I began coding because...
I got my start in coding at the young age of 11 when I really wanted to build my own little community (guild) on Neopets. I never would've guessed that before I had even become a teenager I would be beginning my career as a developer. I just felt such an immediate connection with development - the challenge of learning a new language, the sense of accomplishment that comes with making something function just as I had envisioned it (even if that meant building some really stellar tables and marquees back then). Fifteen years later, those feelings are still present throughout my day-to-day.
I'm currently hacking on...
I'm in the process of re-launching my own business. My career goals no longer align with the freelance life and I'm currently going through the rebranding process to grow into more of a pseudo-agency format. I'm working on my #GIRLBOSS mantra and building a team of experts to help me accomplish the goals I can no longer achieve on my own.
On the technical end, I'm also currently learning Ruby on Rails to start doing a bit more backend development, as I've always lived in the front end all my life. It's like I'm 11 all over again with the basic goal-setting and accomplishments, only this time I have a larger vocabulary of choice curse words when my code's not working as it should.
My advice for other women who code (or want to get into coding) is...
Seek out a mentor - someone who's currently doing the tasks you'd like to see yourself doing at some point in the future. There are so many other developers out there who would love to share their knowledge and experiences so you can succeed as a developer and (hopefully) not make the same mistakes I know we all have made in the progression of our careers.
Be a mentor. Contribute to the exchange of information and join your local chapter of a group that promote careers in development, such as Women Who Code, Girls Who Code or Girl Develop It. For me, the real reward comes when you've gone full circle and have helped others reach the goals you once had when you were just starting out.
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