In this special guest blog post, Charles Li shares his experience changing careers with Juno College's Coding Bootcamp in Toronto, what he's learned, and advice for those doing the same!
A lot of friends and family questioned my decision to pay $10K+ to attend a Web Development Bootcamp.
"Why pay for a Bootcamp when you can learn programming for free on Twitch?"
"Why not just have your web dev partner teach you and watch YouTube tutorials in your free time?"
Now that I'm 3 weeks removed from Bootcamp and had some time to reflect, I can honestly say that I would not have done it any other way. There were lessons learned along the way and opportunities for personal growth that only comes from learning live with instructors and classmates.
Here's a list of things that I'm continuing to work on as I start to make my way in web development:
1. Use your classmates as motivation, but keep the competition limited between you and who you were yesterday.
During Bootcamp I saw my classmates do some really incredible things. Portfolios that pulsed with a style that I couldn't hope to imitate, ingenious solutions to coding challenges that boggled my mind. I'm consistently left in awe of the work that my classmates produce but I never forget to remind myself that comparison is the thief of joy. It's a waste of time, emotional energy, and blinds you to personal growth. My sense of progress comes from comparing who I am today to the person I was yesterday. I mean... it's pretty hard to know less than what you knew yesterday, right?
2. Make yourself available and find opportunities to be vulnerable — understanding that once you do so, not everyone will buy in.
Classmates were one of my biggest resources in Bootcamp. I learned so much from our interactions and they continue to be a meaningful part of my coding journey. One thing I have to remember is that, once you show people who you are, not everyone will buy into your shtick... and that's okay! "If everybody likes you, nobody really likes you."
3. Don't wait too long after a project before diving into self-reflection.
When you're in the thick of it, there will be some intense coding challenges that you'll somehow push yourself through. You'll make the mistake of thinking that you won't forget those hard fought lessons, but our memories are usually worse than we think. Take time to record your thoughts and experiences as soon as you are able to. These will become the backbone of your answers to interview questions and I've consistently referred back to these experiences in my job application process.
4. Remember why you chose to make a career change.
I decided to leave my previous profession because the conditions I was working under negatively impacted my mental health and personal life. There were definitely days during Bootcamp where too much time was spent in front of my monitor. If I decide to keep burning the candle at both ends, maybe the career was never really the problem. Making time for the people and activities that I enjoy needs to be a priority for me moving forward.
Congrats to my fellow classmates for successfully completing Juno College of Technology's Web Development Bootcamp. We did it!
This article was originally posted on Charles Li's LinkedIn. Check out Charles' portfolio here!
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