When I was researching about learning how to code, I found out about the community of developers who are involved into helping one another out to keep themselves motivated in learning and improving their coding skills. I run through this 100daysOfCode challenge of Mr. Kallaway.
I joined and started to keep track of my learning journey and finally last August 2, 2019, I was able to finally reached my first 100th day of coding continuously for the 100DaysOfCode challenge, and here are some of my thoughts in my journey up to this day.
First, I want to share my story about why I’m very determined to get back into coding.
I’ve been really struggling to get back into my industry as a Computer Science Graduate because during my time there was no opportunity that opened to me relating to find jobs in line to the I.T industry, if ever I had some opportunities, I made so many wrong decisions in choosing the path towards entering the industry even though web development has really been my interest during college. I remember buying a book of HTML from National Bookstore and reading it then trying to accomplish a website for my martial arts organization. It was a challenge for me because during my days Internet connection was slow and information about where to learn was scarce and most importantly there was no good advice from my mentors with regards on how to really improve my skills as a programmer.
Don’t get me wrong I love my teachers during college they were nice, and I respect and admire them a lot, however, perhaps one thing that was missing was the ability to motivate students to learn more than what was being taught inside of the classroom. Perhaps what I was really hoping for back in college was having the capacity to gather information and my teachers telling me the importance of doing good research. Access to information before was not that easy, and the reason I say that if only teachers would really emphasize the value of research especially in the I.T industry and not just being told to do your assignment. It would have been a great advice back then if we were told that researching is going to become a big part of the career path that we’ve chosen.
Also perhaps another thing that I would like to emphasize is that my mentors before didn’t really give us ideas about platforms from where we can go and find information or perhaps it was not yet available back then unlike today from where technology has really made it a lot easier for people to learn things that they want to learn through online educational platforms.
I remember studying my HTML book inside of my tricycle while I was driving as a part-time tricycle driver for extra income to support my studies. I would even fall asleep inside of my tricycle and some of my colleagues would laugh at me because they see me sleeping with my mouth open and joke around with me especially when it was already my turn to push my tricycle to get in-front of the line to cater to possible passengers.
The challenge on landing on a job related to my course was really quite difficult on my part. I was diverted into being involved into other activities such as martial arts and as a rescue instructor. I ended up getting a job as a teacher teaching community service and disaster preparedness starting from year 2005 up to present. It was fulfilling and I still do enjoy teaching the young generation, however, I also want to still be able to get into the coding industry because the pay as a community service instructor can really not support daily living here in the Philippines.
During 2014, I got sick and needed to rest from traveling to work so I had to look for work after I recovered in a location which is a lot closer to my place. From there I finally got a chance to teach subjects related to computers. I then continued to study and further enhance my skills in developing training modules related to the subject.
I started getting serious into coding last 2015, I was able to find resources such as Microsoft Virtual Academy from where I started learning and re-learning some of the coding skills I had during college, it was really nice to know that there are resources that are free of charge from where you can actually get really good instructions coming from instructors in the industry.
That is when I found out and realized that information technology has started to really provide people with resources and that there are already highly supportive communities that are willing to assist people who are new in coding or programming. Such communities are like “FreeCodeCamp” which is a community of coders that works on challenges to accomplish finishing certain projects and they also provide you with online certifications. Another community would be the community of Mr. Kallaway which is the 100daysofcode challenge. Resources such as websites such as SOLOLEARN, CodeAcademy, Coursera, HTML5rocks, UDEMY, BobTabor and a lot more from where you can learn for free or for a very minimal amount of fee, the basics to advance programming languages that are used in the industry. These resources are now available for those who are enthusiast of learning how to code.
The past few years after 2014 (when I got sick) around 2015 to 2018 I really was a bit busy doing non-coding work, I was able to return to our university when my boss called me and checked on my health condition. I’m grateful to her for giving me a chance to get back to my work as an NSTP Faculty. I was really in a financial crisis during those times, and I even had to give up one of my motorcycle because I had no source of income to really support paying for the motorcycle that I got for an investment for a small motorcycle business that me and my family had.
When I went back to work as an NSTP faculty or community and disaster preparedness faculty. I still wanted to improve my skills as a computer science graduate and develop further my programming capabilities. I continued on learning during free hours and when I got back home to Bulacan.
During 2016, I was then given the opportunity to work in the safety department as our university’s Safety Officer with a faculty status. I am very grateful to the management of National University for giving me that opportunity. I worked as a safety officer from November 2016 up to September 2018 and during that period I was able to accomplish finishing safety training programs in the University and created a draft of an emergency manual while still working on my programming skills. My learning schedule was a bit tight, and I had issues with retaining information about things that I’ve learned in online courses because of having too many commitments at work which is non-coding work.
I had to give up the safety job because besides from the reason that I’m very interested in continuing my studies in programming and to be aligned to my bachelor’s degree as a Computer Science graduate, which is the main requirement if you want to retain your status as a teaching faculty in a university, as set by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) here in the Philippines. I also wanted more time with my mother especially when we started our small computer shop business and I saw that she’s having a difficult time managing the business after she retired from her work in the Municipality of Marilao. Another reason was when my mother was diagnosed of stage 4 cancer, and I wanted more time to spend with her and lessen the time spent in traveling from Bulacan to Manila then Manila to Bulacan.
When I started the 100DaysOfCode challenge, one of the greatest challenges that I would say would be is on how to stay focus on learning one thing from another. There were so many things to learn, new technologies that are popping up in the industry and it was really quiet an information overload. Coding really exhilarates my mind and frustrates me a lot when I’m not able to accomplish something but satisfy my hunger for growth and knowledge. I was having difficulty in retaining information because I had to do other jobs that I’m committed to, even during after working hours. I needed a chance or opportunity to share the information that I’m learning and practice what I have learned.
Therefore, I have created this blog and I to created my youtube channel RODPROGRAMDEV from where I can start teaching programming. I am still a long way from achieving my goals and is still in the aiming to continuously improve my craft. I’m still working on some additional content that I’ll be adding to this site and to my Youtube channel from where I’ll be teaching what I’m learning and share my experience in my journey in coding.
I always tell my students of my personal mentality when it comes to learning and that is “Teach to learn and learn to teach” if you want to get better in any skill. It’s important to have the mentality of sharing your gifts and blessings.
I really loved the community of coders because most of the people I’ve met are very willing to share and teach. So far, I have not yet met someone who would discourage you to continue with what you are doing, limit your potential for growth even if you are a career shifter or when you are having difficulty in learning. I met so many people who are highly supportive when I started the coding challenge. Some will give you advice and will also motivate you to continue especially when you’re already in a pinch and having a difficult time in one challenge.
So for those new generation of coders, may you be a newbie or a professional who aims to get to the coding industry, the opportunity to learn has been improving and there are so many online resources now that is available that you can use for you to improve in the industry, plus a community of highly supportive individuals who are willing to assist you and help you improve and get that dream CODING JOB!!!. Good luck everyone!!
rodprogramdev 