| | Robert S. | Learning programming on my own has been difficult. I did not have enough understanding of core programming principles and could not find help when I would get stuck on a problem. Lucky for me I came across a memo at HUBUD regarding an upcoming programming bootcamp called Ruby on the Beach. Really good student to teacher ratio so there was no problem getting questions answered. Curriculum flowed nicely and pieces of the programming puzzle started to make sense. I feel that I have a solid foundation to move forward and I met some new friends in the process… and Bali is nice too! |
| | | We often overestimate our ability to learn, and on the other side, teachers overestimate their students’ capacity to pay attention.
This so called ‘burnout’ is the cancer of learning. It’s lurking quietly in the classroom, and no one knows when, and if it comes. And when it does materialize, everyone ignores it, denies it.
I know burnout alright. I dropped out of college 15 years ago because of this. Of course, I didn’t know it was the burnout then, but I know that if the learning environment was even half of what Ruby on The Code offers, I’d probably still be in school doing a post graduate program of some sort.
RoTB’s curriculum is succinct, and relevant. Schedules were organized wisely that in the of the 9th week, I and many people in the program was in the opinion of "we could use another 2-3 weeks."
On the flip side, Bali as a home base for such bootcamps is a two-edged sword. Being in such a good place means that your time outside class fights with your desire to go and see things. So does being in a classroom at a well-occupied co-working space; your time working is being constantly challenged by the great social interactions it offers.
But Bali is a positive, super easy place to live. Things are relatively inexpensive, people are friendly, while the sun and the moon shines through the blue tropical sky. That feeling of awesomeness is a great agent of change, one that could perhaps sets you on your way on becoming a software developer. |
| | | To be honest I kept my expectations low for Ruby on the Beach. I have heard many bootcamp success stories but as a salesperson for the last 10 years I was not sure I would have what it takes to really get my head into coding and master the mindset it takes to accomplish pushing code.
That said, at the end of the course I am confident I have the tools it takes to be able to continue to teach myself with the basis I learned in this course. That and of course I got to live in Bali for 3 months which no one can complain about.
Being in the first cohort does come with it's hiccups and I think the curriculum and execution can use some refinement but overall I am extremely pleased with the knowledge I got out of the course. Do not expect to build an extremely complex web app coming out of this course but rest assured that you should have the framework to improve on your own with a solid foundation. In short, if any of my friends back in the US ask if I would recommend taking the journey to an exotic country to learn how to code with Ruby on the Beach I would definitely say yes! |
