Before we get started on this little article, let me give you some backstory. I'll try to keep accurate headings so you can skip through the article if you'd like.

The best thing that's happened to me in recent years, other than getting a job in web development, was starting a running routine.

For years I tried to start such a routine, but I always failed to keep going after the first run - literally. I didn't have a goal, a destination over the long term. 

What changed for me was a couple of things: deciding to join the military and reading/listening to Can't Hurt Me by David Goggins. I recommend that book to anyone struggling to do anything because it helped me kick myself into gear with his no-BS attitude. I won't go into too much detail because I think it would be outside the scope of this post. 

In short, I always gave up way too early, I never pushed myself through any hardships in exercising. Raining? Nah. Snowing? Nah. Sunny? Nah. There was no winning in my mind and I knew where the problem lay, but I felt powerless to change it. I felt like no matter what I tried to do, I was always at war with myself.

I was a big guy at the time, about 277lbs at my heaviest. I was sad, unaccomplished, and the least confident I'd ever been. When you're that big, nothing is fun and everything hurts when you're exercising.

## I decided to join the military

In October 2019, I decided I needed some structure in my life and to give myself meaning. I was working at a job I partly enjoyed, but I didn't want that to be the end game. Overall, I wasn't happy with where things were headed, so I decided "hey, let's do something big". I was looking for a purpose in life and the military seemed like the best option. I'll probably write another small post about how I retaught myself grade 10 math after being out of high school since 2011, in 2 months and scored incredibly well on our CFAT which is the "Canadian Forces Aptitude Test".

So, after I made this decision, I stumbled across the book [Can't Hurt Me](https://www.amazon.ca/Cant-Hurt-Me-Master-Your/dp/1544512279) by David Goggins. I wasn't sold on it because self-help books (not saying this is one), and books like them, I thought were just weirdness. 

But, this book changed my life.

I remember listening to this book twice for a total of just over 30 total hours before I said enough was enough. It spoke to so many insecurities in me and the mental battle I was fighting and had been fighting for years. At peak hopelessness, I learned that even though I was 265lbs (at this time), I could still make myself out to be something more than the nothing I felt I was.

Hearing about David Goggins torturous upbringing, the troubles in school, the fight with his weight and battling his mind in the same way I was, was reassuring me that I wasn't alone. He also talks about how he overcame all of these shortcomings and more, not just to put them aside and work alongside them, but to deal with them for good.

He ultimately became a Navy Seal, applied for Delta Force, became an Army Ranger, and is now an Ultra-marathon runner. His book resonated with something deep inside and ended up unlocking my mind to find its potential.

## It started in October

I concluded that if I was going to do this - join the military, I needed to dive in full speed. I went from not running, almost ever, to running nearly every day and yea, looking back, it was probably not the best. But run I did.

I ran about 1.88km every morning at 5:30/6:00 before I left for work. I knew that if I left it for after work, there was a 100% chance that I would be too comfy/tired/"I'll do it tomorrow". I needed to short circuit that and give it no chance to be a thing.

It was hard to get up and run at all and at that time. I'd end up sitting on the front steps for 10 minutes staring at my shoes while fighting a mental battle that was trying to get me to go back to bed. I'd already made it out of bed and that was a win, but this is where the rubber was going to meet the road and everything I felt throughout my life and everything that I was feeling then, was going to be the deciding factor of what happened next.

My rationale was, that it doesn't matter (to a degree) how long I sit here, as long as I don't go back to bed or leave this step. Eventually, I put one shoe on after the other, and when that happened, it was easier to stand up and walk out the door for what I knew was not going to be a fun time. Half the time, the key to literally putting one foot in front of the other, was just not thinking about "it". Did I want to put on my shoes and leave? Not at all, but I didn't think about it, I just put 1 shoe on and the next, etc etc.

The night before, I did myself as many favours as I could. I laid out in the open the clothes I was going to wear. This took out the guessing game and lessened the time it would take to get to the next step which lowered the risk factor of going back to bed.

I had my shoes placed on the steps so I could sit down and put them on. I chose the time I was going to run at and how far I was going to go.

My friend who was a marathon runner also helped me greatly. He helped keep me accountable. Thankfully, he was getting ready for work at the same time I was getting up to run so I'd text him every morning about what I did that day; how far I went and how long it took. I did that for months.

After the first run, it was almost comical. I felt dead on my feet and as I sat in my computer chair, my breathing was 100% wheeze. Every time I inhaled, it sounded like a gaggle of children laughing deep inside my lungs. My chest was tight, it didn't feel too good, but after that day, it never happened again.

So anyways, I was losing 1.5lbs a day just by interval running for about 22 minutes every morning! This was fantastic.

I did end up running into injuries as would be expected and I didn't know how my body would respond to this sudden stress of running, but in reality, I didn't really care. If I ended up having a heart attack while running and died on the side of the road, I was okay with that because where I was currently headed, what was the difference?

My biggest recurring problem was the shin splints. They hurt a lot and they were a constant presence. I decided that even with shin splints, I would run because it was either we go somewhere pain-free, or we go somewhere in pain, but there was only one outcome - going somewhere.


## I hit and surpassed my 1km non-stop running goal

I remember my first goal was to run 1km without stopping. I think I ended up hitting this goal 1-2 months after I started running, I can't quite remember. It happened on the day when my quads were yelling at me, my shins hurt, I really didn't want to run and I almost used my 1 allotted rest day for that week. Funny enough I ended up running and hitting that goal. I was ecstatic! 

Piggy-backing on that success, I went out again the next day for my run and ran 250 meters further than the day before which was 1.25km! Once I hit those goals, 2km non-stop came even quicker.

From there on I kept up this furious pace and even added in weight training with my friend 3 times a week. I ended up going from benching 80lbs to 150lbs in a month, but unfortunately, that ended because COVID decided to make its grand entrance.

I remember going out for runs where it was -21c and felt like -27 at 5:30 in the morning. It's hard to describe how cold that was. I went out wearing three top layers and two bottom layers and when I got home, I couldn't feel my sides or my quads. It was amazing. It was amazing because months earlier, I wouldn't have gone out even if it was a beautiful 21c day with partly cloudy skies.

Throughout COVID I was still running outside and using my stationary bike at home. I ended up going from 0km running per week to at most 35km a week with multiple 5km runs and a 10km run. Keep in mind, when I say run, most of the time I'm talking about interval runs.

In the spring of 2020, I ran my first 5km run with my friend who was in the process of becoming a cop! He was quite in shape actually, but he helped me finish that milestone when I wanted to quit at the 2.25km mark. I was so tired and my mind was telling me that there was no way I was going to complete this. But, my friend never let me stop and I didn't want to let him down even though I was checked out mentally. By the 4km mark, my feet were numb (that still happens and I don't know why perhaps my shoes are too tight?).

I finished the 5km run without walking.

After that, however, things sort of died down because now I was in a place where proper training would be needed. 

Shortly after completing that run, I thought I needed to do this by myself to prove to myself that I _could_ do it. It was a drizzly Tuesday and the sun was hiding behind some dark clouds. I threw on my jacket and drove to a trail that I ran at. Long story short, I completed that run without walking (5km).

## The injury that took me out in 2021

In June of 2021 however, a lot of things changed. I ran into a particularly nagging injury where my left ankle was in pain. Some days were better than others but running/walking was always an issue. The pain was felt behind my achilles, in between my ankle and my achilles. I don't know why I felt it there, but it hurt to walk or move my foot.

For the next six months, I ran maybe three times. I was worried I would do some significant damage to my foot and I thought maybe it would be best this time to rest. 

Over these six months, I ran less, I walked less. I decided I wasn't going to join the military because as a last-ditch effort, I applied to the company I'm currently working at and received an offer. The military was always a plan B. It was a tool to get me motivated enough to change the course of my life, and if everything else went to crap, it would at least give me a job that would be interesting for a moment.

When I received my offer from This Dot, I tossed aside the plans for the military (obviously) and as a result, the driving force behind my running was also gone. Because see, I was running and working out so hard to prove to myself that I could take the military requirements and surpass them. I wasn't waiting until I got to Basic Training to get into shape. I wanted to be so fit that instead of worrying about how I was going to make it through the runs and the other PT sessions, I wanted to be able to help others get through it.

My reason for running was gone, my reason for getting up was gone, and this all leads us to where I am right now. Sitting here at 253lbs after reaching my low of around 227-230lbs a year and a half ago.

## Where do we go from here?

There will be a follow-up to this post. It's on my heart to talk about what I learned about myself and my mind over the couple of years I was working out and running. While the injury sidelined me a long time and I didn't do much running through that winter, I've still learned a lot about myself. To the point where I am not worried about the future. I enjoy running. I learned what it takes to get me out and exercise. I learned how to work with myself to a degree, but I've still got a lot to learn.

Anyway, I'll save that for the next post. I know this isn't programming related and I debated whether or not to post this, so if you made it this far and read the whole thing, I very truly appreciate it.

I went from 277lbs to 227lbs in 1.5 years. Now things have changed. This is my running journey.

How I went from 277lbs to 225lbs in 1.5 years #DevsWhoRun 

I think having confidence is one of the most epic mind-games known to man. It's not about your skill necessarily, but it's about how you perceive yourself in relation to your peers or coworkers.

It often comes down to being inside your own head convincing yourself of things that aren't always the case. We've all been there, especially in new situations where we feel like we need to measure up and at a moments notice, all of a sudden, we don't feel like we belong and that's actually normal, believe it or not.

This post is about my experience as a junior developer and how I've dealt with and managed this feeling; and how I still deal with it!

So, let's talk about **"How to gain confidence as a junior developer"**.

## What it feels like

So, what does a lack of confidence feel like? I'm so glad you asked! I write this knowing my current coworkers will see this, potentially, and in that case, "hey guys and gals, thank you for helping me get my confidence on track!".

I've been developing websites for about 8-9 years at the time of writing this, and yes, I know, posts about imposter syndrome are such low-hanging fruit, I wonder why that is? I mean, that's rhetorical.

My lack of confidence has always been tied to how I perceive myself in relation to my peers. I work with some pretty brilliant people and sometimes, when my brain goes into a fog and I'm asked a relatively simple question, that's when I feel the most "unconfidant".

In my opinion, a lack of confidence could go hand-in-hand with imposter syndrome, I guess that's not so much of an opinion as it is a matter-of-fact.

The feeling of not measuring up can be overwhelming and I'm sure if you've felt this in any sort of capacity, you know what I'm talking about. The feeling that everytime you speak they might think that you don't belong there, but we will actually get to the reality of that soon.

## The truth

While we all feel this way at times and we think that we should probably just be quiet, the fact of the matter is we should do the opposite. The more we hide away and refuse to break out of this mental jail we've put ourselves in based of our false perception of reality, the greater that hold will become and the less likely we will be to grow.

Everyone from the bright-eyed and bushy-tailed junior developer to the most senior of developers feel this uneasiness often. You can ask anyone you know who you deem to be smarter or more gifted or insert adjective here than you and they will say the same thing.

### You have a decision to make

We come to face-to-face with a very interesting problem.

1. On one hand we can stay safe and secure in the eyes of others while battling our own demons. We can keep thinking that we will never measure up as we stumble blindly through our career making it harder on ourselves than it needs to be

2. On this hand, we can speak out and dispel these myths we've been leading ourselves to believe about the word around us. This brings us out of our own darkness and on our way to the light

I've had many conversations about this exact topic because it's one I've struggled with for a while - I've already said that, but knowing it can be managed and for a large part, put aside, is comforting. Even more than that, knowing that people feel the same as me across the experience spectrum is reassuring.

So we have this big decision in our way. Either we cower, or we rise up and shake our fists in the air! Think Braveheart or Gladiator, whatever get your heart pumpin'.

What do you want for yourself? Do you want to:

- live in constant fear and state of unease?
- always feel like you're not good enough?
- stagnate where you are?

The list goes on, but I think you get what I'm saying. If we want more for ourselves and our mental health, I don't think we can sit idly by as our own thoughts keep us trapped.

## It doesn't go away

That's the truth; it doesn't. All we can do is manage our expectations of ourselves in order to keep these intrusive thoughts at bay.

Everyone is on the same playing field where we are all just trying to do the best we can and make cool things in the process. We try to help others succeed while helping ourselves too.

Do you know how many times I've spoken to others with years of experience and heard their thoughts on this? Probably not, but nonetheless! The answer is: a lot.

Along with experience in code, or design, or whatever the case is with you, also comes strategies to deal with these thoughts.

## Tips for managing your confidence

I asked my very close friend and fellow developer what he would say to a junior developer who expressed these same feelings we've covered in this post.

For reference, he is a very talented and experienced Ruby on Rails engineer and I keep his words close to heart.

> "1. Unless you wrote this here language, you cannot measure up to    time and experience - everyone has their part to play and we wouldn’t hire you unless we thought you couldn’t hack it.  
> 2. All questions are dumb to someone. All questions serve a purpose to someone… the questions you ask are YOUR questions and anyone who thinks they’re dumb or doesn’t answer them, has no right to be in this field.  The only way we can get to where we need to go is by getting there together."

I also posted a tweet asking about how to grow confidence.

![How important is confidence as a developer? Confidence to speak up vs staying silent. Confidence to add your own ideas even if you think you’re not entirely qualified. How can you grow that?](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/rv9flsof/production/031ec295d6fe219be9e7baf9aab2cdf5bef8a90d-1640x880.png?w=450)

And here were some of the replies.

![My take—There are times to speak up and times to be quiet. It depends on context (boss, co-worker...)As for how to grow it? Politely share your honest opinion whenever asked. Being honest garners respect (usually ). As respect grows, you’ll be asked for input more often.](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/rv9flsof/production/a5d8157cc7ca11d21ba19c43c117a5d541c92a3a-1640x1104.png?w=450)

Now these people have a lot more experience than me, so what they have to say means a lot.

The going theme is if you want to gain confidence as a developer, you need to step out, show yourself that your ideas and thoughts are valid, get feedback, feel a bit better, ask another question, feel a bit more validated, and you keep repeating this.

However, even though our ideas won't always be validated, maybe we come up with an idea that isn't necessarily the direction to go, that's totally fine too. That allows you to learn and grow which in the end still works to build your confidence.

## Perhaps you aren't at a place to contribute with ideas yet?

These are a few notes I've written down that I try to practice often:

- Help other devs with their own work and be involved with troubleshooting. Even offering to just be a rubber duck (someone to bounce ideas off of, or just being there to be someone they can explain their thought process to)
- Your opinion is important: share it even if you're unsure of its merit. 
- Ask questions; speak up; get noticed
- Putting yourself in these situations will get you used to the feeling, but eventually you'll see that your ideas are valid and people are pretty decent
- Bonus: a good work environment certainly helps

## Give yourself a break

Don't judge yourself so harshly and as I write this, I need to take my own advice and will forever need a reminder. Take it easy. You're okay, it's going to be okay. Everyone started out exactly where you are. Your own experience and thought process is unique; you have value.

There's no secret sauce or magic button to poof this all away, but there are things we can do to manage these thoughts. Lean on those around you. Be vulnerable and let them know what you're feeling. Give them the opportunity to support you and help you, as everyone should.

Take a break, take it easy, don't judge yourself too harshly. We're gunna make it.

These are some things I've learned about gaining confidence as a junior developer.

How to gain confidence as a junior developer

[JSOperators](https://jsoperators.com) is a collection of Javascript operators presented in a way that makes it quick and easy to find what you're looking for. It used to be difficult or rather tedious to find the operator you were thinking of, that is more or less until MDN released a redesign of their docs that included a rather handy search feature. However, I wanted to build this tool anyway.

The little website was created to give us developers a quick way to search via name or sign. I'm not sure if you've run into the same issue before where you couldn't remember either the name or sign of the operator you're thinking of and trying to Google it was just as tough.

I wanted to share it with you just in case it'll help you find what you're looking for.

I'd love to hear your feedback and suggestions. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. If you'd like to see additional operators or would like to help me improve this tool, please feel free to [contribute](https://github.com/tyrelchambers/jsoperators/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md) to this project!

Check out the [JSOperators repo](https://github.com/tyrelchambers/jsoperators/tree/main).


I created JSOperators.com to help you and I find javascript operators in a flash

Introducing JSOperators.com

Getting your first web development job can certainly be a daunting task. Never mind trying to learn how to program and the ins and outs of writing the code. Landing your first web development job presents its own unique set of challenges.

I know this topic has been beaten to death in the tech industry, but it never hurts to have another perspective and I'm hoping I can shed some light on my process and hopefully help you too. It hasn't been easy, but I feel like that's not always the case, this is just my journey.

## Don't believe the job description

If you've looked at job boards, you've likely seen a job posting that goes something like this:

> Junior web developer
>
> Must know React, Vue, Angular, Node, DevOps, DevRel, design systems, UX/UI
>
> 1,300 years of experience in being a CEO
>
> Salary: $3.50

Now, that is not a real description, but it's close enough to what job descriptions _feel_. They usually have requirements that seem unrealistic and taken at face-value, they are.

A lot of the time job descriptions aren't written by developers. Every company is different, obviously, but most of the time it's written by someone from HR without knowledge of what is needed; it's sort of like a perfect scenario type of thing.

Job descriptions can be very intimidating though, especially when you're trying to get your first job. You'll sit there and look at it and think there's no way you could fill all those roles, but you're not alone. Everyone has felt that way.

The important thing to remember is **you're not expected to know everything**, if you do, you're probably over-qualified and should be looking for something else.

It's also a good idea to apply for jobs where you don't quite know everything because that will allow you to learn something new.

If you ask anyone, they will tell you the same thing: **apply anyway**.

## Networking over applying

I've sent in my fair share of resumes and been through a handful of interviews (even ghosted a few too due to anxiety). Anxiety was a large part of my journey and why it took me so long to get my first job. It wasn't the only reason. I spent a lot of the time learning and building my own projects. One of which is in production and being used by a handful of people.

What did work wonders, however, was networking; especially on Twitter.

Networking can happen anywhere: you could go to a meetup, introduce yourself and engage on social media, blog. Where you can find people to talk to, you can find opportunities to network.

I've seen many, many people, get jobs because they were active on Twitter and networked with developers in their field. Not only do you meet like-minded individuals who share the same interests as you, but you also get your name in front of people.

One of my Twitter friends encouraged me to send in a resume to the company he worked for and that he would make the necessary introductions to get me an interview. I was excited, but a little hesitant because I had been down this road before, so I wasn't sure how it would play out, but wouldn't you know it, it paid off.

I'm incredibly thankful to him for giving me the chance and opportunity to get into the field. However, that would be a post for a different day.

## Build your confidence

When you network with other developers and business owners, you give yourself the opportunity to build confidence in yourself and what you know.

I had an interview with a fast-growing company and one whose product I'd used in the past. We had some pretty good conversations, but ultimately it didn't go anywhere and I didn't get this interview by networking with anyone.

What I did get though, is a new developer to connect with on Twitter. Even though I didn't get the job, I asked for feedback so I could increase my chances next time.

He gave me amazing feedback that really helped me out and followed me on Twitter (other platforms) too. From this interview opportunity, I gained a new internet friend - a person to connect with, and another opportunity to network.

## So, what's next?

We've sort of talked about the benefits with networking and my personal experience in the matter, but I'd like to layout some practical examples of networking on social media that I believe helped me, and what might help you.

- Create a social media presence. I would suggest Twitter or LinkedIn.

- Follow people in your space and interact frequently in a polite and friendly way. You don't want to network with the sole purpose of getting a job or making it obvious that's why you're here. First and foremost, you're here to meet like-minded people and make friends - anything beyond that, is gravy.

- Create a blog. This gives you content to share with your network and let's them know, you know, what you're talking about (and it's generally just fun).

- Avoid hard-selling or self-promoting often. I think it's important to have a healthy balance between self-promotion and genuinely interacting with others. If in every interaction you're trying to push your brand new _this_ or your awesome _that_, people are going to see that and form ideas about your intentions.

- Be on your best behaviour: everything you post online, stays online.

## Don't give up

I know that sending in endless resumes can get tiring after a while. And, there are a lot of factors that are at play when you're applying for jobs, but don't give up on the networking aspect.

Let me know on Twitter at [@imtyrelchambers](https://twitter.com/imtyrelchambers) if this post has helped you or if networking helped get you your first job.


Landing your first job usually involves sending hundreds of resumes. I want to talk about how networking helped me get my first web development job.

Networking to get your first web-development job

It's often looked down upon when one values rest over constant hard work. At least, that's how it's been for as long as society has existed. However, things are changing.

This topic is closely related to any topic around "burn-out", "overworking", and "just generally working so much you forget your own reflection and your friends forget you exist". And I'm sure you've experienced these things before too. That feeling you get when you're tired of doing what you used to love and thinking about doing that in the future, puts a weird feeling in your stomach.

We've all dealt with this more than once in our lives. I've experienced it often enough to know how to avoid it, or at least keep it at bay and I'd like to share my process with you. I'm hoping it will help someone out there!

This is tailored more to programming than other hobbies, but nevertheless, the points here are transferrable.

## A little back story

I've been programming for the better part of 8-9 years at the time of writing this (2022, future me). I've been programming for a while with tutorials, guides, courses, and just my own side-projects. I've tried to have other hobbies to occupy my time, but there's nothing quite like building your own little apps... anyways.

I've hit burnout more times than I can count and it's scary! I hate the feeling I get when I've clearly overworked and haven't taken breaks when my body was telling me too. Over the years, I've become much better at knowing when my body is telling me to take a break and I've become much better at listening to it.

Once I broke out of that mentality that told me I can't take break or else the world would fall apart, that's when I truly found freedom. Freedom from having to constantly perform, and freedom to rest.

In reality, if you take a day or two, even a week, from programming or whatever hobby you tend to do on a daily basis, for the most part, it's not going to hurt you. Life is short so be sure to take care of yourself and the things you love.

## You don't have to program when you don't feel like it

I always thought if I took a day off, I'd be behind and my career would be pushed back further and further. Believing that, was a mistake, but I didn't know any better. I always thought that I had to be programming everyday, all the time, but I was wrong and all that led to were month long breaks and a lot of stress.

In about 2017/2018, I took up narrating thriller stories on my Youtube channel [Stories After Midnight](https://youtube.com/storiesaftermidnight). I uploaded a video every few days for a long while. To date I haven't uploaded in two months for a few different reasons, but the biggest among them is burnout and a lack of desire to create that type of content. But, for the past year (before I quit/took a break) I had been dealing without burnout for a while. Reading stories felt like a chore and something I _had to do_ every other day.

The problem with Youtube is, people expect regular content, at least in my particular genre. Dealing with burnout in a content-creator sort of way is a different kind of animal. There's a lot of pressure to keep creating content and pumping out new things regardless of how you feel. On the other hand though, a vast majority of people are forgiving and most encourage breaks and times of rest!

But after 370 about 1,000 stories read, I've taken a break; not that it matters in this context haha.

## How I avoid burnout

### Stop as soon as you feel like it's a chore

I've gotten to the point where if I don't feel like programming even a little bit, I'll close my laptop even if in the middle of something, or I just won't look at my laptop at all. Whereas I used to just program anyways, now, I don't ever do that unless in important circumstances. I've found that this gives me the freedom to back away without guilt and live to love my hobby another day. Taking breaks no matter if I'm in the middle of something, or not, preserves my love for the craft and my sanity. I genuinely come back to it the next day or two, happy to be back.

### Find other hobbies to fill your time (optional)

I also have other hobbies related to programming which helps me further my "cause" without actually partaking in the hobby. I have books that I read that relate to programming or the mind, building a startup, or running social media. They all interest me and are applicable to my field. I'd encourage you to find something else related to what you enjoy that you can do when you need a rest. Even if you don't have anything, don't feel bad either, just take that break and enjoy it.

### Work on projects that excite you

I've also found that projects can become stale in their excitement. I have a few different projects that are unfinished and usually serve as a distraction from the main project I'm working on. It's nice to have a few different ideas on the go as you can hop between them when one is feeling boring. I'd encourage this, so long as it works for you. Whatever project you can find that excites you, start it and take it as far as you want; don't be afraid to take a break or switch off that one either.

### Just take a break

This is also an option. Don't do anything. Turn on Netflix. Nap for 8 hours. Don't think about your hobby.

## I hope this has helped

In the end, you have to take care of yourself; there really isn't any way around that. If you're not taking care of yourself, the things you enjoy doing will start suffering. So when you're feeling burnt out and your hobby feels like a chore, step back, consider the points above, and decide the best move forward. This does come with a caveat. In the past, I have felt burnout for weeks to months and sometimes I've had to overcome that feeling by making myself do what caused the burnout to begin with. I've found this can be difficult to do, but I've also found that more often than not, the love comes back. Your milage may vary, so listen to your heart and consider the options.

Losing one's passion for their hobbies through burnout is incredibly common. Here's how I avoid it.

How to avoid "hobby" burnout

Hey there!

Have you ever asked yourself "How do I transfer data from one database to another without actually putting any real effort into it?". Me too.

It would be nice if there was a tool that could allow us to interact and mutate data using a GUI because I can't write SQL to save my life.

In this article I'm going to talk to you about how I transferred data from one database to another without exporting/importing the data. I had tried numerous ways using different export options within pgAdmin, but was generally unsuccessful. Growing frustrated I decided to look outside the box and try something different entirely. This will be a general high-level overview of how I did this, but not necessarily a step-by-step since you might not be using the same tools as I and I'm not a pro at pgAdmin or exporting SQL data.

The new database had significant architectural changes, so a simple export/import wouldn't have been good enough (I'm also not that great at writing my own SQL to be able to transform it anyway).

## An introduction

I recently remade one of my first production applications. The reason for the rewrite was I had grown in my knowledge of programming overall and felt the current version of my app was flaky at best. This database wasn't big by any means, but it was being used in production and the last thing you want to do is lose data, somehow.

## Using Sequelize to connect to both databases

This is probably a risky play if you're not careful because one brain-fart or wrong move and you could do some serious damage to both databases and your emotions.

Within my `docker-compose` file, I created another database that was blank. I named it something random because the name isn't important since it's temporary. I exported the production database and imported it to my replica database; including the commands to create everything from scratch.

Once this data was successully important, I created a new sequelize instance in my `index.js` file within my models folder that sequelize can generate for you. I named it something crazy like `sequelize2` and gave it the value of a postgres uri string with the proper credentials to connect to that database.

I find the benefits of doing it this way are:

- No risk of data loss in your production database by botched code
- Not having to deal with foreign keys in export

I thought 'why not use the tools I already know how to use?'

Technically, you could straight connect to your production database and go rogue and silly, but hey, if that's you, Godspeed!

## We're connected to the replica database

Alright, we're here. I'm going to layout some of my code so you can have an idea of my approach to the actual migration process. Make sure you have two connections setup, mine look like this:

```jsx
let sequelize2;

sequelize2 = new Sequelize(process.env.OLD_REDDEX_DB);
db.sequelize2 = sequelize2;
```

When it's setup this way, we can access our replica database by referencing `db.sequelize2` and our main database `db.sequelize`. This will allow us to easily pull from one database and insert in another. Now, I don't know if this is "the best way to do it 🙄", but it worked for me and I'd do it again.

### Creating the query function

I created a function for query each table I wanted to include in the migration. All it did was fetch the data from the replica database and return it.

_./migrate.js_

```javascript
const getUsers = async () => {
// sql statement to return all users
const sql = `SELECT email,uuid,password,initial_message,repeat_message,website_id,youtube_id FROM users`;
// return all users
const users = await db.sequelize2.query(sql, { type: QueryTypes.SELECT });

return users;
};
```

As you can see, this queries the data held in my `users` table and returns it to me. However, we now need to mutate that data to fit our new tables and overall database structure.

### Mutating the data

Next up, I created a function to receive the data return by the function above and mutate it to fit the new table structure.

_./migrate.js_

```
const migrateUsers = async () => {
  const users = await getUsers();

for (let i = 0; i < users.length; i++) {
const user = users[i];
const {
email,
uuid,
password,
initial_message,
repeat_message,
website_id,
} = user;

    const newUser = await db.User.create({
      uuid,
      email,
      password,
      email_confirmed: true,
    });

    await newUser.createProfile({
      greeting: initial_message,
      recurring: repeat_message,
      words_per_minute: 0,
    });

    if (website_id) {
      const website = await db.Website.create({
        uuid: website_id,
        userId: newUser.uuid,
      });

      newUser.websiteId = website.uuid;

      newUser.save();
    }

}
};
```

Now I can use Sequelize to do what I need in order to properly mutate that data and make it fit in my database. The only thing that changed was the columns names in some tables and generally cleaning up unused or improperly named columns. I find that leaving tech debt like this (the improperly named columns and poor layout) can create issues down the road when you try to work with that data. In the new database, I made sure to take care of that from the start.

### Executing the functions

At the end of the file, I created a general `main()` function that executes the functions above, in order. Any functions that query and return data, are listed within their respective mutation functions. I found this worked really well for me because if one function failed, it didn't mess with anything outside it's functional scope. Breaking down the process into smaller functions is just good practice in general, anyway.

_./migrate.js_

```
const main = async () => {
  // await migrateUsers();
  // await migrateWebsites();
  // await migrateTags();
  // await migrateSubmittedStories();
  // await migrateRecentlySearched();
  // await migrateContacts();
  // await migrateContacted();
  await migrateStories();
};

main();
```

I had multiple functions targetting and mutating multiple different columns. You can just add whatever you need in order to complete the process.

## Conclusion

Now that we have our data, we've mutated it to suit our needs, you're good to go.

What I did was I entered my docker container that contained both databases. I then ran my `migrate.js` file or whatever you named it, and let it do the rest.

I hope this has helped give you an overall view on how to do something in a bit of an unorthodox way (in my opinion). It didn't make a whole lot of sense to try and do it in a way I was unfamiliar with, instead I just used the tools I was given.

Happy hacking!


I used Sequelize to migrate data from one Postgres database to another

Hey, I'm Tyrel Chambers! I'm a passionate developer who cannot help, but pursue fun ideas. Really. Sometimes, I just want a break!

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