Your Django Story: Meet Kaisa Filppula
This is a post in our Your Django Story series where we highlight awesome ladies who work with Django. Read more about it here.
Kaisa Filppula is an Associate Software Engineer at a tech company in New York City. Like many aspiring self-taught developers, Kaisa got started with online tutorials. She later attended a NYC-based, Python-centric bootcamp. Within just a few months of committing to her new path, she was hired in a full-time position writing Python. She graciously credits the positive influence of friends, the Django Girls workshop, and the inspiring atmosphere at PyCon 2015 for setting her on her way. Her hard work & persistence is an inspiration to anyone who is worried it’s “too late” to get started with code. As Kaisa’s story shows, it’s certainly not too late. Find her on GitHub.
How did your story with code start?
It started from a text message that my friend sent me a year ago. He asked me if I had ever thought of learning programming. I said yes. I really had thought of it, many times, but never took action. My friend got back to me saying that his friend, a software engineer that I had also met at our rock climbing gym, had talked about different resources for learning and that she would be happy to help me get started. I contacted her immediately and two days after I was sitting in her living room and setting up my GitHub account. In the beginning I did a bunch of online tutorials starting from HTML and CSS, then took a 14-week Java class online with University of Helsinki and finally attended a full-time Python/Django bootcamp.
What did you do before becoming a programmer?
I was a marketing researcher in magazine publishing industry. I used to design questionnaires, analyze data and put together presentations for media sales and product development purposes. It was fun and fulfilling, and it brought me to NYC. Having that non-technical background is definitely an advantage for me.
What do you love the most about coding?
Endless possibilities; the fact that I can build (almost) anything.
Why Django?
Because of Django Girls, PyCon 2015 and the programming bootcamp I attended. To be honest, I didn’t have enough experience to pick a framework, but I knew I wanted to learn Python. Looking back, I’m very happy with my choices.
What cool projects are you working on at the moment/planning on working on in the near future?
Currently I’m working on my Django-based side project GearCircles. It’s a gear rental marketplace for outdoor sports. It utilizes GeoDjango for location data, which was a fun challenge to figure out. I have a bunch of other ideas too, but right now I have enough on my plate. I rather pick a few projects and finish than pick too many and never finish any of them.
What are you most proud of?
That I’ve had enough courage to quit good jobs and take my time to figure out what I really want to do in my life. When I quit my last job, I didn’t have a next job or even an idea of what I would do next. I just knew I needed a change. A few months passed before I actually started to learn programming.
What are you curious about?
Everyday life; small and big things that just happen to me and around me. This question is actually almost impossible to answer.
What do you like doing in your free time? What’s your hobby?
I’m a backcountry skier and rock climber. East coast skiing is not bad at all, no matter what they say. Rock climbing is great too; the “‘Gunks” in New Paltz is a world-class climbing destination. When I’m in the city, I love going to movies.
Do you have any advice/tips for programming beginners?
I have three pieces of advice.
First, be persistent. Not the easiest task, but will take you far. In practice this means coding every day (self-discipline!) and pushing through challenges. Coding is fun, but honestly, sometimes it can be incredibly frustrating too.
Second, find a mentor. If you have a programmer in your group of friends, talk to her/him. She/he is most likely happy to give you advice and push you further.
Third and finally: it’s never too late. If you passed your 20s and have another career behind you, no worries, you can still make it. In fact, a combination of programming skills and your expertise in another area can be incredibly powerful in the job market.
How did attending a Django Girls workshop influence your life/career? What did you get out of attending a Django Girls workshop?
I attended Django Girls workshop at PyCon in April 2015 and absolutely loved the workshop and the whole long weekend of talks. It was there when I decided I wanted to learn Python and come back next year as a developer. After the conference I started looking for Python/Django specific bootcamps, found one and graduated just a month ago. I was hired in less than a month and currently work as an Associate Software Engineer.
Thanks Kaisa! :)
If you would like to suggest someone to be featured in the Your Django Story series (or would like to nominate yourself!), send an email to story@djangogirls.org!
