My #100Devs experience

George Rodriguez — Fri, 11 Nov 2022 16:55:58 +0000

How an educational project changed my life.

After trying so many times to become a Web Dev I finally found the Golden Ticket. Yes folks, the one that Charly got from a chocolate bar.
So my journey started when I saw a post from an "influencer" on a You Tube channel. I thought because it was free I probably have to pass some kind of assestment or exam to be accepted. The story was different, i received an email invinting me to start. Then came a lot of HW,Guides, Codewars, practices, Anki, Banki...reading tech books( Don't get me wrong, I like to read, but tech books are another beast)

I am a Married guy with children in my late 40's. Is there any chance for me to do something cool, or approach to a changing careers? those was my first thoughts

At the beggining my perception was like the unknown, what to expect? Is this for real? understanding all the tools available now, learning how to use Twitch, Discord, VS Code, Dev Tools. Jeez it's a bit too much for a begginer without any experience whatsoever.After that period of adjustment essay and error, finally I could sort it out a way to learn those minimal tools to start my journey. The road map was clear: HTML, CSS, JS, NODE-JS, REACT-JS...full stack Web Dev baby!

The teacher

Reminds me of that poweful character of Robin Williams in the movie Dead Poets Society, where a bunch of students from an elite high school meet their new teacher, a person who apply unconventional methods to teach and empowering his students.Leon, gave us not only his time every week for 10 months! when the class was in need for a little push the man applied a of lot energy to keep people together to reach to the promised land. Even when he publicly said the job will be mainly done by us, the difference is huge when you have an educator that wants you to success. That is my teacher.

Community taught

One of the beauty of the whole process was the community, I'm not gonna lie, a student alone with a computer with all your digital friends acrosss the globe is not an easy task. Interaction is premiun in any educational system. That's the only way to cement the knowledge, as Lev Vygotsky explained 100 years ago studying the children and their interaction with development "The mastery of the skills needed for performing these practices[riding a bike for example] occurs through the activity of the child within society"
Carrying the load alone is not the way to go in coding.All of us together can make a difference in terms of achiving the goal to understand the Async functions, the loops, The freacking Bill Gates toaster( this is very hilarious, if you are my tribe you know what i mean)
Learning how to code is a very intelectual, brain consuming task that requires a lot of dedication, so that's why: taking care of yourself, avoiding frustration and consistency is key. Sometimes you feel the burden on your shoulders but having in mind the goal, the top priority to change your circunstances is well worth it.

For me the education is a form of liberation, a form to overcome poverty and success in this material world. Give the people the necessary knowledge to cross the river and see another world.

is this a cult?

Look, if it is then I'm happy to be part of it. After my university studies long ago, I have not come across a significant project that can change lives. This is #100devs a wonderful agency with a training camp where people help each other and want everyone to succeed in pursuing a better life in the tech industry.

Final thoughts

I'm not feeling ready yet, too much to learn, unfortunately I dont have the luxury of time but taking into account all the guides, exercises and a bunch of tech friends that i got know thanks to #100devs I know I'm not alone.

DEV Community: George Rodriguez

My #100Devs experience