A New Adventure in Code

I retired last year, after more than two decades in a rigid, high-pressure tech environment, and only then did I realise how deep the burnout had gone. For years I came home with nothing left — just enough energy to get through the basics.

Retirement finally gave me space to breathe - but I felt disconnected from the joy of programming. I tried the full-stack route, got as far as CSS, and felt absolutely nothing.

Then I started exploring Python, and something clicked. For the first time in years, I felt curious again. I’ve been learning, building small projects, and rediscovering the part of myself that loves solving problems.

I even renamed my laptops: the old one is Bagend, and the new one is New Adventure. It feels right. Freelancing later in life is challenging, but this is the start of my new adventure — and it feels good to finally have one.

Comments

[Ilias Vlachos]

Hello Juliana,
Really fascinating post and really fresh post! 1/3/2026!
In what kind of Tech fast paced environment were you in the past? Was it in RSA? I am trying currently for a career change in Data Analysis and I am also learning Python. How do you feel about ? (Python) Does it feel difficult? best wishes.

[Juliana Albertyn]

I used to work in Delphi for a small South African company that built a LIMS‑type product used internationally. It was a very busy environment, and that’s where I spent most of my career.

These days I’m learning Python and loving it — it feels light, expressive, and capable. The early days were challenging, but eventually my brain rewired itself and now my fingers do half the work.

I learn by doing, so I’m building an Excel‑to‑SQL pipeline at the moment. freeCodeCamp helped with the basics, and Copilot has been great for translating my old Delphi patterns into more Pythonic approaches.

I’m curious how Python feels on your side — what are you learning with, and what’s been the hardest part so far? And I’d also love to know a bit about your background: what kind of dev work have you done before, and what drew you toward data analysis?

[Juliana Albertyn]

Good afternoon, Ilias — for now we’re in the same time zone, but South Africa doesn’t use daylight savings, so later this month you’ll be one hour ahead of me.

Career changes can be good for us; they stretch us in new ways. And yes, we’re often our own worst enemies. Chase your dreams — it’s never too late.

I’ve looked at the Eric Matthes book and I like that he focuses on projects. Doing is learning. Boot.dev also looks like a fun, structured way to learn, so thank you for the information.

I’m running Microsoft 365, but I work with whatever versions my clients have. I use SQL Server Express as my default database because I’ve worked with it over the years. When I’m more confident in Python, I’ll explore other options like SQLite and Django.

At the moment, my goal is simple: read a “messy” Excel file, create the schema in SQL, and then write the data into the database in a clean, predictable way.

I enjoyed reading your post — accountability really does make all the difference when we’re learning.

[Ilias Vlachos]

Whenever you have the time - you can read as many posts as you like - I try hard to enrich the blog over the years, not successfully all the time but...

SQLite is very Lite indeed, I do use it so... It is flexible, lightweight, and it can support really large amounts of data, even more than 2 million rows! I have read a lot about it.

I will be around if you like, we will talk again soon. Best wishes for health above all.