As the final day of Techie Youth, I did the data analyst and writing assignment. For the writing assignment, I did an advertisement/PSA. On both assignments, I focused on how Techie Youth tackles the problem of aged-out youths in the foster care system. The analyst assignment uses some data to see what can be improved on the system while the advertisement addresses main points.
Today I looked into copywriting and didn’t expect it to be the field that it was. Copywriting is more about getting the attention of the reader using words and different fonts. Some are extremely successful and stand out such as Cards against Humanity. I am also working on the assignment for copywriting.
PHP was a program I wasn’t aware of, but looking at the video, some things are similar to Python and others to Java. Structuring it is similar to Java while sections such as variables are similar to Python in syntax. I also looked at the blogging section of writing to learn about the topic.
Data entry is interesting in that some jobs have it as a role. While the name is self-explanatory, I didn’t realize how similar it was to transcription. When doing the ungraded assignment, I noticed it immediately. It’s important to have the necessary skills for it such as 40 words per minute and good accuracy. As a reflection, I wouldn’t enjoy a job that revolves around or heavily relies on data entry.
I looked a little into the writing unit and found transcription. I tried the typing test to see my rate of typing, which surprisingly was above average. However, I found it hard to use scribie’s interface as well as actually transcribe. This is probably due to my difficulty with the speed of the audio, the interface, and how a lot can be said within a specific timeframe. It was also hard for me to put audio into typed words.
As mentioned before, reading about stocks made me a little more prepared. Watching someone navigate Robinhood and teach about the app was good in terms of preparation. The Youtuber also talks about how ETFs are something that people should invest in. I was also aware of how stock markets could crash and it was interesting to know that the first to happen was from tulips.
I read more of the stocks articles and one of them clarified the types of orders better. Other articles also included terms related to stock trading and emphasized to not do market orders which were interesting. The article said to do limit orders instead, which makes some sense to me. I think these articles have finally gotten me motivated to hopefully start trying out stocks.
I’ve always been interested in stocks but never dealt with them directly. I hope to buy some stocks eventually from brokers like Robinhood. Reading some of these articles has made me confused. Some concepts are simple to understand while others are not, such as the different order types. I’ve heard some good tips before and these articles confirm them, such as buying S&P 500 because it is a diverse portfolio.
Today I finished up the website for Techie Youth by adding details about the organization. I focused on Techie Youth’s message of teaching and helping foster care or at-risk children to make them more self-sufficient. This was the message I wanted to show on the website, and I linked the page to the donations on Techie Youth’s website as well as the different social media that exists.
The main goal for today was to get started on a website using Wix, and focusing on what Techie Youth is. I was trying to use a theme offered by the website and deleted areas that are not needed. I wanted to focus on graphics most importantly to pull in people and make it so that the website is trustworthy.
I played the Star Wars Game today, which involved JavaScript. While I’m not familiar with JavaScript besides this game yet, it seems similar to syntax in Python and a little from SQL. I thought that this game was similar to Ozaria, but more interactive. It was also simplified with block format or code format, both of which I looked at to understand what was happening.
Today I played the Ozaria mini game and it was a highlight of the day due to the unique experience. I didn’t really see much actual coding within the game. Instead, it involves using different commands to move a character. Part of the game did involve the “if” loop similar to Python. I also watched videos regarding software such as Github for Web Development and will soon work on creating a website.
I completed the One Hour of Code for Python. My reflection on it was that the syntax was very familiar as I took a class on it before. However, at the time of class, some of the syntax wasn’t explained to me, but I think that the one hour of code clarified it. For example, the difference between == and =. There was also the use of lists in the form of [] that I never understood in class. Along with that, I worked on my cover letter, which was somewhat difficult at wording it.
Today I watched a little of Python coding and downloaded pycharm to follow the video. I also revisited my resume and LinkedIn, which I thought was ok. Upon further inspection, some experiences had to be removed and other aspects were added. During this time, I also reached out to friends to get their opinions on my resume (and I edited it further). I have yet to work on my old cover letter.
A highlight of my day was diving into HTML and CSS which I’ll continue to do so later. HTML is used to code for websites and CSS helps with the design of the websites such as adding color. HTML commands, from the video and Khanacademy, seem simple but I sometimes forget my syntax and header.
Today involved finishing up the databases section. I was able to do make a practice store database for Khanacademy and look at how mySQL functions. The main part of my day was figuring out how to use MonogDB (and I’m still uneasy about it). I had trouble installing and using its shell, and it is somewhat different from the SQL I’ve known by being a little messier. I think it’ll take time to get used to this new program.
The Database Design Challenge video was finished today. Overall, it was a large video that covered many details and reviewed different queries (such as Inner and Outer Joins). After this, I worked on KhanAcademy’s Intro to SQL where some skills were reviewed from nclab’s minicourse. What was new was that Khanacademy wanted us to make some tables and insert information into them. This seems to be a problem/trend for me where I forget certain words in the code whenever I make tables. It shows that being a good programmer requires daily practice to get used to what you’re doing.
Today was short and involved learning primary and foreign keys as well as chart relationships such as one to one, one to many, and many to many.
Today I finished nclab’s minicourse on SQL which included the and/or filter, wildcards, and aggregates. These were reviewed in my computer science class as mentioned before, but it was a nice review. Wildcards were something that wasn’t emphasized until the end of my course and I never practiced much with it. With the on-site database of the course, I could easily understand how to use % to find items of a database. I was able to get the minicourse certification at the end.
I looked at the introduction of SQL today from the analyst section. I have a basic knowledge of SQL recently from my computer science class (so I did this for some review). The minicourse so far was pleasantly nice though much more basic than what I learned in class. Relooking at the commands was nice because I didn’t get to practice SQL often and it helped reinforce my knowledge on them. I enjoyed that they had an old database to work with on the site compared to when I had to make tables myself during my class.
Today was a short day that involved looking at exit plans if you own a company, which is something all owners should keep in mind. The industry involves many companies buying others. I also reviewed intro to web development and am curious to the CS50 Harvard course. It’s pretty clear that people in web development can earn a lot of money but need experience in a lot of experience in coding.
Auseful tip today was learning to be silent. Silence can be important as it shows that you are listening and that it is not about you. In many cases, one shouldn’t talk more than necessary. Don’t be the blabbermouth because saying too much can sometimes hurt you instead. One wrong word might take you away from your goal (job interview, meetings, etc.). You can be silent and still command the room once you speak. Another important tip was to not harm your moneymaker: don’t damage whatever part of the body you need to earn money (which reminds me of Dr. Strange who carelessly ended up damaging his hands and becoming desperate to get them back to work).
What stood out to me today from the “Entrepreneurship and Business Leadership” section was learning about layoffs, firing, or termination. I actually didn’t know that there was a difference between each. Laying off means that there is a shortage of jobs, firing means that the employee broke legal/company rules, and termination is the most popular option. This knowledge will be useful in the future for me to know situations of losing a job or why I lost it. I’m glad this topic was addressed.
Today I’m mostly done with “Improving Quality of Life”, and I hope to finish it soon. I think what stood out to me the most was time management and mental health. I know that many people have stressed these things to me over and over, this course included. I spend around 9 or more hours on sleep, and I feel that I could save time if I slept less (so I consider if I should do so). Another thing that really stood out to me was the GaryVee video where he puts his viewer back down to reality. She wanted to open a company at her age when Gary said to slow down and only focus on herself, and not compare herself to peers and to people on social media (which sometimes I can relate to).
Today I covered some of "Intro to Earning Money and Improving Quality of Life", as well as QA and data analysts. I think that some of the tips from building your resume/cover letter were very interesting. This included the use of "I" and how it could damage your chances of getting the job. You want to emphasize the company and not you. Next, I looked at the difference between data/business analysts and data scientists. After reading about these differences, I felt that if I wanted to pursue a field, it would be a data analyst route due to it being the start of the career. QA was interesting because we downloaded pytest, though I was struggling to use it somewhat.