Last year after hitting the point when I just couldn't stand working retail anymore, I decided that I should go back to school to find out what I wanted to do. I had stopped going to school for a few years after spending too much time and money with absolutely nothing to show for it. As it is, I will graduate with a total of 119 credits, but will only end up receiving a two year degree.
When I went back to school, I ended up just taking a few random classes, all having to deal with computers. I took two programming classes, some required computer classes, and a class on HTML (Web). I wasn't a big fan of the programming classes, especially Visual Basic, but I didn't really hate them. What I did enjoy was the HTML class. It wasn't too difficult to follow along with and although at the time it was hard remembering some of the stuff, it has almost become second nature to me now.
So, I decided to go with Web Design as my focus. Last fall, I was enrolled in the Web Development and Design program and since I had all of the pre-req "unnecessary" classes already done (I thought I did at least) I was able to jump right into everything. Last fall was a lot of design stuff and I realized two big things. I have a hard time coming up with a design given very little information about something unless I'm just doing it for myself and I also it was kind of boring.
Before this semester started, I noticed that they were requiring me to take two math classes. This seemed odd to me as I had already completed a Calculus class at UW Fox and had it transferred over. After putting off asking them about it I finally went in and got everything straightened out, but still knew that I was going to have to take another math class (Math with Business Apps) which still sucks. I'm good at math, but if it's stuff I already know it has a tendency of boring me and I tend to not care about what I'm doing. Thankfully I'll be able to get it done this summer and before my birthday so hopefully I can at least pull off a passing grade since I'm thinking the material can't be too hard.
This semester has been mostly programming classes, and I'm surprisingly enjoying it. I'm not a fan of the SQL class, as databases are boring and frustratingly stupid, but JavaScript and PHP have been fun to learn. It could be that without the stress of Menards on me I've been able to enjoy school more or it could just be that I enjoy making things to do something beyond just look nice. It's cool to program something that does a simple function and have it actually do what it's supposed to even though it may have no real purpose that can't be done by something else on the computer. A lot of the stuff is still new, but it has also been working with other stuff and it's interesting seeing how things work together.
I still have the math class this summer and 4 more classes (plus the Japanese class that I'm taking) in the fall, but I will finally be able to graduate in December. It's a good feeling to finally accomplish something, even more so then graduating High School. Finding a job will be the next challenge, but FVTC does have a job posting board for IT jobs that I've been paying attention to. I'm still hoping for a part-time job to pop up before the end of this semester so I can do that instead of just getting another crummy job.
But still excitement is there. It's nice to have one half of my life going good for once. And it's nice to know that I'll have a career were I'll have to keep learning something new. There are a lot of changes going on as is for new versions of HTML and CSS becoming more standard that I'll have to learn and there is always more that I will pick up in programming. That's a good thing as otherwise, like with math and Menards, I'd just get bored with it and stop caring.
When I went back to school, I ended up just taking a few random classes, all having to deal with computers. I took two programming classes, some required computer classes, and a class on HTML (Web). I wasn't a big fan of the programming classes, especially Visual Basic, but I didn't really hate them. What I did enjoy was the HTML class. It wasn't too difficult to follow along with and although at the time it was hard remembering some of the stuff, it has almost become second nature to me now.
So, I decided to go with Web Design as my focus. Last fall, I was enrolled in the Web Development and Design program and since I had all of the pre-req "unnecessary" classes already done (I thought I did at least) I was able to jump right into everything. Last fall was a lot of design stuff and I realized two big things. I have a hard time coming up with a design given very little information about something unless I'm just doing it for myself and I also it was kind of boring.
Before this semester started, I noticed that they were requiring me to take two math classes. This seemed odd to me as I had already completed a Calculus class at UW Fox and had it transferred over. After putting off asking them about it I finally went in and got everything straightened out, but still knew that I was going to have to take another math class (Math with Business Apps) which still sucks. I'm good at math, but if it's stuff I already know it has a tendency of boring me and I tend to not care about what I'm doing. Thankfully I'll be able to get it done this summer and before my birthday so hopefully I can at least pull off a passing grade since I'm thinking the material can't be too hard.
This semester has been mostly programming classes, and I'm surprisingly enjoying it. I'm not a fan of the SQL class, as databases are boring and frustratingly stupid, but JavaScript and PHP have been fun to learn. It could be that without the stress of Menards on me I've been able to enjoy school more or it could just be that I enjoy making things to do something beyond just look nice. It's cool to program something that does a simple function and have it actually do what it's supposed to even though it may have no real purpose that can't be done by something else on the computer. A lot of the stuff is still new, but it has also been working with other stuff and it's interesting seeing how things work together.
I still have the math class this summer and 4 more classes (plus the Japanese class that I'm taking) in the fall, but I will finally be able to graduate in December. It's a good feeling to finally accomplish something, even more so then graduating High School. Finding a job will be the next challenge, but FVTC does have a job posting board for IT jobs that I've been paying attention to. I'm still hoping for a part-time job to pop up before the end of this semester so I can do that instead of just getting another crummy job.
But still excitement is there. It's nice to have one half of my life going good for once. And it's nice to know that I'll have a career were I'll have to keep learning something new. There are a lot of changes going on as is for new versions of HTML and CSS becoming more standard that I'll have to learn and there is always more that I will pick up in programming. That's a good thing as otherwise, like with math and Menards, I'd just get bored with it and stop caring.
I wish I took some web classes when I was in school. It would help me fight off competition in my field. I can't wait for you to start 日本語！
ReplyDeleteWell the nice thing about web design is that it is easy to learn since there is a lot of documentation online. If you want a little crash course I'd always be willing. Wouldn't get you any official document, but would be a skill to add to your resume.
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