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+---
+title: Post-RGSoC Stories: Laura Wadden, Thoughtworks (2013 Grad)
+layout: post
+created_at: Fri Oct 24 2014
+permalink: blog/laura-wadden-thoughtworks
+current: blog
+author: Laura Wadden
+twitter: laurawadden
+---
+
+My name is Laura Wadden and I’m proud to say that I’m one of the first “graduates” from the Rails Girls Summer of Code Program.
+My team was part of batch 1 and even though it was the first time around, it was a huge success. I’m now a Graduate Developer for
+ThoughtWorks, a world-wide software consulting firm. In this post I’ll explain more about my journey after Rails Girls Summer of Code
+and how my experience at ThoughtWorks has been so far.
+
+I started my journey with coding when I moved to Berlin from San Francisco in September 2012.
+I first stumbled upon the Rails Girls community in May last year and attended my first beginners workshop,
+where the energy was electric and I immediately found a supportive community.
+At the workshop I heard about Rails Girls Summer of Code -- a 3-month, paid program for beginners to work on
+open source projects and learn to code.
+
+The next few months changed my life. I met my mentor and Rails Girls Summer of Code Coach, Duana Stanley,
+who taught me about everything from TDD to working as a software developer.
+The summer was difficult, rewarding and went so quickly I was reeling. There were different options
+available - internship, junior developer, another community program - and I asked myself, “What comes next?”
+
+
+The RGSoC community was very supportive during this time. I went to coffee with a million different people,
+announced my job search on Twitter, attended meetups (even though I admittedly hate meetups) and told everyone
+I knew I was looking for a job / next step / who knows.
+
+The search continued and in the meantime I participated in Open Tech School’s Hackerhsip, another community program in Berlin.
+It was a perfect option because it continued my learning from before and even though it was paid, I didn’t have to pay until the
+next year and the payment was a percentage of my future income. By the end of Hackership I was ready for a junior developer position
+or internship, but I never imagined I was ready for a firm like ThoughtWorks. During these few months I tried to freelance a bit,
+went to A MILLION interviews, and I still attended meetups and other community events. The interviews helped me practice my interview
+skills and I met lots of new people at the various meetups.
+
+Then came my lucky moment. I gave a presentation at a meetup in Berlin about my Hackerhsip project in d3.js, and a ThoughtWorks employee
+was in the audience. She heard my repeated plug, “I’m looking for a job!” and sent my name to the ThoughtWorks recruiting team.
+The next day I had a message in my inbox.
+
+“You really want me?”
+
+“Yes,” the recruiter said. She explained about ThoughtWorks’ Graduate Developer program.
+
+Her explanation can mostly be found on the website here: [link]. Even after reading the description on the site I didn’t think
+I was ready for a job like that. I had barely been learning to code for a year and I wasn’t even sure which language I would be working in.
+It felt like a long shot, but something worth trying.
+
+I realized through the recruiting process and when I began at ThoughtWorks, that they do a few special things to help new programmers
+integrate into a developer role. As a company they value “Quereinsteiger” - someone who comes from another career. They believe in my ability
+to learn on the job and do as much as they can to support me in that journey. For someone coming out of an atmosphere like RGSoC, therefore it was a rather smooth transition.
+
+However!!!! It’s still difficult. I’ve been at ThoughtWorks for six months and I am still constantly challenged with new concepts and
+exhausted by learning new things everyday. Everyday I have to remind myself to be patient and trust that I’m doing the best that I can.
+It’s tough when I still don’t understand concepts as quickly as others but I have to remember that I’m bringing a fresh perspective to the work that is also valuable.
+
+ThoughtWorks did a few special things to help me succeed in my role. I’m going to discuss them here because I think it’s important
+to realize what kind of supportive atmosphere is possible. In your future job interviews, you can integrate some questions about
+how the employer plans to support your learning, what kind of flexibility you will have, and what their attitude is towards people
+who don’t have backgrounds in Computer Science. And any other things that you think will help you be successful in your first job or internship.
+
+First of all, training. I attended a 5-week training program in Pune, India. It has classroom sessions, project work and individual performance
+coaching and review. For me personally, this meant intensive training in test driven development (TDD), pair programming, and experience working
+on a real client project. Before I left for the program I completed a (long and difficult) programming assignment to prepare me for the coursework to come.
+
+After the training, I received a lot of on-the-job support. Employees who aren’t working on client projects are “On the Beach”.
+During this time they can shadow ongoing projects, work on pro-bono projects, or simply learn. For a new developer this is especially
+helpful because I had space and opportunities to develop new skills. I shadowed on a project for my first 2 months and now am assigned to that project.
+
+Lastly, ThoughtWorks loves learning and teaching. There is a personal development budget for books, workshops, conferences or online courses.
+During my project I’ve held one-off sessions on CSS or other technical concepts and participated in a Design Patterns book club. Since these opportunities
+are usually included in work time, I’m not overwhelmed with studying at night.
+
+These are just a few notes on my experience, post-Summer of Code, and of course there’s much more I could say. Luckily I’m a real person and I love questions
+. Please reach out to me, whether you're a recent Summer of Code grad, or planning on participating 2015. And if you’re interested in ThoughtWorks
+[link: http://www.thoughtworks.com/] you can talk to me as well.