From General Laborer to Coder
Published: 2023-11-27 17:36:28



Well here I am! Started this program on September 11, 2023 and its hard to believe that in 4 short weeks it’ll be done. I graduated high school in 2004 and just wandered for years going from job to job. I had gone to a trade school for the last 2 years of high school for Administrative Office Specialist, but could never find a job in the field. After that I got my STNA certification and started working in nursing homes. Honestly I loved working with the elderly, but the jobs expected in the amount of time given is all but impossible.

 Then I got pregnant and couldn’t continue my duties, and life so I moved back home. I did retail/grocery for years, which was awful on the worst days and tolerable on the best. After working in retail/grocery for years I started working at a drug rehab as a psych tech. It felt good to work there, I felt like I was helping people and maybe making a small difference in other people’s lives. Unfortunately life happened again, I was in a bad situation and had to leave the area. So I left the area with my kids and moved to a new town to start over.

First job after moving was a factory job in the area making car parts. It was hot and miserable, that was just the small things. The job was originally supposed to be 3rd shift, but I was told I’d have to stay on 2nd shift. I had young children that needed their mom home in the evenings, so that didn’t last a week. After that I got a job as a chef in a nursing home, which I was absolutely no good at. Then I got a factory job that I didn’t hate, the summers were the worst because of the ovens and it not being air conditioned.

I was there for almost 3 years when covid hit, and completely messed up everything. The factory I worked for printed promotional and things for gatherings. A lot of people got laid off and I was one of them unfortunately, so I stayed home for a while and waited like everyone else. Finally things started to calm down a little and I got a call back, so back to work I went. Work was so slow, most days you couldn’t get 8 hours because there just wasn’t enough work and after a few months I was laid off again. I was called back again after a couple months, but was already looking for better jobs by then.

At this point in time I was no longer looking for jobs other than factory. Prices were going up, and factories usually pay the best and we were already struggling. I went to another factory with better pay, and 40 hour weeks. Life decided to smack me around again I’m sad to say. Due to family issues and the distance of that job from home I had to leave and start job hunting again. I found another job at another factory that I stayed at for a year. 

Except for 3 things I really did love this job. They loved to keep us over whenever a product that was due out didn’t get finished, the pay just wasn’t enough, and while I was there I had SEVERE headaches. Come to find out after I quit, the fumes from the various chemicals we worked with were the cause. After that I worked at another factory briefly, until they started implementing mandatory over time every Saturday. At this point in time in my life I am severely burnt out, I have no energy for anything outside of work and taking care of my kids. There was another family emergency, that was worst than the previous. I quit that job and moved on to another one. 

I found another factory job that I disliked as much as the others and trudged along. Tired, burnt out, work, home, kids, supper, sleep, and repeat. I couldn’t do it anymore, I was unhappy, struggling to make decent money just to live, tired of having no life, tired of not being able to give my kids a better life. I started looking around on the internet, poking around for jobs I could do from home. Most of those are scams…. I think 99% of them are probably scams, and I didn’t have the money most of them wanted to get started.

Computers, technology, I’ve always loved working on computers, just working with new technologies in general. I was always the person everyone went to when they were having problems with their devices. I decided I wanted to build websites, apps, or help others maintain theirs. I can work from home and be wherever and still work. Now I hadn’t been on an actual computer in YEARS, but I was going to make this happen. 


I leaped with the help of my wonderful, supportive girlfriend. She bought me a medium grade laptop and encouraged me to get started. I started researching different coding academies and landed on this one. I started doing the prework, after getting halfway through I decided this was for me and started to apply. Unfortunately, I have not lived the best life and as such my credit is not good. Luckily, I have 2 amazing parents that have been helping me financially on this journey and also encouraged me.

I started my journey into software engineering. It has not been easy, but I’ve put forth my best efforts. I’ve learned so much… HTML, CSS, JavaScript, React, Python, SLQ, Flask…….sometimes it all just bogs down my brain. I’m getting there though!! I’ve made it through Phases 1-3 thus far and am in the last week of Phase 4. So it’s a work in progress still, but in the final stages! I’m excited and anxious, wondering and worrying about what will be next. I’m ready for this new journey in my life.