Talent Alone Is Not Enough: How Theo Changed Careers at 49 and Landed a Paid Web Dev Apprenticeship

<p><strong>🎙 About the episode</strong></p><p><br><strong>Meet Theo Ntogiakos 🇬🇧!</strong> Theo has just switched careers at the age of 49! Recently, he landed a paid apprenticeship and is currently attending a coding bootcamp. But before that, he learned on Scrimba - he joined a coding challenge in February and became an active member of our community. Although he always did something with computers, he used to think he could never become a front-end developer. Well, he was wrong! And that's why he's here.</p><p>In this episode, Theo shares details about a path that led him here, as well as his approach to learning. You'll find out what's it like to attend a bootcamp and how it compares to Scrimba's learning platform, as well as what kinds of opportunities to keep an eye out for if you're a new developer and live in the UK. Theo also talks about motivation, self-doubt, and whether he could've shifted gears earlier. He and Alex also discuss the importance of wanting to become a developer for the right reasons.</p><p><strong>🔗 Connect with Theo</strong></p><ul><li><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/theontogiakos/">👨🏻‍💼 LinkedIn</a></li></ul><p>⏰ <strong>Timestamps</strong></p><ul> <li>Theo's journey into web development (it's a long and winding path!) (01:33)</li> <li>Theo's coding background (it includes Pascal!) (02:48)</li> <li>Why Theo wanted to change careers (05:29)</li> <li>On self-doubt (06:13)</li> <li>Was it challenging to change careers later in life? Plus, the perks of a coding apprenticeship (06:41)</li> <li>How Theo landed a paid apprenticeship after only six months of learning to code... and discovered Scrimba along the way (08:42)</li> <li>Scrimba's coding challenges (11:02)</li> <li>UK developer bootcamps (11:56)</li> <li>How to get an apprenticeship as a web developer in the United Kingdom (14:27)</li> <li>Is salary enough of a reason for a career change? (19:23)</li> <li>What do employers want to see in a candidate? (21:33)</li> <li>Slow and steady wins the race (25:17)</li> <li>How d