Outreachy week 3 – Everybody struggles

A single ant pushing a large rock up a steep slope.

Getting into the tech industry as a professional from another career can be daunting. People perceive you as knowledgeable and experienced in your previous field, but suddenly you find yourself learning unfamiliar concepts and encountering strange terminologies that challenge your existing knowledge. It can make you feel unintelligent and inadequate.

One particular challenge that has persisted throughout my journey in software development is debugging. Whenever I come across a lengthy error message in my command line, it feels like my brain shuts down. It is as if I have lost the ability to read. Interestingly, I have discovered that taking the time to carefully analyze the error message often leads me to a solution.

An inspiring example occurred during the contribution phase of my Outreachy application. While setting up my development environment on a Windows machine, I encountered an error message stating “File contains carriage returns at end of line.” This error prevented me from pushing files from my local repository to the remote upstream repository. Initially, I didn’t understand the meaning of the error message and panicked. After attempting to find a solution online without success, I sought guidance from my mentors who responded with potential options to try.

Throughout the process, I also learned about the distinction between CR and LF line breaks and learned that Windows machines utilize both (CRLF). By the time I resolved the issue, I had not only solved a specific problem but also deepened my understanding of the differences between Windows and Unix-like operating systems.

In the end, the problem I encountered became an opportunity for me to expand my knowledge in software development. I even created a pull request to address the issue for other Windows users who might face the same challenge while contributing to the project.

The key to overcoming any challenge, in my opinion, is to practice patience. Rather than panicking, it is important to recognize that there is almost always a solution to the problem at hand. It just requires diligent effort to uncover it. This, however, remains easier said than done but I have noticed that I now handle long error messages with less panic. This is progress.

Every problem presents a chance for learning and growth. By overcoming the initial confusion and anxiety, you can elevate your knowledge and skill level with each hurdle you face.