89 karma · joined September 17, 2013
1. Motivated enough to make it work - There will be a lot of long hours and toil. You will be trying to cram in a 4 year degree in a 3 month course so be prepared.
2. Question the logic - Programming languages came from humans and not the other way around. So there will be a distinct train of thought to how a system works. Never shy away from asking this. Never shy away from asking the seemingly dumb questions. You will be much more comfortable with a scenario if you know the mechanics of how something works
3. Focus on system design instead of UI - UI and UX experience correlates strongly with experience. System design experience (how do i code this particular component?, Design patterns etc) is contingent on you having strong fundamentals. So focus on that. It will make you a good engineer and not just a coder.
Lynda etc is very self driven and you dont get to have the same immersive experience a la General Assembly. If you do go the Lynda route, try out something like AirPair to complement the experience.
This, more than anything, is what I wish I could do. Unfortunately with a work visa, that is not an option. Closest thing to a vacation might be to find a behemoth of a company and work a fraction of the hours that I am now working. It will probably be immensely unsatisfying, but it will give me a chance to recharge.
I have started doing some work with ruby on rails to make sure that I do not lose touch with programming. I have also enrolled in a bunch of coursera classes which have helped out. Thanks for the words of encouragement. It is people like you who make this forum worth coming to time and again.
Wonder where they will go from here.