During today's session, I focused on wrapping up everything that I had done throughout the summer to ensure it was of quality. First, I made some changes to my blog template to make it more aesthetic and easier to read. I created groups to add more padding around the text, and added in new pictures in between sections. I also revised all the links on the post and added links to Techie Youth to the blog. Next, I edited the Hire Me page. The hire me page I had saved locally wasn't showing up on my GitHub Pages site, which I figured was because I didn't actually link to the page in any other webpage. I updated the experiences section to include a call to action to check out my open positions. I then completely redesigned the hire me page to help it look more appealing. Once I finished this, I applied for graduation. I completed my day by watching some videos for fun, such as learning the basics of the recruitment process and learning how Gary Vee uses yard sales to quickly flip trash into large profits on eBay.
I forgot to complete my daily logs for the past few days, so I first wanted to share my updates on this.
8/9: On Tuesday, I spent my session doing extensive research to complete the data analysis assignment. I first did a brainstorm of the sections I wanted to cover:
Once I identified these topics and knew what general topics I wanted to cover within each section, I started to do research on these topics. I read through tremendous amounts of research articles, policy reports, and blog posts that discuss in detail these topics, while recording notes on a separate document as well.
8/10: On Wednesday, I first finished up reading a few additional articles on the barriers to financial growth. Next, I spent the rest of the day translating these notes into a coherent blog post.
8/11: Today, I started off by publishing this blog post onto my website, and making a few major revisions to my written content as well. After this, I learned about the role of a virtual assistant being an economical alternative to a personal assistant, who helps to manage the administrative tasks that consume time for a business. After some introductory videos about the role, I learned some key virtual assistant skills, such as how to strategically book travel visits as well as how to use key platforms on Google Suite, including Google Calendar, Gmail, Google Docs, and Google Sheets. I expanded my current knowledge of these platforms by learning new tools such as the Snooze feature in Gmail, the document outline in Google Docs, and the ability to automatically generate QR codes in Google Sheets. Finally, I decided to jump to the virtual assistant assignment for fun since I already had created the foundation of a portfolio website.
I started off today's session by reviewing the data analysis assignment and coming up with a plan for moving forward. I decided I wanted to research about the topic of "empowering all youth to become financially self-sufficient". This includes researching why it's important for youth to be financially self-sufficient in the first place (such as the impact on community health / crime / education rates), barriers that are preventing the financial growth of youth, and solutions to help more youth reach financial independence. I also decided that I would post the results of this research as a new blog post on my website. For this reason, I spent the remainder of today focusing on revising and improving my website.
First, I focused on resolving the white space on the right side of the screen on mobile. After reviewing documentation, I added a line ensuring that "overflow-x:hidden" to help prevent blocks from extending outside the page. Once I did this, it solved the white space on mobile - but some of my content completely disappeared! I realized that the blocks that were causing the white space on mobile, and that completely disappeared when I fixed the overflow issue, were the ones which were animated. I did feel quite disappointed because of the reaons why I liked the Intrace theme so much in the first place was because of the animations. I tried to work around the problem several times although unsuccessfully, and ended up completely removing animations from my website. While I do miss the animations, the website I have now is still functional which matters more.
After this, I focused on resolving issues with margins in mobile. On the WordPress site editor, I couldn't find any options to update the margins specific to mobile. I then tried to add custom CSS to the "additional CSS" portion, but realized that the default classes and settings from the theme were overdoing any of the changes I was making. I eventually ended up editing the code to the WordPress website directly, creating new classes and then creating media queries for these classes to add padding and to make the text size more relative on mobile. These changes helped to fix issues with the homepage headings and logos of my all of my experiences.
Finally, I made major changes to the template of my blog pages. I initially did not like the format of the Intrace blogs at all, especially with how the header and navigation sat in a really ugly format at the top of the screen and the featured image would often make the post title hard to read. I disliked this so much that I even spent some time trying to figure out how to add an entirely new theme to my website just for all the blog posts (I really liked the Go blog theme). After watching many YouTube tutorials and failing to find a straightforward solution, I decided to rebuild the blog template from scratch, and changed the font type of the heading as well. I am much more satisfied with these changes.
I didn't get a chance to write my log on Thursday, so I'm including my logs for both days on this post.
On Thursday, I spent my time developing and publishing blogs for the Writing unit assignment. I first started off by testing out the existing blog page on my website. However, I noticed a major problem - the default blog theme template was not working properly. I spent hours trying to fix the template and figure out what was wrong, until I ended up creating a functional template that didn't look as nice as I would have liked, but was at least responsive and updated as necessary. Once I had the template down, I began brainstorms for the specific blogs I wanted to write. I selected two blog post topics: one reflecting on my experiences at Techie Youth, and another using technical writing to describe the process I used to host my WordPress website for free using GitHub. You can view my brainstorms for these posts here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ewZD1MidWUvaJhVZQ5WykyaToXRSGDlihATlevbiGFg/edit .
On Friday, I started off by translating my initial brainstorms for my blog posts into actual writing. Once I completed the writing of the first blog posts, I copied it over onto my WordPress website and published it to complete the assignment. I still need to do massive work on the design of the post, but at least I have something functional for now. Link to post: https://tahsinuddin.github.io/2022/08/06/boosting-my-career-journey-with-techie-youth/
>Once I completed the writing unit, I decided to revisit the data analysis unit that I had partially completed previously. I first learned more about the role of data analysts in particular, and how they differ from other data-driven professions such as business analysts or data scientists. Next, I learned more about the daily responsibilities of a data analyst, and found myself admiring the analytical component of these tasks. On Glassdoor, I came across an application specifically targeted towards entry-level applicants with at least a high school education, which was perfect for me! So I decided to shoot my shot and spent an hour creating a new cover letter and revising my resume to tailor to the job. Once I submitted the application, I noticed that 1000 other people applied! So we'll see how it goes. Finally, I concluded the day by learning how to use RStudio to program in R on a clean and intuitive workspace, and learned various different commands to help translate raw data into graphs and charts.
Throughout today's session, I learned about a few final remote writing careers: technical writing, transcription, grant writing, and data entry. I had never heard about technical writing before, and it was fascinating to learn about the people behind documentations who help to make complicated programs easy for new users to understand. It was nice to see an intersection between an interest in technology and in writing, and I found it helpful to understand the difference between wanting to actually create technology, and simply enjoying learning about technology and explaining how it works to others. I could honestly see myself doing this for fun. Transcription jobs seemed like the easiest of all writing skills to start making money immediately online. I tried to sign up to become a transcriptionist on Rev but then after I completed the online exam I couldn't continue since I had to be at least 18 :(( Finally, I learned about grant writing and data entry, and the importance of precision and accuracy in both of these very different careers. I ended off by beginning my draft of my writing unit assignment which I hope to complete by tomorrow.
Throughout today's modules, I learned about four additional opportunities for remote writing careers: guest blogging, ghostwriting, incorporating SEO backlinks, and customer service. First, I learned about how guest blogging is an amazing opportunity to help market your own individual blog, while being able to expand your audience by featuring yourself in other websites. I learned about strategies on how to effectively request to guest blog via email - to communicate directly and professionally, to provide examples of blogs you can write to help them out, and to not include any questions or details that are not already answered through the person's website. Next, I learned about how ghostwriting is a great way to build your own portfolio and get paid a modest amount while writing content for other people - however, it takes time and practice to learn how to write effectively in different styles to match the tone of the intended speaker. After this, I learned about SEO backlinks, and the importance to identify keywords that will help increase a website's search results rankings. Finally, I learned about ways to professional perform customer service remotely, be it through chat, on the phone, or via email.
During today's session, I started off by learning about the process of blogging. First, I learned about what a blog is (regularly updated content on a variety of topics), and how it differs from websites (a blog is part of a website, but doesn't have to be the focus of the entire website as a whole). Next, I learned several tips on how to successfully write a good blog post, such as breaking up posts every 1-2 lines; incorporating graphics such as pictures, ads, videos, and sign-up forms; posting consistently over the years; doing research on where other blogs fall short and which keywords generate the most revenue; and proofreading blogs with text editors such as Grammarly. After this, I made some additional revisions to my website. First, I added links to all of the organizations and companies I've worked for, including Techie Youth. Next, I restructured some elements in my webpages to achieve a cleaner look. I massively redesigned the default theme template for blog posts, since I didn't like it. Finally, I brainstormed some ideas for my own blog post on how to host a WordPress website for free using GitHub Pages, which I hope to release tomorrow.
Today, I started a new unit on writing. I started off by watching an introduction to writing as a career, and learned about how writing can be useful to earn a modest income - while it's rare to make millions as a writer, if you are quick, professional, and efficient at producing quality content, it can still help you earn a modest income. In the remaining sessions, I learned about three potential routes of writing: magazines & journals, books, and copywriting. First I learned about the differences between magazines and journals - each are targeted towards different audiences and thus require a different writing style. I learned about tips to create a quality magazine and journal article, such as writing concisely but clearly, defining any important terms to make the piece accessible, and writing about a topic you're passionate about so that the motivation to write comes more easily. Next, I learned about writing books and novels. I learned about two different routes for writing books: traditional publishing and self-publishing. While traditional publishing is more popular and allows your book to gain a wider reach, it is also an extremely time-consuming process that limits your creativity and reduces your percentage of profit per book. Meanwhile, self-publishing is much more risky, but allows you to have full control over your book wile still earning a larger percentage per copy sold. I learned about the benefits of using UpWork and Amazon to delegate tasks to other people and companies to lead to a more efficient book publishing process. Finally, I learned about copywriting, a form of persuasive writing to encourage consumers or companies to purchase a product. Copywriting is crucial for any business and it is very helpful to learn how to write concisely but persuasively to encourage users to take action immediately.
Today, I focused on fixing as many of the errors I had detected as possible. For the home page, I noticed that some of the links (particularly in the footer) weren't functional, so I made sure all of the links directed to the right pages. Next, I had noticed that the hamburger menu on mobile was weirdly centered in the middle. To resolve this issue, I first tried to "justify" or "align" the content to the right, but the button wouldn't move. Then it occurred to me that the button probably wasn't moving because the width was limited, and the button was already to the "right" of the specified width. I changed the width of the button to a percentage, which fixed the alignment issue. Then, I decided to add a background to the mobile menu because it is difficult to notice the menu when the page background becomes white (the menu originally would blend in). However, I do still have an overlapping issue with the menu which I need to resolve. After this, I added in some animation effects to the about me and my experiences sections of the homepage, and turned the "my values" gallery into columns to address an issue with how the values were stacking on mobile. I didn't like how the "my experiences" section of the webpage was overlapping with the block above, but I did really like the glow effect in the original template, so I had to delete the section from the original template and re-create it on my own, after trial-and-error. I lastly added on an additional sentence to my description in the footer and moved the site navigation to the left. Once I finished fixing the home page, I made changes to the blog and contact pages as well, fixing an issue with how the header automatically synced with blog post titles, adding in new cover images, deleting default template posts, and adding spacing between letters in the title. I pushed all of these changes onto GitHub. Now that my website is functional, I want to move on to the writing section tomorrow to learn blogging skills so I can add blogs to my website.
I was finally able to host my website live through GitHub Pages! ( https://tahsinuddin.github.io/ )
It took me an extremely long time to figure out how to configure my website so that it could host on GitHub. I first tried to use the console log several times to upload the WordPress PHP files, but while I did figure out how to successfully push them onto GitHub, I struggled to convert it into an actual website and would get the "404 file not working" error as I did yesterday. I tried to bash different folders, to no avail. Eventually, I found a plugin called Simply Static which allows you to convert WordPress PHP files into static HTML and CSS files. I then pushed these files to GitHub, and after a suspenseful minute, it worked!! After this, I made some changes to my home page, made the buttons functional, added my resume to my website, updated the contact form page, and changed a few of the descriptions on the My Experiences page. Now, I just need to finish updating the remaining experiences, update the design of the Blog page, make the contact form functional, fix a few bugs / incorrect links, and then I'll be finished! The end is near!
Today, I continued where I left off last week, with the goal of having a basic MVP website finished today. I started off by fixing some of the errors such as the alignment of content and the location of webpages. Next, I focused on adding in relevant information. I replaced the majority of the placeholder text on my homepage with actual information about me, including the "about me" section, descriptions about my most recent work experiences, the 'contact me" section, and the webpage footer. After this, I created a new "my experiences" page and began to add in my experiences. It was quite difficult to figure out how to edit the actual layout of pages aside from the homepage on WordPress initially, but I was able to eventually figure it out. Then, I added in the content for my experience at Techie Youth, and added in the logos and the positions of my other experiences as well. I still have to go through and type up descriptions of each of these experiences tomorrow. I want these descriptions to be much more in depth and thoughtful compared to the short snippet seen in my resume, to give valuable insight now found elsewhere on my application. Finally, I tried to host my website on GitHub pages. I was able to successfully add my website to the GitHub repository https://github.com/tahsinuddin/tahsinuddin.github.io), but I struggled with actually getting my website to host, so this is where I will continue tomorrow.
During today's session, I continued where I left off yesterday, building my personal website for the web development assignment. I started off by creating the new additional pages for my website (experience & blog) and linking them appropriately through a navigation bar. However, at this point, I realized that my navigation bar was extremely unresponsive on mobile. When I tried to scale it at different window screens to test out how my website would look, on mobile the hamburger menu would break into a different line in a very weird form, and on tablet the text would overlap in a pretty ugly way. It was extremely frustrating as I had no idea how to resolve this problem on WordPress. I briefly considered choosing a more beginner friendly theme - I explored various WordPress themes and liked the modern designs of a few that I'll link below. However, I *really* liked the animations of my original theme (Intrace). Intrace was originally designed for ecommerce websites, but I loved the modern and classy design and fade in animations, which I had no clue how to replicate on my own through HTML and CSS. I decided to ruthlessly play around with the header of my Intrace theme a little bit - and eventually got the menu to be responsive! I had to completely delete the initial header that came with the theme and re-create it on my own, while also using CSS to code media queries to make the menu responsive at different points. One thing that does make me sad is that my media query was desktop first, simply because I didn't know how to do an if/else statement in CSS and using desktop first would allow me to not have to use an else statement. I need to spend more time learning CSS to know how to think like a programmer who is a building a mobile-first design. Once I fixed the overflow issue, I realized that I didn't like how the nav bar completely disappears as you scroll down, making it inconvenient for the users since they have to scroll all the way up to get to the menu. After looking through documentation I learned how to code the nav bar so as to freeze it, and made a media query so that it would only freeze the nav menu on mobile. I also had to add additional padding around both the navigation bar and my introductory text to resolve the design issue. However, once I did this, my menu got stuck in the middle of the page. I'm not sure how to resolve this, but I will look into it for the future and will leave the freezing portion of my code as a comment for now. For the remainder of my session, I considered additional changes I would like to make on my website. For my intro section, I have "Hey, I'm Tahsin, a biochemistry student in NYC" written in two lines broken off at the comma. However, as the screen size gets smaller, the second part of the sentence starts to break into a third line in a weird format. I want to add an additional media query to make the line immediately break at "student" once the screen is small enough, instead of going word by word. I'd also potentially make the font size smaller as well and even add a nav bar at the bottom to help make the website very mobile friendly.
Today's web development experience was honestly frustrating, as I didn't expect to encounter these problems with my website given that I chose to use WordPress and not code from scratch. However, I'm grateful that I learned how to use media queries and was able to implement them into my theme. This gave me a realistic understanding of what the daily experience of a programmer may look like, and that sometimes code can go wrong for reasons we don't understand - and sometimes ruthlessly playing around can help us magically resolve the issue! I also was able to practice determination and perseverance. I did end up falling behind on my plan as I had hoped to finish the MVP of my website today, but I do hope I'll produce a product I'm proud of.
Astra Theme: https://wpastra.com/
Color Lib Theme: https://colorlib.com/wp/themes/illdy/
Rosa Lite Theme: https://wordpress.org/themes/rosa-lite/
Optimizer Theme: https://wordpress.org/themes/optimizer/
Homi Theme: https://demo.creativethemes.com/blocksy/homi/
Charity Theme: https://demo.creativethemes.com/blocksy/charity/
Illdy Theme: https://colorlib.com/wp/themes/illdy/
>I spent today's session developing my website for the web development assignment. First, I took some time to come up with a brainstorm of what I wanted my website to include. I decided that I would create a personal website with a "portfolio" and blog component. Since I'm just starting out with web development, I don't have technical projects to include in my portfolio, so I would more so use this to elaborate on my positions and roles in my previous positions. Meanwhile, the blog component would be on sharing insight based on what I've learned over the years, as well as speaking on other issues important for today's youth. Next, I took a lot of time looking through various examples of personal websites, online resumes, and portfolios to get a sense of the design I wanted to go for. My favorite websites were modern and minimalist, incorporated animations, and divided the sections in a logical format. I included some links to the websites I enjoyed the best below. Finally, I found a WordPress template that conveyed this modern style and began to adjust the information with my own. I designed some icons to represent the core values that describe my past experiences: healthcare, community, and now technology. I tried to host my website on Netlify, but it is a bit complex, so I'm just hosting it locally for now. I will continue this tomorrow and hopefully have the personal component done so that next week I can start the writing unit and create blogs to add to the website.
Links to personal website examples I enjoyed:
1. https://www.garysheng.com/ (loved the full-page introduction, minimalist format, great inspiration for how I can describe my experiences without necessarily having a portfolio)
2. https://diogotc.com/ (great example of a personal website for current students, loved the animations, really liked the timeline and impossible list which I saw on Thomas Frank's website as well; since I'm just making an MVP I don't want to include these just yet, but in the future I definitely hope to incorporate the timeline idea)
3. https://www.adamhartwig.co.uk/ (loved the animations, not skilled enough to do something like this right now, but I admire the design)
4. https://www.joshuaslater.com/ (this was actually a website that a web developer named Allen created and linked on his own personal website. I really liked the black-and-white classy theme, so I'm definitely going to incorporate classy colors on my website. the font is a bit too bold for my personality, so I'll use a softer but professional font)
In today's session, I started off by watching a tutorial for learning how to use Node.JS to be able to use JavaScript to communicate not just with the browser, but also with the entire computer. After this, I used Trinket to complete a crash course tutorial walkthrough of Python. I noticed various similarities between Python and JavaScript such as printing, if/else statements, lists, and functions. I got to create an interactive end product story that produces different stories based on the information the user enters. I look forward to continuing learning Python and possibly PHP tomorrow, depending on time. After this, I watched a series of videos on how to land a web developer job. My favorite video was the critique of actual portfolio submissions from web developer applicants. The video creator emphasized the importance of creating a website that minimizes the amount of effort required from the user as much as possible, while also making sure all information is organized in a straightforward manner, the most important information (your resume and portfolio) is placed on the homepage where it is easy to access, and you don't share too much information beyond what is necessary for employers to see. I really liked the animations on one of the portfolios and I hope to one day be able to create something similar. Finally, I learned about MVPs - the importance of creating an MVP when launching a new business to be able to get feedback from customers and pivot as necessary, before wasting time and resources on a product that customers wouldn't enjoy.
In the beginning portion of today's session, I started off by finishing up assignments from the introduction units. I created a list of topics I want to work on, along with some steps on how I plan to accomplish these goals. Next, I brushed up on SVN and GitHub concepts from yesterday, since I had found them quite confusing. Although I do still find the technical jargon a bit confusing, I better understand how Git and GitHub work together to maintain a version control system, and how to navigate conflicts when collaborating with a team. I also created my own GitHub account. After this, I learned how to use WordPress to design websites without using any code. I downloaded WordPress to host my website locally, and plan to host the website through GitHub pages tomorrow. I followed Dale's tutorials to learn about some of the best WordPress themes (I liked Hestia the best) and how to customize them to create a website that fits my needs. Finally, I ended the day by playing the "CodeCombat" game to learn more essentials of JavaScript.
In the first segment of today's sessions, I started off by learning how to successfully launch a web design business and gain clients. Through the various videos, I learned that getting a web design client is a genuine challenge, given how much competition there is and how difficult it is to get your foot in the door without prior experience. However, some strategies I can use to gain leverage is to create free websites or examples for companies to try out before they buy, to use Google Maps to find local businesses that may be in need of a website, to focus on businesses that likely generate a lot of income (such as physicians and attorneys) since they will be more willing to spend money on a website, and to think from the perspective of what the company is looking for / what problem they are trying to solve instead of from what skills I have. After this, I learned about the essentials of version control and how Git, Github, and SVN work together. Finally, I concluded today's session by practicing essentials of JavaScript through the Star Wars Hour of Code game, where I got to learn how code works using basic blocks to move the robot in different directions.
During today's session, I started off by reading a few articles to expand on what I had learn yesterday on details of what the business analyst role entails. One of the content modules linked to current business analyst positions on Glassdoor. I found a business analyst position that spoke to my background, as they were looking for undergraduates or graduates with an educational background in biology who were interested in becoming a business analyst. Given that I don't have prior direct experience as a business analyst, completing the application did feel like a bit of a stretch, but I decided to shoot my shot anyways as I have always been curious in exploring the data analysis / business analysis sector and I believe this internship could be an amazing opportunity for me to explore this field. To complete the application, I spent time updating my original resume format and spent significant time writing my cover letter. I realized that I will need to create templates to adjust my cover letter to different types of positions.
In today's sessions, I continued to learn various new concepts about how websites work. I learned more about the process and costs associated with both buying a domain name as well as a server to host the website, as well as other important concepts in web hosting such as SSL, DNS, and FTP. While some free options for web hosting exist, they aren't always the most secure or ideal. After this, I got to learn about how databases are utilized as a digital way to store files and information from user interaction on webpages. I used Khan Academy's hour of code to learn fundamentals of how to create and store data on tables using SQL. After this, I got to learn about the nuances of different options to create databases, including popular ones such as MySQL and MongoDB. I found working with data fun so I decided to check out the business analysis module as well, where I learned information about what the daily career of a data analysist entails.
In the first portion of today's session, I continued where I left off yesterday, watching videos on adding images using the <img> or <picture> tags on HTML and the background-image function in CSS, as well as making webpages responsive on both desktop and mobile through media queries. I then practiced these skills on my own as I continued the mock-up of another website. I learned how to use the inspect element feature to debug errors, and realized that my navigation bar wasn't aligned as I intended because of an issue with the <ul> tag. After this, I gained lots of insight on web development as a whole. I learned about how back-end and front-end development differ and work together to contribute to the overall user experience, and the importance of becoming a full-stack developer who may have expertise in a particular skillset, but is comfortable working on both front-end and back-end code. I then learned about various potential careers in web development, including data analysis, data architecture, quality assurance, project management, among many others. Lastly, I learned new information about web domains, and how to host websites for free using Netlify.
I started off today's session watching Tenzin's comprehensive overview on the steps to become a self-taught web-developer. Here, he emphasized the importance of starting to learn how to code with a strong foundation of the bigger picture behind how computer science works, and the different components behind web pages. Next, he gave a timeline of which languages and skills I should learn in which order, along with various resources to support learning these skills. Tenzin also repeatedly emphasized the importance of building as you learn to reinforce the material you've learned. I appreciated this timeline and will definitely refer back to this throughout my journey. From here, I learned various skills in HTML and CSS. I learned some essential HTML tags for content (headings, paragraphs, lists, links) and tags to structure the webpage layout (sections, divs, headers, footers, navigation). I also learned how to style these tags using CSS to change the background color, font, structure, alignment, and various others. I then learned how to create multiple webpages in a website and use an external style sheet to apply changes to all respective webpages. For the remaining hour, I tried to use these skills to create my own mock-up of another website, but got stuck at the navigation bar. While I was able to create a fully functioning navigation bar, I wasn't able to get rid of the right margin as demonstrated in the tutorial - I will continue this tomorrow.
During the beginning portion of today's sessions, I learned about how important it is to plan effectively before jumping into a business idea so you know if your start-up plan is feasible while the stakes aren't as high. For example, conventional advice to keep business ideas to yourself to prevent others from stealing them is harmful, as it is important for you to converse with your audience to know if people are actually interested in your product, and to simultaneously develop a base of people who are excited about your business journey. Similarly, it is important to consider the various expenses and factors that may go in to see if you will actually produce revenue, and various potential profit models on how you hope to earn money through your company. Sometimes it may be ideal to have multiple income streams so your business isn't dependent on one profit model (a key example of this is YouTubers who profit off of AdSense, sponsorships, merch, and external websites & blogs). After this, I began to learn the basics of web development. Web development is easily accessible to everybody as there are many free resources to learn how to code in a short amount of time. I got to make a super simple website with basic HTML tags, and I got to learn more about the career opportunities in web development overall.
Throughout today's sessions, I was able to learn lots of tips on how I can work on myself. Not all of the content in the "Improving Your Quality of Life" module resonated with me - for example, some of the content discussed the appeal of travelling anywhere while still getting paid remotely, but I didn't feel as touched by this as I honestly see myself more enjoying physical jobs or jobs where I can work with an in-person team. However, I learned lots of tips on time management, the importance of looking after your health, and the importance of the "grind". For example, as Taylor discussed in one of the later videos, in the age of social media and other internet distractions, it's so easy to get caught up wasting time envying others who post about their lavish lifestyles, while disregarding the unfair advantages and luck that got these people to these positions. Instead, the time we waste envying other peoples' lifestyles is time we should be spending working on ourselves, grinding on whatever we are doing, figuring out what the next step is, etc. I really appreciate how blunt Gary was with Taylor about this message, and I think this is a problem for a lot of youth in the 21st century, as social media exemplifies unrealistic expectations as we compare ourselves to people who have completely different starting points and journeys than we do. Instead, I need to just become laser focused on what my goals are and where I want to be headed. I need to get as involved as I can and really grind, while still accounting for healthy habits such as taking frequent breaks, starting with the most difficult tasks first, taking time for myself, and exercising regularly.
Today, I continued to expand on career development skills. I learned valuable tips on networking, such as looking out for local conferences in my fields of interest, forming connections with conference sponsors to potentially get free tickets, overcoming shyness / insecurities to go up to strangers during events to build a powerful network, and the importance of researching briefly about people you are interested in meeting beforehand to gain a better sense of what you both share in common, what you can offer each other, and possible topics to discuss. I also learned about what not to do when networking - go up to a stranger who you've never spoken to before and asking them for their email address (or sending a random LinkedIn request) with no prior explanation. In addition, I utilized the tips from the articles to revise my LinkedIn page, create a resume, and create a cover letter template. I learned about ATS software being used to analyze resumes; initially I had made my resume on Canva but then learned that Canva resumes often aren't compatible with ATS scanners, so I switched it to Google Docs instead.
During the first portion of today's sessions, I learned lots of career development advice on how to be a leader, react in difficult situations, and remain productive while working remotely. For example, I learned about qualities of a strong leader, the importance of saying no when faced with a problem you do not know how to address for the better of everybody, and the importance of taking breaks between remote working sessions. I also learned tips on how to look professional over remote meetings, such as elevating my laptop to eye level and facing a window to illuminate my environment. During the second portion, I spent time exploring potential career options. I was especially intrigued by the web development and data analysis sessions, and look forward to working on those units in the upcoming weeks. I learned about the versatility of WordPress, and some websites that allow you to host websites with WordPress for free (without a free domain). I'm excited to potentially create my own portfolio website and/or blog through the rest of the course!
Following the COVID-19 pandemic, remote work has become increasingly popular and lucrative. During the first portion of my lessons today at Techie Youth, I got to learn both the pros and cons of working online. The biggest advantages of remote work are flexibility and efficiency - the flexibility to work wherever you please as long as you have access to WiFi in a professional setting, and the elimination of distractions such as off-topic conversations found in in-person offices to enhance efficiency. However, the videos also raised important drawbacks, including limited social interactions that help make the work feel meaningful, blurring the boundaries between work and play especially when working from home, and reduced productivity from difficulty focusing. I do feel as though I prefer hands on experiences, where I can go to physical locations, meet people in person, and do more direct work. While the benefits of remote work are great and ideal for certain people, I don't really know if it's right for me. I think it makes more sense for me to pursue a remote side hustle or commitment, in addition to a main in-person job. I do still think flexibility is an important component though that I will consider more heavily when looking for jobs. Aside from this, I learned many tips for how to improve my current resume, cover letter, and LinkedIn profile. I learned the importance of keeping cover letters concise and getting to the point while respecting recruiters' time. I also learned the importance of being an opportunist and setting up feeds to get alerted for new job opportunities. Lastly, I learned that I should remove the Skills section from my resume since it is unnecessary and is better suited for those with technical / hard-skills and certifications.