Halftime: Trusting the Process during a coding bootcamp

The purpose of this blog is to share my experience @Flatiron School so far, for anyone out there who is new to coding and seriously considering applying to a coding bootcamp. I am writing this in hopes of helping you decide if a coding bootcamp is the right option for you. If you are reading this or another blog post like this, that shows that you are serious and care about what you do, which is a step in the right direction and something you should feel good about while navigating through the uncertain territory of a potential career switch.

If you haven't heard it by now, a coding bootcamp is a serious commitment. It's going to require everything: time, energy, and money. Why would you make a sacrifice like this if you weren't at least a little serious about it? Making a move like this could be really impractical based on your situation. So, Why?

Knowing your "Why?"

Defining your "why" is one of the first things that Flatiron School really challenges you to think about when going through the application process. This is something that I genuinely appreciated because it showed me their intentions to make students a priority. They force you to really think about it before handing them all of your hard earned money. Admissions gave me a whole week to think about it before sharing it to them during a non-technical interview. I don't remember the colleges that I attended ever asking me to look within myself like this before asking me for my money. 🤔

A little bit of background about me

I am from the Bay Area in Northern California, and have no background in computer science. Before making my switch into tech, I graduated with a BS in Kinesiology with the intention of pursuing grad school. I am currently enrolled in Flatiron's full-time (online) Software Engineering program which is broken up into 5 phases over 15 total weeks.

Prework

After going through the application process, Flatiron is going to give you access to material that is going to be your foundation of knowledge going into Day 1 of the bootcamp. I highly recommend giving yourself atleast 2 full months (maybe even 3 months) to go through the prework to give yourself time to let the material sink in. The prework will introduce you to the terminal, Git, GitHub, HTML, CSS, and Javascript.

Week 1 (Phase 1)

The first week was the by far my toughest week and really tested my "why". I was already asking myself, "what did I get myself into?". Lectures were moving fast and we were assigned a ton of homework for the week. I knew the coding bootcamp was not going to be easy, but man... they call it a bootcamp for a reason!

During this phase I really struggled to keep up with the pace of the program. I found myself feeling very behind not only by the amount of assignments that needed to get done, but also in my understanding of the concepts. There was a lot of information to take in, and a lot of moving parts to that information. The imposter syndrome that Flatiron warns you about during the application process leading up to Day 1 was getting REAL.

My first coding challenge (week 2)

Each phase is 3 weeks, and there is a coding challenge at the end of the 2nd week of each phase. A coding challenge is basically a test. It's their version of a midterm. You are given some tasks, and about 3 hours to execute those tasks in code.
I did not pass the first coding challenge, and this is exactly how I felt. This was a critical moment for me, I was extremely hard on myself after receiving my results, doubtful thoughts were crowding my mind: "I should have been good enough!", "Am I smart enough for this?", "Maybe my brain isn't wired for this type of stuff.", "Will I have to be held back?". This was one of the few times in my life I genuinely contemplated quitting, and I am pretty stubborn about finishing anything that I start.

Bouncing Back

After allowing myself to let those negative emotions and thoughts pass, I knew that quitting was not an option. The next day I noticed on our Slack channel that a some of my classmates had DM'd me yesterday right after class to check in on me and make sure I was alright. My frustration was probably written all over my face.

The sense of urgency to DM me literally right after class ended that day really uplifted my spirits because it showed me the amazing support system I have around me and most importantly, that I am not alone. Our main instructor also helped to put things in perspective by reminding all of us that, "this is only your second week of coding EVER in your life". For most of us this was true, the majority of my cohort also comes from non-tech backgrounds. Sometimes you just need to take a step back and look at the bigger picture which helped me realize that everything I was experiencing at the time was absolutely normal. Once again, Flatiron warned all of us that this would happen!

Where I'm at

Thanks to the amazing support system that is my cohort, I have made it to phase 3 and am on my way to phase 4. As the program has been progressing, material started sticking faster, I developed a rhythm for completing labs, and making time to study outside of class. Some of my classmates were even asking me for help 😱. Despite the workload gradually increasing and becoming more difficult throughout different points of the program, I have been able to stay afloat, I just needed some time to adapt.

Where I'm headed

A lot has happened since phase 1. So far we have learned Javascript in phase 1, React (a Javascript framework) in phase 2, and Ruby in phase 3. Phase 4 we will be learning Ruby on Rails which is a Ruby framework. Phase 5 we will all be on our own to build our own fullstack application (frontend & backend) applying everything Flatiron has taught us.

Major Takeways

1. Coding is a very difficult skill to learn: don't get too hard on yourself, if you are feeling stressed out by a particular problem, sometimes you just need to walk away from your desk for 5 minutes.
2. Don't fall into the trap of comparing yourself to your classmates: it can also be easy to discourage yourself when the material is coming easier to others than it is for yourself, or you might have a few people in your cohort who have some programming experience or a computer science background which can also be intimidating. EVERYONE has different SPEEDS and STRENGTHS. Just focus on you.
3. Your cohort is your greatest resource: you are not alone in all of this. Everyone else in your cohort is going through similar, if not the same emotions and struggles as you. You are all tackling the same material. DO NOT isolate yourself and be afraid to ask for help in fear of "looking dumb". Take advantage of the opportunity to grow and collaborate with your classmates because you are all in it together anyways.
4. Get comfortable being uncomfortable: you will surprise yourself when you see how quick you start to digest the material.
5. Remember your "Why": anything in life that is worth it is going to be difficult. A coding bootcamp is going to push you if you come from a computer science background or not. There is going to be many challenges thrown at you in many different forms. It's in these moments that remembering your "why" will help you to push through.

Conclusion

My experience so far at Flatiron School has been a lot of ups & downs. There has been a ton of growth! Besides all of the coding knowledge I have learned up to this point, I have also learned a lot more about myself. I have learned more about HOW I learn and what works best for me (self-awareness is a major 🔑) and most importantly, I have learned the importance of community. I have been blown away by my experience with my cohort. The level of comradery that we have developed up to this point has been far beyond what I imagined it would be. Overall, there is so much more to be gained from a coding bootcamp than just the technologies they teach. Hopefully I have helped you get a better idea of whether or not a coding bootcamp is a good option for you or not. Just know that it will be a journey and remember to TRUST THE PROCESS.