Bootcamp Advice for My Former Self
Reflecting on 15 weeks of camaraderie and code
About a month ago, I completed Flatiron School’s immersive software engineering bootcamp. Since COVID restrictions were still in place, all of it took place remotely over Zoom. I did my best to prepare myself for what I was getting into, the shock of returning to a school environment after over a dozen years, and also living a while without income. But there were bound to be things I didn’t know to prepare for, and if you’re anything like me, I hope this post will serve you well!
How do you know you’re anything like me? Here’s some of my background to see it resonates:
- mid-30s career-changer (most recently an overworked nonprofit professional)
- engineering background in undergrad (chemical)
- grew up with a toxic pressure to excel in school
- managed to start and finish prework early over a longish period (scholarship determination was partly based on prework completion at time of review and so I powered through the beginning quickly, and also delayed my start date to give my organization ample time to find a replacement)
Basically, I’m a person who’s been in a stressful working environment for some time, with time management skills (or some coping mechanisms for the lack thereof 😅), who may have been relatively overprepared during the pre-work phase (and I am so so so grateful for that). I take that back: there is no way to be overprepared for bootcamp.
You’ve probably heard tips like “do the prework” or “minimize distractions” or “get on a good sleep schedule”. But those felt pretty obvious to me. Here are a few more things I wish I had fully considered and internalized.
15 weeks is neither a marathon nor a sprint; pace accordingly
Part of my choice to leave my job and finally attend bootcamp once the opportunity became real (accepted & funded), was that I have done much worse and less with 4 months of my life — stayed too long in a job going nowhere, dated people I possibly didn’t even like in the first place, and generally not achieving my goals. 15 weeks was nothing!
So I called it my Diana-issance, made a plan to set myself up for success and reinvent myself.
My first month at bootcamp was a relative breeze. The work was copious and hard, but I was riding high from leaving my job and feeling “on vacation”. I finished all of the labs. I slept on a schedule. I didn’t buy any takeout or delivery and meal prepped on the weekends. I worked out almost every day during lunch. I unplugged and meditated or journaled each night. I was a new person!
But then came the mid-bootcamp-life-crisis. My old terrible sleep schedule returned (hello 3am) and I spent my lunch breaks watching Netflix and eating donuts. Some natural ebb and flow in my mental health, as well as unforeseen events, led to some rough spots. I was burnt out for a while. And once I stopped being perfect, I fell apart and felt like I came to a stop. I think I aimed for too much general self-improvement, and doing that and actually doing the bootcamp work proved unviable.
Advice: Budget and order that delivery. Let go of fitness goals for a little while. Forgive yourself if you fall behind. Find a sustainable groove. Bootcamp is perhaps not the right time to become your best self, and that’s okay!
Grades mean nothing, and are besides the point
Though there were technically code challenges and final projects to pass, grades didn’t exactly matter beyond that. Unlike traditional school experiences (especially those where not all of the students really wanted to be there), what matters isn’t the transcript, but actually learning the material. Are completing the labs and/or getting the deliverables to work probably a good way to make sure you know the material? Yeah. Is it still satisfying to rock a code challenge and get a perfect score? Sure. But in reality, you learn more from making mistakes and getting feedback from instructors.
My first actual coding feedback came over a full month after beginning the program (a comment about considering an edge case in a function I wrote), and it was a breath of fresh air. It turns out that human factor was what I had been missing. I was focused on my preconceptions about school — getting perfect grades and doing my homework. But with coding, there are so many ways of solving a problem, and scoring well on a test really doesn’t help you learn much. Learning from your coding shortcomings is where you really grow.
Advice: Don’t confuse the means with the ends. Throw out the concept of grades. Demand some attention from instructors if you want it so you can really maximize the 15 weeks. If anything, failing at least occasionally is the goal, so you can learn from the process.
Working with a project partner is difficult. Full stop.
Pair programming and working with others can be valuable, fulfulling, motivating, and even a ton of fun! But despite all of the benefits, it will inevitably take more work in a bunch of ways than working on your own. That’s okay!
I knew I was out of practice doing group work coming into this bootcamp and the stress surrounding it was pretty high in mind. I have a lot of social anxiety as a baseline and navigating interpersonal dynamics AND a large project was not something I was looking forward to. Whenever I ran into a conflict, no matter how minor, I kept seeing it as a failure in myself if I didn’t get along with my project partner perfectly, especially if they were known to be an easy-going and nice person. (Spoiler, I actually think I would say that *everyone* in my cohort fits that description.)
But there is no shame in admitting that going from working independently for two weeks straight only to have to be tethered to someone else with a different eating/sleeping/coding/everything routine is going to take a little work. Overcoming the unavoidable conflicts is just a skill that needs to be practiced.
Advice: Accept that you can’t be best friends with your project partner AND pair seamlessly every minute of every day. Take breaks and set boundaries. Perhaps even above the final product, focus on what you can learn from one another and make sure you both have a fulfilling experience, whatever that means for you.
Live remote learning just might be the best environment ever (for me)
If I were faced with the split second decision between in-person immersive learning, and self-paced online learning, I would choose the latter. Not a difficult choice. Commuting and having to be around people are not my favorite things!
But with more thought, I know the immersive program would keep me more structured and motivated, offer an immediate network upon graduation, and I’d finish faster.
Also the scholarships I found were only applicable to the in-person programs.
So, thanks COVID, for this wonderful in-between opportunity!
All of the community and cameraderie, but none of the running-late rush hour Lyfts to class and fear of breaktime chitchat. I already knew I liked working remotely from my previous jobs — easy bathroom and snack access, occasional cat in my lap, no need for headphones, and the list goes on. But beyond those perks, I didn’t realize until too late that I could really bend the school experience to my will.
I could lean into my more fidgety tendencies, and meal prep or do stretches during lecture so I could focus better. I could sing aloud which helps me work out problems sometimes. Short naps for the greater good were also possible. I only figured this out halfway through bootcamp, but it made all the difference.
Advice: If this is your first time in whatever learning environment you’re going to be in, especially if it’s after a long break, leave your expectations behind! Don’t think of it as gaming the system (at least in a bad way) but rather best tailoring your experience.
Seriously, learn to forgive yourself
This one isn’t new to me (and I think I even mentioned it earlier) but it’s something a lot of us can use constant reminders of in all areas of life. I was mostly prepared to forgive myself for taking breaks from coding, or not finishing my homework, but here is a sampling of what I actually had to “forgive” myself for (quotes because forgiveness might not have been necessary):
- not checking Slack in time to help someone with a bug
- not having the energy (after a full day) to do more independent study
- not exercising for a few days
- not eating more plant-based foods
- not making people laugh every time I talk to them
- talking too much about my feelings
- not talking enough about my feelings
- having any feelings that affected me in any way whatsoever
Advice: Have your friends check in (seriously, give them a schedule) and have them reassure you that you’re doing great. And also that you’re human. Because you’ll listen when other people say this.
I can go on for a few more pages about how I felt about bootcamp (I didn’t even get into the cohort love!) and what I learned outside of coding week-by-week, but I’ve indulged enough for now. Feel free to let me know if you have any questions or want to talk further!
