Tag: LaunchCode

“Just” An Average Developer

Posted on Posted in UncategorizedTagged , , , , , , Leave a comment

Last week we had a visitor in class who was sharing her perspective as a woman developer. One point struck me pretty deep when she was talking about how a professor in college told her she was “just” an average programmer, that he didn’t think she shouldn’t pursue this interest, but instead pursue one she was better at.

As women, we tend to justify ourselves a lot in our language, with our performances, and all around can find ourselves tending to strive toward perfection. If we aren’t perfect, we aren’t good.

Because of her professor’s comment, she didn’t pursue programming at the time, but she did circle around back into it.

It resonated with many of the women in our class. I, myself, have circled back around to programming several times now, and have kept myself from advancing because I’m “just” an average developer.

Hearing the same tale from someone else got me thinking: What is wrong with being “just” an average programmer? Is the world not full of professional average programmers? Is there some disadvantage to being average? Would being an elaborate, clever, and top-notch developer help in the long run?

I don’t know. Depends on your goals, perhaps. If you’re working by yourself, sure, be as clever as you want. If you live for bragging rights, go for it. If you’re a perfectly average programmer, your team is going to be able to read and work with the code you’ve written without wasting a ton of time trying to figure out what you’ve done. Even if you’re only working with yourself, are you going to appreciate your cleverness as much in three years when you have to rework that codebase and try to figure out what you’ve done?

Again, I don’t know the answers, but I’m going to say being “just” an average programmer has a lot of benefits that society isn’t necessarily going to throw a party over. And that’s okay. If you remember that being average means you can be successful and happy, and you don’t let it hold you back or let your imposter syndrome worsen, revel in the fact that you’re average. Know that your drive, your personality, and the very essence of characteristics that make you, you, is what people really want to work with above whether you’re clever or The Greatest Programmer Ever.

LaunchCode CodeCamp

Posted on Posted in PersonalTagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

It’s been a few months since I’ve updated on what’s going on. Moving was tough. We’re still not unpacked, not even a quarter unpacked. We’ve had so many projects just to get our home functional, that it’s been truly exhausting navigating the work around two young kids.

After the initial move, I started a preliminary job search. Mostly to see what was available in the area and the knowledge/skill expectations. I’m close, and maybe I could get a job, but I would have to be very, very lucky.

In my search, I stumbled upon LaunchCode. They have an apprenticeship to place talent without traditional CS backgrounds in dev positions. I applied for that, had my interview, and during it was recommended that I apply for their women only CodeCamp.

I applied, I got accepted, and I am in the throes of the second week. I’m so excited to be learning python, refreshing on JS, and diving deeper into Java over the next couple months.

Right when I was starting to doubt myself, this basically fell into my lap with nearly perfect timing. I scrambled to get my kids in daycare to make this work. You can bet I am working my butt off to get the most out of the content. I want to create some projects with some wow factor. But mostly I want to impress myself, that I am worthy of the dev role I will get.

Every day I walk into class, I am floored that LaunchCode puts these boot camps on for free to give opportunities to better the lives of people like me. I’ve been on this journey forever, feeling like I’m floundering, but now thanks to LaunchCode, I feel grounded. I feel like possibilities are within my grasp, and I won’t let them slip me by.

Making the step to a professional dev is going to vastly change my family’s lives for the better, allowing all of us to reach or dreams in so many ways that weren’t possible before.

My goal is to be placed in an internship by March. That gives me a full two months after the camp ends to really buckle down and find something. Ideally, it won’t take two months, but I also want to find the right fit where I can continue to grow and learn.

Keep an eye out here. I’ll be updating on my progress and projects. 😉