Embracing the Beginner’s Mind in Software Engineering 🤙
When I started WhiteBeltDev, my goal was simple: to chronicle my journey of becoming a software engineer. I’m a Junior in Computer Science at SNHU, but I know that just getting the degree won’t be enough to land a junior dev role. I need to build things, complete projects, and get more active on Twitter, LinkedIn, and GitHub. The problem? How do I put myself out there when I still have so much to learn and when there are so many people with more experience? 😬
That’s when I thought back to my BJJ journey. When I first stepped onto the mats, everything felt foreign, like learning a language without knowing a single word. But I kept showing up, studying, networking, and learning from experienced practitioners. Slowly but surely, I started to understand. After a decade, I was writing poetry on the mats. I couldn’t predict the growth, I just kept putting in the work. I believe this same mindset will help me become a software engineer who brings real value. Maybe WhiteBeltDev will resonate with someone else on their journey, too. For now, my only goal is to show up and put in the work. Every. Single. Day. 🤙💻
Week in Review: I Built a Website! 🎉
This week, I launched a website! I know, I know, it’s just a simple WordPress site, but getting it up and running was a wild ride. I also set up a CI/CD pipeline that updates my site whenever I push changes to GitHub. Pretty cool, right? 🚀
The first challenge? Configuring VS Code and making sure my computer had everything I needed installed. I’ll admit, it was tougher than expected. Then came the real headache: setting up SSH keys properly so my GitHub repo could automatically update my website. This almost made me quit. 😅 If I couldn’t even figure this out, how could I possibly become a software developer? But then I remembered—BJJ. I’m just learning the words right now. Give it time, and I’ll be forming full sentences. 🤓
Once everything was working, I focused on aligning my social media with my professional goals. This was actually the fun part! 🎨 It made me realize how important personal branding is in tech.
What I Learned This Week 📚
- How to set up a WordPress site on Hostinger 🌍
- How to build a CI/CD pipeline 🔄
- How to generate and use SSH public and private keys 🔑
Looking Ahead 🔥
Next week, I’ll be diving into a front-end development course and looking for a project to start working on. I’m excited to keep writing code, building things, and learning more every day. 🤙
See you on the mats! 🤙💪