ALX School Of Software Engineering
Finally! You made it. Remember every now and then a generation is called upon to be great, you can be that generation.
The ALX software engineering program is an intensive 12-month program, equipping you with the skills and network to become a Front-end developer or Back-end developer. You also get to develop your project, communication, and leadership skills.
Let’s dive in to things you need to get in check before you venture into the program.
First, you need to make sure this is something you really want to get into. Ask yourself these questions:
o Do you want to solve any problem regardless of size and magnitude?
o How deep is your level of critical thinking? Problem solving?
o Can you dedicate fully, up to 90 hours in a week for your studies?
o How is your English proficiency?
o Can you commit to it?
DETAILS OF THE 12-MONTH SOFTWARE ENGINEERING PROGRAMME
- Core Curriculum: Foundations of computer science and software engineering for 9months, then you can choose your specialization: either Front end or Backend for the final three months.
- Length of the program: It is a 12-month commitment. You will need to get a cumulative score of 80% in your first month in all your projects. If the 80% score is not met, you will be pulled out of the program.
- Commitment: 70 hours of work per week is needed and sometimes it exceeds 70hours really.
- Technical requirements: A reliable and consistent access to a computer and strong internet connection.
- Peers: You get full access to a community of different people you can relate/share ideas with. You also get access to peer-learning days, technical mentors and community forums.
- Certification: You get a certificate stating you have completed ALX Software Engineering Program from ALX and Holberton.
- Networking: If you make it to the end, you get to join a network called The Room, you get support in finding and landing great job opportunities.
QUESTIONS ASKED ABOUT THE PROGRAM
1. Is the program available in other languages?
Ans: The program is only available to people with strong English proficiency, it is crucial to thriving in the program.
2. Are there any study guides?
Ans: Study materials are provided to help you dig deeper into the topics, researching on your own to understand other concepts is advised, different things work for different people.
3. How is scoring done?
Ans: Most projects are scored automatically, some large projects would be done in pairs, e.g. a shell project.
I’d do another write up to help you know how grading is done and how to calculate it yourself.
4. What if I need help from a mentor?
Ans: There are days of peer-learning-day (PLD), and occasional technical mentor led sessions where you can ask technical mentors for help if needed. Details are always sent to your emails.
5. How do I connect with my peers?
Ans: The slack community aids in connecting with your peers, asking for support from the technical mentors.
Facebook, Telegram and WhatsApp groups would be created by your peers as ALX does not provide one. Do well to ask your peers for links.
You can get help if stuck from your peers or if you can reach out to a senior colleague. You can also get support from technical mentors during their office work hours via slack.
6. Is the program self-paced, can I do it at my own time?
Ans: The program is not self-paced; projects are released on specific days with deadlines to meet up with. The deadlines help to keep you on track and gives you a push. Trust me it can get a bit tasky and requires a lot of brain power, but that is where communicating with your peers comes in.
7. Is it a physical training?
Ans: Everything is being done online and remotely, you can carry out your tasks from the comfort of your home. You just need a laptop/desktop and a stable internet connection.
8. What advice would you offer someone who is studying on the side, but has limited coding experience?
Ans: If you can multitask without it weighing you down, then fine. The program on its own takes most of your time. Most of the tasks given would require a lot of brain power.
If you have limited coding experience, it might be a little bit easy for you but the struggle still comes when you get to learning your programming languages.
Although with the right resources and coaching, it would be easy to grasp.
After successful application and acceptance, you get a 2-week onboarding program where you delve deeper into the program and get series of assignments. Details on the onboarding would be sent to your emails from ALX.
I hope you enjoyed this read?
If there’s any other question, please drop them in the comment box. Please do well to share also.
I would be posting more guides to help in your journey.
Congratulations once more! I am rooting for you!!
Thank You!
One last thing, you can join the twitter community here.
