If you’re reading this, I’m either nearing the end of my Flatiron experience or I’ve managed to find a job and move on with my career. Either way, I primarily wanted to just reflect on some thoughts and my interactions I’ve had along the way. This has not been easy, but engaging in conversations with others in the same spot makes a world of difference.
Have you ever been in a position where you are speaking with someone and after several minutes you suddenly realize that you haven’t understood a single word that they’re talking about? That was how I felt when I began this course when hearing discussions on iteration, arrays and indexing, fetches, JSON, and the list goes on. Some people are wired for this type of understanding and comprehension and then… there are the rest of us.
Chances are, it is going to take a long time to really understand everything that various programming languages have to offer and that’s what this whole program has been about. We learn concepts and ideas, not entire languages. But where Flatiron really excels is their Cohorts (if utilized properly). My cohort has come to my rescue and expanded my understanding far beyond what I would have been able to do on my own.
Take the ‘ReadMe’ sections for example. That is a single page of content organized by selective readers that understand something in a similar manner. But on multiple occassions, their way of thinking didn’t match my own and I was stuck staring at the screen for hours. No matter how many times I would read or re-read the page, I still couldn’t understand what was expected from me.
A particular scenario early-on led to someone starting up Zoom and asking for some help in a Lab where I was also stuck. Getting into a Zoom conversation had the whole lab solved in less than 20 minutes. It happens all the time (though the amount of time may vary).
The point I’m trying to make is that if you want to increase your confidence and comprehension, then collaboration is key. You’ll save yourself so much time learning about how to deal with machines when you engage in conversation with another human.
Embrace your lack of understanding, utilize the talents of those around you, and then share your knowledge with others because you aren’t the first person to be confused and you won’t be the last. You’ve entered into a community of technical understanding and everyone has a mastery of their own. Hopefully this helps you feel more confident and ready to go find yours.