What does apprenticeship mean to you?
To me, being an apprentice means being a very specialized type of student. It involves being under the supervision and guidance of someone who is highly knowledgeable in a particular field. An apprenticeship is a way to learn the intricacies of that field while practicing to become proficient enough to work with this set of skills. Currently, as an apprentice, I feel that my developer skills have been validated significantly. Being entrusted by an organization to learn software development under the wings of much more experienced engineers has lifted a huge weight off my shoulders, allowing me to focus on what’s to come and what the future will require from me.

What kind of skills do you hope to build during your apprenticeship?
One skill I hope to develop is the ability to work better in teams of engineers. An important aspect behind any successful product or company is usually a dedicated team of skilled individuals who all understand the importance of synergy. I love being in environments where I can focus on a specific task instead of having to do everything myself. I’ve worked on many different solo projects as a bootcamp grad to practice and learn different languages, but one thing that often happens is getting stuck. This can lead to fatigue, and eventually, many of these projects get shelved. Being part of a team will allow me to leverage the array of skills my teammates possess, enabling me to do my job better. I think the word for that is efficiency!

Another skill I hope to foster during this apprenticeship is gaining a much deeper understanding of Python as well as JavaScript. These two languages are my favorites because of the wide range of applications you can build with them alone. From music to art to communication applications, both of these languages have proven why they're the two most popular. I’ve worked in the non-profit music education space, and seeing how code can transform the minds of the youth is incredible. I hope to build a more solid foundation in these skills I'm acquiring so that I may also pass the knowledge down the line.

Why might you select a particular blog publishing platform? What features do you find most valuable?
I’ve chosen dev.to as my blog platform of choice because it ranks pretty high in Google search—just kidding! There seems to be a huge community of people who love this platform, as well as it being accessible, which to me are two very important things that the world needs more of. Community allows you to feel seen and heard and is integral for sharing information. Accessibility allows for that information to be spread to different audiences who may have never been able to connect without a certain resource, which again, I would love to see more of in my everyday life.