Alchemists @ Work :: Yuval Allweil Joins Kroger’s Newly Established PDX Digital Team
Alchemists @ Work :: Yuval Allweil Joins Kroger’s Newly Established PDX Digital Team

Yuval Allweil, a curious, passionate autodidact, who graduated from Alchemy and made big contributions at our AppLap, is off to work at Kroger as a Front End Developer. Having come from a background working in a variety of roles, coding tapped into his desire to continuously learn and be challenged. As he mentions in his Q&A below, he asked himself when trying to decide on his career path:
“What can I dedicate my life to that I can use to change the world AND live comfortably?”
The obvious answer was learn to code.
His passion for software development continues to feed his curiosity and desire to be a lifelong learner. Through this and his hard work, he landed a position at Kroger in their newly established digital team working on some really cool projects. You can read more about it below. Alchemy isn’t the same without him here, but we’re very proud of him and love when he pops in for our monthly social hours on the last Friday of each month (everyone is welcome!) You can learn more about him in the following Q&A or by visiting the website he built: WhoIsYuval.com.
What were you doing for work before attending Alchemy?
I was all over the place. I worked at everything from banks and health insurance companies to a science magazine and tech startups.
I was always interested in coding but was held back by the misconception that computer programming was a discipline reserved for child geniuses and math wizards.
I was living in the San Francisco Bay Area (which had plenty of bootcamp options) and had friends who attended all of them, as well as friends who studied computer science at UC Berkeley and Stanford. Though I heard only good things about certain bootcamps there, I developed some qualms.
I’m joining Kroger as a Front End Developer to work on their exciting new ClickList project.
Kroger has a brilliant plan for the next few years by instantiating what is being called the 4th Industrial Revolution: better connecting cyber and physical systems by harnessing the power of technologies like the Internet of Things, machine learning, big data, and essentially every other buzzword you’ve heard lately.
Working in App Lab was a great experience and definitely helped me secure this new position. It came up in every job interview and gave me a lot to talk about.
So many things! The staff are genuinely interested in helping everyone become the best they can be, and are a second family for me. It’s a wonderful community and a wellspring of unconditional support.
Make sure that coding is, at the very least, interesting to you. Be prepared to work hard, and to keep yourself motivated. It can be difficult when you’re starting out, but it is also incredibly rewarding, and it will help you in all aspects of life, not just computers.
Absolutely! Our Career Services Director was a huge asset in my job search. She provided excellent feedback on my resume and website, sent me job postings that she felt fit both my skill AND personality, and was 100% committed to helping me get a job that wouldn’t just pay the bills, but would make me happy.
It’s not just a job for her: she genuinely cares about placing graduates with jobs that fit them, and it shows. It’s the perfect job for her.
About Alchemy:
If you are interested in learning more about our program or applying, we start a new session every quarter. Read about our course descriptions here, or email us at info@alchemycodelab.com with questions. You can also apply today if you fill out our online application (will not commit you to attend, but it starts the process to do so!) We also have an open house every Thursday at 12:30PM & a social hour on the last Friday of each month. Join us! Everyone is welcome!