In a previous version of this post, I started with the few things I knew. That feels like an apt enough place to start an updated version, too.
I want to be working as a software dev by day and playing games at night. Occasionally going on hikes and outings with my partner and dog, or hanging out with friends. I want a safe place to live and spend my time in. I want a body that's healthy enough to keep my mind going for a long time. I want a little treat every now and again. That's really mostly it.
Like many things in life, I start to write then have reasons to stop until I want to start again. This is the way of things, and it's no different for blogging. And every time I feel ready to start again, I feel a need to reintroduce myself. So I'm once again trying to create a more evergreen version of my career path to explain where I'm starting from and where I hope to go.
So let's back up a little.
A Little History
Hi. I'm Linda. Welcome to my little space on the internet. 😊
I started exploring the idea of software engineering as a career back in 2016 by taking free online courses. I quickly fell in love with being able to build websites and see my creations in near real time. Through the next 6 years, I studied and built projects whenever I had the energy after my day job.
Then the pandemic hit, and I was forced to make a choice - go back to the job that was draining me for years only 2 months into the lockdowns, or quit and actually try to make this career switch into tech happen. I chose the latter, and I'm forever proud of myself for taking the riskier choice.
I went to college (and finished a bachelor's degree) for general music - honestly as useless as it sounds, although I did gain a lot through my experiences. I have regrets around finishing this degree (mostly financial ones), but I got to learn and play with so many instruments and made friends and had my first real taste of independence. I learned to fend for myself and do what was needed to keep myself afloat. But I knew I didn't want to be a performer (I'm not competitive enough) and I learned I didn't want to teach, so my options were slim.
Work-wise, I'd mostly done random retail / customer service / office administration jobs. Outside of the first few jobs I ever had which were common enough jobs in fast food and retail stores, I got to work at some cool places. I worked in photo departments at pharmacies, where I got a small taste of developing film and managing lots of expectations. I worked as an office admin and phtoographer at a piano store, where I learned a ton about lighting large objects and got to hear amazing pianists play and became the office tech guru. And I worked for a printing company, where I learned I like delivery driving and got to learn about and experiment with printing and graphic design.
But lots of those places also were either directly toxic to my mental health or it was blaringly obvious that we were all only there for a paycheck and were expendable. None of it was stuff I was proud of - it was just a job. For a long time that was fine with me, all I wanted was enough money to live on my own and to do things with my friends. But eventually I wanted more. I wanted to do something for a living that I actually cared about, something that could maybe let me afford better living conditions and that felt a lot more satisfying day to day.
Recent Experience
It took a year of actively searching through the pandemic, but I landed my first dev role in May of 2021. I was an apprentice, then a full time software engineer, then hit level 2 in my 2+ years with that company. I truly loved my time there - there was a strong culture of respect and learning and giving back to others, and it was such a fun experience. We only parted due to a layoff, which can happen at any company even if they love you. We parted on good terms, which I'm thankful for.
In that second year, I'd felt myself stagnating. I knew I'd grown so much from being actively employed and paid to do software, but I couldn't figure out what to dig into next, and I was painfully aware of how things were slowing down.
I went through roughly 2.5 years of job searching in this new, rough job market. I built a lot of fun things as parts of virtual hackathons and personal projects, and applied all over the place. I went to conferences I'd already paid for and ones that were purposefully made available to more people, and got to build out my network more and more each time. It was draining and challenging and heart wrenching at times.
But that good connection with my first dev company came back in handy. At the start of 2026, they had a spot on a team open up, and reached back out to me to see if I was interested. So now I'm back there. It's different and I'm different and I'm trying to be more concious of my growth and progress and continuing to learn new things. But I'm proof of how much it can help to not burn bridges when bad things happen. Sometimes it can turn around.
The Path Ahead
I'm always trying to figure out what's next, where I should focus my attention, what I want to be known for. It's helping me to be more proactive in where I go from here, but also definitely gets in my way sometimes too. I still don't know that there's any one area I want to really specialize in. I'm known more for my communication and team-related skills, which are highly developed thanks to all those years in retail and customer service. But I want my technical ability to keep growing and catch up.
And that's a lot of why I want to start writing more, hopefully consistently enough for as long as I can. I want to explore what I'm finding interesting, the things I build and play with, the things I don't understand and want to gain knowledge on.
Sharing the ups and downs of the journey, and being able to see my career path develop over the years.
More than anything else, I'm confident in my ability to persist. I have more grit and self-belief than I know what to do with at times. It's tough and I'm human, so I also know I'll hit rough patches, but I want to be able to share that side as well. We all contain multitudes, and I want to be a voice that explores all sides of this thing called life and career.
So, if you see this post - I'm glad to have you along for the journey. 💞 I hope I'll keep sharing posts that you find interesting and helpful! And if not, that's ok too. In the end I'm writing for myself, so if I'm the only person I help here I'm perfectly okay with that.
Now, let's go build and share all the things!