Career Journal

Module 0

When you've worked towards a goal in the past, what systems or tools have been helpful for you in accomplishing that goal? How could you adapt those same systems/tools to use while at Turing?**

Teaching others the material helps solidify concepts
- Adaptation: respond to comments in the slack channel when classmates ask for help
Pre and post learning
- Adaptation: read the notes before class with questions ready; if they're not answered, follow-up after class
Creating a study space that's free of distractions
- Adaptation: keep my phone and laptop on 'do not disturb' while I'm in class
- Adaptation: don't multi-task during class time. If something comes to mind, write it on my to-do list.
Writing in my bullet journal keeps me organized and on-task
- Adaptation: find a way to use both my bullet journal and google calendar
Repitition/building muscle memory
- Adaptation: work on the ruvy-exercises

As you start this new career, what is one of your strengths and how do you know? I have quite a bit of experience in data collection, analysis, visualization, and interpretation. I've collected, entered, and performed quality control queries on both small and large ecological datasets. I've also analyzed the data and made models to write reccomendations for land management treatments, such as prescribed fire and forest thinning. While I've mainly worked with scientific data, I think my experience would translate well to back-end engineering. Furthermore, I have quite a bit of experience in data visualization, especially maps and graphs, and I can communicate complex concepts to a general audience.
Describe how you work best (conditions, environment, preferences, etc.): I've spent most of my professional career working as part of small team, so I enjoy group assignments. I also like working with my hands and I don't do well sitting in front of a computer for long periods of time, so taking breaks is important. I plan to use the pompedoro method throught Mod 0 and keep my phsysical and digital spaces organized. I also like drinking tea, using my happy light, getting up to walk around or socialize during my breaks.
As you start this new career, what is your greatest area of improvement when it comes to your professional skills? Other than some poor time management skills, I haven't had the opportunity to develop some of the profession skills that my peers in the private sector have. I've never had to bargin for a salary or ask for a raise. I've also never really networked or used social media. I choose Turing because I knew that you also focus on soft skills, so I'm looking forward to the professional development series.
How will developing a deeper understanding of your strengths and working preferences benefit you as a software developer? Developing good habits and efficient workflows will benefit me throughout my career! Additionally, a strong understanding of my strengths and weeknesses will give me a baseline for further career development. With this understanding, I'll be able to seek out opportunities to challenge myself and use the skills I've already acquired throughout my professional career.

6.Describe the vision you currently have for your career after Turing: I would like to work for a start-up, small business, or nonprofit. A start-up or small business would allow me to be a valuble member of a close-knit team. My background is in ecology, or more broadly environmental management, so I would also enjoy working for a nonprofit. Working with smaller organizations might also allow me to work full-stack and I think I would enjoy the challenge. I also like working with big datasets and I have a little bit of experience making models, so I think I would also be content working for a mid-size company if I could specialize in data analysis. I would like to work remotely or for a company in California or abroad- hopefully I'll be able to meet some of the alumni working in that area and abroad.

Module 1

Week 1: Understanding your strengths

Describe one of your strengths What is something you have learned to do well (list a skill)? I can think at a systems scale, I work well as part of a team.

What is something you know about (list some knowledge/expertise you have)? I know statistics, cartography, and ecology.

What is something you have a natural ability to do well (list a talent)? I am curious, creative, flexible, teachable, and a good leader.

Read through your Top 4 results from Pairin In your own words, what do these top 4 qualities tell you about yourself?

Imaginative-Inspirational: I'm influenced by the outside world, attuned to aesthetics, and emotions. I see the big picture.
Microscope: I'm sensitive, gentle, and introspective.
Glass window: I'm authentic and unbothered by internal descrepencies.
Lover of moderation: I give others the benefit of the doubt and I don't want to rock the boat.

Do they resonate with you? Why/why not? I think this is a bit like astrology- there will always be some aspects of every sign that I relate to, but I don't think one category can describe me perfectly. I would be interested to see what the other categories say- I bet I would be able to relate to more than one.

Imaginative-Inspirational: This describes me perfectly!
Microscope: This is accurate.
Glass window: I think this is also accurate.
Lover of moderation: This is true, but I'm also apt to speak my mind.

How do they relate to the strength you wrote about in Prompt #1? It didn't capture my analytical side, but it was fairly accurate. I'm having a difficult time translating the PARIN survey into strengths and expertise, but I think it relates to my natural abilities.

Challenges with strengths What can make it challenging to recognize your strengths? How can you work through those challenges? It's difficult to see your skills, especially when you're surrounded by people with similar skills and it's difficult to identify your natural abilities when they come naturally and you don't reflect on them. It's helpful to ask others and practice self-reflection frequently.

Do you ever see yourself overusing certain strengths? In what circumstances would you want to use them less and amplify other strengths? How could you adjust your approach in those instances? I think I'm a good team leader and a good team member. I'm happy to assume either role after assessing where others stand. I think two of my PARIN results revealed that I was honest and a lover of moderation. I think those two are at odds sometimes and I need to balance the two!

Strengths in action Write 1-2 sentences describing how you like to work (i.e., Do you pre-plan? Do you talk through your ideas first? Do you work better with deadlines? How do you stay organized? I work well with deadlines, I like talking through my ideas, and visually brainstorming or making outlines. I use my bullet journal to stay organized, but my digital files aren't organized.

How could you describe these working preferences to your project teammates? Your mentor? Your instructors? I don't know everyone's working preferences yet. Some general themes seem to be a preference towards using google to keep track of tasks, working independently, utilizing pre and post-learning, and taking notes during class.

What would you need to be aware of when working with people who have different strengths from you? Having different strengths from me is ideal! One of my strengths is being flexible and I like learning new ways of doing things.

How could your Pairin results help you better understand your everyday working preferences? While I'm at Turing I would like to work on shifting my perspective and my everyday working preferences.

Continued growth Is there any particular strength you’d like to sharpen while you’re at Turing? Any area you consider a weakness that you’d like to strengthen? I would like to learn how to be more detail-oriented, resourceful, self-disciplined, and independent.

What are some steps you could take here? Developing better time management skills by making a schedule, using the pomodoro method to stay focused and motivated, and establishing routines.

How could you be aware of progress you’re making? Use a habit tracker.

Week 2:Building Your Compass

Power of self-reflection What is challenging about self-reflection? I don't do it often because I'm busy and it's difficult to address my shortcomings.

How can you continue to build the habit of self-reflection at Turing? Reflecting on my career journal and consistently reasessing my goals after Turing. I would also like to implement the daily reflection in my bullet journal.

Social identity mapping First, create you own social identity map on a piece of paper (or print this out): Outer ring: write words that describe your given identity New Mexican +, woman +, oldest child +, white -, straight -, cis-gender -, and able-bodied -.

Middle ring: list aspects of your chosen identity Social and environemtal justice advocate +, concious consumer +, socialist +, environmentalist +, ecologist ?, agnostic ?, traveler +, self sufficient ?, health-concious ?.

Center: write your core attributes—traits, behaviors, beliefs, values, characteristics, and skills that you think make you unique as an individual. Select things that are enduring and key to who you are. I value nature +, family +, friends +, community +, art +, emotions -, honesty +, education +, freedom -, structure +, and money/security -.

After you complete your map:

Underline the items that are important to you Put a + beside the items that you believe clearly demonstrate that you fit into the tech industry Put a - beside the items that you believe do not demonstrate that you fit into the tech industry Put a ? beside the items that you’re unsure how they could show your ability to contribute to the tech industry Reflect:

What does your social identity tell you about what you already bring to the tech industry? I have a strong set of values that I'm very passionate about and I belive that I can share them with others through technology.

What would it look like for some of your minuses or question marks to turn into pluses? In other words, how could some of these traits be assets for the tech industry? If I could use my privledge to be an ally, many would become pluses.

Values mapping Pull out 5 values for each bullet below from this list:

Always valued: Nature
Often valued: Community
Sometimes valued: Money/security
Seldom valued: Travel/freedom

Reflect: What do these values tell you about yourself? I should work for a company that aligns with my values. I'm passionate about social and environmental justice, but I also value freedome and financial security.

Workview & Lifeview Summarize what good, worthwhile work means to you (Tip: this is NOT about what work you want to do but about why work matters to you): Worthwhile work benefits nature and my community, it's an opportunity for me to challenge myself and learn new things, it gives my life structure and meaning, and it allows me to work with others towards shared goals.

Lifeview: summarize what you value in life; what matters to you? Connecting with nature, supporting my community, making meaningful and lasting connections, living simply, health, rest, art and culture.

Where do your views on work and life complement each other? Both have a strong emphasis on connections to people and nature.

Where do they clash? Management structure and decision-making processes. Work detracts from family, rest, and freedom.

Does one drive the other? How? I'm usually at the mercy of my worklife, but I'm hoping to change that with this career change.

###Week 3: Habits & Accountability Systems

Habits of a Software Developer What do you think are the traits of a good software developer? What are they like in the workplace? What would you as a co-worker think of this person? Efficient, concise, resourceful, curious, patient, approachable, and excitable.

What are the habits that this person demonstrates to embody the identity of a software developer? Keeps up with evolving technology through personal development, challenges themselves, knows how to use their resources, doesn't procrastinate, reaches out to their team members and junior devs.

Who do you want to be as a software developer? What kind of behaviors do you already have in place to be that person? What behaviors would you need to put into place? How will you do that? I would like to be a good software developer as described above. I need improve my time management, utilization of resources, organization, and staying motivated to do the work!

Working on the 1st Law of Behavior Change: Make it Obvious Bring self-awareness to your current habits by making a Habits Scorecard. Make a list of your daily habits (examples: wake up, turn off alarm, check phone, etc.) as a way to bring awareness to what you do. Then, decide how effective that habit is for you and your goal of becoming a software developer. Put a + next to habits that are effective; put a - next to habits that are not effective; put a = next to habits that are neutral.

Pick 1 new habit you’d like to build and create an implementation intention following this template: “I will [BEHAVIOR] at [TIME] in [LOCATION].” Then, stack the habit onto something you already do: “After [CURRENT HABIT], I will [NEW HABIT].” (Hint: make this highly specific and immediately actionable)

At the start of every pom break I will drink water.
Every morning befor class I will look at my google calendar and write in my bullet journal. Design your environment for success: what changes could you make in your space to better implement your habit? How could you remove any triggers for bad habits? How will you implement these changes?
Create a habit tracker in my bullet journal.
Fill up my water bottle before class. Respond after a few days of this implementation: What are your results? How do you feel about this method? How will you move forward with this habit? This isn't going well- I actually forgot about it entirely. I've created the habit tracker now and I put a sticky not on my monitor to remind me.

Week 4: Creating Your Vision, Part I

Everyday life at Turing: I spend about an hour and a half getting ready for school. I wake up and check social media, make a smoothie (if I'm lucky), I haven't been wearing makeup, I get put on my sweat pants and nice shirt. At lunch I meditate if I'm lucky, make a black bean burger or toast, and try to relax. After I get off of school I either jump straight into group work or take a long dinner break and get into work after my break. How are you: Physical- I need to take some more space for time outside. I hate the smoke. Mental - I'm looking forward to having the time and money for healthy and nutritious food, to make a space for myself. Emotional - there are a lot of emotions, up and down, sucess and failure, on the boot camp train. I don't like working from home because I can't escape it. I don't like the suburbs because there's nowhere for me to go- no nature and no interesting people or shops. Love: I'm feeling supported by my boyfriend. Play: I love all of my herbs, tinctures, clothes, and stuff.

Habits Reflection: How have you seen yourself become more aware of your habits? Have you tried implementing anything new? What have the results been? Implementing new habits has not been going well because I've been very busy in the last couple of weeks. I also haven't been taking as many pom breaks, so I haven't been drinking water. My bullet journal hasn't been as organized because my list of things to do is so long.

Start Where You Are (Empathize with the user -- you) Health: how you answer “how are you”; intersection of physical, mental, and emotional health How would you rate your overall health on a scale of 1-5? How do you currently make time for activities associated with your health? What is a small change you could make here to readjust your health ratings? My physical health is a 3, my mental health is a 2, and my emotional health is a 4. To improve my health:

I can spend time outside in the sunlight.
I can take my vitamins.
I can make a smoothie in the morning.
I can walk the dog.

Work: What you do Make a short list of all the ways you work right now; How much value do each of those things bring to your life? How are those activities purposeful for you? I work on my Turing homework and classes. I also do normal household chores and I don't have time for much else. Doing household chores is essential for aspect of my health.

Play: what brings you joy? Think about joy just for the pure sake of doing it; everyone benefits from this kind of play What activities do you do that bring you joy throughout an average week? In what ways could you make a small change to bring more joy into your life? I like traveling, spending time with friends and family, eating good food, spending time outdoors, and learning new things. All of these things are essential for my my physical, menthal, and emotional health.

Love: sense of connection; who are the people who matter in your life and how is love flowing to and from you and them? How does love currently show up in your life? How do you show love to others right now? What adjustments would you like to make in this area? Spending time with my partner, talking to my friends and family on the phone, and making new friends. I've been enjoying the donuts groups to meet new people and I've been trying to stop coding at 9:00 so I can spend time with my partner.

Looking back at the 4 areas, do any problems emerge that you want to begin designing solutions for? I think I've been doing a good job of finding time for joy in small doses. It's not possible to do some of the things I love, like traveling during the pandemic. I should make a list of the things I would like to do during my break!

Define your needs, problem, and insights: Based on what you wrote about above and your group conversation, what problems have you identified that you'd like to design solutions for? What do you already about what you want for your career? What do you still need to find out? Who or what do you want to grow into by the end of the Turing program? I can't think of any solutions I would like to implement. I think I'm doing all I can to find time for the people and things I care about.

Ideate -- challenge assumptions When you discussed software developers with your small group on Monday, what assumptions came up about what software developers actually do? What steps could you take to challenge those assumptions and find more facts to answer the question of what developers do? In addition to what a typical software developer life could look like, what do you want yours to include? We actually didn't know very much about the day-to-day responsabilities of software developers. Talking with my mentor gives a glimpse at what he does and I'm looking forward to the job shadow in the future. I could also watch some youtube videos and continue meeting with other developers for donuts. I would like my data-to-day work life to be collaborative and I'd like to work for a company that has similar values to me.

Prototype -- start creating solutions What is the basic threshold that your new career must meet after Turing? What would you hope WILL NOT happen in your future after Turing? What is your absolute, no-holds-barred, ideal dream for your future after Turing? I want to work for a non-profit that helps people and the environment. I'd like to get a job in Santa Fe, NM or somewhere in northern CA. I'd like to be able to bike to work and occasionally work from home. I'd like a job that I can about 40hrs a week with weekends off. I would like my workload to be dynamic and challenging.

Test –- solutions Based on this week of reflections, write out your initial vision statement for your career: I'd like to work in a dynamic and fulfilling career that helps people and the environment.

Week 5: Creating Your Vision, Part II

Habits Reflection:

Habits Reflection: How have you seen yourself become more aware of your habits? Have you tried implementing anything new? What have the results been? I haven't been keeping up with my habit tracker, but I have formed new habits I haven't tracked. These include checking my slack/email, eating healthier because I can make my lunch at home, I've been able to keep my space relatively clean and organized, I've reached out to friends and family members when I have free time, and I've been trying to take time to drink tea and wind down before bed.
Design Thinking Reflection: Cultivating Beginner’s Mind How can beginner’s mind be helpful when it comes to thinking about your career and job search? What are some habits you could put into place to cultivate beginner’s mind regularly? A beginners mind keeps me curious and I'm excited when I learn new things even if it's something small, like a new method. A beginners mind helps with burnout and I know I can make mistakes because I'm still learning.
Go through the Flower Exercise brainstorming worksheets linked here. Then complete your Flower Exercise final worksheet here and link that finished worksheet here. Flower exercise
Write out your top 5 strengths that you've seen in action this module; then write out the strengths of a software developer. Where do you see these lists overlapping? Where are they different? My strengths:

GRIT/DETERMINATION - I've been able to work long hours and overcome challenges.
HELPFUL - I've made friends and we've been able to help each other with code.
EFFICIENT - I've been practicing my keyboard shortcuts and getting faster at coding and problem solving.
LOGICAL THINKING - My logical thinking has improved.
RESOURCEFUL - I've used google a lot and I've been able to figure things out on my own.

Helpful, efficient, and resourceful are some of my strengths I think a software developer should have!

Write a refined vision statement here (what new things have you discovered this week to incorporate into your vision statement?): Create more inclusive and equitable spaces, while addressing climate change and environmental degredation.

Module 2

Week 1: Building Habits to Become a Software Developer, Part II

Reflect on your habits from last module. What behaviors and activities were helpful for you? What activities and behaviors could be more effective for you? What processes would you like to try differently this module to become more effective at your work and as a software developer? Last module I was good at consistently reaching out to my mentor, meeting with Krista, and meeting for a weekly donut. I was also good at working on my career journal weekly and eating healthy. There are some habits I tried to create last module that I won't attempt again this module, I simply don't have time to exercise. I was incredibly lost when it came to the content last module, so this module I want to develop habits that will help me understand the concepts and gain muscle memory through practice.
Setting intentions for this module: who do I want to be this module? What specific habits would help me get there? How are those habits tied to the identity of a software developer? In addition to learning more about software development, this module I would like to be more organized and start networking. Daily habits:

Look at my bullet journal everyday before and after class
Pre and post learning for every lesson
Clean up my work space before going to bed every night
Make my bed every morning
Read a book before going to bed every night Weekly habits:
Work on my career journal every week
Meet with a donut every week
Meet with Krista every week
Reach out to my mentor at least once a week
Leetcode practice every week

Incorporate temptation bundling to create a new habit by using this template:

After waking up, I will look at my bullet journal while I'm still in bed.
I will look at my bullet journal and read the next day's lesson plan while I'm looking at my phone before falling asleep or I will read Practical Object-Oriented Design.

How to enjoy “hard” habits: Reframe your habits to consider their benefits rather than their drawbacks; name 3 habits that you have to do and explain the benefits of them. How do they further your goals longterm? How will they add to your processes as a successful developer? At the end of the day, how do they add to your life?

Leetcode practice will help me be prepared for technical interviews.
Meeting with donuts will help me network and find a job.
Cleaning up my space will improve my mood and help me feel inspired to stay more organized.
Working on my career journal every week will ensure that I don't spend any valuable time at the end of the module working on my career journal.

Environment design (optional 5-min. additional reading: Motivation is Overvalued. Environment Often Matters More): how does your environment set-up currently help you with your habits? How could it be improved to make it easier for you to follow through on your habits?

Take my bullet journal to bed with me every night
Set my pre-class alarm back a couple of minutes to give me time to make my bed
When I make my bed, put my ruby book on my pillow

“When you start a new habit, it should take less than two minutes to do.” Read this 4-min article on how to stop procrastinating. Apply the 2-minute rule to reframe 2-3 of your habits by scaling them down into the 2-minute version. How does this reframing help you think about shaping your new identity as a software developer? I like this idea! I'm must be the only person still procrastinating at Turing. I think I can make time for a two minute habit even when I'm this busy.

Mod 2 Week 2: Professional Storytelling & Branding

Assess your habits from week 1: how did you spend your time this past week? What was effective in your habits? What could be more effective? What steps will you take to make that happen? I looked at my bullet journal frequently during class, I made my bed a couple of times, I read a little bit of my ruby book, and I met with a donut. I should've done more this week since I had more time now than I will at the end of the module.
Write a draft of your professional story here as 1-2 paragraphs. Focus on answering the questions who are you, why are you here, and what’s next? Consider how to talk about your motives and values, the turning points that led to your career change, and what you envision for yourself going forward.

I've always been drawn to technology, data science, and logical thinking. My bacehlors has an in geographic information systems, which really got me started working with pretty neat software and I'm really interested in data visualization. I spent the last decade working for the National Park Service as an ecologist. Through that experience, I learned a lot about data science, which allowed me to build a strong foundation for logical thinking. During my masters I started coding using a statistical software package called R. I was amazed by what I could do, especially when I compared it to what my coworkers could do in excel! Around this same time, I started thinking about moving up in my field, but with such a limited number of jobs in this field, I would have to wait another decade for someone to vacate an a position and then compete with applicants who had their PhD. When faced with the reality of getting my doctorates, I decided that a career change was in my best interest. Fortunately I found Turing, a 7-month coding boot camp. I'm almost halfway through the program and I'm loving it! I've especially enjoyed paired programming and writing documentation. Ultimately, I would like to work in civic tech, so I know that what I'm building can help people and the environment.

Update your LinkedIn profile with the following: updated photo/headshot, headline, summary statement using your story, and Turing added to your experience and education sections. Include a link to your profile here in the journal. Remember the guidelines and tips from the lesson here. https://www.linkedin.com/in/hanna-davis/
What other steps will you take this week to update your branding or practice your story? I will make a shorter version of my professional story for my linked in and during the intermission I'll try to get a professional head shot.

Week 3: Job Search Strategies

Assess your habits from week 2: how did you spend your time this past week? What was effective in your habits? What could be more effective? What steps will you take to make that happen? I've been managing to make my bed and clean up my desk occasionally. Otherwise, I've neglected most of my habits.
Reflect on how you’ve spent your time so far at Turing to gauge your engagement and energy: When have you been excited, focused, and enjoyed your work? When have you felt bored, restless, or unhappy? When do you feel energized in your work? When is your energy drained? I feel energized and focused when I'm working on a paired project, when the wins and losses are shared. My energy is drained when I have to sit through a long lessons or work in large groups where my voice isn't heard. I feel focused and accompished when I write concise, organized code and I also like feeling like there's bit of a time curnch.
Setting up habits and routines to make time for the job search this module:

Block out time on your calendar this week to work on your job search. When will you make this happen? How will you hold yourself accountable to this? What activities will you focus on during this time this week? What outcomes do you hope to reach by the end of this week because of these activities? I plan to start most of my meetings during the two-week intermission, but I've already started my research. I will use PD work time to network.

Applying wayfinding to using job search resources

Go through the resources listed here and explore 2-3 tools. List what you looked at here: I looked at the Builtin website, but didn't find anything helpful. I did find searching linkedin helpful!
Apply wayfinding: of what you looked at, what did you discover that aligns with your vision? If it didn’t align with your vision, what will you try next? Decide what tools to bookmark to explore later. I found some people on linked in that have a similar professinal background to me, so I can hopefully assume that they hold the same values. I bookmarked their profiles and plan to reach out.
Find a job posting that aligns with your vision. What’s the posting? How does it align with what you’re looking for? Add it to your Huntr. I found [this job]!(https://techjobsforgood.com/jobs/4550/) on the tech jobs for good website. I chose this position because it the company focuses on climate change adaptation by mapping out flood-risk areas. Although it requires languages I don't have experience with, I do have experience with geospatial information technologies!
What next steps will you take to explore that opportunity and find contacts? Add that information to your Huntr card. I followed the company on linkedin and I might reach out to one of their employees.

Week 4: Building Habits to Become a Software Developer, Part III

In week 4, you’ll have a job experience activity with employers. The next two prompts are designed to help you both prepare and reflect on that experience:

Prepare for Job Experience: AEIOU

Activities: what questions do you have about the activities that a software developer does on a daily basis?
How much time do you actually spend coding?
What's something Turing doesn't teach you?
Environment: what questions do you have about the overall environment and culture of this workplace?
Would you consider your workplace inclusive and equitable?
How much time do you spend pairing?
Interactions: what questions do you have about the team at this company? What do you hope to learn during this experience?
Does your job help people or the environment?
Do you find your job fulfilling?
Objects: what questions do you have about the code or the product?
What languages do you know and how long did it take you to learn them?
Users: what questions do you have about how the company interacts with their users?
Do you work full-stack or completely back-end?
After the Job Experience, reflect on the same questions; what are your takeaways from the activity?
To be frank, I found the work he did to be incredibly boring. I had a bit of a career crisis after this presentation- this is not what I want to do with my life.
Activities: what was engaging to the person/people you met with?
They knew a lot about networking!
Environment: what did you notice about how they talked about the culture and environment of this company?
He knew he wanted to work at his current company and he really enjoys his work!
Interactions: what did you notice about your interactions with this person/people?
I don't really know how to answer this because we didn't really interact, it was more of a presentation and I didn't ask any questions.
Objects: what did you learn about their approach to code and/or product development?
He references past projects and reworks code to fit the current problem! I also learned that you can put raw SQL into ruby.
Users: what did you learn about their approach to their users? I don't think he interacts with users.
What are your main takeaways from the shadow? How will you use this information to help you with your job search strategy?
- I want to work at a start-up to mid-sized company.
- I want to work full-stack.
- I want to work for a company that aligns with my values!
Assess your habits from week 3: how did you spend your time this past week? What was effective in your habits? What could be more effective? What steps will you take to make that happen?
Well, I haven't really been following through with my habits. I joined a leetcode group, but I haven't had time practice. I've continued to network, but I've been really disorganized.
Implement a reiforcement strategy: to make one of your habits more satisfying, what is a reward you can give yourself immediately after completing the habit? How will this reward encourage you to continue completing that habit?
I can't think of any small rewards to give myself, but after Monster Shop is complete, I'm looking forward to seeing my brother.
“Don’t Break the Chain”: Use a habit tracker
I have a habit tracker in my bullet journal, but I haven't been keeping up with it.
What is a habit that you want to make sure to do every day? How could you visually cue yourself to complete it (i.e., moving a paper clip)? How can you visually track it each time you’ve completed it? Could you automate the tracking? How will you do that? I think the pom breaks are a great time to challenge myself to complete small goals like stretching, drinking water, and eating a healthy snack.
How to get back on track when missing a habit: if you miss a day or two of completing your habit, how will you get yourself going again?
I don't have the answer to this because I haven't been able to form or maintain habits. I keep trying though! A little bit is better than never.
Pick an accountability partner (your cohort accountabilibuddy, your mentor, a close friend, etc.) and create a habit contract with them. How often will you check in with each other? How will they hold you accountable?
Our leetcode group can keep me accountable. We currently setting up a time to meet.

Week 5: Outreach & Networking I

Review your habit tracker: how did you monitor your habit(s)? What does this tell you about your overall progress becoming the person you want to be? In general, how satisfied are you with how you spent your time this module? What could be improved next module?
I haven't kept up with my habits this week, but I plan to spend the break preparing for Mod 3 and I can continue habit building over break.

Mind Maps:

Engagement. What did you reflect on last week in regards to when you’re engaged in your work at Turing? Pull out an idea that resonates with you most (e.g., “Talking through a problem with a partner,” “The moment when I solve a problem that I previously didn’t know how to do,” “Setting up a successful project management process for my team”) and break that idea down into parts and make a list (what are all the steps that go into that moment? When do you get to use your strengths? What is fun about this?).
I like pairing and talking through problems with my partner. I like receiving feedback on my ideas and I like watching other developers thought process.
Energy. What did you reflect on last week in regards to when you feel most energized in your work at Turing? Pull out an idea that resonates with you most and break that idea down into parts and make a list (what are all the steps that go into that moment? When do you get to use your strengths? What is fun about this?).
I feel most energized when there's a time crunch or a sense of urgency. I don't feel that I do my best work when I feel rushed, but I can accomplish a lot.
Flow. When have you had an experience recently in which you were in a state of flow? You can also think about this as “joy” or “play.” Pull out an idea that resonates with you most and break that idea down into parts and make a list (what are all the steps that go into that moment? When do you get to use your strengths? What is fun about this?).
I like planning; taking a big problem and breaking it down into smaller parts. It's fun to see it come together.
Prototype your mind maps: what do these mind maps tell you about what’s important to you as a software developer? What questions do they bring up about what you still want to learn about this career?
I know that I want to be in a position where we have regular pairing and I'm part of a small team.

Prototype your outreach:
-Who comes to mind as a person you can reach out to? Why that person? What questions would you ask them?

My mentor
- Questions about technical interview prep
Turing's professional development team
- Questions about companies and where to find jobs.
Turing alumni
- Questions about their job.
How would this outreach help you further your job search strategy?
It will help me understand what employers are looking for
Outreach & Networking Plan: Based on your reflections above, create a concrete plan for your outreach:
Who is the right person for you to reach out to?
People who are in positions that I'm interested in.
How will you find them? How do you know they’re the right person?
I can find jobs on the job boards, and then find the employees on linkedin.
How will you reach out?
I will reach out via linkedin or slack if they're a Turing alumni.
What questions do you need to ask them?
How did you get your first software development job?
What do you wish you knew you first started?
How will you use this information to further your solution?
Build better habits and continue to reach out.
How will you follow up?
Send a thank you note. Execute your plan:
Reach out to your contact THIS WEEK. If possible, reach out to more than one person OR find a meetup to attend also. What happened? What other next steps should you take? If this is a person connected to a company you’re interested in, be sure to add it to your Huntr card.
I reached out to someone last week and I plan to do more over break.

Module 3

Intermission Work

Please list the top 3-5 industries and companies you'll pursue in your job search as of right now.

Environmental Non-Profit
Social Justice Non-Profit
Government
Scientific Research
Geographic Information Systems

Why did you pick the industries/companies that you listed above? How do they relate to the values and goals you have for yourself in your job search? I'm interested in environmental and social justice because they align with my values. My background is in government work and scientific research and I think the services it provides are valuable. My bachelors degree is in Geographic Information Systems and I have experience with cartographic software.
How does your LinkedIn currently reflect your goals and industry interests? What changes will you need to make to your LinkedIn to better reflect these? My linkedin is pretty sparse, so I'll need to add some more information about myself.

Mod 3 Week 1: Professional Storytelling II: Resumes & Portfolios

Refine your career vision: What are the values that will drive your job search? What are your goals for your job search? What kind of role do you see yourself pursuing in your job search? Based on your latest version of your career vision, list the top 3-5 industries and companies you’ll pursue in your job search as of right now. Why did you pick these industries/companies? How do they relate to the values and goals you have for yourself in your job search? I want to work for a nonprofit or a B-corp- I want the company to value it's employees and have a mission that includes helping people or the environment.
Build your resume

What will you emphasize in your resume that directly relates to your targeted industries? Previous job experience that helps people and the environment Link to Resume

Upload your resume to CV Compiler by following these steps:

Go to https://cvcompiler.com/students/turingschool
Click on “Improve Your Student Resume”
Authorize it with either LinkedIn or GitHub
Fill out the fields with your Name and Email and the promo code Turing2005
Upload your resume
Based on the feedback you received from CV Compiler, what updates will you make to your resume? I fixed some typos and addded some technical skills!

Set up your Turing Alumni Portfolio:

Log in with the link you got in your email. Going forward, log in at alumni.turing.io/user
Fill out all fields
Select “publish” before saving (projects must also have “published” selected)
Reflection questions:
What do you want this portfolio to say about you? I some personal details about myself and my background in my description. I mentioned the kind of work I'm interested in and my strengths.
How will you continue to add to this to portray your story and showcase the kind of work that demonstrates your brand? I'll add more projects as a I continue to make them.

Ian’s workshop this week is designed to help you break down your interest in specific industries even further by exploring their tech stacks to decide if you want to utilize any of their tools in upcoming projects. Make a copy of his template here and post a link to your copy here to show what research you’ve completed. You can also link this research to your Huntr board. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/15-hNzNaTFAtItNHOk2onKnEFNSshTRnvFtot0P8MeOw/edit?usp=sharing

Mod 3 Week 2: The Application Process

Find a position or use a position you’ve put on your Huntr board and write a cover letter for that position in a Google doc or gist. Reference these cover letter resources as well as the session to complete your cover letter. Position Description
Review your cover letter with a peer some time this week. What feedback did your partner give you? What next steps will you take to make your cover letter even stronger? https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xPpnfz2iwv8spsMIosd8_YLo8PcMVblCMUBjLnizgUQ/edit?usp=sharing I asked me mentor and he gave me some general feedback and said I needed more content in the last paragraph. He liked that my personality shined through and the fun facts.
If you were to apply to this position (and you should!), how will you customize your resume for it? What other next steps would you need to take here? Emphasize general environmental outcomes from my previous job.

Mod 3 Week 3: Outreach & Networking II

Back to your resume and cover letter you’ve been working on: What other next steps do you want to take to make these two components stronger? Update resume with my most recent projects. Write a readme for a personal proejct I did before coming to Turing because so I can put it on my resume. Get more people to review it.
Outreach Brainstorming: Either explore the company you wrote a cover letter for or find a new company to explore this week; Go to their company LinkedIn page and start to explore the employees. Who are a couple people you could reach out to? Why? There were two engineers that work there, but their profiles aren't very informative. I'm going to see if either of them have posted anything on medium and I'll reach out to the senior dev via linkedin.
I also spent some time looking at engineers that work at iNaturalist. Interestingly, they didn't have a very sciencey background and they had worked at some large companies. I'm also going to reach out to them.
Finalize Your Plan: Who have you decided to reach out to? Why that person? How will you contact them? What do you want to talk to them about? How will you follow up?
The Full Harvest position is a full stack engineer, so I'm wondering if I'm qualified! I spend a lot of time working on the FE of our consultancy project and really enjoyed it, so I think I would like working full stack.
Execute your plan: Reach out to your contact THIS WEEK. If possible, reach out to more than one person OR find a meetup to attend also. What happened? What did you learn about the company? What other next steps should you take for pursuing this company? Be sure to update this in Huntr. In addition to reaching out to the Full Harvest engineers I'll be attending a Women Who Hack event for Albuquerque, NM. As I previously mentioned, I can look for them on Medium and twitter.

Mod 3 Week 4: Interview Prep

Prepare for Job Shadow: AEIOU

Activities: what questions do you have about the activities that a software developer does on a daily basis? How do they stay connected to the mission and the end user?
Environment: what questions do you have about the overall environment and culture of this workplace? Did you feel prepared for this position after graduating from Turing? What advice would you give a new junioer dev?
Interactions: what questions do you have about the team at this company? What do you hope to see in your interactions during the shadow? What does your day-to-day look like? What are the company values?
Objects: what questions do you have about the code or the product? What's the tech stack?
Users: what questions do you have about how the company interacts with their users? How do you feel about partnering with large corporations that don't adequately compensate their employees?

After the Job Shadow, reflect on the same questions; what are your takeaways from the shadow?

Activities: what was engaging to the person/people you shadowed? She was very knowledgable and open to answer all of my questions :) I think her position is cool because she gets to work on some of the customer-facing projects.
Environment: what did you notice about how they talked about the culture and environment of this company? She really likes the company. She works on a small team and they seem to be really supportive of her continued learning.
Interactions: what did you notice about your interactions with this person/people? I liked the Q&A session. It seems like the developers who've worked at other companies really like their work here.
Objects: what did you learn about their approach to code and/or product development? Assume that you know nothing.
Users: what did you learn about their approach to their users? One person said she like filling tickets because you see a persons name and get to connect with the end user.
What are your main takeaways from the shadow? How will you use this information to help you with your job search strategy? It seems like an awesome place to work! They're looking for interns and I will definitely be applying. Tyler, a Mod 4 instructor used to work at Guild, so I can ask him to look over my resume.

Interview Prep:

Pick a successful project and write about it with the STAR method (What was the situation/scenario of the project? What was the task/target of the project? What action steps did you take? What were the results?): Situation: Set the scene and give the necessary details of your example. Task: Describe what your responsibility was in that situation. Action: Explain exactly what steps you took to address it. Result: Share what outcomes your actions achieved.

My most recent project Relocate, was an app for users that recently moved to a new place. We set them up with a variety of services like utilites, recreation, home services, and events. We had a 10 person team, and I set up our yelp microservice and did the front-end styling. It was my first time working with bootstrap and I really enjoyed it, and as someone who works mostly back-end it's nice to see immeidate and tagible results! We ended up presenting our project at our schools demo comp and got a lot of great feedback.

Write about a time you failed and what you learned from that experience: I recently recieved feedback on a project where I designed a back-end API to help users plan a roadtrip. I was tasked creating accounts, logging users in, and consuming 3 outside APIs. I passed the assignment, but I learned a lot about sad path during this project! Requesting for road trips that took mutliple days and were unable to be completed with just driving were returning 500 responses. To fix this I reduced my numer of API calls, and sent back helpful 400 responses.
Write about how you’ve approached working with a team using a specific example: Being a supervisor taught me how to be a better teammember and being an intern taught me how to treat my teammebers. I'm really flexible and patient. There are a lot of ways to do something and my way of doing them is not always right! I always try to learn from my teammembers.
What other stories will you prepare to share? Mission-driven outcomes in my old job.
Do some research into your top companies’ tech stacks; what do you already know? What can you compare to your own learning? What do you need to learn more about? I need to learn python and MySQL.
Using this interview prep resource doc, pick out at least 3 resources you will use to prepare for interviews as well as 3 behavioral questions you could practice:

Mod 3 Week 5: Refining Your Strategy

Taking stock of where you are: what have you accomplished this module? What have you learned? Where are you stuck (have you not been able to follow through on outreach? Is your resume not finished?)? My resume and cover letter have been updated. The Full Harvest position is still up and I intend to apply and do outreach over break. Here's my plan:

Continue to update job search template as I found out more about what I'm looking for in a company
Continue to update Turing alumni portfolio with new projects
Put resume through one of the job keyword search algorithms
Write a readme for my R project and sweater_weather

Create plans for 3 different companies you want to target:

Questions to reflect on here: Why do you like this company? What makes you want to work there? Why are you a good fit for this company? What do you bring to the company? What transferable skills do you have? What do you already know about the company (product, team, culture, company size, location, etc.)? What do you need to learn?
Steps to take:
- Outreach: look at the company’s LinkedIn page: who could you reach out to? What questions do you want to ask that person?
- Experience: once you’ve made a connection at the company, how could you find out more? Consider setting up a job shadow or exploring their tech stack in your projects
Read back over the plan. How does it reflect your vision?
Imagine that you get the job. A year later, what have you gained from this experience? How have you started to fulfill your vision? Plan #1: Guild: Write a cover letter, reach out to my contact at Guild and figure out which team is hiring interns. Ask Mod 4 instructors to look at my resume and cover letter.

Plan #2: Full Harvest: Ask a friend to review my resume and cover letter.

Plan #3: iNaturalist: Contact developers on linkedin.

Make it actionable: rank each plan on a scale of 1-5 for how much your plan aligns with the following:

Available resources to help you pursue it: contacts, time, knowledge of the company, etc.
Coherence: how it aligns with your career vision
Confidence level: how feasible does this feel to you?
How excited you are about it?
Now, pick the plan with the highest numbers across the board. What steps will you take next to pursue this strategy as you go into the next module?

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