Hitting Refresh — The Prelude.. Coming from a professional palette…
Tags: Codelikeagirl, Flatiron School, Software Engineering, Women In Tech, Ruby

Coming from a professional palette consisting of international relations, I dared to think that my life would operate differently one day. I was so consumed in a whirlwind of liaising official country-to-country affairs from an office that was infested with ugly Fujitsu ScanSnap black and white scanners, bulky vintage computer monitors, fax machines, and rooms designated for endless filing cabinets stuffed with manila folders. Needless to say, the tools I had access to manufactured very minimalistic and visually boring presentations, agendas, itineraries, website content, etc. Just one look at our materials and you would never need a sleeping pill for a day in your life.

Externally, it was all an oxymoron in comparison to the more polished narratives that we sweet talked and mainly advocated to government agencies nationwide, such as state of the art education, technologically advanced training programs, closing the gender gap, artificial Intelligence, etc. We weren’t walking the talk. I was stuck in a looming bureaucratic maze knowing that our objectives and methods were already deemed as artifacts, instead of partaking in building, innovating and engaging in modern partnerships who invest in the next best thing. When attempting to be creative with such limited knowledge and resources, I would take to Photoshop and websites/apps that allowed me to construct sophisticated and informative documents. With time, my presentation skills drew attention, and the good kind. I introduced my superiors to paperless invitation websites with tracking guest list tools, sharp designs and transferability; but to get an approval for funding was like pulling teeth. Yet, they thankfully didn’t pass up the chance and it made an outstanding impression on fellow protocol counterparts who I dealt with from other organizations. The slowly growing morale towards my soft technical skills even opened up opportunities for designing collages and invitations with companies who printed the renderings on gigantic backdrops. I even designed a wide facade mimicking a military tank for an Armed Forces Day event, but unfortunately, the finances were not supported because somebody thought that the annual hors d’oeuvres were more important. On a more positive note though, the food was good.

At the blink of an eye, the Novel Coronavirus defeated our already handicapped ability to fluidly continue our efforts at a reasonable pace. Stepping in quarantine; the work quickly became an unavoidable figment of my overheated imagination. We were haunted by the vastness of inability to attain, transfer, and share information within our network and abroad. This did not come as a surprise to me. And the cabinets filled with manila folders and documents? Those were, and still are, tucked away in our offices whilst working from home. I deemed this as a severe failure, and unlike my many of my peers, was not willing to wait until “things got back to normal”. I mean, what is normal? “Waiting” was like watching a slow crackling fire beginning to ferociously occupy a deformed space. Shrewdly enough, our managers grew ironically impatient and started exhibiting different methods of control; they couldn’t “see” us working at our desks anymore, which meant that we were all presumably snacking and binge watching our favorite shows. And while I hate to be defensive, but no, I wasn’t hooked to “Frasier” the ENTIRE time, but I was frantically looking for another job and areas of growth. In fact, we were probably the only office of the free world to not use Zoom (tag the Guinness Book of records here, and your favorite black and while movie while you’re at it).The hostility and increasingly backward work environment wasn’t stitching well with me, especially during a time where the integrity of our communications, work ethic, productivity should have at least been brought up to speed with exciting new and empathetic working patterns.

Why did I decide to join the Flatiron Software Engineering Program? Because I have a passion for meaningful impact and change. Time is of the essence and technological advancement has historically been victorious against traditional globalization trends. The archaic managerial obsessions over dress codes, gender roles, ill-judgmental comparisons and egoistic competition, 9–5 punctuality, and the nonchalance of providing progressive resources dictated a limited standard of self-development and opportunity in my life. It was a constant fight against their own vices, and the repetitive bureaucratic cues for work have proven to be illustriously overrated and outdated. As we prepare to enter a new decade that anticipates an elevated non-relinquishing of technology, craftsmanship that handles constructive creations is inevitably fundamental. People are talking in code. So here I am, learning to code.

As Software Engineering continues marvel the job market, and the beauty of it is that it is not coincidental, but intentional and calculated. I decided to dive in and take a more refreshed look into the industry. Not only are new monumental projects by companies in the works, but they are looking for experienced women. Flatiron School vocally emphasizes a community doctrine that warmly welcomes individuals of all genders, ages and walks of life. I find this approach highly impressive and accurately reflective of the mimicked environments that we will be prepared for. All of this really speaks to me. And hence, this is the beginning of a career milestone that I look forward to accomplishing. Perhaps I will look at this very blog post in ten years from now, having forgotten the amplified drive that led me to step into this new world. So to the 2030 version of my implanted microchipped self, I say this:

You’re welcome.

As for now, it’s still a pandemic-friendly year here in 2020 A.D and I had better get back to work.