental and Medical Research - monitor and mitigate environmental concerns by constructing accurate and up-to-date analysis of patterns and trends used by scientific experts Best Practices for Big Data No matter the purview, crafting a strategy using big data will follow the same basic steps: integration, management, and analysis. First, integrate the data by processing and formatting the information to make the data accessible for business analysts. Then, manage and store the data with a storage solution that fits your company’s needs. Next, conduct a visual analysis and examine the data to uncover new findings. The information you garner from these huge datasets may lead you down a path that you never expected. When working with big data, data analysts should always follow the technology industry's best practices. Some specific guidelines include: Utilize big data to support business goals and company priorities Standardize approaches to minimize costs Identify and address potential skill gaps Share knowledge and manage communication throughout company networks Connect structured and unstructured data to make new discoveries Create high performance work areas for interactive exploration of data Ensure resource management using cloud operating model Interested in making big data work for you? 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