my story
From something like age 13, all I wanted was to be a musician. My music teacher was iconic to me, and I wanted a life like his which included really cool gigs and teaching at a college. By 28, I was well on my way. I had graduated with the highest degree you need in music to teach college — which is btw no small feat. I had already performed lots of places in the US, Mexico, and Asia, and I was working as an adjunct professor at several colleges. Gigging? Check. Teaching college? Check. Goals in motion!
About two years later, everything changed when my dad was diagnosed with cancer. I will spare you the existential crisis pieces of my story, but through that experience, I came to realize that I had built a life I didn’t actually want, and I needed to change it. So, I started to reimagine what I wanted my life to be, and that is what eventually led me to web development. Deciding the direction actually proved easier than figuring out how to get there.
At the time, I only personally knew one developer, and I had no real understanding of what I needed to know. You can’t know what you don’t know, right? I figured I could learn the basics in a part time online class I found and then decide if it was something I enjoyed. One of the features of this online class was a weekly 1:1 with a mentor who was a developer in Seattle, and folks, this mentor is why I’m a dev today.
He made the comment one day that I was good enough to do what he did, and his comment planted the seed that maybe I could do it as a job versus something along with music. When I finished that course, I decided to go for it. I landed my first full time job as a junior web developer at an e-commerce company off a listing I found on Craigslist…that’s right: I got my start from Craigslist!
From there, I eventually branched out to full stack development, and since then, I’ve had the privilege to work at some really awesome companies that you have probably heard of, and I am now working as a full stack Senior Software Engineer. Through the journey, I’ve had some really good teachers and mentors to help me, and I’ve also had some struggles. These struggles showed me gaps in what is out there for beginners and intermediate level devs on certain topics.
I truly believe there is a place in the tech industry for anyone who’s into it and wants to learn. I want to help you do what I’ve been able to do with tools like what to learn, how to learn it, and next steps that are focused towards the complete beginner as well as intermediate level devs looking to level up.