While on my journey to land my first full-time job in the tech industry, I have decided to move back in with my father, who has just retired, to save some money in case I need to relocate. He has tons of free time on his hands, which he spends on his hobby of taking care of fish. He has so many fish tanks that I am now literally SLEEPING WITH THE FISHES.
While it’s great to be home and see my father enjoying his well-deserved retirement, his enthusiasm for taking care of the fish can be pretty distracting when I’m trying to study for certifications and work on projects. To create a more productive environment for my studies, I’ve decided to join a local co-working space called Hacker Dojo.
Sign Up Process
The sign up process was pretty simple. I went to their website clicked on their “BECOME A MEMBER” button and then filled out some forms with some information about myself like areas of interests I have, a quick bio, skills I have, billing information, profile picture, etc. After that I was able to pay for my membership, which is $150/month, and schedule which day I wanted to start my membership, which was the following day.
Once I signed up, I received an invoice, which I paid, followed by an email with instructions on how to access the building using the Kisi app. I was also provided with a PIN to access the Wi-Fi. However, when I tried to set up my Kisi account, it didn’t work because it couldn’t find an account associated with my email. I was a bit worried that I wouldn’t be able to access the building until normal guest hours, as I wanted to arrive early to beat the traffic coming in from across the bay. Fortunately, I was able to set up the Kisi app the following morning without any issues.
Overall, the sign-up process was completely painless. I received all the necessary information via automated emails, and I was able to access the building without any problems.
First Impressions
While I have attended many events at Hacker Dojo in the past as a guest, this was my first time spending time there without attending an event. When I pulled into the parking lot, I noticed it was full of cars, so I assumed it would be packed inside. However, I was surprised to find only about ten people in the main area. Perhaps some people use the parking lot as a park-and-ride?
I sat down at a table and entered my email address and PIN to access the Wi-Fi. Just like that, I was ready to start studying. After a couple of hours of studying for a GitHub Actions certification, I decided it was time to grab something to drink. I headed over to the kitchenette area and found some coffee, which was nice and strong.
Coffee Time!
I continued studying for a couple more hours, taking breaks here and there, and listening in on some interesting conversations happening around me.
Making the Most of My Membership
I plan to continue visiting Hacker Dojo as often as possible to take full advantage of the productive environment it provides. I’m also excited about the opportunity to meet new people and learn from them. So far, most of the people I’ve met here have been developers, but I’m hoping to connect with some individuals in the security field as well.
As a member, I can host events, and I’m considering organizing some centered around DevOps topics such as CI/CD, Infrastructure as Code, and Kubernetes.
As I wrap up this blog post, it’s 9 PM, which means it’s time for me to start packing up for the drive back home. I’m already looking forward to returning tomorrow!