So it begins…
In high school I was introduced to Basic and HTML. I loved it, but life got in the way and instead of becoming a software engineer I went into retail sales, and retail sales management.
In 2018 I changed jobs and began administrating a mildly complex WordPress site (LMS, and Woo Commerce). I quickly realized that it was time to get back into programming, and started very very slowly toying with different languages, and trying to decide which was going to be the main language that I would like to look at.
Life, as it has a way of doing so, has its way of moving us in the direction in which we are supposed to head. You have two options, either go against life's flow, or to go with the flow, and embrace the change.
I chose the latter. After a fairly fairly serious health situation, upon returning home I spoke with my amazing wife, and after a conversation with her, and a conversation with a couple of doctors I quickly realized that I needed to make some life changes.
Web Development was the direction I chose after attempting to take on a personal project that I had ZERO business touching. I started researching boot camps, and different courses. Purchased a few Udemy, and other courses, and was off to the races. I soon realized that structure (even if I got ahead) was critical, and dove back into researching Boot Camps.
I chose Lambda School, for a number of reasons. Top of which were ISA, Labs, LambdaX. I will not go into detail here, but I can tell you that it is fairly intense, and a great environment.
I wrote this because I think that at times too many people are scared of change, and try to fight against the stream that we call life, and as a result we end up regretting our decisions, and being extremely frustrated. When life throws you the curve balls, keep your eye on the ball and hit them. Go with the flow, change can be terrifying, but if you embrace it, and put your efforts into making them work it is far more gratifying to accomplish something new, and evolve then attempt to stay stagnant.
I will be publishing here on Medium as I progress, sharing hints, tips, and various things from my time in Lambda, after, and during my journey to becoming a software engineer.
To start of with tips for Lambda School here is what I have:
1. Take the time.
Learn everything, challenge yourself, and look outside of the Lambda box.
2. Invest extra time.
As a part timer I can tell you that Lambda is great, but you really need to invest additional time outside of the allotted time to ensure that you are getting more in-depth than the rest of your cohort. Why? Because Lambda, and all of the other boot camps spit out tons of new developers, set yourself above the rest to ease into a job more rapidly, and at higher pay.
3. Go beyond the Stack
You might notice that I am repeatedly saying similar things, but that is for a reason. Find your tech stack. If you like a specific tech stack make it your tech stack. But the biggest thing is to learn the basics of HTML, CSS, and JS then migrate into Angular, Vue, and React and make a project with each, keeping an eye on the good, the bad, and the ugly, and your comfort with that framework. Same on the SQL/DB side of the aisle. Why? Because you will be using these day in and day out, so make sure you enjoy what you are using. Additionally, by making a project for each that is fairly in-depth, regardless of the framework that you choose you will show off those skills, and have a faster transition into the job market. Personally, I plan on doing exactly this.
I will see you next time, thanks for reading!
