![Cover image for [On-Demand Talk] Art History is a Feature: Non-Dev Work as a Superpower](https://community.codenewbie.org/images/HNZTfP3L49sFyZY3tdmLPT_uqOi8tDOnDaWpRL9uBUc/rs:fill:1000:420/g:sm/mb:500000/ar:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9jb21t/dW5pdHkuY29kZW5l/d2JpZS5vcmcvcmVt/b3RlaW1hZ2VzL3Vw/bG9hZHMvYXJ0aWNs/ZXMvMnRxMWpnb2J4/YWJjZmx0dHdhaGQu/cG5n)
About this talk
So, you're coming to a dev career from a very different path in life — one that may not seem "connected" to the dev world...
In this talk, I will run through an exercise about discovering the superpowers of your non-dev work career, including how to identify your superpowers, talk about them, and use them to start and advance your career.
We're all competent in our tech stacks, but what makes us unique and awesome coworkers is the variety of experiences and skills we've picked up along the way. No matter what these skills are, there's a way to connect them to being a dev and working in tech.
Slides
>> Click here to download slides
🌈 Comment below and ask me questions — I might just answer them during my live speaker discussion!
About Tracey Berg-Fulton
Tracey Berg-Fulton is a Software Engineer at Lumen Learning. Before learning to code in 2016, Tracey spent nearly a decade working in museums as a registrar & provenance researcher. She holds degrees in art and journalism from Otterbein, and a master's degree in art history from the University of Glasgow. In her spare time, Tracey competes in powerlifting, runs silly distances, and studies Gàidhlig. She shares her Pittsburgh home with her giant schnabrador, Walter, who is a very good boy.
This on-demand talk is part of CodeLand 2021 — a virtual conference brought to you by CodeNewbie & DEV on September 23 & 24, 2021.
Latest comments (41)
I loved your presentation. Thank you so much!
this is the last talk to end my watching spree of talks that i missed last night. it's a fun idea to refer to these non-dev skills as superpowers! even i got curious about what super abilities i have, might be awesome to explore them some time. great discussion :D
wow, this really spoke to me Tracey. As mostly a kinesthetic learner, sometimes the solution to a coding problem will come to me when I'm listening to music while exercising/stretching/(sometimes dancing LOL). Glad to know I'm not the only one who needs a creative outlet 🤣🕺
Do you think hobbies are worth mentioning in an interview/ on a resume? If they are technical versus non-technical hobbies, does this change anything?
Q: I am a techie of a “former age” and I don’t feel I have a superpower. Somehow I have a feeling the current SW Devs have their minds set about “old dogs” (can’t learn new tricks).
What’s your perspective?
I used to do SW QA then been out of the industry for sometime (about 5 years since 2010). Lately, (since 2016), I’ve done a Udacity program for iOS/Swift development and I am working on a Udemy bootcamp course for Web development.
Currently, working in retail. Would like to get back in the SW dev industry.
Question for the panel: Skill is acquired through experience, with some potentional bootstrap from talent. Therefor superpowers aren't learnt at school or through theory alone. As a self-taught I think know this better than any. Many of tonights questions and remarks have been about "How do i know if i'm good enough at ...", that feels like old teachers-voices. What advice would you give to break through this barrier for all those who ask? Do you think these barriers even apply to superpowers because they mostly aren't the typical school topics?
Hi! Reminder that if you have any questions for @bergfulton to drop them here! We'll address these questions in the live speaker discussion. 📣
Former English teacher confirming that my years of teaching poetry to disinterested teens has resulted in a superpower of finding engagement in places others might not be able to.
This talk meant so much to me. Thank you, Tracey!
Great talk! I love the idea of having different buckets for different superpowers.
I loved the idea of needing to give concent to use super powers. I'm more than happy to do math at work, but the expectation that they get access to a proof writer at a QA job seems silly.
Btw, the greaterthancode podcast asks everyone for their superpower in a similar sense.
As someone who also comes from a non-tech background, this talk was super helpful and encouraging! I love the idea of thinking of all of these skills as superpowers. Thank you so much for this talk (and for sharing that cute dog picture 🐶 )
Self-respect, consent, and advocacy are huge as a professional but often difficult to achieve as a newbie especially in a new field. Thank you for addressing how best to approach these obstacles. That was an awesome talk Tracey!
What are some common superpowers that are especially valuable to folks who hire devs, and how to do we translate our experience (on a resume, for instance) in a very different field to show that we do, in fact, have those superpowers, despite not previously using them in the tech industry?
Great talk, thanks!
"Doing it afraid" is nice. Also i really appreciate the applicability of your talk.