Hello World!
My name is Will and I would like to share with you a glimpse of my journey into the wonderful world of programming.
I first joined Codecademy on December 12th, 2015. At the time, I knew absolutely nothing about how to write code or where to even begin. I did, however, recognize the immense impact computer programming would continue to have on the future progress of business and technology. From that moment, a seed of curiosity had been firmly planted and began to take root.
My background stems from public relations and philosophy. Yes, you read that correctly. Two disciplines that couldn’t be more unrelated. Maybe that makes me an oddball but I believe those two fields speak to concentrations in writing and logic, respectively. As is turns out, that’s a lot of what coding is all about — the formal structure of technical writing, or more specifically syntax, formed into logical statements to perform a function.
As I continued to research and began learning, I quickly realized I had started what would become a life-long learning process. Where public relations seemed to lack the critical thinking that philosophy had provided and philosophy the real-world application, coding bridged the gap. With this discovery, I grew increasingly excited about the prospect of a truly engaging, challenging, and fulfilling career.
Cue the ah-ha moment.
I had a vision and a goal. I took to online tutorials, lessons, and classes teaching myself in my spare time. Somedays it was waking up early before the day started. Other days it was after a full day’s work. When it happened didn’t matter, as long as I found the time. I continued self-study for over a year. The only drawback to teaching yourself is only knowing what you know. Quora and Stack Overflow became quick friends for troubleshooting but I had no collaboration, no soundboard, no mentor.
If I was going to take this career transition seriously, I needed an environment of like-minds to hone into and sharpen my skills. I spent months researching my options and determined the best course of action would be attending a coding bootcamp. I investigated every reputable name from San Francisco to New York City. I’m sure plenty of schools would have sufficed but after speaking to DigitalCrafts, I knew that’s where I was meant to be.
I had already started saving money and continued to do so for another six months after having spoken to their Atlanta campus director. Each day along that journey was a tally mark towards realizing my goal. Fast-forward to today and I am happily enrolled in DigitalCrafts’ Full Stack Immersive program. As I am challenged each and everyday, I remember my self-taught path fondly.
Everyone’s journey is different and this is only a glimpse into mine. My hope is that sharing this may be of use to someone. You are capable of anything you set your mind to — and follow through on. One of my favorite quotes comes from Bryce Courtenay, author of “The Power of One”, when he writes, “First with the head and then with the heart…”
Now that I’ve introduced myself, I plan on sharing more tech-specific pieces about what I’m learning and working on in the wonderful world of programming.
Until next time,
Code on!
