Floodgate Weeks 1–3

Developing the Front-End

These first few weeks in the Floodgate bootcamp have been fast paced and humbling. I have realized the my dedication to self-studying web development and work ethic when faced with a challenge has enabled me to keep up with the numerous readings, projects and practice that is required during a coding bootcamp. It turns out that all of the previous disappointment and frustration after completing exhausting admissions requirements for other bootcamps and building projects on my own has made me a stronger programmer. I am now used to digesting a lot of information quickly, applying it and learning from it which has enabled me to keep up with Floodgate’s fast pace.

Floodgate is a rare bootcamp that allows one to work while attending its classes. Although this may seem like a great perk, I now see why other bootcamps require its students to quit their jobs in favor of 40+ hours of coding. It can be an adjustment and slight challenge to complete assignments and code for 25–40+ hours a week while working. However, I am glad that I am experiencing this challenge because when I am a developer there will be several programs, features and languages that I will need to learn quickly and practice on my own time, while working full-time. I will need to balance this work, study and implementation for the entirety of my development career.

One of the best things about this program is the group dynamic and ability to collaborate. I really enjoy my classmates and I am learning to work in-person as well as virtually. Sometimes this can be challenging because I may not know the answer or may be stuck myself, but learning how to talk code with others is great practice for learning how to explain my thinking in a universal way. As I read and complete assignments on design, HTML, CSS and JavaScript I look forward to applying my skills to build websites from scratch (without frameworks) and teach others how to do the same.