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Preparing for your coding bootcamp experience
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prep_for_bootcamp.md

Preparing for your coding bootcamp experience

Because I thought I wasn't going to get into Ada Developers Academy, I did a few informational interviews with graduates of more traditional 8-12-week coding bootcamps (eg, General Assembly, Hackbright). I was hoping to go to my #1 bootcamp choice after I got my rejection letter from Ada, but I was overwhelmingly surprised to be accepted instead. The people I interviewed mostly had the same few things to say about preparing and living through these programs.

  • Time management:

    • Don't stay up late.
      • Wished they hadn't stayed up late as much.
      • Wished they'd set firmer boundaries with friends.
    • Set time boundaries with friends BEFORE the program swallows your life.
      • There might not be any time to socialize some weeks.
      • In one case, it sounded like it had almost ended a student's relationship because her partner felt she wasn't invested after so many nos and cancelations. :( Don't wait until halfway through the program when it's already sort of too late.

  • Geography:

    • Live as close to the school as possible.
      • Wished they hadn't picked a cheaper place that was an extra 20 minutes away.
      • Or wished they'd picked a place with easier transit connections & better working on the bus conditions.
    • Look for a job in the same area (city or cluster of cities) as the school.
      • Wished they had gone to a school where they intended to find work.
      • The networks the schools plug into are very local (research: economic clustering & see also: networking below).

  • Familiarity with programming:

    • Finish the prep work.
      • Wished they had finished it.
        (Note: some bootcamps may not admit you if you haven't finished the prep work.)
      • Wished they had experimented with it more to better understand the underlying concepts.
    • Have at least a passing familiarity with the idea of algorithms beforehand.
      • Wished they had taken an online course, something like algorithms 101.

  • Work with your brain by fueling it:

    • Wished they'd made healthier food choices / ate fewer sugary snacks on class days.
    • Wished they'd taken more opportunities to exercise.
      (Note: some bootcamps have this built into their curriculum already!)
      • Felt that walking & biking to school was extremely valuable for brainpower.
      • And getting up to move around during breaks.

  • Network during the program:

    • Go to as many conferences and meetups as possible / as you are comfortable with.
      • Be as visible as possible by speaking up, asking questions, introducing yourself, etc.
      • Have a short spiel / elevator pitch about who you are & what you're looking for.
        • Wished they'd practiced this more with both friends & near strangers.
      • Tell your friends what kind of job you are looking for.
      • Conferences: ask about scholarships, even if none are listed.
      • Conferences: ask about giving a talk aimed at other beginners!

  • On bootcamps with women only:

    • Felt much more supportive & cooperative than previous learning experiences with mixed gender or mostly male environments.

--[@DrVonnJerryXLII][dt], Stardate 2015/4/15 [dt]: https://twitter.com/drvonnjerryxlii/ "Tweeeeeeeeeet!"

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