It’s official! I’ve signed on with Urban Airship! Once I stepped back it was very clear to me that UA is the best choice for me. They want me for me and are not just trying to check the diversity box. I’ll get to work on interesting problems and I’ll get to take ownership of an important product. I’ll have opportunity for customer interaction while still being able to code. Most of all I think I will learn a lot from someone who is interested in leading the way. I’m SO excited to get started!
This has been such an interesting adventure and I can’t believe I’m already at the point of starting my first dev job. I know it wouldn’t be happening if not for so many amazing people helping me along the way.
Christopher, my classmate at PDX Code Guild made learning things so much fun. I kind of tagged along behind him doing whatever he did because I had no idea what I was doing. He’d show me something he figured out and he would help me when I was stuck. He made learning a lot of fun and had he not been in my class I may well have given up again and perhaps for the last time.
Shanna, my classmate at PDX Code Guild who got a late start and hadn’t really programmed before. She totally kicked ass and it was inspiring to witness.
Lukas and Kronda from the Ascend Project were always cheering me on and wagging a finger at me whenever I would put myself down or doubt my abilities. I wouldn’t have even attempted applying for the Mozilla and Urban Airship internships if it weren’t for them. They didn’t encourage me as much as insist I apply. Their insistence made me feel confident and worthy and I was, and I was.
Mele and Adam at Urban Airship were so kind and always met me right where I was without any kind of judgement. They gave me the time and space to learn as I was able and in doing so I was able to accomplish a lot. I felt so successful and confident at the end of my time there. I left “knowing stuff about things” and believed wholeheartedly that I would make a worthy member of a dev team.
Peter at Mozilla was amazing. He really challenged me to do WAY more than I thought possible. More than half the time I felt as though I had no idea what I was doing but I kept at it. He knew just how much help to give me in order for me to keep moving forward.
Andrew, my husband, has helped me beyond words. At times I totally frustrated him and at times I made him really proud. I completely took advantage of the fact that he lives with me and is basically a vast wealth of knowledge that I could tap into and get nearly instant responses. He spent hours with me after putting in a more than full day of work to sit and go over my code and correct me when I made a mistake or misunderstood something. He explained concepts to me one, two, five, fifty times and only rarely got frustrated.
Wayne, my husband, has been extremely supportive. He’s not only remodeling our house but he has cooked most every meal, cleaned the house, gardened, has done all of the laundry, grocery shopping, you name it all while I sit on my computer with a thermos of hot tea, music and a warm blanket for 8 – 10 hours a day. To the uninitiated it has to look like I’m not doing much of anything but he’s never made me feel guilty at all even though I probably should.
The scope of help I received goes well beyond these few people I have mentioned. Friends, neighbors, classmates, writers and speakers who will probably never know they helped me….so now it’s my turn to help. I know I’m still pretty new but I think that’s great. I’m new enough to remember and still experience the frustration and doubt. I remember those moments of confusion turning into understanding. I think I have some valuable information to pass along. I’m ready for this new adventure and I’m ready to help someone remove some barriers and start on theirs!
Today I learned to make a cake in a rice cooker. Whaaaaaat?!