From 69e3614c0be4f571b9518a8801bb8542dfe1c52b Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Sara Regan Date: Mon, 20 Oct 2014 11:34:02 +0200 Subject: [PATCH 1/2] add Lauras blog post issue 73 --- .../_posts/2014-10-24-laura-wadden-post-rgsoc | 84 +++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 84 insertions(+) create mode 100644 blog/_posts/2014-10-24-laura-wadden-post-rgsoc diff --git a/blog/_posts/2014-10-24-laura-wadden-post-rgsoc b/blog/_posts/2014-10-24-laura-wadden-post-rgsoc new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6a08970 --- /dev/null +++ b/blog/_posts/2014-10-24-laura-wadden-post-rgsoc @@ -0,0 +1,84 @@ +--- +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 a Graduate Developer for ThoughtWorks, a world-wide software consulting firm. +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 last May and attended my first beginners workshop. +The energy was electric and I immediately found a supportive community. There 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 Duana Stanley, a former ThoughtWorks employee, +who became my mentor for everything from TDD to working as a software developer. The summer was +difficult, rewarding and quick. I asked myself, “What comes next?” + +I participated in Open Tech School’s Hackerhsip, another community program in Berlin. +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. + +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 she 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]. The following is +my experience as a Rails Girls Summer of Code alumnus, native English speaker and US-American. +It might come as no surprise, but even with all of the support and help along the way this is a ton of work. + +The Graduate Program has two main aspects - training and on-the-job support. + + +## Training +Graduates attend a 5-week training program in Pune, India. It has classroom sessions, +project work and individual performance coaching and review. The goal is to help new +employees understand ThoughtWorks as a company and help develop core skills to effectively perform your role. +For me personally, this meant intensive training in test driven development (TDD), pair programming, and +experience working on a real client project. Not to mention, I met people from around the world because each +office of 17 sends participants. + +Before I left for the program I completed a (long and difficult) programming assignment +to prepare me for the coursework to come. ThoughtWorks provided mentors and was open to +questions. During that time I leaned heavily on my mentor Duana and the Rails Girls community. +I couldn’t do it alone and many people helped me along the way. + +In India it was an intensive experience. There were sessions during the day, client +project work, and I studied programming concepts at night via various homework assignments. + + +## On-the-job support +When I came back from ThoughtWorks University, I wasn’t sure how I would be supported next. +These two aspects helped me succeed in my first six months: + + + +## The Beach & Shadowing +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. + + + +## Culture of Continuous Learning & Sharing +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 and of course there’s more to say. +Luckily I’m a real person and I would love to learn more about your experience. +Please reach out to me and I’d be happy to help or connect you with someone who can. + +Are you interested in ThoughtWorks? That’s great! Feel free to reach out to me our +Verena Traub, a recruiter for ThoughtWorks. She can connect you to the appropriate +office around the world or answer any of your questions. From 6b022e5fdab1f60ec018a6a19b767f166478ec61 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Sara Regan Date: Fri, 2 Jan 2015 13:48:43 +0100 Subject: [PATCH 2/2] second draft of Laura's blog post --- .../_posts/2014-10-24-laura-wadden-post-rgsoc | 108 +++++++++--------- 1 file changed, 51 insertions(+), 57 deletions(-) diff --git a/blog/_posts/2014-10-24-laura-wadden-post-rgsoc b/blog/_posts/2014-10-24-laura-wadden-post-rgsoc index 6a08970..84fc722 100644 --- a/blog/_posts/2014-10-24-laura-wadden-post-rgsoc +++ b/blog/_posts/2014-10-24-laura-wadden-post-rgsoc @@ -8,77 +8,71 @@ author: Laura Wadden twitter: laurawadden --- -My name is Laura Wadden and I’m a Graduate Developer for ThoughtWorks, a world-wide software consulting firm. +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?” -I first stumbled upon the Rails Girls community last May and attended my first beginners workshop. -The energy was electric and I immediately found a supportive community. There 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 Duana Stanley, a former ThoughtWorks employee, -who became my mentor for everything from TDD to working as a software developer. The summer was -difficult, rewarding and quick. 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. -I participated in Open Tech School’s Hackerhsip, another community program in Berlin. -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. +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. -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 she sent my name to the ThoughtWorks recruiting team. The next day I had a message in my inbox. +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]. The following is -my experience as a Rails Girls Summer of Code alumnus, native English speaker and US-American. -It might come as no surprise, but even with all of the support and help along the way this is a ton of work. - -The Graduate Program has two main aspects - training and on-the-job support. - - -## Training -Graduates attend a 5-week training program in Pune, India. It has classroom sessions, -project work and individual performance coaching and review. The goal is to help new -employees understand ThoughtWorks as a company and help develop core skills to effectively perform your role. -For me personally, this meant intensive training in test driven development (TDD), pair programming, and -experience working on a real client project. Not to mention, I met people from around the world because each -office of 17 sends participants. - -Before I left for the program I completed a (long and difficult) programming assignment -to prepare me for the coursework to come. ThoughtWorks provided mentors and was open to -questions. During that time I leaned heavily on my mentor Duana and the Rails Girls community. -I couldn’t do it alone and many people helped me along the way. - -In India it was an intensive experience. There were sessions during the day, client -project work, and I studied programming concepts at night via various homework assignments. - - -## On-the-job support -When I came back from ThoughtWorks University, I wasn’t sure how I would be supported next. -These two aspects helped me succeed in my first six months: - +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. -## The Beach & Shadowing -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. +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. -## Culture of Continuous Learning & Sharing -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. +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. -These are just a few notes on my experience and of course there’s more to say. -Luckily I’m a real person and I would love to learn more about your experience. -Please reach out to me and I’d be happy to help or connect you with someone who can. +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. -Are you interested in ThoughtWorks? That’s great! Feel free to reach out to me our -Verena Traub, a recruiter for ThoughtWorks. She can connect you to the appropriate -office around the world or answer any of your questions. +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.