👨🏻💻 How I got into web development • 9 min read
by campak · 44 things on NewTwos
- After high school, I didn't really know what I wanted to do. I mean, I knew I wanted to go to college. I knew that I liked computers and wanted to do something with them, but coding was not on my radar. Yet, here I am years later and can't imagine my life without web development. So, how did I get here? What am I currently up to? What are my dreams for the future? And, what do I recommend for peep's wanting to get into web dev. Let's dig in.
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- HOW DID I GET HERE?
- I remember looking through the majors available at my college. Absolutely none of them stood out to me besides "computer science". So, it was clear. I wanted to study computers. And honestly, I thought I was going to be doing hardware stuff, not coding.
- I started learning C++ and Java in my first three of studies, and it took a little bit to click and make sense to me. Eventually the ground-level concepts of code began to make sense, despite any language being used. That's one of the beauties of code, that concepts span far past a language and oftentimes can be applied in other programming languages.
- Here's a funny video my friend and I made in college about programming tips!
- And then… I switched my major.
- I had highs and lows when in computer science. It was super exhilarating to learn, but it was difficult at times. I think I can attribute that to me having ADHD. At that point in my life, I dealt with a lot of anxiety and stress when trying to learn coding. It was as if I didn't have an off-switch. Like I was always on and pressing in 100% trying to find a solution. After banging my head on the keyboard for hours, I'd feel wiped and worn.
- A little bit about my background is that I am a follower of Jesus and all I really want to do in my life is find ways to serve him in what I do. One thing I did love was people, so instead of pursuing coding, I left it for …people. Jesus led a wonderful example of pursuing the heart of people and bringing restoration to them. I don't regret switching. I switched my major to "interpersonal communication". Instead of talking to computers, I was learning to talk to humans, haha.
- But throughout that entire time, I could not stop thinking about code and ideas would just not stop flowing. Eventually I was asked to apply for an internship that involved technology and faith, two things I absolutely adored and lived for. And, I said yes without hesitation. That began my journey of going back into coding.
- I started working as an intern for Life.Church in the IT department. I was a summer's length and an entire semester away from touching code, yet I got hired for a coding role. It was confusing, but I trusted that God had good plans for me. Surprisingly, I hadn't forgotten the high-level concepts of coding. It was in the IT department that I was given projects to learn web development. Yep… I learned web development on the job, not actually in college. (I think the best way to learn is in-the-game.)
- I loaded up on YouTube tutorials, got pointers from friends in the web dev field, and just threw myself into the world of web. And it was awesome! HTML, CSS, and Javascript started making sense one day after another. The thing I absolutely loved was being able to create beautiful UI, because that is the contact point where the user interacts with the experience. That began the learning journey of me becoming a web developer.
- It took time. I still haven't learn everything, and I won't. I simply was a student who wanted to learn.
- Thank God that he steered me back towards coding. I switched back to computer science, but with a minor in interpersonal communication. Little did I know that this combo would define how I approach the world of software and my heart towards how it can serve people.
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- WHAT AM I CURRENTLY UP TO?
- I have the opportunity to work for YouVersion, the company that creates the world's largest Bible delivery system in the world. We have over 500 million downloads and deliver God's Word in 1900+ native languages. For a few years I was a front-end web dev, where I worked on creating internal tools using a React stack. One of the tools I'm most proud of is a content management system for creating Stories in the Bible app.
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- It was hard and took around 8 months to build at the time, but what I wanted to accomplish was two things: (1) create a beautiful and easy to use experience and (2) showcase the power of web development. And, I believe I did those two things.
- Nowadays I am a product designer for our web tools and experiences at YouVersion. Instead of coding on the daily, I'm actually thinking through and processing that interaction point between the user and the experience. It's something I care about a ton, so it's been a fun journey stepping into the newness of this.
- Why'd I move from dev to design? I got sick. Very physically ill, and am still recovering from it. Shortly after graduating college and starting at YouVersion, all of the anxiety and stress of college caught up to me.
- Feel free to read about how "being normal" destroyed my body.
- Or, take some time to read about what's even going on with my health.
- I thank God that he used my wife and friends to show me grace and truth as I heal on up. So, I switched to design because it's a lot easier on my stress levels and clarity of mind.
- I've also built some personal projects. Feel free to check them out at https://melos.church and https://overflow.melos.church :)
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- WHAT ARE MY DREAMS FOR THE FUTURE?
- Eventually I may want to get back into coding as my day job. I think that could be fun, but man… I have no clue. What I do know is this: My desire is to love God and love people without distraction, and help others do the same. If I can do that in anything that I do, I'm happy. That could be in software and that could be something else.
- My dream is to be healed from chronic sickness, to be a dad (coming soon in Aug 2023!), to have fun, and to live like Jesus in all that I do. As I await physical healing, I will take each day one day at a time. Each day has a journey to be lived and experienced.
- I live by these two Bible verses:
- "I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength (Philippians 4:12-13 NLT)."
- "For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11 NLT)."
- WHAT DO I RECOMMEND FOR PEOPLE WANTING TO LEARN WEB DEV?
- Start small and be consistent. There are many programs and ways to learn programming. And there will be 1,000 voices telling you learn this and learn that! What I think is just pick one thing and follow that. Take time to learn daily, even if it's small. Talk with people who are in the trade. Get their advice. Learn from their highs and lows. Know that you will never know it all. You will get stressed. You also will be surprised and excited at times. Coding is exhilarating.
- Find your why. Yep, your WHY. Why would you even want to code? Is it for the money? Sure. Money comes and goes. Is it for the people? Do you have something pumping in your heart that you want to share with the world? "He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how", said Friedrich Nietzsche.
- Don't take it too seriously. No body in software truly knows what they're doing. Everyone is guessing, hopefully making their best guess. If someone tries to make it look like they know what they're doing, they're lying.
- I've never ran into an impossible situation with development. The situations I have run into are: is it worth the effort? haha. Sometimes the best solution is the one that's good enough to move on (GETMO). Another thing is that where you raise simplicity, you raise complexity and work for someone or something else. For example, if the UI is extremely easy to use, oftentimes that means the API has a ton of complexity and hard work behind it. Sometimes it's okay to make the UI a little more complex, if that means the API devs can have a little less on their plates.
- Have fun. Web development should be fun. You will at some point get overwhelmed because there are too many frameworks and hoops to get your code running. It doesn't have to be crazy. If you're annoyed with the modern web and how much you have to do to get things running, go to the basic days. Visit https://codepen.io and just start with simple HTML, CSS, and JS. Don't worry about the framework stuff. Remember how fun it can be.
- If you're a programmer and you're reading this? What's your story? Please take time to write about it and pass it down to those who want to learn. I'm sure they'd appreciate it. :)
- Thanks for reading! 👋 My name is Cam Pak. My desire is to love God and love people without distraction, and help others do the same. My beautiful wife, our doggos, and many of our friends and family enjoy life in Oklahoma.
- Email me!
- Computer image is from Unsplash lol