Becoming The Developer That I Want to Be — My Journey
Trying to Figure Out What Kind of Developer I Want to Be.
Hello, my name is Nadia Rodriguez. I have been interested in development for a very long time. I have very basic skills in HTML and CSS.
I was never truly consistent with learning how to code. I would pick it up then leave it for a while time and time again. However, a few months ago I had a realization:
I REALLY DO WANT TO BE A DEVELOPER. Whether it be an iOS, Android, web, or game developer. Being all 4 of those would be a dream though.
I knew that I wanted to create fun things for people, things that people need, or just some projects for myself. I took a few tutorials on ios, game, android, and web development and I just fell in love with it. However, I never had a clear path on how to get where I wanted to be. I think the problem was that I never really knew what I wanted to be. I would question myself all the time because I was so stuck.
What am I doing? Am I ever going to get anywhere? How can I figure out what I want to do?
Finally Being Able to Learn iOS Development
That picture at the top is of my ASUS laptop running Mac OS. I decided to hackintosh my laptop since I have always been very interested in learning development for iOS. It’s not the best honestly, nothing works! No keyboard, track pad, audio, wifi, the graphics pretty much suck and I have to keep it connected to an outlet the whole time because it doesn’t recognize the battery, so it just ends up shutting down. Oh, and I need to keep plugging in a USB drive to actually be able to boot into Mac OS.
Other than that, the thing that works pretty great is XCode, which is the only thing that matters to me. I’ve never been able to afford a real MacBook, so i’ll have to manage with what I have for now.
iOS Development is something that I’ve always wanted to at least try out, that’s why I would spend so many hours trying to get the hackintosh to work properly. I didn’t want to spend about $2k on a macbook that maybe I wouldn’t have even needed if I decided that iOS dev wasn’t for me.
Is it possible for me to know how to do all four of those?
Well I’m going to find out. If I cant do all of them, then I’ll at least know that I tried.
So, What is My Plan?
Well, I’m going to learn. Absorb as much knowledge as I can every single day. I’m going to take courses in everything that I want to learn. I’m going to build real-world projects to actually gain more knowledge and experience. I need to build ios apps, android apps, websites, web apps, small games, etc. I believe that is how I’m going to figure out what I really want to focus on, what I REALLY want to master.
Another part of my plan is building my personal brand and online presence. It’s exactly what I’m doing right now. I’m way out of my comfort zone here writing about my life and what I want to accomplish. I am 19 years old, barely starting to try and find my place in this world. Just recently, I just kept realizing that I have to get out there. I have to do something, just get out there and DO something. I decided to document my journey to becoming a developer.
Social Media/Blogging
In order to build my personal brand, I will be using Instagram, WordPress, Medium, and other platforms. I’m new to being this open about myself online, so bear with me.
On Instagram, I don’t just want to gain followers. I want to grow a community of people eager to learn, people that interact with one another. Some people I follow on Instagram make me think about how I want MY page to be like. From aesthetics to motivating people. I see how the aesthetics of their page helps them get people interested in them. One person I follow posts inspirational paragraphs pretty much every day and his comments always look something like: “Wow this really opened my eyes,” “Thank you for your post, it really inspired me.” I want to have that kind of small impact on people some day.
I never ever thought about actually blogging.
I mean, it’s crossed my mind, but I never thought I would do it. I’m still trying to figure out how I’m actually going to use WordPress and Medium, since I am so new to using them. I figured that, to really show my progress of becoming a developer, writing and blogging about it would be the best way to document my journey. Not just posting about it on Instagram.
I do not have a mentor or anyone who can guide me, so I will be trying to figure this out on my own.
Udemy Courses
I have so many udemy courses on my account. Probably more than $50k worth of courses. Everyday, I usually search “udemy 100% off courses” and well they just add up..
I realized that I just kept adding them to my collection, never actually going through them!
I need to change that. I have quality courses at my disposal that im not taking full advantage of. The following are courses specific to what I want to learn. I’m pretty sure I wont get through all of them, obviously, but having them listed helps me stay on track.
iOS Development
1. iOS 11 and Swift 4: From Beginner to Paid Professional — Devslopes
2. The Complete iOS 11 & Swift Developer Course — Build 20 Apps — Rob Percival
3. iOS 11 and Swift 4 — The Complete iOS App Development Bootcamp — Angela Yu
4. The Ultimate iOS 11 & Swift 4 Course. Learn to Build Apps! — Mammoth Interactive
5. iOS 11 & Swift 4: The Complete Developer Course — Hussein Al Rubaye
Android Development
1. The Complete Android N Developer Course — Rob Percival
2. Android N: From Beginner to Paid Professional — Devslopes
3. Android App Development For Beginners: 86 Hours+ & 80 Apps — Morteza Kordi
4. Android O & Java — Mobile App Development | Beginning to End — Mr. Philipp Muellauer
5. The Complete Android Kotlin Developer Course — Hussein Al Rubaye
Full Stack Web Development
Since there is a HUGE amount of web development resources and courses out there, I will only be listing some that I believe would be a good fit for me.
1. Beginner Full Stack Web Development: Html, Css, React, and Node — Devslopes
2. Ultimate Web Designer & Developer Course: Build 23 Projects! — Brad Hussey
3. The Web Developer Bootcamp — Colt Steele
4. JavaScript: Understanding the Weird Parts — Anthony Alicea
5. Angular 4 (formerly Angular 2) — The Complete Guide — Maximilian Schwarzmüller
6. Learn and Understand NodeJS — Anthony Alicea
Game Development/VR
1. Learn to Code by Making Games — Complete C# Unity Developer — Ben Tristem
2. Learn 3D Modelling — The Complete Blender Creator Course — Ben Tristem
3. The Unreal Engine Developer Course — Learn C++ & Make Games — Ben Tristem
4. Make Mobile VR Games In Unity With C# For Google Cardboard — Ben Tristem
5. Become a Game Developer/Designer: Complete Master Series — School of Game Design
Well, I think it’s pretty obvious..
This journey is going to be very, VERY long.
I of course don’t expect to be a “master” at all of these things, but it wouldn’t hurt to at least have some skills in each of them does it? I think trying each of them is what I need, to truly know what kind of developer I want to be. Right now I’m leaning more towards mobile app development, though I think doing some web and game development would be pretty amazing too. I just want to learn all of it!
So, if you actually read all of this, I really want to thank you. I know I may not know how to write effective content yet, but this is really just the beginning. Please feel free to leave feedback on how I can improve or just any kind of advice, it would be GREATLY appreciated. I want to leave you with two quotes that really stood out to me today!
Life is a blank canvas of opportunity, you are in control of what the finished picture could look like. — thelawofattraction.com
We’re just living through this incredible era and nobody is actually doing. Start fucking executing. — Gary Vaynerchuk.
Thanks again for reading!
