I spent 40-50 hours a week the last 4 months (October-January) learning at Portland Code School. It was an extremely rich experience. What I learned broadly fit into 2 languages/frameworks. I took both the full-stack JavaScript and Rails tracks (I was the only person to complete both tracks). More specifically I learned the following:

JS/Backbone.JS Ruby/Rails
- Backbone.JS - Active Record
- Jasmine - TDD - IO
- JSON - Rails
- JQuery - Many Gems including: Thor, Devise, and Google Maps
- Node.JS - PostgreSQL - SQL
- Underscore - ERB
- Regexp
- Capybara/RSPEC/MiniTest - BDD
- Sinatra

In each of these areas I learned more than just how to code. I learned the culture, tools, and ecosystems that these frameworks inhabit. I also learned many general web development skills including:

Web Development Skills
- Bash
- Github - Git
- Google Developer Tools - Debugging
- Heroku
- Front End Development - HTML/CSS
- How to Learn (Ask Questions, Read Documentation, use Tutorials, use Stackoverflow)
- The MVC Pattern
- Pair Programming
- The PDX Tech Scene
- The RESTful API Pattern
- Troubleshooting
- Using external API’s like Forecast.IO, Google Maps, Google Geocoder, Twitter, and Yelp
- Project Proposal Writing
- Working on a Team

I will be unpacking this experience and everything I learned for many months. The social connections I made will last a life time. I also learned that I will never stop learning in this line of work. Most importantly, I learned how much I love web development (including its challenges and its benefits).

Books I'm Reading During My Sabbatical

A brief introduction to Computer Science Continue reading

Dynamic Programming in Ruby

Published on October 05, 2017

What I've learned about React.JS

Published on December 31, 2016