DEV Community: Fernando Galvan

Bank Teller, Construction Manager, Software Developer

Fernando Galvan — Mon, 03 Oct 2022 18:36:54 +0000

Open and Honest

Straight out of high school, I thought I wanted to become a doctor because of my favorite show at the time. What I was not prepared for was the amount of work this would require starting with my first day of college. Without getting into too much detail, many years passed and I found myself in parties more than on my laptop writing my papers. This mindset and lack of discipline (at least with schooling) led to a lost soul within me. I was good at commitments beyond school. I was getting promotions at work, leadership roles, and even learning what it's like to be physically fit. Where I never progressed was discipline in regards to advancing my career for the future. I still pay for these choices now, but I keep my head up.

Where Am I Now? What Do I think?

I find myself as an Operations Manager because I'm familiar and well equipped to lead different people in operations. Through some failures and many successes, I've learned that we can all make mistakes but we must put the work in to come out above the fray. Even with this wisdom, and specialization, I still committed to software development. With this career, I am constantly stimulated with new ideas, error codes, languages and new friendships. I had been longing for a path that is "future-proof" but also a path where I know I'm doing something beautiful. As of 10/3/22 I'm without my first role as a software engineer, but I'm optimistic. New Times Roman wasn't built in a day after all. (Yes, this is my type of humor most of the time)

Tips and Advice

I went to General Assembly's boot camp, and I continued my learning to expand my skills. I am currently more comfortable with JavaScript and Python, and frameworks which complement these languages. So, anyone whose new to this world, or anyone just wanting to know they aren't alone in being late to the party, here are my two cents:

While doing tutorials, read some books which solidify your understanding of the engineering side of it all.
Connect with other people in your area to gain some friendships/connections that correspond with the world you're trying to break into.
Build, build, build: I still use tutorials but I always make adjustments along the way for two reasons 1) I want to make it mine 2) It adds a level of difficulty if you venture off on your own so it forces you to learn.
It won't make sense for a long time, but if you keep grinding through it, when you're building your first server on your own, you'll look back to the early days when you didn't know what the words "iterate" and "concatenate" meant. '
To my last point: Don't be afraid to ask what every new word means. There are no dumb questions.
Last but not least: If you think you aren't smart enough to make it past a wall you're hitting. You. Are. Wrong.

To address a possible question - I loved my boot camp, even with it's faults. I am not someone who can push themselves outside of fitness, work and gaming. I pick things up quickly, but I needed the structure of a class. If you have been able to learn new skills all on your own, the self-taught route is a beautiful thing.

Gracias Amigos

Ah yes...React and it's Redux minions

Fernando Galvan — Sat, 27 Aug 2022 22:44:01 +0000

Somewhat Familiar

I am nowhere near a pro when it comes to using ReactJS but I can definitely build you a simple project with relative ease. On the other hand, Redux was a library I only read about as if it were some agent lore. Thankfully there was a good amount of information to guide me through it all...

So I Thought

I watched some videos, read some post and answers from StackOverflow. I felt in good hands, with good knowledge. The more I followed a long with a tutorial (while I adjusted a few things to better suit my liking), the more I understood that Redux isn't so complex. I then had to createStore. Unfortuantely, we don't createStore anymore around these parts, we configureStore from reduxtoolkit. Now, I had no issue adjusting for updated methods, but up until that point, I was using previous versions to build. I think I can safely assume that many of us newcomers have been down this road before. You find the perfect mix of guides to help you build an app you want to stand out from the rest. This was nothing new, but I was already hours in to my CSS styling, and hours in to my component structuring. This was not good news.

So I thought...again

After feeling defeated, and after a few glasses of scotch, I decided that I could not adjust my current build. I would have to start a new build, but I promised myself I would only look at the positive. The positive was that my back-end was built and deployed on Heroku (IYKYK). At this point, it's all about the front-end and adjusting for new methods. I knew I could do this, even with this being my first go-around with Redux.

Toolkits are easy to find after all

Throughout YouTube and Google searches, there is quite a lot of information on the Toolkit that is now used with Redux. I found it all quite useful, especially after struggling with certain concepts my first go around with the previous version. I still couldn't understand a few points some videos were making. This is where a wild idea came to me: Visit the resource pages on Redux's official site. As they say, some common sense isn’t so common. In my defense, my brain was mush after my first failed attempt. One piece of advice after this endeavor, go to the source files/resources first. As great as Google is...documentation is there for a reason.

Finally!

Through a week of struggles, I completed my store (which I'll link below). Although not perfect, I am proud of my work. I am proud that I truly understand 80% of my code, while somewhat understanding 20% of it. My education does not stop here, but it certainly is a nice point to look back and smile. It's about the small wins after all. It's about the small steps forward. It's about the building of knowledge after the stumbles along the way.

Site: https://legendary-palmier-cc51ed.netlify.app/

Full Circle in a Flask

Fernando Galvan — Mon, 15 Aug 2022 17:28:48 +0000

Small Wins & Spotify

It's Sunday morning with a full day ahead of me, some oatmeal on my desk and a Discovery Weekly playlist I need to listen to...

Many YouTube and Flask documentation later, it is Sunday evening with a chicken sandwich with chips in my belly. I have connected my PostgreSQL database to my app (which I always thought I couldn't do without some sort of instructor). I have finally displayed my sample data on my page and I could not be happier. It has no style and the font is generic (speaking of generic...my discovery weekly playlist. Thanks Spotfiy) but it is a small win and I can't wait to fluster myself with some Valorant before bed.

To-Do App...my friend

It's Monday morning and too much caffeine later, my app.py is looking like I know what I'm doing.

With a little bit of debugging my database, and some syntax errors, I have a To-Do app using Flask. Anytime I succeed in rendering a button, or an input box, I smile because I think of how little I believed in my abilities months ago. To-do apps are such a great way to remind yourself that the complexity in your code is magnified by the weight of doubt. I can only speak to a newbie's experience, but nearly all my experience with programming has been clouded with a sense of inadequacy.

To rid yourself of this my friends, I suggest just starting with small apps, render anything you can, enjoy the small bugs in spelling, and remember that Steven Spielberg was rejected from 3 film schools. You continue...you learn. You learn...you adapt. You adapt, you thrive.

Snippet of my code:

Bootcamp Grad Applies for Jobs

Fernando Galvan — Fri, 12 Aug 2022 20:36:50 +0000

So Many Jobs

While at boot camp, of course I looked at all the job openings there were. I figured "Maybe I'll get lucky and find one that wants a new boot camp grad in my area". I browsed quite a bit, but I never applied. With the experience and knowledge I have now, these opportunities look different. They aren't just listings of qualifications, they are request and I possibly am their fulfillment needs! LinkedIn, Indeed have now become a playground for my interest.

So Many Jobs...a Reality Check

After looking extensively to some of these positions, the company information, and their reviews, I saw one large trend: There was no "one to rule them all" type of way to get in. Some people got in because they contributed to open source, other got in because they knew the right person at the right time. I soon found out that I needed to do all the things, if not that, at least some of all the things. More important than anything else, it seemed I had to master the art of interviewing...not my forte. As I continued my insomnia ridden research rabbit hole (alliteration not on purpose), I discovered some interesting insights.

So...Not Just React Router or urls.py?

Something I discovered about truly successful engineers, more than developers, is the X-factor that lives within them. I found that engineers see the code, the data, the flow of information differently. They see it with their mind, but also their instinctual curiosity and desire for understanding. I am still discovering this super power within me when it comes to certain aspects of each stack, but the world of engineering has come to my doors. As I found out about Docker, DevOps, Terraform, I realized that this is my dream come true. An area filled with headaches, a difficulty I cannot express in words, and an opportunity to never stop learning.

Well?

I will continue to learn, and hopefully find my first developer/engineering role. Until then, I'll be smiling as I forget to capitalize one word which breaks my app. I'll go to bed frustrated that I didn't discover this world sooner, but I know it's better late than never. We all have that "person you want to be 5-years from now" persona within us. We just need to train it in the art of self-discovery.