As a new student in a coding bootcamp, I have been experiencing a whirlwind of emotions, both positive and challenging. In this blog post, I will share with you my journey so far, from why I decided to attend a coding bootcamp to the obstacles I've faced as a bootcamp student.
Why did you decide to attend a coding bootcamp?
There were three main reasons why I decided to enroll in a coding bootcamp:
I wanted help finding a job
I wanted to accelerate my learning of programming
I wanted to join something that would help build my network
I believe that a coding bootcamp could help me achieve these goals more effectively and efficiently compared to self-study.
What were your expectations going into the program?
I had high expectations for the program. I expected that it would be a lot of work, very rigorous, and intense. However, I also believed that it would help me reach my goals in a shorter amount of time compared to if I was simply going by self-study.
How is the program structured and what have you learned so far?
The program is structured into five phases, each running for three weeks. The first two weeks are focused on lectures and labs, providing us with a ton of information and practical use cases to practice what we've learned. At the end of the two weeks of lecture, there is a Code Challenge that we have to pass to make it to the next phase. The Code Challenge is set up like a mock technical interview that we could come across while searching for jobs. It is a timed test that gives certain guidelines and deliverables that we must meet.
The third week in the phase is project week, where we are put together into groups and have one full week to come up with an idea, create it, and deliver it by the end of the week. As we are nearing the end of the first project week, I am amazed at how much I have learned. It's incredible how much practical knowledge I've gained by working collaboratively with my classmates, applying the concepts we've learned in a real-world setting, and receiving feedback from our instructors. The project week has been intense, but I am proud of what my team has accomplished, and it has been an incredibly rewarding experience.
Any challenges or obstacles you've faced as a bootcamp student?
I am constantly facing challenges. One thing we do almost every morning is Stand Up, where we are asked four simple questions and then pick another classmate to go after us. Each day we are asked the same three questions and then a random fun question of the day. The questions are:
What is something you struggled with yesterday?
What is something new you learned?
What are you going to work on today?
What is your favorite movie/season/Disney princess?
To be quite honest, maybe the biggest challenge for me was getting past my social anxiety and talking in front of a group of people I did not know yet. However, I think this has been very beneficial for me and my growth in this field because there will no doubt be countless times when I have to present a new idea or project to people I am not familiar with yet.
Your overall experience and whether or not you would recommend the program to others:
So far, I have been having a wonderful time in this bootcamp. Our two professors are very knowledgeable and super helpful. One thing that seems to be a consistent theme with everyone here is not giving direct answers, but rather guiding us on how to figure out the answer or solution on our own. Asking questions to make us think in the direction we should be thinking. I really enjoy the whole atmosphere and would highly recommend this program to other like-minded people.
That being said, I came into this program with a year of self-study under my belt. I commend the people in my cohort who are coming in with absolutely no previous coding experience; I can't imagine how much more difficult it might be for them.