Superheros are Greek gods of the modern world. These heroic, supernatural characters possess superhuman powers used to serve, protect, and better society by defeating one supervillain at a time. Flying, impossible-strength, invisibility--We've all wanted a superpower at some point in our lives. So what if I told you there was a 21st century superpower and it could be yours?
Until three weeks ago I was employed as a middle school teacher. During my three-year stint in a local public school, I was introduced to the "Hour of Code," which is a Code.org initiative to cultivate computer programming education in schools. In a video designed to get students and teachers excited to code, Dropbox CEO Drew Houston described coding as "the closest thing we have to a superpower." His statement got my wheels turning. I thought, "Wait a second. I'm a twenty-something-year-old female with two college degrees and a passion for life and learning. If coding is a highly sought-after, obtainable skill set, what am I waiting for? If coding is a superpower, why am I not chasing it?"
Shortly after this revelation, I put on a proverbial cape and embarked on the journey to attain my own superpower.
I left my job and quickly enrolled in an intensive ten-week coding bootcamp: Covalence. For 40+ hours a week, I learned the basics of the latest web technologies and frameworks. I spent hours working, researching, and problem solving. Tasked with all kinds of problems in labs and homework, I was forced to use both sides of my brain, combining creativity with logic. I woke up early, I worked late, and I did all I could to soak up everything I was learning. It wasn't easy, and that's why it's so valuable.
At the end of this week I will be graduating Covalence and presenting my capstone project, and I want to share my experience with those considering the same career change. As I look at my fully functional website and app, I have a superhuman feeling. It's hard to accurately describe the overwhelming feeling of pride and sense of accomplishment I have, given my coding skills and knowledge at the end of this course.
I didn't cure cancer or write a launch code for NASA, but I created something. I created something from nothing. And that something does things. And those things work.
Coding is now my superpower, what's yours?