<span class="Grey">BootCamp Reflection </span><small><span class="Magenta">Part 1</span></small>

BootCamp Reflection Part 1

Summary

Note: Forgive my spelling and grammar this is straight from my mind onto a keyboard.

I have just completed a 12 weeks intensive full stack web development bootcamp. It was very demanding (from a cohort of 21 to 15 graduating). It was in person but completely changed when Covid 19 struck halfway through becoming a remote bootcamp soon after. I had managed to navigate though this and successfully graduated with a fairly good performance. I will make a series detailing my experience for those interested, although this is mostly a reflection on my part.

Funnily enough, I also came out of it, more healthier than ever, having lost considerable weight on a strict keto diet

Initial Perception

I tend to research everything myself. So I was very clear about my expectations, goals and so on. I was already going into bootcamp confident that I can create a website from scratch and fairly proficient in vanilla js, css and other languages, whats more I was fairly skilled at picking up skills on my own. I already was following and completing many tutorials, but found that I had plenty of gaps in my knowledge. Whats more I wasn't confident that I was learning in a efficient order. Questions like should I learn Jquery should I skip Mysql or go to MongoDb constantly was in my mind.

So for me I needed the following that a bootcamp can provide:

A structured learning course though a relevant tech stack
Access to career services to get me a job fast
Ability to be mentored by real developers
Being closer in the industry
Work on my interpersonal skills
Accelerated Learning (who has time for anything else?)
My backend knowledge was limited
Learning industry practices and conventions
Being part of a group that is sharing in my journey
Professional practices (interviews, git workflow, tooling, etc)

I think I probably could have overcome these without a bootcamp but with too much effort and time wasted. So basically it all came down to exchanging money for a straighter shot at a career in web development.

Next time I will describe the typical day

bootCampReflection1