Decided to learn Software Engineering at Flatiron School? Here’s some tips to prepare.
Five months ago, I also took the plunge. While already feeling comfortable working from home, I decided the full-time online software engineering course would be the best fit for me. Even still, I felt like I was walking in somewhat blind. With these tips and a little determination, you’ll be prepared to begin your coding journey.
Manage your time!
This is a super important part of being a successful Flatiron student. The weekly workload can be pretty daunting, but managing your time wisely will help you keep up with the curriculum. It’s easy to get distracted while working from home, so set a schedule and stick to it. It’s tough to catch back up after falling behind.
Complete the prep course!
Flatiron School has a free prep course to get you prepared on the material you’ll be learning throughout the course. I highly recommend you complete as much as you can before your full-time course begins. You’ll be able to get your feet wet learning to code and get a good idea for how the lessons will flow. Understanding the basics of the Ruby and JavaScript languages will give you an advantage when the curriculum begins.
Don’t be afraid to ask for help!
Flatiron offers a lot of options for guidance throughout the course, but being active in my cohort’s Slack channel was the most beneficial for me. If I ever got stumped on a lab or couldn’t figure out how to get a feature to work on a project, there was always someone willing to lend a hand. You’ll end up meeting a lot of cool people in your cohort, and there will be some major advantages in working together.
Hang in there!
It can be easy to get overwhelmed with the amount work and brainpower the course requires. At some point during the course you might feel like giving up, but don’t! Take a deep breath and remember that this is not life or death. Take it one step at a time and try to focus on the current task at hand. It will always be worth it to put in a little extra effort and push through. Remember, one day you’ll be able to say, “Hot dang, I’m a software engineer!”