Since I completed my coding bootcamp in Sept 2021, I have been asked for additional resources that helped me to complete the course and land a job afterwards. Although this has been written in the context of the CodeFirstGirls (CFG) Nanodegree bootcamp, this is beneficial to anyone and everyone beginning to code and wanting to land their first role in tech.

Everything I mention here is linked

This will be all of us in no time ;)

So, welcome to the fourth article of my CFG Nanodegree blog series. If you haven't already, please check out the previous Nanodegree series articles here where I introduce the Nanodegree bootcamp, highlight vital soft skills it taught me, and show what the class schedule is like.

Why I Put Together This List

Before completing the CFG Nanodegree, I passively consumed a lot of content about coding. I joined tech Twitter and followed people working in the field to learn more about the industry and all of them encouraged newbies to get building and coding as quickly as possible as that's where you learn. I find this really difficult to do without any context or need, so following tutorial projects doesn't help me much. I got really stuck with understanding how to move out of being a passive content consumer.

When I saw the Nanodegree with its structured learning involving group work and more interaction, I jumped to apply. I would argue that the content is not the main benefit of learning in this format. The main benefit is the community and ability to learn from a wider group of people with different strengths who are all keen to provide each other with support.

I have split the resources by type:

1. Revision Resources that I found particularly helpful to reference during my time on the CFG Nanodegree
2. Technical Practice Resources that provide further practice and context to concepts taught to beginners that are really helpful to show evidence of on your CV for your tech job hunt
3. Study Hack Resources that helped me learn so many concepts most effectively

Who Are These Resources For?

The resources listed in this article will benefit you whether you are:

• Applying for a bootcamp such as the Nanodegree
• Currently on a bootcamp such as the Nanodegree
• Looking for your first tech role
• Recently started your first tech role

Through my instructors and people I met on the Nanodegree bootcamp, I discovered a range of helpful resources that I wish I knew of earlier in my coding journey. Since I have started working, I have been able to see which continue to be helpful past being a beginner on the Nanodegree and through to a career in tech. All of these resources are ones I still visit to help me at work.

I hope they help you too no matter where you are on your journey!

Revision Resources

W3School

• Really good bite-sized tasks for various languages
• A thorough reference guide
• The Nanodegree uses this site for its theory assessments

StatQuest (YouTube)

• Breaks down complex topics in short videos
• Colleagues at work have recommended this channel to me on countless occasions

Derrick Sherrill (YouTube)

• Great visuals showing and explaining basic Python algorithms covered in the Nanodegree and other bootcamps

Technical Practice Resources

FreeCodeCamp

• The OG free website with countless hours of content to get you familiar with different coding languages
• Fabulous community to help answer any questions you may have
• They have a fun RPG where you simulate learning to code and finding your first tech job, which I have reviewed and given details on how to download here

Khan Academy

• I found the videos on computer algorithms particularly helpful to understand from a non-tech perspective when studying on the Nanodegree

SQLBolt

• Interactive tutorials that go over key SQL practices within 18 lessons and give you strong foundational skills
• Helped me to make sense of SQL alongside the Nanodegree bootcamp classes

HackerRank

• Small coding tasks in a variety of languages that prepare you for technical interviews
• Some companies actually run their technical assessments via HackerRank so it's beneficial to become familiar with this format

Kaggle

• Completing or ranking in a Kaggle competition is a fantastic addition to your CV and technical portfolio
• It shows tangible evidence of your ability to code and understand computing concepts in context of a real-world problem
• Perfect material to refer to when in a job interview

Study Hack Resources

Notion

• A particularly useful FREE note-taking app available across devices
• Easily allows you to paste in code to reference and link different files or "pages" from across your notebook
• Can publicly share static pages, which works great as a portfolio page and there are plenty of templates available online

Anki

• Smart flashcard app that focuses on two main concepts: active recall testing and spaced repetition
• Drastically improved my ability to retain facts, definitions and new concepts, forcing me to review throughout the Nanodegree bootcamp
• Takes time to create the flashcards, but creating them helps to remember quicker in the grand scheme of everything although open source flashcard decks can be found online as well
• Helps when you're reviewing concepts before an interview as well!

Coggle

• A free mind-mapping software from Google that helps me to visually link concepts together when certain topics get overwhelming
• I find this particularly helpful whenever I study as a Neurodivergent individual

This Series

That's it for the fourth article of my Nanodegree bootcamp series!!

You can let me know if this has been useful by leaving a comment below or contacting me on Twitter @codedbykayla. I hope you learned something and found my tips helpful!

Here's where we have gotten up to so far in the series:

• Overview
• Soft skills learned
• Class Schedule
• Key resources I wish I knew of earlier
• Hard skills learned
• How to make the most of a mentor
• What I wish the Nanodegree could improve for next time

The next post will be about key hard skills I learned on the Nanodegree. These will highlight skills that have come up in technical interviews and that I use most often in my job in working in AI.

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