ALUMNI CORNER
CTD Alumni Profile: Jasper Lin, Software Engineer at Biozyme Inc.
![CTD Alumni Jasper Lin](https://codethedream.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/jasper.jpg)
Jasper Lin is originally from Taiwan and moved to the US in 2011. Before joining Code the Dream’s first online Ruby on Rails class in 2019, he was a grade school teacher and mentor to immigrant students. Starting over in a new career was a risk for an older student, because he had to quit his teaching job to commit to full-time coding. But it was worth it, he says. Jasper completed the CTD class, then became an apprentice in CTD Labs, where he worked primarily on the Oye app, a low-cost mass messaging app for non-profit organizations; he also designed the logo for the app.
Following Code the Dream, Jasper worked as a developer for Group360, and is now a software engineer at BioZyme Inc. Jasper spoke on a recent CTD alumni panel, and offered some great advice to new developers, including:
- Don’t be afraid to ask for help
- When asking for help, make sure you get organized and do your research first, so that you can ask clear and understandable questions
- Recognize that even experienced engineers still suffer from “imposter syndrome”
- Know yourself, including what times of day are most productive for you, when to schedule breaks, and what your limitations are
- Be honest and communicate with your coworkers
- Pick a language and dive deep. Don’t skip the fundamentals, and always be willing to learn more.