Is it Really an Accomplishment?
Tags: flatiron, softwareengineering, bootcamp, coding
Published: 2021-05-04 23:50:55

    Graduating from college is a joyous occasion! Family, friends, and significant other all come out to be a part of something that is considered a huge accomplishment. It was four years of blood, sweat, and tears finally over. All of your hard work is reduced to a single piece of paper that lets employers know that you have some educational knowledge of a particular industry and If you had a internship then you have some practical experience.

     That degree gets you in the door and then you go on to do big thing in that industry and live a wonderful life! Well, that is what happens to some people at least. What about life? We all know life throws curveballs your way and changes trajectory of things. Some people have to make adjustments and it takes them longer to get to where they want to be. So the question is what does all of the things that they have done up to that point count for something?

    I am still trying to answer that question fully for myself. I came out of undergrad working for a fortune 500 company and things were slowly along. I was making decent money but was not filling fulfilled. So, I took that experience and applied to a more successful company, a fortune 250 company. I am making more money but still not filling like I was getting anything else outside of experience out of the position. When I was younger I thought it was an accomplishment to land a decent job out of college. Money and life was all that mattered to me at the time. As I got older my proprieties started to change. Making money was not as important to me than making some type impact to the company. 

    I when I was at my second company I was making relatively small impacts to the companies bottom line. That was another accomplishment under my belt. Now, what do I have to show for those accomplishments....? I did not feel like I did when I graduated college. When I apply to other companies they read about my accomplishments for companies but that is it. I feel like I was not going to be fulfilled in life if my accomplishments were for other entities and not for me. So I made the decision to quit my job to find an industry I can be fulfilled, I am making an impact on the company, and impacting the masses.

    I stumbled on a Software Engineering bootcamp called Flatiorn. It was fulltime online school that was to get me ready to be a fullstack software developer in a matter of months. It was something I invested in myself 100% in to find out if this is the industry I will thrive in and check off my goals.

     My experience at Flatiorn has been invaluable. Since I started this during the pandemic it was 100% online with me being a bit traditional when it comes to school Flatiorn does a great job with the way lectures were structured. You cannot go to the next module until you pass your reviews and those projects that you complete along the way can set up your portfolio for your job search. I feel that is my favorite thing about this program is the career assistance! Along with the outstanding career assistance there is a very active and supportive community that is all about helping you achieve you engineering goals. The instructors are very knowledgeable and there is even a non-technical coach to help for your mental health for or if those times get tough. 

    Flatiorn is not just out here to get your money. This school is one of the best in my opinion(biased). Just because they set you up to win from the start. All of the tools you need to be successful and graduate is there for you if and when you need it. It is on you to reach out to take advantage.

   Now, do I feel like this is a real accomplishment. Well, I feel a since of fulfillment, I have been given the tools to create things that can make a lot of peoples lives easier even if I was not working for a staple tech company, and I can make a great living doing it. Id say graduating from Flatiorn is the closest thing to accomplishment for me in a long time. Only time will tell.