Small fish in an ideal-sized pond

Working with Code/+/Trust (CT) in the Develop Carolina program has been excellent. Since my very first day, I haven't struggled with the agonizing insecurity that can come with being a total rookie but I have instead been given the space to thrive as a total rookie. The mentors, the team, and leadership at CT have been overwhelmingly supportive and eager to bring us up to the next level with them. It definitely helped that I was already pretty familiar with CT through my connections at the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce and also a friend that used to work there, but I think I would feel the same without those connections.

I initially thought that a large corporate setting would be best for my first job as a software developer. I thought that a big team would give me some breathing room and would also provide a good experience with tooling best practices along with learning new languages and solutions. There may be a day when I do find myself in that environment, but now that I'm in my first job, I really can't image getting the same invaluable experience anywhere other than CT.

From the 1:1 time with mentors and team members to a pretty sweet desk situation, I feel that I have all I need to excel. The mentors have made a point to include us in standup meetings, to give us effective training tools, and to give us a lot of grace. It's really the best case scenario learning environment for someone like me that needs a combination of intruction styles and the ability to ask a lot of questions without the fear of breaking something important.

I believe every new experience has its ups and downs, but I will say that the downs have been relatively scare in this case. If anything, I would say that there have been a couple of times that I have gotten stuck on something and let myself start to feel like I don't belong, which is a low that I created for myself. But CT has repeatedly stepped in, knowingly or not, and reassured me.

There are so many people on the team that have just amazed me with their patience and willingness to freely share their time and knowledge with us. This is the kind of thing I am motivated to pay forward as quickly as possible. It's a mindset that I will carry throughout my career.