I have been with the Tech Academy both as a software developer bootcamp student, as well as an employee. After my bootcamp, I was hired first as the live project instructor, and then as Live Project Director. This, I believe, gives me a unique point of view. I have absolutely no regrets and would join the bootcamp again. But there are a number of things I would do differently.
What I have learnt as a former student
1. DO NOT WORK PART TIME.
I worked part-time(20-30hrs) during my bootcamp. I was up at 2.30-3.00am every day to work for several hours. I took a short nap, and then I took a 1hr bus ride down to campus. Studied for 7- 9 hours. Took a 1hr bus ride back home. Lather, rinse, repeat. I also had some family obligations. My weekends and half the summer were taken up caring for my young stepdaughter. I was completely exhausted by the end of the bootcamp and I didn't know if I could do more. Learning to program is HARD. You need to be fully focused. I am fortunate because I didn't need to work, I chose to and I regret it. I wish I had spent that time studying more instead.
The school will make it seem like you can learn while working part time. You can't. Programming requires complete focus and time. As an instructor, most of the students I've seen trying to juggle work and study have not been successful. They pass the bootcamp because the school has set the bar ridiculously low, but they are not even close to being ready for a dev job, so they don't get one.
Passing/Completing the bootcamp doesn't mean a job as a developer will land in your lap. It won't. If you are dealing with all sorts of family obligations, poverty, mental illnesses, the harsh truth is that this program is probably not for you. You pay a lot of money for every week of access to the program. Students who have a lot on their plate take longer(more money) and they produce really poor work. They do not get hired as software developers because they don't have a solid foundation in programming by the end of the bootcamp. I really feel for them.
I've experienced poverty and homelessness and am well acquainted with the feelings you are in constant battle with. And my studies(I was working on my Bachelor's at that time) suffered for it. Yours will too. You're only digging yourself a deeper(financial) hole. But that doesn't mean there is no solution. The solution comes next:
2. DO SOME SELF STUDY FOR 3-6 MONTHS PRIOR TO JOINING THE BOOTCAMP
If you need to work part time during the bootcamp, start studying online 6 months prior to joining the bootcamp. If you think that's hard and you can't handle it, it's not going to get much easier when you do join the bootcamp because you will still need to do the work before/after work. It will give you a taste of the amount of work you will need to accomplish. We have so many students who think they can juggle studying and work/family commitments, start the bootcamp and 2 months in realise they can't manage it or that programming is not for them. You would have wasted thousands of dollars at this point. And if you're on Income Share Agreement(ISA), you're basically screwed because you have no choice but to pay the school back thousands of dollars. Don't join the Income Share Agreement. You're better off joining a community college program to learn computer science. At least you would have an associate's degree at the end of it. You would also have more time to complete your coursework. I had been fortunate enough to be able to pay for my bootcamp in full.
There are so many free and relatively cheap resources online. At minimum, learn HTML, CSS, JavaScript. Ideally, cover the basics of all the languages taught in the bootcamp you have signed up for. I tried doing some self study for 3 months before deciding to join a bootcamp. It was hard. I didn't fully understand everything. But it definitely helped when I did start the bootcamp. Repetition is an important part of learning new concepts. Studying prior to joining the bootcamp allows you to do that. This will give you the best chance of making it if you need to work part time during your bootcamp.
RESOURCES: Free Code Camp | W3 Schools | Coursera
2. LOOK AT MULTIPLE RESOURCES AND WRITE NOTES
I did write notes during my bootcamp, but I didn't write good notes. Write notes like you are writing an essay to help someone else understand what you've learnt. When you first start the bootcamp, they will tell you not to look at other sources and to try to focus on the provided course material. I understand where they're coming from. It's easy to get lost in the blackhole of information that is the internet. But I still think it is important to supplement the coursework with external resources. Not everything is explained well in the bootcamp. It is helpful to look at different sources to find what best explains a concept to you. This is another reason that doing the bootcamp full time with no other distractions(work, family) is best. Ultimately, you need to invest a lot of time to learn.
3. TAKE A BREAK MIDWAY THROUGH THE BOOTCAMP
The school can pause your access for a week or 2 for a vacation. So do it. I didn't. I was really exhausted after 6 months of working and studying. It is important to take breaks. And sometimes that means taking a week or 2. Tell them you're going on vacation and you need a break. Be firm. They might try to convince you to keep studying because they are concerned that you will forget what you've learnt. That could happen, but this is a marathon. Not a sprint. Studying 6 months straight does not guarantee that you will retain everything you have learnt, so take extended breaks for yourself. It will help you process information better.
4. LEARN ABOUT DATA STRUCTURES AND ALGORITHMS IN YOUR SPARE TIME
Most, if not all jobs will ask you to do a code challenge. Most of the time, this involves writing code on a white board in front of a panel of interviewers. No IDE, no intellisense. Some will give you a take home project to work on. Take home projects usually take more time, but I prefer them. Being watched while I write code makes me incredibly anxious. I forgot how to write an if statement once because my mind went blank. There are several sites where you can practice and learn to work on short code problems. My personal favourite is Leetcode. After you have learnt a programming language, get on these websites and start trying to solve problems in that language.
RESOURCES : Leetcode | CodeWars | Many others
Next: Part 2 where I will share my thoughts as a soon-to-be former instructor.
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