My journey to becoming a better Software Engineer

[Cereal_Bowl_Assassin]

Hey everyone, I created this thread basically to help me stay honest with myself on my path to becoming a better software engineer.

Currently I am DevOps engineer for a artificial intelligence start up in nyc. I have mentioned this before on here but in 2016 I was making 18,000 per year as a potato chip delivery driver, now I make well above 6 figures but if I had to be honest with myself my coding skills are TRASH!

Here are a few links about myself:

• Holberton, a Two-Year Tech School, Emphasizes Diversity
  
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/max-johnson-697282b4

Why am I doing this....

• Eventhough I'm a engineer I work mainly with automation tools, networking, security, and bash scripting
• However I'm below average in every category
• Imo, I didnt get hired because of my tech skills but because I'm eager to learn and I'm a people person(plus I'm the total opposite of the stereotypical engineer)
• As I mentioned before my coding sucks and I need to face my fears
• I want to fulfill my engineering potential
• Hopefully I can help others a long the way

My personal goal

• To be able to pass any coding interview
• Be a proficient full stack dev
• Hopefully start up my own business with the skills I crafted
• Inspire others
• I want to study at least 6 hours a day, 6 times per week

What I'm going to cover

• Python coding (oop)and scripting
• Full stack development
• Networking and databases
• DevOps/SRE/System design
• Web development
  • Hopefully create some side projects a long the way
• Linux os (ubuntu/centos)
• Algorithms
  • Hack rank challenges

Not sure if thread would remain open or not since it's a "personal" one but if anyone has any questions or critiques please hit me up..

Day 1

• Python fundamentals(Python3.8)
  • Starting from scratch and going over the basics
    • If/else statements
    • Lists
    • Slices
    • Strings
    • docs.python.org/3/tutorial

 

[PikaDaDon]

Imo, I didnt get hired because of my tech skills but because I'm eager to learn and I'm a people person

1) I think you got hired because you have college degrees. For someone such as myself who is a dropout I'll have to work 10x as hard to get to where you're at. That piece of paper holds a great deal of value for some hiring companies. I personally knew a guy in Illinois who got hired for a frontend role yet.....he doesn't know any javascript (he was learning it). Only had an unrelated degree in security.

2) If I were making 'well above 6 figures' I wouldn't even be posting in thecoli. I'd be getting a rub down by two busty Asian chicks in a hotel room in Atlantic City.

3) I see the term 'DevOps' gets used frequently but personally I have no idea what that is. I've never heard a simple explanation for it.

 

[Cereal_Bowl_Assassin]

@PikaDaDon from my experience jobs in nyc and the bay area dont care about someone having a college degree. I cant speak for mid west though

lol..no comment

DevOps as a whole really isnt defined across the board imo. On the surface level it's a combination of a developer and systems operator/sys admin/operations. They automate tasks, in charge of a companies infrastructure, security, code integration and deployment, etc...but different companies want different things

 

[PikaDaDon]

Seems like some vague nebulous term. Personally I'm trying to get put on as a backend developer. Been learning java/kotin/spring boot. fukking hate the frontend. Fiddling around with CSS is no fun. I dunno maybe I could post some projects on here.

 

[Cereal_Bowl_Assassin]

Seems like some vague nebulous term. Personally I'm trying to get put on as a backend developer. Been learning java/kotin/spring boot. fukking hate the frontend. Fiddling around with CSS is no fun. I dunno maybe I could post some projects on here.

yeah it is very vague across the board. I have been n plenty of DevOps interviews where there were coding challenges and others where they didnt have any. Usually people who wind up in DevOps have had years of experience as a programmer/sysadmin because they need to know how the OS works plus know how to read code and improve it.

Frontend is definitely my weakness but there is a lot of money in it on the freelance side of things so that is something i want to get better at myself. I always tell people that they should find something they like about something they hate and make some fun with it lol...easier said than done but its a start.

But yeah, def post up some projects in the near future, that is my hope as well on here. I would like to create a website eventually and manage it using aws, jenkins, kubernetes etc. Side projects from my experience really stick out when one is interviewing.

 

[Cereal_Bowl_Assassin]

October 22nd, 2019

• Had to humble myself and really go back to the basics lol..so i started working on Git/Github because forgot some basic commands and how to fix my repos from the command line
• I purposely made mistakes so I could fix them without the use of google.
• I reviewed a video named Git fundamentals Mastery with Github and Git advanced series
  • I probably didnt need to go through git/github training again but I don't want to miss anything a long the way.
• mj31508 - Overview

 

[PikaDaDon]

Overcomplicated Frontend
I'm still trying to familiarize myself with modern web development. Back in the day all you had to learn was html/css/javascript and php to talk to a database. The LAMP stack (linux, apache, mysql, php) was the prominent tech stack for backend work. Now you have the emergence of frontend libraries that overcomplicate things, worst of all someone decided to use javascript for the backend.

Docker
You also have the emergence of containerization which is something I don't particularly understand. From my understanding docker is like a virtual machine but with many of the OS files stripped away and all that remains are the dependencies to get your app to run?

Amazon AWS
Was watching some videos on aws the other day


If I'm ever in need for cloud-based service I'd probably use something simpler like heroku or firebase. AWS's interface looks complicated. Looks like something suited for big businesses

Side projects from my experience really stick out when one is interviewing.

Perhaps, but not for large companies. The girl working at HR who has to shift through hundreds of applications doesn't have the time to look through your github account. Side projects may help when applying for small startups.

 

[Mr Rager]

In for Python stuff

And algorithms

 

[buzzkill]

OP im doing the same as you bro... I work at a small tech company doing SEO/eCommerce work with light shopify programming

im trying to level up my JS/React/Redux skills then start working with nodejs/mysql also working on DS&A to prepare for interviews to get into a high paying job. ive been practicing 5-6 days a week
im running thru the understanding the weird parts and its helping me really understand JS and now I see what is going on with React

it will be a long grind but if we keep it up all winter we should be eating by spring
lets get it

 

[MrPentatonic]

Seems like some vague nebulous term. Personally I'm trying to get put on as a backend developer. Been learning java/kotin/spring boot. fukking hate the frontend. Fiddling around with CSS is no fun. I dunno maybe I could post some projects on here.

I love CSS now that I know what the hell Im doing!

anybody that wants to get better at CSS
Advanced CSS and Sass: Flexbox, Grid, Animations and More

^^ Probably the best online course I have ever taken. I recommend this to anybody I meet who wants to get better at CSS

then after that practise by copying designs from dribbble into live sites and also by using Frontend Mentor | Front-end coding challenges using a real-life workflow.
They have site and component designs you can reimplement with HTML CSS and some JS depending on project difficulty.

Anybody who wants to go down the front end UI dev route, these will give you a solid foundation for years to come.

 

[Obreh Winfrey]

Docker
You also have the emergence of containerization which is something I don't particularly understand. From my understanding docker is like a virtual machine but with many of the OS files stripped away and all that remains are the dependencies to get your app to run?

So a traditional VM sits in a host running some OS and kernel, which runs a hypervisor on top of that, then your VM which pulls along its own OS and kernel and a bunch of other things. The idea behind containerization is just what you said. You bring in only the dependencies your application needs. You'll normally have a really stripped out OS, but no kernel because the container engine will have the host VM take care of those type of operations. It allows you to get a really svelte application packaging that is consistently deployable. For my application, it takes weeks or months to provision all of the VMs we need (shyts inefficient internally) but with containers I can deploy the entire application in less than 10 minutes, all I need is a Kubernetes cluster. Of course, there's a lot of work that is needed to get to that point, but when finished I can hand the config off to anyone, give them a command, and they could deploy the application with no issue.

Perhaps, but not for large companies. The girl working at HR who has to shift through hundreds of applications doesn't have the time to look through your github account. Side projects may help when applying for small startups.

HR won't always spend time looking, but your interviewer will, and that's the person you have to be focused on. When I get an interview scheduled you better believe I'm sifting through that person's LinkedIn, Github, Gitlab, whatever they have on there. If I can see code they've written beforehand, it helps me know if they're as capable as they try to seem on their resume.

HR is generally only involved in the initial screening and when extending an offer. Everything between is going to be handled by someone on or near the team - managers, developers, etc.

 

[Cereal_Bowl_Assassin]

Have family from Nigeria come into town unexpectedly so yesterday and today is pretty much a wash because I have to spend time with them. Will get back on the grind on friday

Edit: when they leave which is sunday now lol

 

[Freedman]

@PikaDaDon
Have you ever thought about applying for something like this. There is an IBM office down here and it's kind of my back up plan to get experience if I can't find a job after I graduate.
Software Engineer Apprentice Job in NEW YORK, NY | IBM

Who you Are
An apprenticeship is about learning. We’re seeking candidates who have the following requirements, but we know you’re just getting your career started, and we’re committed to helping you learn and grow. If you’ve had some experience with coding or development in the past, you’re exactly the type of candidate we’re looking for….

• Drive and eagerness to learn
• Strong problem solving and communication skills
• Able to work independently and take initiative, as well as work collaboratively and contribute to an agile team environment
• Some knowledge or experience in ONE or more of the following:
  • Java, JavaScript, PHP, C#, Objective-C, C/C++, Python, Ruby and/or functional languages (Haskell, Scala, F#, Clojure)
  • Design Thinking
  • Hypothesis driven development
  • Social coding
  • Agile principles
  • Container development using tools such as Docker or Vagrant
  • Application Development, DevOps automation, and the development toolchain (e.g. Travis, Jenkins, Junit, automated test tools)

 

[Cereal_Bowl_Assassin]

@PikaDaDon
Have you ever thought about applying for something like this. There is an IBM office down here and it's kind of my back up plan to get experience if I can't find a job after I graduate.
Software Engineer Apprentice Job in NEW YORK, NY | IBM

I went through the hiring process for the IBM office that's located near nyu...one of the longest interview processes I have ever gone through and others have told me the same. Nonetheless it was a company that I wanted to work for and would probably still do it of the opportunity presented itself.

@PikaDaDon I now realize that you are mainly talking about corporate jobs rather than start ups. If that is the case then I take back what I said earlier about work culture being different on each coast. I was mainly talking about start ups, the one corporate job I had as a engineer still had the old structure that most fortune 500 companies still use today

 

[Cereal_Bowl_Assassin]

October 28th, 2019

• Finished up learning about git, the commands to know, how to rebase, change the config file, how it works on a lower level and how it relates to github as a vcs
• Created a repo for my "business" idea and I will be using it as a foundation for my programming knowledge. I want to build it from the ground up and be responsible for the whole stack a long with the property security and DevOps tools.
• Now I'm moving onto python coding(a weakness of mine..coding in general)