Getting your dream job

I have changed my mind about what I wanted to do in life many many times. First I wanted to be a teacher, mostly because I wanted to inspire people but also because I loved learning (something that hasn't changed). Then I wanted to be a flutist, which made me spend 3 years in high school practicing for hours everyday, then I wanted to be an actor, a career I gave up quite quickly and in a desperate need to find something that I thought was achievable I wanted to study engineering or something similar because science did interest me. Well, to be honest that phase changed quickly when I discovered that being a producer and organising things was something I really enjoyed so I decided that I wanted to be a TV-producer, a dream that I was determined to achieve and therefore applied to film and tv production at university and even got in. But as you might have realised, even before I started university I had a mere thought of becoming a doctor ( a dream I haven't really buried yet but just put on hold, most likely forever). During University my TV-producer dream turned into a radio producer but after finishing my Masters I discovered my true calling, programming. The reason for me knowing this is what I want to do is because it combines all these dreams into one and thinking about it I get excited and happy. Even when I meet a challenge I know that I will push further and actually learn it.

So now what? I found my passion, how did I actually get to the point where my passion became a job? As cliche as it sounds, hard work. Since I didn't actually have any education in programming and I was sick and tired of going to school I made sure to use the resources I could find online. When it comes to programming there are more resources than programming languages (and there are many). With some help from the online community, friends and many sleepless nights I started to become more confident in my programming skills. It wasn't easy and there were many times when I felt that I will never be able to get a job within programming because it doesn't only require knowing the basics, it requires analytical ability, intelligence and a lot more that I wouldn't even consider myself being close to having. I was wrong though because all this hard work led to me landing a job as a programmer. 

Even though I've known about this for over a month now I still pinch myself thinking that it's all a big joke and that someone will tell me I'll actually be making coffee for the programmers and not program myself (to my future colleagues, I will make coffee too) but it is true. I, Naomi Kudrén, have actually achieved what I wanted.

Going through the process of learning every evening and putting your body and soul into getting to the point I wanted to be at has taught me a lot about life. Hard work isn't underestimated, it can actually take us very far. It might not be able to take us to where we want to be straight away but it can definitely help us reach a pit stop. All these hours I've spent learning for myself haven't been a waste of time. It has meant spending less time with friends and sleeping a lot less but now I know that it was all worth it.

I am not going to lie, life isn't always a dance and my life has definitely not been some sort of magic fairy tale, to be honest it has actually been pretty hard at times but the one thing I never let down was my energy to get the job I wanted. There are many things in life we can't control but with all the resources out there and opportunities there isn't anything that should stand in the way from you getting a job that you really want, it's one of the few things that you actually can do something about if you're not there yet.

It may be that I start this job and realise that it's not for me and that I want to pursue my medical career or that I want to be a flutist again but for now I am living the dream just waiting to start a job that I actually want and I think this shows that some tenacity and determination can take you very far in your career, and probably in other aspects in life too.