Code - Design - Art
- Website Development
- Graphics Creation
- Caricatures & Portraits
uri frazier Design & Development
- - Portland, OR -
Tales of a Web Designer-Developer and Graphic Artist
So, last week, my co-worker, Kelly, made the best looking and best tasting chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever experienced in my entire life. I’m not over-exaggerating. I’m so serious right now you don’t even know.
Texture and density? Perfect. Chocolate chip amount and spread? Perfect. I’m not supposed to eat wheat/gluten? I don’t freakin’ care. She made the boss move and reduced the sugar too! Like…finally! Someone who understands that there is more to flavor in a dessert food than just sweetness!
She could really sell these and I would buy them all. All the cookies are belong to me. That’s right. They are that good.
Check our her blog here [placeholder for when she starts her blog cause she is a damn good writer too].
Anyways, anytime I see some pop-up notice about cookies while browsing the web, I’ll think of those perfect cookies that I tasted that one day back in August 2019
So where does this all lead? What you ask? Did you stumble across this post by accident? Then go read Part 1 first, my friend.
For the rest of my faithful imaginary readers…here we go.
How can I illustrate my path going forward? Perhaps instead of just kind of walking along the race track while looking around at the scenery, I’ve re-tied my shoes, pulled up my shorts, got a show of Powerade Zero (or whatever it’s called), and am making some big strides with a finish line in clear view. Again, as mentioned in my last article, this is mostly due to the wealth of knowledge gained from podcast extraordinaire, The ShopTalk Show hosted by Chris Coyier and Dave Rupert.
As a side note, I’ve also started to enjoy a podcast called CodeNewbie /hosted by Saron Yitbarek. This show is great (I had to acquire a taste for it at first) because it has these awesome web professionals taking very basic questions and providing fundamental knowledge about a wide array of web related subjects.
But back to the path forward. I now really want to be less of a front-of-the-front developer and more of a back of the front. Gosh, I love all of front-end development, but that’s where I need to go for now. There is just a lot more demand (that I can see) and it pays much better than just being a guy who can sling brochure sites. Plus, I find it more challenging and thus more enjoyable/absorbing.
Don’t get me wrong, the front-of-the-front is just as challenging in general. If you take it seriously.
That brings up another part of my “finish line”, my goal. I really need to pick up, practice and master some of the other front-of-the-front skills/knowledge that I never had the motivation to learn, or perhaps I just didn’t know they were so important. Whatever the case, I want to do more than just know about these things, I want to practice them to the point where it’s second nature to use them.
Here are some of them:
What else? Any more details on your path to being a “real” web developer – a seasoned pro who is a master at his trade and not just a newbie?
Thanks for asking imaginary reader. For now, I’m taking some JS classes on Udemy (JavaScript Bootcamp 2019 by Andrew Mead to start with). I’ll continue dousing myself in the experience and knowledge of my new Web World Heroes (just made that up) via their weekly podcasts, web articles and the like. I’ll make it to a meetup or two and of course I’ll keep playing Danger Crew by these awesome guys.
But basically, just learn, learn, learn and practice, practice, practice – using all those “hidden moments” to push me towards being a (here comes the cliche) JavaScript Ninja. *throws a paper ninja star at the monitor*
I have some other ideas that I want to share about where this is going, but that will have to wait – it’s still in the oven cooking.
– Uri