Hey there, Ron! What was your branch of service?
US Navy
What prior military experience do you believe has helped you in your volunteer work at Operation Code?
Aside from participating in the video, I haven't done any volunteer work at Operation Code yet. I'd imagine that being able to empathize with other veteran based on common experience would be helpful however.
What prior software development do you have (if any)?
A few CS and CIS courses I took at Portland Community College, self-directed work online via Codecademy, Code School, and Treehouse, and the Code Fellows Computer Science and Web Development Bootcamp.
Why are you interested in learning how to code?
Coding is a skill set that can take you in many different directions within a vast and constantly evolving industry. For someone like me who is always wanting to learn something new, this type of work seems like a great fit.
What kinds of obstacles are you facing in your learning?
The biggest obstacles I faced were at the outset, when I first started learning to code. Everything was so foreign to me. It just takes a while to develop the mindset where things can begin to make sense. Many of the tutorials I tried to use to teach myself were frustrating at first because it felt like the instructors assumed a certain level of pre-existing knowledge. Something that seems very basic and obvious to someone with years of experience can still be very strange and counter-intuitive to a brand new student.
What is your dream project or job you'd like to work on if you could code?
I've just started my first tech industry job with a company I really like, so right now, learning the ins and outs of this job is a dream come true.
How can the average person help a veteran right now?
If by 'average person' you mean someone already in the tech industry, I'd say just make yourself available to answer questions and share your experiences. If you're referring to average people outside the industry, I guess encouragement and support would be a good start. Switching gears is always challenging. Switching into tech is especially so, since there are so many ways to go about it.
Ron is a US Navy veteran with ten years of aviation industry experience. He recently made the switch to tech after completing a Code Fellows bootcamp, and now he's a web developer at CollegeNET in Portland, OR. Feel free to reach out to him on Twitter or Github, and check out some of his projects here!
