Weeks 5 & 6: getting bootcamp-ready

With the decision made to say 'yes' to the bootcamp and a job change into web development, I've been plugging away at the bootcamp prep that's been shared with us.

I've completed the HTML and CSS sections (personally quite interesting as someone who has run WordPress blogs in the past), before going back over the basics of Ruby. I'm realising it's going to take practice to remember the correct use of the syntax.

At the end of the Ruby section were suggestions on further prep, which included practice exercises. I soon realised that it's going to take some time, and patience, to be able to solve these; applying the knowledge and learning new parameters and functions beyond the "basics".

As the bootcamp nears it's starting to feel more "real". I met up with family this weekend, catching up with cousins for the first time in a long time and sharing my new plans with them. Talking about my former "creative business", and now taking a course to re-train and re-enter the job market as a programmer, things seem both more settled and decided, as well as a little more pressure from the "skin in the game".

To be honest, I'm looking forward to getting started on the bootcamp now. It's been a self-learning journey up until this point, and I'm looking forward to being in a classroom environment and learning-by-doing, where I can cut my teeth into the challenges put before us. (The format each day will be a 90-minute lecture, followed by a day of building in pairs).

This last week before the start of the bootcamp will consist of finishing up the prep work, with as much extra practice as I can manage (as I mentioned before, I'm realising that it's the application of coding principles - as well as learning them - that is the key. It feels a little like high school maths all over again).

I'm also looking forward to an 'Open Day' on Thursday for the October cohort members, a casual day where we'll get to meet fellow students, the teachers, and a tour of the local area, with recommendations for lunch, etc. I'm looking forward to that and, I think, Thursday will feel like the official start of this new path I'm walking.