The final student blog, a new beginning

TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOUR BACKGROUND AND WHAT YOU WERE DOING PRIOR TO ARRAY.

Coming out of undergrad with degrees in applied math and economics, I found a job at a benefits consulting firm in New York working with retirement plan administration. Fast forward 12 years, I was ready for a career change and wanted to get into software development.

WHAT MADE YOU INTERESTED IN ATTENDING?

I learned about Array at its infancy a little over two years ago, and was excited to learn about what they were planning to build. As I was making my decision and planning my career change, Array was in the forefront of the places I’d want to attend to acquire the skills I need to be a developer.

WAS IT A DIFFICULT DECISION FOR YOU TO APPLY? WHAT MADE YOU ULTIMATELY DECIDE TO ATTEND?

It wasn’t as much a difficult as it was a scary decision to make. It was a scary decision because I was leaving a comfortable career and position that I’ve built in my last 12 years. It as an easy decision in the sense that it was a decision to follow my passion and do something that I’ve always wanted to do.

DID YOU HAVE ANY EXPERIENCE WITH CODING OR DESIGN BEFORE ARRAY?

I was a computer science major in my freshman year of college many years ago, before I changed into applied math and economics. I dabbled with one or two online coding tutorials here and there as well, but nothing beyond the basic introductory skills.

WHAT IS AN AVERAGE DAY AT ARRAY LIKE?

The day is broken up nicely into two 3-hour segments in the morning and afternoon, with a lunch break in between. We typically do our daily downloads first thing in the morning, where we either share some current events, news, or tidbits relating to the tech world or we have some small coding exercises. We then spend the rest of the morning with the day’s lesson and/or project. After our lunch break, we either continue with the day’s lesson/project or we go off and work on our own projects in the afternoon. We learn hard, we work hard, but we get through it all together (not without some groans and pain, and occasional outbursts of profanity — often directed at ourselves and our computers).

NOW THAT YOU’RE ALMOST DONE, DO YOU FEEL THAT COMING TO ARRAY WAS A GOOD DECISION?

Yes, absolutely! I’ve learned so much these past 6 months, and Array really helped equip me to get started in a new career as a software developer.

WHAT WAS THE HARDEST THING ABOUT THE LAST SIX-MONTHS?

The hardest thing was probably not being overwhelmed by the sheer amount of skills, technologies, languages, framework, and etc that are out there to be learned. There’s just so much to learn that it can be daunting and overwhelming very quickly.

WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE MOMENT?

I think my favorite moment(s) was during the last few weeks, as we’re deep diving into Ruby on Rails, everything started to click together for many of us. We started having these moments where one of us would randomly exclaim “Oh, I get it now!” or “Oh, I love this!” or “Yes, this is great!”, and the genuine joy and excitement from them. I think we’re really starting to see everything we learned and struggled through these past six months coming together for all of us, and we’re really seeing the fruits of our labors.

DID YOU ACCOMPLISH WHAT YOU WANTED TO GET OUT OF THE SCHOOL?

Yes! I think Array really did a wonderful job of equipping me with the skills I need to start my new career as a software developer. While I feel I’m really just starting off into the world of software & web development, I’m well equipped to continue to learn and grow, and take on new challenges.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR NEW JOB.

I am hired as a software developer at Gannett Peak Technical Services, and will be starting this new job on January 2nd, 2018. Gannett Peak is a local software development company here in Cheyenne, WY. They build and maintain custom software systems for various government agencies as well as private sector businesses. They have a brilliant team and I’m looking forward to work with them and learn from them.

ANY FINAL THOUGHTS ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE OR THE SCHOOL?

It’s been a wonderful and challenging 6 months, and I really couldn’t ask for a better experience.

IF LIFE HAD A RESET BUTTON, AND KNOWING WHAT YOU KNOW NOW, WOULD YOU DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN?

Yes, I would totally do it all over again! I was able to take the plunge to follow my passion, and learn all the necessary skills to become a software developer. I got to work with and learn from a wonderful group of Array staff and students, and gone through the trenches with them. Now, we’re coming out of the trenches truly different people for the better.