Hi all,
First, this is a longer than normal read but I hope that you get through it all and can learn from my experiences.
So, I wanted to talk about my experiences with my first rails project now that I've completed it for the beginning of the football season. First, here's the link:
I used to work as a Windows System Administrator for Charles Schwab, working out of a U.S. Trust regional area before they sold the company to Bank of America. After the transition, my fiance and I moved to Plymouth, MA to be closer to her family and I figured finding work would be easy in Boston or Providence. However, with the market conditions, finding infrastructure jobs worsened for everyone, including myself.
So, I had some extra time and I had two hard choices before me. I could either work on finishing up some certifications, MCSE or CCNA etc. or I could work on development, a side of life I really enjoy immensely. I chose the latter.
I've always wanted to learn Ruby and Ruby on Rails is a great framework, in addition. My former ncaastatpages.com site was solely driven on PHP and had numerous issues.
So, approx. 9 weeks ago, knowing absolutely nothing about ruby or ruby and rails, I purchased 4 books (1-ruby, 2 - rails, and 1 enterprise rails) and started to read. I took on a new project which included upgrading my site and getting familiar with all that rails had to offer. I went through a lot of hoops and hurdles but I'm happy to say that I learned a great deal from working with the project, and from this mailing group / boards.
So many of you have helped me over the past 9 weeks that I feel I'm sharing a project that's been touched by many. I really want to thank those of you who shared your wisdom, your understanding, and your patience with me.