After graduating with a degree in physics, Quinton Aiken was on track to pursue a career in chemical engineering. However, after witnessing the creativity and freedom his friends had in web development, he realized he wanted to pursue a tech-based career.
With that in mind, he set out to change course and began to teach himself to code. Quinton eventually landed a front-end web developer job specializing in CSS and building custom WordPress themes. After a few years in that role, he decided to level-up his career by becoming a skilled full-stack Javascript engineer. While he knew the basics, it was important to Quinton to build a deeper understanding of JavaScript beyond self-education, focusing on building applications through modern frameworks. With that in mind, he packed up his life in Springfield, Missouri and moved to Los Angeles to attend MakerSquare. He knew he wanted to learn with like-minded individuals who were diving into the same challenges and focusing on similar career advancement goals. Soon after completing the immersive program, he secured a software engineering role at LA-based startup, Laurel & Wolf, building in React and Redux.
When Quinton isn’t coding, he’s either making music, camping or doing spicy food challenges.
Tell us about where you work now. What is your role and what technologies do you build in?
I work at Laurel & Wolf now, and I absolutely love my job. I’m so fortunate to have found a position that uses the front-end tech stack that excites me the most. I’m a software engineer working in React and Redux. Right now I work fully on the front-end but I’m interested in learning more about their Ruby on Rails backend as well.
What do you enjoy most about the job so far? What have you found to be challenging?
It’s great to work at a startup because everyone is so passionate about the product we are developing. I’m excited to see the team continue to grow. Also, I chose the position because I wanted to work with React. The most challenging part is learning the ins and outs of the application as a whole. On your first day, you have to start working on a massive application already in production. However, this is a learning curve that is part of any new software engineering job, and you’ll encounter it no matter how skilled you are.
What attracted you to MakerSquare?
I was first attracted to MakerSquare because of its great reputation in the coding boot camp world. It is partnered with Hack Reactor and has Javascript guru, Kyle Simpson as their Head of Curriculum, along with exceptional tech companies like Uber.
I also loved the idea of being fully immersed in a coding environment for three months with like-minded people who love to code. I think a program like this is ideal for previously self-taught individuals like myself to take their coding skills to the next level and really launch their careers.
How has MakerSquare, a program focused on Javascript prepared you for a role outside of Javascript?
In my new position, we do a lot of pair programming. Pair programming is a huge part of the MakerSquare curriculum so it was fantastic to get a lot of exposure to it before entering the workforce.
You already worked as a front-end developer prior to MakerSquare. Why did you pursue a software engineering code school?
I had about two and half years of web development experience before coming to MakerSquare. It’s really hard to define exactly what a “web developer” or “software engineer” is. The terms can mean different things to different people; the same is true for the terms “front-end” and “back-end.” I was primarily working with CSS, WordPress, HTML, and jQuery before MakerSquare. I knew the basics of JavaScript, but I wanted to learn it deeply and be a real part of the Javascript movement. I wanted to start building applications with modern frameworks. An entirely Javascript focused intensive like MakerSquare was perfect for someone like me. I had experience but wanted to push it to the next level.
What drew you to coding?
We live in a time where someone can take an idea and start creating the next big app in their home office. I love that with coding, all you need is a laptop and some time. There are so many powerful ideas and apps waiting to be brought to life with little more than a keyboard. A lot of other engineering fields require teams of hundreds, massive equipment, expensive research laboratories, etc. I can work on the beach at midnight if I feel like it!
Also, I love how there’s so many different directions you can go with coding. There’s front-end, back-end, design, etc., and each project ties them together in a different way. If you have the necessary core skills, you can create applications that really improve the world we live in.
Do you believe your Physics degree helped or informed your learning to code?
College was great and I learned a lot. However, it wasn’t until after college when I really learned how to learn. In college, you have someone telling you what to learn and in what order. When you learn web development, all that goes out the window. You are completely free to learn whatever you want, however you want. While it is somewhat daunting, it is also liberating and invigorating. Web programming is always changing so you have to be prepared to continuously learn. I wrote an article on my blog about this topic earlier this year.
What were you missing in your previous job as a web developer that you now have in your new role at Laurel & Wolf?
Definitely an exposure to the modern Javascript framework landscape. After graduating MakerSquare I had a good understanding of Backbone, Angular, D3, React, React Native and Express. I ultimately decided on React and now I’m using it everyday.
What would you advise someone who was interested in web development and programming?
Be prepared to never stop learning. Also, take enough time to explore the whole coding landscape but then eventually pick a specialized area that you love the most and focus in on it. It’s important to know what you are especially interested in so that you can master it. You can always build side projects in other areas too.
What would you advise someone interested in applying to MakerSquare?
Study, study, study before the program even starts! The people that get the most out of the program are the ones that can hit the ground running on day one.
Ready to level-up your skills?
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