Student Spotlight

Ben, tell us a little about yourself.

I'm Ben. Born in Berlin, living in Berlin. And I guess I will die in Berlin. But not yet, I just got 35. I love tech, gadgets and nature. And my girlfriend. Not in that order.

Did you have any coding experience prior to this course? What is your technical background?

I studied computer science and philosophy in Berlin to become a teacher and finished with a master degree giving me the funny title "Master of Education".

Fun fact: I studied computer science but never really learned "real" coding in university. Sure, the background and knowledge helped a lot to learn coding since I already knew about object orientation and a bit of Java, but I would say that what I know today about coding is mostly a result of self-paced learning.

When I think back, what may have actually brought me to coding was anger. Some years ago, after I had already finished university and before I started my teacher training, I was looking for a certain functionality in a music player but could not find anything that really worked for me. After days of searching and tinkering around this got me very angry and I was raging so hard that I thought: "Ok then, so I'm going to do it myself!"

I failed miserably. Without a deeper understanding of Java, it was very tough to just dive into Android development and code an advanced app. I wanted too much and too fast. But this made me realize that I should take one step after another to reach my goal.

So I grabbed my first book about Java programming: "Head First Java". I loved it. It made me think a lot about the concepts and taught me many fundamental things. During the teacher training after university, I realized more and more that this was not the right job for me for the rest of my life. I started to improve my Java knowledge by reading books and doing some video tutorials on YouTube.

Then I decided to change career paths.

I found a job in a small company where I develop a self-designed system to manage and automate auctions and product pages on different marketplaces based on a custom product database.

So to sum it up: When I started this first round of this program in November 2017 I had around 18 months of Java and SQL experience from my job and some more experience from reading on my own. Ok, and that master degree.

What sort of impact on your life has this Scholarship had professionally and/or personally? What has your Scholarship helped you accomplish?

This scholarship got me started to take the next step. The reasoning behind learning Java and MySQL was from the beginning to get myself working on mobile apps. Considering my first frustrating Android attempt some time ago, the scholarship made me realize the progress I made in the last 2 years. There is still a whole universe of knowledge out there and I know that I just scratched the surface of Android development, but the scholarship gives me the constant impression of progress by giving a short insight into multiple fields of Android. By now I developed the confidence that with enough time and work I can transform my ideas into apps that I will then publish in the Play store.

If it wasn't for this scholarship I may have grabbed a book about Java or design patterns. Starting to learn Android development is no longer something that I will do sometime soon, but something that I actually do now. And for that, I am very grateful.

What advice would you give to other students who are finding it difficult to make progress?

Even if you have absolutely no time: Spend at least 10 minutes each day on something scholarship related. This makes it more unlikely to forget things you just learned. And if you are super stressed and have really, really, really no time at all: Go to sleep 10 minutes later, maybe re-watch the last videos or read an article about the same topic. Then try to fall asleep while thinking about those last impressions.

If you have the time, maybe start to work on an own project (not scholarship related) to try things out and repeat the same contents in other contexts. Read articles about concepts from the course to get a better understanding from other perspectives.

And the most important advice: Do. Not. Give. Up! If coding is something you really want, then keep learning, even if you can only take small steps. The good thing about coding is: If you break something, you can fix it. Well, at least if you don't code algorithms for spacecrafts ;-) Try to understand the problem, read online articles about it, and ultimately fix it! Believe me, in the end, you will always fix it, even if it takes you days. And whenever you reach this point, you will feel a lot of satisfaction.

What do you do to relax when you're not working on your Nanodegree?

I like escape games, riding my bike, climbing, playing E-bass, listening to music with great guitar and bass lines, reading, coding and meeting friends. And sunlight. Enjoying the sun is a great way to relax.

What's next for you once you graduate?

I will search for a new job as an Android or Java developer in Berlin. Additionally, I plan on doing more certificates and become Google certified Associate Android Developer and Oracle certified Java programmer.

And by the way: I still need to write that music player ;-)

Whenever he is not being a rockstar on Slack, Asher is actually a Computer Science student and a self-proclaimed product designer from Manchester, UK.

What brings you to the Scholarship Programme, Asher?

At some point of the academic year, I realised that I enjoy designing UI and working on improving other people’s experiences. After some searching, I figured that a product design role is perfect for me, so I practiced Sketch, InVision and Photoshop in my own time. Eventually, I discovered that front end is an important aspect and always wanted to fully improve my HTML/CSS knowledge.

When I came across the scholarship programme, I literally worked day and night perfecting my application and made sure to double-check before the end date. And then, like many of you in FEND, I also received the ‘mistake’ email of not being accepted. Oh Udacity, how you tugged on my heart strings… I'm glad to be here and am honoured to be selected as part of the student spotlight.

Did you have any coding experience prior to this course? What is your background?

My basic foundation for programming came from learning C and Pascal at College. This eventually lead to my obsession for web development as I learnt the basics of HTML and CSS in my spare time as a hobby before starting higher education. As we speak, I am currently learning C#, C++, Java and Android at University.

What sort of impact on your life has this Scholarship had professionally and/or personally? What has your Scholarship helped you accomplish?

I originally didn’t realise this, but the course really has rekindled my passion for learning! I feel I’m making progress every day, and this is reflected when working on my projects. The scholarship has given me an opportunity to learn the foundation of web development the right way, refreshing my memory and discarding any bad practices I knew before. As a product designer, front end is a valuable asset to have since you’re aware of the limitations and technical aspect, it also gives you a new way of thinking about design and user experience.

Now, this is between you and me, but contrary to popular belief, I’m not a very strong programmer nor am I profound at academics. I’ve applied to over 30 internships and haven’t had the green light compared to my peers that are currently being interviewed at large companies. Am I sad about this? Yes… Should I be? Maybe… Do I give up? NEVER!

This experience has taught me something very valuable. Although I realise that I’m still young and haven’t experienced the big world yet, but that’s literally my strength right there! I have time to grow, improve and strive to be successful. There’s always a bright side to everything: do you want to take a guess? Yep, it's the scholarship! It has given me one of the biggest opportunities I will come across and I can’t waste it by sitting around and moping on why I couldn’t get that internship. This is my chance, not to prove to others, but to myself that I can succeed if I put my mind to it. The end of the academic year is drawing closer, and while I watch students my age working 9-5 commuting from far away, I’m going to be having fun working on my projects and talking to amazing people in this community, and that makes it completely worth it!

What advice would you give to other students who are finding it difficult to make progress?

Take a deep breath, in and out, okay, good. Another thing that always helps is talking to someone: a friend, study buddy, mentor, community manager or even me (@Asher). I’m at the important stage of the academic year (exams), so I’ve made slower progress with the course, but that obviously won’t stop me from completing the course and it shouldn’t stop you! Take a step back and look at how far you’ve come from the start of the scholarship, you made progress right? Exactly. In order to overcome a challenge, you need to believe in yourself and realise that you are capable of succeeding like everyone else. Besides, you’re not alone on this one. Over 6,000 students are with you, not to mention your mentor and the fantastic community managers are here to support you every step of the way!

What do you do to relax when you're not working on your Nanodegree?

Video games. I’m currently playing Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and I must say, its fantastic! Other games I play are Fortnite or Overwatch with my buddies. Most of the time I spent is with my family, at University, or observing Slack.

What's next for you once you graduate?

I’m interested in a classroom mentorship role at Udacity, perhaps a content developer like José, but for the front end track. Due to time constraints, I may return for the final academic year at University but I’m still going to try and use as much of the career section as possible to land a front end or product design job with one of Udacity’s hiring partners in Europe.

Fun Question: What's your favorite movie/TV show :D ?

This might surprise you (gasp!) but I don’t actually watch TV or shows on Netflix. I’m still into action, sci-fi, adventure and animated movies though, speaking of animated, can’t wait for the new Incredibles 2 movie.

And this week's special question: What is Leadership for you?

Leadership is very important to me, especially because it ensures organisation and order within a group. By keeping track of the goal and making sure that goal is being achieved, you can support members and become aware at handling different situations. I wasn’t really the leader type, or at-least didn’t realise it at the time. I previously have experience of moderating communities in the past, but soon realised that the community members are everything when it comes to leadership.

I have respect for those in leadership roles (managers, team leads, captains), and am interested in community management aside from becoming a product designer. Leaders can make all the difference in a community to make sure everything goes smoothly and that’s what I love about them.