The latest articles on DEV Community by Jessica Bell (@sirjessthebrave). https://dev.to/sirjessthebrave https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F9236%2FVk8_zVne.jpg https://dev.to/sirjessthebrave en Jessica Bell Thu, 26 Oct 2017 17:40:33 +0000 https://dev.to/sirjessthebrave/im-a-developer-for-the-washington-post-ask-me-anything-637 https://dev.to/sirjessthebrave/im-a-developer-for-the-washington-post-ask-me-anything-637 <p>Hi! I am a developer at The Washington Post. My team builds tools for the newsroom so that journalists can make articles with rich, engaging content. I work primarily on the front end on JavaScript projects. Originally not a techie, I hold a degree in International Relations and taught myself to code after not finding good work in that field. The journey from relative low technical literacy to full time working developer has been... well, hard and interesting. I have some opinions about it all.</p> <p>I am an active community organizer including sitting as the current Chair for the DC chapter of ACM, helping organize for <a href="https://www.meetup.com/DC-Tech-Meetup/">DC Tech Meetup</a>, <a href="https://dcfemtech.github.io">DCFemTech</a>, and producing a podcast called <a href="http://dctechstories.com/">DC Tech Stories</a> - check it out!</p> <p>Currently I am struggling with burn out, how to level up my coding skills without giving my whole life over to side projects, why as a society, we have such a low level of technical literacy, and how to feel like a competent developer while working in imperfect legacy code. I am excited about the future of news media and technology, my upcoming vacation, and fun web storytelling in general.</p> <p>Ask me anything!</p> ama Jessica Bell Wed, 08 Mar 2017 21:53:14 +0000 https://dev.to/sirjessthebrave/nevertheless-jessica-bell-coded https://dev.to/sirjessthebrave/nevertheless-jessica-bell-coded <h2> I began coding because... </h2> <p>I felt trapped in a career with little upward movement and I loved tinkering with websites. After teaching myself a bit to do my job as a digital media coordinator better, I realized that coding is fantastically creative and extremely rewarding, however challenging it may be!</p> <h2> I'm currently hacking on... </h2> <p>Apps that support quality journalism at The Washington Post.</p> <h2> I'm excited about... </h2> <p>How many women are getting into tech!! I help run DCFemTech, a women's coding collective in Washington DC, and daily I get requests about how to get involved, how to learn how to code, and how to give back once women are in the tech community.</p> <h2> My advice for other women who code is... </h2> <p>Literally just start learning - learn the basics and add to that repository of knowledge as you go. NEVER be ashamed of where you are in YOUR learning journey. Ask for help from everyone - if someone throws shade at you for asking, most likely you have uncovered someone's fear of being 'found out' as not knowing what they are talking about - lets break this narrative - we all know things, and are at different parts of our learning, together we can make super fabulous, accessible, maintainable software! </p> wecoded