Drawing Parallels as a Performer turned Developer
Having recently completed Flatiron School’s 15-week Software Engineering bootcamp, I now find myself in the midst of prepping to begin my job search. It’s a daunting prospect, one that I knew would come seemingly out of nowhere even before I began Flatiron’s program. A career change can seem like an almost impossible task for someone’s who’s devoted their time, energy, and talent elsewhere for a significant portion of their life. In my own case, how does my life and career spent as a professional musician and educator, up until this point, aid in my new path as a budding software engineer? Working on my resumé has allowed me to reflect a lot about that very question and putting these insights “down on paper” helps me to further my own personal growth.
— Interpersonal Relationships
From playing in the pit orchestra of Broadway musicals (in NYC, on actual “Broadway”), to being on stage at some of the biggest festivals in the world including Coachella, to live television performances on The Tonight Show, I have been fortunate enough to work in a variety of musical environments that have both challenged me and fulfilled me artistically and personally. That isn’t to say that each of those “gigs” did not come with their own challenges.
First and foremost, in my mind, is the ability to come together with people of various backgrounds, talents, and personalities and not only accomplish the job at hand, but be creative and musical together.
For those reading this who may not have a musical background, allow me to expound on that a bit. Performing with others, in a group of any size in any setting, requires so much more than just playing your “part.” Especially when you may not know the others or be familiar with their particular style of playing their instrument. Being able to evaluate the situation, the people involved, and listen more than you play to make art happen, is truly a learned skill and difficult to accomplish quickly.
The same could be said of working on any team, be it sports, in a band, or in our case, a software development team. A group of people coming together to create something, accomplish a goal, or build an app from scratch requires an ability to listen more than you play. To work with others unique abilities and contributions to eventually have the best output of your collective goal shine through.
I experienced this first hand when having a pair-programming session during my bootcamp. Suddenly, I was back on stage, but instead asking myself, “How can I contribute my talents to create the best possible outcome with my programming partners?”
— Networking
Over the course of my decade-plus career as a musician, I’ve met and worked with lots of different people with different personalities and skill sets. Those meetings didn’t happen because of job listings on LinkedIn, or sending a resumé to a recruiter because those things don’t exist in that world. They happened the “old-fashioned” way — with an in-person introduction, a reference by a colleague, a cold email introducing oneself, or seeking out and attending that musician’s live performances and just saying “Hello!”
What I’ve found, in my brief time, is that these skills will carry over to any workplace. A smile, an easy-going demeanor, an ability to present yourself in a positive light, be amiable, be punctual… these qualities have allowed me to be successful in gaining employment in a field that exists without interviews and resumé reviews. Nice guys finish first.
— Playing to the Song, Not Your Ego
Most people can picture a “Rock God” musician in their minds — maybe it’s Eddie Van Halen, or Jimi Hendrix, or Joan Jett. There they are, standing on stage, putting every ounce of themselves into their solos as the crowd watches and listens, hanging on every note. As a teenager, that’s all I wanted!
What I would come to find, through years of study and work as a professional, is that as a “working” musician, someone who’s not the star, doesn’t get hired to be the “Rock God.” In reality, knowing where you fit — knowing how to serve the music — is what drives success as a musician.
How does this apply to the programming world? “Playing to the song” requires a trait I mentioned earlier, listening more than you play. Knowing what a job requires and adding your contribution can be a difficult balance to find for some. I think a fine line exists between showing off and presenting your talent in a beneficial way, so as to serve the goal. This comes with time and experience and is something that, I believe, can and should be brought to a team project. If I have the ability to accomplish a difficult task, I should make that known and offer my contribution. Conversely, I know that someone else may be better suited, or find a better solution, for that same problem and, therefore, help the team move forward together.
— Embrace the Struggle
This is something that, I think, everyone needs to understand in every facet of career and life. The same notion is expressed in other sayings — “Nothing worthwhile comes easy,” being one.
“Embracing the struggle” as a musician meant countless hours of dedicated practice, patience in mastering a difficult song, and the mental fortitude to push through when dealing with lack of understanding. As I began learning to code, I quickly realized that I would need to backpedal and that I would need to once again become a beginner. There were, and will continue to be, a multitude of concepts that I did not understand, especially during my time in bootcamp. Problem solving and figuring things out on my own allowed for a deeper understanding of really tough course material and code concepts. Don’t always take the easy way out, “embrace the struggle” of not knowing and searching for a deeper understanding.
