I think every developer had probably experienced the panic and confusion of coming back to an old codebase and wondering what crazed past version of themselves wrote the hieroglyphics before them. Sometimes it’s a miserable experience wading through the cryptic puzzles, but more often then not a few minutes (or a few dozen) can be… Continue reading #8: Communication & Coordination
#7: All Consuming, or, How to Partition
As one might partition a hard drive, I’ve found that learning to partition one’s thoughts and priorities is vital when it comes to being a programmer. In my previous career in politics and government, I worked directly for candidates and representatives whose entire lives revolved around their campaigns and careers. And since their days were… Continue reading #7: All Consuming, or, How to Partition
#6: Imposter Syndrome
I studied Political Science and Economics my first round of college, during which I belonged to a national Political Science student organization that consisted of students from dozens of universities. When we’d meet for conferences or retreats, I, who was attending a US News ranked #227 school, would sit alongside peers attending Ivy Leagues and… Continue reading #6: Imposter Syndrome
#5: Error Hunting
Working with a React app (or web development, in general) is a funny thing when it comes to errors and warnings. I developed a bad habit fairly early in CS290: the console’s warnings and error’s aren’t really “real”. Or at least, they aren’t real in the same sense as an indentation issue or missing semicolon… Continue reading #5: Error Hunting
#4: The Reluctant Designer
Although I am sure some people get into programming excited at the prospect of dreaming and implementing beautiful, creative front-end designs, it doesn’t quite describe me. Like (I assume) many people, I can recognize when a site has poor UI/UX design: unintuitive layout, hard-to-read fonts and colors, and/or unresponsive design. However, criticizing a final product… Continue reading #4: The Reluctant Designer
#3: Interview Prep
Before enrolling at Oregon State University to pursue a career change, I wanted to be a lawyer. I took two Constitutional Law classes during my previous college education, studied and took the LSAT twice, and had even put a deposit down for a law school. Studying for the LSAT was an interesting experience, combining sadistic… Continue reading #3: Interview Prep
#2: Self-Teaching
While I’m thankful to the OSU CS program for a lot, one of the things I’m most appreciative of is a firm foundation with which to become comfortable scouring the internet for resources, tutorials, and documentation to self-teach new skills. Primarily, this experience has manifested itself through learning the MERN stack, or more specifically becoming… Continue reading #2: Self-Teaching
#1: About me
Welcome strangers, classmates, and friends to my blog. Timothy Jan is my parents-are-angry-with-me-name, but I’ve gone by “TJ” or “Teej” since I can remember. My interest in computers and technology began kindergarten graduation night. Little TJ, clothed in a miniature cap & gown, sat in the backseat of his mom’s Nissan Quest minivan and… Continue reading #1: About me