Life after a web dev bootcamp (part 2 of 2)

While interning I was able to build two sites from the ground up. I taught myself how to overcome obstacles and how to work on my own.  Then I realized that what I had learned at the web dev boot camp was way too much and its impossible to learn10 languages and be proficient in 3 in a matter of 3 months; basically you are just introduced to how the language works.  I think that is why most employers don't see that as a real life experience.  Employers like that you made that decision, and you went through the rough time at the web dev bootcamp, but I think that is not enough in a competitive tech field. 

Being in a competitive tech world I think one of the advantages I have is my arts degree; and having some understanding of web development. I realized that most people don't have or haven't experienced their creative side. That is where I come in. My ability to see colors and color combinations and layout is one  of my strengths.  This is where I began to be more self confident. 

I am getting a variety of experiences from interning in the tech field. But I think I still have a long way to go. The question I ask myself over and over again  "is it better to get a real degree or attend a bootcamp? I guess it all depends of your curriculum, your knowledge, your age, and how much coding experience you have prior to the bootcamp. If you have some background from high school and college; of course you will succeed and get a job right a way. But if you are  a slow learner,  I think the chances are much much less to get a real job. You will succeed but perhaps it might take longer than expected... I think that all depends how much effort you put in to it and how much discipline you have. 

Now the question is how long do I wait? Until I run out of funds? Will the next bubble will keep me from reaching a dream job?  Not sure, I guess only time will tell. And for me, I will have to find a way to combine both, tech and arts.  I guess the only thing I can do to find that job is to continue learning and teaching myself and looking for places or people who can help me answer a question or can guide me to the right place. Perhaps my answer is to create my own team and my own business (job).

Life after a web dev bootcamp (part 1 of 2)

It has been about 10 months since I finished a web dev boot camp with Coding Dojo in Mountain View, CA. It was awesome and quite a 3 month experience.  Life after the boot camp has become quite interesting. 

The interesting part of it was I thought I knew all about coding but in reality, I knew only a part of it. 3 months is just enough to be introduced to coding and for the student to pick up what they think it fits best for their life and of course if they have some back ground in coding, coding will be easy.  For people like me that don't have experience it can be challenging and is still challenging for me.

 The challenge reveled itself when I began looking for a job. 100% of the time minimum requirements for a Jr web dev is 2 years of experience. I always thought that what I built while at the bootcamp was going to be good and enough since there were so many projects (you are told at the boot camp that you can use your school work as part of your portfolio but in my case was not enough and most prospective employers want real life experience "coding") I began to feel a little disappointed and frustrated, wondering if I did the right thing going to a bootcamp. Doubts began to cross my mind and my financial situation became difficult, I was broke. I think there are so many different points of view and the tech field is always changing. So I needed a new strategy and to forget what people had said while at the boot camp and make my own choices and my own research. 

While conducting my research I found that what I need it was a real coding experience - I mean in a real life situation. Not just from a classroom standpoint.  So I decided to start as a freelance  helping some of my friends who needed updates on their sites. That it seemed to help somewhat. It gave me a bit more experience talking to clients and prospective employers. That did not last long since I still needed it more experience deeper that just updating websites. So an internship crossed my mind. I remember when I worked at the Arts department at Cal State San Marcos and I used a lot of students to help with the department. That always works. 

So I started looking for internships. Found a couple of them.  Interning, I think, was the best decision I made after graduating from the bootcamp. Interning with Socos and Committing helped me to get my confidence and feel more secure of the decision made to go to a dev web boot camp. 

To be continue...