My Self-Directed Journey to Becoming a Software Engineer Begins! 🎉 
Tags: beginners, career, codenewbie, womenintech
Published: 2020-01-10 04:07:10

*Photo by Matt Howard on Unsplash*

Hello DEV world!👋🏾

My name is Maeling and I'm currently a work-at-home and homeschooling mom with a background in Materials Science & Engineering...

that decided that 2020 is the year I officially begin my self-directed journey to becoming a software engineer!! 

## My Introduction to Coding

My [introduction to coding](https://www.maelingmurphy.com/2019/12/15/my-coding-journey-a-progresslog/) was in a highschool computer class (back in 2002) and I was amazed to see how a few lines of code could bring my very own personal web page to life! Fast forward many years, and I'm starting various blogs while picking up various HTML and CSS tidbits along the way. 

At the beginning of last year, I found myself working on a calendar-based project in Adobe InDesign that required the use of some third-party scripts that made what I was trying to do manually, a million times easier! Outside of a short tutorial here and there, I had never really focused on trying to learn JavaScript, but now my interest was peaked to the max! All of these project ideas started coming to my mind and I knew I would have to and WANTED TO learn JS to start implementing them!

Then this past December, I hear of a community called [Career Karma](https://ck.chat/afjz7v), that was created to help people learn about how to pursue a career in tech. I participated in their #21daycKChallenge that allowed me to network with people with varying levels of experience and exposed me to free learning resources so I could get started right away. They also provided information about different coding bootcamp programs as a potential path for entering the tech workforce. I ended up going through the application process for 2 coding bootcamps that had online part-time programs and was accepted, but I ultimately decided to go with the self-directed learning route as it was the best fit for me, giving me the flexibility that I need right now.

## My Self-Directed Learning Path

In order to stay focused, I decided to start my learning path with a few project-based curriculums, focusing on the fundamentals of computer science, HTML, CSS, JavaScript and Ruby. I have many other languages, courses and projects coming down the road, but I had a feeling (*and received some great advice!*) that I needed to limit myself in the beginning in order to build a good foundation and make great progress.

My Current Online Courses:
- [CS50 - Introduction to Computer Science (CS)](https://www.edx.org/course/cs50s-introduction-to-computer-science) 
- freeCodeCamp's [Responsive Web Design Certification](https://www.freecodecamp.org/learn) (HTML, CSS, JavaScript) 
- The Odin Project [Full Stack Ruby on Rails Curriculum](https://www.theodinproject.com/tracks/1)(HTML, CSS, Git, JavaScript, Ruby, CS, Job Search Advice & more!) 

I also started the [#100daysofcode](https://www.100daysofcode.com/) challenge at the beginning of this year which has really helped me be consistent with my coding routine and has been connecting me with fellow #CodeNewbies and encouragement from those further along in their journeys! 

## Learning Path Log

Because I feel like I come across a cool new book/forum/tutorial/course/etc. every 10 seconds (but seriously! 😂), I decided to create a [Learning Path Log](https://github.com/maelingmurphy/My-Learning-Path) on GitHub (*I just learned how to use Git in the terminal this week!!*) that keeps track of my learning activities and resources during this journey. 

I'll be updating it very frequently, so feel free to check it out to see what I'm up to in my journey!

## Thank You

I couldn't end this post without saying thank you to the DEV team and everyone who contributes to this platform! It has been such an amazing resource to me already and boasts a very encouraging atmosphere for all of continuous learners! I look forward to engaging more with this supportive community!

### I'm here to connect so if you have questions, advice, encouragement 😊... feel free to reach out to me here or on Twitter at [@maelingmurphy](https://twitter.com/maelingmurphy)!