Career Journal: https://github.com/turingschool/career-development-curriculum-site/blob/master/module_one/career_journal_prompts.md#week-1

career_journal_mod_0.md

1. When you've worked towards a goal in the past, what systems or tools have been helpful for you in accomplishing that goal? How could you adapt those same systems/tools to use while at Turing?

-Keeping a tight schedule (i.e., having strict deadlines and achieving those deadlines), being relatively free of distraction on a daily basis (don't go out too often, stay focused), and enlisting the help and support from my support person have all been techniques I've implemented to achieve goals. I plan to use those same tools during my time at Turing, while increasing my attention to deadlines to make sure I'm staying on track-- I know this course can be difficult!

2. As you start this new career, what is one of your strengths and how do you know? -I'd say a good strength is being able to admit fault and correcting that mistake. I'm always more than willing to admit when I've messed up. My wife knows me as someone willing to apologize often. I also know from personal experience (and from doing the Pairin survey) that I am someone who is willing to lead, if the situation calls for it. But I'm also flexible, meaning, I'll step up and lead a team if there is no leader, but if there is, I'm more than willing to fall back and do me.

3. Describe how you work best (conditions, environment, preferences, etc.) -I tend to work best in areas that aren't too isolated (bedroom, separated room in the library, etc) but also not too involved in the busyness of the day. Oftentimes I'll find myself studying, reading, or practicing programming on the couch in the living room of my apartent. I think I find this place comfortable because I can still see if my roommates walk around, but I can also put my headphones in and zone out without too much distraction. I like to be able to involve myself in conversation.

4. As you start this new career, what is your greatest area of improvement when it comes to your professional skills? -I'd say my greatest opportunity for improvement when it comes to professional skills is the ability to lead. Like I've mentioned, I can lead if the opportunity presents itself, but I'll be honest; I don't have too much experience leading. I'd like to be able to develop that more, if I can.

5. How will developing a deeper understanding of your strengths and working preferences benefit you as a software developer? -Oh, tremendously! Knowing my strengths and preferences allows me to harness them so I can venture off into new territory and grow as a person, while knowing where my safety net-- or safe space-- is. I've got to know my strengths if I'm to improve on my weaknesses!

6. Describe the vision you currently have for your career after Turing: -I've thought a lot about this. My ideal career after Turing would be; I'm working on a team, implementing software updates/changes or creating new software, for a company I respect. This career would presumably pay well, and I'd have the opportunity to advance, whether by learning other languages or through lateral career shifts, like into web security. Basically, I want a job where I'm contributing important work but I have the opportunity to grow, if I want it.

mod_2_journal.md

Mod 2 Week 1: Building Habits to Become a Software Developer, Part II

Reflect on your habits from last module. What behaviors and activities were helpful for you? What activities and behaviors could be more effective for you? What processes would you like to try differently this module to become more effective at your work and as a software developer?

I did pretty good at keeping to my habits and schedule last module. I was able to consistently wake up at 5:30AM, workout, then do some coding before school started. Then, after school, hang out with my wife and dog. I guess this module I feel my seasonal depression a bit more so I might focus on staying the course of hitting the gym. I should make a habit/goal of hitting the gym and seeing my volume numbers increase weekly, not necessarily daily like I usually want.

Setting intentions for this module: who do I want to be this module? What specific habits would help me get there? How are those habits tied to the identity of a software developer?

I want to be a programmer with lots of muscle. Therefore, I should focus on increasing my workout volume over time, not as fast as possible. Along with that, I should make sure to maintain my study habits.

Incorporate temptation bundling to create a new habit by using this template:

After [CURRENT HABIT], I will [HABIT I NEED TO DO]. After [HABIT I NEED], I will [HABIT I WANT TO DO]. How to enjoy “hard” habits: Reframe your habits to consider their benefits rather than their drawbacks; name 3 habits that you have to do and explain the benefits of them. How do they further your goals longterm? How will they add to your processes as a successful developer? At the end of the day, how do they add to your life?

I have to eat, sleep and hang out with my wife. Eating is quite obivous, and so is sleep. However, I often don't see sleep as a 'fun' or enjoyable thing. Hanging out with my wife keeps my wife happy and I like it when she is happy, it makes me happier.

Environment design (optional 5-min. additional reading: Motivation is Overvalued. Environment Often Matters More): how does your environment set-up currently help you with your habits? How could it be improved to make it easier for you to follow through on your habits?

My wife and I just moved into a smaller 1-bedroom apartment. So far, it's been somewhat difficult to find a good work place for school. I need to take some time and try some different chairs and rooms to see which one I feel the most productive.

“When you start a new habit, it should take less than two minutes to do.” Read this 4-min article on how to stop procrastinating. Apply the 2-minute rule to reframe 2-3 of your habits by scaling them down into the 2-minute version. How does this reframing help you think about shaping your new identity as a software developer?

This was a good article. I have used this technique before, but I can still improve on it. I used the '2 minute rule' to build a workout habit. I always tell myself that doing one exercise is better than doing none, so I always set the goal of doing at least one exercise when I go to the gym. Sometimes I only do one exercise, but it's quite rare. Oftentimes what happens is I might do just 2 or 3 exercises before going home, which is better than not doing any exercises.

Mod 2 Week 2: Professional Storytelling & Branding

(completed) Values: innovation, internal promoting (cares for their employees), customers respect them

Assess your habits from week 1: how did you spend your time this past week? What was effective in your habits? What could be more effective? What steps will you take to make that happen?

I've realized that the pace I've been taking with school, working out, etc. is near perfect (so far), except for the fact that waking up so early isn't working too well for my workouts. I'll have to play with that a little, perhaps make time to workout after classes instead of before.

Write a draft of your professional story here as 1-2 paragraphs. Focus on answering the questions who are you, why are you here, and what’s next? Consider how to talk about your motives and values, the turning points that led to your career change, and what you envision for yourself going forward.

(fifth iteration)

("What led you to a career in software development?")

I love this question because it allows me the opportunity to explain my passion for programming to other people. I love programming because it combines a few of my life's passions all into one activity; logic & philosophy, lingustics and learning. I've always been a passionate learner, at most places I worked growing up I was known as the employee who would learn a new system or technique the fastest and teach it to others. People say they enjoy learning but I REALLY love to learn new things. My instagram handle is 'beginngers_curve' which I got from the book 'Mastery' by Robert Greene. It's the idea that when you first learn a skill, the first plateau you hit is after you've mastered the beginner's stage; I love the beginner's stage. I'm not a wiz at the computer but I love learning new things, especially new languages. I grew up with Deaf parents so my first language was sign language. Eventually I learned English, then Spanish. This upbrining started a passion for linguistics (of any kind, including computer languages).

Update your LinkedIn profile with the following: updated photo/headshot, headline, summary statement using your story, and Turing added to your experience and education sections. Include a link to your profile here in the journal. Remember the guidelines and tips from the lesson here. Before updating my LinkedIn, I need to revise my story, so I won't do that just yet. https://www.linkedin.com/in/travis-mckinstry/

What other steps will you take this week to update your branding or practice your story?

I'll be doing several things...

1. Revise my story, make it sound much better. The current iteration sounds pretty good. Now I have to practice it on a video or in front of a mirror or both.
2. Update LinkedIn profile to include my story. If and when I decide to put this on my LinkedIn profile, I'll need to make sure I put it in a highly visible place on my profile, and it make sure it's grammatically correct.

Mod 2 Week 3: Job Search Strategies Assess your habits from week 2: how did you spend your time this past week? What was effective in your habits? What could be more effective? What steps will you take to make that happen?

Reflect on how you’ve spent your time so far at Turing to gauge your engagement and energy:

I've actually been excited everyday. Programming at Turing has been the ONLY activity I've ever done in my life (other than working out) where I forget to eat. Which is funny because it's actually caused me to NOT eat through most of the day because I forget I'm hungry; I'm so focused on programming! I enjoy it tremendously. Although I do feel tired or burntout if I'm having to fix a lot of problems that I've already fixed, redoing parts of a project over and over can get tiring.

Setting up habits and routines to make time for the job search this module: Block out time on your calendar this week to work on your job search. When will you make this happen? How will you hold yourself accountable to this? What activities will you focus on during this time this week? What outcomes do you hope to reach by the end of this week because of these activities? Applying wayfinding to using job search resources Go through the resources listed here and explore 2-3 tools. List what you looked at here:

I saw a bunch of resources I really like! For example; Huntr looks very interesting! I love the idea of getting technology to help me organize my job search. I'm used to organizing it on my own with paper and pen but this is much more efficient.

Another one I saw that I really liked was BuiltIn Colorado. When it comes to working as a programmer, I could work in Colorado or in another state (either remote or not), at this point I'm really not picky. BUT, IDEALLY, I'd work in Colorado.

Apply wayfinding: of what you looked at, what did you discover that aligns with your vision? If it didn’t align with your vision, what will you try next? Decide what tools to bookmark to explore later.

I already bookmarked Huntr and BuiltIn Colorado. I also downloaded the Huntr app to my phone, as well as LinkedIn.

Find a job posting that aligns with your vision. What’s the posting? How does it align with what you’re looking for? Add it to your Huntr.

I saw a job from a company named ShapeShift. They are all about collaboration, innovation and allowing their programmers to focus on the task; I like that!

Mod 2 Week 4: Job Search Strategies Prepare for Job Experience: AEIOU

Activities: what questions do you have about the activities that a software developer does on a daily basis?

-Working within text editor/terminal a lot? Using GitHub? -doesn't seem to be many jobs available at the moment for jr developers, what to do?

Environment: what questions do you have about the overall environment and culture of this workplace?

-I know no place is perfect, but do you get a long with your co-workers? Do you all hang out outside of work ever?

Interactions: what questions do you have about the team at this company? What do you hope to learn during this experience?

Objects: what questions do you have about the code or the product? Users: what questions do you have about how the company interacts with their users? After the Job Experience, reflect on the same questions; what are your takeaways from the activity? Activities: what was engaging to the person/people you met with? Environment: what did you notice about how they talked about the culture and environment of this company? Interactions: what did you notice about your interactions with this person/people? Objects: what did you learn about their approach to code and/or product development? Users: what did you learn about their approach to their users? What are your main takeaways from the shadow? How will you use this information to help you with your job search strategy?
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Ideas below are adapted from Atomic Habits by James Clear Assess your habits from week 3: how did you spend your time this past week? What was effective in your habits? What could be more effective? What steps will you take to make that happen?

I've been able to stick to my habit of going to bed early (around 9PM) so I can wake up earlier and go to the gym. Also, I've been able to stay away from casually drinking any alcohol. Drinking ANY alcohol (even it it's just a beer or two) really screws with my sleep, my workouts, etc.

Implement a reiforcement strategy: to make one of your habits more satisfying, what is a reward you can give yourself immediately after completing the habit? How will this reward encourage you to continue completing that habit?

I think I've already got that set with the going to bed early habit. I know if I go to bed early, I'm able to wake up early and hit the gym (which is something I love doing).
But also, I've made drinking alcohol unattractive. I know if I drink a beer or two, I won't sleep well. If I don't sleep well, I won't be able to workout hard (I probably actually won't be able to wake up early even!).

“Don’t Break the Chain”: Use a habit tracker

What is a habit that you want to make sure to do every day? How could you visually cue yourself to complete it (i.e., moving a paper clip)? How can you visually track it each time you’ve completed it? Could you automate the tracking? How will you do that?

I've tried using habit trackers and I really can't get into doing it. What I'd like to maybe try is set and keep a habit of waking up early and programming during our breaks. I suspect I won't struggle too much with that, being that I did that last break.

How to get back on track when missing a habit: if you miss a day or two of completing your habit, how will you get yourself going again?

That's a tough one...

I'm not too sure yet. I'm trying to think of some good techniques to implement if/when I get off track.

Pick an accountability partner (your cohort accountabilibuddy, your mentor, a close friend, etc.) and create a habit contract with them. How often will you check in with each other? How will they hold you accountable?

I work with my wife to help me stay accountable. She has a great ability of being soft yet firm with whether or not I'm sticking to my goals. We talk about it often to make sure she doesn't feel like she's fully responsible for whether or not I reach my goals. Because ultimately it's in my hands to do it (or to get back on track), not her.

Job search strategy:

1. Values & culture: what interests me the most? Not just applying to any and all postings
2. Conduct research
3. Find someone at the company
4. Complete application
5. Update resume, reach back out to contact, start over

Week 5: Outreach & Networking I

Mind Maps: i. Engagement. What did you reflect on last week in regards to when you’re engaged in your work at Turing? Pull out an idea that resonates with you most (e.g., “Talking through a problem with a partner,” “The moment when I solve a problem that I previously didn’t know how to do,” “Setting up a successful project management process for my team”) and break that idea down into parts and make a list (what are all the steps that go into that moment? When do you get to use your strengths? What is fun about this?).

-Working through a long part of a project where I know what I'm doing. Setting up the MVC environment, setting up tests, having the tests pass with minimal issues, and listening to music.

ii. Energy. What did you reflect on last week in regards to when you feel most energized in your work at Turing? Pull out an idea that resonates with you most and break that idea down into parts and make a list (what are all the steps that go into that moment? When do you get to use your strengths? What is fun about this?).

1. Opening up a project that has a lot to do still.
   
2. Know what needs to happen next, whether it be setting up a new test or testing a feature.
   
3. Writing the code that goes into the test OR brain storming how to write the test then writing the code.
   

iii. Flow. When have you had an experience recently in which you were in a state of flow? You can also think about this as “joy” or “play.” Pull out an idea that resonates with you most and break that idea down into parts and make a list (what are all the steps that go into that moment? When do you get to use your strengths? What is fun about this?).

• I'll generally achieve a state of flow with coding/programming when I can type code and listen to calming music. A state of flow is more likely to happen if I know what needs to happen next, so I'm switching between programs (like github, the terminal and Atom) and typing some code here and there.
  

Prototype your mind maps: what do these mind maps tell you about what’s important to you as a software developer? What questions do they bring up about what you still want to learn about this career?

Prototype your outreach: (Be prepared to share this in your small group discussion)

Who comes to mind as a person you can reach out to? Why that person? What questions would you ask them? Come up with 2-3 people here to serve as prototypes

1. Kevin, KT from 24hrsls, Alex & Vera, maybe Teresa (the interpreter)

How would this outreach help you further your job search strategy?

1. Kevin might have some contacts he still knows from First Bank, he might be able to reach out and help me get an entry level job.
   
2. I THINK KT works with a software/web developer for the business website, so I might be able to talk to that person about some job opportunities.
   
   
3. Alex & Vera are both software engineers, so that is an obvious one.
   
   
4. I think Teresa also has a professional website so she might have some connections there.
   
   

Outreach & Networking Plan: Based on your reflections above, create a concrete plan for your outreach:

Who is the right person for you to reach out to? How will you find them? How do you know they’re the right person? How will you reach out? What questions do you need to ask them? How will you use this information to further your solution? How will you follow up? Execute your plan:

1. I'm going to contact Kevin and KT and see if they can provide me with a contact of someone within the software development world.
2. After I get a contact or two from them, I'll reach out to this contact and mention where I got their info (our mutual friend).
3. See if I might be able to have coffee with them and talk to them about their employer.

FOLLOW UP: I was actually able to make a few promising contacts over the week. I contacted my brother John to see if he had any insight into his previous employers 'internship' program. It's a paid internship and it's right up my alley. I ended up getting some contact info from a lady who works with the company and am now talking with her about applying to the program.

Module_1_Journal_Reflections.md

Mod 1 Week 1: Understanding your strengths

1. Describe one of your strengths

What is something you have learned to do well (list a skill)? I can... I can use American Sign Language fluently.

What is something you know about (list some knowledge/expertise you have)? I know... I know a lot about fitness

What is something you have a natural ability to do well (list a talent)? I am... I am talented at communication

2. How could you combine these to describe a specific strength?

Read through your Top 4 results from Pairin In your own words, what do these top 4 qualities tell you about yourself?

I am flexible, able to lead, but don't feel an obligation to if there is already a leader

Do they resonate with you? Why/why not?

They do, except for maybe 'initiative'. I'm not really known to be the person to start things, although I do sometimes...

How do they relate to the strength you wrote about in Prompt #1?

Being a good leader has many characteristics. One of which is admitting faults openly, that was a strength I listed in prompt 1 and it was emmulated later in the Pairin results

3. Challenges with strengths What can make it challenging to recognize your strengths? How can you work through those challenges?

Not having a skill for being able to objectively see onself. A way to work through that is by practicing being honest with yourself and not how you wish things were.

Do you ever see yourself overusing certain strengths? In what circumstances would you want to use them less and amplify other strengths? How could you adjust your approach in those instances?

Oh definitely. How I've worked with overusing one of my strengths (communication) is by letting others talk and learning to be a better listener. It's worked well so far. Usually if I'm in a situation where there are introverts present, that's when I attempt to dampen my talking and instead let them talk (as much as they'd like).

4. Strengths in action Write 1-2 sentences describing how you like to work (i.e., Do you pre-plan? Do you talk through your ideas first? Do you work better with deadlines? How do you stay organized?)

I enjoy having an autonomous work environment where I'm trusted to do what needs to be done, without being micro-managed. I do work well with having deadlines for some projects. I can definitely get things done in a specific time span, which is good for getting things done but my creativtly lags because of that.

How could you describe these working preferences to your project teammates? Your mentor? Your instructors?

"Please make sure we're all communicating our needs clearly, including when you need specific things done. But keep in mind I need time to focus, so please communicate your needs, then let me work"

What would you need to be aware of when working with people who have different strengths from you?

Some people have higher creativity and thus need more flexible deadlines. This can be difficult for me because I like to get things done, but I'll need to be wary and empathetic of that.

How could your Pairin results help you better understand your everyday working preferences?

It helps me understand that I might thrive if I have a team to manage. I can imagine that being very fulfilling.

5. Continued growth Is there any particular strength you'd like to sharpen while you're at Turing? Any area you consider a weakness that you'd like to strengthen?

I'd like to maybe improve on my leadership skills, see if I might be able to become a stronger leader for the people I manage, if that ever happens.

What are some steps you could take here?

I could do better at listening to others, rather than waiting for my turn to talk.

How could you be aware of progress you're making?

I might ask my friends and family to keep an eye on whether or not they feel like I've been allowing more time in between thoughts/sentences for them to respond.

Module_1_Journal_Reflections_week_2.md

Mod 1 Week 2: Building Your Compass

Power of self-reflection

What is challenging about self-reflection?

There are many things challenging about genuine self-relection. The first (and possibly most difficult) part of self-reflection is making it genuine. To make self-reflection genuine one has to be honest about the questions/answers. Obviously it doesn't do one any good if they lie about their self-reflection, it happens often. Who wants to admit that they spend most of their day on social media, rather than on work like they tell people? Also, once one recieves an answer regarding their self-reflection, one must be brave enough to implement lifestyle changes in order to apply and improve their self-reflection.

How can you continue to build the habit of self-reflection at Turing?

One of the most helpful habits to instill to continue self-reflecting is to apply copious amounts of compassion to the process. It is often really tough to face one's demons, and can be very off-putting.

Social identity mapping First, create you own social identity map on a piece of paper (or print this out):

Outer ring: write words that describe your given identity Middle ring: list aspects of your chosen identity Center: write your core attributes—traits, behaviors, beliefs, values, characteristics, and skills that you think make you unique as an individual. Select things that are enduring and key to who you are. After you complete your map:

Underline the items that are important to you Put a + beside the items that you believe clearly demonstrate that you fit into the tech industry Put a - beside the items that you believe do not demonstrate that you fit into the tech industry Put a ? beside the items that you're unsure how they could show your ability to contribute to the tech industry Reflect:

What does your social identity tell you about what you already bring to the tech industry?

Well, being that I'm a white male, I need to be respectful and cognizant of what assumptions people make about me in regards to being a white male. The fact that I'm a son of 2 Deaf people tells me I bring a skill of perception which came about from learning American Sign Language as my first language, rather than a spoken language like my colleagues.

What would it look like for some of your minuses or question marks to turn into pluses? In other words, how could some of these traits be assets for the tech industry?

I actually had no +'s or ?'s, I believe every experience/life-skill/core value can be of benefit. You've just gotta be creative enough to see it :)

Values mapping Pull out 5 values for each bullet below from this list: Always valued: Effort, transparency, grit, mutual-respect, kindness Often valued: Honesty, patience, intelligence, humor Sometimes valued: Silence, self-reflection, leadership, confidence Seldom valued: boastfulness, selfishness, pessimism Reflect:

What do these values tell you about yourself?

It says what I've always known: I value honest, genuine, respectful people. I have low patience for pessimism, boastfulness and rudeness.

Workview & Lifeview Summarize what good, worthwhile work means to you (Tip: this is NOT about what work you want to do but about why work matters to you):

Being a part of a group/project where I’m contributing effortful work, being appreciated by my clients/customers and colleagues

Lifeview: summarize what you value in life; what matters to you?

Having freedom to NOT have to work, being with those I hold closest, not having to work everyday of the week

Where do your views on work and life complement each other?

I want freedom and to feel like I'm contributing to something greater than myself, that isn't a religion.

Where do they clash?

These two could clash, if I was working every day of the week for example. I also need to make a certain amount of money in order to not work all the time, also to feel appreciated. If I was making $20K a year working hard, I wouldn’t necessarily feel appreciated.

Does one drive the other? How?

My lifeview drives my work life. How? Because I want to have ultimate freedom, and in order to have ultimate freedom in a Capitalist economy is to have a nest egg large enough to sustain my lifestyle. I need a job to earn money so I can build this freedom.

Module_1_Journal_Reflections_week_3.md

Mod 1 week 3 Habits of a Software Developer

What do you think are the traits of a good software developer? What are they like in the workplace? What would you as a co-worker think of this person?

-I'd imagine a good software developer has the following characteristics; can complete projects promptly, can work with others well but can also work on their own just fine, dependable, creative. I'd probably like this person a lot, and respect them since being genuine is a value I hold very high in my life. I'd imagine they've got a pretty full schedule since they expect a lot out of themselves, but they also know when and how to relax (meaning they take their time off seriously).

What are the habits that this person demonstrates to embody the identity of a software developer?

-Always learning new things, readily able to admit mistakes, wakes up around the same time everyday, responds promptly to their boss and colleagues during the work week, etc.

Who do you want to be as a software developer? What kind of behaviors do you already have in place to be that person? What behaviors would you need to put into place? How will you do that?

-Well, I already wake up and go to bed at a certain time everyday, I research and learn everyday, but I could probably improve my skills of working with a team (I think most of us, if not all of us, can improve that skill). In order to be a better teammate I first need to work with more people. In my prior career I didn't work a lot with teams, so I'm lacking on that front. The more I work with teams during Turing, I need to make sure I'm cognizant and self-reflecting a lot in order to make sure my values align with my actions.

Working on the 1st Law of Behavior Change: Make it Obvious

Bring self-awareness to your current habits by making a Habits Scorecard. Make a list of your daily habits (examples: wake up, turn off alarm, check phone, etc.) as a way to bring awareness to what you do. Then, decide how effective that habit is for you and your goal of becoming a software developer. Put a + next to habits that are effective; put a - next to habits that are not effective; put a = next to habits that are neutral.

Pick 1 new habit you'd like to build and create an implementation intention following this template: "I will [BEHAVIOR] at [TIME] in [LOCATION]." Then, stack the habit onto something you already do: "After [CURRENT HABIT], I will [NEW HABIT]." (Hint: make this highly specific and immediately actionable)

-I will debrief and write in my journal how I think I did after every team interaction. -After I stop a Zoom call with a teamate, I will debrief in my journal about the good things I did, as well as some things I can improve on.

Design your environment for success: what changes could you make in your space to better implement your habit? How could you remove any triggers for bad habits? How will you implement these changes?

-I think a relatively easy change is to keep my journal near me when I am working on the laptop. That way, I can see it (trigger) after a call and be prompted to write in it.

Respond after a few days of this implementation: What are your results? How do you feel about this method? How will you move forward with this habit?

Module_1_journal_reflections_week_4.md

Mod 1 Week 4: Creating Your Vision, Part I

1. Habits reflection: How have you seen yourself become more aware of your habits? Have you tried implementing anything new? Have have the results been?

I've definitely noticed some interesting things pertaining to my habits with coding and programming. In the past I wasn't a big fan of what one would call 'deep work'; fousing on one task for a long time with minimal distractions. In the past, I liked being around people (and distractions) while working on things. I've now realized that when I'm deep into programming, I can't afford to be distracted or I lose my understanding of the logic I'm trying to implement. So, a habit I've started implementing is the habit of isolating myself as much as possible while coding.

2. Start where you are (empathize with the user --you) Health: how you answer “how are you”; intersection of physical, mental, and emotional health 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? What is a small change you could make here to readjust your health ratings?

I would rate my health as a 5. I make sure to make time every morning to go to the gym and workout. I also make sure I go to bed at a decent time every night (around 9PM). It's important I get my sleep or else the next day I have absolutely no patience for anything other than coding.

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? How are those activities purposeful for you?

My daily activities include; school, working out, eating, sleeping, hanging out with my wife and dog, watching youtube videos to unwind while eating. I'd say the one activity that I know doesn't bring me much value is watching youtube. I don't need to do it while eating and I could spend that time talking with my wife.

Play: what brings you joy? 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? In what ways could you make a small change to bring more joy into your life?

Learning brings me tremendous joy, so being in Turing and practicing/learning programming brings me a lot of joy. I don't necessarily make time to do any other 'play' activities, but then again I never really have.

Love: sense of connection; who are the people who matter in your life and how is love flowing to and from you and them? How does love currently show up in your life? How do you show love to others right now? What adjustments would you like to make in this area?

I could probably make more time with my wife and dog, they matter a lot to me. I'd say that's where I show and reciebe love the most.

Looking back at the 4 areas, do any problems emerge that you want to begin designing solutions for?

I'd say that if I lose track of my schedule, it is easy to spiral out of control. Lots of bad things start happening when I don't adhere to my schedule. If I drink on the weekend, for example, I can't wake up early on Monday to workout. That ruins my whole week.

3. 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?

I still need to figure out what field I'd like to jump into. Obviously software/website development, but that is such a huge marketplace. I like the idea of going into web security, so I should start doing some informational interviews with cyber security professionals so see if that's something I'd like to do.

4. 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?

Like I mentioned above, I should start doing more informational interviews with software developers to see if they could shed any insight as to what field or specialty I should go into. I need to begin networking now.

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?

The ideal situation would be I'm working in a software development position where I'm contributing to a big project of some sort, getting paid well, love my colleagues, love the company I'm working at, and it's all remote.

Test –- solutions Based on this week of reflections, write out your initial vision statement for your career:

My career after Turing will be in a company I respect, with colleagues I get along with, with good pay, where I'm able to work remotely and feel like I'm contributing to a big project that I enjoy working on.

Module_1_Journal_Reflections_week_5.md

Week 5

1. Habits Reflection: -How have you seen yourself become more aware of your habits? Have you tried implementing anything new? What have the results been?

I've begun trying to debrief and write in my journsl after every team interaction and it's been interesting to say the least. First off, it's made me exponentially more aware of how I interact with people. Also, it's interesting to debrief in my journal right after an interaction, then go back and read it a day later. That's provided a lot of insight into how I interact with people, bringing to awareness a lot of things I didn't notice before.

2. Design Thinking Reflection: Cultivating Beginner's Mind How can beginner's mind be helpful when it comes to thinking about your career and job search? What are some habits you could put into place to cultivate beginner's mind regularly?

Beginner's Mind (and Buddhism in general) is something I've been practicing for years now. It's brought tremendous life satisfaction. I think the biggest benefit to implementing Beginner's Mind is the incerase in creativity. If you're constantly seeing things as if it's the first time seeing it, you notice something new about it almost every time. This helps increase your knowledge of it, as well as your creativity.

Flower exercise https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nw4r16Y4hnqkX4ewbQAsO304gw8mx-cLEa6fbhAa7yI/edit?usp=sharing

Final flower exercise worksheet https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UinvsTLLDgoRCGvsQLDa6quAMgzMZAtKg9pGTsa6tTw/edit

Module_3.md

Module 3

Intermission Reflections

1. Please list the top 3-5 industries and companies you'll pursue in your job search as of right now.

1. Banking
   
2. Investing
   
3. Retail
   
   2. Why did you pick the industries/companies that you listed above? How do they relate to the values and goals you have for yourself in your job search?
   -Well I choose banking and investing because one of my values is technological advancement/innovation. I really like the programming both of those fields are doing at the cutting edge.

3. How does your LinkedIn currently reflect your goals and industry interests? What changes will you need to make to your LinkedIn to better reflect these?
Well before this exercise it said nothing of wanting to be at the cutting edge of programming/investing/banking, but I just made that change. I think this will reflect my values better to potential employers so I'm glad I made this change.

Week 2

Find a position or use a position you’ve put on your Huntr board and write a cover letter for that position in a Google doc or gist. Reference these cover letter resources as well as the session to complete your cover letter. Post the link to your cover letter here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/185JM94CORddn8_YCsN7XeVxm0HTKpyvk/view?usp=sharing

Review your cover letter with a peer some time this week. What feedback did your partner give you? What next steps will you take to make your cover letter even stronger?

They said it seemed good, I just need to tweak it to sound a little more professional, so take out some of the 'I' and 'me' statements

If you were to apply to this position (and you should!), how will you customize your resume for it? What other next steps would you need to take here?

I've already made a resume and applied to the position. I emphasized my passion for testing (TDD), as well as highlighting my willingess and passion to learn other languages (since they prefer full stack developers).

Week 3

Back to your resume and cover letter you’ve been working on: What other next steps do you want to take to make these two components stronger?

I worked on another iteration of my cover letter and now I really like it. It's a bit more personal than my last iteration, but it also highlights why my past experiences would contribute to the company's success. I added my experience in building a tiny house as well as how my previous career would contribute to the company.

Outreach Brainstorming: Either explore the company you wrote a cover letter for or find a new company to explore this week; Go to their company LinkedIn page and start to explore the employees. Who are a couple people you could reach out to? Why?

I am doing some more research to a company called CyberGRX. I am working on building a relationship with one of their employees who is a Turing alumn. He's been really responsive so I've been working on just making casual but intriguing conversation with him.

Finalize Your Plan: Who have you decided to reach out to? Why that person? How will you contact them? What do you want to talk to them about?
I've definitely reached out to that contact at CyberGRX. Thanks are going well, we're talking about computer related stuff.
How will you follow up?
I'm hoping to continue developing our relationship so that if/when a position opens up, he'll hit me up.

Week 4

Prepare for Job Shadow: AEIOU
Activities: what questions do you have about the activities that a software developer does on a daily basis?
-If you were struggling on a specific piece or string of code, can you eventually reach out to a co-worker for support/help?
-Have you ever had several months where you were asked to do something other than developing software?

Environment: what questions do you have about the overall environment and culture of this workplace?
-Do you all ever hang out outside of work?
-Is company loyalty/pride lauded or ridiculed?

Interactions: what questions do you have about the team at this company? What do you hope to see in your interactions during the shadow?
-Are there opportunities for upward movement?

Objects: what questions do you have about the code or the product?

Users: what questions do you have about how the company interacts with their users?
-What is the targeted demographic?

After the Job Shadow, reflect on the same questions; what are your takeaways from the shadow?** Activities: what was engaging to the person/people you shadowed?** Environment: what did you notice about how they talked about the culture and environment of this company?** Interactions: what did you notice about your interactions with this person/people?** Objects: what did you learn about their approach to code and/or product development?** Users: what did you learn about their approach to their users?** What are your main takeaways from the shadow? How will you use this information to help you with your job search strategy?** Interview Prep:**

Pick a successful project and write about it with the STAR method (What was the situation/scenario of the project? What was the task/target of the project? What action steps did you take? What were the results?):
-I worked on a project called "Viewing Party" where we were tasked to create an application where a person could register as a user, browse movies (either by their name, or actors in it), add friends and create a movie party with a movie and specific friends. One of the more difficult parts of this project was building the tests to verify the API calls were working correctly. We decided to use webmock (a popular Rails gem used to mimick an API call without actually making a call). This was difficult because it requires making an API call (we used Postman), copying the result, creating a json file, and calling that file within the webmock. If you don't copy the right API call, your tests will fail and it can take a long time to figure it out. We ended up having a few hiccups along the way but were able to smooth out the rough edges and able to adequetely test our API call functions. Because of this experience, we brought our insights to the next project where we implemented the same gem but were able to avoid all the previous pitfalls, which gave us much more time to set more 'sad path' tests.

Write about a time you failed and what you learned from that experience:
-During our second "semester" at Turing, we had just learned how to create tables in SQL using Rails. During one assessment, instead of reading the directions completely, I skipped through to the user stories aand started the project without building any relationships between the tables, which was the whole point of the assessment. I ended up not getting a score, but you can bet, every assessment and test I did after, I made sure to read the directions COMPLETELY. I now make it a habit to read the directions more than once, in a row.

Write about how you’ve approached working with a team using a specific example:
-I enjoy taking a leadership role, but know that nowadays it's become more popular for people who might not otherwise seek that role, to try and jump into it. Also, because I know that the success of a team depends on it's intrapersonal dynamics, I'm more than willing to sacrifice my wants for what's best for the team. Therefore, whenever I'm put into a team or group, I wait to take the leadershp role, just in case someone else wants it. If no one takes the position, I'll gladly take the role of team leader. For example...

What other stories will you prepare to share?

• I generally don't struggle with coming up with real-life examples/stories during an interview, so I'll hold off on doing this part so I can put more work into the other parts of this week's PD.
  
  Using this interview prep resource doc, pick out at least 3 resources you will use to prepare for interviews as well as 3 behavioral questions you could practice:

-CodeWars -InterviewCake -Ian's article

Week 5

Taking stock of where you are: what have you accomplished this module? What have you learned? Where are you stuck (have you not been able to follow through on outreach? Is your resume not finished?)?

I've interviewed with several companies, only one of which offered a technical interview. I passed the challenge (it was on HackerRank) and wasn't offered the job. So I'm not necessarily stuck, just working through the rejections. The main reason for the rejections is; they aren't looking for any junior developers at the moment. I'm not discouraged, I know that a big part of this process is just building relationships and networks.

Create plans for 3 different companies you want to target:

1. Forty AU.

• I spoke with one of the recruiters, Amy, and she was really cool. It seemed like we really got along and she seemed to like me. Plus, the company seems like an awesome place to work at. I scoured their website and their culture and core values are exactly what I'm looking for. They work with a variety of clients which means they use whatever language their client wants them to (or whatever language(s) would work best for their needs). Which means I'd learn A TON if I worked there. I got Amy's email and she told me to reach out periodically and she'll let me know when something opens up. I plan on emailing her in 2 weeks to ask about a job shadow or internship.

2. P2 Energy Solutions

• I spoke with the recruiter and she was super nice. She ultimately told me she thinks I'd be a great fit but there isn't anything available for junior developers right now. She gave me her email and asked that I reach out to her every month to check in. I love the tech stack they're working with and, again, I jibe hardcore with their culture and values. I love the idea of working in the energy sector.

Make it actionable: rank each plan on a scale of 1-5 for how much your plan aligns with the following: Available resources to help you pursue it: contacts, time, knowledge of the company, etc. Coherence: how it aligns with your career vision Confidence level: how feasible does this feel to you? How excited you are about it? Now, pick the plan with the highest numbers across the board. What steps will you take next to pursue this strategy as you go into the next module?

As far as a plan, I plan to reach out to both of these companies. I feel pretty confident because I have a pretty organized system in place. I reach out to the company to talk to a real person, ask if there are any job's I could apply to, then email them whenever they're ok with me emailing them and asking about a job shadow or internship. I have a list of companies that I am reaching out to daily in some way or another. I also have a few companies that I am talking with an employee with (like an alumn). I guess now I just implement the system and wait for the day one of these companies tells me they've got a position for me.

M2 Week 1: Looks good! Appreciated the description of the kind of developer you want to be and the fact that you seem to have really narrowed down the habits that are most important to you to the core items that you believe are valuable to your success and happiness.

Hi Travis, Nice job on your portfolio page.Its coming along nicely. I reviewed your resume and its looking good. There is some space at the bottom that Im sure you have plans to fill. If not, I can provide some suggestions. I really like your professional story and how you describe your love for languages from sign to Ruby- languages are your thing! As you develop your cover letter more don't forget to have a peer provide feedback and provide those updates here for week 2. Keep up the good work!

Also, nice job on your networking and outreach.

Travis, again you are making great progress from building your career docs and refining them to company research and applying for roles. Looking forward to working with you in Mod4.