📓 Journal #6
You were asked to keep a journal while going through the program. Each weekend you'll receive a brief journaling assignment in addition to your coding homework. (Review the Journaling at Epicodus lesson for a refresher.)
Journal #6 Prompt
Spend several moments thinking critically about the following questions, and record brief yet honest responses. Include a date or timestamp and quick summary of the prompt to refer back to later.
Last section's journal prompt explored how our existing skills and experience–whether technical or not–could be applied to future technical careers. We'll continue thinking about our future careers this section too, as we familiarize ourselves with different technical roles, and begin considering which roles we may find fulfilling and enjoyable.
1. Browse Postings
First, spend a few minutes browsing technical job postings. We recommend the following resources:
Look through different types of positions; back end developer, back end engineer, front end developer, front end engineer, full-stack developer/engineer, quality assurance (QA), technical support engineer, dev ops, project manager, etc. Get a sense of the different responsibilities associated with each. What do you find yourself drawn to? What positions could you see yourself in? Which couldn't you see yourself in? What other details (benefits, team size, company culture, specific projects or responsibilities, etc.) about these jobs do you find appealing or unappealing?
Imagine yourself in each of these roles. But don't worry about their specific qualifications and requirements right now. Focus only on the description of the job, its day-to-day responsibilities, the company culture, and any other indication of what it might be like to work that job. Do you think it'd be fulfilling work?
2. Write Your Own Job Description
After browsing a decent number of job postings, write a description for your own ideal future job. This can be formatted as a job posting, or a list of attributes.
Your list/posting can contain anything. Identify traits you found appealing in jobs you saw. And traits you already know you desire in a job. Did you like the idea of working with a specific technology? For a team that volunteers in the community? In a dog-friendly office? Working remotely? Free snacks? Great benefits? A big team? A small team? Travel opportunities? Full stack work? Back end work?
It's okay if you don't know what you want to do after graduation yet. Simply list anything you do know about your ideal future job. We'll continue exploring trajectories, goals, and post-graduation plans in upcoming journal exercises.
Discussion
We'll discuss our responses at our next class session. Make sure your responses are recorded before then!