#reactor operator

[chemfemme]

step 1: become RO step 2: profit step 3: become SRO step 4: more profit step 5: become RSO step 6: no additional profit other than the joy of adding another acronym to my resume

[brentraines]

Reactor Operator to Web Developer

For my first post, I’ve decided to provide a little background on myself, and talk about the purpose of the blog.

  I joined the Navy at 18 and spent 6 years on submarines as a Reactor Operator. After I got out in 2011, I swore off working in nuclear power. Several months later, I was working at a nuclear plant in Seabrook, NH. I realized that wasn’t my future, and I needed to start doing something (anything) that would get me closer to my goal of starting my own business and farther from nuclear power. I came up with an idea and decided I needed to build a website for this service. I had a very ambitious, but unrealistic, goal of learning to code and building a complete site in a matter of 3 months. It took me a couple of days to realize the high improbability of accomplishing this feat. I eventually learned not to set such narrow minded goals, and just focused on learning more every day. I continued with this mindset for about 6 months, and then started thinking about how I could take it further.

I started doing some research and discovered Startup Institute, and I became extremely curious as to what they were all about. I signed up for a part time program through them called Ramp Up, and was invited to one of their Important People Honest Conversations meet-ups. This was my first introduction to the startup culture, and I was instantly addicted! There were two people I met as a result of these meet-ups that significantly changed my life, and that I owe a great deal to (whether they will admit it or not). They saw how passionate I was and encouraged me to make the leap. There were so many doubts and fears, leaving a secure job with good pay for no job, no pay with an undefined future. The second best decision of my life was quitting my miserable, dead end job and diving into the waters of the unknown head first (the best decision was asking my beautiful fiancée to marry me). I have never felt such a weight lifted, and I can’t wait to find out where this takes me. I am now living in Boston at Krashpad, and will be starting class full time at Startup Institute for Web-Development on Oct. 21.

This blog is intended for other junior developers, people who want to learn to code, or people that are on the edge of that cliff and need a little nudge. I will be writing about my personal triumphs and struggles learning to code. I may include specific tutorials for something I found especially challenging. There will also be a list of sites I found especially useful. I will be posting all of my work for perusal and critique. I will accept any questions and answer to the best of my abilities. I hope that you enjoy this blog and that it will be helpful in some way. I will try to update every day with at least a short post.

Thanks for reading,

Brent