A Fresh Start to Follow His Dreams: Why Aboozar Mojdeh Traveled Continents to Pursue Coding

Not many people have the courage or drive to uproot their lives and relocate 6,000 miles…for a dream. But Aboozar Mojdeh is not most people.

Inspired by instinct alone, Aboozar jumped into the unknown—and into the University of Toronto Coding Boot Camp. It would turn out to be a move that transformed his life.

A Young Passion

Aboozar’s interest in computers was sparked early. Born in Iran, he spent his teenage years fiddling with computers and devouring everything he could about coding.

Studying at a private institute, Aboozar learned MS DOS, Quick Basic, and Foxpro. Eventually, he created payroll-based software that supported the branch of a national Iranian bank.

Unfortunately, his education stopped there. Without the money to pursue computer science at a private university, Aboozar got his masters in petroleum engineering from the University of Tehran, thanks largely to a scholarship package. But that didn’t dampen his passions.

“I always did all of my assignments on my computer,” Aboozar said. “My teachers would keep asking me why I studied petroleum, when I clearly loved coding.”

Still, he stuck with his studies—and spent 14 years as an offshore petroleum engineer. But his passion for coding never went away.

Time to Take a Chance

At 37, Aboozar got serious about changing his life.

He’d reached a plateau in his career. But when he brought up change, his friends tried to talk him out of it. They had good intentions, but Aboozar knew the time was right.

“Without your core beliefs, you have nothing,” he said. “Mine told me I should pursue my dream of coding and make my life better through change. I want to learn to develop so I can help people.”

So that’s what he did. In March of 2018, Aboozar and his family packed up and moved from Iran to Toronto. Two months later, he walked into his first class at the University of Toronto Coding Boot Camp.

Diving Into Change

On day one, Aboozar was prepared, eager, and willing. But this journey wasn’t going to be easy.

“In a boot camp you need to really take the time to do the work and the exercises,” Aboozar said. “I would work with other students to find solutions to problems. They would help me and I would help them, too.”

Over the first four months of the course, Aboozar was shocked by how much he discovered. “I felt like I went through about a decade of studies in just months,” he said.

The instructor, the teaching assistants, the students—they all became a source of comfort and support for Aboozar.

“I was so grateful that everyone accepted me in the class. It became a community for me in a new country,” he said.

Head Up, Heart Open

Aboozar’s first boot camp project was a lesson in collaboration. As a petroleum engineer, he had been a team leader. In development, the team dynamic is more collaborative, and Aboozar embraces it.

Working with his boot camp team, Aboozar created an app that would help tourists in Toronto discover the best things to do on a one-day trip.

“In the boot camp, you don’t just learn coding. You learn collaboration, career skills, and most importantly, how to contribute to a group,” Aboozar said. “It’s something I couldn’t find elsewhere.”

With just a couple months left to go, Aboozar is all in. He spends 14 hours each day coding, reviewing, practicing, and learning.

His motivation? Reaching his goal of ideating his own business—and living up to his dream of helping people through developing.