How did it happen?
The Problem
I have been pursuing career in hospitability business for a few years now.
And while my profession helped me polish my soft skills and train my language,
it lacked good problems to be solved.
Not that hotels lack problems – it’s quite the opposite. The point is – most of them are repetitive.
I’ve had a feeling that my logical reasoning / abstract thinking skills are getting a little bit rusty…
Uh-huh, we have a problem here!
The Search
Being overly analytical I had to look upon this problem. At this point I was already:
– reading at least one inspiring book a month
– training my language, speaking with foreigners from Germany, Czech Republic and other countries
– trying to acquire a new, unique skill for each half of the year
– training rigorously for running a marathon
It seemed that there is no problem with my learning skill, willingness or perserverence – I had that covered.
Upon closer look the problem was obvious – I didn’t challenge my logical thinking often enough.
The Solution
Looking back at my schooling only two things sounded like pure logic – matemathical equations and programming.
Solving mathematical equations was never my cup of tea,
so the choice was obvious – programming.
I have chosen the C# language – due to familiarity with the C language I have learned during my studies.
And it was bullseye. There were lots of new concepts to learn. Due to roots in C, it was hard work, but not sisyphean.
Everything seemed new, but familiar enough to not be intimidiating. For the first time in months
I have achieved the “flow”.
The Flow
In positive psychology, a flow state, also known colloquially as being in the zone, is the mental state in which a person performing some activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity. In essence, flow is characterized by the complete absorption in what one does, and a resulting transformation in one’s sense of time. Flow is the melting together of action and consciousness; the state of finding a balance between a skill and how challenging that task is. It requires a high level of concentration; however, it should be effortless.
Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_(psychology)
The Way
I have started slowly – learning the basic notation and concepts behind C#. I have read a book. I have had some fun with Microsoft Learn. When I got a little confidence in coding I started doing Codewars exercises.
They had my mind working hard for quite some time. Then I have found some problems in my current work that could be solved with programming.
Did it work? Yes. Having real problem scenarios kickstarted my learning. This helped me take a closer look at hardware architecture, databases and design.
I have had my fair share of debugging. Did it solve the problems of my current work? Yes. But due to grudin’s law it created new ones to be solved the non programming way.
And most of all I have gotten a new problem – I was hooked.
Grudin’s law:
“When those who benefit are not those who do the work, then the technology is likely to fail, or at least be subverted”
The Consequences
After coding after work or through the weekends there is only one logical next step – to pursue coding full time.
So here I am – looking for work as a C# developer. I consider mentorship the only reasonable option to boost my learning curve further, and the only option to not learn things the wrong way.
What's next?
Even more learning. With each day I see how much there is still to be learned. I do have a learning roadmap, and I am still adding new things. I learn and acquire skills as I need them. What do I plan for future? It is hard to say. For now I want to know the software development process inside and out.
What do i do in free time
In the short time spans between work and coding I am creating things. I dream up something, then acquire necessary skills to bring it to life.
With 100% DIY fashion I build furniture, be it from wood or metal. I do construction work. I repair my car. I travel. I run. I shoot. I read a lot.
