Week 2: Switching to Ruby & visiting campus

It’s been slightly over a week since my last post. My second week of coding has been slightly more rewarding than the first.

I’ve realised it’s more effective (and enjoyable) to work on problems to apply the knowledge, rather than just read or watch a bunch of theory and persuade yourself that you’re learning.

I was initially planning to continue with Python via CS50P (Harvard) and MOOC (Helsinki); but then I had an interview with the coding bootcamp I mentioned last week, and after being invited to take a follow-up quiz, I was offered a spot on a full-time bootcamp starting in October, that would last 9 weeks. I’m going to decide in the coming days whether I wish to accept it or not.

This particular bootcamp teaches Ruby, so I decided to make the switch from Python and I’ve been chipping away at Ruby each day. I’ve started taking Codecademy’s Ruby course; it was one that’s been recommended and has a focus on doing exercises to embed the learning as you go. I later discovered, through a blog post written by a previous cohort member of said bootcamp, that Codecademy’s courses in Ruby, Javascript, CSS & HTML form the basis of the mandatory ‘pre-programme courses’ students have to take. So there’s a bonus.

I downloaded a couple of recommended general & Ruby programming books on Kindle, and dipped into those.

I also started a written notebook; partly to embed the learning (I used to revise for exams by taking notes), and also to be off my computer screen; on Sunday I made the decision that I wanted that to be a non-laptop day, so I gave my brain and eyes a rest. I’ve been using the Pomodoro Technique to keep me focused; honestly, going back to studying and needing to focus has been an adjustment.

I continue to be aware of the learning curve that comes with web development, and the ongoing learning journey; a developer I know who I reached out to for advice, texted back something along the lines of: “You’re always learning. I’ve been a developer for well over ten years and I still don’t feel like I know very much 😂”. Yikes.

Today I visited the bootcamp campus with a short tour and then a coffee where I had the chance to ask a few questions. It’s been a while since I’ve taken a train ride into town, and even longer since I’ve ventured into East London. It was cool to see the space, which has a whole floor for the web development cohorts (or both of them, as their October cohort - the last of the year - is their busiest, I was told). My tour was happening during the final week of the current cohort, so I saw everyone on the bottom floor beavering away in their clusters.

The Admissions person who gave me the tour only had a half hour in total before a call, so it was short and sweet but helpful. Over coffee we shared our respective backgrounds (both happened to be introverts from a sales background; in fact, we also shared a personality-type which is a first; I’ve never met another guy, in person or otherwise, who’s an INFP. So that was surprising (a good omen?) and pretty neat.

Walking from the train station to the campus I noticed a well-kept green space (part of a museum open to the public) with benches around it, and sat there for a while. I grabbed some lunch (a meal deal from the local supermarket) and sat there for a while longer. I noticed someone I’d seen on the tour in there, and soon there were three or four groups sat around having lunch together. I’m assuming all from the web dev cohort. It was a varied bunch who, I’m sure, had gotten to know one another pretty well over the last few weeks together, and were enjoying some fresh air away from their screens.

PS. From next time, I’m going to try to upload these weekly posts on a Friday, as opposed to the start of the week.