Applying to a software engineering program can seem daunting when you look at the big picture. There’s this new subject you’re trying to learn that may seem abstract- pair that with all of the jargon and the logic-heavy problem solving and one might feel overwhelmed with fear. Well, fear not! We wanted to show you what a typical day in a peer learning and project based program looks like.

MORNING – PLD

Peer Learning Days (PLDs) are days where a given cohort is split into groups to review recently covered concepts. PLD groups are made large enough so multiple perspectives can be shared, but small enough to make each student feel individually engaged. These groups generate a positive amount of peer pressure to encourage students to share their thought processes. Students oftentimes spread out over living room style seating, or even bean bags to gear up for a day of collaboration.

11:30 AM  – DAILY STAND UP MEETING

We simulate what it’s like working in a true engineering environment. The exposure to the working environment structure is invaluable to folks who will be entering the world of Silicon Valley for the first time. “Stand Ups” are used as an efficient way to ensure everyone on a team is on the same page. At Holberton School these daily Stand Up meetings are a chance for the staff and students to make announcements about upcoming events, projects, etc. Holberton School also uses these daily meetings as a time for students to practice their public speaking skills! Each day a student is gives a succinct presentation on a subject of their choosing. Public speaking doesn’t always come easy for people, and at Holberton we think it’s a soft skill that can help to set our students apart from other software engineers.

LUNCH

Students use lunchtime as a way to take socialize further with their fellow future software engineers. Whether folks choose to bring their own or explore the culinary world of San Francisco, you can bet that from during lunch hour the kitchen is electric with students buzzing about weekend plans, discussing concepts they’re touching upon that day, and of course any number of conversations around blockchain, AI, and other hot tech topics.

AFTERNOON- PLD: CONTINUED

Re-energized and ready for more review, the groups reconvene to continue their day of peer learning. After much whiteboarding, students extend this peer learning exercise to practical application of these concepts. This mix of understanding programming concepts and practical application is a combination paving the way to success for our students.

EVENING – POST PLD

It isn’t out of the ordinary to see students sticking around after PLD has officially ended. Students are either diving deeper into some of the advanced problems and concepts for extra credit or spending extra time reviewing the mandatory tasks of the day to solidify their understanding of the concepts. We are proud to have cultivated the “above & beyond” work ethic with many of our students resulting in after hours diving deeper with peer learning.

THE WHY

The peer learning model serves as practice for students who will be asked to collaborate with peers in a real working environment. Holberton believes soft skills are of equal importance to technical skills. Furthermore, students that fully gain an understanding of a topic are able to practice their coaching skills; tapping into Einstein’s theory that “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” Conversely, PLDs are also one of the best times for students struggling with a specific concept to catch up. The mantra of “teamwork makes the dream work” becomes personified through our peer learning days!

One of the most consistent themes at Holberton School is the diverse variety of backgrounds represented in our student body. We’ve had the pleasure of cultivating a true melting pot. Holberton student, Swati Gupta, makes an invaluable contribution to the melting pot culture, bringing her experience from a former career in India. Swati dove into the curriculum head first, quickly distinguishing herself as one of our hardest working students.

Swati originally pursued a career in psychology in New Delhi, India. After earning her master’s degree she began working as a counselor. Upon moving to San Francisco, a hub of tech innovation, Swati became interested in a career pivot. Having no prior programming experience, she enrolled in a community college’s computer science program to learn more. “I could’ve received my associate’s degree in computer science but there were general classes in English and social science that I was not interested in, so I didn’t get the degree” Swati explains. Realizing the community college structure was not for her, she reevaluated her options.

“Holberton offered a more comprehensive software engineering training” was Swati’s reasoning for choosing Holberton School. We pride ourselves on focusing on the bigger picture. For example, many other programs focus on one specific language or technology, but at Holberton, students work across many different languages and levels preparing them to emerge from the program as a full stack software engineer. “Before Holberton I didn’t know how to use the command line, I didn’t know basic admin commands, how to debug my system when something goes wrong, or how to make my system more secure.” Learning these skills would soon help Swati in her search for an internship.

It wasn’t long before she was deciding between a SRE (site-reliability engineer) role with Apple and an engineering internship with NVIDIA. In the end, it was the exciting work that NVIDIA is doing around deep learning and AI that sealed the deal for her. Swati excelled in her internship role and has recently moved into a permanent full-time position as a Software Engineer. Although Swati made the journey look easy, she does have advice for folks interested in learning more “People should really be introspective. It shouldn’t be a one-off thing where they want to get a job and earn money. It’s not that easy. You really have to put yourself into it and keep learning.” Interested in a switch up like Swati? Check out more details about Holberton School here.

Holberton School’s curriculum places emphasis on mentor relationships. We have mentors spanning various verticals across the tech industry–from Senior Software Engineer, Ludovic Galibert at Netflix to Neha Jain a Software Engineer at LinkedIn. These mentorships are a win-win for industry veterans in many ways. For Ayesha Mazumdar, a Senior UX Engineer at Salesforce, mentoring has been a constant ever since her high school years. Opportunities to mentor has meant personal growth and, in turn, advancement in her career.

Ayesha started a Computer Science Club when she was in high school whose mission was to visit local middle schools and begin teaching students the coding basics. Her passion for mentoring continued throughout her college career, working towards a similar goal. After graduating, Ayesha was eager to get connected with her next mentoring relationship when Holberton School sparked her interest stating “the whole Holberton School system really resonated with me…” She explained to me she was drawn to the practical nature of the curriculum and wanted to help impact the next generation of software engineers.

This was Ayesha’s first time mentoring adults. “It helped me get a different sense of what it’s like to mentor your peers.” She goes on to explain “the experience is mutually beneficial since I get practice explaining technical concepts to adults.” Making the point that mentoring is of equally beneficial to the mentor and mentee, Ayesha credits some of her professional growth to the skills she was able to learn and refine through her participation in Holberton’s mentor program. “All the projects I see in the Holberton curriculum help to give me a sense of technology I should be keeping up with.”

We chatted about what skills Ayesha relies on to do her job most efficiently, and it’s no coincidence the skills she highlights are paramount in Holberton’s curriculum. “Communication, definitely! You have to be able to communicate well with your technical and non-technical peers. Being comfortable speaking in front of a group of your peers is also super important.” Communication and public speaking practice are two hallmarks of our program.

Ayesha has a few words of wisdom for the aspiring mentor “One of the great parts about mentoring is seeing that each person has a very different perspective on how certain things work depending upon how they were brought up in the industry–I think that if someone wants to be a mentor they should remember that they can bring value to at least one person.” Ayesha’s even if it helps just one person it was worth it mindset is an asset to our mentoring program. It’s no surprise she’s experiencing success in the form of upward mobility in the Salesforce organization. We look forward to our continued relationship with Ayesha and commend her for all of her mentoring service. If you’re interested in becoming a mentor check out the info here!