DEV Community: KKDoddy

Bootcamp challenges and how I have adapted in the last few weeks

KKDoddy — Thu, 05 Dec 2019 07:24:45 +0000

Before starting the Bootcamp, I used to think of it as just a program where someone can only improve their programming skills through the help of learning facilitators and various resources given to you. But what I didn't know was you don't only get to improve your programming skills, you also learn other things including communication skills, team-working skills, and more. These are the challenges I have faced and how I have adapted in the last weeks.

On the first day, all Bootcamp members are separated into small groups where each group is given an LFA(learning facilitator assistant). This is someone who guides you in this period of two weeks. One of the jobs of an LFA is to review your codes and check on your progress periodically, then give you feedback on what you did good and what needs improvement. For the LFAs to do that, they must maintain a flawless communication with you. This was sometimes hard for me because in this Bootcamp we were working remotely I could be working on code improvement feedback and then be expected to hold up and attend to my LFA's video call. At first, it was a bit challenging because I had to implement all the feedbacks that were given to me to make my work better. But after a few days, I was able to adapt myself very easily, and I also got to learn how to properly schedule my tasks and also keep good communication with my LFA. Same goes with using Slack and many other tools that are used in the Bootcamp, you must have a quick and sharp mind to always be on point otherwise you would be left out and at the end of the day, you get to suffer the loss.

Another thing that was challenging during the Bootcamp in these last few weeks was being able to work and make sure you don't leave your teammates behind. As I mentioned earlier, on the first day you assigned to a group with other team members that you will be working with for the upcoming days. After receiving your feedback from your LFA, you have to make sure that you implement those feedbacks way ahead of time to continue doing the rest. But let's suppose that you have a teammate that has some issues and you also received feedback from your LFA, it's gonna be hard to do both at the same time right? This was one of my biggest challenges, well I wouldn't say big in that context but big as in it was one of the challenges that I mostly faced. But you need to get adapted to all these things, which means I had to find a way I could make sure that all my teammates are working perfectly and that they are on a good scale. So what I could do is make sure I ask them if they have issues that they would need help for, I would recommend them to watch some tutorials on how to solve some of the problems or even share with them how I was able to go around the same issues they are facing.

My experience in Bootcamp so far

KKDoddy — Thu, 28 Nov 2019 19:48:24 +0000

Before talking about my experience the Bootcamp so far, I first want to reflect on the days before starting the Bootcamp, all the challenges and assessments that were given to us have been of a big value and importance to me. I was able to learn lots of things and many other tools and technologies as I had mentioned in my previous blog.

My experience so far has been one of the amazing and most challenging since I started the journey of becoming a software engineer. I was inspired by some friends about Andela and they would tell me how it would be of a big benefit to me. So when the Bootcamp started, I got to realize how focused you have to be to handle the work environment, in other words, you have to get adapted to flexibility, multitasking and many other more that we got to experience as the days kept moving. Today is the fourth day of the Bootcamp in the first week and indeed the work has been hectic, I had to quickly adapt to the change. To become successful in life you must learn how to be very flexible in any situation you find yourself in. Ok, let's try to put it this way, you need to be like a bulldozer. Quoting from the google definition, a bulldozer is known to be one of the most powerful machines, no matter the obstacle on its way, nothing can be able to stop it. So as software developers, that is something that we need to look at and it really helps the way we think and process over things and this is something about Andela, in here your way of thinking and processing will be truly tested, how fast can you think, how fast can you adapt yourself in times of change, are you able to multitask, do you own your own(yoyo)? etc... In my opinion, the benefit of the Bootcamp is that you get to learn all these things ahead of time, in other words, I believe we are being trained by the best to be the best. That's why when I look at people that have passed from the Bootcamp phase, there is a whole lot that they grasp in that short period of time compared to someone who would have been in coding programs that don't really help out and may not have an impact to an individual's learning experience.

I would conclude by saying that my experience has been so far the best and of course yes the most hectic one. I never thought I would spend endless nights working on feedback and other things to do, but all in all, this has been the best experience for me. I would encourage anyone reading this blog that you need to work hard if you want to get to the top, and you cannot do that without working up a sweat. You must learn how to own your own and seek always the desire of becoming the best version of yourself, therefore, you will end up becoming like that bulldozer I mentioned above, no matter the challenge, the stress, the environment, the sleepless nights, etc... it will definitely pay off, you will see the best result at the end of the day. Your success will say it all.

An interesting tool/technology I encountered in preparation for Bootcamp

KKDoddy — Wed, 27 Nov 2019 19:27:29 +0000

If you could ask anyone who joined Andela as a junior developer, what the most challenging phase of the whole recruitment process was, they would most definitely all answer that it was the Bootcamp phase.
In this phase, you are recommended to use all kinds of tools used by developers around the world, these vary from Version Control to Software testing tools. One of the tools that I found most interesting to me was a Project Management tool called Pivotal Tracker.

With Pivotal Tracker, you can create stories where each story represents either a feature, chore, bug or release. On the creation of a feature story, you get to set points and this can help determine the velocity of an individual or a team of developers working on that story. A story also has a description where you can write a short description of what outcomes are to be expected after the tasks are completed, but you can also add in more details like what the story's git branch-name would be called and more.
Another cool feature is that you can connect a Pivotal Tracker Project with its Github repository. Then in that way, any changes made to the repository are automatically tracked and can be registered as a means of finishing a particular story.

This tool was extremely useful to me because it has helped in organizing how the development tasks are carried out, and working on the project that was assigned to us in the Development Challenge.

My reflections on Andela's EPIC values

KKDoddy — Tue, 26 Nov 2019 17:13:36 +0000

EPIC Values (Excellence, Passion, Integrity, and Collaboration) are core values and morals that employees should go by at Andela. With these morals or ethics put in practice, an individual is able to reflect change not only to him/herself but also to everyone around them. In this post, I will share how these four affects me.

Excellence

This is my favorite value in the EPIC acronym and it simply represents the output of your work and how you should prepare to go about doing it. With excellence, I aspire to give everything I have and perfect as I can anything my mind and strength are put to. As a Software Engineer, I understand that every project I work on is a reflection of who I am.

Passion

Passion as a value is a very important key because it drives a person through whatever they are undertaking no matter what challenges they face. When a person does something with passion, they do it with love and motivation which drives them to successful completion no matter what time it might take. Therefore Passion as part of the EPIC Andela values is a very good thing because it shows that whatever work one is undertaking, there is love and no backing down

Integrity

Honesty and strong moral principles are the top values that can be used to define who someone really is in life, and Integrity can be defined by the two combined(quality of honesty and having strong morals). By this, I understand that by having honesty and strong moral principles I am able to gain respect from others and that I can be a trustworthy person that can be relied on.

Collaboration

The last but certainly not the least of Andela's core values (Collaboration), means that we can achieve great things when we are able to work together. With this in mind, the only way we can achieve this is by uplifting each other and share knowledge in case our fellows are facing difficulties that we are able to help them get out of.

I strongly believe that by believing in these four values and by putting them in practice every day, I am capable of becoming a better version of myself and I am able to reflect change to everyone around me.

How I recently demonstrated the Growth Mindset

KKDoddy — Tue, 26 Nov 2019 09:15:30 +0000

Finishing secondary level with Math Physics and Geography as major courses, Architecture or civil engineering were my first choices for careers I wanted to pursue after graduation. But when the national examination results came out, I was offered to study a program that was not in my options. Then I decided to continue my studies in Information Technology, which was second in the choices I selected before going for the national examinations. It wasn't easy to picture myself as a software engineer when I started to take software engineering classes at the Adventist University of Central Africa(AUCA).

This was a major shift from non-computer-related to computer-related courses. Almost every class lesson was new and required a lot of research just to get the basic concepts. As I moved from one semester to another, I was introduced to courses like Algorithms, Data structures, Object Oriented Programming, … all which were very demanding and required much attention. So to make sure I get a good foundation in Information Technology, I had to work hard and open my mind to learning new things.

As a result of hard work with a belief that I am capable of improving my skills, I was able to get good grades and now have the skills to develop good software applications.