Muhtar is a lifelong fan of video games, basketball, and positive-minded people. Positivity is most important to him, both in the classroom and out in the world.

In fact, this CYDEO instructor swears by one piece of advice which has stuck with him throughout the years & echoes through his mind:

“Surround yourself with positive-minded people and stay away from negativity. Always.”

What he Teaches

Muhtar is a JAVA instructor at CYDEO. He believes in what he teaches because JAVA is one of the most difficult and respected programming languages out there. It’s been in the market for over 25 years and many companies in the United States and across the world use JAVA as their main language. It can open many doors in one’s career.

Programming languages right now are in high demand. That is a fact.

But more than that, programming is a crucial life skill, says Muhtar. Programming teaches you how to think and analyze, and can be applied to problem solving across multiple areas.

Muhtar carries a lot over from the classroom into his day-to-day life.

He feels empowered by his students. He taught his students JAVA, but he says they have taught him life.

Throughout life’s ups and downs, he’s often repeated to himself lessons that his students have taught him.

What his Students Taught Him

1) That it’s never too late to start over.

CYDEO students come from all ages, backgrounds, and walks of life.

Some are young, some are old.

Some are switching careers in which they’ve worked for decades and some are diving into IT without much experience anywhere else at all.

Muhtar’s path to IT was quite early and direct, as compared to some CYDEO students who have made the leap into IT in their 50s without any background.

He discovered his love of programming during his sophomore year of college. He studied IT in grad school, and started out with CYDEO only after finishing his master’s.

And the second lesson he learned from his students?

2) You should never give up on something just because it feels difficult at the beginning.

This one is for the books. Technology is not just for the privileged. Too many deny themselves golden opportunities in tech which could have led to personal growth, global involvement, and a better life.

“To deny oneself a golden opportunity” is the correct term indeed. Scientists Gonzales, Blanton, & Williams, found evidence for this in a study from the prestigious Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. They found that simply telling people that a test of mathematics and spatial ability was conducted to “investigate personal factors in performance”, meant that women, especially women of color, perform worse than they would have if they took the test without that instruction. The authors interpret this as “stereotype threat”, in which sensitizing someone to negative stereotypes about them (ethnicity, gender) leads to underperformance.

Muhtar fights against this every day. His students come from all backgrounds and are truly a diverse bunch. He is committed, on a daily basis, to bringing out the best in his students and empowering them. He is more than happy to do the work and take the time to answer any and all questions, and to give the most reliable and clear explanations possible. After all, Albert Einstein himself once said:

“If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.”

Muhtar’s passion is obvious. After classes, he spends every day preparing for the next, making sure his material is understandable and applicable, bringing only the most relevant tools to the table. He codes for his job, he codes for fun, and he is 100% dedicated, bringing real-world situations from the daily life of a programmer into the classroom.

Indeed, CYDEO is very different from other bootcamps in offering a lot more support and office hours and a warm and nurturing environment. CYDEO gets a complete beginner to be job-ready in a matter of months. CYDEO teaches the technical skills necessary for a high-paying job as well as gives support in job-placement!

What Cydeo Taught Him

Muhtar is an open and cheerful guy. The interview soon got personal and we asked him what is one thing he wishes he knew about earlier in life. His answer?

CYDEO.

Why?

Because he wishes he’d started out with CYDEO sooner.

After getting his business degree as well as attending graduate school in IT, Muhtar decided to take a JAVA SDET course to complement his skillset. He knew right away that he’d found his place. Muhtar immediately applied to become a mentor for the next cohort. This path proved right for him yet again: he was in love with teaching. Seeing his teaching style today, his patient, student-centered approach, and growing expertise, there is no doubt that he is still in love.

Besides a fulfilling career, Muhtar says that CYDEO taught him a few things that school never could:

• How to be a better person.
• How to be a team player.
• How to influence people.
• How to help people.

Of course, nothing is perfect. Even at CYDEO, Muhtar has faced his fair share of challenges. The pandemic was particularly difficult for him, as was for most of us.

But, CYDEO has a great work environment, in which caring is contagious. He says that his colleagues have shown a lot of support whenever he has faced difficulties. Whatever the challenges, he feels the team has overcome them together.

And as for Cydeo Students?

As a former student himself, Muhtar swears by a CYDEO education. He wants all CYDEO students to know that they are in the right place. That they made the right decision to join the world of technology, and that all of their hard work will pay off.

In fact, his favorite book has taught him the same message: don’t rely on a degree and traditional education alone! He says that nowadays people are obsessed with the idea that a college degree on its own is enough to guarantee a good life. In order to have a better life, you need to do something on your own, on top of your degree. You need real-life concrete skills. The sooner you make that investment in yourself, the better!

Thus, he instructs anyone who has denied themselves entry into the rich world of technology to skip the hesitation and take a leap: opportunities are plentiful!