Software Development Mastery: Total Experience

Overview

Software Development Mastery (SWDM) was the ideal program for me to embark on my journey to learn software development. As someone who transitioned from being a cook to a software developer, I chose the self-taught path to ensure that this was the career I wanted to pursue. Taking full ownership of my learning journey, I was solely responsible for my success or failure. The program's structure gave me complete control over my progress, it was designed for individuals who have a strong willingness to learn and make the most of its many resources. Overall, my experience with SWDM has been transformative, and it has helped me realize my full potential in the software development industry.

You are the key

Like any educational course, it is easy to fall into the trap of passively waiting for guidance from peers or instructors. This attitude will not take you very far and is a waste of both time and money. However, this will be quickly eliminated as you come to understand that no one will do the work and write code for you It is possible to get stuck halfway through the roadmap after four months or become ready to start job hunting within the same time frame. Progress is entirely up to you, it is all in your hands.

During my experience in the program, my primary goal was to learn everything I could within four months and secure a job immediately after completion. To achieve this, I approached each project on the roadmap with curiosity and a focus on improving my problem-solving skills. When I completed projects before the due date, I would intentionally break my application and recreate it in different ways using a trial-and-error approach. This method not only helped me to double my learning progress, but it also developed my debugging skills and made the learning curve between projects more manageable. Ultimately, the speed of progress depends on how much effort and dedication you put into the program, and the outcome is in your hands.

Benefits

SWDM is a program that offers numerous benefits, all of which are simple yet executed efficiently. However, the success of the program is solely reliant on an individual's ability to utilize these benefits effectively. From my personal experience, I would like to highlight the main benefits that were instrumental in my success in the program.

Community

SWDM had a vibrant and supportive community. Andy, the program's founder, carefully selected passionate individuals who were committed to their growth and development. Mentors and students alike shared a common goal of helping each other progress toward landing their first job. The community sparked my curiosity and opened my mind to ideas that I had not previously considered, giving them a fresh new perspective.

The hardest part for me was learning to ask questions. As someone with a conservative and timid personality, during my time in the kitchen, I had become accustomed to being self-reliant and only asking for help when absolutely necessary. However, I learned that asking questions is not about admitting that you do not know something. It is about breaking down a problem and understanding where the issue may lie. It requires doing your own research and using your curiosity to learn. If the solution is still not found, then reach out to others for help, and seek their advice. This process of asking allows you to learn faster and narrow down the problem for the peers helping you out.

Accountability

There were weekly accountability calls that provided an opportunity for students to share their progress with others in the program. By celebrating weekly achievements and identifying areas for improvement, the calls helped me reduce procrastination and stay motivated.

The feedback I received during these calls was invaluable. In some cases, it helped me realize that I was holding myself back due to a fear of not knowing everything. Other times, it allowed me to see different solutions or approaches to the same projects as other students asked questions. These accountability calls truly provided the best use of the mastermind principle, leveraging the collective expertise and experience of the group to achieve individual success.

Time management

Time management, time tracking, and work-life balance played significant roles in my SWDM accomplishment. One of the most important lessons I learned was that learning software development is a marathon, not a sprint. It's essential to take the proper time to study and rest consistently to achieve a sustainable balance.

This concept was challenging for me at first. In the kitchen, the pace is non-stop from start to finish and usually with no breaks. The physical demands of multitasking can be overwhelming, and it is easy to believe that more work equals more productivity. However, in software development, it's different. The work is mainly mental, requiring deep focus on one problem at a time. The mind can only maintain this level of concentration for a specific period before losing interest. Additionally, stress can easily pile up as one problem can take hours to solve, leading to a sense of not accomplishing much in a day.

I continue to work on achieving a healthy balance between rest and learning. However, the lessons I learned from Andy and SWDM have been instrumental in developing strategies to manage my time effectively and maintain a sustainable pace.

Portfolio building

The primary objective of the SWDM program is to equip individuals with practical skills that are valuable in a professional work environment. The roadmap is structured in a way that facilitates the gradual acquisition of these skills, starting with simpler projects and gradually increasing in complexity, ultimately fostering confidence and competence. Additionally, as one progresses through the program, the projects they work on can be used to build an impressive portfolio that can be showcased to potential employers. I found that actively cultivating my curiosity helped me make the most of the program. As mentioned earlier, I challenged myself to explore alternative approaches to projects, even if I had already completed them ahead of schedule. This strategy greatly accelerated my learning and skill development.

My misgivings

Although the SWDM benefits helped me succeed, I realized that I did not utilize them to their full potential. I struggled with relying on the community, often preferring to work on my own, which hindered my progress. Had I been more open to input from others, it would have opened up new questions and provided different approaches to problems, ultimately accelerating my learning. Additionally, I occasionally skipped accountability calls, especially when I felt I was not making enough progress or was embarrassed to share my work. Looking back, those calls could have provided me with valuable feedback and built up my self-confidence. Furthermore, during my last project, I became too focused on coding and neglected to take proper brain breaks, leading to a bit of burnout towards the end and slowing down my job hunt progress. If I had realized earlier that these key features of the program were essential skills in a job setting, I would have worked harder to improve them. In the end, everything worked out, but I encourage anyone going through the program to prioritize improving these skills.

On a typical day as a software developer, you are given a project or task with specific deliverables and a timeframe to complete it. Depending on the task, it may involve learning on the go and utilizing resources such as Google and Stack Overflow to find answers. In Agile development, there are daily accountability stand-up meetings and weekly sprint planning sessions to assess progress and determine areas for improvement. Asking questions of peers requires you to do your own research and attempt to solve problems on your own before seeking assistance. These are all crucial skills that are covered in SWDM, and I believe they are just as important as building a strong portfolio.

Lesson

Developing trust in your mentor and the resources they provide is crucial for success. Embrace the process and cultivate a teachable attitude, recognizing that the resources and guidance given to you are designed to help you grow. Ongoing learning is key, fostering curiosity and asking thoughtful questions are valuable skills that will benefit you regardless of your profession. By building a foundation of trust, openness, and a hunger for knowledge, you can maximize your potential and achieve your goals.

Thank you for reading. If you believe my story will benefit someone who's attempting to make a change please share this post. Feel free to contact me, I would love to hear from you. Please subscribe if you'd like to stay up to date and receive emails when new content is published.