Career Journal

Raw

When you've worked towards a goal in the past, what systems or tools have been helpful for you in accomplishing that goal? How could you adapt those same systems/tools to use while at Turing?

'Perseverance' comes immediately to mind, but I think it necessarily carries a need to practice a version of 'chunking' strategies as well (or else tempts burnout). I love running on trails, but there are rougher days and rougher trails. That's when I start thinking like "if I can just get up to the crest of that hill, I can allow myself to pause for a breath..." Then when I get to that crest, it'll either level out, or I'll have proven enough that I can say it again, that "if I get over that next line, then I can slow down and get a break...", and again - whether the trail starts downhill or continues climbing a little further, mentally chunking the challenging sections like this has often allowed me to push further than I thought I would. While this comes naturally to me in the context of physical activity, I do think that I need to continue on improving how this can apply to balance my study habits. Also, sometimes I trip and fall on a rock and it hurts. I know this is ok and I'll get up and keep going, but have to remind myself of this as it will inevitably happen during the course of my education where I'm vulnerable to lower confidence.
As you start this new career, what is one of your strengths and how do you know?

I have a complicated relationship with a few of my strengths, recognizing an unhelpful tendency to use them against myself. But I know that they are strengths, because when they are balanced with practicality they allow me to acheive results I'm most proud of. I appreciate and emphasize getting details right, and hold values rooted in a sense of empathy. I have always been a 'quality over quantity' type of person, so I've never been the most prolific, but what I do produce will be something that I can stand behind. I don't need to be encouraged to read through all of the instructions before beginning a project - I'll have already read them (twice) and made notes. I see the value in it and practice having a good understanding of what I'm trying to acheive before I actually begin, and will then try to use this to set up a structure for moving forward.
Describe how you work best (conditions, environment, preferences, etc.):

I work best when I can focus intently for longer stretches of time without disruption. I'll feel much more productive if I can work away for about 2 hours before interrupting for a break. I have started using a desktop timer, which is helping me to practice not take this too far. I don't mind ambient noise, but don't think as clearly if I can hear another person talking (loudly enough to catch words or follow the conversation), especially if I'm trying to read &/or take notes. I will not usually listen to music while I'm working/studying, and if I do, I will select something that is either instrumental or neutral (I'd like to learn Spanish, but I don't speak it yet to understand many lyrics, so Spanish music acutally works ok for me). In collaboration, if I'm learning something new, I feel most comfortable when I can perform the practice simultaneously with the team first to establish that things are working as they should and/or recognize any issues to anticipate before working on my own (and possibly feeling stranded if stuck). Otherwise, I am generally less likely to take a leadership role (working on self-doubting), but will contribute ideas where I feel they are welcome, and am a good supporting member of a team.
As you start this new career, what is your greatest area of improvement when it comes to your professional skills?

I need to continue working on communicating more proactively, but reasonably. I can sometimes hold back from sharing where I am on a project (&why), but if I don't resolve the problem myself, it'll still be a problem later when it's likely harder to resolve. Also as mentioned above, I need to get past my self-doubting. There have already been a few points in the material where I questioned if something was a typo or presented in the most logical way. I questioned what I saw, but doubted myself, lacking the confidence to call the other out as a mistake rather than assuming it was mine, only to be told later that I was right in my question and could have trusted my instinct. In hoping to shift my willingness to approach leadership roles, I think working through this should also enable me to provide more helpful constructive feedback to others.
How will developing a deeper understanding of your strengths and working preferences benefit you as a software developer?

Fostering a deeper self-awareness and ability to communicate more effectively in general will undoubtably be a positive, but also specifically helpful in communicating with a development team. I've been encouraged by the Turing community so far, but the developers and other tech-industry people I've met often strike me as very direct. They're usually efficient with words in a way I admire (and clealy am not), and I've even noticed this in the writing style of plenty of tech-related articles and blogs. So I want to be able to bridge this gap I sense between my searching for the right words to most accurately convey what I mean to, and the prevalent style of saying it in the most concise way (maybe with less concern for nuanced interpretations). A greater self-understanding and ability to share that awareness with teammates will, I think, strengthen my own confidence (lower the imposter syndrome) and ideally facilitate that communication back from other team members, allowing us to connect more fully and work with consideration to lift up others' strengths while supporting more where needed.
Describe the vision you currently have for your career after Turing:

I don't have the most clear or concrete picture yet of what my career may look like on the other side. What I do know is that I would ultimately prefer to work for/within an organization that I feel aligns with personal values around certain social or environmental efforts, but that is broad. While I am among the disappointed that Turing will be fully remote for the length of my education, I like the idea of having the flexibility to move or travel if I find my way to a remote role. It is difficult for me to imagine working freelance, because I would expect to feel a conflict between wanting to dedicate the effort I'd want to the current project against needing to find and prepare for the next. (Also because I have an art degree, but learned that to actually make that happen as a career means being both a good artist and an excellent business person - I've never been the business person.) I feel fortunate to live here in Colorado where I do feel there are a good number of organizations I could align with. Having attended smaller universities for similar reasons, I'd likely picture working with an organization at a scale where I would expect to feel less fearful of overwhelm and more able to voice contributions.

thatPamIAm commented Nov 2, 2020

@dietza - thank you for formatting your journal like this - it makes it very easy to read. I don't see entries for weeks, 1, 3, or 4 for Mod 2. Do you have those saved somewhere else? Please be sure to get these finished (along with Week 5) for PD

dietza/career_journal.md

Career Journal

Mod 1

Mod 2

Mod 3

Mod 4

thatPamIAm commented Nov 2, 2020

Uh oh!