4 things to consider before you head out to a coding bootcamp
Finally, after months of research and self learning I have made up my mind and travelled all the way from Tunisia, through Libya to join the first full-stack web development bootcamp in Egypt (Almakinah). It was one of the toughest decision I have ever made, but the fact that I fell in love with the field during the self-teaching phase made it even harder not to go for it.
Now that i’m halfway through the bootcamp (six weeks down, six to go), thanks for my mentor @bahiaelsharkawy who encouraged me to start blogging. I thought it would be a great idea to share with you all some tips for anyone who plans to attend a coding bootcamp soon. So without further ado, here are 4 tips :
1. know that you love coding
I strongly believe that this is the most important thing on the list. Coding is not a field you enter solely because you want a better salary, or because programming jobs are trending on freelancing websites. One must join a bootcamp only if he/she is 100% percent sure that coding and programming are things they are passionate about, and willing to spend the rest of their lives doing it. Now you would probably ask “ and how am I supposed to know if programming is the right field for me ?”. It’s actually simple…experiment! . Dip your toe in the world of coding and start learning how to code on your own, and because there is no such thing as love at first sight in the world of coding, you’ll have to experiment for a while. If you find yourself hungry for more and coding hasn’t bored you, then you and programming are meant to be.
2. Know the curriculum and prepare
Now that you’ve found your passion, it’s time you build your arsenal for the bootcamp. I recommend that you know in advance the topics, concepts and programming languages that will be taught during the bootcamp. As I mentioned above, there are hundreds if not thousands of resources that are beginner/Junior friendly which teach relatively advanced topics. Proper preparation will help you stay on track and possibly put you at the top of your class.
3. it will NOT be easy
Once the bootcamp starts, you’ll realize it is nowhere near from easy . Don’t worry, this is okay. Bootcamps were never meant to be easy. You are expected to learn what is usually been taught over a period of four years(i.e computer science university undergrad) in 12 weeks.
Today you are introduced to some concept or framework and before the information gets a chance to marinate in your mind, you are struck with a whole new topic. Yes, you will drop things here and there, but that is totally fine as long as you don’t let it get to you and you keep on challenging yourself. I personally made a post-Bootcamp to-do list with topics that I will review and better get at.
4. be proud of yourself
As I’ve stated before, the boot camp will not always be nice to you. You will feel dumb and stupid many times and at some point you will feel like smashing your laptop screen and tearing your hair out. “Have you realized how far you’ve come?” I ask myself. Something as basic as looping on an array or writing a callback method which seemed impossible just a week ago will in no time become second nature to you. You will have many many aha moments. Like when you finally understand that piece of code that looked like gibberish not so long ago when you tried to learn it on your own. I advise you always to look on the bright side and remember that this is just the beginning of your journey.
