Amber Bostic, Lead Software Developer with Advantage Technology took time to speak with our WV Coding Club students at a recent meeting.
Amber decided after high school to attend DeVry University in Ohio and earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science. At the time, about 180 students started in the program, and there were very few females studying Computer Science. Amber stated that this was before the internet as we know it today and before cell phones.
Amber shared that she believes in learning about a broad range of languages. Her niche is working with backend software. Once you have a lot of the fundamental concepts you mainly have to get the syntax correct. Learning the concepts is the key to having the right tools to solve problems.
If you come across a barrier that you can't seem to overcome after some effort, take time to talk through it with another programmer, which usually results in finding the issue/solution. Today, you can find a lot of information on the internet, but it is important to filter out the “noise”.
Amber shared some key advice to the students. There are lots of resources on the internet. Pick one or two areas you are really interested in and focus on that. If stuck, ask for help, don’t let pride or fear get in the way of learning and solving problems.
Working with teams and customers (external and internal) is critical and being able to communicate with each other is necessary to complete projects. Amber played sports growing up so she developed those skills of being a part of a team and also leading a team. Amber shared that at Advantage Technology, they have various teams that provide different types of technology services. In those teams, each staff person has different strengths, skills and experience to work together to best help their customers. Advantage Technology is unique in the fact that they have a development department in addition to all their other aspects of services.
Amber has been working remotely due to COVID and mentioned that there are many remote jobs that allow you to live and work in West Virginia. She encouraged the students to seek out those opportunities, especially if they want to stay in West Virginia.
Developers can do anything! A developer's mindset is focused on solving problems and a "can do" attitude.
Dan McElroy, President of the WV Coding Club, said, "Learning to solve problems in coding helps to give students the tools to approach other challenges they face in school and in life. Amber is a great example for not only young women who are interested in coding related careers, but for all students who are interested in a host of technology career paths."
Thank you Amber for taking the time to speak with our West Virginia Coding Club students and share your experience and advice with them!
Keep Coding!