Keen on working for a company to start off, I want to use these skills to become a reliable developer with a great relationship to his co-workers and clients and the flexibility to switch between any specific roles within the company. I would also like to use the skills to be able to switch to being remote or freelance if I decide on doing so.
In terms of personal management of workload and time, I feel I have improved a lot and feel more capable. I know better how to timebox, solve difficult problems and developing better habits. In terms of collaboration skills, I have not put it into practice yet and am still yearning to learn how to work with others on a problem. Although, I have communicated with someone in a listening and looping exercise which I feel went successfully and I feel more confident about explaining things.
Communication and collaboration are the things I am the least familiar with so it will be challenging. I have heard that the pace of learning is quite fast and intense, so it will be challenging to me to stay on top of it, especially alongside my life outside EDA.
I would first and foremost like to be able to break down and explain a problem to a group coherently, followed by successfully communicating and working with the group to achieve desired outcomes while meeting deadlines. After feeling more confident about this, I would like to develop some leadership skills and be able to give direction to others.
When it comes to technical difficulties, I do not expect a direct solution from the team, but some pointers. In terms of non-technical skills, I would definitely expect some thorough guidance on how to direct myself and others within a team, recommendations on planning ahead of meeting a deadline and how to deal with one that is coming close, as well as just general support for any personal issues.
At the very end, I want to come out as a reliable developer for my peers, facilitators and industry/community representatives, so these are the following ways I will commit to managing my workload.
The first thing I will make sure of is consistently attending things and completing work on time. But one particular thing I want to make sure of is that I do not end up going over the time I have allocated for myself when completing work so that it does not interfere with my personal needs as well as any work that follows and other commitments at EDA. This kind of interference can cause my overall performance to be poor. The solution to this is planning my whole week in advance, creating time estimates not only for my workload, but my personal life also.
The next I want to make sure of is that I am always on top of my communication and personal organisation, especially during times of high anxiety when these can falter. I need to make sure I am not only present, but concise in communication and organisation, whether I'm attending EDA (eg. participating in class discussions, speaking clearly during meetings with group) or using online tools (eg. Slack, Toggl).
Before meeting with teachers, I want to make sure I am aware of every issue I might be having and clearly communicate it to them so I do not wind up stuck. I could make sure of this by recording any particular issues I am having throughout the week.
My long term goal is to be a full stack JavaScript developer with the skills and knowledge to have a choice between working either freelance, remote or at a company.
One skill I would like to develop is collaboration, in the sense of allocating jobs to each other, managing each other's time, and being assertive. I also want to develop greater self-dependence, not having to rely on peers too much for help and managing my own time to stay up to date. My strengths include strong concentration and commitment to my work (especially with peers) and being understanding of others. My limitations include working too hard to the point where it can ruin my personal time management and motivation, and going with the flow a little too often when collaborating rather than giving my own advice.
In order to manage the workload in this programme, I will have to follow a certain plan. To be reliable towards myself, my peers, facilitators and people in the industry/community, I will ensure that I follow a schedule by getting in the recommended hours of work each day, as well as extra work in my own time, in order to ensure sure I am up to date with all the tasks. To make sure that this time is used effectively, I will take the time to plan out my day's worth of tasks and assess how realistically I will achieve my goals in a certain timeframe, such as the entire week. This in turn will also help me devise what times are good to take any breaks and organise my life outside Dev Academy so I do not get fatigued or stressed out, and minimise conflict with others
To seek help in a timely manner, I must plan ahead with the things I need any help with. I can do this during my assessment of the week ahead. For instance, I could pick out material that is rather time-consuming or difficult, and talk with my facilitator or my peers as soon as possible with any questions or discussions in terms of problem solving, organising time and any other issues.
What I expect from the facilitation team is a check-up on how I am progressing, recommendations on things I should be focusing my time and energy upon over other things and clarification on instructions that I do not quite understand. I do not expect them to give me any direct solutions or problem-solving, but when I do get very stuck on something I am expecting some form of guidance, especially when it could be things like technical issues.
I will work around any commitments outside Dev Academy through, once again, assessment of my to-dos during the week, and reshuffle these things when necessary to ensure I get enough work done during the day and over the week. For example, I could do grocery shopping and meal prepping on the weekend, change up my sleep schedule, or allocate more work hours on certain days to allow more time for any relatively time-consuming commitments outside Dev Academy.