Joining a Northcoders bootcamp is an exciting step towards your career in tech. Whether you’re changing paths or taking your first serious step into software development, you’ll soon discover that the experience is about far more than just learning to code.
Your bootcamp will be intense, rewarding, and packed with opportunities. Northcoders graduates have summed up their bootcamp experience as ‘life-changing’ and ‘amazing’, but also ‘challenging’ and ‘a whirlwind’. Students often say that the effort you put into the course directly impacts how much you get out of it. But what does this mean in practice? Here are our seven best tips to make the most out of your coding bootcamp experience.
1. Complete The Pre-course Material
Before the bootcamp begins, you’ll get access to some learning materials. These will get you up to speed with the fundamentals and ensure you have the right foundation for what’s to come.
Set aside enough time to complete it all without having to rush. Take notes, and don’t hesitate to ask questions in your pre-course channel on Slack if there’s anything you’re unsure about. The better prepared you are at the start, the more confidently you’ll navigate the early weeks of the course.
2. Reach Out For Mentor Support
Our team of experienced tutors aren’t just here to teach lectures and seminars. They’ll support you with every step of your learning journey. So if you’re stuck on a concept or need reassurance, don’t be afraid to ask for help!
While you can reach out to any tutor at any point, you’ll also have regular one-to-one checkins with your personal mentor. Do share any concerns you may have with them, whether it’s about a coding practice that didn’t click or general life events weighing on your mind.
We also have a Wellbeing team who can support you with anything from learning needs to mental health struggles. Reaching out is not a sign of weakness; it’s a smart way to support your learning.
3. Embrace Teamwork
One of the best parts of doing a bootcamp is that you’re not learning alone. You’ll be studying alongside coursemates, and they can be your greatest allies during your learning journey. Collaborating on code will also help prepare you for the teamwork involved in real software developer roles.
If you get stuck on a task, reach out to your peers on Slack to see if you can work through it with someone else. Be open to feedback from others, and do your best to be constructive when you share your own. Teaching others is one of the best ways to reinforce your own understanding, so don’t hesitate to lend a hand if someone else asks for help.
Building a community on the bootcamp will make your time more enjoyable, and will also help you learn more by building on each other’s strengths.
4. Compare Yourself To Your Past Self, Not Others
It’s easy to look around and feel like some people are learning faster, solving problems more easily, or progressing more quickly. But everyone comes from different backgrounds and learns in different ways.
Instead of comparing yourself to others, focus on how far you’ve personally come. Would you have been able to solve that tricky task a few days ago? Reflect on your progress weekly, acknowledge your achievements, and recognise that growth isn’t always linear. Remember that small wins are worth celebrating too. It all counts as progress!
5. Organise Your Schedule
Make sure you attend all required classes on time, and show up ready to learn with everything you need at hand. Putting some thought into your study space can also help you get into positive habits and learn with fewer distractions. You can read more about setting up your perfect study space here.
If your bootcamp involves any weekly recommended self-study hours, schedule them into your diary ahead of time to make sure you can fit them in. And remember that breaks are important too. Set timers or schedule in screen breaks, short walks, and code-free moments to give yourself a chance to breathe. All of this will help your bootcamp feel more manageable and help you make the most out of your learning experience.
6. Engage With Our Career Coaches
As part of your Northcoders bootcamp, you’ll also get support from our careers coaches. Even if working on your CV doesn’t sound as exciting as your current coding project, make sure to pay attention to the guidance they’ll share with you. A strong CV and LinkedIn profile are the first step to getting a job interview.
Your career coach can also help you practice a mock interview and discuss with you any questions or concerns you have about the hiring process or your career path. Knowing about your strengths and goals will also help your career coach better put you forward for roles to our hiring partners looking for new developers.
The job market can be competitive, and the more prepared you are, the easier it will be to transition into your first tech role with confidence.
7. Keep Going After Graduation
Your learning shouldn’t stop with the bootcamp. Towards the end of the course, your tutors will give you ideas of further learning to look into and projects to create. Use these ideas as a springboard to become a stronger developer and keep building your portfolio.
You can also work on a personal idea, contribute to open source projects, or keep collaborating with your coursemates after the bootcamp. Continuing to code will help you keep your skills sharp, stand out from other applicants, and better showcase your skill set to employers.
Welcome To Northcoders
Your time at Northcoders will be intense, challenging, and deeply rewarding. To make the most out of your bootcamp experience, take up the tutor, peer, and career support available any time you need. Stay organised and engaged, and celebrate your progress one step at a time. You’ll come out not just as someone who can write code, but as a confident, job-ready developer ready to take on the tech world. We hope you have a great time on the bootcamp!
Haven’t applied yet? You can browse our bootcamps and get started here.