Update: Learning Plan for Bootcamp
What is your long term goal and/or career pathway?
I will be looking for a developer role after DevAcademy that will make use of what I learnt. I want to keep on improving as a developer throughout the years and hopefully once I can consider myself an intermediate developer I want to try looking for a developer role in another country.
I appreciate the technical aspect of coding the most so that’s what I want to focus on. Ideally, I want to work in an organisation with a great working culture surrounded by people who are passionate about learning and mentoring. If the work is also something that brings about positive change to people, communities, or society in general, then even better.
What do you think your biggest strengths and limitations will be in Bootcamp?
I think I have the same answer as I had before. That my biggest strength is my love for learning and how easy I pick up concepts with my biggest limitation my aloofness. I think I will also need to keep an eye out that I’m in top mental condition during the whole of Bootcamp as I would not want to be too stressed.
What do you think your biggest non-technical challenge at Bootcamp will be?
Making sure I take enough breaks and take care of myself physically, emotionally, and mentally the whole 9 weeks of bootcamp.
What non-technical skills - human skills - would you like to see developed in yourself while at EDA?
Giving and receiving feedback as well as just improving my communication skills especially in groups.
What are your expectations from the Bootcamp team?
That I can ask them questions without fear of judgment and that they will be honest in their feedback without being too harsh.
What are your expectations of yourself on Bootcamp
That I work hard and give it my all in the 9 weeks as well as that I will take care of myself which includes being mindful of when I need help and asking for it and when I need breaks and taking it.
I’m committed to giving my all during Bootcamp which will include being kind to myself and my cohort as well as all the staff. This will also include making sure that I manage my time well enough that I will be on top of things and if I’m not then asking for help and owning it.
Learning Plan for Foundations
It’s probably going to get me a lot of flak but I don’t really plan my life more than five years in advance since I don’t see the point.
My career goal is to become a software developer and work on that for the foreseeable future. I aim to get either a front-end or full stack junior developer position within six months of graduating from EDA and move my way up from there and see how it goes!
In terms of soft skills, I would love to learn how to be more open and relaxed around groups of people. I’m quite reserved and I enjoy being around only a handful of people at a time as otherwise it gets a bit overwhelming. Being at EDA and being around my cohorts would helpfully help a lot with that!
My biggest strength is my love for learning and how easy it is for me to pick up concepts. Not that I don’t work hard because the ease actually comes from myself being interested in something and putting effort in it. My biggest limitation would have to be that I can be quite aloof which as you can expect, puts an unnecessary barrier between myself and other people.
Despite that, I can honestly say that my being reserved has never been an issue at work or at school. It’s been something that has held me back in my personal life but does not affect my productivity or how I deliver results.
Throughout my years of working, I’ve always had to work with people, external stakeholders, community groups, and other entities that are outside of my immediate team, and I am confident that I will have no big issues doing this at EDA as well. Respect, cool heads, and open communication have always been key in this regard and I have enough experience to navigate tricky situations when these things may not be present and bringing it back to the table.
I’m used to working under pressure and being put in stressful situations and I have adopted techniques on how I manage my work load in a way that it does not overwhelm me. I have no issues asking for help either as I don’t see the point of making my, and others’ life, harder because of pride or an inability to admit I was wrong or need a hand.
In saying that, I expect that the facilitator team will be open and most importantly, respectful when I need help. I understand that first and foremost I need to try to solve issues on my own but when I ultimately decide that I need assistance, a willingness to listen to me and not treating my worries as inconsequential will go a long way in making me feel comfortable and more open.
I have nothing planned until the end of the course although I may have to take a long weekend off on November 22-26 for an event which I have told my Foundations Facilitator about. It’s still not finalised however and I’ll inform the facilitation team as soon as it is. Other than that, I have no other obligations except to become a developer which I’m really looking forward to!
