Voices of 42 Kuala Lumpur
42 Kuala Lumpur opened its doors in Malaysia in 2020. Part of the 42 network of campuses dedicated to providing top-quality education to aspiring programmers and developers, the school has quickly gained a solid reputation. Discover some students of 42 Kuala Lumpur, who are on a journey to become the next generation of tech leaders.
Hans decided to join 42, a free coding school, because he had always been interested in programming but didn’t think he could pursue it as a career. He was 25 when he learned about 42 and felt that it was a good opportunity to turn his career around without investing a lot of money in a traditional degree. He had previously studied civil engineering and worked as a tunnel engineer, but after reading about 42 online, he decided to take the entrance exams.
“The Piscine made me realize I could live so much in just 28 days. I never thought I could choose programming as a career anymore until then. It made me realize I can learn so much in such a short time if I really push myself. One of the best things about 42 is that you’re surrounded by like minded peers. It really accelerates your learning: if you ever have any question, you may just ask anyone and always have a response. It is really a great community.”
At 21 years old, Jaclyn previously worked in a family business teaching kids how to build robots using Lego. She was interested in programming and chose 42 because it was free and self-paced. She heard about the school from a teacher in a messaging group and decided to sign up for the online Piscine. Jacqueline believes that the industry needs more skilled programmers, and she hopes that 42 will provide her with the necessary skills and knowledge to succeed in her career.
“I quitted school at 14 years old. My cousins finished university but were not able to get jobs in their study fields — so my mom took me out of school. In my last bootcamp, we experienced work in a software company. Some employees told me that the graduate didn’t know what they were doing, and needed to be retrained before starting to work! So far, my goal is to finish 42 then find what is my calling. Right now, I am doing UI/UX. People say that I do it quite well, but I also want to do more logical code, and even mix some art in it.”
Bunyod is a 21-year-old from Uzbekistan who arrived in Malaysia in 2013. Before coming to 42, he had finished high school and was considering going to university, but found that they were expensive and not always surrounded by like minded people. Instead, he began learning programming on his own and got a job tutoring kids in competitive programming. Bunyod decided to attend the Piscine at 42 and has enjoyed his experience.
“I didn’t go to the University because I knew I might end up around “random” people. We have all worked really hard to get into 42. We are not here because someone forced us or we didn’t have any other choice: we wanted to! We are a strong community from diverse backgrounds, one of my friends who calls me “bro” is old enough to be my father! I’ve launched a startup in Web3 with another student who is entrepreneurial minded like me and dropped out in high school. We work with artists or people that want to start their projects and we handle the technical side of the setup. It’s a way for me to learn something and make a little money. That’s what I love about programming: its the closest you will feel to magic!”
