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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?
Like we learned in Mod 0, you must define your variables before being able to draw on/use them. As obvious as it seems, I feel that that this is a key element that is often missed (at least it was for me for some time), that is to define your goals! Once defined, and once careful thought has been put towards that goal, milestones for attaining it should begin to take shape - smaller 'sub-goals' to hit along the path to your greater goal. As you work through those milestones, perhaps it will better inform your greater goal, becoming a little more defined and a little less nebulous.
Reaching your goals is a bit of a metaprocess, but still a process that can be broken down like any other. I enjoy rock climbing, and I've gotten quite good at it. When I started, I set a goal to climb a certain difficulty, seemingly impossible at the time. But, I broke down the process. The conditioning I needed given my level of athleticism (or lack thereof). The movements with which I needed to familiarize myself. The mental fortitude required to brave dizzying and often inverted heights. There was sooo much packed into the goal of "Climb a V4 boulder." This will most definitely apply to "Become a good FE dev."
As with climbing, continuous research, dedication and grit will be required on the daily. I had a schedule that I followed, which required planning out meals, socializing, cleaning, etc. Judicious use of calendars and timers, and regular self-assessments to determine what is or isn't working.
2. As you start this new career, what is one of your strengths and how do you know?
I feel that openness is a strength of mine that has gotten me through many difficult learning processes. I believe that openness is intimately tied to grit. There is a special kind of grin and bear it required, especially at 36, of someone learning and 'failing' (which I believe is a bit of a misnomer) at something new in the midst of experienced practitioners, and/or those with the popular mindset of appearance before substance.
What I mean is, it's not cool to 'fail'. However, as is the guiding principle that is intrinsic to our existence as human beings, the nature of reality is dualistic and one often requires its counterpart. To get better, one must learn. To learn, one must be open to learning, and 'failure' is simply an implicit part of learning, whether on paper, or simply in your head; a keystroke, or a thesis. What is light without darkness? Joy without pain? Yes without no? Undefined and meaningless. Someone who has never failed is someone who has never tried.
In the forums of climbing, skateboarding, woodworking, and now programming, I have become intimately familiar with the warm glow of a low simmering embarassment, a feeling that may not be warranted, that floods the cheeks upon public 'failure'. However, on top of its other benefits, I like to think that 'failure' gives my cheeks a nice color.
3. Describe how you work best (conditions, environment, preferences, etc.):
I believe that you cannot give what you do not have. In order to give this program my all, I will need to take stock and prepare to do exactly that. Sleep hygeine is now a priority, and something I'm struggling to wrangle. My propensity to put things off until the pressure begins to affect other unrelated activities is being addressed. A purposeful space set up to best facilitate an atmosphere of studying, learning and work is being set up in my room as I write this. I work best by preparing well. Outside of that, I work best with people who are open to learning new ideas and challenging their own paradigms, despite their long lasting familiarity and discomfort at the thought of changing.
4. As you start this new career, what is your greatest area of improvement when it comes to your professional skills?
I believe this is the other side of openness, that one can be 'too open'. In retrospect I can see how this has not served me, how I may need to be more tactical with its application in regards to a professional interview, workplace, etc. I suppose translated into a more actionable item, that means having better boundaries; in the past few years, I've taken to the idea of holding onto a thought for some time before releasing or extinguishing it. The more heavier the matter, the more time is alotted. I've sat on emails for days, re-written them, and ultimately never sent them having come upon an alternative - I guess a sort of 'emotional rubber ducking', if you will!
5. How will developing a deeper understanding of your strengths and working preferences benefit you as a software developer?
I'm not trying to be so generic in my answers, but I think their are some guiding principles that apply to just about everything. A deeper understanding and willingness to be honest with yourself will never serve you negatively, I truly believe that. Here, understanding and being honest with not only your strengths, but your weaknesses too, will shine a bright light on paths for improvement and specialization. Again, knowing what you want, who you are, is a means to getting what you want. If you don't know what you want, what you have to offer, neither does anyone else. It'd be a sad way to be just meandering through everyone's best guess at what you want or have to offer, only to constantly butt against the challenges inherent in never having considered what you have to offer in the first place!
6. Describe the vision you currently have for your career after Turing:
Big dream? Nebulous right now, a bit, but I'm sure it will become more defined as we progress and learn what we will be capable of doing on our own, on a team, etc. That being said, outside of gainful employment, I hope to use programming as a tool for both creative expression, and assistance and education - ideally wrapping those together. In sports, I was always in awe of adaptive athletes - athletes who are somehow differently abled (missing or paralytic limbs, vision or hearing loss, etc.). One idea I've been kicking around after seeing some incredible blind skaters is the idea of using programming to make sports such as skateboarding, climbing, etc. (where one needs to have a good idea of where their obstacles or objectives are in space) more accessable to the visually impaired. If this idea hangs around by mod 2, I'm hopeful to work on it as a capstone project.
@scott - thank you for keeping your journals updated! LinkedIn looks great - and I LOVE your story about how you came to programming. I especially like that you have a "short" and "long" version you can lean into. It's helpful to think about the ways that your story will change based on context (networking vs. coffee vs. phone interview, etc.).
I didn't have access to your week 1 journal via google docs. I shot you a DM in Slack regarding utilizing gists for weekly entries (as I see you did during week 4). Thank you for your flexibility and hard work!