Habits Reflection:
How have you seen yourself become more aware of your habits?
Have you tried implementing anything new? What have the results been?
Start Where You Are (Empathize with the user – you)
Health: how you answer “how are you”; intersection of physical, mental, and emotional health
- I could be doing better, I'm lucky to have a dog since she helps me to get out of my apartment multiple times per day.
How would you rate your overall health on a scale of 1-5? How do you currently make time for activities associated with your health?
- I'd rate my health at a 3. I could be doing more for my health, and I have a lot of stress and anxiety that I have been holding on to.
What is a small change you could make here to readjust your health ratings?
- I could start jump roping in the mornings again.
Work: what you do
Make a short list of all the ways you work right now; How much value do each of those things bring to your life?
- Ruby exercises
- Group project
- Class
- Redoing assessments
How are those activities purposeful for you?
- They have been necessary to understand the content we are learning.
Play: what brings you joy?
- Anime
- My dog
- Video games
Think about joy just for the pure sake of doing it; everyone benefits from this kind of play
What activities do you do that bring you joy throughout an average week?
- Play with my dog.
- Watch anime.
- Play games on my phone since I don't feel like I have time for console games.
In what ways could you make a small change to bring more joy into your life?
- I could try to get outside of my apartment more often. The only times I have gotten out of my house since my job went remote in March have been to walk my dog or get groceries, and I feel like getting out of my apartment does a lot to reset my brain and improve my mood.
Love: sense of connection; who are the people who matter in your life and how is love flowing to and from you and them?
- My girlfriend and my dog are the main two people in my life. Luckily my girlfriend shares a lot of the same interests as me including EDM music, anime, cooking and finding new recipes, and spending time with our dog. It has been stressful for both of us since we have been quarantined together since March and both of us have work from home positions. We have done a good job of supporting each other, but it is tough when we haven't been spending as much time with friends, family, and co-workers compared to when we had in person jobs.
How does love currently show up in your life? How do you show love to others right now?
- Since all of my relationships have been virtual, it has been tough to remind others that I care about them. I do my best to reach out to my friends, but it has been tough with how busy I felt a few weeks ago when I was working 50 hours per week and getting through all of the Turing pre-work, and now I have a similar buy schedule since when I am not in class I am often on calls with my project partners and mentors.
What adjustments would you like to make in this area?
- I would like to take Sundays at least partially off from coding, and possibly spend time with some friends in a socially distanced get together. Or at least on a call not related to coding.
Looking back at the 4 areas, do any problems emerge that you want to begin designing solutions for?
Define your needs, problem, and insights:
Based on what you wrote about above and your group conversation, what problems have you identified that you’d like to design solutions for? What do you already about what you want for your career? What do you still need to find out? Who or what do you want to grow into by the end of the Turing program?
- Since I came from Ibotta and have a lot of connections there, I would love for that to be my first position out of Turing. In a more long term sense I would love to start my own business and create a tech company. I have been a huge fan of Dan Price, and I would love to be the founder of a similar tech company where I can pay all of my employees at least 70k annually. I still have a long way to go before I land my first job, but I have do have an idea of where I want to end up.
Ideate – challenge assumptions
When you discussed software developers with your small group on Monday, what assumptions came up about what software developers actually do? What steps could you take to challenge those assumptions and find more facts to answer the question of what developers do? In addition to what a typical software developer life could look like, what do you want yours to include?
- From the conversations I have had with my mentors, I think that a lot of the developer life is constantly learning new skills and accepting new challenges. I want my software developer career path to be filled times that I work hard to find a solution and feel very acomplished with the new skills that I learn.
Prototype – start creating solutions
What is the basic threshold that your new career must meet after Turing? What would you hope WILL NOT happen in your future after Turing? What is your absolute, no-holds-barred, ideal dream for your future after Turing?
- I think the basics for me would include a reasonable pay, an option to work remote or at least partially remote, and a minimum of 4 weeks of paid time off. My biggest fear is not being able to find a job in a reasonable amount of time and then taking a job doing something other than software development. My ideal dream job for right after Turing would be to work at Ibotta, but later on I think it would be really cool to be a developer at a company like Beyond foods since I feel like that would relate to my passion of working with a company that aligns with animal rights. I would also love to enter a leadership role eventually since I have a lot of leadership experience, and it would great to see what that looks like in the tech world.
Test –- solutions
Based on this week of reflections, write out your initial vision statement for your career:
- I found Turing through connections I made while working at Ibotta, and I would love to return to Ibotta after Turing. I feel as though Ibotta meets all of the requirements for what I want for my junior developer role requirements, and my mentors work at Ibotta, so it would be a smooth transition. I have enjoyed working at the company, and it would be great to return to the company and see it in a different light.
"My girlfriend and my dog are the main two people in my life" -- I loved reading this, because I also talk about my dog as if he's a person. 😆 I'm glad you have some support at home. Ibotta would be a great place to work after Turing-- and I totally understand the worry that comes with finding a job during these COVID times. I think it's good that you're still looking past Ibotta, and thinking about what is important to you in the future, and what your "dream job" would be.