This content originally appeared on Level Up Coding - Medium and was authored by James Geiger
It’s been a long and difficult journey, but I’m finally starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel. It’s not easy finding work as a person with a physical disability, but I’m determined to make a change. I’m starting Devslopes Academy in a few days, and I want to document my progress with weekly blogs! However, for this introductory post, I’d like to recall how I got here. Thank you for following my journey!
College Days
I got my Bachelor’s degree in Theatre Arts. What in the hell was I thinking?? I have fine motor issues AND a severe speech impediment. I would NEVER ‘make it’ as an actor (How many disabled people do you know in theatre, TV, or film??) No one would be able to understand me. I could do crew work backstage or on film sets, but did I want to do that as a career, exhausting myself, working long hours, no!
I made this revelation in my junior year when an instructor pulled me into his office and basically said, “Why are you wasting your time??” Harsh? Yes. True? Yes.
It was too late to change majors, so I stuck it out.
I began looking into graduate programs. All I knew was I hated research papers.
I looked at 3 schools; Full Sail for film production (way too expensive), UCF for film production, and USF for Instructional Technology. I ended up choosing USF because I was familiar with it already.
There was one huge hurdle I had to overcome…..my GPA. I was originally denied from the program because my GPA was too low. I decided to meet with the student ombudsman office and see if they could advocate for me…..and it WORKED!!!!!
Graduate School
In the first semester of my graduate program, I decided to enroll in a JavaScript course. The program required that you complete one programming language course. There were two options: Flash and JavaScript. Because I knew flash was on its way out, I picked JavaScript as my option.
I despised JavaScript! We met for two hours once a week for 16 weeks. I nearly failed the course in the end. Somehow, I managed to pass the class!
I told myself I’d never learn another language!
Later in the graduate program, I took a web design class which I absolutely loved!
Upon graduating, I’d apply for job after job after job, only to get repeated rejections…..
Post Graduation
I decided to start marching to the beat of my own drum by entering the gig economy. Since no one would hire me, I decided to be my own boss.
Side note: Often times disabled people are forced into freelancing due to society’s stereotypes about us. Here’s a forbes article, for more information.
I started out by doing web design via Wix, Squarespace, and WordPress. Then I decided to branch out and start doing Uber.
Uber was fine and dandy until I had a few passengers try and accuse me of being drunk due to my speech impediment. By that time, I was over that bullshit!
I then turned to their delivery service, UberEATS. Because, hey, food doesn’t talk back! I thrived doing deliveries. Of course, I’d have an occasional asshole, but I wouldn’t have to deal with them as passengers! Due to my physical limitations, I’d politely ask the customer to meet me at my car, especially when they were upstairs with no elevator. Most were happy to do so!
I ended up having so much fun doing UberEATS, I decided to expand my offerings. At my peak, I was doing; UberEATS, Doordash, Instacart, Postmates, Grubhub and Dispatch.
2021
I was growing sick and tired burning my candle at both ends.
In November/December 2021, I decided to start learning new skills. However, those skills would keep me in the freelance world.
At the start of 2022, something told me to look into web programming. So I started on Udemy.
Udemy always has deep discounts. I found 2 courses like 50 hours EACH that were very in-depth so I got 100 hours combined training for $20!
I picked up:
Colt Steele’s Web Developer Bootcamp 2022
Dr. Angela Yu’s Complete 2022 Web Development Bootcamp
HTML and CSS were a breeze! But then came JavaScript. The courses may say 2022, but some of the videos were 2–3 years old and very outdated. This was true for Dr. Yu’s course.
If you remember, in graduate school, I had major issues with learning JavaScript. I was facing the same issues again. At first, I thought it was the instructor. So, I’d try a few more courses:
Zero to Mastery by Andrei Neagoie
Web Dev Simplified by Kyle Cook
These were great programs, but with my different learning disabilities, I needed something more
I kept getting stuck and I was becoming very frustrated.
More Schooling??
I then began looking into online programs. One of the first ones I came across was Devslopes. Devslopes caught my eye for a few reasons.
Their site stated that they provide:
Constant 1–1 Mentoring
1–1 Career coaching/prep
Lifetime access
So, I scheduled a consultation with them, and I liked what I heard. The next week, the finance department told me I had been granted a $3k scholarship to enroll! I was beyond excited!! I immediately started a GoFundMe to help raise the rest of the funds.
I’m keeping my other courses stated above to use as supplemental learning material while going through Devslopes.
Use your disability and be PROUD!
I was struggling to raise what was needed.
One day, I was scrolling though Instagram and I came across a live with the Diversity Leadership Collective. Four of the members were sharing their experiences. I became interested, so I did their 1 week free trial.
Get your 1 week free trial here!
I attends a few events. I felt seen. I felt heard. It was a lovely experience. I didn’t hesitate in joining right away.
The very next day, the founder, Tiffany Yu, presents me with a social media campaign opportunity through the Better Internet Initiative.
She connected me with the BII, had and interview, and was accepted! So, I’ll be doing educational content with BII helping me.
The cool thing is is that they’ve agreed to pay my tuition so I can enroll into Devslopes Academy!!
Today
As of 2/25/22, I’m waiting to get enrolled and start. Once I start, expect weekly updates recapping myy knowledge I’m gaining, plus my feelings about the program.
Be a part of my journey here on Medium and on Github to follow my progress.
Week 0: Hard Work, Determination, and a Little Bit of Luck — My Journey into Web Programming was originally published in Level Up Coding on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
This content originally appeared on Level Up Coding - Medium and was authored by James Geiger
James Geiger | Sciencx (2022-04-03T15:21:34+00:00) Week 0: Hard Work, Determination, and a Little Bit of Luck — My Journey into Web Programming. Retrieved from https://www.scien.cx/2022/04/03/week-0-hard-work-determination-and-a-little-bit-of-luck-my-journey-into-web-programming/
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