Back to Basics

In the last couple of blog entries, in case you didn't read them, I've discussed my plans for the next two and a half weeks before I start my new job. Given that I won't be using GraphQL, it didn't make sense to continue on with the GraphQL course I was taking. I really enjoyed that course, though, and I definitely want to finish it. Instead, I decided to pick up Andrew Mead's The Modern JavaScript Bootcamp on Udemy. I love Andrew's style of teaching and find it to be very valuable, so I figured this would be a good course to get a little better with JavaScript. I've taken countless hours of coursework on JavaScript, of course, but it's been about a month or so since I focused specifically on it. Before the GraphQL course, I took a React Native course, and before that it was a React course. The course before that was on JavaScript alone, and was a 50 hour plus course. Nothing beats Will Sentance's courses on JavaScript, but Andrew does a great job with it, so hopefully I can get a little stronger in my weak areas. So far, the course is starting from the very basics, which I feel like I should just skip, but I want to be able to put this coursework in my portfolio and would feel like I was cheating if I did that. I am watching these sections in 1.5 speed and am progressing through the basics pretty quickly, so I should be on to some better material soon.

I've been thinking a lot about how I should approach my study regimen once I get going in my job. It's really difficult to make that judgment at this point in time, since I'm still pretty fuzzy on what exactly I'm going to be doing. I suspect there will be some serious ramping up, where I'm going to have to do some specific studying on tools and technologies they are using on board, but once I'm in the comfort zone, I think I need to continue to think about the future. Some of the technologies they are using aren't as relevant as they once were, and I think that's changing and I will be a part of that, but I don't know if I can push them into implementing stuff like GraphQL or Gatsby. I know there's some technologies I've come across that, in my brief time discussing things with them, I think could prove to be very valuable to their operation, but I doubt I will have much of a voice in those types of decisions for some time to come. So, if we aren't going to be using stuff like that, but that's the type of stuff that will help me land my next job, then I need to be learning that on my own. They sound like they want to get into some really interesting stuff, like artificial intelligence, which would be really nice to learn and could prove to be very valuable, so I think I just need to play it by ear. Either way, I'm going to have 8 hours every day devoted to writing code and will be able to come home and put in a few more if I need to.

The next question on my mind concerns this blog, in particular. I started this blog for two reasons: to prove to potential employers that I'm a hard worker and show them what I've been working on, and to provide a roadmap to other people walking the same path I've walked and show them what to do and what not to do. Once I landed a job, both of these reasons kind of became irrelevant. I no longer need to prove to anyone what I'm doing and I've reached the finish line for landing a job. So, what's the point of writing the blog anymore? Well, I think it could be really interesting for people who haven't worked in the field and are looking to break into it to get a glimpse into a day in the life of a software developer who's never worked in the field, either. I am already dealing with imposter syndrome, and maybe this could help other people who are feeling like they don't belong, and show them it's ok to not know everything. Everybody has knowledge gaps and areas of strength. Also, writing this blog and doing the 100DaysOfCode challenge on Twitter have provided a regimented habit for me, and I think it could be useful to continue on with this habit. I won't have to squeeze in my studying and motivate myself to keep going anymore since I will be doing this for a living wage now, but I still have a lot to learn and a lot of studying to do. I've written this blog for over 200 days in a row, and it has to come to an end at some point, but I think I'll keep it going for a little while longer, at least.

Until tomorrow!