Focus: Some of that is my personality, once I’m interested in something, I tend to lock on it like a heat seeking missile lol I do know the frustration though of life happening and then before you know it, a lot of time has passed. That happened to me, over a month went by and I did not want to lose track, so I decided to make sure I coded at least a little bit each day. I had set the goal of at least an hour, but some days, the most I could do was just one FCC challenge. But really, it was a matter of not letting a day go by without coding something, that way it didn’t have a chance to slip to the way side.
I was living in Miami and did my bootcamp there, but yeah, I came out to WA for LEAP. After I was accepted, I only had 3 weeks to figure out how to pack up my life and get out here…there was just no way I was going to pass this opportunity up. But yeah, I’m actually here at Microsoft headquarters working on a team. The first five weeks of training were at the main campus in Redmond, but the team Im working with (and hope to be hired by) is at the Issaquah campus.
Just do a search on Meetup.com and also Eventbright.com for tech events. Once you go to one or two, and start meeting people, it will also be way easier to find out about and find more events to go to. Also I was so nervous about going, either cause I felt a topic would be over my head or just being there alone and feeling awkward… both dont matter at all. Just go, meet people, you’ll learn a ton and you’ll meet a lot of other people who have no idea but just thought it sounded interesting and want to learn something new too. Just go and go for it
Great story on how you overcame so much. Thanks for sharing and inspiring others to keep going! @cndragn good luck with landing that first full-time position. I’m not to far from where you were. I’m on the west coast over in Ft Myers. If you make it back to Florida We’d love to have you at our Meetup.
Thank you for sharing your story. I’m in my first month of learning to code and I’m a little overwhelmed with all of the resources and options. But reading something like this and seeing where all of the hard work could lead is good motivation to figure it all out and not give up!
Congratulations on your apprenticeship and good luck on the future job opportunity!
Thanks so much!!! While I do plan to stay up here, I have family in Ft Myers, so coming out there is a real possibility! I’ve bookmarked your post, that way when I’m planning to be in the area I can get in touch. Thank you for the invite!!
Thanks!!! And oh man, I completely understand where you’re coming from. That’s kind of what led me to finding FCC to begin with…I needed some kind of structure. I was finding bits and pieces everywhere, and kept getting distracted and side tracked. Going from Challenge 1 and moving forward really helped curb my focus…not entirely, cause I cant help it lol but I do love how I now had a linear path to follow, but could still feed my need to seek out other resources and lessons to help me along the way.
Definitely don’t give up!!! I still remember the utterly ridiculous victory dance I did when I completed the FCC Front End Cert…still one of the most amazing feelings for me in this journey. And Im still working through the lessons to complete more certs! A sense of accomplishment is addictive! And that feeling is super motivating once you get a taste of it You are going to rock it!
@cndragn Congratulations! That’s an amazing story, thank you for sharing it! I’m so happy for you, I remember you leaving the sweetest comments to my own post here a year ago when I got my first dev job, and I’m so so glad to hear you’re doing great! I hope you’ll post an update sometime, I’m really curious about what’s it like to be working at a tech giant like Microsoft. Best of luck
Wow! Is Microsoft’s LEAP program only open to people based in the US with the right to work? I’m wondering if anyone who has been successful in LEAP came from other countries just for the program (self-funded of course)?
Thanks for sharing your story it goes to show that really anything is possible with hardwork and dedication
As someone else that’s done both, though the old front-end curriculum not the new one, it’s really Apples and Oranges.
CS50 covers a wide range of topics that covers a lot of areas of computer science. Some data structure, some algorithm, some common patterns, web development… It sort of pick the best language to learn each topic rather than focusing on using the same language for all concepts. If you want to get a big picture understanding of computer science and apply the concepts with some basic programs CS50 is for you.
Front-end certification on the other hand is very much focused on what is essentially a craft, which is front-end development. You not only learn CSS, HTML and JavaScript, but aslo a lot of features, a lot of different tools, while you there is a section focused on algorithm and data structure. It is a lot more there to provide you with the basic toolkit and understanding so that you can use these other practical tool. Honing practical skills is very much the goal. If you’re someone that enjoys learn by doing and more interested in honing a practical skill as much as you can, then FCC cert probably suits you more.
They are both beneficial to total beginner but in a very different way. To be job ready, I think you probably need the knowledge gain from both, but they are not the only sources for those knowledge
Thank you for your input! I am definitely a learn-by-doing type of person, and eager to jump in and get going, so maybe I will check out the FCC cert now and save CS50 for later.
Great story sounds like your well on your way. Hearing journeys like this helps me stay motivated and focused on my goal. I am currently working my way through javascript and it’s a killer lol, but I’ll keep fighting the good fight until I get it.
Great Article!!
Thanks for sharing!
You mentioned Kyle Simmons Has his books uploaded in github…
Do you happen to have a link where we could download/read them!
Thank You!!
Your post is definitely inspirational. I’m at slacking point in my learning and try to establish consistency. This is definitely a motivation. Thanks for sharing…
Oh my! I remembered the avatar when I’ve read other successful stories - probably because you have participated in comments a lot . And now you’re accomplished significant results and reflected your experience in your own post - it’s just awesome.
You are going to rock it!
. And now you’re accomplished significant results and reflected your experience in your own post - it’s just awesome.