Hey, everyone!
This is the first post of the Grand Circus Bootcamp Series (GCBS)! In between bootcamp series posts, I plan to put together some more technical posts as well to show what I’m learning and how I’m applying new concepts.
I’m about 2.5 weeks out from bootcamp, so I figured this would be a great time to share the things I did (and am doing) to prep before classes begin! This list assumes that you’ve been accepted into your cohort and are already familiar with programming.
Disclaimer: I am not an expert, and I haven’t even started bootcamp yet. I’m just a very passionate student who enjoys planning ahead and being [overly] prepared. These are things I’m doing and am finding helpful to stay/get prepared.
- Do your pre-work assignments if there are any! Prioritize this and get it done as soon as possible. You’ll want extra time to really master the initial concepts and even get ahead.
- Learn how to learn and get comfortable with researching. It is not uncommon to have to research and figure things out on your own in this industry. There is too much information to have everything memorized. Learn to be resourceful!
- Study ahead and learn new topics listed on the class syllabus (after you’ve nailed the basic concepts down).
- Stay sharp with Edabit and Codewars and/or start a personal project.
- List some projects you want to have in your portfolio, so you can start thinking of how to implement things as you learn new material. Eventually, you’ll want more in your portfolio than just the projects you did in bootcamp.
- Begin reading “Soft skills: A Software Developer’s Life Manual” by John Sonmez.
- Begin reading “The Complete Software Developer’s Career Guide” by John Sonmez.
- Get a website up for a blog and portfolio – start getting your name out early! The above books will help guide you through this.
- Start researching and listing out companies you want to apply to.
- Get in touch with alumni from your bootcamp and learn about their experiences.
- Join the developer community on Twitter, Dev.to, & Medium if you haven’t already.
...And more!!! Check out the link below for the rest of the list! For those of you who went to bootcamp, what did you do? Would you do anything differently now that you've started/finished?
Top comments (2)
Thanks so much! Definitely hard work but I'm loving it!