Hello everyone I am a 19 year old struggling in college and was wondering if I can get a job from simply taking Freecodecamp and give you honest opinions about the website?
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just freecodecamp, no
there is too much competition at beginner levels
but if you start with freecodecamp, and then keep practicing and learning and creating stuff, eventually…
if you can, a degree would give you an advantage over no degree
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FCC or any other learning platform doesnt get you a job…
The skill set gets you the job. You can’t rush the learning process. It’s a state of constant learning, coding that is.
Is it possible? Yes, people have done it. Is it probable? Less so.
Realistically, it takes learning from multiple different resources to be job ready. FCC can be a very big part of that, but it won’t be and should not be a one stop shop for your career preparation. If you are interested and dedicated, you will naturally find other resources as you explore your interest and fill the gaps in your working knowledge.
As a full stack developer with a focus toward the front-end, lot of of my day to day coding leverages what I learned with FCC and I don’t even use the complete stack that FCC teaches, so the material is definitely very useful and job applicable.
It is unclear what you mean by struggling, but if you mean academically, then you need to examine why you are struggling, since the same stumbling blocks can affect you beyond just school.
Understand that self-learning is not better or easier than school learning, and all FCC or any other platform can do is just provide you with the resources to succeed, not a guarantee.
If you search these forums, you see many people post their success stories. some found success very rapidly, some had longer struggles. The common thread in the success stories is that the people were very dedicated in their learning and job search, and often they had to manage life and deal with failures along the way. That’s ultimately the key. Neither FCC or college education can “simply” get you a job, it’s all up to you.
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Your question is not at all easy to answer. I am trying to give my opinion and/or advice.
First, they don’t hire you because you’re from FCC, but because you 've or can demonstrate the needed skills. That is so for degree or no degree. Many companies look for motivated people who can add some value in their business.
So, for me, the very first thing you should worry about is not the job but if you have the skills needed to get the job. Try to deeply think about your motivations. Why do you want to leave college, what do you exactly want…
Also, be aware, there’re jobs and jobs. Do you just want any job no matter the salary? If you’re looking for a secure job, a well-paid job, know that it requires (much) time to have the skills, and much time again before you get accepted. For that you need to be patient.
There’s much to say, but let’s first stop by there.
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I have a similar question to @navisnerona46sabster .
Being a female in the United States, could I easily get a job with just a freecodecamp certificate? I mean, considering the new “diversity” stuff, wouldn’t they just jump at my application? (Not that I am ready to apply yet.)
And can someone explain student grants and scholarships to me? Especially the ones for girls. Grants sound awesome but I am not sure how they work.
Someone told me that with grants, ALL of my expenses would be paid by someone other than myself. Is this accurate?
It depends on the grant - some might only cover tuition costs, while others might cover Cost of Attendance (tuition, books + fees, living expenses).
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Oh, I am rooting for the latter! How awesome! But if I can only get the former mentioned, that is still cool!
The certificate itself is useless. It’s just a virtual piece of paper.
The main thing you should focus on are the projects. Those projects will teach you more skills as well as demonstrate what you know already. Then again a FCC certificate in HTML, CSS won’t do you much. You’ll need to know JS and more as well.
Just remember one thing, it’s the skill that you learn that counts.
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As someone that went through a lot of school, and went through this process a few times, I can give you some details regarding these things at university.
The vast majority of scholarships and grants are not meant to cover your tuition full stop. They tend to be set amounts awarded to partially offset your cost of attendance. Full-ride scholarships mostly are reserved for individuals that demonstrate exceptional qualities or come from extraordinary circumstances or both.
There are need-based financial aid and merit-based financial aid. Need-based tend to awarded based on certain economic/background criteria, and merit-based scholarship is based on your personal exceptionalism. The demand obviously out-strips the supply, so there needs to be a selection process. Usually, the looser the criteria, the lesser the amount awarded, due to the total pool being disbursed to more individuals. It’s up to you to demonstrate either your merit or your need, often through the form of a personal essay and/or an interview. It’s not merely as simple as filling out a form and checking boxes.
I don’t know of any grants that are of the full ride variety. Grants tend to be need-based, and again, due to the demand, only so much can be awarded to those in need, so I don’t think any single grant covers the cost of typical school tuition. Many of these require no additional information other than what you input into your FAFSA application. The most commonly known one is the federal pell grant. Some, however, require stricter criteria and require you to submit a separate application and contingent on certain criteria like completion of certain research, or contract to teach post-graduation…etc.
It’s possible to be qualified for multiple grants and be awarded multiple scholarships, and cover your tuition total. However, typically, this is unlikely for most major schools. This also depends on you geographic location, your financial background, your school and major of choice, and of course, your merits. It is in a lot of ways, it’s own hustle.
For the most part, the need"diversity" by itself doesn’t automatically enable you to be awarded money or job consideration, so best not to rely on it being an advantage. In fact, I’d say in most situation merit and competence are valued far more.
Well, I was home schooled, therefore I have a better education than most.
I am creative, overly enthusiastic and willing to work hard. I have two uncles who work with computers and one of them has started a successful business with multiple branches.
I have also taken an entrepreneurship class to improve my business abilities and I live in a central state. Currently, around my area many colleges are offering all courses free to you if you apply soon.
Is that enough to help me? (I am not being sarcastic. I am sincere, I just cannot further my education if I have to pay a lot of money, so this is a major concern for me .)
Homeschool is somewhat of a gray area. First and foremost, makes sure you have a transcript that meets your state requirement for high school equivalence, and take the necessary standardized tests, as they are the next best thing schools have for evaluation your qualification.
Is the teacher of your entrepreneurship class someone that can write you a recommendation letter? Do you have any extracurricular activities where you demonstrate excellence, like athletics, service, or academics like math/science?
Most full-rides are determined by exceptional performance in a peer setting, so you should contact your school of interest to get further information on how they award financial aid and how you can demonstrate your merit. In terms of need, it is mostly based on the financial information you provide in your FAFSA application.
A lot of these things are also school-specific, so the best person to ask is actually the admission office of the school of your interest. It’s free to ask, and their job is to answer your questions to the best of their ability regarding their school
Where I live, home school is considered a private school.
The teacher could probably totally write a letter of recommendation. I am not sure what you mean by
I have lived most of my life within my home with no internet access or social interaction. Could you explain what you mean in the above?
I just realized that might sound really odd. It is not as bad as it sounds. I have had more and more internet access according to my age.
And we just aren’t very social…at all. (I do love being social though.)
I have never been in organized sports and do not even know the rules of the games. I also have never been within any other school than the one held at the entrepreneurship class. No one really knows me. I suppose I could give college a letter from my successful uncle.
Hmm, that’s a little difficult if what you said is true. Some tangible achievements would have more impact.
Usually schools award scholarships, especially large sum scholarships, to exceptional individuals. They demonstrate this often with achievement in certain fields. For example, someone might demonstrate exceptional leadership and service, by volunteering hundreds of hours to the community and organizing notable community service in their local area. Someone may have written and published a novel or non-fiction book, demonstrating excellence in writing and research. Creatives may have directed a play, a short film, or established a successful youtube channel.
However, not all merit-based scholarships are dedicated to the totally extraordinary, the example I listed are more or less extreme. More commonly merit-based/need-based scholarships are awarded to people that demonstrate excellence and balance. People that shown academic excellence in their GPA, as well as having a diverse portfolio of activities beyond academics. There are also competitive scholarships where you can win via contest like essay writing, art, video essays…etc.
Scholarships are not the only form of financial assistance though. Pell grant I talked about before is purely based on your family’s expected contribution and the cost of attendance of your school, you receive upwards 6k per year toward your education. There are also grants specific to families of military servicemen and grants awarded to future teachers and government workers. There are also subsidized federal loans.
Honestly, I can only give you a snapshot. I can tell that you really need someone that understands the process and requirements in-depth to give you a fuller picture. I highly recommend that you contact the admission office of a school, and set up a meeting with an admission officer.
Okay, thank you. I am writing up to 45 books which I hope will be successful and I do intend to start a Youtube channel next year. I suppose if that works that’ll help. Thank you for replying I shall keep in mind what you have told me.
And by the way, what I said is true. I was trained to be honest. I am telling things quite accurately. The world may later see me as a weirdo but I am proud of the radical way I was raised.