How Two Unlikely hobbies kicked Off My Journey Into Software Engineering.
Throughout my whole life, I have always had the desire to create things. I was always that artsy kid in school. I was the one in the corner of the class that was doodling on any spare piece of scratch paper or sometimes even my homework assignment. I have always seen myself pursuing a career based on “art.” This started with the idea of becoming an architect. When I was young I really liked legos so building houses seemed like the next logical step.
After a few years of architecture school in college, I eventually made the transition to graphic design and also metalsmithing. There I really started to find my groove and for the most part, excelled. The two programs together were a perfect mix of digital and physical design. To be honest, I mostly ended up in the metalsmithing program cause I really didn’t want to take the live nude model drawing classes. I still think that was one of the best choices I made in my college career. those classes are really awkward.
My mom always likes to tell me that I pick up some of the most eclectic hobbies. Right now at the time of writing this I am, what I would say “obsessed” with custom mechanical keyboards and the Warhammer 40k universe from Games Workshop. When I become interested in something i dive in headfirst and I fill all my time with my hobbies. I have watched many youtube videos relating to the subjects of keyboards and Warhammer.
How exactly did I get into the hobby of building mechanical keyboards? That is a good question and I’m not really sure. I will say though, it was a really good introduction to a community filled with programmers and software engineers.
Spending countless hours looking through the r/mechanicalkeyboards subreddit and conversations with other Reddit users there, I learned that an overwhelming amount of them had something to do with programming. Conversations that started with what keyboard we were using, or what our technique for perfecting the feel of a certain keyboard switch, would often lead to conversations about programming and jobs as software engineers. These conversations really got me thinking about how I could use code to bridge the gap between designers and developers.
When I worked as a full-time graphic designer I often worked on UI/UX projects where I would design app layouts, wireframes, and explore possible user interactions. I would then pass the project off to a team of developers who would do the “programming magic” to make my ideas come to life. Adding the ability to code to my skill set would allow me to both design and develop my ideas. This got me excited about software engineering and code education. In my discussions with developers, a few of them had thrown out the idea of going to a code Bootcamp. This led me to enroll at the Flatiron School in Seattle and starting my software engineering journey.
Now my other all-consuming hobby is building and painting miniatures for the tabletop game Warhammer 40k. Now, how does painting little army men and playing an overly complicated and expensive board game tie into my journey of becoming a software engineer? Well other than it being a really nice activity that doesn’t involve staring at a screen for hours on end, It taught me a huge and very humbling lesson that it is ok to not be a pro at something. It is perfectly normal and acceptable to be a beginner. This is one thing that has hit me hard in my time at Flatiron. I am not a pro. I am very much a beginner, just like I was when I painted my first Warhammer mini.
The process really keeps me grounded. Working towards being proficient at something is part of the experience. You don't get to skip that. It's kind of like being sore at the gym. In the beginning, you hate the feeling of being sore after a really hard workout but after a few years, you really appreciate the days that you are sore. The soreness is a sign that you worked hard at something and that you are getting positive results.
Mechanical keyboards led me to the decision that software engineering was the right move for me. It is also a plus that I get to use all my keyboards for something productive. My time with Warhammer has taught me that I won't always be amazing at something when I first start if I put in the work and the effort. I will get a lot better. and this lesson applies to me with code also.
