Before May 2013, I could only piece code together. Like hack WordPress and JavaScript to do what it needed to do. Maybe make sense of things in question (in particular, jsp) and edit accordingly to make it work. Cut and paste from Google. You get the picture.

But now having gone through Dev Bootcamp, I’m in somewhat decent shape as a Junior Software Engineer or Full Stack Web Developer. Knowing I have this kind of skill is still somewhat surreal to me. What I can say is that the difference from the time I began bootcamp to now is night and day. Seeing code now is much easier to comprehend, and to follow other professionals talk about code isn’t as difficult as it used to be. And for this, it’s reason to be grateful for the time I spent learning how to program from my instructors and fellow classmates.

However, I will make no claims. I know I have a ton to learn and a ton to practice. Having the option to continue a career in this path, I’m aware that I would need the guidance in a well-established system. But compared to where I was in a very outdated university curriculum, I am that much more prepared for current practices – putting me in position to begin as a Junior Dev immediately.

Meanwhile, I continue to learn a variety of things independently – whether it’s through practice and analysis, reading, Meetups, or available tutorials. While the language I know best is Ruby, I am not opposed to going back to PHP, looking further into Java, exploring Python, Node, Elixir, Clojure, Scala, front-end JavaScript frameworks (i.e. Angular, Backbone and Ember), or other open source languages that are currently in practice.

Regardless of professional practice, expressing design through apps is now a reality. And that’s something really invaluable to me.

September 2013