Hello there! I’m excited to be a new member of the DEV community and would like to celebrate by contributing my first blog post. I am currently attending Flatiron School in Seattle and loving it. I’ll take opportunity to share how I got here and why I made the decision to pursue a career in software development.
If you were to tell me ten years ago I would be back in school learning to be a software developer, I would have thought you were crazy. It’s not that I don’t enjoy learning new things, I do. My surprise, and probable disappointment, would have come from the combination of vowing never to go back to school and an unwavering desire to endlessly tour the world in the greatest band ever known to man, Lanford Black. Unfortunately, unless you are my mom or one her friends, it’s likely you’re wondering “Who the hell is Lanford Black?”. This fact is a major contribution as to why I’m here today.
My 20’s were largely spent bouncing around from job to job, balancing taking time off work for tour and making enough money to pay for recording and daily expenses. It’s not the easiest way of living, but when you have a passion for something, it’s all worth it. Sadly, Lanford Black never became what I imagined, but I never gave up on the dream. I joined another band and we started gaining a little traction, even getting radio play in various cities across the U.S. As I got older, I put off the some of the personal responsibilities that typically go along with it, i.e., getting health insurance, maintaining a savings account, and general consideration of my future well-being. I was wholly satisfied with my path and embraced the minimalist lifestyle. Much to my surprise, however, that all changed the day I met a wonderful person named Lauren.
It’s amazing how quickly priorities and perspectives can shift when you are no longer just worrying about yourself. I’m not saying I used to be selfish, but I really only had myself and the success of the band to consider. Suddenly, I wanted to provide a stable and comfortable future. The dream of “making it big” dwindled to an afterthought as the reality of financial
stability reared its ugly head. I wasn’t alone anymore and I was all the better for it. It was time for me to find a job that provided a good income.
I began the search for a new career and didn’t really know where to start. I had a difficult time deciding what would keep me happy and satisfy my sense of creativity. Fortunately, I had a conversation with a friend of mine who was a software developer. He convinced me to look into coding and I decided to give it a shot. I learned a bit on my own and it kept my interest going. I decided to take the next step and began looking for coding bootcamps. There were a lot of different options and after some research, I thought Flatiron would be the best choice for me going forward. So far, I am extremely happy with my decision to pursue software development and am eager to learn more. I can’t wait to see what will come from completing this bootcamp and am happy I found something beyond music that I am passionate about.
Top comments (1)
Hey Josh, welcome to DEV and the world of software development. You'll find a very friendly group here that you can ask questions of anytime. Like any diverse group, you will get a number of varying options, but that's standard for anyone's journey.