I'm a developer with a background in biochemistry and genetics as well as a history working in a production environment.
Throughout this time period, I would work on my Bachelor's Degree in Biochemistry at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. I enjoyed the nerdy culture of the campus very much. During this time period, I also worked at Dunkin' Donuts over the summers back in my hometown of Ellsworth, ME. During my senior year, I also worked at a Dunkin' Donuts in Troy, NY.
For the first couple of months after graduating, I worked during the summer at Dunkin' Donuts again while I applied for jobs at The Jackson Laboratory, a prominent genetics research facility located in Bar Harbor, ME. I continued to work weekends for a couple of months after I got a job working as a Genotyping Technician, but ultimately decided to bid Dunkin' farewell.
As I worked as a Genotyping Technician, I realized that a ceiling was rapidly approaching for me - most other positions at the Lab required a higher degree. Not wanting to lose my income (as I was paying off my student loans), I decided to enroll in an online Professional Science Master's program for Bioinformatics at the University of Maine in 2017 and to complete the coursework while I continued working.
As I took more classes dealing with programming, I began to really enjoy it, and in 2019 I decided that I wanted to learn how to code. I moved to Lincoln, NE with my girlfriend and decided I was going to try to apply to a coding bootcamp to change career paths. After measuring my options, I decided the best program for me was Flatiron School. They had a relatively nearby location in Denver, and I decided to do the in-person program as it better fit my needs.
I moved to Denver at the very beginning of 2020 and began the program at Flatiron, and I think it is one of the best decisions I have made thus far - the staff and fellow students create a very welcoming, positive culture and genuinely care about your success. After learning Ruby, Rails, JavaScript, React.js, and Ember.js, I graduated on April 17th. I also completed my Bioinformatics Master's in May.
Following my attendance at Flatiron School in Denver, I moved back to Lincoln and began the job search. Eventually, in August, I was able to land a job at SAIC working under the TADS (Technology Application Development and Sustainment) contract. Generally this has involved managing the flow of weather data, maintaining current software, and modernisation of systems.
In March, I acquired a CompTIA Security+ certification.