Weekly Posts

Last week, my original Launch Academy cohort graduated!  It was great seeing them all again, and hearing them talk about the job search that is just beginning. 

A group of graduates asked if I would be interested in helping with a project they were going to start, which was really kind of them (if any of you are reading this, thank you!)  It was such a compliment that, even without the schooling I will acquire before the end of my bootcamp, they still thought I could contribute and asked me to join them.  

We're going to be working on a multi-person gaming app, and hit upon Uno as a game we could emulate.  It will be really hard working on a Rails app when I haven't worked with Rails or Databases (yet!) but it occurred to me this morning that working with them is probably the best thing I could do to prepare me for the job market.  Even with the depth of knowledge that I will acquire at Launch Academy, a bootcamp cannot equate to the years of experience that my coworkers would have at any company.  As a Junior Engineer I will be expected to contribute as well as continue to learn, and here is a perfect opportunity to do the same.

My new cohort begins on March 12th, and I will do my best to keep this blog going throughout the bootcamp.  It will likely become a source of weekly posts, trying to summarize the outside work I've been able to do as well as the new things I will be learning.  I am really excited to return to Launch Academy with hands that have definitely healed since my first cohort.  Having a chance to go above and beyond on assignments will be so much fun!

In the meantime I am going to try and get an RSVP app running.  My brother and I spent the past weekend integrating SendGrid with a React app, so that I can send both myself and the invitee a copy of their RSVP information.  I think that, no matter how the app turns out, as long as it is functional I will be ecstatic.  Creating something is such a wonderful feeling, and I look forward to sharing it with my family and friends.

The most common question I am asked when I mention the RSVP app is "Aren't there already websites where you could set that up?"  I'm sure there are, but that's beside the point.  I am no longer the Manager of a bakery who occasionally takes an online class - I am a Junior Engineer in search of meaningful practice projects.