Bootcamp Starts Tomorrow!
After over a decade of working with software and technology in a number of (non-coding) capacities including: IT/application support, IT infrastructure rollouts, software implementation/project management, data analysis, and IT compliance…I have decided that I want to become a software developer!
A number of factors contributed to my decision, but most notably, there is a booming tech scene in Chicago where I live and the new skills I will be learning will hopefully allow me to be a part of it. I am very impressed with the innovation and talent that is driving many successful tech companies in the city, which would be very motivating for me to be immersed in. I am about 6 months in to my new coding journey (and had also taken coding courses in college a ways back) and couldn’t be more happy with my decision so far! The resources available to learn are plentiful and efficient and those in the coding community I have gotten to speak to about my new path have been incredibly supportive and helpful.
Tomorrow I start the 13-week full-time in-person portion of Fullstack Academy in Chicago. It is a web development bootcamp hosted in a start-up incubator called 1871. The entire curriculum is Javascript, which allows your to touch on the entire development stack without changing languages/syntax; which is advantageous for learning a lot in a short period of time. Other reasons I was attracted to the program include their stringent hiring process, difficult checkpoints along the way to ensure the entire cohort is on track, and most importantly; talented, engaged instructors and leadership.
I feel it is a bit too soon to share any insights to others who may be considering a similar path since I’ve not yet proven out my path. But one word of wisdom I would pass along to anyone considering a career change to coding via a bootcamp: first do your research and a determine the bootcamp that is best for you. And then make sure you take an introductory course in the language that your bootcamp primarily uses before making a final decision on your career change. This will give you a glimpse of what it is like to learn to code in a classroom setting and give you a chance to feel out if it is right for you. The course could be something online or in-person, or going through a learn-to-code book in detail via self-study. I took a M-Th 3-hour Javascript introductory course for 4 weeks that my bootcamp offered. This allowed me prove out my hypothesis that coding was something I really enjoyed doing and gave me confidence that I was capable of learning a lot of technical material in a short period of time.
I will share updates from Bootcamp soon! Cheers!