I was working as a Senior Talent Acquisition Partner for a large tech company when I got fired in March. I had been with the company prior to their opening of their Denver location. I was one of the first hires and helped build out their Denver team from scratch. I was the last one left of the opening 3 Denver hires and had just been recognized by the Mile High SHRM for my recruitment style and work. I was devastated when I got the news and from there I went into introspective analysis. I talked to my friend America, who had coached me in the past and we got past the feelings of "what did I do", "what could I have done differently", and the feeling of embarassment from losing my job. We analyzed job opportunities that played to my strengths of problem solving, analytics, and producing results. We landed on software engineering but there are many different paths. We looked at Data Analytics, Cybersecurity, and Software Engineering. I interviewed a few people in the industry and decided that Software Engineering was the path for me. I had always been interested in coding and had taken a few courses in college but never had the time or opportunity to pursue it. I was ready to dive in and learn as much as I could.
I looked at many bootcamps for software engineering and decided on General Assembly. They have been in the bootcamp game for quite some time, good track record of past performance. They have 40,000 alumni and offer a curriculum that involved the tech stack I was interested in. Their curriculum is 12 weeks long and is a full-time immersive camp that is 9-5 Monday through Friday. I liked the tech stack they offered and the fact that they had a career services team that would help me find a job after the bootcamp. I also liked that they had over 10 years of bootcamp experience and were leaders in the space. I was ready to dive in and learn as much as I could.
After doing the prerequisite work, I was ready to start the bootcamp. I was nervous and excited. I had never done anything like this before and was ready to dive in. The first week was a lot of information and I was overwhelmed. I had never coded before and was learning a new language. I was learning HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. I was learning how to use the terminal, git, and GitHub. I was learning how to use VS Code and how to build a website.
Over a meticulously organized and immersive learning period, I embarked on a journey to master coding. My curriculum spanned the fundamentals of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to complex backend technologies such as Node.js and PostgreSQL. My code editor of choice was VS Code and I leveraged utilities like the terminal, Git, and GitHub to manage and track my progress. The practical approach of learning extended to creating interfaces with HTML Canvas and interacting with APIs.
Each week was broken into 2 weeks of intensive learning followed by a 1-week project sprint, allowing me to apply newly acquired knowledge in real-world scenarios. The lessons were structured around daily standups and weekly retrospectives. These were designed to enhance my understanding and promote continuous learning, supplemented by daily deliverables.
I became proficient in debugging and collaborative coding through pair programming and group activities. Solo projects and group assignments tested my problem-solving skills, while code challenges pushed my cognitive limits.
To manage these projects, I dived into project management tools like Trello and familiarized myself with communication platforms such as Slack and Zoom. To keep my schedule in check, Google Calendar became my daily companion.
My understanding of different databases deepened with exposure to MongoDB and its ODM, Mongoose. Frameworks such as Express and Django became my go-to for server-side programming, while I learned to beautify the user interface with Bootstrap and Tailwind CSS.
I also explored modern tech like React for user first programming and Next.js for server-side rendering, and became skilled at deployment with Heroku, Netlify, and MongoDB Atlas. All these skills were meticulously documented in READMEs, wireframes, ERDs, and user stories, further enhancing my learning process.
In my journey, I also encountered Python and the Django framework, which further diversified my coding skillset. This process of learning was indeed a roller coaster, but the systematic approach and continuous application of learned concepts made it an enriching experience.
I am now trying to deepend my knowledge of Python and Javascript. I am also trying to learn Typescript while also practicing Data Structures and Algorithms. I am still working on weekly sprints and hope to have many new pieces to add to my portfolio while deeping my knowledge.