Susanna Codes

Reflecting on my passion for frontend engineering  I sometimes forget how lucky I am that in June last year I got to come back to Frontend engineering. It’s so amazing to be back in my happy place. Where I belong. Was it tough? Yes. Did it involve taking a massive step back? Also yes. All that knowledge I had built up in backend and Python. I had to let go. Of course nothing is ever lost. My code comprehension and my ability to navigate a repo definitely translated across. And my problem solving skills must’ve stayed - maybe - I have always just been better at solving frontend problems If I can see it I can fix it This is my gift I had better treasure that I love react it makes me really happy Although initially more challenging I do prefer Frontend testing Frontend is hard. It’s really hard. Don’t ever let anyone tell you otherwise But God I love it so so much  I love it so so so so much I love it so so so so so so so so so so much I love it so so so so so so so so so so so s...

Have fewer opportunities to get distracted because things take longer than you think they will I met with a lead engineer today. He and I reached the above conclusion for me together. “Have fewer opportunities to get distracted because things take longer than you think they will.”  That’s true. I need to leave my calendar full of nice blank green slots. Green is the colour of my “coding mode” coding slots. And I need more of those. As many of those as possible. I need to leave blank spaces  I need to leave spaces free I need to leave gaps I need blank slots because Reading tickets always takes longer than I expect Drawing things out and mapping things and planning things takes longer than I expect I need to read documentation Reading documentation takes longer than I expect Especially because I need time to write about it I need time to write tests I need time to think about tests and edge cases I need time to raise my PRs I need to wait for my reviews I need to fix random tes...

I have never felt more like a software engineer in my life than I did this morning I have never felt more like a software engineer in my life than I did this morning. As I climbed down the stairs to put on my beautiful new shoes and grab my hat coat and scarf and dash out the door I felt like a software engineer For real - not a fake it til you make it kind of software engineer - but a real one bro  Why? Because yesterday I looked at a software engineering framework and I finally said - with the aim of getting promoted -  This is what I am good at  This is what I could improve at  This is what my five goals are to improve and get better at it I know enough about the industry and the work that I can take ownership of it and address my gaps and fill them I am so so proud of myself I am so proud of myself It’s not a mystery to me anymore What are my goals? Well it’s a little bit personal So naturally I will share At the moment pending any further revisions from manageme...

BRO, I am not here for the good vibes I come into corporations and everyone thinks I’m nice. I am not nice. I am a competent professional. I have two masters degrees in fields related to renewable energy and I have worked in the field for five years  I might be fun But I am not here to be nice I am kind and extremely caring But I am allowed to say no I am focusing on moving my tickets across the board faster While not losing on the quality What does this mean More time for coding Yeeting meetings out Yeeting meetings out of my calendar I used to do a lot for company culture Bro no I am here to code Companies do not reward work on culture And that is okay  I know the rewards come in other ways I would rather code So let’s code Bro let’s code 

Writing cos the process of writing is sacred I don’t write for the product so much as I write for the process of writing. I might scream hundreds of times into my blog. But one day my focusing goals will work. One day I will know how to focus properly as a software engineer. I am getting better at it all the time anyway I wrote up a list of goals today based on the progression framework  It’s not about rushing those goals It’s about meeting them At least I have goals now I came up with them myself Waiting for confirmation from the other side I can finally relax now and focus on coding I hope Bro I love coding Bro bro bro  I think I diagnosed one of my biggest issues at work today at lunchtime The issue of feeling powerless Not good right I don’t want to feel powerless at work anymore

Tomorrow holds such better days I always feel like I am doing something wrong. No matter what I do. It just feels like I am not focusing right. Not growing fast enough.  Day after day I feel like I am struggling. I feel like I am missing the point but nobody ever told me what the point was. Maybe this is an autistic/ADHD thing. When I was at Uni I had friends and a boyfriend and then later a on study skills tutor who taught me how to play the game  It’s not about how much you read No one cares about how much you read “Assessments aren’t about what you know,” my then boyfriend would say. “They’re about jumping through hoops.” Mat, my Essex flatmate who was a bodybuilder and once bullied me into stealing a trolley from Tesco with him so we could push his whole freezer full of reduced meat home (I wish was I joking but I’m not) taught me to find articles online which proved my points. 3 university degrees probably down to the guy who was always so mean to me and yet somehow so fi...