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Guests:
- @lunsfordspace
- @vanmars8080
We're talking about code schools and software. Ask us questions while we drink!
"Although it can seem like a dumpster fire at times, this dumpster fire has kept me warm." - @agatakolohe
- How are you doing?
- Jonan is "pandemic fine"
- Vanessa is experiencing some anxiety but doing OK in her first software role
- Shawn is doing very well thank you.
- How did you get your first job in software?
- Jonan was a "lots of things", then a poker dealer, then a CSSifier then an apprentice then a bootcamper then a job haver.
- Shawn was a project manager and then he went to code school, wandered off into the softwasteland, then got thirsty and taught.
- Vanessa went to meetups, reached out to friends, hoarded narratives in her memory bank (might be a robot). Everyone has advice, at the end of the day you need to take that advice and interpret it yourself to define your own path. Did some resume bombing to appease the Epicodus overlords but continued independent research. Eventually stopped the tomfoolery, then only applied to places where people were explicitly looking for code school graduates. She focused on her internship then found an opportunity with an agency and crushed the interview, it was clearly a place where she could learn a lot and get some good mentorship. To the previous point, she saw people take two different paths: the builders and the researchers. She wants to take some time to do data structures and algorithms, to teach herself the things that were potentially missed in code school.
- How do I find a mentor?
- Jonan says lots of things, mostly that you should Voltron your own mentor from parts. Ask many people for some time instead of one person for lots.
- Shawn says you should find someone that you know, someone who already has a relationship with you. It's not that most people don't want to give you the time, they just worry that they won't be able to give you the time you deserve. Make new friends, get out there and meet people. You'll get far more out of it. Make friends, be nice to people and be genuine.
- Mentorship is very similar to friendship, as an adult she doesn't often go up to people and just ask them to be her friend. She has had that happen actually, and found it very endearing. There are organizations that will assign you a mentor, PDXWit is one example. Often when you think of "mentor" you think of someone older and wiser, the reality is that there is value for mentors and mentees at all levels of experience. When she was a mentor she was buoyed by the enthusiasm of her mentees and got so much more out of it than she expected.
- Tips for avoiding burnout?
- Vanessa says to give yourself grace. Listen to yourself. Push yourself as hard as you can within the window of time you have available, She planned carefully for exercise, sleep, podcasting, resume editing. She's a big fan of task batching; context switching is hard. Know your values and plan for them. Have a sense of humor and try to keep it alive. She had a goal of trying to make her coding partner laugh at least once a day. It do, it do (an inside joke with her pairing partner based on the "it... do" syntax from RSpec).
- Shawn sees a lot of code school students come in expecting they can do everything, they don't ever prioritize self-care. He feels he is often scolding students on their poor habits in self-care. It often takes a back seat to production in this industry. It's very important starting out that you develop good habits. You came into this industry to make a better life for yourself and potentially your family, if you don't make yourself a priority you will break, and then what was it all for? He takes time off to avoid burnout but primarily when he is experiencing other stress in his life. He rarely takes vacation to refresh himself but he is instead refreshed by giving his time to his students. He selfishly gains his sustenance from his life as a servant leader (probably a vampire).
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How do you stay refreshed in your career?
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Bonus tips on note taking
- Use paper and pencil
- When to review: spaced repetition (Note from Jonan: MIT did a lot of research on spaced repetition, look it up)
- How to be the change?
- Shawn says that a lot of developers set out to have an impact on the world themselves, to build an amazing app or join a specific company. By far, the biggest impact you will have on the world will be the pieces that you leave behind with the other humans around you. Always assume that people are trying to be kind, if they're unkind then evaluate. There are people who act in malice, you can remove them as you find them. Surround yourself with people who lift you up, they will train you to be the type of person that lifts up those around you. You won't always see the impact of the change you create, you'll have to know that it's out there anyway.
- Vanessa has always thought that she would be effecting change in her community, effecting those in her immediate surroundings. When she got into teaching, she had these small moments when someone saw her, they really saw her, they showed interest and may still not know the impact they had on her, but they validated her. That's what she loves about teaching, the part where you're able to see someone and say to them "do you realize that you're a writer" or "an engineer", it's those small moments that continue to inspire her. She finds meaning in leaving things better than she found them, she's been very fortunate to have students come back to her and share the change that she's created in their lives.
- Shared point: The small moments are the grand scale.
What did we learn today?
- Vanessa learned the importance of the human piece, sharing your vulnerability and who you are. The questions we've heard tonight aren't unique, she's heard them before. The difference here is the connection, the joys and fears and other humans that refresh us in our journeys.
- Shawn learned that he can drink plum wine very quickly, and that he needs to be more vulnerable. His students came to him and told him that he needed to get out there in the world and show himself. He's learned from this experience that there are many perspectives to creating change and growth in the world, and now he's here to be Shawn the human on Twitter.
- Jonan learned again the power and joy of being vulnerable and human. He relayed a story from his days as an RA, when he helped a student overcome some personal issues by demanding that he see a counselor and that student later came to him to thank him for his help. (Dear anonymous student, when you came up to me on the quad and told me you had a 4.0 and had just finished your degree it meant the world to me, I'll never forget it. You own that though, I was there but you did the work. Thank you for letting me be part of it.)
Other things you should look up maybe if you want:
- Simon Sinek (on companies selling values instead of features. Books: Start With Why, The Infinite Game)
- Obsidian/Notion (for taking effective notes, maybe in markdown)