Hello from Seattle!

[rmoshier]

Hey Julie! I'm a nascent programmer based out of Seattle and I'm working towards changing careers from international development to software engineering this year. I'm currently learning HTML & CSS, teaching myself Ruby, and playing on Github, and I'm wondering if you have any tips for learning and growing at this stage? I love that this field is getting more open to women and I hope to give back and inspire other female programmers in the future. Thanks for whatever tips you have! -Rachel

[nrrrdcore]

I do! Get involved with open source as soon as humanly possible! It's the greatest way to immerse yourself in web development, meet and work with other developers, and build a portfolio through open source contributions.

Start with Code Montage which helps people who are new to open source find projects (usually posted by non-profits and other beacons of social change). Signing up and finding a project to hack on are both great first steps toward a career in web development.

If you're unfamiliar with contributing to projects on GitHub (like most non-technical folk moving into programming roles or careers), check out a few of these guides, they might help give you some insight into what it's like to contribute to open source projects on GitHub. My favorite is the one on The GitHub Workflow™.

I also have a few friends who have had great experiences with programming bootcamp-type-programs or intensives. If you're curious, here's a few:

• Hacker School
• Flatiron School
• General Assembly
• Dev Bootcamp

Sasha Laundy (@sursh) — Hacker School Grad, Saron Yitbarek — Flatiron School Grad, & Tea Ho (@teabait) — GA Grad, are all great people to reach out to about the programming intensive experience.

[ashleygwilliams]

I'll offer myself (@ag_dubs) as a resource as well. I'm the lead instructor at the Flatiron School BK campus, currently running the NYC Web Development Fellowship.

Also, I <3 open source. Always happy to mentor people in contributing. Really into contributing to documentation, which IMO is one of the best way to learn a new technology :)

Good luck!

[nrrrdcore]

Really into contributing to documentation, which IMO is one of the best way to learn a new technology.

👍 SO into this.

[rmoshier]

Hello! Wow, thank you so much for getting back to me and thanks for your great advice. I like the idea of jumping into open source work ASAP and helping out on any projects that I can. In terms of boot camps, I am gearing up to apply for the Ada Developers Academy in March which I'm really excited about. I'll reach out if I have questions about any of the specifics you sent, but I really appreciate you taking the time to respond to my question.

[sursh]

Lots of good resources here!

Just wanted to jump in and clarify that Hacker School isn't a bootcamp. The bootcamp programs have teachers and curricula, take you from 0 to "employable junior developer" in X weeks, and you pay them $Y dollars and may or may not get some of it forgiven depending on your employment outcome.

Hacker School is completely free, has no teachers or curricula, and does not admit based on predicted employability at the end of the program. I describe it as a "writer's retreat, but for programming" where a wide variety of experience and skill levels come together to work on projects that interest them alongside each other, and get significantly better at programming. It's an amazing experience. Bootcamps are vocational, and Hacker School is the liberal arts take on it.