The Joy is in the Journey

— 4 minute read

Edited: 05-02-2020

This journey includes, working full time (40+ Hours per Week) at my local hospital, being the sole provider for my family, the birth of my second child, emergency room visits, surgeries, hospital stays, trips across the lake to Burlington for doctors appointments Burn out and self doubt, feeling like I will never make it to the "Finish Line". Coding happened during my limited free time, either very early mornings, or late nights. I have a blog post sharing the first part of my Journey: Read it Here

All the things listed above make this journey seem impossible, how can a Father, the sole provider for his family find time to learn to code?! A Daily commitment to coding. There were days where I would just edit a few lines of CSS, or getting some JavaScript working or working on a NavBar. Doesn't seem like a lot but I got to where I am today, by dedicating a small amount of time to code over the last 2.5 years. Everyday, put a little bit of work on getting better. Its a reminder to always try and be 1% better than you were the day before, that goes for anything in life.

The Importance of Community

It took me months to realize I needed to share my projects. Being vulnerable is hard, putting your work out into the world is scary. Especially sharing it publicly on social media for people with much more experience than me will see what I have built.

I have met incredible people through my journey into tech. I have been very open and honest about my journey. Its been hard. I have almost quit (A LOT). But the support has helped push me over the hurdles.

In order to help pay things forward, I helped create a Slack channel called #CoderDads which is an awesome group for dads who code. This group has Dads who are looking for their first job, to some serious code veterans. Its been a great place to discuss the balance of Code Life and Family Life.

Tech Degree Progress

After 18 months of learning with the tech degree, I am in the final stretch! I am working on finishing up my final project! Its been a roller coaster. I've had job changes, the birth of my second child, MANY hospital visits, problems with the house, car troubles, you name it, its probably happened.

But I look forward to finishing the program.

Nobody said this journey would be easy or direct. To take a page from Chase Jarvis' Book "Creative Calling", Life gives you a compass not a map. I have been following my compass for awhile now.

The Big Announcement!

While I am finishing my last tech degree project, I had the joy of meeting with the Co-Founder of Kitkaton, Levi Martinez. We met through twitter, Kitkaton is a tech-enabled commerce platform for creatives to monetize their audience. Levi drove 3.5 hours to meet me in a Starbucks in my town, and we chatted about the platform and what my Tour of Duty would look like for Kitkaton.

As of Feburary 2020, I am joining the mission of Kitkaton as Junior Software Engineer. (unfortunently due to Corona Virus and unforeseen circumstances this had be put on hold.) This opportunity has the potential to fully change my families life. I will be able to gain valuable experience in a growing tech company, while helping creatives make money. I am looking forward to be able to better provide for my family, and create generational wealth for my kids.

5 Takeaways from Learning to Code

  1. Ask for help
  2. Find/Build a Community Around Yourself
  3. Learning Takes Time
  4. Show Off Your Work
  5. You Never Know Who is Following Your Journey

The Journey Doesn't Stop Here

Now that I have landed the first job, I will continue learning and helping others learn to code. I hope to help support people who have similar stories to mine reach for their goals. I wouldn't be here without the Coding Community, or my supportive family.

My next post will be about the resources I have used to get where I am today. From Podcasts, to People to Follow on Twitter, to Resources for Learning.