I am 20 years old and currently work in retail. I hate my job and don't earn anywhere near as much as I'd like. Before starting work I did a course in IT which had a small module in Web development and that's where I first became interested in the field. Trouble is, everything being taught was about 10 years outdated which led me to start reading up on more modern practices and starting to tinker with building websites as a hobby.

After a couple months of wondering what I really wanted to do in life, countless sleepless nights pondering different choices etc, I realised that Web Development would be perfect for me.

The problem-solving and creativity that goes into Web development is a much-needed change from the monotony of retail. I am continuously fascinated by the many aspects of it, from the front-end to the back-end and all of the design work in between.

My main reasons for the switch include: -Learning a valued and highly-marketable skillset that can be self-taught. -A growing industry that evolves constantly -Creative and challenging work -Varied working environments, from offices to freelance work at home. -Can be done from anywhere in the world with an Internet connection, which means the ability to travel. Speaking of which... -The money is great and will allow me to travel. I simply would not be able to afford a transition to a different country in my current circumstances.

There are a lot of other reasons too, but I could list them all day.

I'm currently following the Front-end development track on Treehouse and learning all these things I didn't know about html/css3/js is simply amazing. I was literally amazed that I was learning to do things as simple as background gradients or text shadows. Learning how to make a responsive website blew my mind.

I am loving my journey so far and I know it's gonna take several months of learning before I can even think about sn entry-level job, but I am so happy to have found something I truly enjoy to make a career out.