Like most others, in the beginning of this year I had no idea what coding was nor the insane number of languages and programs that come with it. I graduated undergrad in May 2019 with major in Mathematics and minor in Business Economics. I chose to major in Mathematics mainly because it was the subject that I enjoyed and did the best in. I assumed having math and business under my belt, I would be set with finding a great job, and BOY I was wrong.
After graduation I went through many interviews and different recruiters to try to find any math related business job there was out there, and it just wasn’t happening. After a few months of constant search and disappointment, I ended up taking a job with a student touring company. Somehow in the interviews they convinced me there would be a lot of math related job functions but that was just to get me to accept the job.
Even though my job did not pay good, was not math related and had a far commute from home (3 things I wanted the complete opposite of), to this day I have no regrets for accepting it as my first job. My favorite part about working there was the people I worked with and the environment. On many different occasions I thought I was going to quit and find something better but always just felt bad leaving my team as they always told me how much they appreciated me and all the hard work I put into our trips.
With covid striking not even a year into this job, unfortunately but yet at the same time fortunately, I was laid off. Although I saw it coming, it still saddened me to leave my team that I created a special bond with. Most of all it was a HUGE reality check for me. It made me realize that I need to find a career field that would help me grow and learn constantly and one that I will enjoyed as well. As I was just applying to random payroll, estimating and any basic office jobs, I came across a few different ads for coding. Eventually after watching many videos and reading different articles, I felt that I needed to just give it a shot.
I started with a website called SheCodes. It was $100 for a basic 3-week workshop learning the basics of HTML, CSS and JavaScript. This workshop was a big turning point for me. Not only was I learning something so new and abstract that I have never seen before, but for the first time in a while I was actually enjoying learning. It was like solving a puzzle to me, which kept things interesting and exciting.
I have never been a fan of learning history or English. Just memorizing definitions and useless facts and then trying to write essays based off those uninteresting topics (well at least I found them boring). That is why I have always loved math! Yes, you have to learn and understand new terms and concepts in math too, but it’s more of learning how to use those ideas to solve a problem. My favorite part of problem solving is that there are multiple ways to solve something! After my first coding workshop, I realized how much coding and math have in common, and it was a new and exciting feeling for me.
After completing the workshop and doing extensive research on the internet, I found Career Karma which helped me learn more about the career opportunities in coding. I talked to plenty of people that were in similar situations to me and even took some online quizzes to see what career would fit me best. Software Engineering just kept sticking out to me and every time I learned more about it, I got more excited. That was when I knew I needed to make some changes to my life and create a new set of goals to achieve.
I went through the 21 day challenge with Career Karma, applied to multiple bootcamps, completed a few different prep courses and even interviewed with a few different schools before deciding on Flatiron. It took a lot to get where I am today and yet I am only just in the beginning my journey to become a software engineer. I am so very excited to continue to learn each and every day and do whatever it takes to become a confident and successful programmer. I look forward to learning how to create something from nothing and to be able to see the results of my work right in front of me on the screen. This has been a long journey so far and I am ready to keep pushing myself to achieve all my goals and become the best version of myself.