Here's to new beginnings

Hi,

My name is Cynthia and I started learning how to code 2 weeks ago. The idea of becoming a programmer or learning coding languages did not drop out of nowhere two weeks ago. I would say this all started last year when Youtube recommended a bunch of ‘How I became a software engineer without a CS degree’ videos. Although most of them were based in the US, I was intrigued and wanted to know more about what it entails to get a career in tech.

This year I made the effort to look for UK individuals sharing their experience of working in coding and non-coding jobs. I have also been searching high and low on LinkedIn for individuals who have successfully transitioned into Tech within the last 1-2 years. I was able to see which route they took to get to where they are now. I made sure to take note of the boot camps they attended or the languages they are versed in for their current role. I discovered that job titles in tech are constantly evolving and it expands beyond software engineers, to DevOps, Site reliability engineers, Data analysts and so much more.

One day as I was discovering the various roles in tech and taking a deep dive on LinkedIn and Youtube to understand how individuals took the leap, I discovered SheCodes. SheCodes offers coding workshops for women who want a guided course on learning the various technical skills and coding languages required to be a full-stack developer. I signed up for the free coding class, SheCodes express, taught by the founder Matt Delac. During the class, he briefly showed us the basics of HTML which demystified the whole idea of coding. This was around March 2022 when I realised writing code is not difficult and there are multiple resources and networks (cheatsheets, Mozilla Developer Network, free code camp, stack overflow, W3schools) that will guide you if you get stuck or want to get an in-depth understanding.

Over time I have been deciding which route to take that is suitable for my lifestyle and current circumstances. I decided to start learning on the Codecademy platform, I am currently completing the Full-Stack Engineer career path. The course structure and knowledge progression is going at a good pace. The platform is beginner friendly and has helped me to show up 5 times a week without having to stress about planning the lessons. I am aware that some people criticise the Codecademy platform for holding learners’ hands too much. At this stage of my learning journey, I will welcome it because I need guidance. I have noticed that later on the path they have included projects that will be carried outside of the platform. So, they do allow you to venture off and I am excited to reach that stage where I can build my own website from scratch and develop my portfolio.

What I have learnt so far:

• Completed my first project. I created a static fashion blog using basic HTML tags. I was paying close attention to how I was structuring the code by including white space and indentation to make the code look organised and readable. It was enjoyable, it took me back to Piczo days when I created my own custom web pages.
• Created a schedule for a wine festival event using the newly acquired knowledge of HTML tables to display a table with timelines for the attendees.
• I got to practice using CSS visual rules to improve the appearance of a photography portfolio site. I made style changes to the font, image size, and font colour using CSS selectors.

What I have found challenging:

• Trying to not rush the process and remember it's a journey, not a race. Note to self: Make the lesson sessions count and live a balanced life.
• Getting accustomed to CSS syntax.

What I am looking forward to:

• To complete the fundamentals of the CSS course.
• To style websites using CSS in the future.
• To learn how to develop websites locally and deploy them.

Till next time.

Happy coding.

Cynthia 👩🏽‍💻