My ALX Software Engineering Program Experience: A journey to Becoming a Full Stack Engineer

Introduction:

ALX is a leading African leadership group that aims to empower 2 million talented Africans by 2030 through various programs. One of their flagship programs is the 12-month Software Engineering Program, which offers an excellent opportunity for individuals looking to become full-stack engineers. I am privileged to be part of this program, and in this blog, I will be sharing my experience so far.

Accepted into the ALX Software Engineering Program:

I received an email from ALX on the 28th of November, notifying me that I have been accepted into the 2023 Software Engineering Program after completing my registration. I was excited about this opportunity, as I knew that the program would help me develop my technical and non-technical skills.

Onboarding Process:

After being accepted into the program, I went through an onboarding process that lasted for several weeks. During this period, I worked on various projects that helped me understand the intranet (my student portal) and how to navigate through it. The course is structured to encourage networking skills and collaboration. I joined buddy groups of like-minded people to work and learn with, teaching each other and making sure we carried ourselves along to make the experience at ALX throughout the 12 months a success.

Learning Experience:

The ALX SWE program is designed to help participants become full-stack engineers. I was able to learn various programming concepts such as researching, flow charts, pseudo-coding, applying algorithms and white-boarding, and how to apply them in my daily work process as a software engineer. I was also able to work on problems that I would previously abandon because they were difficult. With the help of my peers, I was able to break down complex problems into simpler steps and better understand them.

Projects and Tasks:

During the program, I worked on various coding projects, such as Shell navigations and learned about code editors like VIM and EMACS. I also learned about Git and GitHub by practicing some tasks. I worked on tasks to better understand my learning environment (getting to know the intranet) and also learned about the ALX social platform on Slack. I also familiarized myself with the ALX calendar by checking on future tasks and events to be prepared ahead.

Challenges:

One of my major challenges during the program was trying to understand complex problems. However, with the help of the Feynman learning technique, asking my peers the right questions and applying the first principle method, I was able to solve and tackle those challenges.

Conclusion:

The journey at the ALX SWE program has just begun, and I am excited about the learning and experience that lies ahead. ALX has provided me with the resources and network to develop my technical and non-technical skills, and I am confident that I will become a full-stack engineer. I am documenting my journey through writing technical and non-technical blogs and will continue to share my experience.

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