After the Bootcamp, Episode 4

My weeks since graduation have been spent sending out resumes, building things, meeting people and trying to stay positive.

One thing I have noticed is how my skills as a front-end developer translate into fields that are not front-end related. I've recently been studying about RPA. RPA is a robotic platform that is designed to automate tasks and free up human capital. RPA is not code-intensive and is done through a lot of abstract interaction with an application modeler that looks similar to Visio. However, the guts of the system depend on a lot of processes I learned about at bootcamp. For example, when automating a process you must select the fields that the modeling software will observe. However, if the DOM or the appstate are updated the modeling software needs to be configured to ignore these changes and continue running. This goes back to my first week at bootcamp learning about the DOM of an HTML page or later learning about the virtual DOM of React. So even though RPA doesn't involve a lot of time coding, knowing about code is important to understanding what is happening under the hood.

I've heard countless stories of people who learn something at school and once they start work they have to use that as a foundation to learn a different language or framework. Actually it seems like everyone who went to school or bootcamp will get a job that barely uses the languages/frameworks they learned, but will almost definitely use the techniques and the logic. So for those of you who are studying web dev and programming keep an eye on the fundamentals of what you have learned. Its important to learn how to do a for-loop in JavaScript for the sake of JS programming, but when the time comes you will use that same logic to build a for-loop in PHP.

Me, 5 seconds after replacing Windows 10 on my laptop with Ubuntu 18.

Its not the first time I've installed Ubuntu on a computer. I did it on my desktop back in the day before I even knew how to do anything in terminal. And I did it most recently on my HP Mini that was too weak to run the modern Windows configs or update any of the newer apps. But this is the first time I replaced it on a computer that I actually use on a regular basis and care about. At first I wanted to set up a dual boot config so I could continue using Windows for the apps I enjoy, while being able to code using the Linux CLI. Prior to this I was using my HP Mini for coding (yes, I was THAT guy who shows up for meetups with a laptop that clearly doesn't belong). But once I started building apps with a little complexity the HP Mini started showing its age. And the Mini wasn't built with upgradability in mind so basically I took that laptop as far as it could go. It was by my side during my accounting classes at UNLV back in 2013, flew with me to Hawaii as my travel-laptop, and has been my savior when I needed to watch Youtube tutorials or prepare USB installers when my other computers get broken.

Too bad I didn't learn how to properly mirror my monitor. On Saturday I gave a presentation at the Las Vegas Demo Day extolling the virtues of proper button UI/UX. It was my first presentation using my new Ubuntu laptop and sure enough the slideshow didn't mirror correctly so I had to do it (GASP!) manually on screen. Although the magic was ruined, the presentation still went well and was received positively. It was really nice giving back to the group too since I typically just sit in and watch other people go up in front. I'll definitely be back next month with at least 50% fewer technical difficulties.

Obviously I want to be working. But I also want to grow as a developer. Its great when you can have both at the same time. But when you have to choose, investing in yourself is the best investment you can make. The payoff is unbeatable.