Goals

Here are some initial goals:

• In the next three months – progress to a level of competency in the field, where I would be comfortable paying myself to design and maintain a website.
• Write at least 10 of these entries before deciding whether or not it is worth continuing to log.
• Live the life of a perpetual rookie and be hungry to learn. Go above and beyond the class requirements. Read external sources.
  • I’ve already done a bit of this of this (extra courses on Codecademy – which have been successful gains in my opinion, but other avenues have been less directly successful. For example, many of the books I’ve bought and started reading have required more grounding in the field to be considered part of the intended readership. One of the books asks its readers to be comfortable in C++ to be able to work through the example problems throughout, so there is another subgoal. Learn C++, so I can read that book, so I can learn more. Another book constantly talked about managing programmers, setting timelines, and waterfall v. agile structures, and – again – I feel I understand these concepts somewhat, but will get much more out of the literature once I’ve built up my knowledge base to the requisite level).
• Clear out personal e-mail inbox (this won’t happen).

One of my favorite things about coding is that there is so much to learn. Even the krakens in the field, whether kid geniuses, or grizzled vets, can still learn things. There is always new content to engage. Always new avenues to walk. It’s tough but also awesome to 1) know how little I know 2) understand how many things I know I don’t know yet, and 3) have no conception of how many things I don’t know I don’t know.

Basically, my known knowns are small. My known unknowns are massive. And my unknown unknowns are probably staggeringly huge. A lot to take in and appreciate.

While he may not have been the most honest guy, this quote is still true –

You aren’t born a professional, you have to turn yourself into one."

- Lance