What is your long term goal and/or career pathway?
My long term goal is to have the ability to become a digital nomad. This will empower me to live the lifestyle I want and to give my time to those I value. I would like to forge a pathway and normalise making a switch into tech, while also making it less intimidating for others who are lost.
What do you think your biggest strengths and limitations will be in Bootcamp?
My biggest strength will be facilitating group projects. During foundations I observed that people seemed to naturally be open and willing to work together, it was just a matter of making the event to bring them together so I hope to be able to act as the glue to create a healthy working environment during bootcamp.
This soft skill is definitely a newly discovered one, collaboration isn't really a thing in my previous industry, being adversarial in nature.
My biggest limitation in bootcamp will be the amount of technical know-how I possess. I understand we do not need to know everything, but having an awareness of what methods are required to complete something is extremely important for problem solving. So I do feel like I would like to have more technical knowledge so that I can be an asset to my team.
What do you think your biggest non-technical challenge at Bootcamp will be?
As mentioned in my reflections, the biggest challenge for me will be working with someone who has a completely different style to me. I am a structured person. Time is important, turning up on time, clear communication, setting expectations, resetting those expectations if they look like they will not be met within a reasonable timeframe. It will be a huge challenge for me to work with someone that is unorganized and/or not motivated to learn. Another challenge stemming from that is to navigate working well with this person and to keep my frustration at bay.
What non-technical skills - human skills - would you like to see developed in yourself while at Dev Academy?
I would like to work on being able to work well with a team when all our members have different working styles so we do not run into a problem such as the one mentioned above.
What are your expectations from the Bootcamp team?
Clear instructions for tasks. Being available to clarify and, if help is needed, to teach us rather than to give us the solution.
What are your expectations of yourself on Bootcamp
I expect myself to stay on track through timely communication and discipline. Sticking to the schedule, communicating if there are any pit-falls to navigate along the way and, lastly, to be kind to myself and not let that little inner voice dominate my mind/mood. Remember, your purpose for going to bootcamp!
What is your long term goal or career pathway?
"I want to be wealthy".
I want to be wealthy in the sense that I live a fulfilling life where I am satisfied I have lived according to my values. After experiencing the corporate slog, the rigid path of climbing the corporate ladder does not excite me. No matter what I end up doing, I know that I desire to strive for excellence and will go forth whole-heartedly. If said "career" naturally follows, great! The career is not the end goal for me. I see myself in the tech industry, helping to forge a path for other people like myself who want to make an authentic change. Whether this be by encouraging other females to give tech a go or to be an inspiration and a guide for others who have become lost in their current "career" tracks.
A description of your strengths and limitations when it comes to learning
My strengths are:
What skills (non-technical core/human skills) would you like to see developed in yourself while at Dev Academy?
I would like to develop even further my relationship building skills. Despite being described as an amicable, adaptable individual, it is the adaptability which acts as a barrier to forming genuine relationships. I want to be able to convey my sincerity to make real connections with my team and others I interact with along this journey, and, for them in turn to feel comfortable with trusting me. In addition, I would love to be able to relate to people from all different walks of life (and have others relate to me).
A commitment to how you will manage your workload in this programme. This should include:
A commitment as to how and where you will seek help in a timely way
After giving the task my best shot, I will seek help from my peers, and, if that is not resolved within the recommended timeframes then I will escalate this to seek help from my facilitator. While I am waiting for an answer, I will move on to the next task in hopes of being able to make progress while the other task is at a standstill.
A description of what you expect from the Facilitation team
I expect our facilitation team to be respectful and supportive at all times. In terms of timing, one would hope that it would be in a timely manner (where reasonable) so that you do not fall behind in bootcamp.
Any scheduling information such as block-out times when you are committed to other things. For example, you might have whānau commitments like school drop-offs. It's important to plan these in.
For my own well-being, lunch times are the blocks I take for myself. These times are generally 1-2 hours from midday.