I've been building websites but don't know what I am doing.I've been making websites for more than 10 years, but I always relied on using platforms like Joomla, and Weebly. These did not require me to know how to build a site from scratch. I could basically just pick a template and start entering content. With the Minneapolis Dancehall (mplsdancehall.com) website, I became very involved in using Joomla and multiple Joomla extensions, and added a ton of content, but the site became overwhelming with all of the content I wanted to keep current, and with the constant updating of Joomla, which was not always compatible with the extensions I was using. I felt like I was in over my head, and put that project on the back burner. The webhosting and domain name eventually expired, and even though I might have some back-ups filed away somewhere, I will need to rebuild that project from scratch. This time, however, I want to do it differently. This time, I want to learn how to write all of the code myself. With the Joomla site, I became familiar with going in to edit existing code (usually, the .css file to make minor changes like adjusting hex colors, or changing margins and border), but I never learned how to build the site from the bottom up. I have decided to go back to school for web design.I've been increasingly frustrated at my current job, was inspired by a co-worker at past job who had graduated from a software engineering certification program, and I decided to attend a computer coding bootcamp in my evenings and weekends.
In the Twin Cities, the major options I found were the University of Minnesota, Prime Digital Academy, and NuCamp. NuCamp was the most-affordable, but the other two were both recommended over NuCamp by my former coworker. The coworker felt Prime and U of MN both had better career support, and emphasized that networking is also key to starting a coding career. The coworker expressed the excellent employee benefits in their current position, and freedom and flexibility to work not only from home, but also from anywhere in - or out! - the country. I didn't ask their salary, but I am confident, it is easily double or triple the current wages at my job which barely offers any substantial employee benefits. Weighing my options, I was leaning heavily towards NuCamp or U of MN, primarily as they are less-expensive than Prime, and still received decent reviews online. I talked about this decision with a few friends and was quickly reminded what I already knew: You can learn almost anything online for free. Brilliant! Out of the free coding bootcamps I found in my online searches, freeCodeCamp became a top candidate, and I quickly started their Responsive Web Design Certification Course (300 hours). I'll tell you more about how it's going so far, next time. |
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