Taryn Sauthoff, Recent Reboot Graduate
Meet Taryn Sauthoff, Supervising producer of multiplatform production at Comedy Central and recent Reboot Bootcamp Graduate. We caught up with Taryn and asked her about her experience taking the bootcamp and what she learned.
Reboot: Tell us a little about what you do.
Taryn:I studied journalism and english at Rutgers University, Class of 2006. I currently oversee digital production and quality assurance, and work as a liaison between the product and creative teams. I am moving over to the Viacom production operations team, as the Director of Workflow and Tools. In this role, I will be working with all Viacom brands and ensuring they are getting the support they need.
Reboot: What motivated you to learn how to code?
I realized that you didn’t need to take calculus or physics in order to learn to code. … It takes some time and practice, and depending on how much you’re willing to invest in it, you can learn to code. Ultimately, it was empowering to realize that if you put yourself outside your comfort zone, it can have a positive effect on your life.
Taryn: I had recently been talking to my friend, who works as an engineer at Tumblr. I asked her background, and was surprised to hear it was in sociology. She taught herself how to code, and told me if she could do it, anyone could. I was inspired from her story and thought it was time to give myself a challenge. It had been several years since I really thought outside the box; I had gotten used to the day-to-day of my job and felt a bit stuck on what to do next. I had achieved all of the goals I had previously set out for myself, and realized I needed new ones. I signed up for Reboot in hopes that it would get me excited for new things and open my life to a little bit of change.
I often have to report problems to our “tech team” — not knowing what was a CSS issue vs. a javascript issue would create a lot of bottlenecking in order to get my ticket to the right team.
I didn’t think I had the right “brain” to code … I didn’t take calculus and felt that coders were smarter than me. Coding seemed intimidating and I was sure that I wouldn’t be able to pick it up.
Reboot: What problems did you use to face at your job when you didn’t know how to code?
Taryn: I often have to report problems to our “tech team” — not knowing what was a CSS issue vs. a javascript issue would create a lot of bottlenecking in order to get my ticket to the right team. I wanted Reboot to help me be able to better communicate issues, get them to the right team and ultimately, get the problem fixed quicker.
Reboot: Did you attempt to learn coding before? If so, how? What tools did you use?
Taryn: Yes, I had learned basic HTML from my high school days of making my AOL profile and MySpace account look nice. I had taken a computer programming course in college, C++, but nothing stuck. Through the years, I would write code when necessary for work projects, but mostly based off of what I could find on Google. My developer friends would turn their nose at the code I wrote and tell me it technically shouldn’t work. I went through most of my career doing “hacks” to get content to look the way I wanted it to on the Web. Nearly a decade later, I realize it would have saved me a ton of time if I just learned to code correctly from the start! I didn’t think I had the right “brain” to code. I always excelled at content creation and writing; I didn’t take calculus and felt that coders were smarter than me. Coding seemed intimidating and I was sure that I wouldn’t be able to pick it up.
Reboot: How does your coding knowledge benefit your day to day at work?
Taryn: I am by no means an expert, but it’s nice to know how to explore an issue more thoroughly before reporting it to the tech team at work. I am able to assess if the issue is a user bug, or if it’s a problem with the code itself. I also think that I gained more respect from the developers at work, who like that I’m trying to better acclimate myself with code.
Reboot: What was it like for you taking the Reboot Coding Bootcamp?
Reboot Coding Bootcamp – students learn in an intimate welcoming environment
Taryn: I realized that you didn’t need to take calculus or physics in order to learn to code. I ultimately realized it was somewhat like learning an instrument or making a complex recipe. It takes some time and practice, and depending on how much you’re willing to invest in it, you can learn to code. Ultimately, it was empowering to realize that if you put yourself outside your comfort zone, it can have a positive effect on your life. You have to be open to change in order to keep growing professionally and personally. Now that I took a class, I’m wondering what the next challenges are in my life. I guess once you take one new step, it makes the next one easier.
I enjoyed the laid back nature of the classes, and being able to ask questions on the spot. I thought there was sufficient help between the TAs in case anyone got stuck. Even when I felt very “lost” with a certain topic, other students were always willing to jump in to help. I felt like there was a great sense of community and looked forward to the classes each week.