For years, I was content, even happy, working in accounting, enjoying the work immensely from the first position to the last. I always viewed my work as a giant puzzle, where I made all the pieces fit. I got to play with spreadsheets, accounting software and numbers. A few former bosses told me I was good at it, that my work made them look good. They gave me raises, promotions, praise, my own office. I solved existing problems and problems they didn’t even know they had. The books were neat and well-documented. I felt productive and useful, happy in my profession, clueless about what I was about to get myself into.
I must prepare you, the story below is not pretty, it is not conventional, but it’s mine…
It started so innocently
A free Juno disk and WebTV. I found myself a virtual 24/7 library with a coffee lounge and a mall inside. I surfed, chatted, learned new things, and met new people. Made a simple HTML webpage. It was like opening Pandora’s box filled with creative energy and sparkly backgrounds, unicorns, squirrels, and more than a few nuts, instead of pestilence and disease. How naive I was…
Soon, WebTV wasn’t enough, and I got my first personal computer. Under the mentorship of a friend, I learned how to build a website using “Xoops”. We had a lot of fun figuring out how to make the site work and look like we wanted it to. Before long, I had installed an FTP program, bought a domain, learned SQL, and started playing with the databases.
Eventually, I moved on to harder things. Manually integrating phpBB plugins. Using bootleg scripts from anonymous websites. Installing XAMPP, using SSH from the command prompt… Perusing php.net and developer message boards.
I told myself I could control it, an HTML page here, a PHPbb message board there. Xoops? Zen-Cart? Sure. Just a couple of Drupal sites. OK, maybe it was more than just a couple. The magic of open source.
There I was, taking courses in JavaScript, Object Oriented Programming.
Experimenting with Python and regex. Learning Schema and other SEO magic. Going to meetups.
I started making websites for money, or for free. Front-end, back-end, I didn’t care. Instead of haunting the developer forums, I was at ELance, UpWork, Volunteering. I just wanted to make websites. Better, faster, more secure. Friendly, accessible and flexible.
Sure, I still loved accounting, but when the economy tanked, it was hard. I got laid off, and the worry only pushed me deeper into the abyss that is the internet. I became obsessed with waterfalls, server speed, browser rendering, and security.
In my defense, I created sites that I am very proud of. Had I not expanded my world back then, I would have missed out on the opportunities, people, and adventures experienced during those years.
The Move
While I enjoyed coding sites as a freelancer, the marketing (sales) duties to get new customers were outside my field of expertise, and the lack of growth showed on my tax returns. A move to a new state turned out to be more expensive than anticipated, so I decided to return to an accounting position with a steady paycheck and benefits.
Returning to accounting gave me the opportunity to reflect on the pros and cons of working for yourself versus someone else. I actually enjoyed, for the most part, the return to office. It was good to be a part of a team instead of solo, it was good to get feedback and direction from other professionals. But the job was stressful, and I missed the creative aspects and challenges of creating websites.
When able to retire, I happily took the opportunity.
Current Events, Future Aspirations
Old habits die hard. I’m not ready to just sit on my laurels.
I kept my toes in the development wading pool by taking courses, PHP, Git, and maintaining a hobby site. Occasionally fixing or updating sites, usually for free. Enrolled in a Google Data Analyst Certificate course because it caught my eye, and I wanted to learn R. I have meandered my way through the courses, and soon, my Capstone Project (and R) will be a part of this portfolio. Just as soon as I get the bikes out of Lake Michigan, which turned out trickier than I thought it would.
Polishing up the old resume, this site, and my portfolio in general, breaking out the cmd prompt, refreshing git, and XAMPP, because I’m old school.
Soon to be seeking a developer full stack position, SQL, PHP, JS, CSS, as part of a team. I feel like I could contribute a great deal, and am looking forward to meeting other developers in a professional setting, I’m sure I can learn a lot.
And now you know what Kat did, and hopes to do. Thank you for your interest. I hope you have enjoyed my story and my attempt at humor in telling it.
Warmest Regards,
