Zach Alewel's Software Chronicle

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Applying for Programming Bootcamp



Author: Zach Alewel



For whatever reason, life brought me here, at a crossroads where the paths lead in infinitely opposite directions. It is here, at this infinite crossroads, where I found myself looking into boot camps for computer programming. This revised my way of thinking, it led me down several potential paths, but none excited me like computer programming. A way for me to express myself, challenge myself while also building something!


"Never give up on something you can't go a day without thinking about."



Applying to boot camps varies depending on the school, for the most part they require all the same basic information you would supply an employer in an application. Other than the standard information, the most common things I was asked was, "Tell us about your previous work experience." "Describe a time where you had to solve a technical problem, what was your approach?" "Why programming, why now?" So really think on those and stun them with your awesomeness!


After the submission they will generally reach out to you via email first to set up a time for a phone interview, don't be afraid of this interview they will talk 80% of the time. Keep in mind they aren't looking for programmers, they are looking to turn you into a junior level programmer! So don't be afraid of not knowing the answer, humility is a good quality to have a developer, they will like that you can admit you don't know. During the phone interview they will usually give you a pitch of their school and how it rocks (it very well could like mine) and they will ask you a few questions. Like your experience level they will feel out your interest for the program and dedication to making a big life change, as most bootcamps involve a lifestyle change. Some other questions I've had are generic interview questions such as "tell me a little more about yourself."


Some of the schools will require only one more step after this an in person interview, this is when you need to have questions prepared about the program, education style, environment, support, meetups... point is ask a lot of questions at this meeting, show them your interest has peaked. They will show you around the facility, and maybe there are students there working or perhaps a teacher there. Don't be afraid to meet them, talk to them about what to expect and how you should be preparing. ​


Other schools will have a few steps before the in person interview, I have seen a basic test to see if you can use the computer, to as complicated as writing piece of code that has a specific output. These are generally designed to be easy but to make sure that you can find information out on your own without the need of much hand holding. They aren't looking for the best code or the coolest function, they are looking for your ability to solve problems because as a developer your job is to be a problem solver.


After you have completed all these steps and jumped through all these hurdles the chances from a statistical standpoint are not very good, as most schools acceptance rating is less than 1/3 of applicants and some as low as 8%. The moral here is plant many seeds padawan, apply everywhere local and anyplace you wouldn't mind moving. Finally good luck on your path_to_enlightenment!



the exhaustive list of bootcamps


BootCamps
in the us

The Hardware



Author: Zach Alewel



Most programming bootcamps require you to program on a Mac, in this day and age that means you are buying a Mac Book (Pro).


The software I have been required to download include, a few text editors. Sublime, Rubymine (I use everyday) Xcode dev tools. These text editors can be tried for free but do require a subscription or purchase. They can seem expensive but consider it as a tool to do your job more effectively, something you will use everyday. Then there is picking terminal of choice, I like iTerm2 because its ease and control over settings.


Lastly, it should be noted that you can buy a Mac with storage as small as 128Gb, this will be cutting it close for bootcamp. The videos alone I got in bootcamp are about 100gb alone, that being said. I did take quite a few more screen recordings than the class called for.



Here are some resources


MACs!!!
Rubymine
Iterm2
xcode
Slack

First Impressions of Bootcamp



Author: Zach Alewel



My first impressions of programming bootcamp were that of worry, I spoke with some of the class members during my interview, some students with only two weeks to go claimed the lightbulb still had not gone off. This was worrying, was it just the students, was it the program, was it the idea of bootcamps all together? I decided the best action was reaction, and started really hitting the code hard. Trying to prepare in anyway I could to gain a slight edge over myself, I know that sounds odd but you have to be smart enough to beat yourself. The staff was very helpful and the group was very accepting and helpful. The one thing I love about this trade, programmers encourage others to learn programming. Some of the other trades I have learned (motorcycle mechanic, electrician) seemed as if they wanted to keep the group small, but we are here to talk about bootcamp... The atmosphere is really really cool, it's a think lab, it's collaboration it's creativity manifesting in such a constructive way.


"Be curious, not judgemental."



Please keep in mind this was MY experience, this is not uncommon however. There is a lot of positivity in the Ruby community, sometimes I feel it's equal to no other. The instructor was very pleasant, as I found his passion truly is, mentoring junior developers.



Here is a few classes to try


Try ruby!
command line
more ruby

Koans is a wonderful way to learn about Ruby while also getting a lot of exposure to syntax.



Great entry level



Koans trys to teach you along the way. So here we have have an example of a string that uses "Hello, World" double quotes and another that uses 'Goodbye, World' single quotes. By asserting the value as true you learn that both quotes make strings.


More on Strings

About Arrays



Here in this Koans example of Arrays, they are showing you that an array is number or a list of numbers. To be exact, Arrays are ordered, interger-indexed collections of any object.


More on Arrays

Ruby Rules



Here in this example it shows you something interesting about arrays, in Ruby you don't count out 1, 2 ,3 ,4 etc... you start at 0 and count from there. So here you define the variable as array= [:peanut, :butter, :and, :jelly] then when you later call array [3] notice how you would expect "and" but you get "jelly" this is because you are starting from 0



Split Strings



I though this was interesting, and I'm still not sure how it actually does it but here it goes. So in this example we define the string as string = "Sausage Egg Cheese" then we call the method .split and it equals ["Sausage", "Egg", "Cheese"] simple but I thought it was cool.



Oh no! my string is split



In this example strings can be merged when we call the method .join how easy is that right? What a time to be alive!



Consider this...



This is very interesting, well it's ruby so of course it's interesting. a= "a string" b="a string" they are both defined the same. they both = "a string" but when we compare a.object_id to b.object_id we find they are not the same id. Strings are unique objects



Iterm2 the must have list



With typing any text you should be able to do the following:

1) The cursor should be able to allow input wherever you click

2) You should be able to delete entire words or chunks of code at a time

3) You should be able to move from word to word not character by character



1) The Cursor



I like being able to use the cursor to select where I want to input text.
Follow the video below, if you still have issues try doing this process in all iTerm2 profiles.


2) Command backspace



Follow the video below to learn how to set up your iTerm2 profile to delete entire words using command backspce.


3) Jumping left and right




Follow the video below to learn how to use alt left and right to move around words and code blocks.