3 months Bootcamp, 3 years later…
Mentorship is actually a great thing
Making a career switch or starting newly in tech comes with some amount of struggle, self-doubt, and anxiety. Hence, associating with a community and access to mentorship are steps to getting past the “hard” beginning. My name is Idris, I work with Point Blank Dev, and here is my 3-month bootcamp experience.
How did you hear about DevCareer vis-a-vis #Laptops4Developers?
I had just joined Twitter and was trying to get into tech. I heard about DevCareer while surfing the internet, specifically Twitter. #Laptops4Developers was all over my feed I can remember vividly. I signed up and the rest they say is history. It has been three years and I am glad I signed up.
How was the registration, assessment, and reaction when you got selected?
I was attempting a career switch at the time I registered for the program. My decision to venture into the tech space had me applying to different learning communities including DevCareer. For someone who was just starting out, the assessment was pretty straightforward. It was a big relief to get a call back from DevCareer, I literally felt butterflies in my stomach when I finally got selected.
Have you been around your chosen tech field before you happened on #Laptops4Developers
I won’t say I was but I was all over the internet trying to learn new things as much as I could. Mentorship is actually a great thing.
Share this link with someone who is on a self-learning track, DevCareer provides a structured curriculum, laptops, mentorship, etc.
Were you a Computer Science student? Briefly narrate your journey into tech?
Nah, I did not study computer science. I had a talk with a friend of mine who studied computer science and works as a software developer. The journey of self-learning started officially when I got accepted into DevCareer.
During the Bootcamp, how was the hub beneficial, the learning itself, how were the resources, mentors, and were they of any help?
Every single experience in cohort 1, was great, from the mentors, fellow interns, the resources, and the hub. They paved the way for me to be who I am today.
We have partnered with amazing sponsors to bring cohort 3 of #Laptops4Developers
At the end of the 3months, explain your transition experience, how long before you got a job?
It took a while before I got my first job, but I had the opportunity to work on a big project as a frontend developer. I welcomed it as a learning opportunity and it was a lot of fun.
Away from the bootcamp, what is a typical workday like for you at Point Blank Dev?
I spend alot of the time writing code, early morning scrum meetings, and some code reviews.
For people who are just venturing into a particular tech field, what would you recommend as a starter pack?
Honestly, learn at your pace, and never skip the fundamentals because you will come back to it. Fundamentals are the building blocks.
What informed your decision to major in your tech field?
The fact that I could see my solutions/codes work hands-on. I do not exactly fancy backend development but seems Go is changing that. I am enjoying Go at the moment.
Check out what DevCareer alumni are up to here, here, here, and here.
What are you currently watching on Netflix or reading?
I am seeing inventing Anna on Netflix and reading the Seven Habits of Effective People.
How did tech change your life?
Honestly, I am glad I moved into tech. I probably would have gone back to school for a postgraduate, but tech changed all of that. The amazing feeling of building stuff that thousand of people use. The amazing people I met and even more in the future was made possible by the switch. The future keeps looking better.
DevCareer runs a number of programs with the goal of supporting tech talents such as:
- #Laptops4Developers: A yearly 3-month long program to support aspiring developers and designers on their journey to become word-class with laptops, courses, and mentorships.
- A DevCareer community on Slack. Use this link to join over 10000 tech enthusiasts who support one another.
- A DevCareerXProgate scholarship that gives 5000 community members access to pro-plan on Progate to learn any course of choice, exclusive to community members.
If you have got questions about applying for #Laptops4Developers, check here
