Three Terrific (Non-technical) Things Year Up Taught Me
Before I began Year Up I didn’t know that it would provide me with so much knowledge. I expected to learn more about tech of course, however, I didn’t expect to learn so much about myself through the program. I want to share three lessons that will reveal why the first six months of the program are really called the Learning and Development phase.
1. Ask for what you want
As a child one of my favorite proverbs was “a closed mouth doesn’t get fed.” One would think I learned this lesson early on considering how frequently I heard it. How will people know what you’re interested in if you don’t tell them? How will the decision-makers in your career know where to place you? Yes, lots of things in life are random and beyond our control but we have control over how we communicate. I quickly applied for every opportunity I was offered at Year Up. I got to meet inspiring people, learn some coding, receive guidance, advice and instruction simply because I asked for it.
2. Preparation and Luck
The character Frank Underwood from the Netflix series “House of Cards” said, “My father believed that success is a mixture of preparation and luck.” I agree with this idea. My experience at Year Up has proven it to be true. I’ve seen people drop out of the program because they didn’t know how to prepare. They missed deadlines, and regularly showed up late because they couldn’t plot out a path to success. Success requires these things. It also requires luck. Luck is at least 50% of the reason I’m in Year Up at all. My girlfriend told me about Year Up. She saw an outreach presentation while working as a teaching assistant at a high school last winter. When I looked at the Year Up website I was struck with awe, excitement, and dread. I dreaded not making the cut this spring because the YU age limit is 24 and I was 24 and 9 months at the time. We all need to be as prepared as possible and that will enable luck to bring us towards success.
3. Feedback
Once a week we gather as a community to deliver and receive constructive feedback from our colleagues. There are guidelines for giving and receiving feedback so that the entire exercise is done respectfully and with a spirit of guidance toward success. I wasn't very open to feedback before Year Up. I accepted very specific and considerate critiques, but I was much more cautious of direct on the spot feedback and public feedback. I was afraid to give feedback to my peers and especially to instructors and facilitators. Now I’ve seen good, bad, and great examples of feedback in a professional space and I feel prepared to use it moving forward. It is essential to any positive professional environment that people are given honest, timely information on their performance. Feedback stimulates growth in specific areas and can root out disruptive behaviors before they grow into something truly negative.