Student Spotlight: Geoff Boss, RocketU

After graduating from college, Geoff Boss decided to attend RocketU, a 12-week Python bootcamp set in the middle of the Rocket Space campus. Geoff tells us why RocketU beat out other coding bootcamps when making his decision and how learning to code is "like a rollercoaster."

What were you up to before deciding to go to RocketU? 

With an International Relations degree in hand, I worked freelance for a while before joining the winter 2014 cohort. 

Did you apply to other bootcamps? Why did you ultimately decide on RocketU?

I applied to two other bootcamps before deciding on RocketU. I had already dabbled in Python and decided that I wanted to continue learning that language. After learning of the unique RocketU environment, which sits at the heart of RocketSpace’s startup incubator and their ability to teach Python, I knew this bootcamp was for me. These factors made me set on attending RocketU’s full­ stack developer bootcamp.  

Which instructors/mentors were especially helpful to you? Did you feel like the teaching methods worked with your learning style? 

Two of the primary instructors, Rudy “The Django Master” and Randal “The Java Script Enthusiast”  brought their passion and knowledge to the classroom everyday. Teaching a bootcamp is difficult because each student absorbs information differently, but the Yeti instructors tried to adjust their teaching style to each student, being patient as they would pass by each one of us and answer our questions.  

Can you talk about a time when you got stuck in the class and how you pushed through?  

Learning code is a process that is quite like a rollercoaster. You learn each new line of code and language and sometimes you hit a roadblock and you may get slightly frustrated. However, with perseverance and determination it begins to click and you push through again. I believe succeeding is a mix of receiving help and integrating that information in order to understand and proceed with your project.  

Tell us about your final project­ what technologies did you use, how long did it take, what does it do?  

My final project was a web app to help people find movies to watch. The user goes through different moods and based on his choice he is offered a recommendation, perhaps it’s more like a random offer. It narrows down the recommendations based on the users interaction with the site. It is a full stack site in which I used Django, MySQL, for the database, Tastypie, a restful API, Python, JavaScript, HTML and CSS. It took three weeks to create the project from its inception, during week 6, until the end of the bootcamp. The project was a big undertaking and I was very happy that I was able to get it live for the presentation.  

What are you working on now? Do you have a job as a developer or entrepreneur? What does it entail?

 Currently I work with Heylets, a small San Francisco based company. When I arrived I began to rebuild their web presence from scratch, starting with a Django web app.  

Would you have been able to learn to code and get a job without RocketU?  

No definitely not.  I had an interview for a software engineering internship before applying to RocketU and I was unsuccessful. In hindsight, I couldn’t have made a better decision.  

Want to learn more about RocketU? Check out their School Page on Course Report or their website here!