This is a continuation of my Hackbright blog series. Start here to read from the beginning.

I’ve just completed my first week at Hackbright. I will say that, for the most part, my first week was a breeze. It’s gone by extremely fast though - which makes me pretty anxious. I already wish the fellowship could be longer so that we can squeeze in more topics and learning before I have to go out into the “real world” again to make ends meet.

Prior to starting, we were given prework assignments and homework to turn in. I had NO idea that there was going to be prework involved and I wish they had told us about this. In speaking with some other cohortmates, it sounded like I wasn’t the only one surprised by this. I also wish they provided answers to check our work against. That all aside though, I am really glad they sent this to us. I believe it was really vital to bring everyone to a baseline level before the start of class.

For me, the prework homework was extremely easy. (I do believe I am coming in with a bit more background than the average Hackbrighter, though.) I didn’t love the reading material and exercises they gave us, but I did like the fact that there were additional exercises and reading to do packaged into what was sent to us. Because I was able to do everything they assigned with relative ease, I found myself reading beyond the assignments and trying to solve every exercise available. I mostly got stuck when the problems became really math-intensive and I made notes to revisit it later after I become more seasoned at Hackbright.

Anyway, here are my first week reflections so far:

  • I do feel a little bit disappointed that the first few days were material that I felt we should have known before coming into Hackbright. Things like basic functions, Git, basic command lines are things we spent several lectures on, but I feel like the lectures could be condensed a bit. I also feel like the prework should have included this material. I get the sense that I’m not the only one who feels this way, but I understand that many also are learning this material for the first time.
  • Despite the above - and just like the prework - there is no shortage of things to learn or do. Even on day two, I ran into a coding problem during my pair programming session that I am still struggling to solve. It might sound weird for me to say this, but that’s a good thing because it asserts that there’s still a lot of opportunity for growth for me in this program.
  • I can feel the pace picking up, day by day. This is also great given that I felt the pace started off a bit slow.
  • Some instructors are better at instructing than others, and TAs have varied levels of experience. It’s interesting when I come across a question that they can’t answer, but it’s a gentle reminder that we’re all constantly learning.
  • I’ve learned the most from pair programming and self-study of pair programming exercises at home - not lectures.
  • Pair programming makes me boil a bit. It’s really about the first time I’ve had to pair program, and sometimes it straight makes me mad because I can be pretty impatient. I don’t think I visibly or aurally display this (hopefully not), but it’s definitely testing my limits. On the other hand, this is probably my favorite part of the fellowship so far. It’s challenging to work with someone else and it’s tough to talk about my thoughts out loud, but I like the challenge. Not only am I challenging myself, I am also picking up on how others think and explain things, which only improves my listening skills and opens my mind to try to expand my own ways of thinking/explaining. That said, how well I get along my pair and how well we can understand each other really makes an enormous difference on how I feel at the end of the day.
  • Every weeknd we are given graded assessments to see where we are and how we feel in the program. This can really be a humbling time. Even when the answers seem to come easily, I am examining the speed of completion and how many times I can recall something myself versus having to go to Google.

That pretty much summarizes my first week. I feel like it ended on a positive note overall and I feel relatively settled in to my cohort. Furthermore, I am really excited and looking forward to getting assigned industry mentors, taking field trips to Hackbright’s partner companies, and deepening my programming skills.