The next 6 months..
Starting Feb. 7th, I will be attending a coding bootcamp for Mobile Application Development. The bootcamps name is Epicodus and it will be held in downtown Portland. Epicodus is known for implementing a growing style of programming, called peer-programming.
Peer-programming, is when two programmers work together, to increase efficiency and reduce errors. The best part about going to a peer-programming bootcamp, is having to constantly communicate with other campers, and having to adapt to my partners skill level.
Every day, I will be partnered off with another camper, and that implies at some point I will be partnered with someone more knowledgeable and less knowledgable then myself. I like this idea for a couple of reasons..
- Explaining code to someone else will be a valuable skill later on..
- If I get stuck at some point, my partner may be able to bail me out, explain why something is done, and hopefully fill that gap in my understanding.
Now, at the time of writing this post, I’m a couple days from starting my Epicodus journey. However, there has been obstacles. The most prominent one, and the one that never seems to stop is money. The reason why I hit this obstacle so hard and without time to swerve was due to a lack of knowledge.
I’ve never had to be so diligent about my finances, and how I spend my time. Because I’ve never done anything like this before, and no one I know personally has. People talk about mapping their own course, well I’m really trying to do just that. A few days ago, I gave this entire commitment (time/money) a lot of thought. The conclusion I came to is simple. I want more from my life, and I’m tired of waiting for it to happen.
My advice, for attacking the money obstacle..
- Be very thorough in how you calculate your upcoming expenses.
- Always add room for unexpected costs.
- Don’t assume anything until the money is actually in your hand.
I thought I had been thorough, then my financial aid ended up being 1/3rd of what I got the semester before. That was tough. When I tried to adjust to the amount I was getting, it no longer worked. However, the next day brought a lot of positive encouragement.
When I woke up, I still felt pretty depressed. I mean someone could say, well you don’t need a bootcamp to be a software developer. That’s absolutely true, but I wanted to commit myself. Not hope that later on, I would find my way to the goal line. Well, my phone rings. It’s my old boss, she tells me that they are moving forward with rehiring me and the paper work is being finalized.
Armed with that new information, I started readjusting my finances, and although I didn’t have the next 6 months worked out. I was able to lock up the money for the first quarter of the bootcamp, and put a pretty big dent in the rest of it. Good, mission accomplished.
I’m telling this part of the story, because I got thrown a curve ball, and you will probably will too. A six month, 40 hour a week, bootcamp is going to challenge you. Adapting to those challenges, then overcoming them are powerful skills to develop. Lastly, I’ll leave you with some wise words..
“Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth” – Mike Tyson