The road to become a web developer

Photo by Francesco Ungaro on Unsplash

Friday, 29/5-2020

The team I have had the great pleasure to be a part of during this bootcamp is The Hippo Team. I think they have taught me just as much about great team work as the boot camp has taught me about code. Prior to this boot camp I have had a couple of bad team experiences. One of them was when I studied in Lund and me and one other person had to stay up all night finishing a Java project when the rest of the team left us to go home. We managed not only to finish but both of us got A’s. I was however certain at the time that I would never enjoy a team project ever again. Then I met The Hippos and everything changed. I thought I’d share a couple of things I have gotten to learn this spring thanks to seven incredible women.

• If time is running out know that 8 people can easily style an entire project, in one branch using Visual Studio Code live share, in 35 minutes without any issues.
• Trying to read an ESlint warning about rel=“noopener noreferer” for the first time after a whole day of coding can generate quite a few giggles. Hint, it’s not pronounced noope-ner and norefe-rer.
• There is no need to have all knowledge prior to starting a project. No one is expecting you to complete the project by yourself beforehand. Just do as a normal person and wait until it’s time to do it with your code partner or team. I know this one might seem obvious, but for the first pair programming project I actually did the entire project by myself first, which was completely unnecessary.
• Taking a five minute break is never a bad idea when you’re stuck, except if you’re trying to style an entire project in 35 minutes, then you need to get to work.
• Telling your team how you’re feeling is always a good idea. Even if you’re not feeling great, someone else is most likely feeling the same way! And if no-one is feeling like you, then they will be able to give you advice on how to get back on track.
• A great team will always keep an eye out for you. A great team doesn’t leave you hanging when you need help. A great team will always have your back.

The Hippopotamus status in the world is vulnerable and if you want to find hippos you need to put in work. I guess it’s the same with hippos as with teams. A great team is not something you all of a sudden stumble across, it’s something that all members need to work towards together. We have worked hard in our group and I can’t imagine what this spring would have been like without seven incredible, warm hearted and smart hippos.

/Christina P.

Photo by Prateek Katyal on Pexels

Thursday, 30/4-2020

The Techingo bootcamp is slowly coming to an end, it’s gone by faster than I ever could have imagined. Since the end of the road is closing in, searching for jobs is almost the only thing I do and think about. I hear motivational talks about combining old and new knowledge, becoming that unique snowflake everyone will want to hire. Take your old work experience and… But wait a minute!?

What if you don’t have years of work experience, does that mean that you can’t profile yourself in a unique way? Nope, it doesn’t. There are valuable experiences in everybody’s backpack and they will, if you present them in the right way, be to your advantage. I had to end my studies at Lunds university due to severe illness. I was on sick leave for almost five years, my heart was slowly giving up and I fought for my life. If that’s not something to brag about on your resumé I don’t know what is. But how does one package that information in a way that sounds like an asset to a potential recruiter? Well, this is what I have written on my CV.

”I want to mention why my CV is empty for the past five years. I had to end my studies at Lund University due to severe illness. But after intense rehabilitation and a whole lot of not giving up I’m completely well again. That is my number one asset, I don’t give up, ever. No matter how tough the obstacle may be. My second biggest asset is that my ’not giving up’ persona has a tendency to motivate and spread to others as well.”

There you have it, I did not give up, I pushed through. And if you push through something like that, then you will without a doubt push through when you’re closing in on a deadline and the errors are everywhere. So don’t worry, even though our backgrounds may be a bit different, things will work out.

We got this!
/Christina P.

Photo by Branimir Balogović on Unsplash

Sunday, 5/4-2020

It’s been a weird start to this decade, the fact that a pandemic is currently putting entire countries in quarantine is something that happens on planet earth in the movie universe, not on the actual planet we all live on. Well that was what I thought at least.

At first I wanted to keep myself up to date 24/7, I needed to know everything that happened in all countries affected. However it has come to a point where so many countries and people are affected that I can no longer stay up to date. Continuously refreshing the news app does not increase my productivity nor does it help me stay calm. Now all I want is to make my everyday life feel as normal as possible. I don’t want to read about the total death toll of Covid-19 because I can’t do more than I am currently doing. I not only wash my hands but also swim in hand sanitiser. And most importantly I keep my distance to others. That’s what everyone’s told to do, and that’s what everyone should do. It's also what almost everyone is doing.

So what if you want to do your best to stay productive and continue to learn new things even during these times? Here are a few things that have helped me stay focused and not spiral down the Covid-19 hole.

• Reading the news no more than once a day, when it comes to news less is definitely more. I turned off notifications on all news apps and it has definitely helped.
• Downloading the SOS Alarm-app. Allow notifications, The SOS Alarm-app will post push notifications when something happens that all of Sweden needs to know about. Knowing that I have it installed makes it easier not to open news apps during the day.
• I've been trying real hard not to text my friends and family but rather calling them. During small breaks, when I'm out walking the dog or just when doing the dishes. Just because we're keeping our distance doesn't mean we shouldn't interact.
• Keep yourself occupied with other thoughts and activities. Take the time to learn something you have been wanting to learn. SASS, css-in-js, bootstrap are just a few examples of things that are better to spend time on reading than Covid-19 news. If you need a code break perhaps it's time to learn how to draw, or maybe you should give your cat a new hair style?
• Even if days are spent at home, I try to stick to my regular routines. Breakfast, lunch and afternoon snacks are important so is putting on clothes and not wearing your PJ's three days straight.
• If it’s one of those days where everything feels really rough and it’s hard to keep your thoughts where you want them, allow yourself to take a break. Watch a Pixar movie, preferably Coco or Moana. Eat chocolate and have a beer, that will most likely help! 🍫🍺

/Christina P.

Photo by Tim Goedhart on Unsplash

Thursday, 12/3-2020

The second sprint, and first part, of the course is over. It feels a bit surreal to be honest. When I applied to attend the Technigo bootcamp I was so nervous and spent way too many hours on the code application. The suggested amount of hours was about four but I spent close to three days. I was certain that all the others would have submitted better applications and written better things about themselves. It felt so unlikely that I would be accepted but I was.

Thoughts like ”this is impossible, I’m not capable enough” have been reoccurring during the course. But every time I’ve thought ” I can’t do this”, I have later come to think, ”I did it, it wasn’t impossible!”. Because very few things in life are truly as impossible as they might seem at a first glance. .

Photo by Corinne Kutz on Unsplash

Sunday, 9/2-2020

The first four weeks of this bootcamp have gone by so fast, and at the same time the evening prior to the first meet up day in Stockholm feels like years ago. Everything started with two intense days in Stockholm where I was placed in a team with seven other amazing members. Seven team members that I have not only gotten to know rather well, but also grown fond of, during the past four weeks. With the help of them I have pushed myself out of my comfort zone and started a journey to become a web developer.

I have once again gotten to experience the feeling of starting with nothing and creating something. It's been around five years since I last coded and I've missed it so much! Coding and finishing projects generates an enormous feeling of accomplishment for me. But before that feeling of accomplishment is reached there is of course googling, asking others for help, making litres of coffee and dealing with the occasional thought of throwing my computer out the window. But that is, to me at least, one of the best things about coding. During the past weeks I have experienced, firsthand and from others, thoughts such as "I have no idea how to solve this". But the satisfaction that comes with not giving up and finding solutions to problems that once seemed impossible is a wonderful reminder why I love coding. .