.me / jenniferowens

.01 » who am I?

Someone who ended a lengthy career in pursuit of something different.

I'm so glad I did this! The amount of tech learning I've done is empowering, and pursuing this field has challenged many assumptions I held for far too long. (How could I possibly remember everything a developer needs to know? You don't; yay docs!)

Personal growth and revised thinking about my potential has made this so much more than a career change.


What hasn't changed:

  • being cat mommy for a sweet and often dog-like purrball

  • loving PC gaming, console gaming, board gaming, etc.

  • wanting what I'm doing to be making a difference in life

  • being a native Seattleite who may always stay here

  • in my world, Andy Williams was off by a few months: cherry blossoms blooming is the most wonderful time of the year

  • and Lindsey Stirling never disappoints!

.02 » why a career change?

Progressing through various roles at my old office, I learned a lot.

Fresh learning in an office with a great mission? Check.
Awesome people with some internal IT project testing and support later on? Check.

Things aligned really well for many years...until they didn't. Yet I stayed because it was hard to leave some really amazing colleagues behind.

But hitting a wall on continued learning available for my role, as well as wanting to create for projects much more than was possible, led me to explore career options known for these attributes.

.03 » what led me to coding?

As hindsight is 20/20, more things than I'd originally thought!

My official start down this path was late 2014, having enjoyed an info session discussing concepts and languages related to web development. From there I started completing coding tutorials, as well as attending local tech meetups / info sessions for Seattle area education options. It wasn't long until I'd completed a group project cycle and was hooked! :)


But in actuality, I noticed during my coding journey that I've had an aptitude and interest in tech (if not the confidence to pursue it) for a long time.

  • The artsy computer banners I'd make as a kid with favorite quotes or lyrics to line the walls of my room.

  • My circa 1999 GeoCities website, complete with 90s design fixins. (Animated tiled image background, divider images, a background midi playing, page view counters, the works.)

  • Enjoying CSE 100 Fluency with IT as an elective (and earning a 3.8) just before graduation.


There were even things during my professional career which should have tipped me off years ago!

  • In my first position as receptionist, my favorite task was making decorative celebratory Powerpoint banners ("Happy Birthday!", "Welcome!) for our kitchen's notice board.

  • I was always great at using and understanding our internal relational database, and I was able to contribute as a valued tester for its software upgrade effort.

  • Our database administrator would often explain his SQL queries when I needed data pulls, and I could generally follow the syntax and logic of the database's layout.

  • When I was involved with a website administrative portal redesign and our consultant explained some of his Ruby code to me, it looked pretty interesting!


I'm trying to never miss those kinds of signs again, and my progress from near nothing to this is a great reminder.

.04 » where am I learning?

From Fall 2014 until Summer 2016 I did self-study through various learning resources such as Coursera and Free Code Camp (as well as in-person coding classes and group projects.)

I was accepted into Ada Developers Academy Cohort 6, and began its year-long software developer training program August 2016. I'm thrilled and thankful for this amazing opportunity!

.05 » how will I be using these skills?

Channeling my passion for helping others into future apps and tools to make others' lives better.
revIver was a good first attempt, but I know there's so much more I can accomplish with a lot of learning and hard work!


If you have questions about my coding journey or want to chat about yours, drop me a line!