The latest articles on Forem by tami sigmund 🐴🎮 (@cuppy). https://forem.com/cuppy https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F337865%2F93e90a63-9c3d-4083-8f1e-7c627ed10fbc.jpg https://forem.com/cuppy en tami sigmund 🐴🎮 Tue, 18 Feb 2020 16:45:12 +0000 https://forem.com/cuppy/hello-world-4abj https://forem.com/cuppy/hello-world-4abj <p>Hey, I'm here!</p> <p>It's 2020, time for a new blog. This time, I'm going "as free as possible" by joining up with the dev.to community and seeing what all this site has to offer!</p> <p>This year, I evaluated a number of web developer bootcamps and free resources and I've decided to go down the route of learning software engineering through <a href="http://www.launchschool.com">Launch School</a>. There were a few reasons why I feel strongly that Launch School's core curriculum is for me. In order to understand these motivations, it's important to know why I'm learning to code.</p> <h3> Why I'm learning to code </h3> <ul> <li> <strong>I want to learn the foundations of software engineering</strong> - I don't want a "learn coding quick" scheme. I want to truly understand the hows and whys behind why code is executed the way it is. I want a real base in order to continue foundational learning upon.</li> <li> <strong>I want to be a better game producer</strong> - Even if I never write a line of code at work, having a true understanding of the way the web works can only benefit me in my work in game development. I want to speak all the same language, understand engineer's motivations. </li> <li> <strong>I'm not looking for a career switch</strong> - At least in the short term, I'm looking to learn software engineering on my own time with no immediate intentions to switch careers/roles into an engineering position. I just want to learn for learnings sake.</li> </ul> <h3> Why Launch School works for me </h3> <ul> <li> <strong>It's self-paced</strong> - Launch School is fully remote &amp; self-paced. With a full time job and a 4 year old son, I can't devote 40 hours a week to coding. I have to learn slowly, which means I'm not able to devote to a 12 week FT bootcamp onsite.</li> <li> <strong>It's a monthly fee</strong> - Instead of being $8,000 - 30,000 like web development bootcamps, I'm going to be paying $199/month. I can pause or stop at any time. I can structure this around my life and my availability. </li> <li> <strong>Mastery-based learning</strong> - Launch School isn't a dev bootcamp. It's a <a href="https://launchschool.com/mastery">mastery-based learning</a> platform. It gives a very strong foundation that takes people anywhere from 9mo to YEARS to complete their curriculum. It's in-depth, it's detailed, it's mixed-media (though mostly text). It's the kind of program where I'm assessed when I'm ready and have support from TAs and the community, but I will truly understand everything before I am allowed to progress. As a person who is always looking for the "quick fix", this kind of slow, intentional learning is exactly what I need to learn a new way to learn.</li> </ul> <p>I have just started the free prep course part of Launch School and I'm excited to document my learnings and experience here.</p> beginners launchschool codenewbie