Challenges are good.
When I applied to Andela, my idea was that it is a place where it is all about code. I imagined that fellows were hard core programmers, who wrote thousands of lines of code each day. After all, all the people I knew who worked as software developers had mostly this sort of life.
When I got into the boot camp, the experience was rather different. It became very apparent early on that it was not only about coding. It turned out there is more to just coding. There is professional writing, test driven development and an assortment of soft skills that go with being a world class developer.
My biggest challenge has been professional writing. I have not done any form of writing for a very long time, and that might be because I am not naturally attracted to the art of writing. It was sort of an uphill task for me. Thankfully, my learning facilitator has been very patient with me and has provided great feedback that I have grown considerably. At one point I had to redo a blog three times, each time taking in feedback, and eventually, i have grown considerably in the art of writing. It does not freak me as it used to do.
I have also had challenges with test driven development. I had a hard time understanding the whole point of it, and even a harder time understanding how to do it. Thankfully, through the resources provided for the boot camp, and the support of my learning facilitator and my fellow boot campers and through constant working on the skill, I now understand the skill quite well. I now understand the concept of writing tests before developing.
The beauty of Andela boot camp is that it is a learning experience like no other. Like all learning experiences, there sure are challenges. But it does not really matter because there is a framework in place to unblock one from all these challenges. This framework is made of feedback, support from learning facilitators and fellow boot campers and learning materials provided
I love Andela! #TIA
