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LawrenceMueller
LawrenceMueller

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New Year's Resolution

const disclaimer = (me) => {
    console.log(typeof(me));
}
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The above bit of code outputs "software developer" not "writer", but I will try my best!

This year I made a new year's resolution, much like many other people. Unlike other people, I immediately posted mine to Reddit on r/Webdev. Why would I do that, and who would care? For me, it was a way to keep myself accountable and try my best towards my new year's resolution; instead of letting it fall by the wayside again.

picture of my original Reddit post detailing my new year's resolutioon
For those of you who are using screen readers, the picture above shows the original post on Reddit; here is what it reads:

My new year's resolution for this year is going to be to set up one or more websites that together make me more than a minimum wage job would. My first idea is to do a job board. I know that job boards are overdone, but I am only a junior level in terms of skill and think I can finish making the project if I get down to it. Here is to hoping 2022 I can make something more of myself.

After making this first post on Reddit, I noticed it garnered some attention and found that some people were interested in watching me try to complete this difficult task. So much so, that by my 6th dev log posted to Reddit, I had been convinced to start a "real blog". This is why you are currently reading this blog. I intend on fleshing out in more detail the dev logs I have posted to Reddit so far. Additionally, I will continue to post small dev logs to Reddit, and longer form factor logs here. On top of this, I will cross-post the blogs I write here to my Dev To account and also make periodic updates on my YouTube channel.

This resolution to make me into something more than I am today is a tall order, but I feel that I am more than up to the challenge. Since I graduated with my computer science degree 3 years ago, I have not been able to land a "real" tech job. I applied to hundreds of places, in my area, out of state, out of the country, jobs I was not qualified for, jobs I was more than qualified for, etc... At this point, I am what most would consider a failure. It is not all doom and gloom however, in the last three years, I have come a long way in terms of skill. I do still consider myself a junior, but I am fairly confident when building real-world applications and believe that I can build anything I put my mind to given enough time. I understand basically how the web works and how systems interact, but also understand that there is so much left to learn. In terms of the Dunning–Kruger effect, I feel that I am about here:

An edited image of the Dunning-Kruger graph
For those of you who are using screen readers, the picture above is a small joke where I said that I am barely competent.

So that is about it. If you are interested in keeping up with the story of a software engineering failure trying his best not to be poor by 2023, then this is the blog for you. I am excited about the challenge and hope very sincerely that I am successful and turn out to be more than I am now once I make it to 2023.

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