10. Making the Jump, with Rojhan Paydar

Written By Philip Gannon

Sharing Developer Stories - this time we're talking to the talented Rojhan (Ro) Paydar. Ro is a recent graduate from the Juno College bootcamp, and now very well-known in Tech-twitter! Her excellent communication and oration skills have made her stand head-and-shoulders above her peers.

We wanted to share a little about “Making the Jump” from your studies into the Professional World of Development. We dive into topics like:

  • Translatable skills from your pre-tech employment

  • Asking for Help and Resources

  • The prevalence Imposter Syndrome

  • Setting Boundaries

  • Building your professional network

Relevant Links from the show:

Rather than a 1-1 interview transcription, I figured I’d extract the most important points/lessons from this episode with Rojhan (Ro). Its definitely worth listening to the Audio version if you can, as there’s so much more value to be brought out of it. If you’re strapped for time though, then there’s some nuggets of wisdom below:

You’re never starting at the bottom:

Moving from self-study/workshops/academia into your first tech role can seem daunting. You’ve put in the hard work though, and you’re ready for the challenges ahead! No matter what age or way that you join the tech world, you’re not starting from Zero. There are soft-skills you already have that will set you up for success BEFORE you hit that keyboard. Examples:

  • Ro: Originally a Manager in Restaurant

    • Managing a team

    • Organizing and prioritizing tasks

    • Dealing with Time-sensitive issues

  • Philip: Started as a Tailor in a Wedding Suit Store

    • Dealing with multiple Stakeholders (often with conflicting requirements).

    • Coordination with external teams

Imposter Syndrome

  • These feelings can happen at any stage of your Tech Career, not just the start!

    • There can be times that you may feel like a fraud, or that you’re struggling, or maybe even that this line of work isn’t for you.

      • Don’t listen to that internal voice!

    • It’s understandable to be overwhelmed, or intimidated by your peer’s knowledge and abilities

    • Everybody has to start somewhere. Keep at it and you’ll get there!

      • Persistence and a good work/life balance are key.

Asking for Help

  • Don’t be afraid to ask your boss, Senior Developers, or other people with more time in the company.

    • 5 mins of their time can help stop you wasting 5 hours/days of your own time.

    • Today you; Tomorrow them.

      • As you abilities and confidence grows, they’ll later come to you for advice and help

    • Never feel like that you’re bothering them

      • Teamwork makes the dream work!

  • You’re never alone; there’s always resources available.

    • Google/Stack-Overflow

      • There’s no shame to Googling a problem or error code

      • Senior Developers look stuff up all for the time!

    • Reference Documents, Websites, Forums – whatever it takes.

      • Learning buddies from Bootcamp or University or your favorite Forums

        • Bootcamp Cohort Slack Channel

        • Facebook/LinkedIn Alumni Groups

      • Discords, Subreddits, Twitter, Clubhouse, etc...

Start your professional network as soon as possible

  • Social media makes this trivial!

    • Remember that you don’t need to know a lot about tech to take part.

    • Find people in the industry whose work you like, or who are in the space that you’d like to join – and just reach out!

      • The worst that can happen is that they don’t respond.

    • Making connections now enables you to later

      • Volunteer for projects that will help you upskill and gain experience

      • Forge professional relationships

      • Both help, and be helped by, people working in your chosen field

Boundaries

  • Its healthy to set them!

    • If you don’t set them yourself explicitly, someone else will set them for you.

    • What might be reasonable for you might not be for other people. Remember this and stick to what works for you.

  • Boundaries to think about:

    • Work Hours and Work/Life balance

      • Not responding to emails at 10pm

      • Enjoying your weekends away from a computer

    • Workloads

      • Taking on the work and tasks that you can do

      • Saying “No” or “Not yet” to the work that you can’t

    • Levels of Stress

      • Check in with how you’re feeling.

      • If you frequently frustrated, irritable, moody, not-sleeping, having stomach pains, etc... it might be time to reassess if what you’re doing is working for you.

If you’re looking to get started in a Career in Software Development, or you’re already in the industry and need guidance/mentoring, then contact me today.
I’d love to discuss your situation and how we can get you into a place of confidence and success.

Philip Gannon
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11. The 5W’s about Asking Questions during Interviews
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9. Interview with Danny Thompson