Overall Dev Bootcamp Experience

I wrote about Dev Bootcamp before it started.  I also wrote a lot about different random days of activities.

There was a focus on coding and not lectures but there were times I wish we had a little bit more lecture. We were fumbling around all day trying to figure things out on our own when we would have been able to do them in an hour with a lecture timed earlier or given at all.

I was concerned about the long commute and how much sleep I would need beforehand. I did notice that sometimes I felt behind or wasn't getting through everything everyone else was.  Fellow students were putting in 4 or more hours a day more than I was able to put in. Four hours here or there doesn't seem like much but when you add it up and compare it to the amount of time I was able to work, it was a huge chunk of time.  I would not recommend such a long commute to anyone else doing Dev Bootcamp (or a similar program like App Academy, Hackbright Academy, Hack Reactor, etc.)

They tell you not to commit to anything else during the time.  During my long commutes, I did other things. I worked on my baby registry. I read facebook. I emailed with some friends.  I didn't do as much of that as I normally would have but I was able to do some other things.  I only hung out with friends a few times though. I was also very tired a lot.

I really enjoyed coding. I loved learning so much. I would go for another 9 weeks to learn 9 more weeks of new material.  I haven't actually gotten to see how quickly I can get a job now. I have barely been applying since I've had so many other things backlogged on.

I believe I'm the first pregnant woman to go through Dev Bootcamp but I'm not sure if anyone pregnant has tried to do a similar program. I tried to do some quick googling and didn't find anything. There were days that I felt like all I talked about was being pregnant so then I'd try not to mention it so much.  I felt like I complained a decent amount about being tired and my long commute but at the end of DBC most people commented to me that they were shocked at how little I complained.  Maybe I saved the majority of whining for facebook or something.

In addition to the standard 9 weeks, I did phase 4.  I went in twice a week and stayed most of the day. I felt like students in Phases 1-3 barely asked questions compared to what we used to do. I'm not sure if they are just super awesome or just have a threshold that is different for asking questions.  Some days I helped a few people and other days I'd even walk around and not answer a single question.  Helping gave me a little more confidence. Only once I was unable to help right away but I got someone else to help and they were also unable to help right away too so I don't feel so bad. It was interesting to help students in Phase 1 because that felt like an eternity ago and I enjoyed refreshing my own memory.

Throughout the my time at DBC, I always wanted to put some code I learned into my blog but never seemed to have enough time for that and everything else. Then I would learn something new and the previous thing I wanted to include seemed like old news. Now I'm wishing I would have included more. Also blogging about the technical aspects of what you learn does help you retain it more.

I've probably focused a lot of my posts on things we were learning or what we were doing. But a huge perk of the program was all the great people. I cannot believe how close you become with everyone. They are all willing to help you out. They ask how you are doing and genuinely care.  It's a weird experience to go from not knowing anyone to 3 months later not being with them daily and really missing everyone.  I wish I wasn't so far away or I would be like some students that were ahead of me a phase who would still stop by.

If you have any questions about the experience don't hesitate to ask.