I don’t really know how to describe by time at Ironhack, but in these next paragraphs I will attempt to give you an idea of how it felt to participate in the 9-week Web Development bootcamp.
I was considering doing a Web Development bootcamp in New Zealand where I live, but after doing lots of research and comparing options, Ironhack appeared to have the most complete curriculum.
Ironhack offers a 9 week intensive bootcamp, and when I say intensive, I mean IN-TEN-SIVE. There are days when I enter at 7am and don’t leave until 10 or 11 at night. All day long we are learning to be fullstack developers.
Before anything, I have to make it clear that before this course I had never used a computer for anything more complicated than surfing the web, watching Netflix, or writing emails. Now, after completing week 6, I am really enjoying my new abilities in both front and back end — believe it or not, I am learning and developing.
All of a sudden I find myself using technical terms that I didn’t even know existed 6 weeks ago.
As a mother, communications expert by profession, and with a degree in Commercial Relations, I decided to venture into learning something new. My brother and my husband, both without knowing it, helped me make the jump. I found what I wanted to do and I was excited about Ironhack, but I never imagined that it would be such an intense experience.
Learning to learn again was an incredibly challenging experience, not only because it has been 10 years since I finished university, but also because modern teaching methods are incredibly interactive, experiential, and different to how I had been taught in the past. No longer are we taught theory in class, and made to practice at home. Now we learn by doing, writing code live, and trying hard to use things we learned only an hour before, putting them into practice.
I can definitely say that in these 6 weeks, Ironhack has given me much more than I expected. In just 6 weeks, I made a videogame, an app, and my computer is full of code that I can actually read. I’ve also made 16 incredible friends who teach me every day that it is worth it to go after your dreams and finally Ironhack has given me the opportunity to learn from some amazing developers that would never think twice to help me out when I need it, as well as without a doubt becoming part of my continued network.
I will keep you informed of my experience over the next weeks as well. Three left to go… and counting.
By Andrea Hacker-Page
