Sometimes. Sometimes change is forced on us without our consent, like when we develop a medical issue or complications from a procedure. In that case, perhaps change isn't so much good as it is necessary.
Somehow, the base of my second toe broke. I doubt it was anything I did while I was walking using both feet. So, change has been forced.
Changed was forced on all of us when we were informed we were no longer needed by our former employer. Some folk bounced back fairly quickly from the announcement, not waiting until the bitter end before they began to look for a new employer. They missed severance and unemployment. Given all the roadblocks several of us have run in to, they probably chose the better path.
Adjusting finances is another change. Good or bad remains to be seen - I suspect it will be different for different people. For me, finances have been less of an adjustment than the adjustment I've undergone regarding my daily schedule. I have to really set out specific action items to help me have a daily schedule. Without them, time is lost and usually wasted.
The Free Code Camp works a little bit differently, and I am hoping I can adjust to this very hands on style. It moves at my own pace which is good because I really want to understand and be able to apply what I've learned. I'm told, I will use enough of the basics over and over that I don't need to take notes. We'll see. Taking notes has been one of my primary learning modalities.
Employers in this area are complaining about how hard it is to find and keep good workers. I took a look at a Master Job List today for the metro area and the most common hourly rate that was offered for probably 75-80% of the jobs was $9.30
That might work if you're a teen and have all your food and housing costs covered, and if you don't have to pay for transportation. But, seriously? How can you possibly expect an independent adult to live on that wage? That is not even $400 a week and who can live independently on $1600 a month (no outside help or roommates)? Is it any wonder that both partners in a relationship MUST work to make ends meet?
Seriously, they were offering nursing jobs at $9.30 an hour to start. Heck, it is enough to make you want to move to a marijuana state and make $20 an hour under the table (the banks in CO won't take money from a marijuana business as it is still a federal crime and the banks fear federal reprisal). But, $20 an hour is $800 a week and that is a bit more realistic in earning a real income.
So, according to the Free Code Camp website, there are a lot of jobs for coding out there in the real world that pay considerably more than $9.30 an hour. I've seen a lot of quality jobs looking for people with a coding background to help look at programs they deploy for employees and other end users. It really might be a good blend of a new skill with an old one. If I can make it make sense in my pea brain, my brain that really needs to be more flexible when it comes to learning new things.
I've gotten as far as inserting an image and changing font colors - all very basic things in the coding universe. It truly is another language with <> and / and . and <style> and more. Probably comparing it to learning another language is pretty accurate.
I know, it's really like learning to type. You start with the home row and reach out from there. Now I type fairly quickly, after years of practice. I have a friend, L, about my age who has taken to coding like a duck to water. I can only pray my mind can be as resilient to this as hers; and she does tough, medical coding stuff with finals and the whole college thing.
I bow in her direction and applaud her resiliency. Her last few years have been as rough, if not more so, than my last few. L, as P once said, we're tough birds, not spring chicks.
Hopefully, all that experience will pay off for us.
Until then, I'm looking at change as good, even if it was forced upon me. There is always something to learn and apply.
