Darn You Windows!

So I decided last night to install my free copy of Parallels that I got when I purchased my mac book pro along with a copy of Windows 7 on my Mac.

The copy of Windows 7 was an old one that I got in 2009.  I had a great deal on it at the time, 30 dollars as I remember.  I bought it just in case I needed it in the future sometime.  It was a download as well so back then, I thought it would be great to have a back up that wasn't on cd since I already knew we wouldn't be using these little shiny discs forever.

Well, I found out that it was probably an awesome price because it was a Windows Upgrade!
Darn you Windows!  So, I have Parallels set up and luckily someone in the family says that he has an extra Windows 7 that he doesn't need so I'm going to get his copy so I should be up and running with dual OS soon.  I can't wait to see how this works.

I've never tried this before but that's what I got the mac for, to be able to code in both worlds and test in both worlds.

I have to say, off topic, I've had this mac for about a week now.
I really like it a lot.
Yes, it was expensive compared to another PC but the way everything works and syncs with my iphone and ipad, it's just really nice.

I'm being turned into a Mac fan very quickly.

Thoughts today...

No surprises today.

I had more time to code this morning and afternoon before I went to work.
I think I'm finally getting the hang of functions and how to plan them out correctly.

That's the key I think.
It's not hard to write a function, it's really thinking about what variables you need and if you need another variable as an index, etc, etc.

I've been thinking too simplistically actually.
I'm ready to stretch a little and I'll be trying to go further tomorrow.

Still learning but also in the middle of a project that should teach me a little about the back end and the front end when it comes to developing.  It may still take a day or 2 to complete.

I'll let you know how it goes.

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Side questions I've been thinking about.
I wish I could connect with more people who have gone through a coding academy.
I want to know more about what to expect and how to do things the right way when I get out.
Did graduates get a job right away?  Any surprises when it came to interviews?
Did anyone start right away in another language? Which one?

Morning off?

So for this morning and perhaps this afternoon, I felt I needed a break from coding.

I still have the urge to practice a few things but I'm also quite tired.

I don't remember if I mentioned it in my first post but I have an evening job as an MRI Tech from 2 pm to ???

This job along with my coding / learning time exhausts me sometimes.

Therefore today, I thought it was a good idea to take a break.

I've been relaxing and reading news / tech and non tech / and (surprisingly) enjoying this hot weather we have in NY right now.  I usually hate hot weather.

Sitting by the window / with a fan blowing at my side, it's nice.

I've been thinking more about my impending career change plans.
Is it the right thing to do?  Is it too late?  Am I considering all I need to?  How will family life turn out should we grow our family this coming year?  Oh, and what about health insurance?  (Thanks Obama for another big bill - yet I guess we would need it this year anyway).
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So, a little more info on my plans:

I'm very lucky to be here in NY right now as we have so many code academies springing up all over the place.

As I may have mentioned, I have already been accepted to one.  At the same time, I was also trying to pass all the tests in order to get into a more well known academy.

It seems though that I may not have the skills yet in order to get into this other more well known one.
I did about half of their pre-admission work so far but the last half of it deals with a lot of coding commands and processes that I'm not familiar with yet.

The academy I did get into asks for tuition and the academy I have been trying to get into asks for nothing until you work but tests you harder to make sure you can succeed.  Personally, I think I can succeed but their original email / test did not ask for many advanced coding knowledge that their 2nd pre test email did ask for.

They say there is no time limit but the school that did accept me is asking for my tuition downpayment by the end of the week.  That's a sure thing so I don't think I should mess with that.  I won't be done with the other code academy's tests by the end of the week.  I figure I should go to the one I got accepted to and just finish up the challenges anyway during the coming week or 2.

As a side note, I plan to keep my MRI job on weekends for the time being while I'm in the coding academy to keep my work history going just in case I have to switch back someday.

I hope not though, MRI and Radiology in general is a cr@ppy business I have found.  You don't get any respect and the work is mundane and endless.  At least at the company where I am now, they make you want to leave.

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I guess as a final thought, I have read all over the place that as far as coding goes, it's what you know and not where you go in order to get a good position so I'm putting stock in that and I'm just going to work as hard as I can at whatever academy I go to.

Programming is nice because it's so dynamic.  You can learn more or less to your liking or toward where you want to go.  The disadvantage is you may be driven and be able to learn fast or you may be lazy and learning could take years.  It's better to be in the former of course.

Update on my coding practice for today.

Today my time was short so I decided to do some more Udemy Ruby practice off the iPad app.  It’s a great app that has a very good teacher showing you how to Ruby with very good explanations and nice practice problems that you can see answered on video. 

Great for beginners which is what I still am right now.

I watched the videos and tried to replicate the exercises on my computer.

Great stuff.  Basic compared to the exercises I’ve been doing off the emails from the coding academies but I never got a lot of practice in the basics much.

Any practice is good practice.

Tomorrow I’ll head back and do some more academy exercises. 

- I work in the evenings and walked my wife to work today so I only had a few hours. -

We'll see what tomorrow brings. 

Learn to Code Now!

This is my log of my new venture and a little bit of history.

My own personal story on how I want to transition from my current job in the healthcare field back into the tech industry that I've always loved but felt I could not be a part of.

My story is a long one.  I started out from my very beginnings into technology.  I programmed from elementary all the way up to high school.  After high school though, I bounced around a while in art, literature, acting, and music.  Then, the health field caught my heart.  I shadowed doctors and decided I wanted to be one.

Time passed, I did get into medical school and I did graduate.  Sadly though, I tried for a total of 6 years to pass my boards and for one reason or another, even with every review program out there, I couldn't do it.  It was very sad.  I became depressed for a good few months.  Very depressed.

After those few months, with a little help from my friends, I was able to get back into the tech industry as a tech support guy for a hosting company.  Long story short, after another 4 months, I became their sales engineer!  I learned fast and had lots of confidence once again.  Sadly though, a year later, the economic downturn came and hit the tech industry.  Because I went into the managerial side and didn't stay on the technical side, I was one of the first ones to go.  They even had the gall to tell me I was gone right after returning from a trip where I trained a sales crew for them!

Sufficed to say, my confidence was shot once again.  I retreated into a dark hole, tried to even study for my board exams again but that didn't turn out so great once again.

When I finally pulled myself out of my hole, I decided to go back to health.  I thought I'd be happy.  I'd still be able to help people.  I decided to become an X-ray Tech and then an MRI tech.  Now that's what I do.  Even though it's a decent job, who knew we were treated so badly and still paid pretty low compared to what salary.com and other sites say.

Anyway, I'm getting older, thanks to God, I've found someone who loves me, I'm married and we want to have kids in the near future.  That means I need to make the changes that I can in order to give us the best life possible NOW!

This realization has led me back to tech.  I love it.  In the past, even while I was in my hole, I blogged on tech, made a video podcast, tried to get a tech writing job, and even tried to unsuccessfully make an app with a friend (mainly because I didn't program and we were 800 miles apart).  I've always kept up with tech news as well during all this time and dreamed of going to SXSW, CES, Mobile World Congress, and other tech conventions.

A lot of what I wanted to do, what I dream of doing, and what I want to do, has to have an implementation of coding.  I've felt lately that perhaps going into the health field was the wrong decision.  My old buddy Johnny actually got out of health and into computers when we were in college while I was applying to med schools.  I can't say what would have happened but maybe life would be much more stable if I had done the same.  Perhaps, I would have a sense of contentment now.  But who knows what else would have changed?  (Yes, I love string theory and time travel movies, this is a big question for me)

So my plan!  I want to code and I want to code NOW!
With the advent of Code Academies here in NY and around the country who promise to teach you the skills needed to become a web or app developer in 12 weeks, I've decided to take the plunge!

I've been doing a lot of prep work from 3 academies' pre-work emails and other sources, I've even gotten accepted into a code academy already!  I'm so looking forward to it!

I'm learning so much so fast but just about Ruby.  I can't wait to mix in the front end and back end and to see how all this is supposed to work together!  And after the program, I'll build my skills even more and I plan to go after Swift!  I have a few ideas for apps but have no clue where to start (at the moment).

I'm hoping that by the end of the year as well, I'll have some developer or IT job once again and be able to support my family better, get paid even or more as currently, and hopefully with a more regular work schedule.  Currently I work 6 nights a week below the low area of my salary average, I'm treated very poorly, and hours can vary wildly from 30 to up to 45 hours a week.  Plus, I don't really enjoy working where I am as you can imagine but it's very hard as well to get a hospital job thanks to the unions.  It seems to be the only way to get a decent stable schedule though, good health insurance, and even time to eat lunch!  These private companies only care about working you to death and don't even schedule in a lunch for you.

Anyway, the happiest time in my career life was in the tech industry.
I hope to be back in there again real soon and so with coding, I'll be taking my first steps back in.
I've learned from my mistake and I hope to be smart enough to not become middle management anymore either, for any price.

I know this was a very long post and I plan the future ones to be much shorter.
I really wanted to chronicle my life and training back into the tech industry though.
I want a place where people who stumble onto this blog can give me advice as well or just point me in the right direction.  I don't think I have time to dilly dally so I'll be heading full speed ahead into directions I think are right, maybe even before I realize they're wrong!  The more input I can gain from colleagues, friends, and even strangers are much appreciated in order to do things the right way the first time!

I'm loving the input I've received on Quora so far and coding tips from Stack Overflow, I'm just adding another way to reach out and connect with people which is a great way to gain knowledge and make friends.

Thanks for reading.  To the future!!!