The Ironhack Blog

If you are thinking about learning a programming language, or even want to become a (web) developer, there are basically two big, interrelated, hurdles that you need to overcome. The first is "which language should I learn? ", and the second " where do I even begin? " Considering the fact that the internet is not well known for reaching consensus (think of Godwin’s law), this article will help you get started. Asking The Right Questions You’re looking to learn a web programming language. That means you fall into one of two camps. Either you’re a new programmer looking to learn your first language, or you’re already a programmer looking to pick up something new. Regardless of where you stand, you have to ask yourself a few questions: Am I looking to learn this language to further my career? Will this language advance those goals? What companies are working with this language? Do I want to work with those companies? What kind of ecosystem does this language have? Do I enjoy working with this language? There are definitely more, but you can get a picture of the line of thinking you need going into this decision. It’s an important one, and you’re probably going to be spending a lot of time working with whichever language you choose. Why Should I Learn A Programming Language? Imagine you could not write or understand English, but live in an English-speaking country. It will be hard to find a job, or friends or even buy groceries. Code in that respect, is the predominant language of today: it simply governs most processes around us. Learning how to code therefore empowers you, and helps you to better understand and engage with the world around you. Secondly, when people say: “think like a programmer”, they refer to the ability to understand a problem and look at it from an alternative perspective. In other words, learning a programming language will teach you how to think. Similar to languages, code uses abstraction and metaphors to make sense of the complex processes that run sophisticated computer programs. In the end, learning a programming language teaches you how to be a better problem solver, which is a lifetime skill in itself. Last but not least, programmers have a very favourable market position. The software market has blown up and keeps on growing. There are about 27 jobs per developer and the average starting pay is around 35,500 euro per year¹. This means your chances are pretty high to find a well paid job to hone your skills further. Ok, it’s fairly straightforward that learning a programming language has quite a lot of advantages. But where and how do you start to learn one? What is HTML, CSS and JavaScript? HTML stands for HyperText Markup Language. It basically tells you how a website is organised: what the content is, what the images on your website are and where your users can navigate to. In an hour or two of learning HTML, you’ll be able to write your first few lines of it. CSS , or Cascading Style Sheet is HTML’s best friend and gives it its flair. CSS is used for general styling of a webpage and for the layout. The syntax of CSS is also fairly simple once you understand the basics. JavaScript is HTML and CSS’s weird uncle. Whenever JavaScript comes to the party, everything starts to move and interact with one another. So think about JavaScript as the language that makes a web page dynamic. It helps you to login on social media, to share content, to make cool animations and even send messages. Why are they good to start with? (Or, one language to rule them all) As said, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript are the three languages essential for understanding the modern web. In particular JavaScript will make you highly employable, because it’s everywhere. All the big companies rely on it, such as Facebook, Uber, Airbnb and Instagram. <p">JavaScript can be used both on the front-end and back-end. This means that if you would like to learn how to make a beautiful web page that is animated and tells a compelling story; JavaScript is the one. If you’re interested in how a server operates and how data is stored: JavaScript is (still) the one. And if you want to learn both: it’s JavaScript again. The Top Contenders When it comes to web development, there are some clear favorites. These are all languages that have a strong history and are being put to use by top companies in the tech world. Any one of them could be a good choice, but which is best? PHP PHP is the original language of the Web. In the early days of dynamic content, PHP was the only real option. It was easy to get started with. It still is. PHP is also free and open source so you can get started without investing any money. When PHP was first released, that was rare. It’s easy to see why PHP caught on so quickly, but what about now? PHP is still easily the most popular language on the Web. Around 80% of websites are built with it, and it has a thriving community built around platforms like WordPress, Drupal, and Laravel. So, PHP is the clear winner, right? No. PHP has its problems, and they’re big ones. PHP is not the most well-designed language. It’s inconsistent, awkward, and generally pretty sloppy. To make matters worse, PHP’s friendly learning curve has made it a bastion for sloppy and unprofessional code. As a result, PHP has earned an unpleasant reputation as a difficult to maintain security nightmare. Popular PHP platforms, like WordPress, are frequent targets for attackers. PHP is no favorite in the startup world, so you’ll have a hard time finding work in a cutting edge environment. There is plenty of PHP work to be found, but it usually pays less than other languages, and chances are, you’ll be spending most of your time maintaining old codebases or slapping together quick and cheap websites. Ruby Ah Ruby, savior of developers everywhere. The end of PHP’s unquestioned dominance came with the development of Ruby on Rails. Rails enabled developers to build robust web applications quicker and more simply than ever before. It immediately started to win over developers. It wasn’t long before Rails dominated the startup world. It is in Ruby’s design goals to make the lives of developers easier, and it shows. Ruby is clean, simple, and easy to read. Ruby is a fully object-oriented language. Everything in Ruby is an object, even numbers. Ruby is also loaded with helper methods that can simplify your code. They can also feel strange to experienced programmers because it doesn’t conform to the same conventions as most other languages. Ruby also has its limitations. It executes slowly compared to many other languages. Combine that with the size of Rails as an application, and you’ve got potential scaling problems. Right now, Ruby is still strong, but it’s not as strong as it once was. Rails is no longer the de-facto choice for startups. It’s still very popular, but other options have caught up and eaten into its market share. Rails and Ruby still have a very strong ecosystem with loads of developers and jobs, but it’s also past the peak of its popularity. Python Python is a general purpose language. It is huge with Linux and the open source world, but developers use it for all sorts of projects. Python is known for being simple, straightforward, and logical. The Python way of doing things is often referred to as the “Zen of Python” because everything is usually calm and clear. Python has very few strange idiosyncrasies. In the web development world, Python powers some of the largest sites in the world . Interestingly enough, it never gained as widespread adoption as the likes of Ruby and PHP. Several great frameworks like Django, Flask, and Pyramid are built with Python. Like the language itself, they tend to value explicit configuration. The job market in Python is on the upswing, but only a small portion of that is in the web space. JavaScript It’s time to address the 800-pound gorilla. JavaScript is the modern web. It has the unique distinction of being the only web language that can be used on both the front and back end. JavaScript is easy to get started with. Its syntax isn’t as clean as Ruby or Python, but it is easy to understand. You can also experiment with JavaScript in the browser on the front end without having to worry about frameworks, servers, or any of the usual back-end concerns. NodeJS has changed the landscape. It’s versatile. NodeJS can be used as part of the MEAN stack, which works similarly to frameworks like Rails and Django. It can also be used to develop custom applications from the ground up. NodeJS has even edged into the desktop space by enabling the developer to make custom cross-platform clients for web applications. NodeJS makes use of asynchronous programming, allowing it to run much more quickly than many other back end options. JavaScript jobs are on the rise nearly everywhere, including startups. It’s important to consider that even applications with a back-end built in a different language still use JavaScript on the front. Which One? It’s hard to point to only one language and call it the “best.” What’s the best for one person may not be great for someone else. Programming languages are tools, and it’s important to use the best tool for each job. Using one tool for every job may not work so well. Only one of these languages can handle just about every job on the web. JavaScript is ubiquitous. If you’re planning on working in web development, you need to know some JavaScript. JavaScript is growing. NodeJS and the MEAN stack have revolutionized server side development, and adoption of back-end JavaScript is only increasing. So, if you’re looking to learn web development and the most used programming languages, look into our Web Development bootcamp . You won’t be disappointed!

Jimmy: Alright, so we are recording. Welcome back to another Ironhack Student Podcast , I am Jimmy. And in case you don’t know what Ironhack is we are a coding bootcamp and a UX/UI bootcamp so basically that means that if you have a curiosity to either level up your career, completely change directions of your career, recent graduate who wants to acquire a new skill or if you’re just kind of confused in what to do in life, this is something to consider. So basically, we take people from zero to 100 real quick. That means in a matter of nine weeks either coders or the UX/UI designers will go from basically no idea to junior developer or junior designer level. It sounds a little bit too good to be true but in reality, it’s just a lot of hard work for nine weeks, all day long, probably weekends included. And, yeah, that’s really the secret sauce, it’s basically you putting in the time and effort into taking yourself where you see your life and your career going. So we do our best on our side to put all the resources into your hands, but ultimately we can’t do it for you. So if you think that you’re up for it, go check out Ironhack, speak to us, we’re here to answer all of your questions. And if you ultimately decide to join us then awesome. So that’s the Ironhack spiel. Today I’m joined by Viktoria , Nicholas and Michiel ? Michiel: Michiel, yes. Jimmy: Ah, got it. Michiel: It’s a little difficult name, yeah. Jimmy: So basically there are three students in the coding bootcamp, they’re learning JavaScript. Why don’t you each introduce yourselves and tell me name, where you come from, and I want to know one thing that drove you to make this decision to join the bootcamp. Michiel: My name is Michiel, I’m from Holland, Amsterdam. I’ve been living in Barcelona now for almost two and a half years, and I was working here in Barcelona for 10 months before and it was a job that I didn’t really study for. But I want to stay here in Barcelona and I noticed that I missed a certain skill to get a better job here and— Jimmy: What were you doing? Michiel: I studied industrial engineering so I’ve been working four years as a consultant in Amsterdam as well— Jimmy: Ok. Michiel: When I came here I had to start over and did like sort of Google for work support, it was, more or less, call center work, work like that. And after 10 months, I’m like, ok, this is not why I studied and that made me look at other options. And that’s how I came to Ironhack, and I thought with the knowledge I have included with the knowledge of coding I would get a better job. “And after 10 months, I’m like, ok, this is not why I studied and that made me look at other options. And that’s how I came to Ironhack, and I thought with the knowledge I have included with the knowledge of coding I would get a better job.” -Michiel Jimmy: We’ll get more into that. Michiel: Ok. Jimmy: What about you, Nicholas? Nicholas: My name is Nicholas, I’m from Los Angeles, California. Why did I come to Ironhack? I’ve been thinking about this decision for about three years, been looking at a bunch of different bootcamps. Yeah, coding, I have a lot of ideas I want to develop and the main barrier is just having the hard skills to do that. I don’t have the money to hire a developer and pay them tens of thousands of dollars to develop my ideas. So there’s only one way and that’s learning, JavaScript, learning to code. So that’s why I’m here, mainly. “I don’t have the money to hire a developer and pay them tens of thousands of dollars to develop my ideas. So there’s only one way and that’s learning JavaScript, learning to code.” -Nicholas Jimmy: Awesome. Nicholas: And I hope to do that, I hope to use those skills to build new ideas for myself, for other people. Jimmy: Cool. Viktoria? Viktoria: Yeah, so yeah, I’m Viktoria. I’m from Germany and I actually have an entrepreneurial background and I studied Business Administration, so something completely different. And I have no pre-knowledge of coding whatsoever but I graduated last summer and I want to always have something to do with venture creation, startups, et cetera. But now I wanted to sit on the other side of the table and I was kind of in a transition phase, so I wanted to see the other side of the picture and actually get to know what it actually takes to be a coder. So that’s why I said, ok, I actually want to learn it now and that’s what I’m doing here. “I wanted to get to know what it actually takes to be a coder.” -Viktoria Jimmy: So, Michiel is a career changer. Michiel: Yeah, more or less. Jimmy: Nicholas, you’re looking into the entrepreneurial end, and Viktoria, you are kind of a blend? Viktoria: Kind of, yeah. Jimmy: Kind of— Viktoria: I would say so, yeah. Jimmy: Because are you looking to, you know, create an idea that you might have? Or you’re looking more into discovering the skill to be able to like better manage a project? Viktoria: Yeah, I believe that when you go into jobs and whatever you really see how important this side is and it’s going to stay with us forever. And it’s going to change somehow, maybe, as well, but it’s always going to be there so I know how important it is. And even if I actually do the programming myself or even if it’s just about product development, so it’s not a hundred percent coding, but still it’s there. So that’s— Jimmy: So before we get into the summary of your third week, I believe this is your third week, right? Viktoria: Yeah. Michiel: Yeah. Jimmy: So before we get into that summary, because I know that you’ll be presenting some projects, we’ll get into that in a bit. Why don’t you bring me up to speed on the past two weeks? Like from how you felt from the first day to the end of the first week, and what you were feeling at the end of the second week and then bring me into this third week so I kind of get a quick glimpse of what you’ve been learning and what that’s kind of meant to you. Michiel: I started off like …, I started at 9 o’clock in the morning with classes and then went on working until 1 o’clock at night, like the average, without a break. I did that for seven days and I learned so much and it really was going well. But the second week, I felt that I didn’t take any rest the first week so the second week was a bit more difficult and that made me decide to rest a bit in the second weekend. And I have to say the third week is going super well again because I have the energy to keep on going and I’m doing every day again until 12, 12:30 and then— “I started at 9 am with classes and then went on working until 10 pm at night, without a break.” -Michiel Jimmy: So how is your workload been to the point to where have you been able to rest up any or have been taking that, you know, have you been going really hard and just, you know, nine until midnight type of deal? Kind of explain to me how you’ve kind of been, you know, investing time into the bootcamp? Viktoria: Well, we’re investing a lot, lot, lot of time but then again you don’t really feel it during the day, it’s more like when you’re in bed you’re like, oh, wow, it was a long, long, day again. But you don’t really feel it during the day, but on the weekends sometimes I go, ok, I need to rest. But beforehand we knew what was coming, right? They said at the start it’s going to be a very, very, large workload. So my expectations were accordingly, kind of. It is a lot, no doubt, but actually, I really enjoyed—although it’s so much work, I really enjoy it and I don’t get bored or I don’t get super frustrated. You always get that at some point but it’s fun. “Although it’s so much work, I really enjoy it and I don’t get bored. I do get super frustrated. You always get that at some point, but it’s fun.” -Viktoria Jimmy: So what about you, Nicholas? Nicholas: It’s a constant oscillation between this maddening frustration and complete relief when you overcome a problem. It’s really fulfilling, actually. Like Viktoria said, you don’t really notice it during day, you’re very focused on the code and the exercises and your cohort, the people around, you really make the experience a lot better. It’s a lot of fun to come in here every day, as challenging and hard as it is. “It’s a constant oscillation between this maddening frustration and complete relief when you overcome a problem. It’s really fulfilling, actually.” -Nicholas Jimmy: You know, from my point of view, it’s been interesting to see how practically I don’t have a feeling that very many people, if at all, even show up late to class. Viktoria: No. Jimmy: And that’s pretty cool because it usually happens as the bootcamp weeks start ticking away, the late arrivers start kind of increasing in volume. But after three weeks it’s interesting to see that that hasn’t—at least not from my point of view, it hasn’t happened. How do you see that? Viktoria: Yeah, I agree. I think we don’t have any late comers. Michiel: No, I think also, everybody that came here and does the course want to do it— Viktoria: Exactly. Michiel: You know, and does it with his full hundred percent and then—yeah, then you don’t come late, of course, you want to be there because it’s important to be there. Jimmy: Are there things that—is it how you expected, is it how you envisioned from the curriculum all the way down to the intensity? Nicholas: It’s not for me, and only in the sense that I didn’t think—I was very doubtful that I would be able to move to the exercises and just really keep up at all. And there are times where I haven’t kept up, like I haven’t finished all the exercises but—like this current week is showing, at least myself, is that that’s not the most important thing. The most important thing is just pressing forward, trying new things, constantly trying, solving problems. And this project that we’re working on has really allowed us to synthesize everything we’ve done over the past two or three weeks. “The most important thing is just pressing forward, trying new things, constantly trying, solving problems. And this project that we’re working on has really allowed us to synthesize everything we’ve done over the past two or three weeks.” -Nicholas Jimmy: So it was, more or less, what you expected or not at all what you expected? Nicholas: The level of intensity is what I expected. Viktoria: Yeah. Nicholas: Which, Viktoria said, is helpful that there was an expectation there of that intensity. But in terms of the sort of class dynamic and just the general feeling during the day it’s different. Jimmy: So what’s one thing that maybe has caught you by surprise? That you’re like, this was nowhere in the interview process or on the website or anywhere else? Is there anything that comes to mind? Viktoria: I wouldn’t say I have any surprises, the thing is I knew beforehand it’s going to be super hard and a hard workload. But for everything else I didn’t even set myself any expectations because if they’re not met then you’re just, like, sad or frustrated. So I just said, you know what, I’m just going to go there now and see what happens and I was very positively surprised. Jimmy: I’m always curious to know why, you know, you’ve all obviously decided to sign up to a bootcamp and it’s probably one of the most intensive learning environments, but were you doing something on your own at home or was this kind of your introduction into learning to code? How did you transition into this as far as your kind of education? Were you already doing something or is this kind of you jumping into the deep end? Michiel: For me it was jumping into the deep end, I had started coding just before December, I think, or in December. Jimmy: Ok. Michiel: To do the pre-work for Ironhack, actually. Viktoria: Yeah, I was exactly the same [laugh]. Michiel: Like, yeah. Viktoria: Yeah, I was exactly the same, no experience beforehand, nothing. Jimmy: So, what about you Nicholas? Nicholas: The only experience that I had had was on Codecademy, playing around with HTML and some JavaScript, Ruby, but that was not enough to really bring ideas together. “The only experience that I had had was on Codecademy, playing around with HTML and some JavaScript, Ruby, but that was not enough to really bring ideas together.” -Nicholas Jimmy: This is interesting because normally I have seen a lot of people that, you know, there was already kind of like an underlying interest that this bootcamp just kind of intensify. But going from zero to the deep end, just jumping in, I guess I would want to try and figure out how you decided to make that decision. Because there’s a million options to learn, you know, there’s books, there’s Codecademy, there’s tutorials, there’s You Tube, there’s—God, right now to learn to code there’s a million ways to learn that don’t cost anything or practically anything. So what was kind of that feeling and emotion to say, yeah, I need to do this for my life? Viktoria: Like for me, of course, I’ve seen a few things on Codecademy before but first, I never really had the time to really jump into it. And, as I said, I’m in a transition phase so now was the perfect timing. But also it was something completely different to what I did before so I thought I might as well just try it and see because it was just something I had no clue about so it was kind of exciting to get to know and to see if I’m actually capable of doing it or not. Jimmy: And what about you guys? Nicholas: I think the main thing was frustration with the other sort of self-learning resources that are out there, I knew that coming here would catapult that, it would really expedite that process in a big way. And if you’re serious about learning how to code and you want instruction from experienced developers who can answer your questions immediately, who can help you work through the problems, your team mates help you work through the problems, then the bootcamp is sort of the perfect way to do that. “If you’re serious about learning how to code and you want instruction from experienced developers who can answer your questions immediately, who can help you work through the problems, your teammates also help you work through the problems, then the bootcamp is sort of the perfect way to do that.” -Nicholas Jimmy: It’s definitely hardcore, at least for your three, the way that you’ve kind of just decided to go head first into this. So, end of week three, what are you going to present right now? Michiel: We all had to make a game— Jimmy: Ok. Michiel: So I made a Scrabble game and it’s just like the normal Scrabble. The challenging thing in making this was the calculation of the words and you need to check from every direction if there are multiple words on the board. So that cost me almost two days to fix that, but not all frustration but now it’s done so— Viktoria: It’s a good thing. Michiel: It’s good? Yeah, yeah. Jimmy: It works? Michiel: It works, yeah. Jimmy: It works, there you go. Michiel: Yeah, yeah. Jimmy: What about you, Nicholas? Nicholas: My game is Cards Against Humanity, which is a game I’ve always enjoyed playing— Jimmy: Ok. Nicholas: But I’ve never owned myself so I thought it would be fun to put that in an online format and make it visually fun to play. Jimmy: Oh, that’s cool. Nicholas: So, yeah. Again, the game is—synthesized a lot of technologies that I was not comfortable with the first two weeks, but now I understand through mistakes and problem solving. Viktoria: Yeah, so I made a Blackjack game, so if you asked me on Monday how my two weeks were here I would have probably answered completely different. Because I was so frustrated on Monday because I actually wanted to do a Battleship game. But then I realized, ok, my skills are not that well formed for that yet, but now I’m happy with my Blackjack game. Jimmy: Are your games somewhere publicly available? Michiel: GitHub. Viktoria: GitHub. Jimmy: Yeah, let people know your GitHub and that way I also remember it for afterwards. Viktoria: [Laugh]. Jimmy: What are your GitHub handles? Michiel: My GitHub name is MichielAD. Nicholas: Mine you definitely won’t forget because it’s Universesurfer. Jimmy: Universesurfer? Viktoria: [Laughing]. Nicholas: One word. Jimmy: All together. Nicholas: Yeah. Viktoria: And mine is Vickycodes. Jimmy: Alright. So did you expect to be able to build something like this in three weeks? Viktoria: No, definitely not. Nicholas: We’ve built it in one week, which is—which no, I would not have expected that. I think for all of us, all of our games on the surface they look really simple, like with the Blackjack and the Scrabble and even the Cards Against Humanity, it looks really simple and very easy to do. But if you start peeling away the layers and look at the code, it’s increasingly complex. I would not have— “What we’ve built it in one week… I would not have expected that. I think for all of us, all of our games on the surface they look really simple, like with the Blackjack and the Scrabble and even the Cards Against Humanity, it looks really simple and very easy to do. But if you start peeling away the layers and look at the code, it’s increasingly complex.” -Nicholas Jimmy: It must give you a totally new respect for— Viktoria: Exactly. I thought that. Jimmy: All of these websites that we just take for granted. Viktoria: Yeah. Nicholas: Yeah, absolutely. Jimmy: I remember I had a conversation with the lead instructor in Miami, Misat, and he was just explaining to me kind of the JavaScript and where it’s found. It was mind blowing, it’s everywhere, it’s literally everything. If anything does something halfway useful online, it’s JavaScript powered. So yeah, I all of a sudden started looking at that little AirBnB reservation menu with a whole new respect. I’m like, holy crap, that’s intense. So for you how has that been? How has that experience been of learning this language? Do you like it? Do you see it as beneficial, what are your feelings with that? Viktoria: Well for me, for example, I don’t have any comparison to other programming languages. But definitely from the point of the fact that I actually get to know a coding language is already very enhancing. And as you said, you really view things from another perspective like different websites, you know, you really get the feeling of it like what it really took. And I think nowadays, people say like yeah, well programmers and coders like when you ask someone to do something, it should be done quite quickly and should be super easy. Which you would think. But then again, not for everything there are frameworks and stuff so it’s not that easy as it sounds. So I took away from myself and yeah— Jimmy: What about you guys? Michiel: Well for me, it’s more like the things that you took for granted and looked very simple. Like, for instance, when I chose Scrabble, I go, oh, I can make that. But once you start you start realizing that there’s a lot more behind the games or the websites. So in that sense it’s an eye opener, for sure. Nicholas: What they both said, yeah. Jimmy: So, for you, like with the entrepreneurial angle, with the stuff that you’ve been learning so far, have your ideas kind of shifted? Have you found that beginning to learn to code has changed the direction of your ideas? Nicholas: I can feel that shift but it’s kind of subtle and I don’t think I’d be able to put a finger on it and define it right now. I have one particular idea that I want to develop and hopefully start working on here. So I want to keep with that idea. But I do feel the possibilities open up, not every idea is going to work, it’s likely not going to work. So when the next idea comes around if the first one didn’t work, then there’s a foundation there to build it and understand the technology and move forward. Jimmy: This is awesome. This is really kind of the biggest value out of jumping into the deep end is that you’re going to cram into nine weeks years’ worth of learning. Frankly it’s hard to sit yourself down and get that discipline to every day, even an hour, even an hour, it’s hard. And I think that the price tag on a course like this tends to shew people off and they’re like, oh, I can do this on my own, I can do it at home, I can go get some tutorials from books, you know, go to Udemy, Codecademy. But in the end it’s basically you’re paying for yourself to work full time on your education. And then the added benefits at the end or you have a whole system that’s also going to support you for the job placement, always being there by your side. So now, moving forward, do you know what’s coming up for you guys next week? Viktoria: I don’t even know, is it— Jimmy: There is a next week. Viktoria: Backend? Is it backend? I don’t know exactly. Not sure. Michiel: I think we’ve been too focused on our bubble. Viktoria: We just go from day to day, from week to week. Jimmy: That’s interesting, that’s curious. It’s like, next week, we’ll figure that out on Monday. Viktoria: Exactly. Nicholas: Exactly, yeah. Jimmy: So any final, let’s say, advice, a last bit of advice for anyone that might be considering an experience like this? Do it, don’t do it, what should they think about, what should they absolutely have a hundred percent clear? from each one of you, what would be that one bit that you would share with someone listening? Viktoria: I think my advice would be like if you plan to do it, you really need to do or want to do a hundred percent time and need to be willing to stay at one place for two months. Because there’s literally no time to go away [laugh]. Nicholas: Yeah, I would echo that and say that just because it’s hard, and it is hard, that’s not a good reason to not do something. So if you’re thinking about it, or if you have thought about it over and over again, then I think that sort of your mind is telling you that you should just do it and dive in and see what happens. Michiel: Yeah, I think I can relate to that a little bit as well because I was also not a hundred percent sure. But I think the most important part is that you really want it and if you’re not a hundred percent sure I think you should just do it and go for it. For me it’s been amazing so far. Jimmy: That’s definitely true, I forget where I heard this saying but it’s like; no one can ever take away what you’ve learned. Viktoria: Exactly. Jimmy: They can take away all the other stuff, they can take away all of the tangible hard goods, but doing something like this, whether it’s with Ironhack or with another bootcamp somewhere else, ultimately it’s you giving yourself a craft and a skill that, unless there’s a gigantic solar flare and all the electricity on the planet just disappears, this is going to be in demand for a very, very, very long time. So congratulations on being here, thanks a lot for the time. And we’ll touch base again before the course is up and you can tell me if it’s still a good choice. Viktoria: Ok. Jimmy: Alright, thanks a lot. Good luck on the project. Michiel: Thank you. Nicholas: Thank you. Viktoria: Thank you.

In August 2018, I was an Ironhack student. Prior to this, I’d done almost no coding. I'd tried to learn on my own but would always become stuck or unmotivated. In March 2018, I attended a WeCode workshop where I learned the very basics of HTML, CSS and JavaScript. After the event and speaking to Ironhack staff/alumni, I applied for the course and was given access to the prework. I spent a lot of time doing the prework and online code challenge on codewars because I wanted to be prepared. I also attended two hackshow (where students who have just finished the bootcamp present their final projects) prior to starting the course to see what was possible. After both of the hackshows, I was so excited to start . It was incredible getting to see what students could build after nine weeks of coding. Ironhack Student I LOVED my time as a student; however, it was really tough and some days were more difficult than others. Knowing that everyone else in the class was going through the same thing and the fantastic teaching team really made it easier to keep going. During class, there would be a mixture of lessons and exercises; some exercises would be individual, but most exercises would be paired. For each paired exercise, students would be assigned to work with someone different which was beneficial: everyone at Ironhack has a different background and everyone has their own strengths. During the bootcamp, there were three projects. Project 1 is a browser based game created using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript; Project 2 is a full stack application (using Node.js); Project 3 is a full stack application using Node.js and React. As a student, Project 2 was my favorite project. I really enjoyed learning about the backend and how everything linked together; it was interesting to cover the basics of security, learning how data was stored and how to retrieve it. TAs at Ironhack One week after the bootcamp finished, I started as a TA  and imposter system was real. I wasn’t sure where to start helping and wasn’t confident I could explain course concepts. But after three cohorts, I’ve learned a lot and accepted that it’s okay not to know everything. Here are a few things I’ve learned as a TA: Everyone is able to code. It doesn’t matter what your background is or how old you are. If you’re willing to put the time and effort into coding, it’s possible. You don’t need a fancy computer and you can learn from home if you can’t commit to an in-person bootcamp . Building things is the best way to learn. Building something that you want to create is important because you’re more likely to go back to it. You’ll constantly be learning; this means you can constantly improve what you’re building. Don’t be afraid to break your code. Breaking your code is one of the best ways to learn and understand what is happing. Trial and error is an important part of knowing how to solve a problem Explaining a complicated concept in a simple way really helps you understand it Learning never stops . You’ll always need to look up how to solve a problem. There will always be things that you don’t understand and asking for help is encouraged. You have complete freedom over what you learn . If you’re interested in something specific, find some articles, build something to practice it, or attend events. Programming is a really broad field and you’re never going to know everything so take the time to pick what you’re truly interested in. Taking breaks is important. If you’re stuck and unable to solve a problem, taking a break from the computer can be really helpful. Coming back to it after 10 minutes with a clear mindset can really help. Use github to track your progress . You’ll be able to review the code that you’ve done previously to see how much you’ve improved and if you’re looking for a job, it will show employers what you’re capable of doing. You can even host a static site on github for free. Attending events is a cool way of getting to meet people who are working in the industry. You’ll meet people of all levels and can learn a lot from them. I’ve seen so many people go through the Ironhack bootcamp. It’s not always easy, but it’s worth it. You get to meet some really cool people who all have different backgrounds and people you normally wouldn’t get to meet; you get to build up a support network from not only the people you learned with, but also with previous students and future students. There is no right or wrong way when when it comes to learning to code. It just takes time, effort, and dedication.

Before I tell you why I did the web development bootcamp at Ironhack, I would like to take you back to a very important point in my life when I had to make a decision that would define my future career path. It was so important that I had to think about it very carefully; this decision was going to determine the field & industry I was going to work in for the rest of my life. At least that’s what everybody around me was telling me at that moment. I was 17 years old and I had no idea about what I wanted to be. I think I barely knew anything about myself either and I had no idea what it meant to have a full-time job. Let’s be honest: “ How can a 17-year-old person decide in what industry to work for the rest of a their life? Yet this is exactly what we ask of people. “ Let me tell you how this happened. By lack of a better idea, I chose to study economics and marketing. My dad owned a supermarket, so I’ve been force-fed with commerce and food retail since I was little. Therefore, a study in this direction seemed the most logical to me. During my studies, I did an internship at SPAR in the e-commerce department. When I started this internship, I did not know a lot about e-commerce. Although I knew a lot about food-retail because of my dad, I quickly found out that the food-retail that I knew was changing heavily because of the rapidly growing technological industry. I’ve heard about this change in a lot of other industries, but I did not expect that the food-retail would be changing so much. I did not have any technical background at this point, so if I wanted to be prepared for the future, I had to do something about it. This triggered me to dive a little bit deeper into web development. After my studies, I landed a job as a Product Owner at a startup named SphereMall, which focuses on personalization in e-commerce. In a nutshell, a Product Owner forms a bridge between business and IT. I had a proper understanding of the business due to my educational background but I had no knowledge of IT. Therefore, this role was very challenging but also great for my motivation to learn more about IT. The first two years were awesome. I learned a great deal about working with scrum masters, agile methodology, developers and web development in general. Every day I gained a better understanding of web development and I was able to participate in more technical conversations on a conceptual level. Still, I did not write any line of code myself so I did not really understand what was going on. After two years, this started to bother me, especially when I had to estimate on when we could deliver a feature to a client. Sometimes the client asked for something that seemed very small and easy, but it would take weeks according to the development team. And sometimes a feature that I thought would take weeks to develop was built in an hour. These uncomfortable situations together with the interest that I gained for web development made me decide to do something about it. So I started with some online courses on web development which were great for me to find out if I really liked writing code, but I noticed that it was not the most effective and convenient way to learn web development all on your own. Another option was to follow a coding bootcamp. To be honest, I was very skeptical of learning web development in just 9 weeks, but after reading some alumni stories I was convinced that it was worth the shot. Now that I have done it, I can tell you that it is possible. I would be lying if I would say that you can become a fully-fledged developer in only 9 weeks of following a bootcamp, but what I can tell you is that you will have a great, solid foundation to start at a position as a junior developer at a company or further develop your skills autonomously. In short, the reason why I decided to learn web development: I saw the industry I was working in changing heavily due to technological innovations. That forced me to dive into web development because I wanted to be prepared for the future. Over the years, I gained a better understanding of web development but it was more on a conceptual level; I really wanted to understand it and thought that was only possible by learning how to write the code myself. I did several online coding courses to see if I really liked it, but saw that it was not very convenient and practical to learn it all by myself. So a web development bootcamp seemed to be the best way to go. Now that I’m done with the bootcamp, I can say that it definitely exceeded my expectations. I never thought that I would be able to learn so much in only 9 weeks. Are you in a similar situation as I was or are you considering to join a coding bootcamp, but do you have some doubts or questions? Feel free to send me a message on LinkedIn . I’m always open to chat about my experience and I’m very curious to hear more about yours. You can also apply for the bootcamp and get in contact with the admissions manager. They are happy to answer all your questions and to give you more insight into the curriculum.

Women’s relationship with science has always been rocky, just as it has been with other sectors in which women have had to fight to make a name for themselves, undoubtedly detrimental to scientific excellence and also to countries’ economic development. Despite having made great strides since the days when Concepción Arenal had to dress as a man to access education , it’s still important to ask ourselves what we can do as a society to increase female presence in scientific, technological, engineering and mathematics degrees, also known as STEM degrees . Whilst in chemistry, medicine and biology, parity is already inherent, the same cannot be said for physics, ICT and engineering. These are precisely the degrees that have become synonymous with the future, leading to jobs that are yet to emerge and an increasing demand for qualified professionals. According to the Ministry of Industry, the demand for professional techies is growing at a rate of 4% per year. Researcher Julia Borràs from the Spanish Council for Scientific Research’s (CSIC) Institut de Robòtica i Informàtica Industrial (Robotics and Industrial Computing Institue – IRI), explains that reflecting on the gender gap in science “is complicated and multifaceted” . She believes that “the problem starts much earlier than we might think. Gender stereotypes start to manifest when children are five or six years old, which means that STEM subjects are likely to be more attractive to boys. As such, as children grow up, many girls start to abandon these interests because of peer pressure or because they don’t have any female role models . The percentage of women in STEM degrees might seem low, but it’s even lower at PhD level”. Julia Borràs holding her book “La Berta y el robot Rob·ert” For this expert, the fact that most STEM teachers are men and that the subjects don’t encourage female participation, also has an impact. Therefore, working creatively to foster initiatives that aim to get girls involved is an important part of the strategy, and something we do at Ironhack with campaigns such as The algorithm is female . “I’ve written a book for a pre-school robotics workshop in which I present some of the female employees from my robotics institute, something which helps fire up girls’ imagination and plants a seed of curiosity that will hopefully continue to grow over time.” Society, the education system and education at home are key elements in the road to a more egalitarian world. On 11 February we celebrated International Day of Women and Girls in Science , an occasion which in Spain has been the launch pad for the initiative 11 febrero , which seeks to offer activities that help eliminate gender stereotypes in STEM degrees . It therefore promotes these vocations for women and girls by shedding a light on the work done by female scientists and technologists, with a view to generating role models and analysing what causes the gender gap in science. As they state on their website, “we’re still seeing a multitude of unconscious biases that cause girls to shy away from STEM degrees”, something which has prompted them to launch a series of talks and workshops, exhibitions, round table discussions, wiki-marathons for opening Wikipedia pages about female scientists and technologists and countless other events. A girl using a tablet in class In line with one of Ironhack’s mottos, tech has no age, Borràs has a message for all young girls interested in science and technology: “I want to tell them that if they’re passionate about the industry, they shouldn’t let anything stand in their way, because in the end it’s all about doing what makes you happy and making a decision with free will. Luckily, people today are sensible enough to create positive working environments where everyone is welcome”. Individuals like her, who were fortunate enough to complete their degree alongside the brilliant mathematician and writer specialised in artificial intelligence and robotics, Carme Torras , help to show that although the road to equality might be rocky, it’s essential to try and become a role model for other women destined to revolutionise the professional scientific scene.

I don’t really know how to describe by time at Ironhack, but in these next paragraphs I will attempt to give you an idea of how it felt to participate in the 9-week Web Development bootcamp. I was considering doing a Web Development bootcamp in New Zealand where I live, but after doing lots of research and comparing options, Ironhack appeared to have the most complete curriculum. Ironhack offers a 9 week intensive bootcamp, and when I say intensive, I mean IN-TEN-SIVE. There are days when I enter at 7am and don’t leave until 10 or 11 at night. All day long we are learning to be fullstack developers. Before anything, I have to make it clear that before this course I had never used a computer for anything more complicated than surfing the web, watching Netflix, or writing emails. Now, after completing week 6, I am really enjoying my new abilities in both front and back end — believe it or not, I am learning and developing. All of a sudden I find myself using technical terms that I didn’t even know existed 6 weeks ago. As a mother, communications expert by profession, and with a degree in Commercial Relations, I decided to venture into learning something new. My brother and my husband, both without knowing it, helped me make the jump. I found what I wanted to do and I was excited about Ironhack, but I never imagined that it would be such an intense experience. Learning to learn again was an incredibly challenging experience, not only because it has been 10 years since I finished university, but also because modern teaching methods are incredibly interactive, experiential, and different to how I had been taught in the past. No longer are we taught theory in class, and made to practice at home. Now we learn by doing, writing code live, and trying hard to use things we learned only an hour before, putting them into practice. I can definitely say that in these 6 weeks, Ironhack has given me much more than I expected. In just 6 weeks, I made a videogame, an app, and my computer is full of code that I can actually read. I’ve also made 16 incredible friends who teach me every day that it is worth it to go after your dreams and finally Ironhack has given me the opportunity to learn from some amazing developers that would never think twice to help me out when I need it, as well as without a doubt becoming part of my continued network. I will keep you informed of my experience over the next weeks as well. Three left to go… and counting. By Andrea Hacker-Page

If you are here it’s probably because you are planning or have decided to join a bootcamp. Now, after making this decision, you thought everything would be easier but the truth is that you’re faced with many more questions than before: Is it as hard as they say? Will I be able to finish it? Should I stop trying to make it happen? The short answer to these questions is yes. A bootcamp is an intense experience that requires a lot of effort. You’re taking it because you want to learn the fundamentals of Web Development , UX Design , or Data Analytics in just 9 weeks — this is bound to present some challenges. That said, don’t panic. As hard as a bootcamp can be, there are some dos and don’ts that will help you make your experience as enriching and endurable as possible. Come Prepared to Rock Your Bootcamp Experience We can’t stress this enough. Do your future self a favor and do the prework . It’s there for many reasons but the most important one is that you can hit the ground running once the course starts. You only have 9 weeks. Everything you’ll learn during the bootcamp is cumulative. That means the better prepared you start, the more you’ll make of it from day one. Embrace The Highs And Lows At some point, you’ll feel a little stuck. You might wonder if you can keep up with the people in your class or if leaving your previous job was a good idea. Take heed and don’t quit now! The next moment, you’ll feel like you can solve any problem you struggled with for hours. Then, it might go to your head and the next thing you know you’re searching for positions at Google. But alas, something will break and you’ll remember that feeling of being stuck again. The highs and lows are a normal part of the process — they will be a constant in your new developer/designer life. Break Smartly We’ve just mentioned solving problems. During the bootcamp you’ll encounter lots of them, so using your breaks to solve them will become a key to your success. When you’ve just about had it, take some distance. Exercise. Meditate. Play ping pong. Practice yoga. Take a nap. Usually, 10 minutes is the perfect amount of time to clear your head while not getting too distracted. Balance Your Social Life This is a skill people actively practice throughout their entire life, so starting some good habits now can be helpful. The bootcamp will require a good portion of your attention, so it might be a good idea to tell your friends and family what’s up. In other words, value your investment. Your time and money are going into this bootcamp to help you transform your career. That being said, make sure you set aside a little bit of time to see your family, friends, and people who care about you. Maybe just don’t go out the night before a big project is due! You get it, balance and good time management can make or break the situation. Fuel Your Brain One of the most useful things you can do to get ready before the bootcamp (besides doing the prework!) is doing some meal prep. Think about superfoods, dishes that are easy to make and/or freeze and get all you need beforehand so you can almost forget about it during the bootcamp. You can thank yourself later. Don’t Underestimate The Power of Sleep Freetime can seem like a luxury during bootcamp. Use it wisely and rest. It’s okay to sleep in on Sundays, but remember all of the other ways to recharge as well. Go take a walk, a bath, get a massage, or whatever that helps you recharge your batteries and get as much energy as you can. It’s essential! Enjoy The Bootcamp Ride Not to get too dramatic but you’ll never have such an amazing support system to accomplish your goals. Focusing on them will never be this easy. Think about it. In what context can you have: experienced teachers and TAs devoted to helping you learn. a whole class with the same goal as you. staff to support you every step of the way, from preparing yourself for the course to landing your first job position. Your only job during 9 weeks is to learn as much as you can. Enjoy it! Don’t Forget To Check In With Yourself Through it all, your mental health should remain your top priority. Remember to assess how you are feeling throughout the bootcamp. When times get particularly tough, think about your goals, and focus on what's waiting for you at the end of the road. Which is an awesome career in tech! It may seem like a lot to get through at that moment, but eventually, you will miss your bootcamp days. If you've been reading this because you're on the fence about enrolling in a bootcamp, we hope we've reassured you here that you've got this! Take a no-commitment look at our full-time bootcamps and part-time courses .

We spoke to Rafa and Lara, Ironhack alumni from the October 2015 Web Development bootcamp. They’re both working at Cabify, a chauffeur service app, so we went to visit their offices, meet the development team and hear about their journey. We talked about everything; their beginnings in architecture and physics, going through countless different jobs, how they found Ironhack, what they’re doing now and facing adversity throughout the bootcamp. Our goal is for all Ironhack students, past and present, to feel identified and inspired to face one of the biggest challenges they’ll have at hand: our bootcamp. It’s not an interview. It’s a conversation between #Ironhackers. Enjoy!

This resource gathers together some of the top frameworks and libraries written in JavaScript. It’s by no means complete, and it will continue to grow over time, so check back. Front End JavaScript started out as a strictly front end language. That’s still where it’s most dominant. There are loads of tools to do everything from simple manipulation of HTML to complete front end web applications. General & DOM jQuery: If you’ve worked with JavaScript, you probably know about jQuery . jQuery is a rather larger JavaScript library that makes manipulating the content of pages much simpler than plain JavaScript. jQuery is used both by a lot of websites, and other projects either incorporate it or build upon it. The reason is simple. jQuery reduces the complexity and amount of code that you need to write. Dragula Have you ever seen a website that allowed you to drag and drop pieces of it around and rearrange it? There’s a good chance Dragula was involved. Dragula is a library that enables developers to create drag and drop features in their websites as easily as possible. It lays down all of the groundwork for you, so you can focus on applying it to the elements of your page. Polymer Polymer is a different sort of library. It allows developers to create custom reusable HTML elements. Those elements can be dynamic and interactive. Polymer turns static HTML into something which behaves more like an object oriented language. Zepto Zepto is a lot like jQuery, but it’s super light weight. It’s built to be compatible with jQuery, and it uses the same syntax, but it cuts out a lot of the unnecessary extras that can slow jQuery down. It doesn’t have the same constraints as jQuery. Zepto doesn’t worry about supporting legacy browsers or often unused parts of jQuery. It focuses on giving developers what they need, and nothing they don’t. Animation and Graphics Animate Animate isn’t purely JavaScript, but it works works using JavaScript to trigger CSS animations, so it’s still worth including. This very simple library allows developers to include basic CSS animations with minimal effort. Anime Anime is something similar to Animate, but it uses a lot more JavaScript and is capable of much more complex animations. It is able to create custom freeform animations that include more motion in a more natural and, well, animated way. Anime’s animations are fluid and natural D3 Big data has been exploding over the past few years, and developers need a way to visualize and present that data. That’s where D3 comes in. D3 is designed to make creating a wide variety of data visualizations easy. It provides functions for making visually appealing and animated graphs using large sets of data. D3 is trusted and stable. Chart Chart is very much like D3, but simplified. It can easily create animated and well designed graphs of a number of varieties. Chart doesn’t have the same number of options as D3, but it is also simpler to use. It’s fairly light weight for what it is and what it is capable of. For developers looking for a simple charting solution without the overhead of D3, Chart is a great option. Velocity Here is another descendant of jQuery. Velocity re-implements jQuery’s animation functionality without the bloat of jQuery. As its name implies, the goal of Velocity is speed. Surprisingly enough, Velocity hasn’t sacrificed browser compatibility to achieve its goal. Velocity doesn’t exactly use jQuery’s syntax, but it will immediately be familiar to any jQuery developer. Parallax Parallax can empower developers to create amazing animations that play with visual depth to create 3D like effects. It can create scrolling animations and create the impression of changing perspective. It handles a lot of the hard animation work for you, so you can focus on implementation. Frameworks Angular Angular is a big deal. It was developed by none other than Google, and for a while, it dominated the front end JavaScript framework space. Angular is an MVC framework that developers can use to make front end web applications using JavaScript. It is relatively simple, and serves as in integral part of the popular MEAN stack. Google made somewhat of a mistake, though. Angular 1 and Angular 2 are different frameworks, so there is no smooth upgrade between them. Make sure you know wwith. Vue Vue can look a lot like Angular, but it’s generally more simple. It’s a front end MVC framework. It comes complete with routing and just about every feature you’d expect from a front end framework. Despite that, Vue is lightweight and has a simple learning curve. It is intuitive and uncomplicated, and it’s a smaller dark horse project that’s managing to compete with Google and Facebook. Actually, it’s even included it the popular Laravel PHP framework. Ember Ember is the Rails of front end frameworks. It’s big, opinionated, and powerful. Ember tells you what to do, and if you follow, you can make some great things easily. Ember is big, though. It comes bundled with the Handlebars templating engine and all the batteries included. This is awesome for larger desktop web applications, but might seriously slow down on mobile. React Facebook made it’s own front end framework, and that’s React . It’s a favorite among developers because it’s easy to learn and teaches developers. React also has a large and active community of developers. React is centered around building and using independent components. These encapsulated components are reusable and don’t interfere with one another, making them the perfect building blocks of your applications. Aurelia Aurelia is another full-featured MVC framework that makes full use of two-way data binding, routing, and custom HTML components. It’s a great option for developers looking for a more complete framework along the lines of Angular but without the baggage of the of Angular’s versioning. Mithril Want something super minimal? Mithril may be for you. Mithril is a fast no-nonsense framework with many of the options that you’d expect from a much larger project. As a framework, it looks and feels like regular JavaScript. It’s uncomplicated, and uses standard JavaScript functions. Mithril is a great option when you need a framework, but don’t want a lot of overhead. Backbone For another more minimal solution, consider Backbone . It aims to provide the structure needed to build powerful web applications. Backbone is lightweight with a design that focuses on passing data between models, views, and a database. Of course, it has existing functionality to make building these components easier. Riot Riot is something a bit different. It aims to bring the component based functionality of React and the ability to create custom HTML elements together. Riot is a minimal framework alternative. If you don’t need a full framework, but do want reusable components, consider using Riot. Redux Redux isn’t really a full framework. It’s more of an add-on that you can use with React or another view library. Redux refers to itself as a state container. It attempts to maintain the state of your web applications and enable them to run consistently. Back End The back end is the domain of NodeJS. Node allows JavaScript to run as a back end language, and it’s incredibly powerful. These frameworks work with Node to enable developers to build robust web applications. Frameworks Express Express is another key component of the MEAN stack. It’s a minimal back end MVC framework built on top of NodeJS. Express is great for building both full featured web applications and APIs. Because Express is minimal by default you have the choice of how much you want to build, and you don’t end up with a lot of features that you’re never going to use. Sails Sails is actually based on Express. It’s sort of like Rails for NodeJS. It comes with a lot of work already done when you spin up a project. It abstracts a lot of the more low-level work like interacting with databases away, making the process simpler. Sails also comes with features like automatically generated REST. Koa There’s an even more minimal solution than Express. Koa . Is a super minimal back end framework that can still be used to crate web applications and APIs. Koa only provides a middleware kernel and builds upon Node’s existing HTTP modules. It’s much closer to NodeJS itself. Adonis There’s another great full featured framework, Adonis . Adonis provides all of the major features that you’d expect from an MVC framework, like routing and ORM for handling database connections. Adonis aims to build in all of the features that you’d want in just about every project so you can get started building your application faster. Meteor It’s kind of hard to tell were to put Meteor . It’s actually a full stack framework that provides tools for building both the front end and the back end of your web applications. Meteor would be most comparable to the entire MEAN stack. It provides everything in one package. That means that while Meteor can be convenient, it can also be somewhat inflexible. Meteor is a complete toolkit that you can immediately begin building a web application with. Want to learn more about javascript and Web development? Check out our Web Development bootcamp !

Design is a pretty vague term. When someone says they’re a designer, it can mean anything from industrial design for cars to designers who work with clothing and print media. However, in the last decade, the tech industry has seen the emergence of a new type of designer: the UX Designer. This new job title can be confusing to grasp, so let’s take a dive to get a better understanding. Design is a pretty vague term. When someone says they’re a designer, it can mean anything from industrial design for cars to designers who work with clothing and print media. However, in the last decade, the tech industry has seen the emergence of a new type of designer: the UX Designer. This new job title can be confusing to grasp, so let’s take a dive to get a better understanding. What is UX Design? A User Experience (UX) Designer is primarily responsible for how a product feels to a user. It encompasses all aspects of the interaction between the user and the complete product experience (from onboarding to end-transaction). The broad responsibility of a UX designer is to ensure that the product logically flows from one step to the next. Uber’s new user onboarding process would be a perfect example of great UX Design. A User Interface  (UI) Designer is responsible for how the product is laid out. It is a sub-discipline of UX Design and is focused on the interaction between the user and the product. They are in charge of designing each screen or page with which a user interacts and need to ensure that the UI visually communicates the UX Designer’s path. For example, after the UX Designer creates an onboarding process for new Uber users, a UI Designer would visually create the interface for that process. In most small to medium-sized companies, a UX Designer is responsible for both UX and UI Design needs. However in larger companies such as Google, Facebook, Uber, AirBnB and Tesla (the list goes on) where hundreds of millions of end-users are involved, the role of a designer becomes very granular. Why does it matter? Often cited by UX evangelists, Tom Gilb’s research in the 80’s found that every dollar a company invests in UX can yield a return of up to $100. UX Design plays a critical role in both user acquisition and retention. That is, if you build something awesome, more people will want to use it and keep using it. It’s what allows Apple to charge a premium and sell millions of iPhones, iPads and Macbooks on launch day. It’s what allowed companies like Uber, AirBnB and Tesla to disrupt the century old taxi, hospitality and automotive industries. They completely altered the user experience around their product/service to become industry leaders and innovators. Some of the most valuable brands in the world have employed a design-centric philosophy to differentiate themselves from the rest. Often cited by UX evangelists, Tom Gilb’s research in the 80’s found that every dollar a company invests in UX can yield a return of up to $100. Another study conducted by the Design Management Institute (DMI) , one of the largest communities of design leaders, revealed that over the last 10 years, design-led companies have maintained significant stock market advantage and have outperformed the S&P by 228%. Some of the companies in the study included Apple, IBM, Ford, Nike, Starbucks & Walt Disney. If this isn’t convincing enough, according to a study conducted by Missouri University of Science and Technology, 94% of the factors that affect a user’s first impression of a product, are design related. In fact, by 2020 UX Design will overtake price and product as the key differentiator in consumer decision. What’s the bottom line? UX is increasingly playing an important role as a market differentiator for emerging companies. To be a competitive player in the market, companies need to focus on creating a lasting experience around their product. How can you become a UX Designer? UX Design does not require a University degree , yet there’s a big shortage between the number of job openings and qualified candidates. According to EMSI, IT related jobs (a category which includes UX Design) are 28 percent of all average monthly unique job postings, making this the industry’s second most in-demand group of professionals. At Ironhack, we offer UX design bootcamps in both full-time (9 weeks) and part-time courses (24 weeks). The course is meant for individuals with no prior experience, looking to break into the UX Design industry. At the end of the course, students will be connected with Ironhack’s hiring network of more than 600 companies with the goal of being hired as UX Designers. According to CNNMoney/PayScale, UX Design ranked #14 among the top 100 careers with big growth, great pay and satisfying work with a median pay of $89,300 with the top pay hitting $138K and a growth rate of 18%. Interested? Check out our Design Bootcamps here .

UX Design can be a very tricky field to get into. Luckily, there are plenty of amazing resources that can guide you towards the right path. We’ve created a list of the top resource we think will help you get a solid start in UX Design. Check them out and let us know what you think! If you’re still wondering what UX Design is, also check out our previous blog post : The Emergence of UX Design . 1) UX Mastery UX Mastery is a great place to explore the UX Design career path. They offer tutorials for beginners, podcasts, articles and lists of tools/books that you can get started with. It’s an amazing resource for individuals looking to get a start in UX Design. 2)  Smashing Magazine Smashing magazine is a great place to get no-fluff insights from experts in UX Design. You can find articles on UX related topics for both digital and physical products. The articles are very topic-specific, so it’s a good idea to have a general understanding of the UX field prior to engaging with content on their site. 3) InvisionApp Blog Invision App is a platform used for creating interactive prototypes, product team collaboration and workflow organization. It’s an awesome tool and one that we teach in Ironhack’s full-time UX Design course. Invision App’s blog is an amazing spot for design related resources ranging from video tutorials to beginner guides. It’s a great place to take a dive into the UX Design field. 4) UX Booth UX Booth is another amazing no-fluff place to learn from experts in the design community. The publication is broken down into UX Design specific topics and includes articles for beginner & intermediate designers looking to start in the industry. We recommend subscribing to their newsletter. 5) UXDESIGN.CC Similar to Smashing Magazine and UX Booth, UXDESIGN.CC is another great community of designers. They regularly curate some of the best UX Design articles, resources and tutorials on their site. You can also check out their awesome team of contributors and follow them personally for industry-specific insights. 6) UXPin e-Books UXPin is a digital platform that helps the entire product team participate in the design process in one place. They offer several free e-Books to help beginners learn about UX Design and the industry overall. You can subscribe to individual e-Books.

Being introverted or shy has different meanings depending on when and where you ask: in Latin America, it is often seen as rude or inconsiderate while other countries welcome you keeping your business to yourself. Time has also changed how we see quiet people; with the ascension of neurodiversity, an individual's lack of communication is now seen as a sign of intelligence. This change could be awarded to how the media portrays introverts as skillful and intelligent, but I think this is also linked to the rise of information technologies. An environment where being able to work independently as a part of a team that functions on itself is critical. But this is not limited to the workplace: hobbies such as videogames rely on the ability of the user to stay engaged during solitary and long sessions to obtain a reward. So, if introverts are the new rage, then why haven’t we seen their rise? Should we be making a call to arms then, rallying all the introverts to subdue the extroverts and the structures bound to their view of the world? Reality is much less dramatic than what we might think, as the struggle to come to peace with being quiet is more related to knowing yourself than to fighting against who don’t understand you. The path to being whole has always been related to understanding why you behave the way you do. If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle. – Sun Tzu, The Art of War The moment you understand that you are not less valuable than others, you will understand you have misplaced your talents and reduced the outcome of your efforts. The best craftsman not only has the necessary knowledge and the best tools, but the wisdom to know when and how to use each tool. You must understand that a lot of the existing work environments are designed to endorse extroverts; with this in mind, you can design your efforts to be more efficient. As an introvert myself (surprise, surprise), I have felt pressure to adapt to my surroundings and be more proactive, a team-player, or one of the many terms the companies use to express what they expect from me. And even though you might be successful, you will often face the backlash of forcing yourself to fit a container you can’t. For me, finding my path was attending a bootcamp . I was introduced to Ironhack by a friend who wanted to combine my interest in the programming world with a school that prides itself on being able to introduce people from all backgrounds to the tools and resources necessary to begin the path of becoming a developer. The bootcamp forced me to stay focused on my daily tasks while pushing me to research several topics, using my natural behavior as a resource to improve myself instead of trying to tone it down. I was also exposed to a community of people from different backgrounds and personalities with whom I developed great relationships. This was a game-changer for me, the first step to learning how to better use and take advantage of the peculiarities that make me who I am. The truth is that I can now direct my efforts towards using my skills as the vehicle for a new chapter in my professional, academic, and, most importantly, personal life. I encourage the quiet ones, the observers, the lurkers, and the abstracted to keep going, making smart decisions instead of big ones. The challenge is to realize your potential and apply yourself to a path that takes your characteristics and embraces it as the means to keep moving forward; the reward is a a journey of self-discovery and evolution. – By Hugo Gutierrez

What does “the hybrid profile” mean? “Proactive”, “emphatic” or “focused”: these are some of the buzzwords and trending skills that we are used to see in all job offers. Yet we are witnessing to an increasing demand in the tech industry of a new kind of profile, geared with a toolkit aimed to thrive among digital products. We call it the “hybrid profile”. For thousands of years products consisted of physical goods such as wheels, shoes or drawers. Despite, today we are interacting more and more with digital products. This transition from the analog to the digital leads to implications that go beyond the mere interaction with the end user. They involve a wide range of processes that span from logistics, manufacture and design to the formation of specific teams responsible for the development of the product itself. In other words, all the components involved in the creation, distribution and sale of a digital product are, in some way, influenced by the same digital ingredient: code. For this reason, the ones who acknowledge this situation and learn the fundamental principles underlying digital goods, will inevitably have a considerable advantage when dealing with this new breed of products. So, now programming is not only for programmers, right? Yes, in the early days, coding has been perceived as a vertical and isolated discipline. Disconnected from the rest of the company, programmers were seen as those “computer-experts” guys sitting in a dark room doing mysterious things that nobody really understood. You would acknowledge their skills just when your computer had some issues or didn’t work: you would simply bring it to them and and take it back soon after magically fixed. Programming has now become a new transversal skill which crosses all the departments in a modern company from human resources to accounting. For this reason, statements such as “everybody should learn how to code” are, as a matter of fact, a reflection of a shift that is already taking place in the industry. For example, being able to read and write doesn’t implicitly mean that we will all be poets. Similarly, having a basic understanding of programming and technology doesn’t necessarily imply that we will code for a living. It simply means that we will possess a new universal skill which can enrich our professional career. Learning how to program in the 21st century can be compared to studying English today: we won’t necessarily write a new Shakespearean play, but we will surely need it in the new cosmopolitan work environment of multinational companies and start-ups. The update of our skills is a must to our professional success? Absolutely. Some large organizations are already asking Ironhack to help them bridge this division and prepare their workforce to cope with the digital shift. Our program for “non-coders” is specifically aimed to non-technical roles so they can acquire a brand-new complementary set of skills to make informed decisions based on the fundamental understanding of digital products. Further than than, at a personal level, I’ve witnessed really smart people going through such digital transformation. Markus comes to mind, a Harvard MBA 2019 which currently works as Global Venture Developer at Rocket Internet. When he enrolled in our Web Development Bootcamp, he told me: “my desire is not to become the world’s best developer. Maybe I will never again write a line of code after the bootcamp. However, I want to understand how to develop the products of the future – through software. This skill will help me in just about every industry”. Markus is the clear example of a great marketer that has “hacked” the digital channels to reach their customers and find new market opportunities. But it’s not only about marketing though, Andreu, for example, last summer came to Ironhack Barcelona to get help in transitioning from consultancy to a software product manager position. Today he’s working as a PM at the startup Onebox. His experience at our bootcamp converted him into a hybrid profile, with a clear technical understanding of digital products: “Ironhack is more than just coding skills and learning best practices. I came out with a new mentality and a better understanding of the entire software development process. This is a priceless asset for a product manager like me”. Thanks a lot Marc! All clear so, wrapping up… The important thing to understand is that the need for hybrid profiles in the industry is just the tip of an iceberg. With the increasing growth of digital products, the gap between non-technical and technical profiles will get bigger. Not only is technology drastically changing the set of skills required in a modern job, but it is also reshaping traditional roles. Hybrid positions today earn a salary which is 25% above the average. Just in the United States, more than 250.000 hybrid jobs will be created in the upcoming years. And that’s just the beginning. Organizations that have yet remained untouched by this wave will need to adapt to this new reality rather sooner than later. From paperless politics, to uploading inventories online, understanding where their customers want to be reached… All of this will require a new way of thinking about products, and it will certainly involve code and programming skills. If you want to learn and know about the hybrid profile of Marc Collado, just check his blog !

You’re probably heard the word “Big Data” over a million times! This has become a huge buzzword yet few people really knew what it meant. A couple of years have passed and data has become a key stake for all companies, whether they are in tech or not. The digitalization of clients’ information and products have generated a huge amount of data that companies can now use to make business decisions. For a career in Data Analytics, most cases you will need to attend school. While age is not an issue to start learning about data, it does require time and consistent effort. Whether you decide to take a bootcamp or college, here are 6 reasons to learn about Data. 1. Companies are using your personal data! Every week (day?) reveals a new scandal about the misappropriation or misuse of personal data. Whether it’s by private companies or governments GDPR (RGDP in French) has been a key evolution of the laws governing the use of data. Learning how to manipulate data sets contributes to your understanding of your own data, how it is used and whether or not you should let others use it. Do you want to know how Google and Facebook are using your personal data? Or who you can trust vs. who you can’t? By educating yourself on data analytics you'll understand a website’s terms and conditions and read through its code to understand how it all works behind the scenes. 2. Data is highly valued in companies Data professionals are of huge importance in all companies. They hold the skills that will allow them to gather and analyze data so it can serve as crucial information in all decision making processes. What are the most popular products we sell? What products should we upsell when someone buys something from our website? What services should we add to our current business model? Are our employees happy? Are we following diversity laws in our company? These are all questions data professionals can help answer. 3. There are thousands of open positions for data professionals Forbes Magazine has ranked Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) and Data Science respectively as #1 and #3 of the most wanted tech skills for 2018. That’s not even mentioning the fact that Analytics positions are also in very high demand and featured in that ranking. If you take a look at Linkedin , you’ll see over 21,000 data job openings in the United States. Welcome To The Jungle (the leading website for startup jobs in France), you’ll see around 3000 open positions for data professionals. This allows for good salary and benefits. The average salary for a Data Analyst is between 40K€ and 50K€ according to Glassdoor. Not bad! 4. Upskill Your Tech Career It’s totally understandable that you don’t want to switch your tech job for a career in data. But no matter what position you hold, it’s also very likely that knowing how to manipulate and visualize data will help you in your current job. Marketers, Product Owners, Growth Hackers, Business Development...These are all fields where knowing data analytics will become a solid asset to provide value to the company. As we said earlier, all key decisions go through data analytics nowadays. If you decide to transition as a data analyst, get ready to make key business decisions for your department. Your work will be analyzed by leaders and industry experts. Grow into your career as a Data scientist or Data engineer. Maybe you don’t want a career in Data. That’s totally fine. This is a great way to empower your existing career and become a liaison to the data team. 5. You’ll actually learn to code Think Data Analytics is about knowing a few Excel formulas? Think again. Excel is a great tool, but a true master of data knows how to code in a programming language called Python. The syntax of Python is quite easy to understand, and yet Python is powerful enough to be able to gather, organize and interpret data sets with great precision. Learning a programming language is a fantastic experience by itself, doing it so that it becomes useful in your job and career is simply awesome. Oh and once you learn how to code in one language, the next ones are a lot easier to learn. 6. Data is not just for logical geeks, it’s also for the creative minds When we talk about MySQL, Machine Learning, A.I. or coding in general, creativity may seem like a far away thing that has nothing to do with this geeky stuff. And yet, creativity is essential in those fields. A huge part of Data Analytics is also about having creative ideas about how to answer a difficult question or provide solutions to a complex problem. Another key stake for companies is making data accessible to the many so all employees can benefit from it. Here enters Data Visualization, which is about how you can creatively take sets of data and turn them into graphics and infographics people can actually understand. A few examples of this are “ a day in the life of Americans ”, “ the daily routine of the most creative minds ” or “ from the nanoscale to the universe ”. Are you interested in data and how learning about it can either help you switch careers or improve in your current field? Check out our Data Analytics Bootcamp program which will help you become a true data expert.

The second most spoken language in the world is Spanish, and it is becoming increasing important in business. Madrid and Barcelona can provide you with opportunities to learn academically, to learn a new language, and to advance your future career. Barcelona Not many other cities in the world can boast the reputation city living that overlooks the Mediterranean sea. Barcelona has opportunities to attend coding bootcamps, and it is one of the fastest growing cities in Europe for startups . Learning to code in Barcelona will not only provide you with coding experience, but also the potential to work abroad. Spanish and Catalan are the two languages spoken in Barcelona, and the food is some of the best in the world. This city is a great option not only for learning to code but also an interesting cultural experience. Madrid The city of Madrid is a modern city with old world charm. Located in the center of Spain, there is easy access to the coast, the mountains, and just an hour away from historic towns such as Toledo and Segovia. Being located at the center of the country means it is also a melting pot for Spanish cuisine. You can try tapas (Spanish appetizers) that are influenced by regions all over Spain. Madrid is also the business center of Spain . Attending a bootcamp in this city will give you access to not only the amazing culture in Spain but also potential job opportunities to gain experience programming in a real work setting. Studying abroad and learning to code in Madrid would be an overall beneficial experience for anyone looking for a cultural experience while gaining real world experience. In addition, coming to any of this cities is easier than ever thanks to our partner Spotahome , a spanish startup which offers mid to long term accommodation services in both cities, where they feature more than 6000 personally verified rooms. The startup scene in Spain is booming. Studying abroad there can give you connections into the Spanish startup world. In the last year, there was  an 187% increase of funding raised for startups compared to 2013 . Spanish startups are recognized internationally. Scytl, Social Point, BuyVIP, Privalia, ZED or even Spotahome are all examples of Spanish startups that have had success on an international scale. Furthermore, Spain is a great testing ground for startup ideas. It has a local market of more than 45 million people and the highest smartphone penetration rate in Europe allowing companies to get an idea of the success rate of their product. Studying abroad and learning to code will not only advance your career, but provide you with an opportunity to experience a new culture and even get to watch Real Madrid and Barcelona live. Bonus: both cities have a great nightlife scene as well!

As different as they all are, they share very similar problems which lead to a universal conclusion: “I need a new career before I strangle my boss or jump out of this window!” Here are some of their problems that could be affecting you too: Working in an industry with little growth, or worse it’s shrinking The money they’re making hasn’t increased in years Constantly feeling undervalued, unappreciated and unrecognized for their work Stress and unhappiness has become a normal part of their life Shrinking industries, disappearing jobs & no raises So, according to the World Economic Forum’s “Future of Jobs” survey , these are the fastest-shrinking industries . Do you work in any of these fields? Office and administrative Manufacturing and production Arts, design, entertainment, sports and media Or are you part of the list that the Bureau of Labor Statistics 404 put out which outlines which technical occupations are losing the most jobs . (Business Insider has a more digestible layout of more-or-less the same info ). Textile jobs across so many categories Postal workers at every level Manufacturing jobs at large The trend is pretty clear, industries that were once giants are failing. And for the few that are still working in those industries their pay has pretty much frozen. When was the last time you were given a raise? It’s been awhile huh? Aren’t feeling valued or recognized for your work This all funnels into worse human relationships. Companies aren’t taking care of workers, management is so stressed that employees are under constant frustration. I don’t think I need to go further down this negative rabbit hole. You already know what’s there. Technology is the problem I’ll let the Financial Times put this tech problem into perspective . “The US did indeed lose about 5.6m manufacturing jobs between 2000 and 2010. But according to a study by the Center for Business and Economic Research at Ball State University, 85 per cent of these jobs losses are actually attributable to technological change — largely automation” Now the same problem from a different perspective. “45% of American jobs are at high risk of being taken by computers within the next two decades.” Technological unemployment is around the corner, but not for you. If you can’t beat them, join them Behind registered nurses. Software developer is the 2nd largest growing job category in the United States. And nurse is only second because America is aging and someone has to take care of them. Right now there are 98,000 software developer jobs on the Indeed USA job board. Out of all those software developer jobs 43,000 require JavaScript to some degree. At Ironhack we have become experts at helping people learn to code to transition into the growing tech job market. Our students join our 9-week JavaScript coding bootcamp as a smart shortcut to going back to college, spending $59,000 and 4-years to get a computer science degree that in many cases doesn’t give you the skills that companies are hiring. While learning to code at an Ironhack coding bootcamp is definitely a smart-shortcut to a new career. By no means is it easy. Is a coding bootcamp for me? If you’re up for it then Ironhack can put you through a 9-week grind that will prepare you to become the type of coder, thinker, and problem solver that companies are looking to hire. We do our best to support our students during this new hiring process to get them hired as soon as possible. But the reward of a new career, in an industry that’s growing, where there’s actually a ladder to climb, where you can actually see the impact your code has on a product is priceless. Why don’t you check out some of our coding bootcamp student testimonials or read our reviews on Course Report and SwitchUp . Or better yet, speak to us directly to have a personal one-on-one to see if a coding bootcamp for you. (This is a no-commitment, non-annoying, zero-salsey call. We honestly want to help you make the right career choice.)

In May of this year, I was at a point in my life that many of you will identify with. I had been studying for the last 8 years of my life: 7 spent on an architecture degree and a year on a Master’s in 3D design. Although this helped me to make the leap to become a freelancer where I started earning money and getting clients, I still did not feel truly happy. So why was I doing this then? What brought me here? What I started to realize is that sometimes, we just let ourselves go in an aimless direction. For me, I had a decent job and I thought it was just what I had to do, yet every day when I got home, I had the same feeling of dissatisfaction. I wasn’t where I wanted to be. I felt lost and afraid to give up what I had because I was supposed to feel “lucky." Luckily for me, I have always been very restless and proactive. At that time, I attended many Meetups , especially in the well-known Google campus in Madrid where one day, by chance, I saw an event led by Ironhack focused on something called UX/UI . I didn’t even know what it meant at the time, yet it ended up becoming a very big part of my life. What attracted me to UX/UI? For a profile as diverse as mine, it was actually perfect. It has a mix of business, psychology and above all, design (read: CREATIVITY !). It had actually always been a dream of mine to dedicate my professional career to the technological sector, solving problems and creating products; however, I didn’t know that it was possible until I came across Ironhack. The workshop I attended was called WeDesign . After a whole day of the workshop, I knew there and then that this was something I was going to which I was going to dedicate myself. I remember my first day of Bootcamp like it was yesterday. There I was, studying AGAIN ; I threw away everything I had and I felt both proud and nervous, wondering: did I make the right decision?* *SPOILER : yes I did! After 11 weeks, I felt that I had learned more than in my entire career! It's true that at times I felt overwhelmed with the amount of information I received in class but at the same time, this motivated me to continue working hard. It has been less than 2 months since I presented my final bootcamp project and I am now writing this article from Amsterdam where I am part of the Ironhack UX/UI team as a Teaching Assistant in their full-time bootcamp . The only thing that is on my mind is: why didn’t I dare to take this step before? If you’re considering taking the jump to change your career, either to the digital world or to another sector, I encourage you to do so. Life is too short to live in a constant “what if…?” For more information about our bootcamps in UX/UI, please click here: Ironhack.

” I was working in restaurants for about 7 years before I came to Ironhack— that was my first job at 16. ”  Today we interviewed Josh Alexy, one of our top-performing students in our coding bootcamp this past March at Ironhack Miami. When he’s not mentoring students and delighting us with his culinary concoctions, Josh is our resident TA and works as a freelance web-developer. Here you can read his student review: What were you doing before Ironhack ? I was working in restaurants for about 7 years before I came to Ironhack — that was my first job at 16. I was a dishwasher originally, but I worked my way up to being a manager. It grew pretty tiring, so I decided to start attending college to major in software development, but after attending for a year, I realized it wasn’t for me and decided to come to Ironhack instead. Why did you drop out of a traditional program to come to Ironhack ? I had to take a lot of prerequisite courses and the one programming course I did take was old and outdated. Most of the classes I was required to take didn’t have that much to do with programming: speech, history, philosophy, religion—all cool classes, but when I took them it didn’t really contribute to my end goal. Why Ironhack ? Why did you move to Miami? Since I lived in Pittsburgh, all the coding bootcamps I looked at were everywhere else, they were hours and hours away. Based on that information, I had to do some pretty good research before I picked one. The biggest thing was reading the Ironhack reviews and reaching out to students and asking them about their experiences. That’s the kind of transparency I was looking for, you know? I wanted physical proof that someone did this thing, learnt something from it, and did well there. In regards to Miami, location wasn’t really a point of interest for me. I didn’t know Miami was an up-and-coming tech city. The decision was on a personal level of me feeling comfortable enough to spend 8 weeks and a ton of money to be somewhere. I felt comfortable with Ironhack based on the information I could see. What was the breaking point for you that made you decide to leave your job? Why did you choose to go into programming? I never really viewed the restaurant industry as a career choice for me, it’s something that I just fell into. In regards to choosing coding, when I was 6 years old , my grandma used to be amazed at how fast I could enter cheat codes on the N64 and how adept I was at messing around with computers. Other than though, I didn’t really think of coding in particular. It’s not something I even knew I was going to like before I came here, but it had to do with technology and that’s what I was immediately interested in. Did you hit any blocks on your coding journey? The main block was retaining anything or doing anything useful with what I was learning from Treehouse or Codecademy . I found it hard to retain information while not being in a classroom environment or not having any context on why I was doing what I was doing. That was probably the biggest roadblock. There wasn’t a point where I could just take off and say “now I’m going to make an application with this”. I knew what a class was, I knew what a variable was, but it never really made a difference, I couldn’t build with it. When you’re at Ironhack you actually build things, you actually apply what you are learning. With online mediums, you type out what they type out and then, 3 days later you go back to it and you”ve forgotten it. What would your advice be to someone who is interested in a coding bootcamp, but doesn’t know where to start? It would depend on your technical level beforehand. As somebody whose been in the program and helped teach the program, I would say to start learning how to code to see if its something that you’re really interested in beforehand. Try out those things like Treehouse and Codecademy and give coding a shot first to see if there’s any interest, because you just might not be interested in coding at all. I would suggest coding bootcamp to everybody, but it’s a big commitment of time and money, so you really have to think it through and realize what you’re getting into. If you don’t like thinking, then definitely don’t come here. If you’re used to the academic memorization kinda thing, then a coding bootcamp is going to flip your educational experience upside down. It’s very different. You have to mentally prepare for that as well. In your opinion, what makes a good developer? Hard work, and not having an ego. You have to realize you’re going to suck at something for a long time. As someone who is pretty much still a beginner at code in the grand scheme of things, I’ve realized that if you have an ego and beat yourself for up every little mistake, you’re going to have a really bad time in coding. Instead, focus on learning from your mistakes rather than losing your mind the first time you forget a semi colon! What’s your favorite ice cream flavor? Nutella Oooh, that sounds good. Music? Metal What if you had to choose a superpower? Flying would be pretty cool… What’s the next item on your bucket list? I”d like to travel to Dubai, but maybe Spain first, since Ironhack HQ is there! Josh Alexy is a Teaching Assistant at Ironhack Miami and a Pittsburgh-born Steelers fan.

When faced with the decision to choose a coding or design focus, Ironhack alumna Sofia Borges opted for a unique solution. Sofia not only attended Ironhack’s Web Development Bootcamp, she later went on to study UX and UI Design at Ironhack as well. In an interview with SwitchUp, Sofia talks more about her journey, and how both her coding and design skills are instrumental in her new role as a Content Producer & UX Strategist at Royal Caribbean Cruises. Sofia discovered an interest in technology while she was a Business student at the University of Miami. During classes, Sofia noticed that technology and innovation were a constant theme. As she explains, “ My professors constantly stressed the importance of technology and how it plays a pivotal role in ultimately every industry…I had no idea what coding really was, but the more I read about it, the more I felt it was something I was destined to do. ” Sofia began to consider that a tech career might be a good fit, which led her to Ironhack. Sofia liked that Ironhack offered immersive programs in both Web Development and UX/UI Design. As a global bootcamp, Ironhack also offered another great perk: the opportunity to study at one of their international campuses. Ultimately, Sofia decided to pursue both Web Development and UX/UI Design at Ironhack’s Barcelona campus. She first attended Ironhack’s Web Development Bootcamp and then chose to continue her studies with the UX/UI Design bootcamp. While the decision to attend both programs may seem unusual, Sofia believes that the dual focus has been a big help in her career transition. According to Sophia, “ Coding and design can no longer be seen as two separate entities. It’s so important for coders to understand good user experience and for designers to understand good web development. If you can study both, more power to you. ” Shortly after graduating from Ironhack, Sofia landed a role as a Content Producer and UX Strategist at Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. Ironhack was instrumental in helping her connect with potential employers, and, more importantly, it gave her the tools necessary to stand out as a candidate. “ Ironhack has an awesome hiring fair where you can meet different companies. They also expand your network immensely. However, just because you join a coding school doesn’t mean the job search experience is going to be a walk in the park. You need to create a great portfolio, an impressive resume, and have consistent follow up with interviewers, ” says Sophia. To learn more about Sofia and her journey, check out the complete interview on SwitchUp .

I wanted to start an Internet company, or join one, so building meant coding. I’ve always liked computers and on several occasions I had learned how to code a little bit and enjoyed it, but for different circumstances I never went deeper than a superficial introduction. Now, it was going to be different, I was going to go hard for it. But how? Coding bootcamps weren’t as popular as today so I wasn’t even contemplating that as an option. I didn’t know they existed. I bumped into Ironhack through a random newsletter. By pure coincidence, I had been a member of Impact Hub Madrid thanks to an entrepreneurship competition and the first Ironhack Hackshow took place at the same location. When I saw Ironhack in the newsletter it immediately caught my eye. Ironhack called themselves an education startup, something I liked. The course was 100% practical and high intensity — exactly what I was looking for after completing a BS in Mathematics. The bad part was that the bootcamp was expensive. It was a very short course for that price. It was unofficial. And it was absolutely new so there was no proof that it was useful as the foundations of a career. Was I willing to take such an expensive risk? First things first, I wanted to do the interview process anyway. I really enjoyed the time talking with Ironhack people. It seemed that they knew what they were doing. As the final step, I investigated the teachers and they had great projects and companies in their pasts. As with any important decision, I still had doubts. I went with the less regrets approach: “What would I regret more? Paying this price and finding out it wasn’t worth it or letting it go and realizing it was a golden opportunity?” I enrolled. The program was intense, challenging and fast. I like to master subjects but at the speed that the course progresses it’s impossible to master anything. You’re lucky if you understand 50% of the topic at hand. At first, this speed and lack of understanding was intimidating but at some point I accepted it and realized that the goal wasn’t to become a master in a couple of subjects, the goal was to become a novice in many. It was a good approach because after the course is finished you have a list of topics to explore more in depth on your own. The teachers didn’t disappoint. They were experts in their fields, good communicators and passionate about their craft. The relationship with the other students was amazing. They were enthusiastic about being there and motivated to do their best work every single day. We talked about personal stuff and also about coding and related areas. We had long stimulating conversations. The contrast with my university experience was huge. I found college studies dull, boring and full of indifference. Most teachers did a mediocre job and the friends I made weren’t very enthusiastic about the studies. When the bootcamp was finished, I had solid foundations to start a career as a software developer. I had met exceptional developers and got in contact with the community. And very important: I was full of motivation. Work I was lucky to get my first job as a developer in just one month. What a humbling experience! At that time I was an absolute burden for the team. You can’t learn a profession in 2 months. Ironhack was just the beginning of the trip. Laestrygones, Cyclopes, angry Poseidon waited for me ahead. The next years have been better. I co-founded Foodinthebox in Madrid and learned about how to start a company. I joined Catawiki when we were 9 developers in Amsterdam and left the company when we were 32. I learned about good practices and how to grow and structure a company. Currently, I work as a software engineer at Springest . We work with Holacracy , a self-management practice for organizations. We’ve a strong culture of learning, flexibility and responsibility. It’s very enriching. I believe this way of working is the future of organizations. I feel lucky to be where I’m today. I enjoy my work and I improve my skills every day. I’m surrounded by awesome colleagues. I guess I could have arrived here without Ironhack because there are other great ways to learn how to code, but I made my choice and I couldn’t be happier about it.

Born in the nineties, I have witnessed the evolution of technology. I am perfectly aware of the deep transformation companies are currently undergoing, through the diffusion and the development of the Web. And do you know what I notice? It is that everyone is saying that coding is tomorrow ‘s skill and that everyone should learn it, but the majority of people only have a vague idea of what code is. Even though, I was evolving around the Web and Technology, I didn’t fully grasp what it was. And the key to better understand the world we are living in is code. « The spread of computers and the Internet will put jobs in two categories: people who tell computers what to do, and people who are told by computers what to do » Marc Andreessen. When I applied to Ironhack, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I really wanted to learn more about how a website really works but the information online can be and is intimidating. Especially when you are on your own. And I needed some kind of structure to learn the best practice. The Ironhack bootcamp seemed to fit my needs with a nine weeks intensive program. As the starting date of the bootcamp got closer and closer, I became more and more afraid. With no background in computer science, I started doubting myself. Am I cut for this? Am I going to enjoy it? But deep down, I knew what I wanted and I wasn’t going to stop until I got it. And there I was that Monday of March 2018. Ready for 59 days of intense training. I am not going to lie. It WAS intense. I was challenged every day. But in the end, it was so worth it. What comes easy won’t last and what lasts won’t come easy. Right? If I had the chance, I would definetely do it again. And, more importantly, sooner. I have learn so much in 9 weeks. The fundamental of creating a web application from scratch of course. But that is just the tip of the iceberg. I will be crystal clear, you WON’T MASTER coding at the end of the bootcamp. Simply because it is IMPOSSIBLE. BUT you will learn how to LEARN, how to SEARCH information and how to GET BETTER. Again, there were some difficult times, where I felt overwhelmed and entirely way over my head but you are not alone. I have met some amazing people ready to help: the entire Ironhack team, our amazing lead teacher and TAs, and my fellow comrades. Learning how to code is an intense journey, you work hard and you struggle but you want more. Paradoxal, isnt’ it? To recap’, it was a once in a life time experience and I would recommend it if you are interested in learning how to code or if you are thinking about change in your life. If you have ideas, if you want to build them and make them, Ironhack will give you the tools, the tech skills and the mindset to start. So yes, if I had the chance, I would definetely do it again. And more importantly, sooner. Last but not least, it is possible to get a job as a Web Developer without any previous experience. It happened to me, and I am one out of many. A company took a chance on me and offered me a full-time position. I am very thrilled to start on this new path. I am highly motivated and I cannot wait to begin! As I told you, the best investment you could ever make is in yourself. I dared to make a change and I am convinced it was for the best. YOU are the « master of your fate ». What happens next is up to you. This was an unaltered testimonial by Jeremie, one of our many alumni here at Ironhack Paris, and was originally published on his personal Medium page . Check out our website if this made you curious to learn more about our bootcamps!

For this reason, we have worked against the clock to adapt our courses and bootcamps to a remote virtual methodology that allows us to maintain the quality and standards of our courses, while maintaining the recommendations of the health authorities. Given the change in our classrooms, we wanted to know the opinion of our part-time students to know how they are adapting to the change: “Despite this unusual context, I enjoy following the classes remotely. I had to reorganize my apartment into a suitable working space, but it’s nice to be at home. I use two computers and sometimes my TV to see and follow better. The tool that was provided (ZOOM) is amazing, it allows us to alternate between lectures and group work by offering a possibility to create different ‘rooms’.” Laurène Gbaka, UX/UI Design Part Time, Paris “I am really enjoying the part-time online course and despite everything, it is easier to fit it remotely and to fit in with the rest of my house / life. This does not mean that you do not want to meet my fellow students, but you have found an optimal solution that continues to maintain the atmosphere and enthusiasm that is perceived in the school. For my part, I always try to look on the bright side of things: I can’t be physically at ironhack, but I can take classes without having to travel the city between work and school.” Claudia Antonacci, UX/UI Design Part-Time, Barcelona Thanks to the positive feedback we have received on all our campuses, we have recently launched our new live remote courses to keep building our global community of Ironhackers. Click on the following link to learn more about Ironhack Remote .

This is part 1 of a series that follows Julia’s journey at the bootcamp, and looks at the ways coding can strengthen leadership and teamwork and how companies can encourage this. It all started in 2016, when Julia joined Zalando as a Business Analyst. Having recently graduated from her studies at HTW (Fachhochschule für Technik und Wissenschaft Berlin), she decided to rejoin the company where she had already spent time as a working student, largely because she appreciated the company culture. That she leaped from Business Analyst to Product Manager only one year later was maybe a little unforeseen, yet also an organic process, as Julia describes it. Besides working as an analyst, she had already been supporting the Product Manager with the tool for some time, so when he decided to leave this position, it was suddenly up to her to take it over. “I was the one who understood the product best”, she explains. Now, after two years in the position as Product Manager, Julia has successfully mastered the management of her product –  the ‘in-season management tool’ – and the coordination of the many stakeholders who use it, but she always felt there was something missing. She wanted to understand the technology behind it all. “After two years in the position, I realized I had mastered the product, but the biggest need was the technical part”, she says. An obvious way to learn the missing tech skills could have been an online course. However, describing herself as a very social person, she explains, “My weekends and evenings can be pretty full, so I knew between work and a course, I wouldn’t manage”. She decided to consult a few of her fellow engineers about different in-class programs in Berlin that were full time, and after scanning the market and the different curriculums offered, they recommended Ironhack. Of course, the process of attending the course did not happen overnight. To ensure that her team could manage well without her, she began her research in 2018 and did some thorough planning before her nine week leave. She smiles, “They have been really cool about not messaging me for anything, and I have to say I’m really grateful because it lets me concentrate entirely on my learnings here”. Indeed, improving her technical knowledge was her idea at the start, but Julia was never alone in her endeavour. She got a lot of support for her decision to take what she casually calls a ‘sabbatical’, most notably from her lead Lasse who she describes doing “the coolest thing any lead ever did for me”. He encouraged her every step of the way, making sure that she had the necessary time off and making a training budget available to assist with the costs. Today, one year after her decision to do the course, she is part of the Ironhack Web Development Bootcamp, getting a full stack education in Javascript on the frontend together with its equivalent NodeJS on the backend in a course that is both challenging and intense. However, as Julia explains, the programming language itself is not the most important thing about the Bootcamp. She cares more about understanding the logic behind coding, which is similar no matter what coding language you learn. “I truly believe that when learning how to code, it doesn’t matter what language you learn. I think it’s more about the configurations and structures, and also learning about the culture and way of working around it”. She continues explaining how getting familiar with tools like GitHub or Visual Studio as well as learning how to implement API’s is extremely helpful to understand the processes and environment around coding. After all, for Julia, the motivation to learn coding goes far beyond just understanding the tools. As she now guides a team of 7 engineers, it is also about understanding their workstyle, speaking their language and being able to truly connect with them. “Speaking the language of the team is so important for me in a leadership role, because it can really change the relationship to my team. It creates trust, understanding and respect.”. Of course, demonstrating knowledge about how her product is built not only helps Julia to understand her team, but shifts the team’s view on her as well. “The moment they realize that you have some technical background and understand what they are doing, you’re no longer just the business girl. You become a team member.”. In the case of Julia, it’s no surprise that her team seems to love her already. She jokingly says “they are wonderful, they even suggested to name themselves ‘dragons’, just so I could be called ‘Queen of Dragons’”. It’s been eight weeks now, and although she admits the course is hard work, this does not seem to affect Julia’s enthusiasm. On the contrary, when asked if it actually felt like a sabbatical, she replied “It does actually!”. Always being curious and enthusiastic, she adds “I don’t remember a time in my life when I learned so many things. So, learning how to code feels like playing with new toys. I really enjoy it.”. Indeed, for Julia, the course at Ironhack is not just about professional goals, but about taking an opportunity to challenge herself. Talking about herself, she says, “How much knowledge can you really absorb? You think you’re so smart – go and prove it”.

Co-founder of Mindly (made in Silicon Valley), Madrid native, woman and, of course, Ironhacker, Marta Fonda tells us about her Ironhack experience as a student of the Web Development bootcamp in Madrid . When and why did you decide that you wanted to sign up for a bootcamp at Ironhack? When I graduated from college where I studied engineering and business administration, I realized that I hadn’t been exposed to any kind of web or mobile development other than in the final project. Despite this, I started looking for jobs but I didn’t feel comfortable with all of the typical options like consulting or auditing. Also, back then I was completely out of the loop in terms of the startup ecosystem and I had no entrepreneurial contacts whatsoever, so I settled for the multinational technologies that have been around forever, like IBM and Microsoft. I went through countless unsuccessful interviews for which i clearly lacked work experience, but also in which my passion and motivation for my career was recognized and appreciated. It was August when I received an email from Xavi Leal (thank you, Xavi!) telling me about this new and revolutionary educational model called Ironhack: an intensive eight week course that taught full stack web development. It’s important to note that at the time I was vaguely familiar with HTML, CSS and a little bit of JQuery (not even JavaScript!) , and for my final project in college I used Symfony2, a framework that had just come out and was pretty popular, and PHP. Considering my limited programming knowledge, but realizing that “if Xavi tells you about it, it must be worth it,” I took the first step of going on Ironhack’s website. On the site, I was pleasantly surprised at seeing familiar faces like Javi Jiménez and Carlos Ble. It was love at first sight for me when I started reading into the full time Web Development bootcamp, so I decided to apply to the next course in Madrid. After only a week of admission and interview processes, I started my incredible journey as part of the Ironhack family . Tell us about a time during the bootcamp where you faced a problem and had to solve it. Throughout your time at Ironhack, you’ll face multiple problems, but the important thing is to not give up and figure them out. My most memorable problem at Ironhack came up while I was working on my final project. I decided to use Bootstrap as my framework for the frontend and Heroku to launch my app on Rails, but when I tried to compile the assets things didn’t exactly go as planned. Countless headaches and two days of Google searches later, I decided to launch the app on Amazon with help from my mentor Alex Martin. Eventually I had a lucky break: the first event I went to after graduating Ironhack was the Christmas MadridRB where all the alumni came back and reunited. That’s where I met Raul Murciano, software engineer at Heroku, and I told him about my final project problem. It turns out it was the same bug they were working on fixing at Heroku. A few weeks later, Raul sent me the solution to the problem we both had. This example of sharing solutions and lending a hand is fundamental to the value of my experience as an Ironhack student. What was your biggest personal achievement at Ironhack? That’s a hard question! My time at Ironhack was filled with learning experiences and personal accomplishments, but the one I’m most proud of is my newfound ability to manage stress. There was a moment during the bootcamp where I needed to learn and soak everything in at once, and the Ironhack founders that joined us during social events like talks and networking gatherings helped me get a sense of how to do that. Would you agree that Ironhack isn’t all hard work, but fun as well? Can you tell us about a time where you experienced this? Of course! There were plenty of fun times experienced during my two months at Ironhack, from the afternoons with Sergio Arbeo to the many yoga sessions with the class. If I did have to highlight a single most special experience, though, I’d choose the weekends spent working with my classmates. Thanks to our diverse group of mathematicians and strategy game experts and a lot of hacking, we developed a robot using Ruby to compete against another bootcamp’s robot in Canada. Of course our robot was so advanced that the Canadian bootcamp didn’t dare compete against us! Learning is undoubtedly Ironhack’s key factor. What was your biggest learning experience? Ironhack leaves you not only with programming knowledge, but personal and interpersonal skills as well . I think my experience at Ironhack developed a fundamental change in my life in terms of concrete and technical skills along with intangibles. I owe all of this to the incredible people I met here who taught me that there’s no need for fear or pressure, just the desire to keep learning and working hard. Given your experience at Ironhack, would you recommend someone else to join? Yes! Without a doubt. This is why I started writing a blog in the first place, for future Ironhackers to have an inside look at the whole experience from the perspective of a student. For instance, I was part of Ironhack’s very first Web Development bootcamp in Madrid and I joined completely on a whim. If someone is actually planning on joining the bootcamp, my testimonial would be a huge help to them. I came into Ironhack to simply learn web development, and I left with not only competency in the languages and theories, but also with the knowledge of best practices, a great family and above all an amazing network of contacts that were crucial when it was time to develop my professional career. After graduating Ironhack, what kind of professional opportunities did you have? From the very beginning (of the end), in fact, during the Hackshow, I was offered several positions. It wasn’t until two days later when Floqq, an educational startup, reached out to me. It was only a matter of weeks before I passed their coding challenge and was already working in their office. I started off as a front end developer and earned the title of product manager a few months later. Floqq has not only been a place where I’ve met incredible people who are also fundamental to my career, but it’s definitely been one of the most enriching experiences of my life. A month after leaving Floqq, I went to Silicon Valley to co-found my startup, Mindly. This was a huge leap for me, and also the greatest challenge of my life to date, although I’m sure there’s lots more to come. A basic component of Ironhack is learning. What does learning mean to you? For me, learning is sharing knowledge and experiences. I’ve always said that the best way to learn is by teaching, so I’ve sought experience in teaching different things including web development, both in person and online. Going to events, talking to friends and sharing experiences is all part of learning and, in my opinion, much more effective than memorizing content from a book. I really think the best way to learn is by teaching and doing. A basic ingredient of Ironhack is “building.” What does “innovation” mean to you? For me, innovation comes from nonconforming. For example, I’ve always considered myself innovative because I’ve never conformed. I always want more, I want to keep learning and improving not only technically but also personally. When you stay stagnant, that’s when you stop being innovative. Finally, what piece of advice would you give to the new generation of Ironhackers? Commitment and consistency. With these two things, you’ll be set. One of the things I’m most proud of is that I took complete advantage of my time at Ironhack. I remember leaving events late at night and falling asleep on the train or bus on my way home. The exhaustion completely took over my body, but I never stopped coming in on the weekends to work, going to events and meeting people, or attending talks or classes. Time flies at Ironhack, so be aware of this and take advantage of every minute. And once it’s over, continue learning the way you did the weeks prior.