What are three new things you have learned about yourself and your ego as a result of the core learning?
Before this course, I felt embarrassed about asking for help. I used to spend many hours trying to find the solution
myself. Now I understand its OK to ask for help.
I am more confident in my abilities. Before I was comfortable staying in my bubble, but I have proven to myself that I
am capable of doing more.
Sometimes I feel competitive when comparing myself to others, which results in me trying to be a perfectionist. I remind
myself that everyone has their journey, and I should only compare myself with who I was yesterday.
What are the role of values, empathy and self awareness in learning and programming?
Programming has a substantial impact on your mind. Being a programmer requires you to think critically and logically about a solution, and at many times you will feel distracted or down on the progress of your code. Being able to communicate with members of your team and empathising with them is very important, as it can boost your own morale and those around you. As mentioned earlier, there are times when you don't feel right about aspects of your job as a programmer; being self-aware will help you keep going.
What has surprised you the most about the core learning?
I think from a young age; we get told that having a high IQ is linked to being successful. But recent studies show that having a high EQ is actually just as important.
What were the most challenging aspects of the core learning?
It is not easy to think deeply about your beliefs and identifying who we really are. Also, trying to replace the beliefs and habits that are counterproductive is a continuous challenge.
Why do you think we, a programming school, are spending so much time focusing on core learning in a web development boot camp course?
Universities and other educational providers concentrate too much on the theory and technical aspects but miss out on teaching soft skills. This lack of soft skills means when they go out and work in the real world; they find it challenging to communicate with their team. Lack of self-awareness also means they cannot take on positive criticism which also impacts their work.
Does the time you spent studying core learning here feel like a waste of time? Should you have just used that time to practicing programming instead?
I think the first few weeks would have been great for core learning. But as we move towards classroom learning, I feel the final week or two should have been focusing on coding and ironing out any weaknesses.
What is your long term goal and/or career pathway?
In the next five years, I want to grow as a developer. My goal is to learn as many relevant technical skills as possible. I expect to work as a senior full-stack developer and ultimately become a manager where I can demonstrate my leadership skills.
What do you think your biggest strengths and limitations will be in Bootcamp?
I am not afraid of continuous learning, I am 27, and I am still learning new things almost every day. I think this will
help me during my studies at EDA because we will be learning new skills every day.
I am a people person, and I enjoy working in a team, so this will be very helpful when we are doing group projects.
One of my weakness is public speaking, so I may not be very good at class presentations.
What do you think your biggest non-technical challenge at Bootcamp will be?
As mentioned above, I am not a confident public speaker. I still remember my first presentation at the university where I just read my script from the paper while maintaining minimum eye contact.
What non-technical skills - human skills - would you like to see developed in yourself while at EDA?
While studying at EDA, I want to work on my soft skills such as communication; whether it is with seniors or teammates. I want to develop my leadership, teamwork (collaboration) and decision-making skills.
What are your expectations of yourself on Bootcamp?
I expect to learn all the necessary skills which will land me a job as a junior web developer. I plan to improve my communication skills. I am hoping to do team projects as well as an individual project which I can use in my portfolio.