Week 3: bootcamp & dev chats

So I’m writing this update just 5 days after the last one, as I want to get into the habit of writing these entries at the end of the week (rather than the start of a new one).

It’s the same week that I visited the campus for the web development bootcamp I’m considering; as such, making a decision on that has been the biggest thing occupying my mind and I’ve been dealing with some life stuff too. I made the trip across to East London and asked the person who showed me around (admissions) lots of questions to try to understand what I’m getting myself into and maximise the experience and prospects of securing a job afterwards. I also used LinkedIn to find a handful of previous alumni who had secured a developer job fairly soon after completing their cohort.

So I haven’t done much learning this week, but I’ve been reading and reflecting and had two chats with developers which were both really useful.

The first is an alumnus of the bootcamp I’m considering; he responded to my email in minutes, saying that he did exactly the same (outreach to previous alumni) when he was considering joining the bootcamp. What was meant to be a 15-minute call lasted about 45, and I got an honest insight into the realities of the bootcamp (pros and cons), and landing a job afterwards (jobs, salaries, etc). Nuggets included the bootcamp teaching you not code, but how to code; also, at the time ReactJS framework was missing from he curriculum, so he suggested learning React after the bootcamp ended.

Then this weekend I spoke to a friend I met through the Indiehackers forum and got to spend some time together when we were nomading and both stayed in Madeira, Portugal. He’s been a developer for around 5 years, and again was helpful and honest with things to think about (“What are your expectations?”), and how the job market has changed in the last couple of years. He offered to help out, or look over things I was building, partner up, etc. I’ve connected with both of these great guys over Github to give me some motivation and accountability to start building things. I’d love to be in a spot where I can work with someone on a side-project of some kind. He also spoke to me about ChatGPT, saying he uses it alongside his job and that it’s great for explaining coding errors so you understand your mistakes.

I’m looking forward to learning how to code and just having the foundations to be able to get going and pick new things up as I need them.

I ended the week by signing the enrolment form for the bootcamp. I’m a little apprehensive but mostly excited to get learning and building.