Ryan Anderson's Blog
Was your first week what you expected? Why? Why not?
This first week has not been what I expected, but in a good way. Git can be surprisingly complicated,
but very useful once you get used to it, and figuring it out was very satisfying.
What are you excited or eager to learn more about?
I am especially looking forward to learning how to program in languages such as Python and JavaScript.
That said, learning about Git and GitHub has also been quite interesting and I am excited for all the
material that we will cover.
What is something about you that can only be learned by reading this blog?
I graduated from California State University Northridge in 2022 with a degree in mechanical engineering.
However, I quickly came to realize that working as an engineer was not quite what I thought it would be,
and decided to attend a coding bootcamp since programming is something I have enjoyed and found interesting
whenever I have come across it.
I am a huge roller coaster enthusiast, and that interest was what initially inspired me to pursue an
engineering degree. I enjoy using software such as No Limits 2 to create my own roller coaster designs.
What is something you wish you could do but currently do not have the
coding skills to
accomplish?
One thing I would really like making with the right coding skills is videogame mods, in particular Pokemon romhacks.
I
enjoy playing games with mods to enhance gameplay and provide a different experience after playing the game for a
long
time. Being able to make my own would be really cool.
What are you struggling with?
The biggest thing I struggle with is time management. I have ADHD and am easily distracted, so I often struggle at
the
beginning of each week when I look at everything to be done at once and it seems insurmountable. Once I manage to
get
started, I have an easier time focusing on each individual step and seeing the mountain of work ahead get smaller.
How do you solve a problem?
If the first few ideas that come to mind don't work, I like to go on a walk and think
about things. I either replay the problem in my mind and eventually an idea for a
solution comes to me, or I clear my mind and think about other things and come back
ready to attack the problem again, which helps me think more easily.
What methods do you use to help yourself get unstuck?
When I get stuck, I usually think of a couple ideas to try right away. If they don't work, I try to Google the
problem
and I can sometimes find an answer. If that doesn't work, I take a walk as I mentioned above. If I still can't solve
the problem, I post it in the Help channel in Slack. Everyone has been very helpful in
giving each other ideas to solve problems.
What are your thoughts about the roles HTML, CSS, and JavaScript play in
the process of rendering
content and providing a user experience?
I find it very interesting how several types of coding can come together to affect how a webpage looks and works. It
is incredible what styles and effects can be achieved with only a few lines of code.
What are some objects that your blog incorporates?
My blog does not currently incorporate any elemets from CSS or JavaScript, but I use html headers and text alignment
for the question titles.
What was helpful during Onboarding working remotely?
The daily standup sessions helped to gauge how much work I should have done each day,
and everyone was extremely helpful when I posted in the Slack help channel.
What hindered your progress during Onboarding?
One big problem for me during onboarding was staying focused and on top of my work. Now that the bootcamp is fully
in-person, I think this should be less of an issue for me.
How did you overcome challenges during Onboarding?
Whenever I got stuck during a project, I would take a walk and clear my mind. Sometimes the solution would come to
me
out of nowhere, and other times I would come back and be ready to attack the problem again with clearer thinking.
What is the number one thing that held you back this week? Why?
The main thing that held me back was not initially knowing how to render HTML content from JavaScript, but I enjoyed
learning how to do that and I was able to get my mind reader working with a relatively small amount of HTML.
What is one thing you would like to learn more about regarding JavaScript
(JSON, Data
Structures),
Bootstrap or Atomic Design?
I would like to learn more about positioning objects in Bootstrap. Getting objects in the right place was difficult
for me and it felt hard to understand at times.
What is your "why"?
There are a few things that keep me motivated to keep coming each day and working hard. One is that programming is
something I enjoy and find engaging, much more so than what I was doing before as an engineer. Another is that I
would
like to work a remote or hybrid job, which was not really possible in my previous field due to the need to
communicate
with manufacturers.
