My Development Journey...

Chris Davis — Sat, 20 Apr 2019 19:25:13 +0000

I felt it was time to tell my web developer story. I have seen a number of people tell, the classic ‘how I got here’ and I am feeling pretty strong in my abilities at the moment so here it goes:

My first real experience with programming came in high school. It didn't go anywhere, it was not a great class. I played with visual basic, I got my first demonstration of a C++ program, the standard Hello World.

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

int main() 
{
    cout << "Hello, World!";
    return 0;
}

When I saw it, I was confused/scared/frustrated, I didn't learn anything and it was a real waste of a class(although maybe it was just the seed). I didn't touch computer science, coding, or any other aspect of development for years.

Fast Forward to 2012, I had hit a low point, dropped out of medical school and was floundering, while working in AC repair. I happened to work on a customers house who had some books on python programming and that peaked my interest again. I studied python.

Then in 2013, I started the tutorials... I did Code Academy, Treehouse, Youtube videos, more guides than I can count or remember. I did Coursera, and built a series of games with python. I also took a Coursera course learning algorithms in Java, it didn’t go well and I dropped out. But I’d didn’t give up. All the while, I was stuck in the Military, and while I think its a great profession for some, it wasn't for me. I served my contract and I studied:

-HTML
-CSS
-Javascript
-Python
-C++
-Java(just a little bit)
-Git
-OOP
-Big O notation

Fast Forward to 2018, and I moved to a new area and needed a change in my life. I saw a local job for a PHP developer and decided to give it a shot. I didn't have a tremendous amount of PHP experience but at this point, I realized I was going to try for the position and I called them. I got a developer on the phone and talked to him. We had a good conversation and after getting my resume, he asked me to come in for an interview. I did and I took a test, and I got much of it right. (I learned later from him, that they didn't have many qualified candidates, and I knew more than most of the people who had applied for the position). It is funny too, I still wasn't super confident in my abilities. But I was happy to have this position, I was learning a lot every day.

In time, I decided I wanted to do JavaScript development and started learning React. I then transitioned to a React development position where I started learning the Agile development process and I had a true team development position. I a really happy with this position and wonder where I want to go next. I am thinking React Native and Typescript, we have some projects in the future that are going to involve them. I also want to get my own projects off the ground.

December 2019 Update

At this point, I am feeling more confident in my React Native Abilities and I have been teaching new developers I work with both the React and React Native applications that we have. I have also been learning Java (specifically, SpringBoot) some and other associated back-end technologies.

DEV Community: Chris Davis

My Development Journey...

December 2019 Update