While theoretical knowledge is essential in becoming a skilled software engineer, nothing beats practical experience. This is why many software engineers often work on their own side projects after completing their studies or explore freelancing options to gain as much experience as possible.
But did you know that you can enhance your software engineering experience even as a student? Indeed, some schools make practical training an integral part of their programs, giving you a headstart in building your project portfolio.
Flatiron School stands out among other institutions as its Software Engineering Bootcamp is designed to fully immerse you in the software development process. By the end of the program, you’ll have a ton of experience and an impressive project portfolio.
Why a Programmer Portfolio Matters
Gone are the days when a resume alone was enough to convince employers you’re the right person for the job. Nowadays, having a solid project portfolio is essential to showcase your skills as a software engineer.
With a programmer portfolio, Employers can better understand how you operate, think, and approach challenges as a software engineer. A portfolio also reflects your experience, which is crucial for minimizing the likelihood of costly errors and boosting workplace efficiency.
For these reasons, enhancing your portfolio with a wide range of projects can help you impress hiring managers and gain access to highly coveted positions in the tech industry.
Flatiron School’s Sharp Focus on Projects
Flatiron School advocates using a hands-on teaching approach to help students build practical experience from Day 1 of their training. That’s why Flatiron School’s Software Engineering Bootcamp will expose you to tons of collaborative and hands-on tasks throughout your training. For example, the Full-Time Live/In-Person program will expect you to participate in pair-programming and collaborative project-building sessions.
“One of the things we do a lot [at Flatiron School] is practice pair programming. Because you’re never going to work solely on a team by yourself,” says instructor Brooke Jones. “You’re always going to be on a software engineering team, and you will have to work really closely with people. So, [you need to] understand how to communicate with them and understand someone else’s code and talk about that intelligently.”
Aside from that, you will also practice your skills by working on projects. According to Jones, instructors provide project guidelines that students must meet when building their projects, but students ultimately have free reign over how creative they want their projects to be.
“The projects resemble what students will encounter in the real world,” says Jones. “In the curriculum and during their learning process, students work on plenty of little lessons implementing code and in very small segments. These projects really help in applying all they have learned. They’re building from the ground up and putting all the concepts they’ve learned into practice. So the whole process is very similar to the real thing.”
Finally, you will have access to various Slack community channels where you can interact with other students, work on labs, and collaborate on projects even outside class hours. If you actively make an effort to reach out to other learners, you will find many chances to create projects with others.
Flatiron School offers aspiring software engineers the chance to build digital products, helping them expand their portfolios and gain hands-on experience in the process.
Start learning to code for free.A Spotlight on Flatiron School’s Student Coding Projects
Below are a few examples of projects created by students of Flatiron School’s Software Engineering Bootcamp.
1. RAAS Ecommerce Website
- Student: Jamie Benjamin
What is it about? Benjamin created an e-commerce website that offered a seamless experience for both buyers and sellers.
Why is it relevant? While many e-commerce sites are already in the market, the number of online shoppers continues to increase yearly. This means there is always a need for a more seamless shopping experience for buyers and an uncomplicated backend for sellers, especially independent brands. Benjamin created a dynamic and straightforward e-commerce site that will allow sellers to easily set up their own online stores.
2. Playbliss.com
- Student: Elliott Wynn
What is it about? Playbliss.com caters to gamers. The app helps them view new games and organize the games they own into collections and playlists.
Why is it relevant? Many people today are self-proclaimed gamers, and one problem they encounter is having a backlog of games they want to play. Playbliss.com solves this problem by helping users organize their gaming library.
3. Plantiverse
- Student: Raquel Fraktas
What is it about? Fraktas created a social networking site for plant lovers. Plant owners can interact with other plant enthusiasts, ask questions, post photos of their plants, and comment on other people’s plant photos.
Why is it relevant? This project is relevant because many people love spending time on social networks. Many users, especially millennials, also love plants. The Plantiverse project puts these two together in one site.
These are just a few examples of the diverse and unique projects built at Flatiron School. Through the project-focused curriculum, students gain vital real-world experience and create a robust project portfolio that will prove crucial during their job search.
Build a Strong Programmer Portfolio at Flatiron School
In a practical field such as software engineering, having hands-on training goes a long way. Flatiron School knows this, which is why it strongly emphasizes collaborative learning and project-building.
Take it from Jones, who also started her software engineering journey as a student of Flatiron School. “Flatiron School was a life-changing experience for me. As long as you put the work in, you will get exactly what you came here for. The structure the bootcamp provides makes it possible for anyone from any background to be successful here,” she shares.
Interested in becoming a software engineer? Start with Flatiron School’s free coding lessons and build your skills today.
About us: Career Karma is a platform designed to help job seekers find, research, and connect with job training programs to advance their careers. Learn about the CK publication.
