Update RE Job Application

I did not get the position I mentioned in the last post - in fact I was not even called in for the second phase of the interview process. I emailed the manager to inquire as to what intangibles I was missing for the position, but I was only given a vague response of that I wasn’t ready and they decided to focus on candidates with Computer Science degrees. I was quite disappointed and depressed for a week as this company seemed like the ideal place for a junior programmer to learn and be mentored by a slew of senior programmers.

Edx Micromasters

During the week of my slump, I happened to explore around edx and came upon their Software Development MicroMasters Program. Although they had various other exciting programs, such as the Data Science one - of which my recent posts have been focused one - I specifically chose the Software Development one because I could see the most immediate value in it:

1. Courses on how to define simple and complex data. In those courses they highlight systematic design recipes on how to define data, functions, and worlds. The course uses the functional language Racket throughout the course due to its simplicity.
2. Two courses on Java which implements the teachings from the previous two courses on a robust language like Java. I have been meaning to learn a compiled language for a while now, and this is as good an opportunity as any other.
3. The last two courses focus on using engineering principles, including Agile, to design a fullstack system.

I couldn’t ask for a more well-defined course structure. I have already completed the first course How to Code: Simple Data and I can already see the benefits of how it has rewired my mind in the systematic step-by-step approach to design simple functions, when to break functions into smaller pieces, what to test and how many tests are required depending on the purpose of the function, some of the many ways that data can be defined, including atomic, itemized, and compound data.

Next Post

In the following posts, I hope to provide an overview of what I have learned in the program both in the racket language and in javascript and/or python, as I more likely to start my software development career using those languages in some capacity. Additionally, as courses 3 and 4 will make use of Java, by the end of the program I will have learned how to design and develop software in any language. Lastly, I want to make mention of another great source I have come upon, How to Design Programs, which happens to be the source material which this program was based upon. I have been reading it alongside the course not just to review, but to reinforce the teachings.

Afterthoughts

This week, Thursday, May 17, 2018 to be exact, I ruptured the Achilles tendon on my right leg during a fairly easy game of basketball. My takeaway from this is that I need to be more careful in rigorous sporting activities and need to fully stretch prior to engaging in them.