S1 E39: Take a break and do something that makes me feel good (Ar'Niqua / @ACole893)

Absolutely. So, yeah, I think as we get started with each episode, we always just like to say, Hey, like who are you? What do you do? A brief intro. Ar'Niqua: Yeah. So, um, as mentioned, my name is Arika Coleman. I'm from Texas. So currently I actually work as a college advisor. Um, I've worked in higher education for the past eight years or so in various college advisor roles.

Started out working in financial aid, transitioned over to working with programs that focus primarily on first generation and low income college students. So that's where my focus has been for the. Five years I believe. But I'm looking to transition into, uh, becoming a full-time software developer. So yeah, that's just a little bit about me. I'm currently in the process of making the career transition. That is super exciting, cuz I know it's interesting because.

People here, like, oh, this person like transitioned in their career like years ago and like, oh, this person transitioned over the last year and they're in their first, second job. Or, or things like that. But I think, yeah, it's really nice for them to actually hear from someone who is actually in the process. Right? It's not like, oh, that's a bad memory firm. Like a, a year or two ago it was like, no. You're in the trenches right now, . Ar'Niqua: Yes, definitely. And I feel it for sure.

Well, what kind of got you interested in becoming a programmer and tech? Ar'Niqua: Yeah, good question. So actually one of the perks of working in higher education is we get to, well, with most of the colleges that I've worked for, you get to take like free college courses. That's just one of the benefits of being a staff member.

This time last year, last fall, I decided to sign up, uh, just to take one course, just because I had been out of school for a while and I signed up for a intro to probe cramming course, and at the time we were learning Python. So that was like my introduction and honestly like. What chose, um, what caused me to choose, like, the intro to programming courses? It is just, it was just so different from everything I've done before.

Like for my bachelor's degree and my master's degree, they've been more, um, like, I guess psychology focused, like more focused on human development and things of that nature. So I was like, this is just something different, like completely different from what I've done in the past. So I'm just gonna try it. And I signed up for the. It was super challenging just because I felt as if I was learning a new language.

I mean, well basically you are . Um, but it was just so different from what I've done in the past and like what I do for work and I just found it to be like just a lot of fun just because it is so different and it was super challenging.

So that was kind of my introduction and once I got into it, Like I started to realize like, number one, I'm really enjoying this, but also my professor for the course, he like held me after class one day to let me know like, Hey, I know you worked for acc, but I think you're not utilizing your full skillset. Like you should seriously consider getting. To software engineering. Like I know you're just doing it just to be doing something at this point, but I think you really should consider it.

And I was like, I was kind of thinking the same thing. So to hear from you, you know, that you feel the same way, like I feel like I'm on the right path to potentially, you know, transition into something different. So that was kind of my introduction and how I ended up here today. Wow, that's so encouraging. You know, like a lot of people are just like, oh, I like this so I'm going to try to do it. But to actually. Start off with someone saying, Hey, like you're doing a really good job.

You're leaving skills on the table, not If you don't do anything different, like Ar'Niqua: that's cool. Yeah. I was surprised like one day when he was like in class, he announced like, Hey, ARITA, can you stay after? I'm like, oh gosh, what did I do wrong? And then, yeah. So for that to be the conversation, I'm like, oh wow, okay. Well, that conversation went in complete opposite way of what I was expecting. But that's great news. Like I'm happy to hear. Well, cool.

So how has that journey been so far? Right? You kind of took that class and kind of got that feedback like, oh yeah, you should actually think about giving this more of a focus. How have you gone about, yeah. You know, trying to continue to increase your skills and start job hunt if you have, or things like that. Like what has that journey looked like so far for you?

Ar'Niqua: Yes. Honestly, I feel like my journey has been all over the place just because, like I said, initially I started out with the Python course and then from there I was kind of confused as to like where to go next. Just because like I was initially thinking about just going back to school to get my bachelor's, they offer, um, a bachelor's program in.

Software development at the school that I work for, but I was like going back and forth on whether or not I wanted to, you know, dedicate another four years of my life being in school just because I've, I feel like I've been in school literally my entire life. So I went back and forth on that for a while and then I started to talk to other people and they were mentioning like, Hey, you may consider doing a bootcamp.

You know, like that's a more expedited, uh, way to get into software engineering without having to go through like the four year. Coursework route. Um, so I feel like I went through like a few months of just going back and forth and like trying to study and figure out which route would be best for me. And then from there I was in like a Facebook group for women in tech.

And someone mentioned that there was like a upcoming, I guess it was similar to like a bootcamp, but it was like a program for women of color that were interested in tech. And basically you get paired with a group of like four or five other ladies and you get to. Basically work with an organization and help them to develop an app. So I started out with that program and while in the program I was kind of discouraged just because we weren't doing much coding.

Like the first, it was supposed to be for six months and like the first three months or so that I was in the program, like we did know coding, we were going over a lot of like project management type. Stuff. And I was just like, uh, I don't feel like I'm getting, gaining from this program what I expected to. And one of the girls that I was paired with to work on this app, she mentioned that she completed 100 devs the year before.

And she was just telling me like, it seems like you're looking for something more hands-on to, uh, gain more technical experience. So I think you really should consider 100 deaths. And she told me about this in like December of last year. Cohort was gonna begin in January. So I was like, oh, like it's right around the corner. I definitely should look into it and consider it.

So yeah, that's what kind of led me to just going into the bootcamp route, which, yeah, I was still kind of pouring on whether or not that was the right route for me, but I'm glad I did so. From there, jumped in 100 desks. And I can say this has been one of the most challenging things like I've ever done in my life.

Like I mentioned before, like I've been to school, I have my bachelor's and my master's and I feel like the, this time with the bootcamp has been more challenging than both of those wow degrees and yeah, it's just been a lot. Yeah, cuz I'm also doing it while I work full-time and I feel like I'm working two full-time jobs , to be honest. Like it's just like, no, that definitely makes sense. I can imagine that feeling like. Two full-time jobs. And that's a, yeah, that's a, a big load.

So congrats on, you know, sticking with it and, and doing it so far. Ar'Niqua: Thank you. I appreciate it. It has definitely not been easy. And it's funny cuz I feel like once you make up your mind that you, you're going to like, pursue and, you know, do something different. So go back to school, whatever it seems like everything in. That could potentially happen, like everything outside starts to happen. So like I've dealt with, you know, like my mom being ill for a bit, then I move.

It's like, okay, like what more can happen during this time? Like I'm already super busy and then everything like life is just coming at you all the time. , Eddie: I can definitely understand that. I often look back and. A year. You never know what a year's gonna hold. Right. It feels like a year isn't that long of a time, but when you oftentimes look back at where you were a year before, it's like, whoa, like. You would not expect to be there.

And I feel like every year just my life has changed so much and it's like all these unexpected things happen. Mm-hmm. good and bad. Right. It's, it's a mixture, but it's like you look back and you're like, how has this been the year? You know, , Ar'Niqua: right. . Exactly. It's not what I was expecting, but I'm glad that I'm here . Eddie: Exactly. Well, cool.

On this podcast, you know, we always like to dive into talking about something that brings someone joy, and so I just wanted to kind of ask what brings you joy kind of on this journey and stuff? Ar'Niqua: Yeah, so for me, like I mentioned, like it's, there's just been a light, uh, number one, just trying to balance. To going back to school or being in the bootcamp while working, and then just having life constantly coming at you.

So I found like just prioritizing self-care and just taking time to focus and just, I guess do something for me. So prior to starting the bootcamp, like I was really big into fitness, so like my self-care was like going to the gym, like I would work out. Four or five times a week.

And then as the bootcamp started, it's funny because like right before I started the bootcamp, I had the conversation with another software engineer that I randomly met in the gym and he was telling me, like when I mentioned that I was getting ready to start the boot camp, he was like, yeah, like I see that you come to the gym a lot. But once you start the bootcamp, I can guarantee you like you won't have the same amount of time . And I was like, yeah, right. Like that won't be me.

And then sure enough, like once I got like the first two months, like I was going strong, I was, and then after like the third month, I'm like, oh, now I see what he's saying. So it went from like five days a week to, I'm lucky if I can work out. I'm lucky if I work out like maybe two days a week. But, Taking the time to focus on and doing something nice for me.

So whether or not this is like just schedule a time to me with my therapist and then going to get facials, like going to get my nails done. Just things like that. Just making sure that I take a break and do something that I feel like just makes me feel good. So even if this is like going back home to visit family, spending the weekend with them and not focusing on coding yet, all that weekend. Because I feel like that's what I need at the time.

That's something that has brought me joy throughout this process, just because it can be a lot, and I feel like as a, I guess a entry level developer trying to get into the field, like we all want it to happen, you know, right away and just learning to pace yourself. It'll happen eventually. Like this is a, a marathon, not a sprint, you know? Just continuing to remind myself of those things and. Trying to take a breath, enjoy the rollercoaster, ride , the rollercoaster ride.

So yeah, self-care has definitely been something that has brought me joy throughout this process. I love that because when it comes to, you know, a lot of times people are looking at Yeah, like what are they trying to accomplish for the next year, right? And it's like, oh, if I wanna, you know, have a job in a year or things like that, like I gotta go, go, go. But it's like, really, you should be looking at five years.

. And so it's like if you're looking at the five next five years, it's like, okay, yeah, you may, you know, it may take you another six months longer than you thought to complete the program and to be able to find a job and stuff like doing programming. But it's like, yeah, if you pace yourself throughout and you learn things deeper because you had more mental bandwidth, right, because you took that time and you took that self-care, you may be able to get a job.

At like a better company or a better team because you're more centered rather than kind of just go, go, go, go, go and kind of grabbing the first thing you can find. And because you're kind of at burnout and then you realize like, oh, okay, I got the job, but it's not as satisfying as I thought it would be. Right. If you're like going into it, yeah. Kind of half burnt out already. Ar'Niqua: No, that's a great point. I totally agree.

And I feel like initially when I started, because I had set this hard deadline in my mind, like I'm gonna be job hunting by May. Like I plan to have a job before August. Like I just knew this was gonna happen. So like with that timeline in my head, so like that was causing me to like, Stressed and like I wasn't enjoying the process as much. And then if May started to roll around, I'm like, okay, well the likelihood of having a job around this time probably is not gonna happen.

And then I'm like, well, how about instead of just setting a deadline, how about I just take time to like focus on continuing to learn things and like you said, dive deeper into topics that maybe I didn't understand initially in the bootcamp. Like once I removed. The timeline from my head and I'm like, okay, whenever it happens, it happens. Like that's what's meant for me.

Like I feel like I've definitely started to enjoy it a lot more and I feel like whenever I'm coding it's because I want to, not because I feel like I necessarily have to. So I don't know. I feel like I'm able to get more accomplished because like you said, you're not just constantly going, going, going. So I definitely agree with you on that. Yeah, I love that. One thing that you said there that really stuck out to me was that coding, cuz you want to, and I think there's this interesting.

Where like on one side of the spectrum you have people who kind of espouse, oh, if, if you're gonna be a real programmer, quote unquote, you have to like program all the time, not just your nine to five. Mm-hmm , but like all day long you have to be in love with the code. And of course that is hyperbolic insanity.

But at the other end, like sometimes people are like, Hey, code just provides, like pays the bills and like, yes, code can provide the bills, but I think no matter what your job is, whether you're in code or design or construction, if you have a passion, For the thing that you're doing, it's gonna kind of run background processes in the back of your mind, even when you're not like focused on it. And so like you're going to naturally like want to learn things without like Yeah.

Burning yourself out and doing what the crazy code bros. Over on the other side are saying, right, like there's a balance to it where it's like, okay, you can be passionate about this thing, right? You can enjoy it and it can also pay the bills, but you also can have a life and and do all the self-care you're talking about. So I love that kind of balance. Yeah, Ar'Niqua: no, I totally agree with you.

I feel like I had to learn that the hard way because like you mentioned, like seeing on Twitter, other people post, I'm like, oh, I have to be going like 24 7. I need to code all the time. And I'm like, well, this is not fun. Like I don't wanna imagine spending the rest of my working years like just being glued through the computer 24 7. Like there has to be more to life. So yes, I agree with you on that. , there definitely has to be balance. Yeah, for sure.

Great. You know, In every episode, we love to kind of end it just saying, you know how we love to hear what people are involved in, things that they've worked on or participated in, and I'm guessing it'll be a surprise to no one what you want to give a shout out to, but yeah. What would you like to give a shout out to that you've been Ar'Niqua: involved in? Yes, I would love to give a shout out to one. Des um, as mentioned before, it is a free coding bootcamp.

Um, I'm currently a part of the 2022 cohort. Like I mentioned before, it's completely free. It's interested. You can visit online@leonnoel.com slash 100 des. Also, you can just reach out or follow Leon Noel on Porter for more information. But yeah, if you're interested in coding, software engineering and making the transition, I'd highly recommend 100 D is awesome. Well, yeah, so.

Anyone, you know, if you're thinking about getting involved or you've tried other ways to learn code and get involved and just nothing stuck with you, we'll have links in the show notes to be able to check out hundred devs and maybe get involved in the the next cohort. So. Awesome. Well, Aqua, thank you so much for joining us today. It's just been a pleasure just chatting, hearing about your story, hearing about self-care.

I think that's such an important concept and topic that we just don't focus on. So thank you. Ar'Niqua: Of course. Thank you for having me. This has been a joy. Thank you for joining us for episode 39, take a break and do something that makes me feel good. With our NyQuil Coleman. You can find links to everything we talked about in this episode, as well as a link to our Nico's website and social media accounts in the show notes. If you enjoyed this episode, help others discover it as well.

Give us a shout out. What are your favorite social media platform, maybe tag a friend or coworker that you think might enjoy it. And don't forget to follow us wherever you hang out online or, you know, subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date. Thank you for listening and have a great day. bye