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second draft of Laura's blog post
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Expand Up @@ -8,77 +8,71 @@ author: Laura Wadden
twitter: laurawadden
---

My name is Laura Wadden and I’m a Graduate Developer for ThoughtWorks, a world-wide software consulting firm.
My name is Laura Wadden and I’m proud to say that I’m one of the first “graduates” from the Rails Girls Summer of Code Program.
My team was part of batch 1 and even though it was the first time around, it was a huge success. I’m now a Graduate Developer for
ThoughtWorks, a world-wide software consulting firm. In this post I’ll explain more about my journey after Rails Girls Summer of Code
and how my experience at ThoughtWorks has been so far.

I started my journey with coding when I moved to Berlin from San Francisco in September 2012.
I first stumbled upon the Rails Girls community in May last year and attended my first beginners workshop,
where the energy was electric and I immediately found a supportive community.
At the workshop I heard about Rails Girls Summer of Code -- a 3-month, paid program for beginners to work on
open source projects and learn to code.

The next few months changed my life. I met my mentor and Rails Girls Summer of Code Coach, Duana Stanley,
who taught me about everything from TDD to working as a software developer.
The summer was difficult, rewarding and went so quickly I was reeling. There were different options
available - internship, junior developer, another community program - and I asked myself, “What comes next?”

I first stumbled upon the Rails Girls community last May and attended my first beginners workshop.
The energy was electric and I immediately found a supportive community. There I heard about Rails Girls
Summer of Code -- a 3-month, paid program for beginners to work on open source projects and learn to code.

The next few months changed my life. I met Duana Stanley, a former ThoughtWorks employee,
who became my mentor for everything from TDD to working as a software developer. The summer was
difficult, rewarding and quick. I asked myself, “What comes next?”
The RGSoC community was very supportive during this time. I went to coffee with a million different people,
announced my job search on Twitter, attended meetups (even though I admittedly hate meetups) and told everyone
I knew I was looking for a job / next step / who knows.

I participated in Open Tech School’s Hackerhsip, another community program in Berlin.
By the end of Hackership, I was ready for a junior developer position or internship, but I never imagined
I was ready for a firm like ThoughtWorks.
The search continued and in the meantime I participated in Open Tech School’s Hackerhsip, another community program in Berlin.

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@alicetragedy

alicetragedy Jan 11, 2015

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small typo: Hackership
It was a perfect option because it continued my learning from before and even though it was paid, I didn’t have to pay until the
next year and the payment was a percentage of my future income. By the end of Hackership I was ready for a junior developer position
or internship, but I never imagined I was ready for a firm like ThoughtWorks. During these few months I tried to freelance a bit,
went to A MILLION interviews, and I still attended meetups and other community events. The interviews helped me practice my interview
skills and I met lots of new people at the various meetups.

I gave a presentation at a meetup in Berlin about my Hackerhsip project in d3.js, and
a ThoughtWorks employee was in the audience. She heard my repeated plug, “I’m looking for a job!”
and she sent my name to the ThoughtWorks recruiting team. The next day I had a message in my inbox.
Then came my lucky moment. I gave a presentation at a meetup in Berlin about my Hackerhsip project in d3.js, and a ThoughtWorks employee
was in the audience. She heard my repeated plug, “I’m looking for a job!” and sent my name to the ThoughtWorks recruiting team.
The next day I had a message in my inbox.

“You really want me?”

“Yes,” the recruiter said. She explained about ThoughtWorks’ Graduate Developer program.

Her explanation can mostly be found on the website here: [link]. The following is
my experience as a Rails Girls Summer of Code alumnus, native English speaker and US-American.
It might come as no surprise, but even with all of the support and help along the way this is a ton of work.

The Graduate Program has two main aspects - training and on-the-job support.


## Training
Graduates attend a 5-week training program in Pune, India. It has classroom sessions,
project work and individual performance coaching and review. The goal is to help new
employees understand ThoughtWorks as a company and help develop core skills to effectively perform your role.
For me personally, this meant intensive training in test driven development (TDD), pair programming, and
experience working on a real client project. Not to mention, I met people from around the world because each
office of 17 sends participants.

Before I left for the program I completed a (long and difficult) programming assignment
to prepare me for the coursework to come. ThoughtWorks provided mentors and was open to
questions. During that time I leaned heavily on my mentor Duana and the Rails Girls community.
I couldn’t do it alone and many people helped me along the way.

In India it was an intensive experience. There were sessions during the day, client
project work, and I studied programming concepts at night via various homework assignments.


## On-the-job support
When I came back from ThoughtWorks University, I wasn’t sure how I would be supported next.
These two aspects helped me succeed in my first six months:

Her explanation can mostly be found on the website here: [link]. Even after reading the description on the site I didn’t think
I was ready for a job like that. I had barely been learning to code for a year and I wasn’t even sure which language I would be working in.
It felt like a long shot, but something worth trying.

I realized through the recruiting process and when I began at ThoughtWorks, that they do a few special things to help new programmers
integrate into a developer role. As a company they value “Quereinsteiger” - someone who comes from another career. They believe in my ability
to learn on the job and do as much as they can to support me in that journey. For someone coming out of an atmosphere like RGSoC, therefore it was a rather smooth transition.

## The Beach & Shadowing
Employees who aren’t working on client projects are “On the Beach”. During this time
they can shadow ongoing projects, work on pro-bono projects, or simply learn. For a
new developer this is especially helpful because I had space and opportunities to develop new skills.
I shadowed on a project for my first 2 months and now am assigned to that project.
However!!!! It’s still difficult. I’ve been at ThoughtWorks for six months and I am still constantly challenged with new concepts and
exhausted by learning new things everyday. Everyday I have to remind myself to be patient and trust that I’m doing the best that I can.
It’s tough when I still don’t understand concepts as quickly as others but I have to remember that I’m bringing a fresh perspective to the work that is also valuable.

ThoughtWorks did a few special things to help me succeed in my role. I’m going to discuss them here because I think it’s important
to realize what kind of supportive atmosphere is possible. In your future job interviews, you can integrate some questions about
how the employer plans to support your learning, what kind of flexibility you will have, and what their attitude is towards people
who don’t have backgrounds in Computer Science. And any other things that you think will help you be successful in your first job or internship.

First of all, training. I attended a 5-week training program in Pune, India. It has classroom sessions, project work and individual performance
coaching and review. For me personally, this meant intensive training in test driven development (TDD), pair programming, and experience working
on a real client project. Before I left for the program I completed a (long and difficult) programming assignment to prepare me for the coursework to come.

## Culture of Continuous Learning & Sharing
ThoughtWorks loves learning and teaching. There is a personal development budget
for books, workshops, conferences or online courses. During my project I’ve held one-off
sessions on CSS or other technical concepts and participated in a Design Patterns book club.
Since these opportunities are usually included in work time, I’m not overwhelmed with studying at night.
After the training, I received a lot of on-the-job support. Employees who aren’t working on client projects are “On the Beach”.
During this time they can shadow ongoing projects, work on pro-bono projects, or simply learn. For a new developer this is especially
helpful because I had space and opportunities to develop new skills. I shadowed on a project for my first 2 months and now am assigned to that project.

These are just a few notes on my experience and of course there’s more to say.
Luckily I’m a real person and I would love to learn more about your experience.
Please reach out to me and I’d be happy to help or connect you with someone who can.
Lastly, ThoughtWorks loves learning and teaching. There is a personal development budget for books, workshops, conferences or online courses.
During my project I’ve held one-off sessions on CSS or other technical concepts and participated in a Design Patterns book club. Since these opportunities
are usually included in work time, I’m not overwhelmed with studying at night.

Are you interested in ThoughtWorks? That’s great! Feel free to reach out to me our
Verena Traub, a recruiter for ThoughtWorks. She can connect you to the appropriate
office around the world or answer any of your questions.
These are just a few notes on my experience, post-Summer of Code, and of course there’s much more I could say. Luckily I’m a real person and I love questions
. Please reach out to me, whether you're a recent Summer of Code grad, or planning on participating 2015. And if you’re interested in ThoughtWorks

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alicetragedy Jan 11, 2015

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typo: planning on participating in 2015
[link: http://www.thoughtworks.com/] you can talk to me as well.

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