Experience (So Far) as a New Developer

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| October 10, 2024 | in

In late 2022, I started thinking about doing something different. I had been a high school counselor for eight years, but I was ready to move into the field of technology. I’ve always enjoyed adopting new technologies and using computers. I applied for and was offered a job as a “cloud support analyst” at a company with an office in Lincoln in January 2023, but that offer fell through a couple of months later.

Not knowing what I would do next, my good friend Devon Seacrest encouraged me to learn how to become a full-stack web developer. I started by teaching myself simple HTML and CSS for about a month. I quickly realized I liked what I was doing but wasn’t sure how to proceed because I felt I needed something highly structured in order to learn at a rapid rate, with my goal to be hired as a software engineer by the end of the 2023-2024 school year.

While gathering information about how I could teach myself in a more structured way, I found 100Devs. 100Devs is an agency with a training program that helps aspiring web developers. The program is all self-paced, with around 60 classes on YouTube. Each class was about three hours long, but the advantage of YouTube is that you can speed up videos, so I would often watch the classes at 1.5x speed.

I started by making a plan and working backward. At the time, I didn’t know about the Pathways Program, so I planned to apply for jobs between January and March of 2024, meaning I needed to try to finish this 30-week program (two classes per week) by the end of the year. I made a spreadsheet that had every week of the year on it and what I would learn week by week to help me keep pace.

While I was learning, I was also networking with software engineers because all of my professional networks were in the world of education. I started attending Lincoln.Code() meetups, and by coincidence, the first meetup I attended had Doug Durham as a panelist. He brought Malika Yadgarova with him, and she introduced me to the Pathways Program.

I continued to learn throughout 2023 and eventually got a call from Malika in late November to interview for a potential spot in the Pathways Program. After that interview, I was given the opportunity to interview with Anchovy, a new recipe storage and sharing app that Don’t Panic Labs was building the MVP for. I was fortunate enough to be hired by Anchovy, who sponsored me through the Pathways Program starting in January 2024 and ending in May 2024.

I’ve been a full-time software developer for Anchovy for over four months. I went from a very rigid work structure as a high school counselor to a very fluid one as a software developer. Since Anchovy doesn’t have a physical place to call its home office yet, I’ve physically worked at home, at Don’t Panic Labs’s former location at 14th & Q, in multiple conference rooms at the downtown Union Bank, at least five different coffee shops, TMCO, FUSE, and a few other places I’m probably forgetting as well.

As for the work itself, it’s been highly engaging and challenging. Coding is so fun! I have fun every day at work, and it’s such an honor to get to work on a product so well designed and architected as Anchovy. It should go without saying that I am learning every day. One thing I’ve noticed is that if I’m stuck on something at the end of the day, I will likely wake up in the morning and know how to solve it. I think my brain ruminates on problems while I sleep. I often have to tell myself to “shut it down” at the end of the day because I could work a lot longer, especially when I’m in the zone.

I am the only developer for Anchovy, so I fill a lot of roles for a small company. Not only do I code, but I also share app data, handle Anchovy account concerns and deletions, help plan new features and meet with our team on a weekly basis. We are small but mighty Anchovies!

Andrew Tarr has been my mentor since I started the Pathways program and has been a huge help and support as I transitioned to my software developer role.

Lessons Learned as a New Developer

  • Format your files.
  • If you write logic, write a test for it.
  • Slow down and hit tab.
  • Stay hydrated.
  • Take breaks.
  • When you’re stuck, google, read the documentation, then ask Copilot/ChatGPT. If you’re still stuck, document everything you’ve tried so far and be ready to share that when you ask for help.

How Pathways Aided Me

I was looking at trying to find a job as a software engineer on my own, and I was mentally prepared for it to take a couple of years. I was also mentally preparing myself for a lot of failure, knowing I would have a lot stacked against me without having a computer science degree or an internship. I was hammering out code problems and studying every day to prepare for potential interviews down the road. Pathways was such a relief because it took the pressure off the job search and provided me with even better preparation for my eventual position as a software developer for Anchovy.

Pathways gave me a great foundation in C#, SQL, Angular, and the basics of software development (SOLID principles and IDesign). I was given collaborative opportunities to work on VolunteerOne, an activity-tracking app for volunteers, with the other cohort members, Olivia and Darcy. Last but not least, I got to learn from the one and only Jeff Kodad.

I know I have much more to learn, and I hope to continue to get opportunities to collaborate with Don’t Panic Labs to make Anchovy even better!

author avatar
Skyler Reising Guest Contributor
Skyler is a former Pathways Program participant and is a developer for Anchovy.

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