Hi everyone,
I just wanted to share my story for a little bit of motivation and inspiration for everyone.
I joined free code camp in April and slowly started working through the course.
I started getting extremely discouraged when I got to the algorithm section as I could barely solve anything. My partner helped me for a little while (he is a senior software engineer), but he ended up getting frustrated and telling me that those challenges were pointless. After his advice, I decided to focus more on the “projects”, which he said was what was really going to prepare me for the workforce so I jumped ahead a little bit and finished a lot of the projects. I am currently working on the pomodoro timer which I am really proud of. I realised I was coding Javasscript okay in my projects, even though I couldn’t solve those crazy algorithms.
Two months ago, I applied for an intern position at thriveweb.com.au by showing them my code-pen and explaining I was eager to learn for free and help out. I told them about what I was studying, how I was studying, and that I will continue to improve in my own time at home while I worked there. I got an answer straight away from the director, and after two months of working there he hired me happily, a month before he had to 
To be honest, it was a little stressful at first and there are still days where I get stressed out because I’m not sure what to do and other developers get too busy to help me, but I know that the environment there is right for me, and I feel a deep sense of belonging or being in the right place in my heart The environment is perfect, laid back, crusiy, surfing on the lunch break, no micro-management, and to boot, beers and lunch on Fridays!
I have slowed down on my free code camp, as now, to progress in this company I need to get better at wordpress, so I have switched tree house and other learning tracks for a bit.
My personal opinion is that those algorithms are really unnecessary! I understand that they help us to think like a programmer, but for someone who is just learning they are too crazy. If I didn’t have the guidance and encouragement of my partner I would have given up. I coded my projects with ease. However, I am playing “code. combat” online which is problem solving but more at a beginner stage, with more support. I feel like I am getting much better with the logic through that game and I will come back one day when I have learnt what I need to for my job.
Thrive wasn’t the only place that answered me, two other people replied to my internship email asking me to come and work with them. I do believe this was partly due to how my email was worded, if anyone wants me to post it please let me know.
And if you have annnny questions! Please let me know too!
I hope to become a teacher in the community one day and share my knowledge in a way I know can really help beginners.
And my advice to anyone who has done at least as many projects as I have, show some companies! Get that internship!
Francesca x
UPDATE**
A couple of people have really tried to stress to me the importance of algorithms, and I think I didn’t make myself really clear in my original post, as I do agree with you all on that point. I just was more flexible in the way I have decided to learn those, as in my opinion the way I went, got my my job faster. Below I have pasted a reply I wrote to somebody about the matter
In regards to the algorithms section, I kind of completely agree with everything you said which is why I mentioned I am not giving up on that section and continuing to work through it and develop my algorithm skills in different ways like playing code combat for now.
After a few months of playing codecombat I can feel my brain changing, and I totally get that independent and happy and confident feeling from being able to problem solve on my own.
My only issue is that my brain actually NEVER had any experience with any sort of problem solving, I am not a logical girl, I am intuitive and creative, that is how I have always solved problems, from my gut and my heart, so these algorithms are a completely different ballgame. I remember sitting there, doing everything you said, reading the challenge for like a day, reading all the documentation, and still having no idea where I would start. So my problem with that part is that I personally feel, my brain needed more warming up and more knowledge to get to be at a level to start to really understand what I might be able to do. I was still completely able to go ahead and do all the projects by myself without solving any of those algorithms. And if I had stayed there stuck and not moving forward trying to solve this and not have skipped to the projects, or studied more javascript online on other courses to get a better handle of it, I wouldn’t have my job now. I had to be proactive and try to determine what was best for me instead of sitting in a corner staring at a wall trying to find something within that wasn’t there. I believe this also made me more independent and able to problem-solve too! (but in a different way)
So I am happy that I was flexible and did what was right for me to move forward. Doing projects was what has really helped my brain start to develop those skills, as well as playing code combat online (have you tried it) its amazing!
So that was really the initial point I was trying to make when bringing that up.
I’m actually very excited moving forward to get better at solving the algorithims, while I am also doing things that are practically moving my career forward, like learning the java script I need for the word press sites at work, which the algorithims have nothing to do with in my opinion, they might make me faster at problem solving in the long run, but learning exactly what I need is also very quick too.
