~This post was originally posted on Medium on 9/5/19.~
When I was just barely dipping my toes into the waters of programming, I knew that I needed to get more exposure. I had taken one intro class at a community college to determine if I wanted to pursue this track, and found that I definitely wanted to, but definitely not through traditional education.
I had a first choice program I planned to apply to, but no idea what I actually wanted to do with that education, or what the best resources to teach myself and prep for the application were. So I searched for local programming meetups.
There was a very long and intimidating list (this is actually a good thing — we’ll get to that later!), so I picked one that sounded promisingly related to my interests, and general enough that I wouldn’t feel I needed specific knowledge to be there.* Specifically, I went to the monthly meetup for She’s Coding, a meeting for women and nonbinary folks in downtown Seattle.
I stayed late after work so that I could head straight there. I reached the building they were meeting in about a quarter of an hour early, and sat in the lobby, killing time so that I wouldn’t be the first person to walk in. I was very nervous. Imposter syndrome and social anxiety were in full swing. I didn’t know what this event would look like or how I would fit into it. I was prepared for it to be so awkward.
But I got up there and was welcomed warmly, handed a blank name tag and pointed to the wine and pizza!**
The format was a period of time to generally hang out and network and chat, followed by a presentation. Friendly people asked what I did and what I wanted to do. I asked others what they did and was able to get a much clearer picture of the possible career paths in the tech field. I got at least one person’s contact info who promised to help me with my application, and I came away with suggestions for online resources.
Each time in the following months that I felt reluctant to go again, because I was nervous, or feeling down on myself, or it just felt like a hassle, I would give myself an encouraging kick in the rear and attend anyway. Each time, I was super glad I did. I would inevitably come away from the night with a new connection or resource, encouragement from peers, or even just a renewed motivation for my journey into coding.***
The meeting I attend is a monthly networking type event, but She’s Coding hosts several more. Every week they have a “Coffee and Code” where people can just sit around with like-minded folks and work on any projects or homework they may have. They also have weekly meetings for practicing tech interview skills.
If you do an internet search for tech meetups in your area, I guarantee you will find a plethora of options. Meetup.com and Eventbrite are both great options to find something that will work for you.
There are meetups for women and nonbinary folks, there are meetups for specific languages such as Python or Ruby, there are groups that focus on AI, there are groups that just gather geeks to go hiking! Each group has a different emphasis, and prioritizes different things, such as socializing or information sharing. There’s tons of variety out there, so if you don’t like what you find at first, just try try again.
Whether you are just curious about what this coding thing might be, beginning to self-teach, applying to bootcamps, or job hunting in the field, find yourself a meetup, and head on out there! I promise there’s at least one out there that’s a match for you.
Footnotes:
*Mind you if I had attended a meetup for a specific programming language, I expect I would have been welcomed as someone seeking to learn more! People are at these things to help each other out! (And if they’re not, poo on them, go find someone else to talk to, you’re worth it.)
**Not all meetups have these but… it gives you an idea of the casual and welcoming tone I found.
*** A caveat! Sometimes attending these things can make your imposter syndrome flair. It often did for me. I would look around and think, T*hese people are doing so much more than me, and they know so much more. I’ll never be competitive*. If this happens to you, do not panic! Everyone’s journey and style is different, and everyone is at different points in that journey. Find what works best for you and don’t feel discouraged if it doesn’t look the same as it does for others. Ultimately I was able to look to others as a source of inspiration instead of a sign of my own failure, and to be comfortable in the knowledge that I was taking the right path for me.
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