Feelings: The Blog
By: Conrad Robinson
Tags: Coding, Flatiron School, Students

Feelings: The Blog

My name is Conrad Robinson and I’m a current student at Access Labs powered by Flatiron School. Every Friday we have something called “Feelings” where we all sit in a circle and individually speak on how we’re feeling about the program or just life in general. As I’m closing in on the end of Module 2 of the 5 Mod bootcamp, I thought I’d share my some of my feelings and give a bit of advice to any students getting ready to begin Mod 1.

As for my coding background, => nil. Aside from the required pre-work, I haven’t done any coding before Mod 1. I always had an interest and felt like it was something I could do, but I didn’t want to go back to school for an extended amount of time or couldn’t afford to pay for bootcamps. A friend of a friend of my girlfriend’s co-worker (or something like that) told her about Flatiron school and Access Labs. I did some research and it was the perfect fit. 15 weeks, a deferred payment program (if you qualify for Access Labs) and a dedicated career coach. It says a lot when the success of a school solely depends of the success of their students. A technical interview and about a month of pre-work later, I was ready to begin week 1.

I was initially lost and I still find myself lost at times but Mod 1 prepared me for the rest of the bootcamp not only technically but mentally as well. I figured out how to make the most of the 9 hour day here. Here’s what works for me:

Sleep & Breakfast

This is definitely easier said than done, especially to any fellow parents, but it’s honestly the deciding factor on how my day goes. I’m already not good with lectures in general so if I walk into a morning lecture with no sleep and/or and empty stomach, it’s lights out for me and I miss a huge part of the day. Lectures are the reason you chose the in person course rather than online. It’s where you can ask questions and get things clarified early. So do your best to manage your time at home to get some sleep. If you can’t or don’t like to eat at home as soon as you wake up then do like I do and bring your favorite box of cereal to the kitchen and write your name on it.

Lectures & Labs

You have one or two lectures in the day that usually last about an hour to an hour and a half. The instructors and coaches here all know their stuff and are very helpful. Take notes as the lecture is going but don’t focus too hard on coding along. All lectures are recorded for you to view later and the code is also made available. Focus on trying to grasp what’s being taught rather than code along. You may be trying to catch up typing and miss some important details.

Labs are deployed in Learn.co after lectures. They’re how you apply what you just learned in lecture. You can use the video and code as references to help. While you should definitely make an effort to complete labs, don’t make that your top priority. As Graham, a Lead Instructor at Access Labs says, “It’s a buffet, not an eating contest”. You don’t have to finish EVERY lab as they’re deployed. Work at your own pace and jump around between labs as you see fit.

Code Challenge & Project

Towards the end of week 2 you’ll have a code challenge. It’s essentially a set of coding tasks based on what you’ve been taught so far. You have an hour to complete and if you pass you’re cleared for the group project on week 3.

For your group project you’ll be partnering up with one or two classmates and building an app based on everything taught in Mod 1. You’ll work on it for about a week and then you’ll present your app to the class. Anyone doing a group project is automatically cleared for Mod 2 which starts week 4.

If you don’t pass your code challenge, you get another shot at the end of week 3 when projects are due but you’ll be doing a solo project. Instead of presenting to the class, you’ll present to the instructors and coaches. You must show that you have a complete understanding of how your app works and be able to explain features and/or make new ones. From there your instructors and coaches will determine whether you’re ready to move on to Mod 2 or if you need to repeat Mod 1. It sounds intimidating but trust me, it’s not as bad as you may think.

Don’t stress too hard if you don’t pass the code challenge. Theres nothing wrong with setting goals for yourself but this is an extremely condensed course. Falling “behind” is perfectly normal. I didn’t pass the code challenge. While I was a little down about it, I knew that I wasn’t completely lost when taking it. It just took me a bit longer to process what was required. I knew that another week looking at lectures and working on a solo project would help me. When I presented my project the atmosphere wasn’t intimidating at all and I felt confident that I knew what I was doing. If it wasn’t for that extra time to lock in and refine what I already had a decent grasp on, I would’ve been in a group of people who were more advanced than me and I would’ve been lost.

If you don’t pass the solo project don’t stress. Yes, nobody wants to spend more time than planned in school but at the end of the day you’re here to learn. Not just to pass an exam. You could barely pass the challenge or get through the solo project but still not have a firm understanding of the work and you’d be setting yourself up to fall behind even more in the next module.

Ask for Help

My last bit of advice is to utilize all of your resources. If you get stuck, ask your table mates, students in other mods, coaches and instructors for help. Don’t waste too much time trying to figure things out on your own. It may be a simple fix that you spent an hour working on where if you had just asked for help, it could’ve been 5 mins. Utilize all of the resources that come with the in person course, you’re paying for it at the end of the day! 15 weeks is short. This is an intense program. You’re not the first person to be lost and you won’t be the last.