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Eddie: Welcome to episode
39 of the web joy podcast.

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I'm your host Eddie.

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And in this podcast, we interview
guests about their origin story and

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what makes them excited and joyful
to be part of the tech community.

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I hope you enjoy today's episode.

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Take a break.

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And do something that makes you feel
good with Ar'Niqua Coleman   Welcome

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to another episode of Web Joy.

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I'm excited to have our
Nico today speaking with us.

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Thanks for coming on the podcast.

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Ar'Niqua: Of course.

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Thank you for having me.

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Eddie: Absolutely.

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So, yeah, I think as we get started
with each episode, we always just

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like to say, Hey, like who are you?

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What do you do?

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A brief intro.

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Ar'Niqua: Yeah.

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So, um, as mentioned, my
name is Arika Coleman.

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I'm from Texas.

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So currently I actually
work as a college advisor.

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Um, I've worked in higher education
for the past eight years or so

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in various college advisor roles.

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Started out working in financial aid,
transitioned over to working with programs

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that focus primarily on first generation
and low income college students.

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So that's where my focus has been for the.

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Five years I believe.

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But I'm looking to transition into, uh,
becoming a full-time software developer.

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So yeah, that's just
a little bit about me.

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I'm currently in the
process of making the career

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Eddie: transition.

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That is super exciting, cuz I
know it's interesting because.

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People here, like, oh, this person
like transitioned in their career like

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years ago and like, oh, this person
transitioned over the last year and

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they're in their first, second job.

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Or, or things like that.

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But I think, yeah, it's really nice
for them to actually hear from someone

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who is actually in the process.

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Right?

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It's not like, oh,
that's a bad memory firm.

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Like a, a year or two ago it was like, no.

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You're in the trenches right now,

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. 
Ar'Niqua: Yes, definitely.

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And I feel it

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Eddie: for sure.

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Well, what kind of got you interested
in becoming a programmer and tech?

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Ar'Niqua: Yeah, good question.

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So actually one of the perks of working in
higher education is we get to, well, with

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most of the colleges that I've worked for,
you get to take like free college courses.

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That's just one of the benefits
of being a staff member.

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This time last year, last fall, I
decided to sign up, uh, just to take one

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course, just because I had been out of
school for a while and I signed up for

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a intro to probe cramming course, and
at the time we were learning Python.

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So that was like my
introduction and honestly like.

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What chose, um, what caused me to choose,
like, the intro to programming courses?

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It is just, it was just so different
from everything I've done before.

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Like for my bachelor's degree and
my master's degree, they've been

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more, um, like, I guess psychology
focused, like more focused on human

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development and things of that nature.

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So I was like, this is just something
different, like completely different

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from what I've done in the past.

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So I'm just gonna try it.

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And I signed up for the.

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It was super challenging just because I
felt as if I was learning a new language.

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I mean, well basically you are . Um,
but it was just so different from what

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I've done in the past and like what I do
for work and I just found it to be like

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just a lot of fun just because it is so
different and it was super challenging.

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So that was kind of my introduction and
once I got into it, Like I started to

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realize like, number one, I'm really
enjoying this, but also my professor

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for the course, he like held me after
class one day to let me know like, Hey,

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I know you worked for acc, but I think
you're not utilizing your full skillset.

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Like you should seriously
consider getting.

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To software engineering.

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Like I know you're just doing it just
to be doing something at this point, but

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I think you really should consider it.

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And I was like, I was kind
of thinking the same thing.

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So to hear from you, you know, that you
feel the same way, like I feel like I'm

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on the right path to potentially, you
know, transition into something different.

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So that was kind of my introduction
and how I ended up here

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Eddie: today.

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Wow, that's so encouraging.

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You know, like a lot of people
are just like, oh, I like this

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so I'm going to try to do it.

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But to actually.

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Start off with someone saying, Hey,
like you're doing a really good job.

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You're leaving skills on the table, not

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If you don't do anything different, like

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Ar'Niqua: that's cool.

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Yeah.

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I was surprised like one day when
he was like in class, he announced

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like, Hey, ARITA, can you stay after?

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I'm like, oh gosh, what did I do wrong?

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And then, yeah.

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So for that to be the conversation,
I'm like, oh wow, okay.

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Well, that conversation went in complete
opposite way of what I was expecting.

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But that's great news.

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Like I'm happy to hear.

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Eddie: Well, cool.

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So how has that journey been so far?

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Right?

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You kind of took that class and
kind of got that feedback like,

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oh yeah, you should actually think
about giving this more of a focus.

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How have you gone about, yeah.

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You know, trying to continue to
increase your skills and start job

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hunt if you have, or things like that.

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Like what has that journey
looked like so far for you?

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Ar'Niqua: Yes.

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Honestly, I feel like my journey
has been all over the place just

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because, like I said, initially I
started out with the Python course

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and then from there I was kind of
confused as to like where to go next.

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Just because like I was initially
thinking about just going back to

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school to get my bachelor's, they
offer, um, a bachelor's program in.

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Software development at the school that
I work for, but I was like going back

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and forth on whether or not I wanted
to, you know, dedicate another four

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years of my life being in school just
because I've, I feel like I've been

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in school literally my entire life.

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So I went back and forth on that for a
while and then I started to talk to other

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people and they were mentioning like,
Hey, you may consider doing a bootcamp.

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You know, like that's a more
expedited, uh, way to get into

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software engineering without having
to go through like the four year.

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Coursework route.

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Um, so I feel like I went through like a
few months of just going back and forth

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and like trying to study and figure
out which route would be best for me.

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And then from there I was in like
a Facebook group for women in tech.

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And someone mentioned that there
was like a upcoming, I guess it

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was similar to like a bootcamp, but
it was like a program for women of

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color that were interested in tech.

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And basically you get paired
with a group of like four or

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five other ladies and you get to.

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Basically work with an organization
and help them to develop an app.

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So I started out with that program
and while in the program I was

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kind of discouraged just because
we weren't doing much coding.

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Like the first, it was supposed to be for
six months and like the first three months

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or so that I was in the program, like
we did know coding, we were going over

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a lot of like project management type.

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Stuff.

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And I was just like, uh, I don't
feel like I'm getting, gaining from

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this program what I expected to.

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And one of the girls that I was
paired with to work on this app,

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she mentioned that she completed
100 devs the year before.

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And she was just telling me like,
it seems like you're looking for

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something more hands-on to, uh,
gain more technical experience.

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So I think you really
should consider 100 deaths.

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And she told me about this in
like December of last year.

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Cohort was gonna begin in January.

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So I was like, oh, like it's
right around the corner.

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I definitely should look
into it and consider it.

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So yeah, that's what kind of led me
to just going into the bootcamp route,

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which, yeah, I was still kind of pouring
on whether or not that was the right

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route for me, but I'm glad I did so.

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From there, jumped in 100 desks.

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And I can say this has been one
of the most challenging things

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like I've ever done in my life.

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Like I mentioned before, like I've
been to school, I have my bachelor's

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and my master's and I feel like the,
this time with the bootcamp has been

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more challenging than both of those wow
degrees and yeah, it's just been a lot.

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Yeah, cuz I'm also doing it while I work
full-time and I feel like I'm working

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two full-time jobs , to be honest.

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Like it's just like,

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Eddie: no, that definitely makes sense.

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I can imagine that feeling like.

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Two full-time jobs.

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And that's a, yeah, that's a, a big load.

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So congrats on, you know, sticking
with it and, and doing it so far.

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Ar'Niqua: Thank you.

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I appreciate it.

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It has definitely not been easy.

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And it's funny cuz I feel like once
you make up your mind that you,

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you're going to like, pursue and,
you know, do something different.

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So go back to school, whatever
it seems like everything in.

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That could potentially happen, like
everything outside starts to happen.

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So like I've dealt with, you know, like
my mom being ill for a bit, then I move.

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It's like, okay, like what more
can happen during this time?

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Like I'm already super busy and
then everything like life is

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just coming at you all the time.

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, 
Eddie: I can definitely understand that.

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I often look back and.

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A year.

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You never know what a year's gonna hold.

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Right.

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It feels like a year isn't that long
of a time, but when you oftentimes

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look back at where you were a year
before, it's like, whoa, like.

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You would not expect to be there.

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And I feel like every year just my
life has changed so much and it's like

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all these unexpected things happen.

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Mm-hmm.

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good and bad.

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Right.

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It's, it's a mixture, but it's
like you look back and you're

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like, how has this been the year?

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You know,

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, 
Ar'Niqua: right.

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. Exactly.

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It's not what I was expecting,
but I'm glad that I'm here

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. 
Eddie: Exactly.

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Well, cool.

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On this podcast, you know, we always
like to dive into talking about something

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that brings someone joy, and so I just
wanted to kind of ask what brings you

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joy kind of on this journey and stuff?

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Ar'Niqua: Yeah, so for me, like
I mentioned, like it's, there's

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just been a light, uh, number
one, just trying to balance.

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To going back to school or being in the
bootcamp while working, and then just

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having life constantly coming at you.

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So I found like just prioritizing
self-care and just taking time to focus

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and just, I guess do something for me.

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So prior to starting the bootcamp,
like I was really big into fitness,

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so like my self-care was like going
to the gym, like I would work out.

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Four or five times a week.

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And then as the bootcamp started, it's
funny because like right before I started

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the bootcamp, I had the conversation with
another software engineer that I randomly

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met in the gym and he was telling me, like
when I mentioned that I was getting ready

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to start the boot camp, he was like, yeah,
like I see that you come to the gym a lot.

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But once you start the bootcamp,
I can guarantee you like you

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won't have the same amount of
time . And I was like, yeah, right.

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Like that won't be me.

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And then sure enough, like once I
got like the first two months, like

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I was going strong, I was, and then
after like the third month, I'm

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like, oh, now I see what he's saying.

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So it went from like five days a
week to, I'm lucky if I can work out.

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I'm lucky if I work out
like maybe two days a week.

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But, Taking the time to focus on
and doing something nice for me.

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So whether or not this is like just
schedule a time to me with my therapist

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and then going to get facials,
like going to get my nails done.

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Just things like that.

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Just making sure that I take a
break and do something that I

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feel like just makes me feel good.

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So even if this is like going back
home to visit family, spending the

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weekend with them and not focusing
on coding yet, all that weekend.

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Because I feel like that's
what I need at the time.

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That's something that has brought me joy
throughout this process, just because

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it can be a lot, and I feel like as a,
I guess a entry level developer trying

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to get into the field, like we all
want it to happen, you know, right away

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and just learning to pace yourself.

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It'll happen eventually.

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Like this is a, a marathon,
not a sprint, you know?

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Just continuing to remind
myself of those things and.

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Trying to take a breath,
enjoy the rollercoaster,

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ride , the rollercoaster ride.

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So yeah, self-care has definitely
been something that has

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brought me joy throughout this

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Eddie: process.

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I love that because when it comes to, you
know, a lot of times people are looking

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at Yeah, like what are they trying to
accomplish for the next year, right?

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And it's like, oh, if I wanna, you
know, have a job in a year or things

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like that, like I gotta go, go, go.

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But it's like, really, you
should be looking at five years.

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. And so it's like if you're looking
at the five next five years, it's

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like, okay, yeah, you may, you know,
it may take you another six months

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longer than you thought to complete
the program and to be able to find a

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job and stuff like doing programming.

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But it's like, yeah, if you pace
yourself throughout and you learn

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things deeper because you had more
mental bandwidth, right, because

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you took that time and you took that
self-care, you may be able to get a job.

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At like a better company or a better team
because you're more centered rather than

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kind of just go, go, go, go, go and kind
of grabbing the first thing you can find.

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And because you're kind of at burnout
and then you realize like, oh,

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okay, I got the job, but it's not as
satisfying as I thought it would be.

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Right.

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If you're like going into it, yeah.

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Kind of half burnt out already.

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Ar'Niqua: No, that's a great point.

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I totally agree.

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And I feel like initially when I
started, because I had set this

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hard deadline in my mind, like
I'm gonna be job hunting by May.

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Like I plan to have a job before August.

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Like I just knew this was gonna happen.

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So like with that timeline in my
head, so like that was causing me

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to like, Stressed and like I wasn't
enjoying the process as much.

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And then if May started to roll
around, I'm like, okay, well the

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likelihood of having a job around this
time probably is not gonna happen.

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And then I'm like, well, how about instead
of just setting a deadline, how about I

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just take time to like focus on continuing
to learn things and like you said, dive

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deeper into topics that maybe I didn't
understand initially in the bootcamp.

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Like once I removed.

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The timeline from my head and I'm like,
okay, whenever it happens, it happens.

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Like that's what's meant for me.

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Like I feel like I've definitely
started to enjoy it a lot more and

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I feel like whenever I'm coding
it's because I want to, not because

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I feel like I necessarily have to.

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So I don't know.

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I feel like I'm able to get more
accomplished because like you said, you're

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not just constantly going, going, going.

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So I definitely agree with you on that.

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Yeah,

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Eddie: I love that.

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One thing that you said there that
really stuck out to me was that

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coding, cuz you want to, and I
think there's this interesting.

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Where like on one side of the spectrum
you have people who kind of espouse, oh,

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if, if you're gonna be a real programmer,
quote unquote, you have to like program

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all the time, not just your nine to five.

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Mm-hmm , but like all day long you
have to be in love with the code.

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And of course that is hyperbolic insanity.

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But at the other end, like sometimes
people are like, Hey, code just provides,

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like pays the bills and like, yes, code
can provide the bills, but I think no

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00:13:38,238 --> 00:13:44,058
matter what your job is, whether you're
in code or design or construction, if you

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00:13:44,063 --> 00:13:48,893
have a passion, For the thing that you're
doing, it's gonna kind of run background

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00:13:48,893 --> 00:13:52,883
processes in the back of your mind,
even when you're not like focused on it.

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And so like you're going to naturally like
want to learn things without like Yeah.

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00:13:58,253 --> 00:14:01,523
Burning yourself out and doing
what the crazy code bros.

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00:14:01,778 --> 00:14:05,348
Over on the other side are saying,
right, like there's a balance to it

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where it's like, okay, you can be
passionate about this thing, right?

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00:14:08,528 --> 00:14:12,968
You can enjoy it and it can also
pay the bills, but you also can

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00:14:13,088 --> 00:14:15,788
have a life and and do all the
self-care you're talking about.

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So I love that kind of balance.

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00:14:18,233 --> 00:14:18,773
Yeah,

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00:14:18,773 --> 00:14:20,003
Ar'Niqua: no, I totally agree with you.

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00:14:20,003 --> 00:14:22,463
I feel like I had to learn that the hard
way because like you mentioned, like

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00:14:22,463 --> 00:14:26,753
seeing on Twitter, other people post, I'm
like, oh, I have to be going like 24 7.

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00:14:26,753 --> 00:14:28,103
I need to code all the time.

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And I'm like, well, this is not fun.

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00:14:29,668 --> 00:14:33,053
Like I don't wanna imagine spending
the rest of my working years like just

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00:14:33,058 --> 00:14:35,423
being glued through the computer 24 7.

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00:14:35,423 --> 00:14:37,073
Like there has to be more to life.

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00:14:37,373 --> 00:14:39,023
So yes, I agree with you on that.

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00:14:39,598 --> 00:14:40,883
, there definitely has to be balance.

316
00:14:40,973 --> 00:14:41,663
Yeah, for

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00:14:41,663 --> 00:14:42,353
Eddie: sure.

318
00:14:42,653 --> 00:14:42,983
Great.

319
00:14:42,983 --> 00:14:48,888
You know, In every episode, we love to
kind of end it just saying, you know

320
00:14:48,888 --> 00:14:53,598
how we love to hear what people are
involved in, things that they've worked

321
00:14:53,598 --> 00:14:58,698
on or participated in, and I'm guessing
it'll be a surprise to no one what you

322
00:14:58,728 --> 00:15:00,708
want to give a shout out to, but yeah.

323
00:15:00,708 --> 00:15:03,198
What would you like to give a
shout out to that you've been

324
00:15:03,598 --> 00:15:03,768
Ar'Niqua: involved in?

325
00:15:03,978 --> 00:15:06,518
Yes, I would love to
give a shout out to one.

326
00:15:06,753 --> 00:15:10,923
Des um, as mentioned before,
it is a free coding bootcamp.

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00:15:11,013 --> 00:15:14,973
Um, I'm currently a
part of the 2022 cohort.

328
00:15:15,273 --> 00:15:17,163
Like I mentioned before,
it's completely free.

329
00:15:17,463 --> 00:15:18,483
It's interested.

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00:15:18,513 --> 00:15:22,383
You can visit online@leonnoel.com
slash 100 des.

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00:15:22,653 --> 00:15:28,533
Also, you can just reach out or follow
Leon Noel on Porter for more information.

332
00:15:28,773 --> 00:15:31,713
But yeah, if you're interested
in coding, software engineering

333
00:15:31,713 --> 00:15:35,163
and making the transition, I'd
highly recommend 100 D is awesome.

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00:15:35,373 --> 00:15:35,493
Well,

335
00:15:35,493 --> 00:15:36,193
Eddie: yeah, so.

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00:15:36,563 --> 00:15:40,373
Anyone, you know, if you're thinking
about getting involved or you've tried

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00:15:40,613 --> 00:15:45,413
other ways to learn code and get involved
and just nothing stuck with you, we'll

338
00:15:45,413 --> 00:15:50,483
have links in the show notes to be able
to check out hundred devs and maybe

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00:15:50,483 --> 00:15:52,523
get involved in the the next cohort.

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00:15:52,583 --> 00:15:53,003
So.

341
00:15:53,073 --> 00:15:53,743
Awesome.

342
00:15:53,743 --> 00:15:56,903
Well, Aqua, thank you so
much for joining us today.

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00:15:56,903 --> 00:15:59,603
It's just been a pleasure just
chatting, hearing about your

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00:15:59,603 --> 00:16:01,583
story, hearing about self-care.

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00:16:01,588 --> 00:16:05,273
I think that's such an important concept
and topic that we just don't focus on.

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00:16:05,648 --> 00:16:06,488
So thank you.

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00:16:06,698 --> 00:16:07,238
Ar'Niqua: Of course.

348
00:16:07,238 --> 00:16:08,258
Thank you for having me.

349
00:16:08,258 --> 00:16:09,278
This has been a

350
00:16:09,278 --> 00:16:09,728
Eddie: joy.

351
00:16:11,508 --> 00:16:15,618
Thank you for joining us for
episode 39, take a break and do

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00:16:15,618 --> 00:16:17,358
something that makes me feel good.

353
00:16:17,658 --> 00:16:18,978
With our NyQuil Coleman.

354
00:16:19,638 --> 00:16:23,358
You can find links to everything we
talked about in this episode, as well

355
00:16:23,358 --> 00:16:27,738
as a link to our Nico's website and
social media accounts in the show notes.

356
00:16:28,098 --> 00:16:31,278
If you enjoyed this episode,
help others discover it as well.

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00:16:31,608 --> 00:16:32,298
Give us a shout out.

358
00:16:32,388 --> 00:16:35,448
What are your favorite social media
platform, maybe tag a friend or

359
00:16:35,448 --> 00:16:37,188
coworker that you think might enjoy it.

360
00:16:37,788 --> 00:16:43,218
And don't forget to follow us wherever you
hang out online or, you know, subscribe

361
00:16:43,218 --> 00:16:44,988
to our newsletter to stay up to date.

362
00:16:45,348 --> 00:16:48,258
Thank you for listening
and have a great day.

363
00:16:48,308 --> 00:16:48,548
bye