Robert, what were you doing before deciding to join a bootcamp?
I had recently retired the year before from a career as a Financial Controller with the US Agency for International Development (USAID) where I lived and worked around the world.
What was the main reason for you to start learning coding?
I had always coded, just basic things needed for myself or work, all self taught and based on the tools available on my work network, which seemed to shrink each year with the implementation of more and more IT security controls. I had always wanted to delve deeper into the topics and pull the seemingly daunting list of software and libraries involved in programming together in a manner that made sense. This program gave me the opportunity to do that.
Did you have any doubts before starting the program?
No, not really. I came from a work environment filled with daily uncertainty each day, so most things don't surprise me.
How was your experience during the bootcamp?
I had an excellent experience, George and Martin did an exceptional job in taking me through the bootcamp. I was more an untraditional student, not due to age, but due to what I wanted to accomplish. I wasn't looking to become a full-time developer, but to pull my understanding of everything together so that I fully understood the tools and methods. I wanted to be able to potentially hire a team to develop some applications for me and need to understand all the various aspects of programming. This course went a long way in doing that, enabling me to code, read code, ask questions and understand the differences in frameworks, libraries etc.. It was an excellent foundation upon which to build upon as I learned more and more about the architecture of designing and programming large complex applications, deploying them and monitoring them after taking the course. I wasn't looking to build a beginners portfolio to showcase for a potential job, I was looking to gain the knowledge to develop a prototype application with a team for a possible startup.
What challenges did you face during the course?
I don't think there were any specific challenges except the ordinary ones.
How do you plan to apply the new skills?
As previously stated, I'm working on developing an application for a startup idea I have.
What would you do differently while learning if you could?
I'm not entirely sure, it was an excellent experience. I wish I understood the DOM more prior to the course. The frameworks, especially React, move you a step away from managing the DOM, which of course is the entire point of React. But I think a more grounded understanding of the DOM and manipulating the DOM with pure JS would have benefited me before starting the course. I've since gone to a straight JS and limited library model to force myself to do better at understanding the nuts and bolts of the DOM.
Have you learned everything you expected?
Yes, definately and much, much more.
How would you evaluate your learning outcomes after the course? Does it feel like you achieved what you expected to?
I more than achieved what I expected. This was an excellent course which I would definately (and have) recommend for other to attend.
Did you enjoy the bootcamp? What was the most surprising thing in this experience?
The level of detail and attention provided to my learning was what struck me the most. It was clear that George and Martin were determined to make me learn the material successfully , they left no other option.
What are your job duties? What are you responsible for?
Owner, Team Lead.
Did you have to learn some new tools at the job?
To be successful, yes, I had to learn how to utilize cloudflare effectively, render.com and SSL/TTL encryption etc.. on top of the JWT I learned in the course.
Any advice for future students?
After the course, challenge yourself, while you might land a job and start working, have a personal project with a huge goal that stretches you and forces you to learn more and more concepts. Fail at it, retry and fail again. It is the only way to learn quickly and most importantly to learn and remember the mistakes and how you rectified them.
Any recommendations on how we can improve the bootcamp experience?
There is so much crammed into the 9 week course, it's hard to say how it could be improved in that time. As I mentioned before, ensuring a better understanding of the DOM and manipulating the DOM before entering REACT would really help in understanding exactly what REACT is doing for you.
You can connect with Robert and check his articles on tech via Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rw-clark/