Forem: LucidInsomniac

Kicking off with #CNC2021

LucidInsomniac — Wed, 05 May 2021 03:42:47 +0000

One of the hardest things after finishing a full-stack boot camp is trying to re-adjust to a routine.

I admit I am one of those people who can't stick to a routine, stay motivated, or even disciplined enough to follow through with anything, this is a challenge all in itself.

I was very surprised to learn that there is a large and friendly community out on the web for post-boot campers like on Twitter, Dev, YouTube, and even Podcasts. It might require some digging but there is a thriving community.

CodeNewbie is also one of those spaces that exist for post-campers. I heard about them by chance one day searching for a podcast channel that talked about career transitions into coding. I fell in love with each episode as they touched upon really diverse and wide topics that mattered. They also felt extremely welcoming which was quite rare.

Recently, I found out about their CodeNewbie Challenge 2021. There are 4 categories you can choose from:

Start Coding
Code More
Write More
Get a Job

Since I just finished my full-stack boot camp, I felt that I needed more experience, and exposure to build and deploy more before applying to anything, it felt like a great way to hold myself accountable.

My goal is to definitely code more. There is so much to learn and never enough time in the day to get to learn even a fraction of what is out in the world. What I realized about myself when it comes to learning, is that I learn much better when I dive right in and actually build. I have a learning disability that delays my brain's ability to process words and makes it hard to grasp concepts but I can click ideas together if I apply them to something practical and see how they work. I'm happiest when I get to build (or break apart) and see what makes it tick. I figured out a way to trick myself to stay motivated was to watch videos that fed my creative curiosity like creative coding and finding video tutorials that reinforced what I already learned.

Another way that helped me learn, was having my classmates to rubber-duck, or bounce ideas off with each other. I don't think I would have finished my projects without their support.

Sometimes it can be hard especially if you are not sure what it is that you want to work on, or the opposite, having too many choices to choose from. Even when you do have a project in mind, it can be massive, or it requires you to learn a ton of new tools that eats up your time to code.

Reflecting on my experience made me realize how beneficial planning can be when it comes to using your time wisely without burning out.

My long-term goal in the next 6-12 months is:

Learn Three.js, Java, Kotlin, Swift, GoLang
Learn UX/UI
Learn more about building for A11y
Build my Portfolio
Revise and Deploy my solo and group MVP
Refresh Python syntax
Build and deploy diff projects with different stacks
Learn and create more with creative coding

My Short-term goals in the next 5 weeks:

Get better at CSS Responsiveness
Learning how to build reusable and clean code
Build small completed projects at least once a week
Prep a plan for a project and work on them one task at a time
Reinforce the concepts I learned by building components
Find when do I have the quietest and alone time, and dedicate it to working on coding
Use creative coding as a way to de-stress

Let's see how this goes!

Not a Parting but to New Beginnings

LucidInsomniac — Wed, 14 Apr 2021 03:46:56 +0000

"Stories you read when you're the right age never quite leave you. You may forget who wrote them or what the story was called. Sometimes you'll forget precisely what happened, but if a story touches you it will stay with you, haunting the places in your mind that you rarely ever visit."

-- Neil Gaiman, "M is for Magic"

As our last day in full-stack boot camp comes to a close, there is a mixture of strong emotions, sadness, happiness, confidence, and the likes.

If for any reason your future self ever questions your ability, your courage, or your decisions... I want you to search deep in yourself and remember this very moment in time, where you currently stand, remember this feeling inside you, and how you are looking back at your earlier self from the beginning of this coding camp.

How does this feeling feel? Powerful, mind-blowing, maybe even intense?

I wanted to share with you all, Neil Gaiman's quote about stories because he expressed this idea so well. However, instead of a story you read, this is YOUR story that YOU wrote, and that YOU carved out for YOU. Let that sink in for a moment and embrace it like a long-lost friend. And always remember that this is YOUR story, that no one can ever take it away, and will always be with you no matter how lost you may feel at times.

It has been a great honor and privilege to have been part of such a warm, supportive, and enthusiastic cohort. There really isn't any other way to put it but how grateful I am to have gotten to know you all. I'm sad but also excited to check in with you later in the future to see what adventures you have chosen to tackle :).

And thank you for the great team at _CodeOp for being patient with us and providing such a safe, and encouraging environment to learn and grow.

My past is my story, this memory will be remembered too as much as this one:

It will be cherished for years to come.

Post Title Photo by CoWomen from Pexels

Advice and experiences on Non-Compete Agreements?

LucidInsomniac — Tue, 13 Apr 2021 14:36:20 +0000

Hello, fellow Devies!

I am making a career jump into searching for my first developer position, but have come across developers talking about these non-compete agreements that prohibit developers from programming particular languages they use for work. What are your experiences in dealing with this, or do you have any advice on how someone can navigate through these legalities?

Thank you in advance.

If you are curious, I have an example reference linked below.
Tech Non- Compete Agreement

Don't be afraid to make mistakes

LucidInsomniac — Wed, 04 Nov 2020 03:11:30 +0000

Hi Everyone!

This is my first post on here. I'm currently in my third week of my Full stack boot camp with CodeOP. I'm loving every minute of it. CodeOp is a coding boot camp with a mission to empower marginalized people like folks who identify as women, TGNCNB (Transgender, Gender Non-Conforming, Non-Binary) and are also POC (Person of Color). The environment is very diverse, international, warm and welcoming.

But that isn't why I'm here. I wanted to touch on the topic that most beginners seem to be struggling with, and that's the fear of making mistakes. From my own experience and from watching others, there are people who are starting out like me, in their early-mid 30s, looking to change careers. At this age, or even older, a person can feel extremely vulnerable to admit that they don't know, or understand something. They're adults who have had full-time jobs for a while, so yeah, it is daunting to be in a group with folks in their 20s. Some programmers are also parents, and the feeling to admit that to yourself can be very awkward.

I want to let you know, it's okay to feel that way, and it is expected. Don't feel ashamed to make mistakes, or ask someone if you get stuck. Everyone has to start somewhere. When you are learning, really take the time to learn the concepts, theories and applications. Coding is one place where you can't pretend your way through because it's like a team sport when you work in pairs or on a team project. Everyone relies on one another in order to function as a whole. If you need to take the long route to code everything out, then so be it. You can always go back and clean-up/refactor your code as you get better at it.

When I share my assignments with the other people in my cohort, I feel bad sometimes. I can tell that some of my classmates think they did the assignment wrong, or their code is too long. There is no wrong way if the end result is still the same. Don't shy away when you see other people's work. Be proud, be confident and have faith in your struggles because you're thinking in a way that makes sense to you and that's a good thing! This journey is going to be a long and life-learning adventure, and it is important to keep an open mind to constructive feedback but not be ignorant to them. It will definitely help you grow as a developer.

If we want to be better developers, we have to become vulnerable and embrace our mistakes. But it doesn't mean to dwell on them, or walk pass them once we acknowledge them. Go back and see what caused the error/bug/malfunction. Deconstruct and isolate where it went astray and once you get it, re-do it a bunch of times until it sticks.

You got this! Here are some posts to help boost your confidence level if you ever feel like you need it :).

What I Wish I Knew as a Junior Dev by Endy Austin

How to Make a Successful Mistake by Pramono Winata