Ironhack experience
I’d like to write about my experience at Ironhack just in case there are doubtful readers in the room :)
There’s nothing bad to say about it really, however, there are some things to take into account. Note that, I went through the FULL-TIME WEB DEV.
8 MUSTS
- It’s gonna be hard, even harder than expected.
- Cancel your subscription to Netflix, HBO or whatever otherwise, it’s gonna be a complete waste of money.
- Talk to your boyfriend/girlfriend before starting, he/she must know what you are about to face.
- Focus on the Bootcamp, avoid all distractions.
- Living close to Ironhack is definitely gonna make it easier. This way you can stay there until late.
- My advice is: save money before starting, it’s gonna be 9 weeks of eating there, public transportation and other things you may need without any income.
- The pre-work is essential, if you don’t do it in time, you’ll be out of focus from the very first lesson.
- Psych yourself up!
I know it sounds unbearable but trust me, it’s completely worth the effort! And, if you take my advice, you’ll survive the Bootcamp!
A DAY AT IRONHACK
The lesson starts at 9 AM, if you come a little bit earlier, you can make yourself a coffee (recommended!).
The very first thing to do in the morning is a Stand-Up.
André, our Lead Teacher was into Agile Methodologies and he considered it was important to do so. In the beginning, you feel it’s kind of boring and unnecessary, but as days get by, you start getting used to it, and in the end, you even need it, it’s a really good way to tidy your mind up and to introduce your colleagues and teachers to your current mood and pace.
In a Stand-Up, everyone in the class has to stand up and say:
1. How they feel
2. What did they achieve the day before
3. What are they gonna get done that day (expectations)
4. Am I stuck? Did I struggle a lot with anything yesterday?
After everyone says his/her stuff, the lesson starts. Lessons can have so many different natures:
- Self-guided lesson
- Code along lesson
- Pair programming
- ETC
But the most important is: try not to lose any content. You can read the lessons at home, you can search on the internet at home, you can repeat exercises after the Bootcamp, but what you are not gonna be able to do again is to: listen in class. So, even if you are sleepy, hungry or bored, be focused.
After lessons and some breaks, there’s lunchtime!
At Ironhack, they have a kitchen with a washing machine, microwaves, fridge… Take your lunchbox and try not to wast any money ;)
After lunch, pair programming! Because 4 eyes are better than 2. Lead teacher and TA’s are gonna pair you up with someone and you both have to do some sort of exercise related to the taught content.
DEVELOPER 1: Driver
DEVELOPER 2: GPS
This is the main idea behind pair programming! The GPS is the one who’s gonna say what is the right way to solve the problem and the driver has to write it.
After some more lessons in the afternoon, classes end by 18H, however, TA’s and the lead teacher are amazing people and tend to stay until later.
Every day, there’s a DAILY EXERCISE that needs to be done before 9 AM the next day.
ABOUT THE PROJECTS
- The first two weeks are a lesson after lesson. On the third week, you’ll go through the first project, your very first challenge as a WebDev! In this first project you’ll have to build a game that has to be:
- Functional
- Deployed to Github Pages
- Object-Oriented vanilla jS
- Responsive - 4th and 5ht weeks are a lesson after lesson again, but in week 6, you’ll undergo the second project, and trust me, it’s even more exciting than the first one.
Why? Because you’ll have to code side by side with someone in the class chosen by your lead teacher and you TAs (In my case, Clara Ameller! She’s awesome at both Front-End & Back-End so she spoilt me by letting me work on the Front-End).
This second project had to be:
- Functional
- Include authorisation & authentication and user management
- Rendered from the backend using the following technologies: Node.js, Express and Mongo.DB
- Deployed in Heroku
- Responsive - After 2 more weeks of lessons, week 9 is about the last project and the one that’s gonna boost your career, it’s gonna be your presentation card as a WebDev. This time, you have the chance to choose whether if you wanna do it on your own or you wanna team up with someone in the class. In my case, I decided to team up with Clara Ameller, again.
The third project had to be:
- Functional
- Include authorisation & authentication and user management
- It had to be a REST API that would consist of a client (Front-End developed with Angular) and a server (Back-End developed with Express, Node.js and MongoDB)
- Deployed in Heroku
- Responsive
LEAD TEACHER, TA’S & STAFF
The lead teacher is the person in charge of teaching, guiding the group and checking that everyone is going in the right way.
In my case, my lead teacher was: Andre
Andre was tough but very honest all the time. I freaked out about his coding skills. It was insane, he is GOD. He was the most experienced teacher and the one with more answers.
TA stands for Teacher assistant.
In my Bootcamp, there were 3 TA’s:
- Luis
- Byron
- Isak
They can help you with anything, web dev related or not. They are there all the time and are very very good at helping out. You may get better on well with one or another but they are all very nice and helpful.
During the 3 projects, you’ll get a TA assigned to help you closer with your project. During this time, you’ll do the Stand-Ups with your own team! :)
Every Friday, there’s gonna be a 1 on 1 interview with the staff just to make sure everything is alright and you are fine with the service.
Everything related to Ironhack people and environment is awesome, there are a lot of after-class activities and the quality of lessons, space and people are unbeatable.
AFTER THE BOOTCAMP
Although the Bootcamp is exhausting, you’ll miss it once it’s over. You’ll terribly miss it… However, you’ll have more time to learn things better, at your own pace with your new skills that will make everything easier. And you’ll receive exercises from Ironhack every week until 3 months after the Bootcamp.
In addition to that, the learning platform is still there so you can enter, check and review anything you need and teachers are still there for you. You can still go to activities and you have free access to the place.
Job search is maddening, luckily there’s someone in charge of helping you out with this task: Sonia. She’s gonna chase you and ask you how did your interviews go, she’s gonna give you a lot of advice.
To sum up, if you are still wondering if you are thinking about giving a boost or changing your career, Ironhack is definitely your place.
