I'm a mom, a wife, and a web developer. It's always been a tough balancing act, as the nature of web development is long hours - a good bit of those long hours spent on education. Whether it's looking up an answer on Stack Overflow or reading about the latest admissions to the CSS spec or design inspiration, a developer must stay up to date on the latest and greatest at all times to stay effective.

When the startup I was working for failed to perform, I was fired.  But I was first on the chopping block due to a big gap in my skill set. Why have I remained unemployed since February?  – that same big gaping hole in my skill set.

The truth is, for my entire career as a developer, I’ve been barely getting by. My fail safe used to be that I could lean on my graphic design skills in a pinch.

What’s missing in my tool bag (and has always been) is javascript. And now more than ever (because this field is competitive and continues to grow), a solid grasp on javascript is required for any front end developer position today. 

I finally decided that I needed to get ahead of the curve. I received an offer from a school where the structure split into three-month halves. The first half is front end, (primarily javascript) and the last half is back end - Python/Django. When I graduate on March 22, I’ll be a Full Stack Developer. I’ll be qualified for front end, back end, and full stack development jobs, plus I’ll still have that design card  in my back pocket. Starting an amazing new job on March 23  should be no problem. 

I'm a mother to two small children and my family relies on my financial contribution. I have been awarded a scholarship, but I still need money to support my family during this time and pay the remainder of my tuition. The total amount I'll need (minus my husband's contributions) is $19,132 ($9032 personal and $9500 school). This includes tuition, tech expenses like software and storage, groceries, utilities, and insurance.

A second part of this effort is an online auction. More details will be shared as soon as plans continue to evolve. As an alternative to financial giving, many are donating an item or service; everything from a lawnmower to a poster and a yoga class to a private dinner for two. Please leave a comment here if you're not sure what to donate, I can help! If you can't donate (that's ok) and you can't think of anything to auction, would you consider sharing this story? A Facebook share would help out a TON! 

The absolute first thing I must concentrate on is the $1500 that's due SOON (Friday, August 17, 2018).

Thank you all for your time and effort!