Apprenticeship Experience pt 1

Well guys, I finally did it; I got a programming apprenticeship. You know how everyone tells you things like, “Wait for your moment” and “It wasn’t your time” when you get a rejection or things don’t go the way you planned? I hate that. But it’s something I have learned to get comfortable with because without rejection, you don’t grow. You know what though? I wouldn’t be as appreciative of this opportunity if it hadn’t been for all the rejections I have had in my life. Maybe people who tell you that are really up onto something.
Like I’ve said in my previous post, I am from a small, rural area in California with little tech opportunities. A few years ago, I was introduced to a company trying to bring tech to the Central Valley, Bitwise.
Bitwise is an up and coming tech hub located in Fresno started by founder, Irma Olguin Jr and Jake Saboral. Bitwise has an extension, Geekwise, where people interested in tech can take classes. Geekwise offers classes from specific programming languages to free design workshops. The whole goal of Bitwise/Geekwise is to have a more accessible route into tech for people from all walks of life in the Central Valley.
Of those who choose to take the courses, some are invited to interview for a cohort position. The cohort is a paid internship type opportunity, learning whatever is necessary to contribute to the project at hand, kind of an accelerated apprenticeship. They are doing something that most companies don’t do, I am getting paid to learn instead of just getting thrown into the ring of fire and that is something that I am truly grateful for. When you accept the full-time cohort position, you are also agreeing to help teach and co-teach the classes offered. Personally, I like to teach things back to people because it helps solidify the information for me. Watching the “lightbulb moment” when everything clicks and the person I’m helping understands.
I was assigned to the cohort that is working on a banking app using both Python and React. This first week has been dedicated to learning Python and it has been fast but very gratifying. Most of my background as far as work, is a lot of customer service positions so when people have asked me how the new job is going, I always answer, “different.” Everything has its ups and downs but I have honestly never gone home so satisfied or eager to go home after work to practice on my own.
This week we went over basic Python. Really hit dictionaries and functions, learned how to manipulate apis by implementing CRUD functions for what’s to come in the future. Coming from a Ruby/Rails background, the syntax was a little difficult the loops looked incomplete to me, I wanted to write “end.” I understood what was happening in the functions but when I was writing them on my own, I was struggling without talking it out and being able to confirm it with a colleague. I had to go home and work on my own to make sure I was grasping the information enough to teach it back. When I can teach it back, I feel like I truly understand it and can move to the next challenge. And honestly, in the jobs I’ve held in the past, I wouldn’t have worked on projects at home. It feels good to be working on something I actually enjoy and don’t mind working on at home. There are some things outside of actually writing code that comes with the territory I have to get used to as well.
Can we talk about how intimidating code reviews are? I think I was expecting to be
questioned like in an interview but, not yet. When I realize everyone is struggling in the same places as I am, it makes me feel better. Coming from an online bootcamp, the sense of community is a little lost. You have things like Slack to keep in touch with your colleagues but it’s never the same as sitting with people and bouncing ideas off of them. That said, I have little experience working on a team when it comes to writing code. So I’m really excited to get that experience under my belt and also share it with you, my online community.
Before I got to my first day, I thought I was going to be bad, not as good as the rest and you know what? I’m probably not as good as some of the people in my group and that’s okay, I need to focus on myself and how I can grow as an individual and as a programmer. That’s mostly what this blog will consist of during these next few months so get your popcorn ready or snack of choice and strap in for the ride.