The Beginning
Around June or July in 2020 I was sitting on a wellsite next to a drilling rig waiting to perform a cement job. As I went to the rig floor to conduct the safety meeting the driller said the price of oil was 10 cents a barrel. The lowest that it had ever been since they started keeping track of the cost. I thought that he was joking as many roughnecks do and brushed it off. After the meeting I went back to my pickup and grabbed my phone. He was not only serious but the price of oil plummeted to -35 dollars a barrel. This was a huge eye opener for me as my company was filling bankruptcy and selling its assets and the oilfield was in for another hard downturn. I started looking into what options I could have and found software engineering. This sparked my interest and I researched further.
Flatiron Wins
After all the blogs articles and polls Flatiron was always there. They offered career help after graduation and could teach you what you needed to get your career jumpstarted. I filled out the entry forms, had a meeting with a very nice lady who said I would be an excellent candidate for Flatiron. This was exciting and nerve wrecking all at once. I quite my job and put the money down to get started in learning programming.
Zero Knowledge
I had no idea what this was going to entail. I knew very little JavaScript because I took a course in high school and never messed with it again. This was many years ago. But, I made sure that my entry reviewer knew that and she was confident that I could pick it up and succeed.
What's Ruby?
The first thing that was taught to me in the course material was Ruby. A programming language that has been around for some time now and gaining more popularity. This was like being dropped in Germany and told you had to go order a pizza. It was very daunting, but after a lot of persistence and struggle I was able to start catching on. There were some labs that just seemed way to overwhelming but then reaching out on Slack my classmates were in the same boat. We all helped each other out through the toughest problems.
Projects and Reviews
At the end of every 3 week phase in the course you were tasked with creating your own project with the programming that you just learned. You get one week to turn in the project and then you schedule a review. This was always stressful because if I failed the review I would have to retake the phase which was not something that I really could do. I setup myself to complete the program in 5 months and that's what I intended to do.
The New Beginning
I have just finished the program mid April 2021, and I am ecstatic. I went through a death in the family and then a divorce in the middle of the final project, but was still able to achieve my goal with the help and support of everyone at Flatiron. This program truly is amazing and I would recommend it to anyone who is even thinking about getting into a career in the software field to give Flatiron a chance.
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