A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

— Lao Tzu, Philosopher & Writer

How it all started...

Hello there and welcome to my little corner of the internet! This is my first blog documenting my trials and tribulations around the realm of programming and development.

I started to blog during my first role in development, as it is a great way to get your thoughts down on paper (or on screen, I guess is how the saying goes these days). It helps you reflect on what you have learned, your experiences gained and challenges encountered. The idea is that the process should help you develop technically and professionally through your career. It also serves as being a good, personal resource for tips and tricks.

A little about myself: I worked in the construction sector for about 9 years, as an engineering geologist, part of a sub-discipline known as ground engineering which mainly supports civil engineering teams as they look to design, build and maintain incredible infrastructure that allows society to function.

I started out working in Hong Kong, travelling around South East Asia for 3 years during weekends and holidays. I returned to UK where I originally grew up, to study a post graduate degree in a ground engineering related subject and from there, worked on projects in the Midlands, London and South-West of England.

I recall one wet and windy morning, standing out in a farmers field supervising some exploratory drilling as part of a larger site investigation campaign, one of the sub-contractors "rocking" up to site.

I struck up a conversation with the chap. He was there to carry out his field test as contracted, to synthesise the data and report that back to the necessary site teams. He had a surfboard attached to the roof of his 4x4 and was sat haunched over frantically typing away on his laptop! It turns out in the downtime on site, he was creating his own software to present the graphical data in a more user-friendly format for non-technical professionals. He aimed to pitch the prototype to his management so that he and his firm could monetise the presentation software to end users of the field test data. In his free time, he enthused about how he had completed coding challenges and valued honing his problem solving skills with free resources over the web.

I have to say I was also drawn in by the relaxed and flexible work relationship he had with his company. He was trusted to be on site when he needed to be, to do the fieldwork, and complete the computer based tasks from where he pleased and at a time of his choosing subject to submission deadlines. The conversation was cut short as he had plans further south to Cornwall for a spot of surfing that same afternoon.

Due to more downtime, I spent my afternoon contemplating this previously unknown industry, whether I had the mindset to be a successful "hacker". Has my current career given me enough transferrable skills to be marketable for the rest of my senior career? Could I really expect salary increases above inflation when colleagues in my department were being furloughed? Do I have the courage to face the stigma around resignation and career change, to set aside the relationships formed by incredible individuals I call my colleagues? And some amazing stories to boot. Could I even survive financially and stay mentally resilient, for however long I needed to land that elusive first job?

A lot of doubt with no clear path. This was how I felt back in early 2021. I had survived the early strife of the pandemic when others in the industry were jumping ship or made redundant. I think mainly because I happened to be placed on site roles when no one else wanted to do that job, or the time and cost of training someone to replace me would be too much of a burden for the company. Good timing appeared to be the reason I kept my job.

Could I be more secure in a development role perhaps? I was interested enough to keep digging into the subject. And just like that, my first real step into the journey of development began.