Last week CodeClan contacted me and asked if I would write them an article for their website. Of course, I would be delighted to. Apparently, someone had been in touch and was looking to change careers, they hated their job and would like to study coding. However, they thought at 46 they were too old. Well I am 46 (old?) and I did it (I actually started at CodeClan when I was 45, but that's splitting hairs)
When Everything Changed
So almost a year ago my work life took a turn for the worse and came crashing down. My "position was put at risk". Redundancy was inevitable. I was caught up in a failing Oil and Gas industry, failing department, and failing management.Looking back now, this was one of the biggest turning points in my life. At the time it felt frightening, uncertain, and financially risky. But it also became the start of an entirely new career, new friendships, and a completely different direction in life.
The situation gradually became unhealthy and unsustainable, and eventually I decided it was time to leave.
There I was 46, had a wife and kids to support, had a poor job market (Aberdeen), and had lots of free time. I was tired of having busted a gut for the same company for the past 22. I needed a change.
The situation gradually became unhealthy and unsustainable, and eventually I decided it was time to leave.
There I was 46, had a wife and kids to support, had a poor job market (Aberdeen), and had lots of free time. I was tired of having busted a gut for the same company for the past 22. I needed a change.
Discovering CodeClan
A few chance meetings and a conversation led me to look up CodeClan. A small education facility in Edinburgh offering a software coding boot camp. It sounded interesting. I'd heard about boot camps, it's all about coding, pizza, and table tennis.
The CodeClan course was 16 weeks of full-time study and when (if) you finish you will have a new qualification in software development. A chance for me to get out of Oil and Gas, change an industry and get into Tech.
So I accepted the place and my start date was set at a few months away. I had the whole summer school holidays with my boys to enjoy first (how many people can do that?).
Before I knew it I was graduating and had a new SQA qualification in software development. More important than that I'd had a ball and I'd gained 20 brilliant new friends. This was a surprise but so glad, and it alone made it all worthwhile.The CodeClan course was 16 weeks of full-time study and when (if) you finish you will have a new qualification in software development. A chance for me to get out of Oil and Gas, change an industry and get into Tech.
I love Tech, and 30 years ago I learned some coding at university (Pascal and assembly language) as part of my BEng in Electrical and Electronic Engineering. However, I have never had any proper code training. Things have moved on a lot. Being able to retrain would great and possibly a chance for a rest (I wish!).
I applied and was asked down for an interview at the CodeClan office in Edinburgh. I found a super friendly bunch of people, a real buzz, and the atmosphere was exciting. There were discussions of employee partners doing new things with code. As I looked about I could imagine I was in Silicon Valley.
I was offered a place in cohort 7 and I was lucky to be granted funding from the Transition Training Fund (woohoo! Go me). This is a fund set up to help oil and gas workers retrain having been made redundant. That's me so I applied. It paid for the bulk of my course fees.
I discussed it with my family if they would survive without me during the week for the next 16. Happily, we all agreed, and if there was a chance to improve my prospects in Aberdeen why not.
I applied and was asked down for an interview at the CodeClan office in Edinburgh. I found a super friendly bunch of people, a real buzz, and the atmosphere was exciting. There were discussions of employee partners doing new things with code. As I looked about I could imagine I was in Silicon Valley.
I was offered a place in cohort 7 and I was lucky to be granted funding from the Transition Training Fund (woohoo! Go me). This is a fund set up to help oil and gas workers retrain having been made redundant. That's me so I applied. It paid for the bulk of my course fees.
I discussed it with my family if they would survive without me during the week for the next 16. Happily, we all agreed, and if there was a chance to improve my prospects in Aberdeen why not.
Starting Again at 46
So I accepted the place and my start date was set at a few months away. I had the whole summer school holidays with my boys to enjoy first (how many people can do that?).Of course, summer rushed by, and before I knew it I was on a train to Edinburgh to meet the rest of my cohort and pick up my Mac Book Pro (you get one to borrow for the duration of the course). There I met 20 other cohorts all eager to get started. It was a half-day warmup session to make sure your Mac is working and meet each other. Back on the train home, I had my first chance to work on the 3 weeks of homework before the real start (that takes the course to 19 weeks in total, plus I had two two-week breaks at Christmas... So I guess it was 21 weeks for us).
The three weeks whizzed by and I was back down to Edinburgh to start for real. This time I was a commuter, up at 4am on a Monday morning, driving or train to Edinburgh and heading home to Aberdeen on a Friday afternoon. It was hard. I stayed with friends, some weeks in Edinburgh and some weeks in Stirling. I was now a student so keeping costs down was super important, I had no income.
I met up again with my cohorts and we had a day of induction and team building before we were thrown headlong into code.
The three weeks whizzed by and I was back down to Edinburgh to start for real. This time I was a commuter, up at 4am on a Monday morning, driving or train to Edinburgh and heading home to Aberdeen on a Friday afternoon. It was hard. I stayed with friends, some weeks in Edinburgh and some weeks in Stirling. I was now a student so keeping costs down was super important, I had no income.
I met up again with my cohorts and we had a day of induction and team building before we were thrown headlong into code.
Life Inside the Bootcamp
16 weeks of intense study took over my life. I had to eat sleep and breathe code. The commuting was a pain but I got comfortable in my new routine.
Coding is also hard! It's mentally exhausting. It's a journey of peaks and troughs. Peaks when you spend ages trying to get something working and it finally clicks. Troughs when you spend ages trying to get something working.
But I gradually became familiar with the format of the boot camp and coding became easier.
Lectures and code along in the morning then paired programming in the afternoon, and finally the joy of joys more coding as homework. Thursday nights were a chance to cry into your beer with your cohorts or to discuss how brilliant your code was. Thursday night was social night and homework-free.
The rest is a bit of a blur and thankfully I did a weekly blog (encouraged by CodeClan) to record my time.
Coding is also hard! It's mentally exhausting. It's a journey of peaks and troughs. Peaks when you spend ages trying to get something working and it finally clicks. Troughs when you spend ages trying to get something working.
But I gradually became familiar with the format of the boot camp and coding became easier.
Lectures and code along in the morning then paired programming in the afternoon, and finally the joy of joys more coding as homework. Thursday nights were a chance to cry into your beer with your cohorts or to discuss how brilliant your code was. Thursday night was social night and homework-free.
The rest is a bit of a blur and thankfully I did a weekly blog (encouraged by CodeClan) to record my time.
Week 2 - and we are putting the band back together
Week 3 - Program like Efen Reys
Week 6 - They put Java in my Ferrari!
Week 7 - Java + Android = Cool Apps
Week 8 - Android - Like putting your pants on two legs at a time!
Week 9 - Happy 1st Birthday CodeClan!
Week 10 - JavaScript... use a semicolon if you want!
Week 12 - Worshiping at the Cathedral of code
Week 14 - Speed Dating with potential Employers
Week 15 - This baby corners like it's on Rails
Week 16 - The Gladiators have been thrown into the pit!
What surprised me most was how energising learning something completely new could be.
Back home in Aberdeen at the end of January, it was all over and I was back to having lots of free time and spending time with my family.
Back home in Aberdeen at the end of January, it was all over and I was back to having lots of free time and spending time with my family.
I had my new bit of paper with my SQA on it.
It was time to start thinking about working again. I was refreshed and ready to get back to it.
It was time to start thinking about working again. I was refreshed and ready to get back to it.
From Oil and Gas to Web Development
I was keen on web development so applied for some jobs in Aberdeen and at the same time started putting myself forward for some freelance work under the guise of www.udnysolutions.co.uk
I'd say my friends in Edinburgh had it easier (don't tell them) as there is a tech boom down there and plenty of CodeClan employer partners to choose from.
Aberdeen doesn't yet, but it's trying. I expected a long wait and many rejections.
While I applied for a few jobs I received a freelance contract to update and refresh a local business website. That kept me busy. Udny Solutions had its first job.
I was then thrilled to be invited for an interview with Aberdeen City Council as a Web Developer (perfect!). Suit and tie on I went for an interview with some super nice people and it must have gone well as I was offered the position the following day.
I was chuffed to bits to accept. I am now a Web Developer and I have a shiny new badge with my picture and big bold letters "Web Developer" on it.
I'm loving my new job.
I'd say my friends in Edinburgh had it easier (don't tell them) as there is a tech boom down there and plenty of CodeClan employer partners to choose from.
Aberdeen doesn't yet, but it's trying. I expected a long wait and many rejections.
While I applied for a few jobs I received a freelance contract to update and refresh a local business website. That kept me busy. Udny Solutions had its first job.
I was then thrilled to be invited for an interview with Aberdeen City Council as a Web Developer (perfect!). Suit and tie on I went for an interview with some super nice people and it must have gone well as I was offered the position the following day.
I was chuffed to bits to accept. I am now a Web Developer and I have a shiny new badge with my picture and big bold letters "Web Developer" on it.
I'm loving my new job.
Looking Back on the Decision
So do I miss my old job? Not really, I miss some of the people. It ended up being more about faff than engineering.
Was being made redundant a bad thing? For me I'd have to say in hindsight, No, I needed a change. I was stuck in a rut. I had spent too long with one company and got little back for it.
Was going to CodeClan worth it? Definitely. Well worth it in fact. I now have a qualification, I had a great experience and gained lots of new friends, and now a new job in tech.
Was being made redundant a bad thing? For me I'd have to say in hindsight, No, I needed a change. I was stuck in a rut. I had spent too long with one company and got little back for it.
Was going to CodeClan worth it? Definitely. Well worth it in fact. I now have a qualification, I had a great experience and gained lots of new friends, and now a new job in tech.
Looking back now, it’s strange to realise how much of my later career started from that single decision to retrain. The path eventually led into web development, accessibility, digital services, automation, civic technology, AI, and many of the systems and projects I still work on today.
So yeah I'm a Web Developer with a newfound passion for tech.
Big thanks to CodeClan and my fellow cohorts. I miss you guys.
So yeah I'm a Web Developer with a newfound passion for tech.
Big thanks to CodeClan and my fellow cohorts. I miss you guys.
A lot of the same themes around learning differently and problem solving also appear in my reflections on visual thinking.
Changing career also eventually reshaped how I think about work, flexibility, and balance in posts like working from home.
The same curiosity that pushed me into coding also led to personal projects like my browser-based text adventure game Redcastle.
Looking back, many of the same ideas around creativity, systems, and building things also connect closely to my posts about the maker mindset.
Changing career at 46 felt risky at the time, but looking back it completely changed the direction of my life.
A lot of the same curiosity, problem solving, and love of technology that started during this period still shapes the systems, projects, and digital work I do today.
If you'd like to explore more of my work and projects, you can find out more here.