Reflections from a Bootcamp Grad on “What’s Next?”
By: Waverley Leung
Tags: Bootcamp, Software Engineering, Job Hunting, Interview, Professional Development

Post-Bootcamp

After I graduated from bootcamp I felt empowered by all the new knowledge I had and was excited by the new world introduced to me. However when the initial month after graduation passed, I realized that it also meant that there was so much I didn’t know. That realization honestly scared me at first, but it also made me put into perspective that bootcamp was only the starting point of my career change. Now, it was up to me to decide what I do with the tools I was given on where to go next. Below are the things that benefitted me the most post-bootcamp.

Networking

As an introvert, I can relate to finding comfort in working alone, needing time/space for myself, and getting nervous at the thought of interacting with people. Coming from a bootcamp I found myself naturally gravitating to people who attended the same bootcamp and/or cohort because of our shared experiences. At a certain point though, I realized that I became stagnant because I was with people who were exactly where I was.

Not to say that being close with people who are similar to you is bad, on the contrary, these relationships are just as important because there’s nothing that can compare to the moment you realize you’re not alone, that someone understands what you’re going through. Rather, I feel that by only fostering relationships with people who are similar to you can limit your world. By connecting with different people you can broaden your perspective and learn something new from them.

That said, I want to emphasize that networking isn’t just talking to people with a goal about what you can get out of the conversation/relationship; It’s also about what you can give. Starting out you may think that there’s not much you can offer to a conversation or community, but I promise you there is so much you bring to the table! Whether it be how you explain something, resources you know, opinions and perspectives you have on a topic, or even how your background translates to coding, there are numerous ways you can contribute. Remember, your voice and participation makes a difference.

To wrap up this point, one of the many amazing things I love about tech is that so many people want to support you and make the industry more accessible. Once you break out of your comfort zone and create genuine relationships with people, you’ll find yourself learning and growing faster than you may think.

If you’re not sure where or how to start, I suggest checking out the following communities below! You can also create your own community by getting a group of people together for a common purpose (ex: studying data structure and algorithms or working on a group project). A nice middle ground between those options are to volunteer, teach, join Lunchclub, participate in a hackathon, or apply to The Collab Lab!

Continuing technical knowledge/skills

I mentioned earlier that after I graduated I wasn’t sure what to do next because there is so much, especially learning-wise. Personally, I was at a crossroads between learning Python, Node.js, UX design, SQL, data structures and algorithms, etc. For those who find themselves in this exact same situation, I encourage you to focus on deepening what you know vs expanding to other things.

At my bootcamp the main technologies I learned were Ruby, Ruby on Rails, JavaScript, and React/Redux. During the program I thought I knew enough, but it became clear to me once I started collaborating with others that it was not. While it was enough to get me through bootcamp, looking back on it now, there was still a pretty large gap between what I knew and how deep it actually was; I wasn’t even aware of it because I literally just didn’t know. Again, this is just my experience because until I did my bootcamp the only “real” coding I had done was to get into the program. Acknowledging my background, I didn’t let this stop me; I decided to approach my gap as a chance for me to learn on my own terms.

As a result, everything that I was unsure or confused about during bootcamp I started to delve into. I can proudly say that I’m glad I chose to do this because now I’m more confident in coding, especially when debugging and understanding why something is going wrong. If I chose to go the “breadth” route and expand into other things, I think I would still be struggling with the same concepts no matter what technology I am using.

Nevertheless, I want to remind you that in this career you’ll always be learning so there’s always time to expand to other things!

Writing a README and doing a video demo for projects

During bootcamp time is both a blessing and an enemy. You need to learn everything fast, but that also means you need to work fast so when it comes to your projects things can slip through the cracks. Perhaps the most noticeable, missing out on a README.

As cliché as it may sound, I firmly believe in making sure every project you have includes a README. Even if it’s a simple description of what the project is and how to run it on your computer, write a README. I personally never thought that I would forget how to run my projects but 3 months later when I went back to it, I did. So if not for another person who might want to know more about the project, write a README for future you.

In addition to a README, I encourage you to do a video demo of your projects with you talking over and explaining it. Recording a video demo with your explanation helps you remember what your project does (aka the features you can include in your README) because while you may think it’s obvious what clicking on that thing does, for the user it might not be so obvious. This is not your fault though, so please don’t think that this is a reflection of your coding ability. Perhaps more important, this gets you to practice talking about code and your work. By doing this with a video you won’t have to worry about being perfect the first time around. Also, if someone asks you to walk through one of your projects you can always reflect back on how you did it previously from your demo.

Overall, writing a README and doing a video demo for your projects may not seem important right after you graduate compared to the many other things on your list. However, they’re important because they set up the foundation for the future.