To give you an idea of what it’s like to follow an Ubiqum coding bootcamp in Barcelona, we’ve put together a range of experiences from some of our new coders.
There’s a certain satisfaction about cycling to work every morning… especially in Barcelona. The air is crisp during winter but braces you for the day, and the sun is always shining. I should mention that by “work”, I actually mean my coding bootcamp. I began studying an Ubiqum Code Academy program in September and after 4 months learning to code here, it really feels like I’m already working as a developer rather than being a student.
Dropping my bicing (city bike) off, I grab my bag and make my way towards the campus doors, passing the hustle and bustle of the city center on the way. I say “holaaa” as I dash past the front desk and pass two rapidly talking Italians on the stairs and a colleague folding up their bike. I head straight to the meeting room for my morning stand-up which kicks of every day of a coding bootcamp in Barcelona.
I’ve always loved the feeling of using a key card to enter anywhere; the resounding beep and click of a door opening is like entering the Doors of Durin. The welcoming smell of coffee fills my nose as I turn to go to the work space and boot up my laptop. The space is filled with energy as my colleagues chat around me. I check my Trello board is up-to-date, look at what I did yesterday and what I’m going to do today. Then take some notes to prep what I’m going to say in the stand-up meeting.
The daily stand-up meeting
We do this every morning as a standard practice because the coding bootcamp combines Agile methodology with the curriculum in order to simulate a real working environment of a developer. I run to the kitchen for an injection of caffeine and get back just in time to see my mentors standing around my table.
Looking around at my team, I get a sense of determination and perseverance. Our backgrounds are all so different that it’s hard to imagine that we’ve come so far as programmers. My group is made up of an engineer, a city planner, a production line worker, and a fine art restorer. Not what you would call “typical coders”. We all started at Ubiqum’s coding bootcamp in Barcelona with no coding knowledge. Four months later we’ve already built a website using HTML/ CSS and our own mobile web application using JavaScript. Now that we’ve started module five, the resounding feeling of bafflement has returned in full force and I’m wrapping my head around Java and the back-end…
“So how’s it going, everyone? What did you do yesterday?”, says my mentor, smiling with a cheerful glint in his eye. I always wonder how that man seems to be so happy all the time… he must love what he’s doing.
We go round one by one and discuss user access configuration, security issues, error messages, and coding anecdotes until finally, it’s my turn.
“So… uh yesterday I created the login and logout methods in the front-end using JavaScript Fetch API. Also, I created the back-end to manage the authentication and authorization processes. I also added password encryption for added security and only enabled URL access for authenticated users. Then I did the HTML to display my login/logout buttons. My plan for today is to add the current user information to the JSON games object when a player is logged in to display player information and from there I guess I will keep going…”
“Yesterday you were having some problems with compilation errors, did you manage to fix them?” asked my mentor. Those “problems” really felt more like a “battle”.
“Uuuuh yeah, so I fixed the error following the example on Stack Overflow like you suggested. It removed the bug but it doesn’t solve the problem of encrypting the password. When I looked at the back-end, the password was still displaying. If anyone were to hack the database, the password would still be there… But it did get rid of the error message, and I managed to encode the password in the end so…” Thumbs up, smile enthusiastically.
It’s daunting in the beginning to be so open with your colleagues about your progress, but it’s liberating and reassuring knowing we’re all in this together. I’m surprised to find myself speaking like a real programmer. Just six weeks ago I had no idea of any of the concepts or topics that I’m talking fluently about today.
“Yeah, Stack Overflow is a great portal to find the answers you need, so good job, and if you need to review it later just let me know.” Affirms my mentor.
“Right, let’s go to the kitchen. I’m hungry!” announces my mentor in anticipation of the free Monday breakfast, courtesy of Ubiqum.
Getting to work
Back from breakfast, I get to work. The project is very well organized; each task has a very clear objective and a deliverable that I have to create. For every task, we have a PoA (Plan of Attack) that gives us the instructions and resources — bits of theory needed for this task. One of the best things about Ubiqum is that they give you the theory in small pieces, all intrinsically linked to your task. By learning by doing, the models and concepts stay in your head far easier.
Programming isn’t easy, but it’s fun, a serious intellectual challenge.
Handling frustration is one of the first lessons you learn at Ubiqum. Programming is about writing code for 10% of the time and fixing it for the remaining 90% of the time, but it always works out in the end! If you get stuck, your mentor is available to help you see the light. They never give you the solution, but guide you so you can find it yourself.
Learn how to think like a coder
With Ubiqum’s coding bootcamp in Barcelona, you learn to rely on your own intellectual resources to solve problems. The Learning by Doing methodology is demanding but very effective. Ubiqum provides you with a simulated real work environment that offers highly structured, 100% practical tasks that are based on the real world. Just like future colleagues and bosses, you’ll always have the support of your peers and mentors, as well as a range of resources to work from.
At Ubiqum, you not only learn how to program, but you go through the entire app development cycle four times in four different projects during the course.
So what’s the most important thing I have learned? To think like a programmer. Autonomous professional thinking gives me the peace of mind that from now on I will be able to face any technological problem that arises in a structured way and solve it, no matter what it takes.
Being a coder is pretty fun… as long as your code works like you want it to!
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