From Lift Operator to Machine Learning Code Analyst after Devslopes

Noah Bazer found himself working long hours in a warehouse with no room for growth before making the leap into tech. He rediscovered his passion for coding and chose Devslopes as his escape plan. Devslopes’ flexible, learn-at-your-own-pace curriculum allowed him to balance a full-time job while gaining job-ready skills through their Full Stack Software Engineering program. With hands-on projects, real-world freelance opportunities, and mentorship from industry pros, he didn’t just learn to code — he actually started earning before graduation. Now Noah is a MERN stack developer and machine learning coding analyst, and he's sharing insights about his career change for others seeking a higher salary, better work-life balance, and a future full of opportunity.

What inspired you to start a tech career in 2023?

Before I started doing anything code-related, I worked at a warehouse as a reach lift operator. I had done it for several years and it was taking its toll on me. I didn't have the free time that I wanted, and I couldn't progress in my career. A couple of years before the warehouse, I had taken some computer science classes in college and I really liked coding. I looked for a way to do that that wasn't detrimental to my schedule or make me have to quit my job. 

When you were researching coding programs, what stood out about Devslopes?

The schedule at Devslopes was a big deciding factor. People assume that when they get to their mid-twenties, they’ll never be able to learn something like coding because it requires a full-time investment, they have bills to pay, and a family to support. Devslopes is very much about working at your own pace. It was a no-brainer for me!

When you were applying for Devslopes, did you need to know how to code to get in?

You didn't have to know anything to start at Devslopes. The program takes you step-by-step. The languages that I learned in college weren't even relevant in this program. Now I have a job doing things that Devslopes taught me how to do!

What was a typical day like at Devslopes?

I was still working a full-time job when I enrolled at Devslopes. I would work my job and come home, and the first thing that I would do is check the Devslopes chats to see how everyone was doing. I saw what people were working on and then I set my own goal. Devslopes does a really good job of defining chunks of work for you to do, so you can sit down and figure out what you want to get done today. If I had questions or problems when I was working on Devslopes assignments, I could immediately refer to those chats and channels and get answers and guidance quickly. Devslopes is very self-propelled, but it’s still a guided process.

How many hours per week did you end up committing to Devslopes?

Throughout the week, about 15 hours — and that’s not including weekends on a good week. During the program, I worked 50-60 hours a week at a warehouse.

What did you actually learn at Devslopes? What were some of the programming languages and skills that they covered?

I am a MERN full stack developer, so the main languages I learned were React, Express, and Node.js. All of that came from a foundation of learning HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Those are the first things they teach you, and they do a good job of working concepts together. Devslopes taught us, especially at the end of each project, how we can take these skills and tie them back into everything that we've already learned. The focus of what I was learning the entire time at Devslopes was how to make fully fledged applications, how to code well and work in an industry environment, and how to market myself as a developer. Those were the core things that I learned that helped me be successful.

What were your instructors like? Were they software developers and software engineers?

Yes, a lot of them worked for companies like Microsoft and Google. My mentor has worked all over, coding for all kinds of large companies. 

Projects are a key component of Devslopes. What kinds of projects did you work on? Were they freelance projects and did you get paid for them?

Projects are a big part of the curriculum, and they give you actual tangible work. First, we built projects that were tests to get us to take all of those languages and skills that we've learned and put them together into a single piece of working technology. As time goes on and you start to develop an understanding of those skills, you can move on to freelance work. I developed several websites and software projects during my time at Devslopes, and got paid for them, and I’m still freelancing now. 

You can focus on freelancing during and after Devslopes, but I didn't take this route because I was looking for a full-time position. If you want to freelance, Devslopes will teach you how to set up an Upwork profile, and how to correctly pitch to people who might be looking for that kind of work. Freelancing at Devslopes is encouraged! Their mantra of “get paid while you learn to code” is a real thing and it works. Doing freelance projects as a developer during Devslopes paid for a lot of my tuition!

What was your cohort like? Were there group projects at Devslopes?

There are many opportunities at Devslopes where you will work with teams, and these teams will have developers of varying levels and at different stages in the program. You get very comfortable working with teams at Devslopes. Since I’ve graduated and have a job, I don't need to take part in the group work at Devslopes, but I do anyway because it's an awesome experience. You can’t get that kind of team experience, even in the industry. I still work with Devslopes developers weekly like they're coding partners for life, and I’m happy about that!

Devslopes also offers hackathons, and what’s unique about them is that there are cash prizes for the winners! Did you participate in any hackathons?

I did not take part in the hackathons at Devslopes when I was a student because I was focused on my endeavors and getting a job. That said, I have helped a lot of Devslopes developers who were working on the hackathons and they praised it as a phenomenal experience. Instead of giving a rubric on what to build and what your code should look like, Devslopes gives you a problem and asks you to take everything you've learned and solve it. Sometimes I wish I could go back and do those hackathons after seeing those prizes. There’s a lot of prize money on the line!

How did Devslopes get you ready for today's tech job hunt, especially when it's so competitive for junior developers?

There are two sides to what makes Devslopes successful:

• The first piece is that at Devslopes, you learn how to be a good developer in the sense that you follow the industry standard. You can work well with the team and you are coding in a way that is adaptable and scalable. Devslopes does a really good job of encouraging you to work with other people to make things as procedural as possible. 

• The second piece is that there are classes and webinars tailored to setting up your resume, cover letter, and LinkedIn. You learn how to set up your network with people in your area and how to develop connections, whether it be at conventions or meetups.

So on two fronts, you are well prepared to move into the industry and find a job. Even if you're still job searching or if you’ve graduated, they continue to help you throughout that entire process. The Devslopes student success team is awesome and they've done a good job with that.

What tech roles did you feel prepared for when graduating from Devslopes and just entering that tech job search?

After looking at a lot of the qualifications for jobs, I felt that I could fill some senior-level positions. It’s crazy to think that someone recently out of the program is ready for senior positions, but the qualifications are there! At Devslopes, you’re working on industry-level projects, which means large applications with complex code bases. That made me confident enough to be able to apply for those positions.

Since you were recently on the tech job hunt, what job search strategies worked for you?

Take your projects and post them everywhere. Post them on LinkedIn, Instagram, Github, and Facebook. Create accounts specifically tailored for you as a developer. Even though I'm employed, I'm still getting offers from a local company because I took a crash map of the city that I live in and posted it on Facebook. One of the recruiters saw it on Facebook and reached out to me. Many people think that being very technically advanced is the only way to get a job, and it partly is but you also have to be able to network. You have to be able to showcase what you're capable of doing without it first coming up in an interview. 

Do you feel like you can still lean on Devslopes if you ever need any career support?

Absolutely. Even now I'm still in all of their chats and forums. I remain good friends with people there because they're a great resource. Even if I had to find a job today, I know that I could go to them and they would be able to point me in the right direction.

What kinds of projects are you working on now as a freelance developer and a machine learning coding analyst?

As a freelancer, I'm working on a website for a law firm. It's been a very long-term process and focused on the front end. 

Being a code analyst for Outlier means I train AI. My work there relates to writing clean, scalable code, and handling coding problems that are solved by LLMs like ChatGPT and Genesis. To work with AI in this way, you need an understanding of software engineering. 

It's incredibly satisfying work, definitely more so than what I was doing at the warehouse.

For those who are thinking about freelancing versus a salaried role, what are your thoughts on the pros and cons of those opportunities?

The real question is what kind of work-life do you want to have, right? As a freelancer, and especially when I was only freelancing, I could set my own schedule and deal with problems my way — that was very fulfilling. It gave me a lot of control over my work and what the work was like. On the other hand, a salaried job is very stable.

Keep in mind that there are a lot of roles right now, especially as tech continues to boom. Jobs are up again. This is a great time for people looking to get into stable and structured positions. So it really just depends on what you as a developer want out of your tech life.

Compared to your previous role working in a warehouse, are you seeing a salary boost and/or better work-life balance?

Without a doubt. I have a partner now, and we were able to move to Virginia from Louisiana. I work from home, and I make twice as much as I did at the warehouse. I'm now developing a full-scale game in my free time, just because I have the time. It makes a world of difference and is completely not identifiable to how my life was before making the career change.

You're working on various projects — are you still using what you learned at Devslopes in any of these roles? 

Yes. I'm using them every single day without a doubt. I'm developing a game and those languages have nothing to do with the languages that I learned at Devslopes, but I've picked up really good coding principles and that carried the development of this project. The same goes for my job at Outlier. I'm learning languages that I didn't know before this work, but because of everything that I know about clean code writing and functional/object-oriented programming I can understand these languages a lot quicker. 

At this point in your career, was Devslopes worth it for you?

Yes! It changed my life. Taking the first step was the hardest part, but once I got the momentum going I felt like I could do this. This experience transforms you. It changes you.

For incoming Devslopes students, what are your recommendations for making the most of their experience?

Be prepared to learn and stay motivated. Going to a place that is very self-guided means you are given the power to learn at your own pace and to understand and tinker and build on your own — this means that it is all your responsibility. You are the person responsible for your success and that is very empowering, but it means that you have to stay disciplined. I think that going into Devslopes with that mindset is important, but there's help if something goes wrong.

Find out more and read Devslopes reviews on Course Report. This article was produced by the Course Report team in partnership with Devslopes.