Preparing for the job hunt
It is crazy to think that I am about to start the job hunt. It has been quite a long journey, with several highs and lows and I am finally starting to see the end of the tunnel. Making such a drastic career change from retail management into software development was so difficult and there were times when I questioned if I had made the right move, but reflecting back it wasn't if I was going to make the move, but when.
I can't believe how much I've learned over the course of nine months. Before I started at Bloc, I knew very little about programming and now I know so many different languages, best practices, and algorithms. I know when I ran my first web application I got so excited that it was able to work, even though it was a basic web page with zero functionality. That excitement is still with me today when I am able to debug my code and see a fully functioning web application do what it is designed to do. I think that joy and excitement of the end product is what drives me, I never had anything comparable in retail in terms of satisfaction as I did with development.
As I mention debugging codes above, it is great to reflect back on how much I have improved. The first time I got an error, I got worried and thought "what are all these random red characters on my screen." I believe that the next few tries at fixing my code I was shooting in the dark unaware if my changes are actually fixing the error or not. Then I realized in order to fix the errors, I've got to read what the errors are telling me; the computer isn't trying to help me. Once that sank in debugging became that much easier. Of course, as the code got more complex so did debugging it, but I was now up for the challenge.
As the journey of job hunting begins I am getting myself mentally prepared for it. I understand that there is a very high chance of many rejections, however all that is needed is one door to open. I do believe that with the languages i've learned there are several different paths I could take. Do I want to focus on backend? Should I go for front-end positions? I've got experience with alexa and am learning Java and Swift, do I go the mobile route? There are still so many questions pertaining to which route I want to go, however I know that success in the job hunt will rely on narrowing my search to one of those. As mentioned in a previous post, I've also got to be prepared to move since I want to be in a tech hub and learn from the best. Although this may be a daunting task to begin looking for jobs, I'm definitely up for the challenge!