Hello World!
The cycle ride to Bootcamp has turned cold for the winter and the chill, rain and hopefully snow is most definitely on its way. We’re 9 weeks into the course here at the School of Code (SoC) and the mood is decidedly positive. Entering the classroom on this crisp Thursday morning, there are small pockets of newbie coders from the cohort sat working in groups on programming tasks while others code away on past, present and future projects. The light bubble of chatter — which is almost entirely development based — among our diverse group is encouragingly pleasant.
Be the Div.
To be totally honest, I didn’t know what to expect before joining the course. After stumbling upon SoC as a post-graduate studying Translation Studies at the University of Birmingham, the prospect of starting a tech-adventure was both daunting and exciting. 9 weeks in and the balance holds true for this bootcamper. In the last 8 weeks, we have covered a wealth of topics from CSS tricks to Databases with Mongo. Pair that with a light smattering of keyboard shortcuts, logical thought processes and retrospective self-analysis encouraged by mentors and guest speakers alike, and you’re on the way to understanding what a week at the Bootcamp looks like. With all this new material being chucked at us at such a fierce rate by the course leader Chris Meah, aka “The Doctor”, it’s no surprise that stress levels do occasionally reach a little higher than normal. But through the team ethos and camaraderie of the bootcampers, there are blue skies, friendly smiles and occasionally a well earned pint at the end. Here at the SoC, being wrong is a daily achievement. Learning to embrace this aspect of the course is something that this member of cohort 1 is slowly, but surely getting his head around. Not knowing things doesn’t make you a muppet. Not looking for an answer on the other hand…
“To hack or not to hack”
On hearing about the School of Code, part of the advertising campaign of this programming bootcamp was that the course teaches participants a ‘new way to think’. The pace of the Bootcamp is certainly something which this bootcamper hasn’t experienced in his 16 years of education. Whole topics will be raced through in a day or two with important aspects mentioned only once or twice in that small amount of time. But the pace isn’t exactly what I’m talking about here. We are learning how to deconstruct problems so as to solve them in a pragmatic and universally understandable manner. For anyone who gets that 100% from the off, I salute you. But for anyone like me, out there reading this post and thinking that sounds like a load of hyperbolic high brow chatter, I’ll try and explain. Meet Codewars. Codewars is a website where programmers new and old can attempt small, functional programming challenges. Think sudoku for computer bods. Different levels have different difficulties and the more you progress, the harder they get. At first, these ‘Kata’, as the levels are novelly called, start on the fundamentals and then grow more complex with the intricate combination of these basics. “To hack”: The process of programming roughly and quickly to solve the problem by any means necessary, no matter how scrappy. Taking this route, you reach the solution, but the chances of another programmer being able to understand the code is about as likely as me stumbling upon the holy grail on my cycle through Birmingham City Centre on a bright and chilly Thursday morning.
The School of Code has taught this very junior programmer to take the time to stop, talk, plan, re-plan, talk some more, pick up a pencil, scribble around the plan, talk again, ask for help if needed and when a route is clearly and concisely decided upon on paper, to take that plan and begin to turn it into code. We’re not being taught to hack at the School of Code, we’re being taught to be methodical, reflective and pragmatic in the code that we produce to add as much value to future employers as possible.
Better the Dev you know
In the world of tech, communication skills are an asset to be proud of. Within the Bootcamp itself, the support and communication network is strong, but it would be naive to ignore the fact that there exists a gap between the Bootcamp and the outside developing world. Having visited Facebook and Pivotal on a trip with the cohort, it became clear that these giants of the tech world are not looking for code newbies, and hard-earned previous experience is a must. “Smart people learn from their mistakes. Really smart people learn from the mistakes of others” is a quote brandished and rebranded by a huge number of authors, thinkers and professionals alike and I think it to be one of the most valuable lessons I’m still in the process of learning.
There is a point to this.
Promise.
Each Bootcamper has been assigned a mentor involved directly in the tech industry. Weekly meetings with this mentor for me are illuminating, bamboozling and provide a safe space in which to honestly discuss challenges, feelings and opportunities and most importantly…code. A huge big-up and thank you to Lee Cheneler needs to be slotted in here. Having a mentor like him really is a gift during the Bootcamp and I thank him for his patience and wish him the very best in all he does. The opportunity to communicate openly with a practicing professional in the tech industry has proved a fountain of knowledge when it comes to producing quality, functional code.
We’re just over half way through and there is still a long way to go. With the lessons learnt so far and the ones still to learn, this bootcamper is being stretched, pulled and pushed out of his comfort zone on an hourly basis.
A massive thank you to Chris and Nicola at the School of Code for their continued effort, patience and infectious drive and without any further or do, bring on the next 7 weeks!
