Chaos Tamer
You’ve seen these types of counters, ones that zip up to some total at some speed. Well, that’s what this project is. This is one that I can easily see a use case for. Also, it was a lot of fun.
An interesting realization: coding gives me energy. I was feeling rather worn and fatigued when I started this project. At the end, I felt invigorated. There’s some good learning here…just got to figure out what it means.
Today we created an animated navigation bar with (mostly) CSS. I easily see a use case for this one, which makes it that much more fun.
You click on the “x” or the double line (depending on the view you’re in) to change the animation.
Besides growing my developer skills, I’m considering what work I should/could do in the near term. It’s going to be a bit before I feel ready to do coding interviews, much feel ready to jump into a production environment. But that’s not the only thing I can do with all that I’ve learned over the past few years.
My studies have covered a pretty broad swath of technology. Besides the keys to web development (HTML, CSS, and JavaScript), we also looked at JQuery and PHP. Stretching beyond the rudiments, we went pretty deep into databases (theory as well as design), system analysis and design, and project management (amongst other things). Also, I added some courses in Cisco Networking (the internet is a network, right?), desktop support (one more class then I will have a certificate in desktop support), and system architecture. Combining this with my pre-ATA career, I think this sets me up to be a great system analyst. I understand the technical side of things, and what business leaders want/need. I will do an excellent job bridging the gap between “business” and IT. Thus, I’m leaning that way in my job search.
What do you think? Any guidance you have to offer me as I transition? I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Finished another one! Today’s project s titled “Random Choice Picker“. You enter choices in the text area, then press enter, and a random animation will change change colors. This one was a bit challenging, as I didn’t catch some of the automated choices that Visual Studio made for me. (I guess, properly, it’s the plug-ins that are out to get me, but I digress.)
A few weeks back I posted about some additional certificates that I applied for. Well, two of them are officially approved!
Still waiting for 5 others, but they’re coming, I’m sure. With that, I went ahead and did a few of the LinkedIn assessments:
I’m not sure if I’ll take any others. I’ll need to see if these really added any value.
Anyway, as I wrote last time, my current contract is quickly winding down. There is still talk about a possible extension, which would be nice considering all the layoffs in the news these past few days. However, I am not counting on anything until I have an offer in had. So, if you know of anyone looking for a business systems analyst, data analyst, web developer, or project manager/coordinator, please let me know!
Today was busy. Did a few more modules in my Google Project Management Certificate, as well as two projects in my 50 Projects in 50 Days course. This on top of spending my morning as part of my church’s tech team (our crew that manages sound, media presentation, and live-streaming). Also, my wife and I zipped up to the Everett Farmer’s Market (one of our favorite things). And we managed to cram in a walk (thank goodness the smoke from the fires has been washed away).
Today’s projects included Event Key Code, where you can type a key and get the underlying code. Also, I got the “FAQ Collapse” project done. This one we click on the down arrow, which changes the background color and expands out the box to show the answer (to answer dad joke).
For Project Management, we dove a bit deeper into starting successful projects. This all-important phase is where many projects are made or broken. Mastering the tools to ensure projects are successfully completed is critical to my future, and probably yours, too.
As my current project wraps up at the end of the year, I’m starting to scope out my possible next steps. There is the potential that my role will continue, perhaps even become full-time. But there’s no guarantee! And I like to hedge my bets, as the adage goes. What do I want to do next? That’s a great question! Ideally, I’d do something within IT, though I’m keeping my pride in check. I’m still being actively recruited as an executive assistant, which is what most of my career has entailed. For a dying career, it’s interesting how much energy recruiters have funneled my way. Anyway, I’m exploring and please let me know if you come across any leads.
I hope your weekend met your expectations. And that you got some rest. Time to call it a night and get ready for another hard-charging week!
Though I’m working on my Google Project Management certificate, I’m also continuing on with my 50 Projects in 50 Days Udemy course.
With today’s project, I got to fetch from an API. This API, perhaps dangerously perfect for me, is from the I Can Haz Dad Joke site. As I’m rather famous for Dad Jokes, this one seemed perfect.
So, I enjoyed diving into API calls deeper. This is something that I want to know better, so diving in deeper made me happy.
Here’s the link to the project, and here’s the link to my developer site. Let me know what you think.
Project Management work has been part of every role I’ve done. Early on, while in the Navy, I tracked planned maintenance evolutions on my ships, coordinated with the different departments onboard as well as shore-based teams, and ensured supplies were on-hand in order to complete that work in a timely manner. Things expanded from here. Whether managing event logistics at AARP, Starbucks, or Microsoft, tracking budgets with the same orgs, negotiating time with key executives, project management has been a core skill of mine.
My studies over the past year have shown that I have solid skills and that I really enjoy PM work. So, I’ve started working on Google’s Project Management certification through Coursera. I want to up my game, and this seems like the best way to move forward.
Today’s project we got to play with audio files. We used JavaScript to do the heavy lifting. The buttons, as well as the play action are done via JS.
Getting to explore JavaScript and coding more was a key desired function of this course, so I’m pleased with it.
Anyway, please check out the project. And take a look at my hand-coded web page. I am fond of them both.
A few days ago, this post came through my LinkedIn feed: “These Jobs Are Disappearing“. For me, the key thing are all the administrative roles declining (which has been the focus for a good deal of my career). Administrative assistant roles are expected to decline by 19.2% over the ten years from 2021 to 2031. Executive admin assistant roles are expected to drop by 20.2%!
What I find interesting in this: I’ve seen this coming for a while. However, right now, the trend SEEMS to be going the other way. I’m getting near daily recruiter calls for executive support and team admin roles.
This, though, is one key motivating factor for changing professions. As I love technology, these trends just drive me to cement my knowledge and work harder to transition.
Things like web development, project management, and systems analysis are key future-centric roles. My studies are my attempt to future-proof my career.
In today’s project, I created some animated text for a faux login form. I really enjoy the effect of this one when you click on the input fields.
Though I am really tired (it’s been a long few weeks), I’m pleased that I was able to fit this project into my evening. I really want to become a better coder, and coding is the only way to get there.
I want to fit in some review of project management and systems analysis. I’m quite confident that these will be important parts of my career’s next steps.
Today I completed the “Split Landing Page” project from my 50 Projects in 50 Days Udemy class. This one was pretty fun (yes, I’m a nerd).
Built a (mostly) CSS based animation effect onto the webpage. When you hover over half a page, it expands out to 75% of the page.
Check it out here. And you can check out all my web dev work on my developer page.