I sit in front of a Mac typing what my experience has been with the part time cohort in the Queen City with Tech Talent South.
…Amazing to say the least! From writing “Hello World” to building an app that texts me via the web. Next week is the final week of the course but the information learned and the people I’ve met will stick with me as I start on my path in the tech world.
Coming from a healthcare startup I devoted 8 years of my career to, my passion quickly turned to finding a tech startup that I could pour my energy into. But how? Whom would I talk to? How would I make a network that would be interested in my skill set? How can I improve my skill set for a tech startup? That is when TTS – “shine bright like a diamond” (Rihanna voice) showed up on my Instagram feed. Enter social media! Technology at its finest finding its way to either take over your life or streamline your goals. In this case streamlining; it drove me to research TTS, send an email, interview via phone and then start my journey within 4 days. BOOM!
What was I expecting? At first to sit in a classroom, stare at a screen, and follow along… But what I was given was way MORE. I sat through my first class getting introduced to all the networking opportunities TTS had to offer and being pushed into the pool of coding while our instructor threw us floaties. By week 3 and 4 I was scaffolding and trying to debug my own syntax errors (these take some time). Mid-way through the course I had built a tech network! From interviewing tech startup CEO’s and CTO’s, to grabbing a beer with developers that have been coding for a living, subject matter experts that want you to stick to it because thats how they got to where they are. And lastly we had the chance to speak with some previous cohorts’ students who had similar mindsets and taking the course has put them on the path they only envisioned prior to sitting down in front of a computer and writing the “Hello World” program.
As I mentioned above, next week is the last week of the course but the foundation of a career path has been poured and the frame work is being completed. Next, I design the interior and with the help TTS has provided me, I make a place I see myself living in for a while!
“A good programmer is someone who always looks both ways before crossing a one-way street.” (Doug Linder)
