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?).
I feel most engaged when I'm working on a class hierarchy or a data model for one of our projects. I think Object Oriented Programming is a concept that I've mastered well over the last two Mods and I feel I'm able to strategize the best way to structure a class hierarchy for any given project.
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?).
I get a huge sense of excitement when I achieve some complex new functionality on a project involving a new technology that I only recently learned. I've felt extremely excited and gratified after successful assessments and positive project feedback. Solving the problem and then seeing the solution work consistently in different scenarios is very gratifying.
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 would say I experienced a state of flow towards the end of the final solo project for Mod 2. Writing the test suites for the class hierarchy was a very methodical and somewhat repetitious task once the initial setup was complete. The tests provide some immediate positive feedback once you get that little green check mark so it was easy to fall into a groove with writing them. Once that was done though I was pretty exhausted with the whole project.
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?
What's important to me as a software developer is working with a codebase that it organized, modular, logical and set up for long term success, rather than a legacy codebase with inconsistent band aid bug fixes. How can older, legacy codebases be restructured or reorganized without breaking the application and affecting large numbers of users or without having to build everything from the ground up? How do you maintain discipline and organization among a team of developers?
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. How would this outreach help you further your job search strategy? Outreach & Networking Plan: Based on your reflections above, create a concrete plan for your outreach:
- Bryan Daino - my supervisor at my previous job might know how to contact the pixel team. I can reach out to him via LinkedIn
- There's a team of software developers working at my wife's company - I can ask her if she has any contacts that I can reach out to
- My mentor is a good resource for strategizing my job search and advising me who to network with in Denver and what kinds of jobs to look out for.