Week two of Java. I mean, C#…

Two weeks ago I made a decision to make Java my “focus language” at The Iron Yard code school. After completing four weeks of the front-end basics and three weeks of the back-end basics, I chose the side with more logic in it. After speaking to a few of my developer friends and doing my own research, Java seemed like a good choice.

Being fully aware that I would be the only Java student on campus and would be the only one who had ever graduated with Java from the campus, I was ready for the challenge.

The Java group

Working alone turned out to be much harder than I even expected! You see, we are working in a “flipped classroom” style. All of the readings are done at home and then the practice is done on campus. Normally, groups would collaborate and come up with the solutions together, but in my case, I had nobody to work with. Once I was stuck, I couldn’t go any further. I then had to either seek help in Slack channels and/or from my instructors… Monday was mostly great, but on Tuesday I started to feel the struggle and the stress. Wednesday was even worse and on Thursday I made a decision to switch to C#.

It was the most difficult and humbling experience of my life...

Luckily, .NET group was very welcoming. I was greeted with high-fives, congratulations, and “one-of-us” chants. Made me feel really good and gave me a much needed energy boost. At that point, I had to re-do all of my week worth of work in Java, in C#. Made up for a long and hardworking weekend.

Einstein (my dog) is helping me complete my assignments on the weekend.

Today I am mostly all caught up with my work. Still have a large (weekly) assignment from last week to complete, but I’m at ease. My group is great and we collaborate well together. There’s a “we got each other’s back” feeling in the room and I can’t be happier.

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Former middle school math teacher learning to become a web developer with focus in C#.

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