This is my backstory of why I'm getting into programming. TL:DR My body sucks and wrench work is boring so I want to start making cool websites and applications for a living.
The Backstory
Have you ever woken up before the crack of dawn, lethargically swung your feet off the bed, and limped your way to the closet to get ready for work? Have you ever heard someone snapping their fingers behind you only to realize it's your shoulder popping as you put on your shirt? Have you ever felt the dread of one more day enduring the endless slog of back breaking labor that doesn't pay what it should and will eventually make you a cripple well before you can retire?
For some a career in the physical trades is an incredibly enriching profession. These are the people who quite literally keep the lights on and the water flowing. Without skilled laborers maintaining our infrastructure we wouldn't have any of the modern accommodations that we need and enjoy. However, these jobs are physically difficult, mentally taxing, and, often times, extremely dangerous. These professionals endure all this because these jobs make a difference. It's not for the glory and it's sure not for the money, but rather the simple satisfaction in knowing that they have the ability to make a tangible impact in the world and that impact helps others.
I am also one of these professionals. I have been pulling wrenches my entire adult life. I have put hands on everything from jumbo jet aircraft to washers and dryers. This career that I have built was also handed down to me from my father who is also a mechanic. He is a jack of all trades really. I don't know a single thing that man can't fix outside of complex electronics. It was his ability to make almost anything come back to life that lead me to take up a wrench myself. Unfortunately, I am not as robust as he is. I'm strong and stocky don't get me wrong, but there's a certain endurance that man has that I can only hope to emulate.
Even while suffering from chronic fatigue he can work circles around anyone. The man is like the Energizer Bunny, he just keeps going and going. I guess it's true that they don't make them like they used to. I have his determination, but his sheer grit is astounding. As much as I want to live up to that standard my body simply won't let me.
Thirty is a rough year. I have aches and pains that just weren't there when I was twenty. Heck, I felt good even at twenty-five. But something shifted when I crossed that threshold. I can't ignore my knees, I get cramped up when I have to work in tight spaces, and my "give-a-damn" is officially kaput. At the very top of the list are my feet. After years of pounding around on tarmac and concrete my arches have fallen and my ankles crackle more than a bowl of Rice Krispies. Something has to give.
If you've made it past five paragraphs of my poor sob story about how my body is falling apart at thirty I thank you(Don't worry it gets good). All of this is a backstory to why I am changing my career. As I said, I am an aircraft mechanic by trade and training. I took up this trade because I was under the impression it would be interesting and would pay very well. It wasn't until after I graduated from my A&P training and started my career that I found out it isn't all sunshine and rainbows.
It's Been Real. And It's Been Fun...
Don't get me wrong, aircraft maintenance is a good career and it can be very fulfilling. There's very little in this world quite like taking something broken and making it whole again, that's why I've stayed in as long as I have. That being said it isn't as exciting as it sounds. It's not as glamorous as being a pilot, which I know comes with it's own drawbacks. It's not as lucrative as being an owner or director. It's mostly just dealing with routine maintenance and compliance. In short, it's boring. Then again I don't really want any excitement in air travel. I want predictability and I'm sure you agree. Here's where the story starts to get good.
You know what's really exciting and lucrative? Technology. Growing up I didn't have great Internet access, but I did play lots of video games and got on line whenever I could. I was very interested in science and gadgets as a child, but as I grew older I took those things for granted. My parents are also from a less tech-savvy generation, and while they never tried to discourage me from delving into computers, they didn't overly encourage it either. As I said, the Internet growing up in my area was lacking so my computer experience was either games I could load up via CD, whatever was shipped with the machine(MS Paint anyone?), and waiting waaaaay too long for YouTube to load up. It just wasn't very practical from my point of view.
Out in the work force things weren't much better. If I was given a computer to work with at all it was either shared amongst a team of technicians or it had so much corporate bloat it could be an enemy in a Left for Dead game. My skills were always aimed at physical work. Twist wire, drive rivets, turn wrenches. Never input data or configure something to work better via the terminal. As a result the Microsoft office class I took in college went to waste. Heck, I didn't even use my own personal computer for anything beyond the occasional Netflix binge.
How We Got Here
So what changed exactly? Sure the work is hard but I could always climb the ladder and get into management. Become a lead and then a project manager and then maybe a director of maintenance if I'm lucky. A nice cushy job after a long career in the second most technologically advanced industry in the world. If I just put my nose to the grindstone and work hard I can do anything! And that was the plan... until COVID.
When COVID hit in early 2020 my company halted operations due to safety and lack of work(planes don't tend to fly when no one leaves their home after all). I, being ever the optimist, felt no need to reevaluate things. I was so sure things would eventually go back to normal and I would be back in the hangar in no time. I needed a vacation, well "stay-cation", anyway. Oh poor, innocent, naive me. One month turned into two, then three, then six with no sign of a call back to work. After the first few crews were called back I thought my time was coming, but it never came and eventually I had to make a choice. Do I sit on my butt and wait for my company to call me back until unemployment runs out or do I start applying to whoever will hire? I chose the latter. My wife and I really rather like having food to eat so we needed some income. I spent two years in an unrelated field, though still pulling wrenches, and we got by. I even went back to aviation for a few months in the tail end of 2022, but the drive was taking its toll and I was barely breaking even with the extra cost of gas. now I find myself working in heavy equipment, but that has its own toll it takes.
One way I cope with the monotony of my current job is by listening to podcasts and YouTube videos on my phone while I work. One day, while listening to videos, the algorithm picked an interesting piece to occupy my mind. While I don't recall the exact content, it revolved around digital privacy. At that time, I was your typical normie and was ignorant as to how to protect my online privacy beyond VPNs (what a joke) and refraining from entering sensitive information into a computer. I was firmly under the impression that anything typed or spoken near a computer would somehow become part of the digital ether, susceptible to the whims of any hacker who stumbled upon my sweet, succulent data
Normie No More
Unbeknownst to me, that one video would send my starved intellect down a rabbit hole so deep and consuming that I would not only end up upending my digital footprint, but I would also reconfigure the way I saw the world. I was always concerned with privacy online. My parents might not have been computer-savvy, but the did equip me with a few tools such as; don't give out your name, your address, or your phone number. And that was about it. See how I came to believe what I did about the internet?
But now? Well now I know there is such a thing as digital privacy. I know TOR isn't a bad thing. I know crypto isn't all hooey. I know one can strip spyware- or should i say, Windows- off a computer and install Linux instead. I know there is home automation beyond Alexa AND I can run it from a server that I set up in MY home.
I wish I knew all this before. I wish I hadn't spent so much time doubting, even fearing technology. alas, I did. I was that doubting Thomas. I made the Skynet jokes and worse, believed them. I thought A.I. would be the end of humanity at some point, but now I'm using it to help me type this article! I LOVE tech now and I can't stop thinking about what I'll learn next and how it will shape my life for the better.
Going down this rabbit hole, I've also learned exactly how much a developer can make if they play their cards right. This got me thinking I should learn how to code as well. Heck, you can even start your own business with minimal startup capital if you have the knack. Now that sounds like an interesting way to make a living, plus it's not so hard on the feet.
As of the penning of this article I have been studying web development for a few months. I have a day job so I can only do a little at a time, but I am having a blast so far. I've learned a bit of HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript. I've also been tinkering with Linux on my personal machine as well. I'm not an Arch power user though... yet. I even got a 3d printer and started making all kinds of neat trinkets and toys with it.
I may be a late bloomer as far a tech-minded millennials go, but better late than never. I am looking forward to the journey and sharing it with you on this blog. If you took the time to read all this THANK YOU SO MUCH! I know I'm not the best writer, but maybe that will change. I think this is the most typing I've done since computer class in high school! If you have any advice feel free to share. I'm sure I'll need all the help I can get.