Brandon Gormley

Hello! I'm Brandon Gormley, currently residing in Dallas, Texas, but I grew up along the shores of South New Jersey. I earned my Bachelor of Arts degree in Digital Design in 2017. I am an adventurous soul so I love to get out of the house, travel, and explore new areas. When not engaged in that, I'm either hitting the gym or coding.

How I came into the tech world

Growing up, I have always had a love for computers and technology, but I was also a huge sports fan. Ice hockey was always my favorite sport so at a young age, becoming a professional was the dream. Once I realized that wasn’t going to happen I fell in love with Digital Art and anything I could design/create 3-dimensional on a computer. My biggest switch was my sophomore year of college, where I changed my major from Civil Engineering to Digital Design. But upon graduating college, I lost my passion for art. I was trying to code a website to build a portfolio for my 3D designs, and I quickly fell in love with programming. That's when I made my switch to the world of programming, with a focus towards app development.

Working in the tech industry has its highs and lows, but I'm drawn to the flexibility that accompanies a job that can be done anywhere a computer is present.

What led me to learn with Treehouse

I stumbled upon Treehouse by watching YouTube videos that introduced me to the company and its offerings. Although the price point gave me pause, I felt it was the push I needed to commit time and effort. Around late 2019, I undertook several Treehouse courses, enjoying them immensely. This led me to enroll in the Front End Web Dev Techdegree, which felt like being back in school with peers, instructors, assignments, exams, grades, and more.

The Techdegree played a pivotal role in landing my current job.

I connected with a fellow student who shared similar interests and had secured a Web Developer position in Dallas, Texas. We remained in touch for months, and he alerted me to a contract position for another Web Developer, which marked the beginning of my tech career.

How Treehouse advanced my career

After a year of contracting, I transitioned to my current role as a Front End Web Developer at a skincare company in Dallas. My daily responsibilities involve handling various UI tasks across multiple applications and crafting new pages for deployment. My daily programming languages cover the full stack, including HTML, CSS, JavaScript, TypeScript, React, Next, Node, MongoDB, and the wonderful Git/GitHub.

All the skills imparted by Treehouse align perfectly with my job requirements. Even the soft skills honed in the Techdegree Slack channels come into play daily, as teamwork is paramount for developers.

What I love most about my role is effecting changes on websites that benefit millions of users, enhancing their overall experience. Conversely, the greatest challenge for a developer is steering clear of burnout or overwork, which can sneak up due to the prolonged hours spent on computers and constant mental stimulation.

My advice to Treehouse students

A piece of advice I'd offer any Treehouse student is simple: derive joy from your daily work. Approach learning with a sense of enjoyment rather than difficulty. When work is fun, you'll eagerly anticipate each day, ready to dive in again.

This consistent enthusiasm over months and years will propel you into a future you're passionate about. Moving forward, I'm focused on maintaining my coding zeal, which entails setting boundaries on my workload. I intend for this passion to endure, so achieving a balance between work and personal life is essential.

Learn to code with Treehouse

Start changing your life today! It's as easy as 1-2-3: Take Treehouse courses to learn how to build apps and websites, build a dynamic portfolio, and get a great job like Brandon did. You can do it!

Get your first tech job with Treehouse courses or the Treehouse Techdegree program.