Getting Started with Blogging
Over a decade ago, I got an IT job requiring programming. At that point, I was a self-taught programmer and struggled with the first few projects. To learn more, I read blogs, watched videos, read books, and even took professional development courses through a University. I really enjoyed the programming and started looking for ways to transition into a software developer role. I came across the Simple Programmer blog, which said to create a blog to advance my career.
That sounded like an excellent goal, but the problem was I felt like I knew next to nothing - so what would I blog about? Since then, I earned a bachelor's degree, I'm working on my master's in computer science, I've created several large projects I've maintained over the years, and I still feel like I have an imposter syndrome.
But still, with blogging on my mind, every time I read a blog post, an article, a Wikipedia page, a book, or watch a video, I wish that I could also contribute.
I'm finally starting my blog. I still have imposter syndrome, and I don't exactly know what I'll write, but if I had started a decade ago (feeling the same way I do now), think of how much writing practice I could have had, how many topics I could have explored, or how much feedback I could have received. Today, I could have had a flourishing blog. Therefore, I'll start today rather than wait for another degree or job to give me confidence.
I still spend 99% of my time learning. I learn on the job, in school, and in every spare moment I can find. Today, while in a career advancement webinar, I found out that I have free access to LinkedIn learning through school. The first thing I did was look up courses about writing and blogs. I found two short 30-minute courses that I enjoyed, which gave me a little confidence about getting started.
I intend to write about software, algorithms, lessons learned, topics I'm learning in school, past career experience, and future plans. I'd love your feedback about what topics interest you.
Have you thought about starting a blog? Do you have any suggestions for getting started? Are blogs completely out of style? Do you ever have imposter syndrome despite years of experience?
LinkedIn Learning courses I found valuable:
- Writing a compelling blog post (created in 2018) (44 minutes)
- What's the So What: Writing Clearly for a Business Audience (created in 2022) (30 minutes)