Category: Student Insights

My Plan

Carl Setzer2 Comments
two women holding pen

As we approach the middle of February, and the middle of Winter Quarter, I think it’s a good time to talk about plans.

I have one more quarter: spring 2022. My goal is to land a new role promptly after that. More specifically, late June/early July. I intend to focus on project manager/coordinator or systems analyst roles. Though I’ve spent the past two years focused on learning web development, I see my greatest value add is in the convergence of that with my project and team coordination history. I know the language of the different project stakeholders, from financial to operational to technical. Being able to keep disparate groups of people engaged, on the proverbial “same page”, is something of a superpower. One that I’m looking forward to using.

My Focus

Carl Setzer
crop colleagues shaking hands in office

As I’ve written earlier, I really hadn’t thought too deeply about my long-term plans when I started this career transition. “I’ll build websites” was pretty much it. I didn’t think about where I’d work (companies, etc) or what, exactly, I’d do. So, the past few weeks I have focused on determining answers to those questions.

I did think about focusing on communications, as that kind of work has been a huge orbit for my career. However, after consulting with several friends and mentors, I now see that my career has had a few key elements that I want to move forward with. Project management is key amongst them.

For every company I’ve worked for, projects have been a key component. Every. Single. One. Some places more so than others.

The other piece has been technology management. Whether procuring and configuring PCs, copiers, etc, setting up and troubleshooting wifi and networking issues, desktop support, fixing phone systems, setting up security systems…you get the picture.

So, with the advice of my key trusted allies, I’m focusing on technology management. After I’m done at Edmonds, I will transfer to Central Washington University’s Lynnwood campus and work towards my Bachelor of Applied Science in Information Technology and Administrative Management.

I see that my web and cloud development studies, along with my side networking and desktop support courses, grant me a unique understanding of the technological needs of companies. Combining that with my background working for a wide range of businesses, I can make a solid impact anywhere I would work.

I’m starting my next steps with that since I have less than 6 months before I finish the ATA, which will pass by quickly.

Let me know of any leads or advice. I’d be much obliged!

Non-Traditional Backgrounds and Tech Careers

Carl Setzer

I just read this tweet, which got me thinking…

I thought “well, I’m pretty non-traditional” when I read that. My career has drifted over a number of roles and industries (go read my resume for more of the story). I feel, at this point, the central theme of my work-life is what I’d call communications. Whether crafting presentations and other correspondence, developing social media strategies, creating WordPress websites, creating content for said websites, editing video, running sound and audio for events, coordinating meeting/event logistics…well, I think you see the theme.

I really appreciated the encouragement. Though my grades are pretty darn good, it’s not been easy. I’ve had to work quite hard. This work doesn’t come naturally to me. So encouragement is really valuable.

I’m still not sure where I want to land once I’m done with my degree. I don’t expect to be feted with glee, but I believe I have a lot to offer. Perhaps directly in the tech sector, or perhaps in a tech role in a more traditional business. I’m still pulling that together.

Has your career been linear? In one sector or role/type-of-role? Or have you been all over the map like me? And what kind of career transitions have you made? I’d love to hear your stories and ideas. Leave a comment and lets talk!

Student Life Update

Carl Setzer
gray laptop computer showing html codes in shallow focus photography

One of the more interesting phenomena I’ve observed: the weird pivots between emotions. Late last week and earlier this week, I struggled with some basic concepts in database structure and math that left me feeling like I had no business pursuing this web developer thing. Then there’s today where I blast out two quizzes, that I budgeted an hour each for in just under 20 minutes. With perfect scores, mind you. So, right now, I feel a bit like superman. I’m sure I’ll be humbled again soon, though.

On another note: I’m changing the focus of this blog. Earlier this year I shifted my haiku and other poetry away from Questionsall.net to here, CarlSetzer.com. There were a few reasons, mainly the ads on Questionsall were annoying me. Plus, I thought it would be nice to only blog in one place. Well, a few folks let me know that it was a bit of a confusing muddle. And, as I approach the end of my ATA efforts, I need to give some thought to my “brand”. This site is my most powerful tool regarding SEO. It’s beenbtop of fold when you search “Carl Setzer” for quite some time. I want those HR folks researching me to view what I’ve been doing with my education. Plus, I plan to use this site as a way to generate freelance work.

Thus, I intend to move my poetry back to Questionsall.net. As a side project, that seems fitting. I don’t want haiku, etc, to be my career. Quite the opposite: I want it to remain free of the stress of production. It’s what I turn to in order to relieve stress.

And this site will focus on my journey through my web development studies and how I’m integrating all that into my overall life. My professional brand, so to speak.

Hopefully my little experiment wasn’t too jarring for you. I’ll work on a clear vision as I move forward.

Thank you all for your support and for reading my missives. It means a great deal to me.

Another Career Transition Update

Carl Setzer

I’m currently studying web development. Here’s my post that explains the why, and this link will be show you the series of updates about my change.

My last coding focused class was in the spring, where I took PHP and JQuery, two key programming languages for creating websites. Over the summer I took Project Management, Math and Desktop Software support (when I mapped out my path, I had a few gaps and I thought studying hardware would be fun). With PHP, I got to do some work with MySQL databases. This quarter I’m whole hog into SQL, MySQL and Databases: I get to study database theory and design, along with a class specifically focused on SQL scripting! This might be my favorite part yet!

I really enjoy databases. That might actually be a better descriptor of my current study program. Yeah, lots of web site creation, but I’ve had several classes with database elements (an intro to Office, including Access, and then there’s PHP where we did MySQL API calls, and a few other elements). And now my two data systems classes. Drives home the point that Web 2.0 is, ultimately, about interacting with data.

For some reason, databases come naturally to me (I’m sure I just jinxed myself and the rest of the quarter I’ll struggle mightily with SQL syntax…knocking on some wood now). So far, each of the database classes have just felt straightforward, that the syntax is clear. Javascript, for instance, was considerably less so. I’m looking forward to this, even though I still feel like I’m drinking from the proverbial fire-hose.

As I’m slowly marching towards the end of this stage, I feel the need to plan my next steps. When I went into this, I expected to come out and become a Web Developer, whatever that really meant. Now, I see so many possibilities, so many directions, so many things I can do with this knowledge. And I see how much more I want to learn. I’m exploring these and will post more soon.

Today’s Haiku: Bursts of Color

Carl Setzer 
footsteps on the path
bursts of color reach my eye
underneath the leaves

Saw these on my walk yesterday. They were striking, standing out solidly in the mass of green.

I finished up Summer quarter on my journey to finish my ATA in Web Development. I will write some about that soon. Six quarters complete and three quarters left. Now, what to do afterwards? So much opportunity, so many choices, thus, so many things to say “no” to. That’s my pain.

PHP and WordPress

Carl Setzer
phplogo

This quarter I’m studying PHP at Edmonds College. Many of my classes have a cumulative project that we build towards over the quarter. For this class, we’ll be creating plugins for WordPress. I’m pretty excited as I’ve used WordPress for years and deepening my knowledge will be fantastic. Hopefully, I’ll get enough knowledge to come up with creative ideas.

 

Documenting Everything

Carl Setzer
code-as-documentation

Currently, I’m taking the second quarter in a two-quarter series on Systems Analysis. One of the lists my text presented is “7 Design Habits”. (side note: I appreciate the reference/nod to Steven Covey’s 7 Habits Of Highly Successful People). I like the list, so I wrote it out on a post-it and have it on the wall next to my desk.

  1. Understand the business
  2. Maximize graphical effectiveness
  3. Think like a user
  4. Use models and prototypes
  5. Focus on usability
  6. Invite feedback
  7. Document everything

I value each of these. While maximizing graphical effectiveness has been an area of interest for quite some time (it’s the roots of my interest in design), what really speaks to me right now is “document everything”.

I’ve lived by this mantra for years. I try to drop everything into Evernote*, for instance. Articles I’ve read, people I’ve met, things told to me. This collection of notes is but one element of documenting everything. Knowing where I got ideas is pretty important. But this notion means more. To me, it implies a certain thoughtfulness to the documentation. Sure, it’s great to have dozens of pages of random notes. But “documentation” is organized. Not just links to articles, or pages of feedback, but also analysis, explanations of the “why” within choices. Being able to reference, at some random point in the future, how we got to a certain decision can be crucial when evaluating a problem and determining a response. Also, in a more negative vein, it can show due diligence in a lawsuit.

So, yeah, my propensity for collecting information has saved me plenty of anguish over the years (“you never told me that!” “well, here’s the email I sent to you with your reply”). It’s also been helpful to friends and colleagues (“hey Carl, who was that guy from Facebook we met with last year”. Yeah, it’ll be in my notes). I appreciate the reinforcement that this is a best practice that’s valued at least by textbook writers.

*this link to Evernote is an affiliate link. If you subscribe to the service, I will get rewarded with a free year of the service. 

Looking At Laptops

Carl Setzer
Apple M1 Logo

My main laptop right now is an OLLLDDD MacBook Pro. It’s nearly 10 years old, and it’s starting to really show its age. And we do have need of a laptop.  So, it’s time to think of a replacement.

I’ve been very pleased with what I’ve seen of Apple’s new M1 chip. Also, my wife is most comfortable with Mac OS. And I pride myself on being OS agnostic. Additionally, one of the things I’m considering once I’m done at Edmonds college is UW’s Interactive Design program. They require a laptop and, though they don’t mandate a MacBook, they do highly recommend one. So, with all of that, I’m leaning towards an M1 Macbook Air. I still need to explore more, though. Due diligence and all that. Fortunately, I do get a student discount.

So, I’ve done a bit of research already. Check out these videos below. The first is a review of the MacBook while the second talks about the M1 chip compared to Windows PCs. Both point towards the M1 and Macbook.

A Summary Of Google’s Webmaster Guidelines

Carl Setzer
Google Webmaster Tools

One of my assignments this week was to read through the Google Webmaster Guidelines and summarize their general recommendations.

  • Make sure your pages can get links from other pages. You will want to make sure you use crawlable links when you do that, which means using anchor tags (<a> with a href attribute).
  • Create a sitemap and ensure that it has links to all the important pages on the site. They also recommend having this as a “human-readable” list of links for those important pages.
  • Keep the number of links on a page to a “reasonable number”. They recommend “a few thousand at most”, which, to me, seems excessive.
  • Ensure that the hosting server supports the “If-Modified-Since” HTTP header, which is what informs the Googlebots when content has been changed since they last visited the page. It’s important as it saves bandwidth and, thus, networking overhead costs.
  • Use the robots.txt file well. It is important to ensure that the web crawler bots are not crawling non-important pages. Besides ensuring the robots.txt file has the right information, you also want to make sure that it is kept up-to-date. Doing these things ensures that your “crawling budget” is utilized well.
  • Another thing that you can do is manually submit your site to Google’s crawlers. This triggers them to head over to your site immediately, as opposed to waiting for it to be discovered crawling other sites.
  • Lastly, you should make sure that administrators of other relevant sites know about yours. Emailing an announcement, or posting such on social media is a great tool towards creating awareness of your site and garnering backlinks.