I'm a fun loving frontend developer, excited to talk about tech and simplify the web. I try to be actively engaged in the tech community.
I write soft skill articles based on things I've learned over the course of my career, and in my spare time, I like to read manga, watch slice-of-life anime and Bollywood rom-coms and hang around the internet
Van: First things first, how did you get started coding?
Jem: So, my first introduction to coding was a C# course I took in my second year of university. It was one of the very few subjects I was actually interested in, not from a purely academic standpoint.
I downloaded a ‘C# for Dummies’ textbook and spent an entire weekend creating my first console application. It was a GPA calculator that had roughly 400 lines of code (about 300 of which was just repeated functions cause I couldn’t quite grasp the concept of classes at that point - you can view the code here) but I remember feeling pure elation when it ran and produced results.
Photo via Unsplash
Van: So, what was your earliest memory of computers?
Jem: My earliest memory with computers was a large desktop computer we had in the living room of my childhood home. It was probably a work computer for my parents but I mostly used it for playing games. I also spent many hours exploring the wonders of Microsoft Word and Paint, creating designs that only a young mind could come up with.
🛑
You can join the #HerCodeFactory and never miss a story from the #HerCodeStory series by clicking here.
🛑
Van: How come you picked Frontend Development of all the fields in Tech?
Jem: After building my first application, I was interested in creating applications that would allow people to use my functions without having access to the code.
It was a bit tricky 'cause I wasn’t even aware of what I was looking for but somehow I managed to stumble on the textbook, ‘HTML and CSS: Design and Build Web Sites’ and that’s how I got started. I kinda had some idea of what HTML was after trying (and failing) to customize my Tumblr blog but I had no idea how it worked outside that environment.
Photo via Unsplash
So what I did was, read through the textbook and practice building webpages. I didn’t consider turning it into a career when I first started but then, three months later, I got an internship at an e-commerce company to help them build their website and boom, that was that.
Van: If you had to pick, what has been the most challenging part of your career?
Jem: I would say starting out was the most challenging part of my journey.
I had no idea what to learn (or even how to learn) and I wasn’t surrounded by people who were interested in tech so there was no one I could ask for help either.
Eventually, I found some communities in my school for tech people and I think that really helped fast track my career because it exposed me to a lot of opportunities and events I wouldn’t have known about otherwise.
Photo via Unsplash
Van: Say you got the opportunity to go back in time, what would you tell Jemima from 2 years ago?
Jem: Hmm, 2 years ago at this time, I was in my final year of university, working at a remote job, I’d just started getting into conference speaking and I also met my current partner.
Van: ...lol, balling
Jem: Tbh, the me from then was living her best life so I’d tell her to just keep doing what she’s doing cause it got us to a great place today.
Van: Any advice for other FemDevs?
Jem: “You got this”.
I think when people get started in tech, there’s usually this feeling of “I have no idea what I’m doing”, especially when it seems like everyone else in the community is getting some sort of accomplishment or the other.
Van: True true
Jem: It’s important to remember that everyone is built differently so, instead of feeling down for what you haven’t got, take a moment to appreciate how far you’ve come so far and look out for how to get even farther.
Thank you Jemima for being a part of #HerCodeStories 💜.
🛑
You can join the #HerCodeFactory and never miss a story from the #HerCodeStory series by clicking here.
🛑