A lot of people might not know much about me or how I got started in Software Development, so I figured I'd write an article on it.
I originally had no intentions of getting into software development, nor did I know anything about it. I had been working for Overstock.com for a few years, primarily in Customer Service. I started to work my way up the ladder getting in various management/supervisor type roles which got very political the further up the ladder you went. I came into work one day to find out I had been demoted. I won't get into the details other then to say it was political. I was given the option to move into any department I wanted within the customer service org, and it caused me to really rethink what I wanted to do. I chose to go into Workforce management which just seemed like the safest option at the time.
I had been working in Workforce management for a while when I started to see a need for a database or some mechanism to track certain things. This caused me to start exploring into new territory in my free-time and I really liked it. At some point a job opening within the company opened up for an Operations Support Technician I can't say that I fully knew what the job entailed, but reading the job description it sounded interesting and I wanted something new. A friend of mine which had recently moved over to the team said I would need to know SQL, so I picked up every book I could find and started learning as quickly as I could.
Needless to say I got the job as an Operations Support Technician. It was difficult at first and there was obviously a lot I didn't know but I had the drive to learn and figure it out. It was my first real exposure into Software Development as we would frequently work with development teams to manage processes they couldn't get implemented in a first phase, etc. This caused me to start to explore in my free time and Android development seemed like where it was at. I would pick up every book I could find on Android and Java Development, watch any tutorial I could find, and I'll tell you what it was daunting at first, but at some it started to slowly click. I thought I was going to make the best app ever, everyone would want to pay for it, and I would be set. Man was I sure mistaken, but I did develop an app, got mediocre downloads and made a few bucks. At some point in all of this a Dev Lead would frequently visit and chat with the people on my team. On a total whim one day I asked her, what would it take to get into QA/Dev. I was totally thinking I would be immediately shut down, you need to go to school, etc. But those were not the words I heard back. She pretty immediately told me she could mentour me. This turned into giving me some side projects to work on and I guess she and everyone liked what they saw, as I was given an offer letter to come to her team on a trial basis.
Starting out as a QA there was obviously a lot I didn't know, but as she said I had the right mindset, so I just had a lot of learning to do. At first I continued to try and dabble with Android development on the side, developing a location based app that would allow you to control different aspects of your phone when you entered or exited a location based on a set radius. However, I quickly came to the realization I wasn't going to be able to do both, and the QA gig was actually paying the bills. It was difficult at first, as there was so much I didn't know, but any time I hit a roadblock I would do whatever it took to learn. Less then a year into being a QA I thought it was all over before it started. The company was going through some changes and the Dev Lead that brought me on was let go. She was the only one vouching for me, so I thought it was only a matter of time before I'd be on my way out. But that isn't what happened. The lead that took over the team is one of the greatest people I've ever met, and he has done so much to mentour and guide me throughout my career. I've moved through many teams throughout my career, but I've always had a pleasure of him being my manager up until the end of 2024.
I've now been in Software Development for over 10 years now and I've learned so much in that time. I owe it all to those people that seen I had the drive and was willing to take a chance and mentour me. I continue to have the drive and I'm passionate about learning new things. I don't know everything, but when faced with a challenge I will do what it takes to learn and overcome it. I'm a highly collabortive team player, and would love to explore new areas and technology.