Thread by @TheLexTimes

I start a new job as a Software engineer at Ticketmaster today. It may not mean much to you, but it means a lot to me because of what it took to get here:

It took trying to launch two tech companies & failing back in the early 2010’s.

#WhatItTookToGetHere

It took going to @HackForLA in 2014 with zero knowledge of code and pairing with the awesome @machikoyasuda(I found the data and she built the app) to build Map My Snaps and winning 4th place.

#WhatItTookToGetHere

It took signing up for General Assembly’s coding bootcamp, which @machikoyasuda recommended at the time. Borrowing 2k from my aunt & crowdfunding my tuition to get in since I couldn’t get a loan because my family members damaged my credit score.

#WhatItTookToGetHere

It took pitching to over 300 journalists to cover my crowdfunding story while in the coding bootcamp, so I could raise enough money to pay my tuition.

#WhatItTookToGetHere

It took struggling the entire time while I was in the bootcamp and getting ridiculed because I followed a tutorial for one of my projects. Also, I worked so much at the time that I developed repetitive stress injury(RSI) in my hands.

#WhatItTookToGetHere

It took having my pay reduced by 32% because I was “too junior” at an early job with no mentors. It took getting laid off from this job after I requested to have my old pay reinstated. At this same job, the senior reported me for asking a basic question.

#WhatItTookToGetHere

It took learning how to build a server from scratch at my first job and then accidentally running “Sudo chmod 777 / -R” on the server.

#WhatItTookToGetHere

It took dealing with imposter syndrome every damn day and reading articles by other developers who admitted to struggling with learning to code. I still have the links in my pocket.

#WhatItTookToGetHere

It took taking a temp contract job with no seniors again that paid minimum wage.

#WhatItTookToGetHere

It took applying to over 388 companies to get a new job even after having a year’s worth of experience and even begging to work as an intern. I’d send emails like this out:

#WhatItTookToGetHere

It took having Chad at C5 stay with me the entire night to help me finish a quiz I had to complete the next day.

Reason being: I thought it was good idea to use React/Redux at the time even tho I didn’t understand it, so we had to redo it using Knockout.

#WhatItTookToGetHere

It took failing technical interview after interview until I started to study.
I also once failed a coding challenge because I left my API keys in a repo.

#WhatItTookToGetHere

It took contributing to 13 open source packages and reading programming blog posts/articles every day.

#WhatItTookToGetHere

Lastly, it took engineers like @dunlapcj @krainboltgreene @machikoyasuda, Ethan Chen, Jeremy Hoffing, Jordan Fowler, @jennifermarie and every other engineer I’ve worked/known with who was/is better than me that encouraged and believed in me. Thank you. I owe you the world.