Onward to the Bootcamp!
Congratulations, you got accepted into develeap’s bootcamp!
Got some extra time before starting?
This is how you should spend it!
Everyone gets a bit nervous before a journey, especially if it’s a professional bootcamp.
This article will provide important tips and preparations so you can be prepared for the journey ahead of you, starting your bootcamp.
Many candidates have asked me before: “What can I do before the beginning of the bootcamp to come best prepared?”
Develeap’s bootcamp is known for being a tough program to train the next best DevOps engineers. In the bootcamp, we cover the most important topics for DevOps experts, from simple scripts in Bash to advanced Kubernetes microservice architectures in a short time. And successfully passing multiple tests and interviews is not easy.
What can you do to prepare for a professional DevOps bootcamp?
I think preparing for the bootcamp’s first month is the best approach because it is the hardest and most stressful part. During the first month of studies, you will need to adjust to a new learning routine like a full-time commitment to study, complete tasks every day, getting to know new people, and learning new materials all at the same time.
So, this is what you should do:
It’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon
The bootcamp is a 13 weeks long course, and there won’t be much time to take breaks in between.
This is why you should come mentally ready and rest before it begins. Do something you enjoy, be in a calm environment, and keep yourself in anticipation but not stressed (as much as one can control it). What works for me, for example, is to imagine how the next day will look or schedule points in time during the day to zoom out and “recalibrate” to the rest of the schedule during the day.
Learning is a muscle / Warming up the brain
Getting back to study after a long break is tough. There are several psychological and neurological aspects to it that you can train yourself to do to perform better at the bootcamp.
For example, developing new habits, like waking up and going to sleep at certain times. Once it becomes a habit, it will require less cognitive effort to do, which, in time, will become easier for you.
An activity like studying requires a massive amount of cognitive energy. When you’re already in the routine of studying, your brain is set for that kind of cognitive work.
If possible, I recommend starting studying a week or two before the bootcamp begins at a low-medium pace. Brush up those learning muscles.
“What should I learn?” you probably ask. Great question!
Here are some examples of topics that will help you along your professional way:
- Improve your Linux and Bash skills and ask for feedback from friends or an AI.
Search for what interests you in these topics, and through that, discover more. Or look for cool commands, flags, and shortcuts.
We teach these topics at the very beginning of the course, but they continue to be relevant throughout the bootcamp. The more practice you have, the better.
- Understand basic Networking and how the internet works.
Every topic or technology we study in the bootcamp has important aspects of how it connects or communicates to other services and in which networks, like the internet.
Networking as a topic is very broad, so focus on more specifics like ports, different protocols, OSI model, SSH connection, IP and CIDR block, and anything you find yourself interested in (but don’t get lost in the sea of knowledge (; ).
- Get familiar with Docker
It’s best to prepare and learn Docker, what it is and what it is used for, and the different components of it. I recommend achieving a basic understanding of it through hands-on tasks. Working with the Docker command line builds confidence in using the tool. The bootcamp will make you an expert at it, but once you understand the basics, it will be a faster road for you to upgrade your level even further.
As I mentioned, these topics will also be covered in the bootcamp but understanding them beforehand could give you an easier beginning.
Get your OS ready
Prepare your mind and also your computer!
Develeap always instructs candidates to come prepared with a functional macOS or Ubuntu laptop and not use a VM to avoid technical troubles. This is instructed to prevent your laptop from crashing and wasting valuable learning time. If you have Windows on your computer, search for a guide on Dual Booting + your Windows version. Here is a guide, for example. (Keep in mind, Develeap recommends at least 100GB memory for the dual-boot)
I can’t stress this enough… Save yourself the trouble.
The bigger picture
As someone who graduated bootcamp 11 without being familiar with the DevOps world, if you got the time, I recommend you to read about CI/CD, and the DevOps tools in the bootcamp’s syllabus and learn about their general purpose. It will help you to understand how the different tools are connected and complete the bigger DevOps picture.
Remember to breath
Every now and then during the course, take a break (although it might be hard to do that sometimes..) and try to put what you’ve just learned in the bigger picture of CI/CD. If you can’t answer it by yourself (and it’s totally fine if you don’t – yet!), ask the bootcamp’s staff, they will be happy to explain.
Summary
These are my recommendations to better prepare for the bootcamp.
Remember, it is not mandatory to cover the topics above, it can only help you.
Feel free to let me know what worked well for you.
Good luck to you all, and see you in our bootcamp.