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?
In very general terms, I’d say having access to the internet has been one of the greatest & often most overlooked tool that has aided me in my research. For something more specific, I am a huge fan of making an hourly To-Do lists the night before. It helps me mentally prepare & organize myself for the following day. I know for sure that I’ll be using the internet while at Turing for researching & collaborating on projects. I also know how beneficial it will be for me to in simply making lists & taking notes of what I need to do & get done in-between class sessions.
2. As you start this new career, what is one of your strengths and how do you know?
I believe that I can convey & receive information fairly well. I’ve taught a variety of subjects in natural sciences to students of all ages throughout the country for many years now. From this experience I’ve come to realize that simply exchanging knowledge, efficiently & effectively, is an art form in of itself. Additionally, I am very analytical. Almost to the point where it can become both my strength & my weakness, in that I can get caught focusing on one thing for far too long.
3. Describe how you work best (conditions, environment, preferences, etc.):
I’ve come to learn that my ideal working & learning environment is usually in a space of my own without any distractions. I could say that I prefer not being on a time crunch, however, I know that under those circumstances I can more easily get stuck overanalyzing whatever it is that I’m working on. So, I suppose I work more efficiently under some form of pressure, though I don’t particularly enjoy presenting work that I felt rushed in producing. I also find that when I have an organized set of tasks before me I can, with sufficient time, attend to each one more diligently.
4. As you start this new career, what is your greatest area of improvement when it comes to your professional skills?
Procrastinating; too much time seems to be my kryptonite. Furthermore, for the longest time I’ve based my productivity on motivation. If I was motivated, I was productive. On the flip-side, whenever I lacked a desire to do something it just wouldn’t get done. It seemed that I had gauged my productivity on how willing I was to do it. Realizing that this has been & would continue to be a crutch in my overall work ethic, I began exercising self-discipline. So that on days when I lacked motivation I would still be able to accomplish the goals I had set out for myself.
5. How will developing a deeper understanding of your strengths and working preferences benefit you as a software developer?
Being that I view successful communication as an art form, I am ecstatic to apply this mindset to software development. I’d like to hone in on my researching skills in learning new code. I’m already naturally curious & analytical in understanding how things work. I hope with continued practice & exposure I’ll gradually improve upon my understanding to the point where I can develop software that translates seamlessly to a general user interface.
6. Describe the vision you currently have for your career after Turing:
Honestly, I want to go into this with an open mind. I know without a doubt that I want to posses this skillset, though I don’t necessarily want to assume yet that I know exactly what I’d like to do after Turing. However, I will mention that when my friend heard I was going to Turing, he decided to also enroll in a coding school(but in NY). He has a background in econ, business, & entrepreneurship. He’s pitched a few ideas of what we could do together. One being to create a marketing website for products that we’ve validated as being viable.
That being said, I know how my brain works in regards to creativity. Typically, it comes in bursts & if I don’t act on it in that moment then that creative spark is likely to fizzle out. This has been the case for whenever I’ve said “oh that would be a really cool app idea” or something of the sort. Since I didn’t have the skillset to make that idea come to life, it eventually just gets forgotten. After Turing, I’d like to think that I will be able to act on those ideas by allowing them to come to fruition, knowing that I now have a skillset to further pursue it.