Coding bootcamp - Is it for me?
There are a lot of different opinions on internet about software engineering bootcamps. Before I started bootcamp I heard people say how great they are and then I also heard the complete opposite. I was a little confused, so I did my research and now I can really give concrete reasons why getting into a coding bootcamp can be extremely beneficial.
- Before you attend a bootcamp you should get your hands dirty and start coding. Before I started attending a bootcamp I made sure to learn how to code in HTML because I wanted to make sure that I actually liked coding. What's the point of starting a new career if you’re going to hate it? It's extremely imperative that you start coding before you get into a bootcamp. If you are a tadpole in the coding game I would say the best place to start is with HTML code. I promise you knowing HTML code will come in handy, especially when dealing with anything front-end related. I used a online resource called Coursera. Prior to using Coursera I used freecodecamp which is still a great resource, but it is not the most ideal for someone who only has exposure to some css code (it is me, I am that someone). Start with the basics and learn HTML and then get work your way from HTML to CSS. I took the course “Web Design for Everybody: Basics of Web Development & Coding Specialization”and it was great. I really learned a lot and got really excited about learning more about web development by using it.
2. Now that you have done some coding and realized that you love it so far we can start researching coding bootcamps. How I did that was by going on Youtube, asking the software engineers that I knew (especially if they were a bootcamp grad) and going on Twitter to ask people who had the schools in their bio. Another great resource is Linkedin. On Linkedin you can not only see what schools people went to, you can also see where they are currently working. I am not going to lie, It may feel odd at first but it's worth you speaking to someone who went through the process to get their opinion of not only the bootcamp that they went to, but to overall bootcamp experience. When I was researching schools I found this youtube video titled“How to Get into 7 Coding Bootcamps”. I learned alot about the process and the schools through this video.
3. Now that you have figured out what bootcamp you want to go to, the next step is to see what language you need to be able to code in before getting into that bootcamp. I would suggest Javascript because it is the language of the internet. It’s safe to say that most if not all boot camps will be using javascript somewhere in their curriculum.
4. When you are in bootcamp, it can be and most likely will be life consuming. Working is not the most ideal because you will need all your free time for coding. Will you be able to be out of work for a few months ? I have spoken to people that went through with the bootcamp process and they ended up not completing it because they were working at the same time. Prior to bootcamp I was a brand ambassador and I also wrote songs for myself and other artists. Now I am a software engineering student with zero time for either one of those things. I would have done myself a disservice if I tried to do all three or even two of those things. Clearing out you live for a chunk of the year is tough but know that it will be worth it in the end.
5. Have you tried learning how to code and felt a lot of roadblocks in the process? That was what it was like for me because I was a tadpole in the world of code. I didn’t know much beyond basic CSS and HTML before ending up on Coursera trying to learn HTML. The benefit of a bootcamp is that all the information is centralized and you have coaches and instructors to help you learn these concepts. Don’t get me wrong, you still need online resources outside of bootcamp, but it is great to have the instructors and school curriculum as a starting point. I speak to a lot of people who learned how to code through the self taught route and the hardest thing for them was not having centralized information and deadlines. Those deadlines help a lot of people, including myself, stay on task. Having instructors is great because learning code is a tough process and having a team that can guide you makes the experience of learning better.
I am a bootcamp student and I will say that joining a bootcamp was the best decision for me. I am currently attending the Flatiron School and I love it. I am a person that loves school structure when it comes to learning and the self taught route I hit a lot of roadblocks. When I spoke to people and did my research I realized that learning to code in a bootcamp would be the most ideal and I am happy that I did it. Start with learning how to get “Hello World” on the screen then go from there.
