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This phase of my progression into becoming a full-stack software engineer is nearly complete. It has been engaging, challenging, and intensely explorative to the hidden levels of abstraction and complexities that maintain this utilitarian illusion. I am growing and developing my understanding of basic engineering software fundamentals, increasing my desire to design, create, and delve deeper into this interface layer of abstraction. Universal approaches to solving problems learned in a software engineering Bootcamp can be applied to many programming language modalities. Also introduced to me were a few high-concept algorithms that allow for fewer lines of code to achieve the same program function task. In increasing my programming effectiveness, I hope to gain enough experience to be knowledgeable enough to understand and utilize the most practical algorithm to accomplish the wanted task. Achieving desired outcomes is an aim in programming. One of the fascinating things about programming is that there are innumerable ways to reach that outcome.
Attention to detail and consistency in following standard coding conventions will be valuable in collaborative projects and shared code repositories. I look forward to participating in ongoing pair programming projects for fun and employment. My experience with pair programming thus far has been tremendously short and limited, with myself and the other participant having minimal programming experience. Still, I noticed the advantages of this shared information base. To work under a large project utilizing a project management paradigm with teams is something that I am looking forward to experiencing. Tremendous strides of exploration and discovery in programming can be achieved by yourself, but I think teams of people collaborating will outperform a lone coder. Lastly, as it pertains to collaborations, ideas and acquired knowledge of others’ experiences can be shared and observed with changes and updates through the industry and upgraded standards in software reaching you faster than you may have learned on your own.
Nearly-free, programming as a career is a low-cost, high-reward endeavor. All of the software I’ve used for my coding Bootcamp has been free. The most costly thing I use to program is my computer. I love the free and open-source software environment that props up the programming ecosystem. The Github version control platform is a marvel, and I wonder what the statistics are on how it transformed elevated and advanced collaborative programming. Another tool that I herald is Visual Studio Code. In my short time programming, I can’t imagine doing so without these two tools. In this digitally connected world, I was born into and have existed in, I don’t mean to, but I indeed have taken it for granted. Technology and our connected world, to me, are just an abstraction of human advancement and progression. And I want to insert my programmatic ‘digital DNA’ into this system.
Dedication and focus on programming daily over a year will yield a tremendous amount of knowledge and progress. But from my study, completing projects and following through with coding ideas can rapidly increase your skills and ability. I think problem-solving that affects you and you’re personally invested in is more beneficial from two perspectives. When you care about something from a personal standpoint, I think it makes it more memorable. And the second benefit is you get to use the software that you programmed. Also, you’ll have a personal project that you can constantly come back to, refactor and expand with more features as you develop your skill. Over the past year of learning, my notebook of ideas has grown, and, at this point, they look rather achievable.
Years from now, I hope to look back at this time as being the most progressive period of my life. It hasn’t been easy to get to this point. But without a doubt, I am committed to working with software for the rest of my life, and I will obtain a substantial livelihood from programing.
