Why I Chose To Code
At the time of this writing, I’m in my 15th and final week of the Software Engineering Bootcamp at Flatiron School. Part of the curriculum is to write 5 blogs related to programming, of which, 1 of them can be non-technical and about why I’m doing what I’m doing. And, here it is!
For those who’d prefer audio and visuals, I also made a vlog!
This program has been quite the rollercoaster. There were definitely times where I wasn’t sure I would keep up the pace or get my projects up and running in time. But, with persistence and some help I’ve been fortunate enough to get here to week 15. And, I didn’t want to release this blog until I was absolutely sure I would finish program.
About Me
I’m sure everybody graduating high school faced the question of “What am I going to do after I graduate?”. Or, “What am I going to major in in college?”.
I was kind of torn between civil engineering and international studies.
At the time, I felt math and science would be “easier” for me to pursue, and I would get great scholarships and a wonderful well-paying job. But, then I also thought that I might get bored.
I didn’t want to get stuck doing the same thing over and over again. Again, I didn’t have a way to see the variety a civil engineer can have in their career.
I was probably just going off of what I read in Britannica or those “career” books/manuals in high school. Do you know what I’m talking about?
It’s around the time that they make you take some sort of personality/career test and then from the list of careers you’re suited for you have to go to the library and research it and write about it. Yeah, with books! Not the internet!
Anyways, it’s not the path I chose. I decided I wanted a challenge and to get out of my comfort zone so, I majored in International Studies with a minor in Spanish. I wanted a glamorous life of traveling the world… maybe doing international business and\or solving worldly problems.
Yep, so off to University of Idaho I went. It was great despite some challenging times. Sometimes I miss the university setting. But, none of my initial ambitions came to fruition.
And I then turned to the food and beverage industry. First, pursuing the craft beers and then the vast world of wine. Managed a restaurant for a bit doing bookkeeping, kitchen work, making desserts and tailoring the drink list.
Decided I needed my soul back and came to Seattle for a new beginning. Where I then gave my soul to Vino Volo, a wine bar, for 7 years. I went with the intention to learn more about wine and with the impressive rotating selection I was exposed to a lot.
Wine Education
2015–2017 Associate of Applied Science in Wine Marketing and Sales from the Northwest Wine Academy at South Seattle College
2016 I took the Court of Master Sommeliers Introductory Course & Exam
2019 Wine Scholar Guild — French Wine Scholar Course & Exam with honors
2019 Wine Scholar Guild — Italian Wine Scholar Course & Exam
2019 Court of Master Sommeliers Certified Exam
2020 Wine Scholar Guild — Spanish Wine Scholar Course & Exam with highest honors
Travel
I also LOVE to travel! After holding on to my unused passport for 7 years I set off to Italy in 2016. I then made an effort to travel at least once a year: Spain, Vermont, Japan, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Slovenia, France, Portugal, Napa/Sonoma/Santa Barbara.
The 2020 plans for Japan and New Zealand were canceled due to covid but are rescheduled for 2021. Fingers crossed!🤞🏽
Next Steps
In 2019, the Seattle Vino Volo closed and I took an epic 6 week trip through Europe. Did a little bit of El Camino in Spain and thought I’d spend that time reflecting on what my next career step would be.
Winemaker — I definitely do not want to make the wine. Though I have been tempted to do at least 1 crush for the experience but long-term winemaking is not for me.
Grape Grower — Definitely don’t want to work in the vineyard. Bugs, snakes and the hot hot sun. No thank you! Plus, I’ve done some suckering (pulling vine shoots off to make better quality grapes) and it’s not all that fun. BUT, I do appreciate all the grape growers who take care of their vineyards!
Retail — I have done this and it was a great starter job but doesn’t provide the flexibility or growth that I want right now.
Distributor — Being a sales rep isn’t that glamorous. Definitely have to put in the time and effort to engage with accounts. Maybe do events or tastings on weekends and evenings. Plus, being on the phone all day and basically living out of your car as you drive all over town. I’d prefer to drive as little as possible (be carless).
Sommelier/restaurant — Long days/nights/weeks. Not very flexible so say goodbye to weekends/holidays and work/life balance. Fortunately, 99% of the guests at Vino Volo were pleasant whereas the clientele elsewhere might be a little more demanding. Rough on the body, social life and mental well-being. It’s not all bad. I definitely had fun times and met a lot of cool people. But, I need something more sustainable in the long-run. A different kind of challenge.
Tasting Room — I do LOVE visiting tasting rooms but I can’t work in one full-time. I need variety. I want to try all the wine in the world!
Wine Blogger— That would have to begin as a side hustle or hobby before it grows into a feasible income stream. It also needs continuous great writing (if you think my blogs are great, i appreciate it but that doesn’t mean I’m driven to write, it takes effort). And, networking and social media (slowly figuring it out, gotta get that Linked In up and running soon).
Wine Marketing — Although I do have an AAS in Wine Marketing and Sales it was more of a broad overview and I would need more skills and experience to be able to apply to a lot of wine marketing positions.
So, I lack a lot of skills and experience for wine marketing jobs and my Adobe skills need work. And, I was hoping for a quicker/cheaper way to get back into the job market without going back to university for a full Bachelor’s Degree.
Began exploring tech. Tech touches all industries, right?
Thinking About Tech
I had thoughts on becoming a UI (User Interface) Designer to pursue my Adobe dreams and make all the visual elements of websites/mobile apps.
Then, I thought about UX (User Experience) to kind of branch off of my years of customer service. AND, from those moments I’ve had with a poorly designed website/mobile app that leads to a bad UX. And I wish I could just fix it. UX will also do the wireframing for websites.
Finally, I considered Software Engineering. Those that build the digital product.
After months of researching (on the internet, not like in high school where I was limited to outdated books) I dove deep into the roles these pursuits would fill. And how they’re interconnected with UI and UX Designers and Software Developers possibly working together.
Then, I researched schools/programs and weighed that into my decision making process. Oh boy. That word doc with all my research ended up being several pages long. But that’s a story for another time.
Top Deciding Factors
1/ Lack Adobe Skills, Portfolio, Time and Money
The UI program I was considering required pre-requisite courses to get my Adobe skills up to snuff so I could have a portfolio to submit with my application into the program.
Adobe dreams have to wait a little longer.
Once in the program it would take a year or more before I’m job-ready.
Would take too much time right now and is kind of expensive.
2/ Coding is Useful. Period.
The UX program I was looking at would have also been a bit expensive and taken a bit longer than a year to complete. My research also showed that it’s useful for UX designers to know how to code a little bit so they can get a project started if they need to. Also, when communicating with developers they can better communicate how the website should function and can basically speak the same language as developers. Better in the long run to get things done right the first time instead of having misunderstandings.
Also, the program is designed in such a way that if I wanted to pursue it in the future, the classes are in the evening.
Based on my positive experience at Flatiron School I would maybe even consider their UX course. For now, one thing at a time.
3/ Time
I can become a Software Developer in 15 weeks? No way. And Flatiron had cohorts beginning every 8 weeks or something so I could take extra time to make my decision if needed without missing important deadlines.
4/ Cost
I got a scholarship and did not have to pay anything upfront because I signed an ISA. And Income Share Agreement. So, I’ll begin paying only when I find a job.
5/ Organization, Community and Teaching Style
The final toughest decision to make was which school to attend.
Full disclosure. I applied to Flatiron plus another school because I wasn’t sure how competitive these programs would be. Then, I was accepted into both…
And, I even attended the first 2 days of the program of the other school before I withdrew because it was not the program for me.
Now, I’m not saying that this other school or program was bad. I love many things about them like their values and how they operate, code-of-conduct, their sense of inclusion and community etc.
But, it definitely had some challenges that other students seemed able to manage but I could not. It was just extra challenging.
So, I returned to the Flatiron path because the prep work, prework and interactions with staff seemed more conducive to me succeeding.
And, I’m glad all those months of pondering, researching and going back and forth lead me here. The final week of bootcamp!😆🥳🤠👩🏻💻
What’s Next?
Sleep. Reorganizing/cleaning the apartment. Binging on some shows/movies. Catching up with friends. Planning trip to Japan and brushing up on my Nihongo.
And, oh yeah, finding a J-O-B!
Thankfully, Flatiron has set me up with a Career Coach who will guide me through drafting a new resume, doing mock interviews and setting up that Linked In.
Depending on the job market I might have to take whatever I can get. Maybe full-stack so I can keep expanding in both. But, we’ll see.
Beyond that, who knows what kind of opportunities lie ahead. Just gotta head in that general direction!’
Thanks for reading!
