💡Quality Insight: Why 🫵 Should Share Your Career Journey

Last week, I realized that I’ve been in tech for nearly 10 years.

A stay-at-home mom who knew nothing about building websites signed up for a 12-week coding boot camp thanks to President Obama coming to Louisville and talking about the program on the radio.

At the time, I was working as a Playground Monitor for a local church. I was making $10 an hour. I was trying to figure out how to start a career when I’d never finished college. On my way to work, I turned on the radio and heard then-President Obama talk about a program called Code Louisville. I took a voice note with my phone and later signed up for my first boot camp. I was part of the May 2015 cohort.

I had no idea how much that decision would change my life.

I went from a college dropout who felt lost in the world to a person who discovered she had the skills and the ability to grow in an ever-changing industry. I met women in tech who I admired, teachers who showed me that it was okay to ask questions and classmates who had one desire: to change their life. We transformed. In fact, I completed two coding boot camps and shortly after the second session, got my first job as a QA.

So much can change in 10 years.

I did. So can you.

But, why write about it? Truthfully, I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember. I started keeping journals at age 11. I wrote blog posts in the early 2000s. I spent years trying to find ways to express myself but never really had an audience. It’s always been me, trying to figure out the world.

Oddly enough, that’s why I write today.

Why do I write? 

I can’t help it. I feel a deep need to share my experience. Hopefully what I create is valuable. That is still to be seen.

Why do I write Failure is Feedback?

Mostly, I got tired of writing documentation for other organizations only to leave them behind as my life transitioned. That sucked. I wanted to carry what I created with me.

As I wrote, I found value in documenting the roadblocks I ran into when programming. If I wrote about it and kept it in one place, I would know where to look for it the next time.

What I didn’t expect was how fun it would be - listening to music each Wednesday and writing down my thoughts. I enjoy creating all of my posts, from the very silly to incredibly serious.

What I also didn’t expect was the connections I’d make. Creating in a corner all alone is not enough. Having the privilege to read and share the stories of others has only expanded my experience. There are moments where I am in awe of the people I know and the resources they share. As we create, our world expands, and as we share, we grow together. It’s not about competition. It’s about community and creating spaces where all of us can grow, learn, and change.

So, why should you share your career journey?

Because your story matters. I see people question if what they know would be helpful to someone else. Guess how you find out? You create and see what happens. You make something because you love it and it brings you joy and hopefully your creation makes someone else feel the same way.

What will happen once you start sharing?

I have no idea. I have been writing in a silo for years and years. It was very lonely but I kept writing. Now, I feel like I’m only beginning to learn where writing can take me. But, I can’t do this alone.

Share your journey. Share what you’ve learned, what brings you joy, and what makes you frustrated, and keeps you up at night. Show us where you came from and what you’ve learned along the way. The biggest mistake is thinking that you shouldn’t create because what you have to say already been said. It’s absolutely true. And we haven’t heard you say it. It’s your voice and your journey that makes what you share undeniably unique. We will never get to experience what you have to offer unless you start sharing.

How should you share?

What are you doing already? I’ve always been writing so writing was the perfect medium for me. Maybe it’s a newsletter, a video, a podcast, a painting, a song, or a computer program. Use any medium you want. Forget about being professional (it helps take the pressure off for me 😅). Start creating. Your voice will develop. You’ll grow and we’ll be cheering you on in the meantime.

When should you start?

I’ll be honest. For a long time, I didn’t write online because I didn’t know what to say. I went through a period of deep confusion and needed to pull back for years. It wasn’t until I started a family newsletter a couple of years ago that helped me find my way again. My point is, the when isn’t important. It’s that you start. Start small. Start simple. Create something manageable, maybe even something that only you care about. But, whatever you start to create, make it a habit. Make it normal. Once it becomes as normal as breathing, I think that’s when life really begins to infuse itself into what you create.

So, where do we go from here? Well, I know one thing, I need to start planning a tiny celebration for myself in May. It’s the month I changed my life - even when I had no idea what I was doing.

Maybe you should have a little party for yourself too. Pick a month, enjoy a treat, and start taking your story seriously.

I can’t wait to see you on the road.

Till next time…

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Written with Spacefolk Banjo - Ambient Chillwave | Dream, Relax, Game playing in the background

What you’re still reading? Well, here, you can view Code Louisville’s post about our projects on Facebook. You can even watch me describe my first project on YouTube. That 10-minute video took about an hour to film because I was so nervous and kept falling apart while filming. God love it. She’s so cute.