A Wildcard Life Update?
Or, Thoughts on a Possible Career Change
Warning: word vomit ahead. But it’s my little blog. I can do what I want. Including ignoring Tuesday’s intended post and publishing Thursday’s post on Friday, because my mind has been too scattered to do anything except remain in Obsession Mode.
The third Thursday of the month is intended to be a Wildcard post. And this one is, indeed, a wildcard. Here it is: I think I might become a software developer.
Yes, I put it in bold because wow that’s huge. And it’s truly straight out of left field. I have never been interested in computer-related anything, ever. I mean, don’t get me wrong. I like computers. But computer science, coding, programming, whatever…it’s all seemed so mystical to me. Something that only really, really smart people are able to do. People like the guys I grew up with, who created a cow version of Tetris when they were in middle school. Me? I’m not really, really smart. And I’ve never written a line of code in my life.
So Where Did This Come From?
It’s a bit of a story, so grab a cup of warm something or other. (Might I suggest eggnog? A toddy?)
A while back, I learned about a company called Instant Teams. Their mission is to connect military spouses with remote work. I filled out an application with them online and joined the Facebook group as recommended, but nothing ever struck my fancy. A lot of customer service work — and I’m not going to put my kids in full-time care just to work a job I don’t love.
Until earlier this week. An Instant Teams Facebook post popped up — they’ve teamed with a company called Catalyte to provide military spouses with training to become software developers. Completely free, but super intensive: 6 months of 40 hours per week.
I wasn’t initially interested (see above re: interest in computer-related anything) …until I saw that a timed assessment was involved. I took that as a challenge, man. I wanted to see what all was involved, and if I could crush it. After all, I could always say no to the opportunity.
So I did the assessment. And I crushed it. I got an email from Catalyte back a few hours later saying I was “competitive”. And then I started digging more into the whole thing. And boy, am I excited now.
First off, the assessment. It was hard. It took a couple hours to complete — thank you, Bluey, for watching my kids for me. There were three different math sections, a reading section, and a logic section. The math was way over my head. I haven’t taken a math class since I washed my hands of Pre-Calc junior year of high school. Dividing fractions? Um, what? But here’s the thing. The instructions didn’t say not to use a calculator, so I opened a new browser tab and did the best I could.
Turns out, that was exactly the right thing I needed to do. The assessment, I found out from reading afterwards, doesn’t care whether you get the questions right or not. It tracks other stuff: how many browser tabs you have open. How long you stay on a question. If you return to questions. Essentially, it tracks if you know how to find the answers. Whether you’re a flexible thinker. If you know how to learn.
Because that’s Catalyte’s whole schtick: they give people this AI-run assessment that levels the playing field. It doesn’t care if you’re a toll booth worker or a landscaper (both actual examples). If you have a high school degree or equivalent and the ability to learn, you’re in. Or at least, you’re part of the way in.
Because the next step, I think, is to interview? I’m actually not sure what the next step is since it’s specifically an Instant Teams thing. I’m waiting (patiently, no, frantically) to hear back. The cohort is supposed to begin November 29. As in, the Monday after Thanksgiving. Which means that if I’m gonna put all three kids in full-time care, I’d better get started on finding a spot for the baby ASAP.
Let’s Say I Do Make It
What’s next? Like I said before, 6 months of unpaid-but-also-completely-free training. 100% remote. Putting all three kids into full time care will be a hit to our finances, but we have the savings, and the investment should pay off quickly.
After I complete the training (if I complete the training, gulp!) I sign a contract to work (again, 100% remote) for Catalyte for 2 years. Here’s the small catch: the hourly rate is peeeeanuts. Way under market value. But! I come out of it with two years of experience. And after that, watch out world. I could theoretically earn the equivalent of Jarrod’s salary in like five or ten years.
Which is one of the main motivators here. When Jarrod goes to seminary, we’re going to suddenly be penniless. Our lifestyle will have to drastically change, and that’s…kind of scary. I know we can do it if we need to, and I know our parents will support us through the hard times. But the thought of entering a career that will allow me to be the breadwinner is actually kind of thrilling. All with a seemingly good level of job satisfaction and work-life balance.
Also, like, I’d be a freakin’ woman in STEM at the end of this. I’d be defying the odds. Sticking it to the literal man. A role model for little girls everywhere. So that’s pretty cool.
The other thing is, I think I might actually like/be good at software development. Obviously, I don’t know. But I do know this: I love solving problems. I felt so alive when I was completing the last portion of the assessment. I’ve always been a puzzler. This seems to be right up that ally. I think I have the smarts to do it. Even though I haven’t been creating cow Tetris since I was thirteen.
So, I wait. And obsess. And watch YouTube videos of other software developers and engineers to see what their daily work lives are like. I’ve also signed up for a 7-day trial of Codecademy to at least dip my toe into coding and see if I completely hate it before I commit to learning the language of computers forty hours a week for six months straight. So far, it’s fun. I’m not very far into the Full Stack Engineer course, but I’ve learned a few console.log () functions!
Gah. I’m excited. Hopefully this all doesn’t come crashing down in disappointment. It feels like the perfect time to do it, too. But we’ll see.
mins
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