Week 1

Week one of Launch Academy has been challenging, but differently than I expected.

On day one of Launch, we pair-programmed a Monty Hall simulator. Pair-programming is a technique in which two programmers work together on the same computer, one typing, one observing and reviewing. Pairing was extremely challenging for me. I was stronger in Ruby than my partner. I learned that I am bad at explaining things, an ineffective communicator, and eaisly frustrated. I feel terrible that I ended up confusing my partner and not helping much! I now know how importantant it will be to practice and improve my communication.

I paired again on Tuesday. It went better but it was still harder than working alone. By Wednesday, I decided to tackle the daily challenges solo. The challenges are do-able for me, though not too easy. There are also optional, harder challenges that we can work on after completeing the required one. They feel beyond my level. I’ll start a problem, get stuck, and move on… again and again with each problem. I’ve learned that I need to ask for help.

To receive help from the Launch staff, one must submit a ‘help request.’ A help request is an online-form that forces you to analyze your problem and ‘rubber duck’ it before submitting. Every time I’ve submitted a help request, an ‘Experience Engineer’ (instructor) has been able to get me unstuck in minutes. I’ve been so impressed by how helpful they are! I need to ask for help more often. I won’t learn efficiently if I am stuck for hours and bouncing problem-to-problem. Launch is only 10 weeks long so I must make good use of every minute!

Over the weekend, I did pair program again. My partner was more advanced in Ruby this time. I went well. I felt like I could keep up and contribute occasionally. It was nice to have a positive pairing experience. It shows me that there is hope for pairing in my future!

Week 1 was all about Ruby. Take a look at how I used RottenTomatoe’s API to print out movies now-playing! I learned about JSON and compound data structures to get this running on Wednesday. (St. Vincent had no cast listed)

On Thursday I attended a Women’s Ruby Meetup! It was a big deal for me because I get nervous when I meet new people. It went well. I met several former Launchers who are happiley employed, which was really reassuring. I think I will have more fun at the next meetup, as the stress of meeting new people will subside, and I can start forming meaningful connections with other people who enjoy programming as much as I do!

Next week we’ll begin working with Sinatra, a Ruby framework. I can’t wait to have stuff online to show my spouse! Printing to the console is difficult to appreciate for those who have never programmed. Hopefully having some live webpages will help her understand what I do all day. ☺ I am looking forward to next week!