About Free Code Camp

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1. How many hours, roughly, would it take the average person to complete all four certificates for Free Code Camp?

**So. my $45,000 offer. Why so low? Why am I excited about it? Well, it's been almost two years for me to get here.

**Our best estimate is about 2,000 hours:

• 1,200 hours to complete the 25 projects + 60 algorithms required to earn all the certificates (all the other coding challenges are optional)
• 800 hours to contribute the 200 open source pull requests necessary to earn the final Full Stack Development certificate

**We have about 3200+ hours of curriculum and that is for someone who is an absolute new comer to programming of any sort. It sure would be shorter for anyone who is refreshing their skills.

The new beta curriculum is targeted to be around 6200+ hours in total.

You can not put a timeline, to this because at the end of the day the learning curve is different.

But just to give you a rough estimate, the workload can be compared if you do everything in the curriculum should on an average take you through a year of full time of studying in a degree college.

2) I haven’t found a better site for learning to code than Free Code Camp. That includes both free and paid sites.

The biggest reasons are the community and the emphasis on building actual projects.

Just stick with it! Free Code Camp will take you where you want to go, so long as you have a real passion for learning web development. If you don’t, no resource will help you. Coding is just too hard and frustrating for those who aren’t committed.

It is definitely challenging and sometimes the algorithm challenges seem impossible, but the excitement that I feel when I finally get through a particularly tough one (Caesar’s Cipher for example, was pretty challenging for me), is unparalleled. I literally jumped out of my seat and freaked out when I got all green checkmarks and was prompted to move on to the next challenge.

3) Remember the mantra of freeCodeCamp “Read-Search-Ask” .Yes ,this is the time of your coding life where you explore yourself with the biggest desires of being a professional web developer.Dont hesitate to ask questions in the gitter community.

This is a transition phase of your life …where your progress will be very slow but I gurantee you will admire yourself for your hardwork in future.

4) But working smart will only get you so far. Ultimately, you need to work hard. And that means putting in the time practicing coding, learning theory, and contributing to projects.

We can only show you the door. You’re the one who has to walk through it.

5) In relation to software development, it takes years of putting code into production stage. Don't be fooled about this: those are training camps, only...the war is out there, in the field.

6) Once you've completed Free Code Camp then you would have completed 4 real world projects for non-profits that you can add to your portfolio as well as the many smaller projects from the Free Code Camp assignments.

If you can complete the Full Stack JavaScript Projects on Free Code Camp and complete the 4 non-profit projects I don't think you'd have a problem getting a job whether you have a degree or not.

7) Finding a job is never easy. When it comes to programming most employers rely on a candidates skill, which they usually evaluate themselves through coding tests and programming interview questions. You can and should practice and prepare for that, aside from just sharpening your programming skills in general. Previous experience is always a plus, be sure to link to some for your previous projects when you send your application, even if they’re just personal projects. A well-made project can go a long way.

8) No, it would’t be too difficult if you complete the entire course - for several reasons:

1. Special Board -

Once you complete the full Free Code Camp course, the organization provides a special board of employers for you.

The owners and organizers of Free Code Camp understand that once you complete all of the course, you are very qualified in programming. In addition, future employers that have connections to Free Code Camp also understand that.

Since the employers know that you are qualified, they are more willing to give a job to those who have finished.

As the website states, several companies specially employ people for this reason.

Especially since you are willing to relocate, finding a job though the special board will not be overly difficult.

2. Certified -

Since, as I stated above, you are usually regarded as qualified, many other companies also recognize that the people who finish the course are certified at their part of programming.

Therefore, some other companies are more willing to employ people like you, even if you don’t get the job through the special board.

3. Non profit Experience -

Many companies nowadays are hiring people with real experience like creating a startup, having a prior tech job, or working as an intern.

Through the Free Code Camp, you do one of the last two - as part of the camp, you get to work at one or two different nonprofits that help build your skill with some real life application.

Working with the nonprofits helps your chances of getting hired because it shows real experience, something that companies have been looking for for a while.

9) But here’s the truth: regardless of how you learned to program, you will have to compete in the broader job market against many other candidates, and you will have to learn how to interview and how to sell yourself, and you will have to persist and keep trying again and again and again. Finding a job is never easy.

10) At least. That person would be be a full stack JavaScript developer with experience in React and data visualization, a solid portfolio, and a couple of real world projects under his or her belt. A company that hired that person for a junior developer's wages would be getting great value for their money.

11) I have found that it is sometimes helpful to not share goals with certain people if they are not going to be encouraging.

12) My deadlines forced me to act before I felt completely ready, and this definitely paid off.

I’ve found that it’s more important to get projects out there than to make them perfect. If you try to make sure everything is just right, you may never finish. When in doubt, just ship it!

When working on projects I try to learn what I will need just for that project.

Employers often care more about projects you’ve created than how you learned to code.