Going through the Flatiron School’s career prep milestones after graduating was definitely interesting. From learning how to build up a resume fit for a software engineer, creating your own “personal brand”, establishing a network within this career field and scheduling mock interviews. I found myself feeling excited and nervous at the same time about finally taking the next step towards this career transition.
I started this coding journey with Flatiron around March of 2020, right when the pandemic officially hit and felt that it was a sign to finally go for my long time dream of becoming a software engineer. As bad as this COVID-19 pandemic has been, it has definitely put a lot of things into perspective for me and my family. It gave me and my wife the push to both go back to school and pursue a better life not only for ourselves but also for our two boys. My wife was able to graduate with her Associates degree in Business Administration and is now pursuing her Bachelors degree in Business Administration as well! Well I am proud to say that I have finally passed my final project assessment at Flatiron School!!
So here we are, the final project of my Flatiron School journey! I know I had said in my last blog post that the last mod was the most difficult, however this final mod definitely takes the cake. So here’s a little update on my personal life before I go into what made this project difficult. Since my last blog post I have moved into a new apartment with my family, which is stressful as you can imagine, but even more so during a pandemic. Life has been moving extra fast and I’ve found myself overwhelmed and super busy with juggling a full-time job, being a father of 2 boys, spending quality time with my wife and finishing up this coding bootcamp. These past couple of months have been exhausting and I’ve found myself struggling to finish up this project. From work being busier than normal, to COVID restrictions slightly easing up and having quality time with family, I found it hard to focus. I would get on the computer late at night and find myself falling asleep from being so exhausted, both physically and mentally. What helped me get over this was the fact that I started to really find myself wanting out from my full-time job as a Physical Therapist Assistant. Especially now with COVID cases rising again with this new Delta variant, I did not want to continue putting my kids and family at risk.
Wow, portfolio project #4!! Seems so surreal that after this project, there is only one project left to do in the curriculum and then…graduation. Well I don’t want to jump the gun because this mod was definitely difficult. From all the various JS concepts to personal blockers, this mod was easily the most difficult to go through. I am currently still working full-time as a PTA during the day. Luckily I’m not currently working on the inpatient side and don’t have to worry as much with COVID (+) patients. But working full-time, wanting to spend time with family, going through this course and the fact that I’m moving in a month or so, I’m stressed out. I’m trying my best to juggle things and keep reminding myself that once I pass this mod, there’s only one more mod to go! So I have to just bear down and get through it, I know it’ll be worth it in the end!
Just as I did with the last two blog posts regarding portfolio projects, here’s a little update on my coding journey/life. I never thought for a second that this career change would be a breeze, but man has this been a rough couple of months since the Sinatra project. I’m still working full time at the hospital and with this global pandemic going on, my daily routine has been exhausting to say the least. Many nights have been spent fighting heavy eyes at my desk trying to squeeze in a little more time for coding, only to succumb to slumber.