My experience with a coding bootcamp
Tags: beginners, codenewbie, career
Published: 2020-02-01 06:58:42

#Table Of Contents
- [Why I became a developer](#developerStory)
- [What is a bootcamp](#whatBootcamp)
- [Why did I chose a coding bootcamp](#whyBootcamp)
- [How I chose a coding bootcamp](#howIChose)
- [The structure of the coding bootcamp I chose](#theStructure)
- [Mistakes that I made while going through the curriculum](#mistakes)
- [My review of my bootcamp](#review)
- [What I'm thankful for](#thankful)
- [What I would have done differently](#differently)

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<a name="developerStory"></a>
#Why I became a developer
When I was in middle school and high school I had the opportunity to mess around with a robot and really fell in love with the coding side of things.  I enjoyed telling the robot what to do and immediately seeing the results on how clear your instructions were to the robot.  In high school, I was in a technical academy and decided to pursue Mechanical Engineering but the prerequisites were just so mundane that I would just lose interest in the courses.  I wasn't driven by A's and 4.0 GPA's, I wanted to get involved immediately and ended up leaving that for some other work-related courses.

At one of my jobs, I had a coworker that went through a bootcamp and had suggested it but I dismissed it and didn't think much of at that time.  My HR manager suggested at one point that I should look into it but I also dismissed it.  After leaving that job I really started thinking about what I enjoyed a lot and realized it was coding was similiar to robotics and decided to jump into and remembered my co-worker and HR manager had suggested I look into a bootcamp

***

<a name="whatBootcamp"></a>
#What is a bootcamp
A [coding bootcamp](https://careerkarma.com/blog/preparing-for-a-coding-bootcamp/) is an innovative new form of short-term, intensive, and often immersive education designed to provide aspiring tech professionals the technical skills they need to start careers in software engineering and other tech fields.

<a name="whyBootcamp"></a>
#Why did I chose a coding bootcamp
* I'm a hands-on learner and that is the best way that I retain information.  
* Coding bootcamp's are a lot shorter than a 4 year CS degree
* Companies like Google and Apple are no longer [requiring](https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/16/15-companies-that-no-longer-require-employees-to-have-a-college-degree.html) a college degree to get a job I didn't see any reason why I should go through a 4-year school to break into coding.  

I had the time and some money saved up to focus on the bootcamp so I pulled the plug and jumped in. 

<a name="howIChose"></a>
#How I chose a coding bootcamp
My priorities were price, location, and online reviews.  I looked at some of the local bootcamps that were offered to me but the thought of paying for parking every day in downtown for 4-6 months for 8 hours just scared me away (looking back I could have parked further out and used public transportation to get to the location).  So after figuring out that I didn't like the idea of spending so much money for parking I decided to go for an online bootcamp.

<a name="theStructure"></a>
#The structure of the coding bootcamp I chose
For 6 months I would work solo through the curriculum and would meet with a mentor twice a week for a 1-hour session to discuss my progress and if I had any questions. After completing the course I worked with a career coach that guided me through revisions of my resume and helped me respond to emails from companies if I wasn't certain about my response.

<a name="mistakes"></a>
#Mistakes that I made while going through the curriculum
* I graduated at the wrong time
* I didn't request a different mentor sooner.  I need someone that would have kept me on track better and push me to get more done with the amount of time I had on my hands
* I got too attached to my personal projects and tried making them as perfect as possible before submitting them and not just making them barely pass the requirements so that I could move on with the curriculum
* I asked too many people that same question and got different opinions which left me in the same spot that I started

<a name="review"></a>
#My review of my bootcamp
* Some of the mentors were there for the money or weren't cut out to be mentors.  Other mentors weren't as familiar with the MERN stack and would give you answers from StackOverflow that you have already tried.
* Mistakes in the curriculum weren't corrected at all it seemed like.  I would ask myself "How many other students noticed this mistake and reported it and why is it still here, it's an easy fix".

<a name="thankful"></a>
#What I'm thankful for
* The mentors that really loved their jobs as developers and as mentors and weren't there just for the money
* The student's that I met along the way and was able to become friends with and still stay in touch with even though we never officially met besides in online sessions
* That I was introduced to meetup's and was able to meet other developers in my city, I didn't know what meetups were before this

<a name="differently"></a>
#What I would have done differently
* I think I would have potentially selected one of the local bootcamps and would have figured out the parking situation downtown.  I believe a bootcamp that has you work in a group on client projects would have helped me gain actual-world experience sooner.  I might have chosen a bootcamp like [Epicodus](https://www.epicodus.com/) where students finish their studies with a five-week internship.
* If I were to take my bootcamp again I think I would have gone the group route that way I could get that experience of working in a group.
* I would aim for graduation in mid-late December.  I graduated in May right before everyone goes on vacation during the summer and then you have a little bit of a hiring season in the fall before the holidays and few posts during the holidays.

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**Please share your experience in the comment section**
* **Bootcamp grad?** What is your experience with the bootcamp that you went through? 
* **Hire a bootcamp grad?** Did you notice any differences between bootcamps and what do you think a bootcamp could do differently?