Find What Works For You and GO!
by Holy Pierre Last updated Jul. 27, 2017
Short intro by Kyle:
Have you ever come across an awesome person?
That would be Holy… She's the founder of a popular magazine called Untouchd where she's influencing the lives of many people in tech, plus she is addicted to coffee.
Without further delay, here's Holy:
When you go into a coding bootcamp, you are expected to keep up - period. Not everyone is at your level.
I remember our class being a mixture of talented developers improving their existing skills, to back-end developers learning the front-end, to designers expanding their skill-set, and then a noob like myself.
Hi, I'm Holy, founder and editor-in-chief of UNTOUCHD Magazine, and coding bootcamp grad.
It was a journey. I had to learn how to learn all over again…
It started with curiosity, a drive, and built up patience. What they don't really tell you is that shit gets hard.
Coding is fun, fulfilling, exhilarating, but is it really the dream you're sold?
I hate to burst your happy bubble (I promise it comes back), but the beginning stages are not as easy.
You are taught to think like a computer. For someone who came from a blogging/tech support background, I still found it difficult to grasp. But I didn't stop there. I allowed my fear of breaking everything on my first try, push me to repetition.
When learning to code, repetition is key. It becomes a habit.
Yes, with Sublime Text with added Emmet package installed it made retaining the syntax much easier. But in the end, I knew by heart what I needed, and it became second nature.
When I realized that I needed to spend more time learning outside of the classroom for my own fear of being left behind, that's when I created a system that worked for me.
I started to attend meetups and networking with other developers and students. I searched articles that pertained to my then level of programming knowledge in hopes not to overwhelm myself more.
It worked. I set small goals and maintained them. I took notes, repeated them, and applied all that I could.
Every day we learned something new and applied it to our previous day's work. It was challenging but again, repetition is key.
I joined a few organizations that I felt would help me gain the confidence, and the added knowledge I needed to continue.
The Girl Develop It Atlanta chapter, and the Women Who Code Atlanta were the first two organizations I joined, and until this day still active in. Those were the methods that worked for me.
If you are new to coding or are interested to start a career in one of the many layers of tech, DO IT!
Don't be intimidated by the news and what can sometimes come off as negative.
Every working field has its negatives, but this doesn't mean that you have to stop right there and not push through.
Learning to code is hard, I won't sugarcoat it.
It takes time, patience, a repetitive habit, and the thirst to learn more. Trust me when I say that it gets better.
There are many organizations these days that you can join, and meetups to attend! Before you decide to jump into a coding bootcamp, dive into free online resources - there are tons!
Find a mentor. Challenge yourself for a week or two, and see if this is a field you truly want to dive into.
At the end of the day, being a developer is a job. And what fun is it to do something you don't love - do your research.
Programming is a demanding field, and it requires a whole lot of love (totes!).
Technology moves fast, and as a developer, you have to be able to keep up, but not with everything. Find what works for you, and go with it. This is your journey, and everyone learns at their own pace.
Don't be discouraged, and know that you can do it. I didn't think I could. I cried, doubted myself, and near quitting. But I am glad I didn't do that because at the end of my cohort, I presented a website I built from scratch.
After I got passed my "there's no way I'm smart enough for this" stage, I started to really open up about my process.
I joined Instagram again with no expectations. It was my visual journal. It helped keep me grounded and accountable during my journey.
My captions were a 1:1 to myself, literally. I kept myself accountable to share what I was up to and hoped that I wasn't alone.
Well, I was not alone, dear readers. In a matter of weeks of self-talk, and numerous takes on how to perfect coffee shot, I had an audience. A real audience. I found others, like me, learning to code, learning... It was a gift.
I never felt so confident, and able. We shared our wins, events, errors, debugs, you name it!
It felt real (and it still does). I wasn't alone anymore.
I always say that Instagram is more than a 4x4 square. If used properly, you can find what it's worth. For me, it turned out to be a support group, a community… friends. I found it.
My name, "codegirlcode" is the encouragement phrase I continuously told myself on the days I was ready to give up - "Code, girl code. You can do it, focus!". This reminder to myself is what helped me push harder, and harder each day.
With now a follower's count of over 20.5k, I still keep through the same mission (even with this new algorithm nightmare - UGH), to encourage the next ones.
I still code - currently learning the role of AWS Solutions Architect (#neverstoplearning), and the one girl behind UNTOUCHD Magazine - A lifestyle magazine for women inspired by tech.
Fact, UNTOUCHD is a product of my Instagram journey, and little sister (quickly, one day she wondered why I was always on my computer, and I explained to her that I was coding. This peaked her attention, and she, by herself aced through the One Hour of Code challenge, and loved it!).
Once I realized that I could, and I did, I took that same passion and created an outlet that would inspire other women to know that they too, can!
I wanted to have a safe place that tells a story where a career in tech isn't just coding. It's also a career in digital marketing, visual design, product management, data science, and UX design - you get my drift.
The world of technology holds many layers, and this is one of the many beauties of tech I fell for. You are not confined to just one field, remember this!
Find what works for you, and go with it. It's okay to start somewhere, and to dive into another - nobody's judging, you deserve to be happy doing something that matters.
My best advice for you is:
- Track your progress
- Start a blog
- Find a mentor
- Attend meetups
- Use free online tutorials to help you get started
- Ask questions (don't be afraid to)
There is a fantastic developer's community on Twitter, Instagram (trust me), another great one is Dev.to, and ColorCode.
We're a friendly bunch, at least I think so! :)
Conclusion by Kyle:
Holy is awesome, right? :) I hope this article motivates you to ACT and to keep pursuing your coding dreams as you deal with the highs and lows of your personal journey.
Take a look at Untouchd and make sure to follow Holy on Instagram
