Venturing Into tech was something I probably had coming for a long time. It just, unfortunately, happened later than I would have wanted it to. It started when I got my very first personal laptop three years ago. Before then, I had never really thought much about computers or how they worked, I never really paid attention to my computer and Data Processing classes at school. However, after getting my own computer and getting to play around with it and navigate through all the functions and processes, I realized just how much I liked working with computers. Back then, I was not even doing serious work with it. I started to think about how much I would like to have a job that required working with computers, which was quite ironic because I was studying a course that didn’t really require the use and knowledge of computers.
My first real experience with programming and tech, in general, started very late last year when I somehow stumbled upon an application for a Udacity nano degree scholarship. I saw it as a real opportunity to break into the tech space, so I applied and chose the Data Analysis track because I liked Mathematics (Statistics in particular) and thought it would be fun to learn. Surprisingly, I got accepted, and that was how I started my journey into Python programming and Data Analysis.
The concept of it all was very new to me. Back then, I didn’t understand what I was doing. I was just following examples and trying my very best to complete the tasks and projects. I didn’t know what programming truly meant or why I was doing it. I understood neither what syntax was nor the concept of functions, arrays and loops. They were all very foreign to me.
I did, however, manage to complete the nano degree in May, I got the certificate, I was a graduate from the great Udacity. But after that, I hit a wall. I didn’t know where to go from there and what to do. I was a “Data Analyst” on paper, sure, but what else?
I took a break from programming and quite literally had nothing to do because of the pandemic and ASUU strike.
I decided to give it a try again in July when a friend of mine introduced me to a "pandemic promo" that Udacity was doing for all the nano degree programs to be free for a month. I registered for the "Frontend track" because that was what he had registered for. I dived headfirst into yet another nano degree program without thinking too much about it first.
Of course, I ended up not being able to complete it in a month. I had no experience with JavaScript, none with APIs or webpack and to sum it all up, it was nothing but a complete mess. It left me depressed for a while.
However, I thought to myself that I had gotten in too deep to give up. So in August, I started to learn HTML, CSS and JavaScript all by myself using resources I found on the internet. Learning JavaScript helped me to truly understand what programming was all about, what the core concepts were. It helped me to understand what functions were, what arrays and loops and objects were. It was a true eye-opener for me.
I started to get myself involved in other people’s projects, no matter how little I got to contribute. I also got to recreate some projects off the internet and even work on my own personal projects.
I eventually was able to understand what APIs were and how to integrate them into projects. I even went as far as falling madly in love with them (I hope they don't turn on me one day :‑|).
Conclusion
All that being said, I recognize just how much more work I have to put into this in order to reach my goal, but I also acknowledge how far I’ve gotten in a seemingly short time.
In the words of Lao Tzu:
The journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step
I find that I am able to significantly grow by not only teaching myself but also sharing my knowledge with others. And that, I think, is the best part of it all.