So You Want to Start Coding…

What language should you learn? How do you build an app? What technologies should you use? What in the world is machine learning? How do you implement artificial intelligence? How do you deploy to production? Do I need to be an expert in math? How do you build a chat bot? Can I use a Raspberry Pi to water my plants? Can I analyze data? Can I use machine learning to predict what team will win the NBA Championship?

These are just some of the questions I battled with when I realized my love for programming. I struggled to find where to begin. Most books are written to prove the theory. Most courses are taught by academics, for academics. So, coming from a background in pure applied math, I never had a clear direction on where to start. I have known since a young age that I wanted to be a software engineer – to build something that answers the endless the questions that have covered my notebooks. I took out my shovel and dug deep into the depths of the Internet, almost to the point of no return. I’m talking double-digit-page- on-a-Google-search-deep. I needed a resource that could walk me through, step-by-step, how to implement a new technology, or understand how to use a library in Python. But before that, I needed a resource that would help me understand how to code.

I taught myself everything I didn’t know, and throughout the process, have documented what methods worked and what didn’t.

Gabriella

I taught myself everything I didn’t know, and throughout the process, have documented what methods worked and what didn’t. I understand how hard it is to begin; I understand not knowing where or how to start. I am here to help you jump ahead of the curve and provide everything you need to kick start your own journey in software engineering.

My name is Gabriella! I graduated from the University of Connecticut with a degree in applied mathematical sciences and Columbia University with a degree in applied artificial intelligence and machine learning. I dreamt of becoming a software engineer for so long that I spent all my time trying to figure out where to begin. I landed on Python, my all-time favorite language, and became addicted to machine learning! I now work as a full stack software engineer specializing in machine learning and wake up every.. single.. day.. loving my work!

The journey is just as important as the goal itself. If there’s one piece of advice I can give you it’s to remain curious and constantly question yourself, your limits, the material, and the process. You won’t always have the answer, but the question and the process of obtaining an answer are just as rewarding. I hope this space becomes a second home to you, and one where you can be comfortable asking the many questions you may have. I will not have all the answers, but together we can cultivate a place to grow and push the limits of our minds. With that, let’s begin coding!

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