Tag Archives: programming

Should You Learn How To Code?

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should I learn to code?

With more than 100,000 available positions for web and mobile developers in the U.S. in the past year alone, asking “should I learn how to code?” is a common question among today’s job seekers.

Whether you’re looking to level up in your current role, or change careers altogether, coding can be a powerful tool in helping you land your dream job or build products that you never thought possible.

Learning a new skill may seem daunting, but the payoff is great, and you’ll find confidence in knowing that you can expand your skill set. Here are four questions to ask yourself to see if you’re ready to get started.  Continue reading →

Combat Vet Turned Coder Helps Veterans Transition Into Tech Careers

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Meet Jerome Hardaway, an Opportunity Fund recipient and Veteran who worked in marketing and design before enrolling in GA’s Web Design Immersive course in New York City. Now, Jerome is using his web development skills to build his own startup, FRAGO, which helps Veterans transition more smoothly into civilian life.

Learn more about Frago @FRAGO_US and keep up with Jerome @JeromeHardaway. Continue reading →

How to Form a Mental Model For Programming, From the Desk of Tedi Konda

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I’m a nerd. I have been taking apart, assembling, and programming machines since I was in the single digits. Being exposed to computers at an early age, I have a strong grasp on the way they think (sometimes even stronger than I do with humans). However, those of you who haven’t spent the majority of your lives speaking to machines may experience some frustrating challenges in your attempts to communicate.

Let’s face it, machines are dumb (for now), and we have to bring ourselves down to their level to have a successful conversation. I do, however, think there are some valuable lessons to be gained when learning to speak a technical language, even if your end goal is not to become a technical linguist (programmer).
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Made with Code Feature: Maddy Maxey

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Along with Chelsea Clinton, Girl Scouts of the USA, Mindy Kaling, MIT Media Lab, TechCrunch and more, Google has launched Made with Code, an initiative to inspire girls to code.

We’re thrilled to share that one of our Back-End Web Development graduates, Maddy Maxey, is featured alongside talented young women using code to further their passions. Maddey is the co-founder of Crated and heavily involved at the intersection of technology and fashion. Learn more about Maddy’s work on Made with Code in this video preview:


We had a chance to sit with Maddy and hear about this exciting initiative and everything that’s going on with her company, Crated:

1. What is it about wearable tech that’s so fascinating to you?

I find most things about the world interesting. Wearable tech has become my silo because it combines my background in fashion and my love for technology and tinkering.

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Lessons Learned about the Behavior-Driven Development Process

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John Hinrichs is a 2014 graduate of General Assembly’s Web Development Immersive Course.  Before becoming a full-stack web developer, John was a modern dancer for Merce Cunningham Dance Company. His work can be found at johnmhinrichs.com. This post was originally posted on John’s Medium and discusses a project worked on in his WDI course and its connection to the Behavior-Driven Development (BDD) process.

I recently completed a week-long project with a group where we built the game Scattergories in JavaScript. It left me thinking a lot about the Behavior-Driven Development (BDD) process and Agile software development, [including] a few things I’d like to pass on:

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Alumni Interview: Nicole Cohen

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Nikki CohenWhile working as the Special Events Manager at Pace Gallery in New York City, Nicole noticed how the startup scene was taking off in her Brooklyn neighborhood. Curious and intrigued, she launched a travel startup and took a running start into learning all she could to ensure her new business took flight.

1. What were you doing before you came to GA?

I was the Special Events Manager in the Communications Department at Pace Gallery in New York City. I oversaw high-profile parties and marketing opportunities for the gallery including everything from exhibition openings to exclusive private dinners to fashion shows.

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GA Semester Abroad: Q&A With Matthew Thees

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Meet Matt, a Georgetown undergrad who decided to take a semester off to go through our Web Development Immersive course in Sydney. We caught up with Matt to hear about his experience.

1. Tell us about your decision to take WDI. What made you want to switch things up?

One of the reasons I decided to take a break from school was that I was unsure I wanted to stick with my major. I was a Government major at Georgetown University, but knew I had other interests, so I took the opportunity to go and explore them. Heading back to Georgetown in the fall (for Junior year) I am going to keep the Government major and add a Computer Science minor.

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Getting Your API to Play Well With Others

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Steven Weiss is a web developer, technology enthusiast, and recent Web Development Immersive graduate.  His former life was spent as a sound engineer for NPR and various voice over studios.  When not coding, he is likely cooking and/or eating. In this blog, Steve takes us through the process of creating his app, On The Side, in our WDI course. This post originally appeared on Steve’s blog here.

My first app is out in the world, flying on its own little wings. It’s called On The Side, your source for restaurant recommendations based around a super cool and esoteric list of the best ingredients right now. But lets take a step back.

On The Side begins its life as the first project assignment for the General Assembly Jan’ 14 WDI class, a collective of 27 pirate like individuals from diverse backgrounds, all restarting their lives as web developers. It’s like a reality show, except that everyone is there to make friends.

In 6 weeks, each of us has gone from little to no web development knowledge to building a fully functioning app. Once you beat yourself up over everything you’d like to improve or need to have a better handle on…it’s pretty exciting.

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A Beginner’s Guide To Contributing To Open Source

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Natasha is a iOS Engineer at Capital One Labs and instructor at GA in San Francisco. This post originally appeared on her blog, Natasha The Robot.

When I first started as a Rails developer, I thought of all the Rails gems as magic. Some smart people were making all these cool libraries for me to use! I had no idea how any of these libraries worked, and I was ok with that. They worked and did what I needed them to do. They seemed so comprehensive and thought out, that I didn’t even know what I would contribute to them even if I wanted to!

To this day, I haven’t contributed any open source code to the Rails community. And that’s because the Rails community is extremely active on open source, so it’s actually hard to find things to contribute to! Of course you can go through issues and try to solve them, but they are usually pretty complex and intimidating, to be honest. With all these smart people commenting on the issues, it’s hard to feel like you’re good enough to solve it!

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How Learning to Program Reprograms You

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Stephanie Morillo is an Associate Education Programs Producer at General Assembly in NYC.

When I was in the fourth grade, my school’s principal made us write down a list of the things we said we can’t do. She then made us put our lists in a box and we buried it in the school’s yard (RIP “I Can’t”, d. Nov 22nd 1996).  Since then, however, “I can’t” has made frequent visits from the beyond, creeping into my consciousness in those moments when I was confronted with a problem I didn’t know how to solve and grew easily discouraged.

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