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Fluva74
Fluva74

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Hello World

Hello, My name is Mike Finnegan. I am 47 years old. I have started my journey into development a bit late, but I felt I had a lot of other things to do first to get me here. So, I started the online bootcamp on Udemy in June. This is the Colt Steele bootcamp. I have gone through the HTML, the CSS, and the JS. I am finishing up with the mongo section now and about to tackle the big final project, YelpCamp. Now that we know what I've been studying, I'll tell you about me. I am a husband and father. We have 3 kids here at the house. My wife works from home. I do side hustles here and there and have committed to really learning how to code. I decided this because I have always played around with computers. When I was younger, my family owned an online retail store. I learned a little about HTML from that, but I think at that point I was more interested in the hardware side and networking. I was a network specialist at an AV company here in Dallas for a while, but I really didn't have room to grow there. I got bored. I am an artist, or really a creative type all around. I mainly draw and paint, but sculpt on occasion, do tattoo work, write, play some guitar and drums, and fiddle around with pretty much anything that lets me express myself creatively. I have worked many kinds of jobs over the years and have done well, but I've never been truly excited about any of them, until now. So, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do when I first sat at my computer and opened up VS Code. I was definitely overwhelmed. Now though, I am consumed. I try and put in at least 5-7 hours per day. If I cant commit that much time, I at least sit down and throw a frontend mentor challenge together or do some CSS Battles. I rarely take a day off. After all of the YouTube videos and podcasts I've been listening to, and after dealing with the mongo and database things, I really have decided that front end is the path for me. I really enjoy the creative side and the instant gratification it provides. So, where I'm at right now...I'm still overwhelmed. Usually I feel that I'm doing well in my studies, but being that I really don't interact with a lot of other people in development, I really don't know if I'm progressing at a good pace or not. I do know that my weak point is Git. I have only posted a few things on GitHub and know that I need to keep pushing more and get more familiar with it, but I just haven't worked my way around to it quite yet. So, I am looking for someone that can lend a helping hand here and there and help kind of put me in the right direction and someone that I can bounce a few things off every now and again. I appreciate all you guys are doing on this site and look forward to sharing my journey with others.

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ameliasmith11 profile image
Amelia Smith

Hi Mike,
It's great to hear about your journey into development and your dedication to learning to code. Starting a bit later in life is no problem, and it's wonderful that you're pursuing your passion.

The Colt Steele Bootcamp on Udemy is an excellent choice, and it's impressive that you've covered HTML, CSS, and JS and are now working on the MongoDB section, along with the final project, YelpCamp.

I'm also a tattoo artist and started my tattooing journey late; initially, using a tattoo machine was quite challenging. But over time, I developed a solid grip and became a skilled tattoo artist.