Tomorrow begins a new chapter in my life. Chapter eight if you count pre-college in Hollywood, FL, college at RPI, a short time in Tucson, AZ post-graduation, AAAS, my work as a defense contractor at the Pentagon first with SAIC then SimSupport, my first teaching gig at Centennial High School (#knights4life) in suburban Atlanta, and my second teaching gig at TJHSST as the first seven.

Software engineer. I can hardly believe it. I’ve been preparing students for this career for the past 16 years. It’s not that I didn’t think I could pursue this role before, I just loved teaching that much. I still want to work with young people, but now I hope to work with them from the industry side. Please hold me accountable.

Software engineer. Friends, family, and teaching colleagues have been asking me what I’ll be doing. I’ve had to tell them that other than working for Yext, I have no idea. At least for the short term. Don’t know what team I’ll be working on, which languages or frameworks I’ll be using, what tools I will need to learn how to use, or what problems I will be solving. Eeek! Long term, I’m tasked with leading the engineering side’s learning and development program. They think I have skills in this area.

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams.Henry David Thoreau

Software engineer. I’m excited! Filled with anticipation. Can’t really say I’m nervous, although tomorrow’s report on hours of sleep will expose that truth. Who will be my nearest desk partners? Will I get to work with any other women? Will the office be freezing? What are they serving for lunch? Will my chair be comfortable? Will I receive a warm welcome? Will I be brave enough to ask all the questions I want answers to? When will imposter syndrome set in?

I’m ready. Filled out my W-4 and I-9 paperwork. Check. Have my passport and a voided check in hand to bring to my benefits meeting tomorrow. Check. Picked out my medical plan and decided on the percentage I want to contribute to my retirement plan. Check. And I have decided on what to wear. Check. As a #womanintech, I was going to worry about this a little, but then I realized that my casual is usually a little better than the industry norm of t-shirts and jeans. So I’m safe (I think.)

Time for a good night’s sleep. Haha.

hours of sleep = 7;  steps = 2,000;  lines of code written = 0;