MakerSquare Week 5: Onto Projects
Another whirlwind week at MakerSquare comes to a close. Beginning next week, we move fully into project mode — we’ve spent all day every day of the last five weeks working through foundational computer science theory, web application frameworks, different database systems, etc.
I’m really excited to dig into project work and apply everything we’ve been working on. We’ll have an initial opportunity to build a two-day prototype next week, and after that it’s group work to the finish.
On Friday we had the opportunity to watch the senior cohort present their thesis projects. Each group had such different ideas, interpretations and implementations. The spectrum was so interesting to watch. It was a great way to gear up and get excited for the senior phase — I already can’t wait to see what my cohort produces in the next few weeks!
A friend recently shared a blog post from Matt Mullenweg at Automattic: “Getting a Job After Coding Bootcamp“. It validated a lot of my thoughts, as well as some of my concerns.
…show your value by getting involved in something bigger
I’ve always been passionate about open source, and being able to contribute meaningfully has been one of my ultimate aims (particularly around the needs of the I/DD community). But at what point are you skilled enough to contribute meaningfully to something? You can’t just hide away until you’re completely confident, and the most skillful person in the world. At some point you just get started.
Even if I’m not able to contribute anything while still working through MakerSquare (considering the intensive workload) I’m going to keep this front of mind and choose something to dig into — at least starting at the end of the program, if not sooner.