Over the next 3 to 5 years I’d like have completed my studies as a developer (here at dev academy) and secured a job as a developer either here or preferably in Melbourne. The plan has been to live in Melbourne for a while now as I prefer the bustling city life and have a lot of good friends over there. Currently I’m in stage one - Study how to be a developer.
I’d like to learn more about how to work within an office space. My work history has never included a corporate environment and I’m aware that it’s a different ball park to a gym floor or large kitchen. I’m interested to find out how the social norms differ. I think EDA will be able to expose me to that environment somewhat, and help build my ability to work in that sphere.
I like to think I can work pretty well with others, and have a strong work ethic. I am very good at managing my own time and setting my priorities.. for the most part. I’m also very driven towards my goal whenever I have a clear reason in mind for pursuing it. This is the focus I use to achieve just about everything I do. Flip side to that, sometimes I can be a bit of a perfectionist. This is a trait I’ve noticed in myself over the last few years and I’m continually trying to recognise when I’m getting that way and coming back to my priorities. I’ve never tried to navigate around a computer before this course as I didn’t think I would need it. So I feel I may be disadvantaged there and consider myself a bit of a noob. But so far it’s been fun to learn about.
I’m going to make the most of my strengths and what we learned in week one, around the pomodoro technique and taking regular breaks, to guide my study and workload during my time at EDA. I’ve got my offical study time booked in my calendar between 8:30am-5:00pm every weekday, and then on the weekends the plan is just to get in at least 2 hours per day. I’ve burnt out in the past from not setting boundaries on when to work and when to relax so I know how important it is to me to have enforced ‘down time’. I’m also adopting the mindset that although offical study time finishes at 5:00pm, if I wish to work on my own projects after this time then I can. I’m fairly in tuned with when I’ve had enough screen time so I feel confident I’ll be able to manage this well. As for working with everyone else. The plan is to stick to the usual of communicating myself and feelings/abilities to anyone I may be working with, and ensuring communication is kept up over the course of any projects. This way anyone I’m working with will know where I’m at and won’t get any nasty surprises if they expect something I’m not yet able to deliver. Facilitators will also be able to tailor my learning experience with this level of open comms so I can get the most out of my study. Of course I plan to always conduct myself with professionalism and respect others at all times, both during study and beyond in the industry.
Similar to above, If I find myself in a rut with work or for whatever reason in my ability to work alongside someone on a project I will communicate this to my facilitators and work colleagues as early as possible so plans can be changed and nobody loses out on any learning opportunities.
I just expect that they’ll be there to assess my progress and make recommendations as to where I should be spending my time to maximise my time at EDA. And to listen to any concerns or compliments I have to give about any systems or processes.
I have made allowances within my planned week to spend time with the friends and family and go for activities like running several times a week to keep up good mental health. I have cleared the schedule otherwise over my time at EDA so I can focus on my studies.