Hey readers,
This update is quite late in its release due primarily to laziness on my behalf. With that being said, I have been extraordinarily busy with the bootcamp since my last update that I posted.
So far, the journey has been nothing short of incredible.
In the ending of my last update I detailed that we would be beginning to create dynamic web pages using PHP, but more broadly, the LAMP stack. Since writing that update, we have not only completed the LAMP stack (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP), but also the MEAN stack (MongoDB, Express, AngularJS, NodeJS) having just taken the Black belt for MEAN on August 14, 2015.
The primary things that happened in between my updates were:
- Taking the Red Belt exam for LAMP stack. I passed with a score of 9.5/10.
- Doing the LAMP stack project week. I partnered up with two of my buddies and created GreenSpace, an open-source reservation platform for Marijuana retail shops and Medical Dispensaries.
- After project week, we began delving deep in to Javascript, learning the ins and outs of concepts such as callbacks.
- We then began NodeJS, slowly incorporating the rest of the MEAN stack in as well.
- After completing the MEAN stack, we took the Black Belt exam for it last week Friday.
That is the summarized rundown of what has happened since then. The Black Belt exam was difficult, and there is a solid chance I didn't pass it this first time through. I understand all of the back-end logic and was getting all my data passed through to the front end correctly, but I wasn't able to get it to display correctly. If I do end up passing, it is because I showed in my code that I was able to get most of the back-end logic correct, and my problems were primarily in the front-end (functionality takes precedence in grading).
What's to come?
Next week, we start project week for the MEAN stack, which means I will have to hunker down for some long days. My idea right now is creating a classfields web-app for college campuses. Right now I am leaning towards building this so I can use the REST API I create for the backend to help create other apps for college students that can take advantage of the login API. This way, I can expand in to creating other applications using such data.
After project week, we are given a choice to either continue on with the standard three stacks and finish with Ruby on Rails, or we can choose to learn iOS app development. The iOS course was just recently finished after a very successful pilot, according to the Dojo's founder, Michael Choi. HE described it as the best course to date, and I want to take full advantage of it. I am especially excited for iOS development because mobile programming would be a great skill to have under my belt. Now that I can build a solid CRUD application in the MEAN and LAMP stacks, mobile seems like the next progression. My ultimate goal is to have a skill set that allows me to combines my knowledge of desktop development (front and back-end) and mobile development and create a full suite of applications that work with each other with a REST API powering the data between them all. I could imagine this is a powerful combination, not only from a development standpoint, but also for potential employers recognizing the breadth of knowledge (with depth varying for each technology).
To conclude,
I have just over a month left at the Dojo and I want to make the most out of it that I can. The amount I've learned is insane, and I only want to keep this momentum going further. I've seen people burn out all around me, but I think keeping a manageable balance of sanity and work/learning is the key to being successful here. I'll hopefully be back soon for another update.