The past two weeks have really introduced me to "The Fire" by which entry-level programmers are often baptized. I have been moving non-stop for 15 days straight now. On day #12 of my never-ending workweek, I was given an assignment: insert a Google Maps View on a pre-existing screen and drop a pin on a given address.....*for delivery to the customer in 2 days.
I found lots of resources online and made a few practice apps. At the end of my research, I made a proof of concept to demonstrate the requested functionality. When the moment of truth came, and I was given access to the repository with the project's source code, I felt an overwhelming sense of...well, honestly, fear. But in addition to that, I felt proud that I had made it to a point where I could be held responsible for such a task.
After I got myself together, I began to focus on the task at hand: integrating my code into the project. This would not be as simple as it seemed. I ran into lots of issues, from breaking the code altogether and having to start over and re-sync, to having it build, compile, and run but seeing no sign of my added functionality.
There was a point where it looked like I might not make it. But I stayed up all night on Saturday, and even worked all day [Superbowl] Sunday (and did not watch the game), until I got the desired results. Of course, that couldn't be the end...although I got it working on my computer, I still had trouble committing the file to the repository. I had to delete the entire project, re-sync, then copy and paste my code into the files I altered to get this resolved.
I managed to get my code checked in and made my deadline!
This is really a big deal to me. This is my first time writing code to be used professionally. It is really a confidence builder to know that the company has enough faith in me to use my code in a release on a major project. I really feel like this was a huge first step on my path to becoming a professional software developer.
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