I haven’t been so much of a Part-Timer lately, as a zero-hour-contract-er… Let’s just say life took over for a while [important, grown up, life things, that I won’t bore you with] but I’m back learning web development again!

I’ve discovered an amazing new thing: Cupcake Ipsum! [Yes, this is important enough to mention!] I’ve been using it in all my projects since I discovered it, and it makes me smile every time!

I managed to finish the freeCodeCamp project that had me stumped for ages [I’ll talk about that in my next post] but for now I’m trying to sink my teeth back into Javascript, and catch back up to where I was before that life thing happened.

When you stop learning for a while, no matter what the reason, it’s easy to underestimate how much you forget! Luckily, I bought a couple courses on Udemy a while back, and thought now would be a great time to do one of them.

A couple weeks ago I started the Web Developer Bootcamp, with Colt Steele as the lecturer [how cool a name is that?? I feel like he should be out fighting crime, or at very least a spy or something!] At the time of writing, the price of the Bootcamp is £200. Don’t pay full price for anything on Udemy! The courses go on sale all the time, and I’m pretty sure I didn’t pay more than £20 for it, so I would wait until another sale rolls around. That being said, the quality of the course makes it seem like more and more of a great deal.

The Bootcamp covers a lot of the same things as freeCodeCamp, so it’s perfect as a refresher for me right now. That being said, it isn’t a short course- I’ve been through about ninety lectures so far… of three hundred! There are videos that you just watch as the lecturer codes, or explains something, some where you code along with what Colt’s doing on his screen, and some projects; so far these projects have been presented in one video, then you go off and complete it, and then there’s one [or a few!] solution videos, where he walks through the whole process. For me the course strikes a good balance between watching and absorbing the information, and applying it. This is definitely how I learn best!

I’m partway through the Javascript Basics section now, and I’ve been picking up loads of tips and tricks. Even silly things like Sublime keyboard shortcuts [which I probably should have learned a long time ago!] have made a big difference in speeding up my workflow.

The plan right now is to finish the Web Developer Bootcamp, and then attack the remaining parts of the front end section of freeCodeCamp. Since coming back to learning I’ve really been making an effort to devote a lot more time to it, but in my time off I’ve really got my motivation back, so this can only lead to good things!