Where have I been?

It has been a hot min since I have shared an update, and in fact my last tech blog was about my styling challenges into the design of the front page of my portfolio site, in JANUARY.

A design that, in fact, decided I hated a week into the build, and threw in some bouncing screen space text at the last min and pressed publish.

Well, to be frank, I took an extended break after the incredibly bad redundancy that I went though.

It shook my belief systems to my core, made me doubt my value, and ended in a few breakdowns that left me in therapy after I opened up to my partner about being suicidal.

Yes, I believe we should be open about these things, unless 'mental health awareness' is just a yellow banner we put up once a year.

From that I have been rebuilding that confidence I had as a Software Engineer and general contributing member to society.

One thing that has suffered in that process, is it has been almost 6 months since I was tinkering with code on my portfolio.

Well, as my therapist says "you should be writing your feelings down", so here I am with a little honesty (probably too much as has always been my problem).

I have been questioning a future in tech

One of the things that has become evident in this down market, is how the engineering space has changed.

Partly due to the downturn in the market for employment in general, but it is clear that AI is impacting the market heavily, and also the direction this is pushing tech; has made me question if this is what I want to do with my life.

WHICH SUCKS

Because I love writing software, I love working with teams spinning up digital dreams, and I do really miss being a part of it.

But, in the short amount of time I have been reaching out to the handful of positions available, it has been a whole lot of crickets.

Every job has 500 to 600 applicants, and thats on the conservative side.

In the same space, I have been watching multiple friends going through the same space, it is a tough market and a rollercoaster ride I would like to get off of.

So what is next?

Career wise:

Firstly: I am not giving up!

I will continue to look for roles in software development, the right job and team is out there somewhere, if that is you please hit me up.

I didn't go through that intensive and soul crushing career change for nothing, I know I am a hard working employee and I would be an asset, so I don't plan to quit so easily.

BUT I have noticed the writing on the wall and I am planning for a future where this industry either becomes something I don't want to be a part of, or cant.

Therefore, I have enrolled in a Library and Information Services diploma (and completed a few subjects already), because reading is the only thing I love more than coding, and there is nothing else (next to coding) I would love to be part of more than the Library community.

I have had a wonderfully diverse career journey so far and all those skills would be a great asset.

Software wise:

Well I've got a few ideas for what I want to play around with, but one of them has stuck out more that the others.

And I think it is a wellbeing app, that tracks various metrics so see how your moods have shifted over time, with a optional daily blog with tags so that you can review previous inputs that a user tags with certain themes, and a daily gratitude component.

Yes nothing ground breaking, but it is a project to keep my skills sharp (and of course there is a V2 in mind).

Maybe play around with some calm breathing visuals, meditation concepts.

Yes, some of this has been borne out of going to therapy 😀

Tech Stack

Finally, the good stuff right!

The main reason I want to build this is to skill back up with Ruby and Rails, so the API will be built with Rails.

While the frontend component will be build with NextJS (I just cant QUIT you NextJS)

The API is already happening and scaffolding out with the authorisation routes is underway.

Will I release it?

Maybe, when I get it going and I am using it, I might actually launch it, and just open it up to some friends via a code invite system.

It would all come down to costs to be honest with you.

Finally

I plan to be a bit more active again, more regular software and life updates.

If you are working on some cool software, and have a space on your team, let me know.

Be good to yourself.