Valerie (🖥️, ☕️) | Founder of Tech by Choice
@DigitalBlkHippy
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(She/Her) Founder of @TechByChoiceOrg ✊🏾 Artist 🎨 Engineering Manager 💻 Speaker 🎤 Psychology Enthusiast 🧠 Your Local Cali Hippie 🌴 👩🏾🦱🌴
a mac around a bunch of pcs
Joined March 2010
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Pinned Tweet
A few people showed interest in this, so I'm posting it publicly.
For the last year, I've been building an app that does everything Canva does and more. We'll never own anything anyone creates on the platform.
Why? Because the goal of the app is to help you focus on your brand
I recently walked a client through this & thought I would share:
I LOVE CANVA. But, please know that when you make a logo/anything on Canva - CANVA retains their IP rights. This means you CANNOT file a TM/Copyright or sub-license what you made. You only have a LICENSE.
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I'm in tech for the money.
Full stop.
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I'll never forget the feeling I had when I found out the fake white male LinkedIn profile I made with the exact same work history & education got job offers that never hit my inbox.
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Hot take: backend is easier to pickup than frontend
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After 1 year in tech, I made $54k as a frontend dev. I hit $120k when I had 5 years of experience because I was extremely underpaid.
I'm not repeating these patterns. I posted a job with a salary band of $120,000-$140,000 for a minimum of 1 year of experience.
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Companies really tried to bully us into think it’s a bad thing to job hop when they still do mass layoffs when data has proven they don’t work.
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And I mean the profiles were EXACTLY the same. The only difference was the name and profile image.
So ya, when anyone tells me it's a "pipeline issue" it's hard for me not to feel annoyed.
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Facebook just reminded me I started my tech journey 8 years ago. I went from data entry to Frontend dev in 8 months. From $15/hr to jumping into an industry that offered 100k+ salaries w/ 2-3 years of experience. All before graduation w/ a degree in psychology & art
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May I never forget the relief I felt for working hard enough to finally land a tech job make 90k and cover some of my mothers medical bills.
People are complaining 100k isn’t much. But it is. I went from 18k a year to 45k to 90k and I was in a whole new world.
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I’m getting an uptick in recruiters reaching out to me for roles
So I went to check the LinkedIn I made with all of my experience, just a white guys name and profile picture and guess what
He’s getting offers to roles I’m not.
Large companies, higher titles, more pay
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So I never worked on an open-source project because I felt like it was for people who _knew what they were doing_
But I just remembered no one knows what they're doing and there is no such thing as good code.
Barrier removed!
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Here’s a hot take, most senior developers don’t know html
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A lot of people have asked me why I got into tech, and my answer will always be money.
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The real benefit of a standing desk is the fact that you can dance and code.
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Someone told me there's not a lot of POC that worked in tech for 5 or more years. Can yall help me prove them wrong? If you've been in tech for 5 or more years reply and retweet to find more
#POCInTech
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What if I wrote a book that teaches nontraditional developers how to master coding algorithms 🧐
Looking at my notes I have taken over the last 3 years this would be doable, but would anyone be willing to buy this?
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As a hiring manager, let me tell you, sometimes the reject you get from the job is not because you’re not good enough, it can 100% be because the company/team is not good enough for you.
A good manager will not put you in a bad work environment.
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Companies have bullied us into not lying on our resumes, but they forever lying about their company culture.
Make it make sense.
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I jokingly said I would launch 3 businesses in the span of 2 years, but somehow I'm actually doing this ???
My next joke is I will become a millionaire before I'm 35.
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Now updating my Linkedin to announce I'm a senior Ruby dev 🥳😂
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Had the person who told me I'd never make it as a dev because I wasn't a CS student just emailed me asking for help landing his first dev job 🙃
If you ever needed a reminder to be kind this is it.
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While frustrating this did help me find solid companies that on paper fit my values and supported the work I did for diversity in tech.
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People who’ve been in tech for 10+ years, how do you avoid becoming jaded?
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I’ve been saying that leadership in tech has to change for things to get better. Welp. Last month I accepted a new job as an engineering manager 🖤
#BlackTechTwitter
#BlackTechPipeline
Day 9 of
#Nov30DaysOfVideo
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The amount of tears I've cried to get my coding skill to where they at now is wild 🥹
Shout out to TDD (tear driven development)
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I think I'm officially over being a frontend dev. I want to move completely to backend now. Frontend it too much to keep up with 😭
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Closing out today with the news that I’ve been promoted!
I’m officially one step closer to director level ☺️
Bonus:
#NewProfilePic
post because I didn’t share when I updated 📸
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And today was my first day as a senior software engineer 👸🏾🌻
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Worse advice I heard in a Twitter space is someone said you should NOT ask a lot questions your first few weeks you get hired because “you’ll look like you’re unqualified”
As someone who got paid to code and is now a manger that hires devs, this is complete BS
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My mom just called me and told me to get her some bitcoin after she read
@bitcoinzay
's book 😂
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Hey
#TechTwitter
, I'm hiring a Backend II Dev for my team at Alma! Check out the details below
📝 1+ years of Backend experience
💻 We're a python shop but language agnostic for interviews
💰 Salary Band: $120,000-$140,000
📍 Remote - US Based
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I’m so inspired by all the folks I follow who are newer to tech.
👀 But who’s worked in tech for 5+ years? I need more people to vent about tech bs too 😂
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This is getting a lot of eyes 👀 so I would like to share that I started
@TechByChoiceOrg
a nonprofit to help marginalized communities enter, stay, and thrive in stem. We have a job board, run workshops, a slack community, & give out scholarships and more!
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Happy to share I'm looking to hire a frontend dev to join my team!
🖥 Frontend Midlevel with 3+ years of experience
📍 Location: Remote (US based only atm 🥹)
💰 Salary Band: $140,000 - $160,000
🔗
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I interviewed someone recently for a role and they honestly blew me away with their intro!
This person was visibly nervous, voice was slightly shaky but they powered through and delivered the best intros I’ve ever heard!
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@_SuccessPHul
I run
@TechByChoiceOrg
and we’re helping minority own businesses go digital for free. I would love to support this founder and get Grace’s Bright & Beautiful Bookmarks up and running w/ a website! Please feel free to DM me if you have any questions
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My company has canceled all non essential meetings for the day. Thanks to our “Timeout Policy ” we can take a day off and will be reimbursed for two additional therapy sessions/copays per year, up to $120 per session.
When I say companies can do more this is a good example.
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I'm no longer living paycheck to paycheck.
This didn't just happen. But I'm acklowalging it now.
Between shity mental health and growing up in a family that never saves, this is a big deal.
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We know people leave jobs because of "bad managers", but what are some other reasons people leave their job?
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Behind every strong woman in tech is a group chat of women cheering her on to be strong
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I could be salty and hurt by what I lost, but I'm just pushing to make sure others don't have to have my same struggle
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My job is hiring mid/jr devs & I’m doing some of the interviewing 🥳 looking for someone who understands coding logic & how to communicate
DM me for more info
#BlackTechPipeline
#LatinxInTech
#NonBinaryInTech
#GayInTech
#DisabledInTech
#NativeTechTwitter
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I see a big name company now promoting a Black Developers Initiative. I tried to start a recruitment partnership with them last year in February and they told me they didn’t want to do that because they “never get quality candidates from communities like ours”
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The biggest barrier to my career growth is CORS errors
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I woke up to a phone call from my sister at 4:13 am and my heart dropped.
Picked up the call expecting the worst, but it was just my 6 year old niece telling me that my sister won’t let her stay up and I need to come get her because she “packed her bag”
😩
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My mom's memory is starting to get bad, and sometimes, she'll ask, "How do you remember so much?" and she sounds so sad when asking.
I finally thought to say, "Because I haven't lived and experienced as much as you, I have less to remember"
This seemed to help ♥️
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Being late to work as a remote employee is so 😵💫
Because what do I say in that situation?
“Oh sorry the traffic going between my bed to my desk was terrible this morning”
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Public brag b/c I'm having a hard day 🥹
- 10 yrs ago, got my 1st tech job
- 6 yrs, taught/created curriculum at a BootCamp I couldn't afford to attend yrs before
- 6 yrs ago I entered tech leadership
- 5 yrs ago started a nonprofit
- 2 yrs ago I got into VC investing
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I wish people knew accessibility doesn't stop at screen readers, colors, and keyboard navigation
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From crying in a mall parking lot, unable to find a loan for coding bootcamp, to sitting in that same spot accepting a teaching position at the very same bootcamp.
Life is wild.
Let this be your reminder to keep going.
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I JUST BUILT SOMETHING THAT I DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO BUILD AND HAS BEEN ON MY TODO LIST SINCE MY FOR YEARS.
IMPOSTOR SYNDROME MY FUCKING ASS BECAUSE WHAT CAN'T I FUCKING DO?!
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My decision to double down on learning python as my main backend language has really paid off.
I saw the trend of ML/AI happening early on and thought my best bet would be python, with java being my runner up
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Hit a new milestone. Got a paid (1k usd) speaking gig without having to apply to speak. The team just reached out and picked me 🥰
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What if I said developers don't really hold the power in tech, it's the product people?
Would yall believe me or want to fight 😂
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As a manager, this is a common thing I see, and I've been able to identify why some "senior" folks feel this way.
- Overwhelmed
- Burn out
- Bloated titles
- Lacking mentoring skills
- Bad experience with a mentee
- Poor time management
- Career alignment issues
Extremely hot (maybe bad) take.
I really just don’t like working with inexperienced people.
If mentoring new coworkers is part of the role - it should be stated in the job requirements.
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I'm finally working at a company where I feel included because there are policies in place to make sure it stays that way. I want others to feel the same way so I will post every opening our company is hiring for! Starting with my team 🥳
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I'm not sure why people are trying to sell courses to make people lay off proof.
It's not possible.
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By the end of the quarter, I'm determined to build out a system that will help people land jobs in tech without it feeling like they have to question their sanity.
And if I get my way, people will get paid along the way.
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My biggest flex is I taught and created curriculum at the coding BootCamp I once couldn't afford to attend.
If you're looking to enter tech and feel like it can't be done one way, let this be your sign to try a different path.
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I don’t think resumes and LinkedIns matter as much as networking does in this job market.
I’ve seen people with the best resumes struggle to get phone screens until leverage their network.
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I’ve gained a lot of followers recently so I think it’s a perfect time for me to reintroduce myself. I’m Valerie Phoenix & this time two years ago I was highly underpaid and was recently publicly disrespected by one of
#techtwitters
#DEI
favs. Let me tell you what’s changed
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I’ve officially paid of two cars 😭
The month I got started at a tech job that paid me well, my mother’s car broke down and she had no way to get back and forth to the doctors.
That same weekend I went home and got my mom a car. This was a few months after getting myself a car
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Because, as a whole, this industry doesn't do enough to keep women in this space. Has nothing to do with our interest in tech. It's our environments
50% of women in tech roles leave these positions by the age of 35
Women in tech leadership roles have decreased to 28% in 2023
Why are there so few female software engineers?
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I wanted to be on Forbes 30 under 30 until I found out people just pay for that 🫠
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I just finished coding something that 2 months ago I thought I wasn't skilled enough todo
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Air fryers are the adult easy bake ovens 😂
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I went to a tech meeting the other day and was talking to someone, and they said they don't like the whole tech Twitter scene right now because "a lot of the loudest people are pushing the whole 'get a job in tech' haven't held a job in tech for long if at all"
🫠
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Yesterday for the first time in my life all of my friend groups came together to celebrated my 30th birthday.
Nothing went as planned but everything was beyond perfect
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This year I've honestly question leaving tech and doing something completely different.
This is a common topic in tech, so I want to know what are some of the reasons why you've wanted to leave tech?
Would love to hear from folks who left.
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Can I connect with more
#BlackTechLeadership
folks? I'm tired of being the only one in the room.
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Happy father’s day to the world’s best dad! Wouldn’t be who I am today without you 🖤
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If your code doesn't work, take a nap or a walk.
If you can't get your code to work after that, just yeet your computer out the window.
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So the panic is starting to set in about my interview that I've been prepping for 😣
Anyone out there have advice on getting through coding challenges? My biggest fear is not being able to get the right answer even if I know all of the steps to take
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So, I'm currently looking for work 😊
Open for remote or
#LosAngeles
based
My skillset: UX, Product Management, Frontend, & Backend
Tech Stack: Javascript, ReactJS, Node, Python
Java, GraphQL
#BlackTechTwitter
#BlackTechPipeline
#TechTwitter
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I built a website to help people find a tech job, but I spent days trying to get it working in prod. There was no documentation or tutorials on my standard setup.
So this morning, I'm writing a blog post about it.
If I struggled to find the solution, no one else should.
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I’ve gained a lot of new followers and I think this is the perfect time to reintroduce myself to you lovely people 🌻 I'm a developer, lover of the arts, and an advocate for mental health
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@captainsafia
simple fix
simple fix last time :/
simple fix maybe? :/
simple fix maybe??? :/
simple fix - i tried :'(
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@TirzahMJ
@_TechByChoice
is a nonprofit that offers low to no cost skill building events & workshops to help individuals in protected groups enter, stay, and thrive in STEM related industries ✊✊🏻✊🏼✊🏽✊🏾✊🏿
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I’m officially a DevOps engineer 🥳
I’ve created multiple environments and put in some solid security measures for the site too.
You can’t tell me I’m not best developer to ever sit on my
couch and code
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Currently heading to
#GoogleIO2024
If you’re here let me know so we can say hi irl
Don’t forget to follow my IG for real time updates I’ll drop on my story ☺️
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Ever felt like you're winning and failing at the same time 🥲 ?
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Today is a great day to be a Black women in tech ✨
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Coding while listening to classical music makes life easy.
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I think this topic is hard for a lot of people to understand because we live in a society that values western ideas over our very human reality.
Fighting ableism is fighting the imperialist mindset. And that’s something that’s hard to do because it’s so embedded into our society
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If you’re reading this I want you to know I’m so happy we both get to exist in this timeline together.
Proud of you being here today ♥️
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Seeing Women Who Code & Write Speak Code shut down this year is wild
The constant news of mass layoffs & DEI lawsuits, I hope you know this isn't a sign to give up your tech journey
These changes can make you change lanes, but it's not going to change what you capable of
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Someone said I’m the worse “tech influencer” out there because I keep telling people they don’t need to code.
This was the best compliment because you really don’t need to code to work in tech.
This is what I want to be known for if nothing else
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Bluesky will really pop off when black twitter shows up.
Black tech twitter is cool but black twitter is what made this app 😂
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So it's official, I'll be giving my first conference talk at
@WriteSpeakCode
🎉
Idk how to express my gratitude for this opportunity b/c I'm full of so much joy & excitement 🥰
Big thank you to
@voiceofrae
for editing & pushing me to submit this talk
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These experiences are a big reason why I started
@TechByChoiceOrg
and why we're focusing on providing safe ways for people to report what navigating these companies is like in a safe and anonymous way
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Today most of my family and a number of my coworkers saw me speak at the
@juneteenthunl
I love how accessible online conferences are. I don't think my family would have seen me speak live if this wasn't online.
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As a hiring manager, let me give you a hint about most roles
experience >>> certs
experience + certs >>>>>>>>> certs
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The worst advice I’ve seen given is that you need a Mac to break into tech
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Why do people think front end is easier than backend?
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Those of us interviewing with a job have the power to demand change.
I interviewed for a company that asked me to do a leetcode challenge for a manager role. I politely refused and shared why.
Few weeks later they updated the interview process and called me back.
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Todays my birthday 🥳 and I would love to share
6 years ago I went to my 1st tech conference thanks a discount that
@WomenTechmakers
provided for Google I/O
This year I’m back and got to bring
@TechByChoiceOrg
members, making I/O some of their 1st tech conferences too!
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lol someone just told me tech people don't care about their desk setup
#TechTwitter
please retweet if you care about your desk setup. I'm trying to prove a point
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My
#TechJourney
has been
wtf is code -> UX Research -> Frontend -> Fullstack -> started a nonprofit -> omg I'm senior now -> wow I got laid off -> Oh I'm a manager now
QT and tell me what your journey looked like
#TechByChoice
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