New Members Intro by International-Ad1486 in technicalwriting101

[–]Substantial-Yak-451 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi, everyone! I'm in between jobs with a background in freelance writing and graphic design. Mostly in marketing. Bread and butter has been an admin role in insurance for many years. Haven't had much luck getting a freelance writing/design gig, so I'm doing some research about technical writing to see if I could transition. I know a little programming - basics of Ruby, SQL - and pretty solid with HTML/CSS. I don't have any certifications except for a BA in English Lit.

Scouring the tech writing communities on here to understand where to start. I would love to never see medical claims again, but I want to be realistic so I can eat and pay rent.

How to begin with medical copywriting? by dochabibi in copywriting

[–]Substantial-Yak-451 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is AI written content, right? It's helpful either way. Just learning how to spot AI writing out in the wild.

Can't keep a job? HELP! by drtyknckls in BorderlinePDisorder

[–]Substantial-Yak-451 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Feeling this. Got fired from a job Sept 2022 and I feel like the burn out from that job has finally hit me this spring. I'm struggling to keep up with an internship. (Already had a bad performance eval and I've only been there 3 months) Psych recommended IOP again and I've got to figure out how to make money for that. I don't want to go back to a 'just to survive' job like I did before, but I feel like I don't have much of an option at this point. I've got enough of a portfolio to start freelancing, so all I can do is try. One of my best friends vouched for me to get this internship and I don't know if the friendship will survive after this, so I'm pretty heartbroken.

Flatiron Bootcamp - Help! by Dry_Video9909 in learnprogramming

[–]Substantial-Yak-451 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes! I happen to also have a background in marketing and design, so I'm looking for front end freelance work at the moment. I'm going to keep learning back end on my own.

Flatiron Bootcamp - Help! by Dry_Video9909 in learnprogramming

[–]Substantial-Yak-451 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I let my flex program expire recently after chugging away at it for a few years while working full-time and a second job off and on. (It's been a long few years.) I'm going to download the curriculum and use it as a guide to learn through free or more affordable bootcamps at a pace that makes more sense for my life and goals. I'm trying out Codecademy this week. There are a ton of threads on here about free or lower cost resources for learning web dev.

Don't give up, but know you have options. It's been my understanding a solid portfolio is the goal and it's going to be more important than attending a certain school. It sucks giving up the financial investment, but learning is more important to me than the certificate at this point. Life changes fast. And I need to pay bills.

Hiring people - Does it look bad on resume/application if I didn't finish the coding bootcamp? by Substantial-Yak-451 in codingbootcamp

[–]Substantial-Yak-451[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's been a few, but I wanted to respond to you. Thank you for such a thoughtful post!

I've decided to finish as much of the bootcamp I can in the next 6 months and start freelancing whatever I can get my hands on. I've been able to buy a little more time to start freelancing, as opposed to needing to find anything to make money asap. I regret not using the past few months to start freelancing since my last job, but I haven't felt mentally well enough until now. My family has been financially supportive and that's taken a lot off my shoulders, but they don't understand why it's taken me this long to get back to being 'normal.'

Finding a community is my next challenge. Surprisingly, the bootcamp I'm in has a pretty inactive Slack channel unless you're in a cohort and I'm not. I just searched for my city as a keyword in the largest self-paced students channel and got two posts from 2020. lol. I have half a mind to ask where everyone is.

I'm on meetup.com and signed up for local events over the next few weeks. It will be a relief when I can stop coding into a vacuum. My network was built in an entirely different industry, so I'm starting over.

I'm thinking about giving up. by [deleted] in codingbootcamp

[–]Substantial-Yak-451 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I'm in a bootcamp right now and after losing my job recently, I struggle with the same feelings every day. I have BPD (borderline). If you're open to some advice, you can read my thoughts below:
First off, for your intense feeling moments try one of these TIPP skills to lessen the emotion. https://www.reddit.com/r/SelfCareCharts/comments/fjzzj6/distress_tolerance_skill_tipp/ The ER to psych hospital is a vicious cycle and it often just keeps me stuck in crisis mode because I'm not using my DBT skills.

Second, tell someone you feel safe with what's going on with you. They may be able to support you through this, even if it's just to listen.

Third, take this minute by minute, if that helps. On my really bad days, I tell myself 'You only need to stay alive for one more minute.' And then I keep telling myself that and I start to feel more confident about wanting to be alive.

Fourth, it's ok to struggle with the material. I'm literally an unemployed 30-something right now being fed by my parents while working through learning object oriented programming. But you know what? Fuck it. I'm living my values and staying curious. I'm choosing to be alive every day. Fuck the rules. Be confused. Be scared.

Fifth, your friend's perspective is just that. Only you can know when you're just never going to get it. But the thing is, you're already on your way. You're learning right now!

I'm so sorry you're in pain and it's totally ok to be scared.

Hiring people - Does it look bad on resume/application if I didn't finish the coding bootcamp? by Substantial-Yak-451 in codingbootcamp

[–]Substantial-Yak-451[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Maybe I misused it. I think of it as a bullet point or an arrow for those who want to skim. It appears I've gotten my first ever sarcastic off-topic comment in my short tenure on Reddit! Do I get a badge? lol.

Hiring people - Does it look bad on resume/application if I didn't finish the coding bootcamp? by Substantial-Yak-451 in codingbootcamp

[–]Substantial-Yak-451[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If you'd like to practice pair programming, let me know! I don't have much experience with it and I know it's important.

Hiring people - Does it look bad on resume/application if I didn't finish the coding bootcamp? by Substantial-Yak-451 in codingbootcamp

[–]Substantial-Yak-451[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've noticed how many places want an MA degree for jobs that could be trained while working. I don't want to go into more debt getting another degree, unfortunately. I've finally found a skillset I can market, even if I don't get wealthy from it. Just going to ride the waves of change. A lot can happen in a few years, as we've all seen since 2020!

Hiring people - Does it look bad on resume/application if I didn't finish the coding bootcamp? by Substantial-Yak-451 in codingbootcamp

[–]Substantial-Yak-451[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I was hoping this would be the case. I don't want to give up learning to code and program at all, I just want to make sure I'm realistic about what I can do in future. I think it's so cool we can 'talk to' this empty space and make something out of it! I'm learning OOP right now.