Things are moving quickly now. We are in the middle of the MVC Design style, which finally allows us to build web applications. We are also gearing up for the day when we begin applying to jobs, which is just two weeks away. Both the technical lessons and the Pathway Program are hitting their apex, and the crush of assignments and information has a dizzying effect.
On the coding side of things, it’s nearly impossible to keep up. As far as I can tell, there is not one .NET student who is currently up to speed on the exercises that are due. Today is Tuesday and on Monday we were assigned pair programming which took four hours and then individual exercises which were even more difficult. The next day, after the lecture, we were assigned both pair programming and individuals again–another six to eight hours of homework.
That’s a lot of stuff. But that’s only half of it.
Caitie and the Pathway Program have also been ramping things up. We will be allowed to apply to jobs on March 18th. But before that fateful date, Caite wants to make sure that we are completely ready. We had updates to both our resumes and LinkedIn profiles on Sunday. On Monday we each had a meeting with Caitie to receive feedback from the mock interviews from last week. Today through Thursday, we will be having group mock interviews with Caitie as the interviewer. We will be in with her, four at a time, as she asks behavioral interview questions. Then, the other students in the room will give feedback to the person who answered. It’ll be awkward at best. But useful.
On top of that, it’s open season for showcases. We had three last week and three more this week. The showcases are nice, I like them and it really educates me about the opportunities in Pittsburgh. But it’s another one to two hours of the day filled up with tasks when the canyon of homework looms, when the interview prep haunts, when our resumes and online personas stare like lifeless dolls needing to be breathed to life.
The days are long and trying. But we keep pushing forward.
From Retail to Programming 