Proshore Bootcamp #4: Kickstarting careers in software development
In its fourth edition, Proshore Bootcamp once again gave aspiring IT professionals in Nepal the chance to gain valuable experience working in software development.
Building on the success of our third bootcamp, it enabled some of our more experienced team members to become mentors, sharing their expert knowledge and experience. This time around, 15 successful applicants got the chance to join our free, 60-day program working across different roles within a development team. This included backend development, frontend development plus UI/UX, QA, and project management. Here’s how they got on.
Mentorship is something that gives you a different kind of fulfillment. It also helps you polish your own skills. When I was starting my career, I learned from the project management community. So this was my chance to give back to someone else.
Proshore Bootcamp #4
The fourth edition of Proshore Bootcamp – a mentorship program designed to prepare participants for the real working environment – took place between March and June 2023. The 60-day program centered around the collaborative development of a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) – a time-tracking tool – later named Ticker Pro.
Earlier in 2023, prospective bootcampers were invited to apply for the program to fill one of 15 available seats in four key areas or ‘streams’ as we call them: frontend, backend, quality assurance (QA), and project management. Proshore mentors took part in the selection process, which included a submitted assessment. From this, the candidates were shortlisted and then interviewed virtually.
The time tracking project actually began in our second bootcamp. This meant our most recent cohort of bootcampers had a basic backend MVP that could be used to track time. As a result, their main challenges were to design the frontend using React, and improve the back end by adding report and chart functionality to the MVP.
This was the first time that Proshore Scrum Master, Shruti Bhattarai, had mentored on the program. Not only did Shruti mentor the bootcampers in the project management stream, she also took responsibility for managing the entire program as a project. It was a QA-driven bootcamp – something that is hard to achieve even in real-life teams.
The mentors’ perspective
Here’s what Shruti and some of our other Proshore mentors had to say about the fourth bootcamp:
Shruti: “The overall experience was very fulfilling. Some of the campers have already gone on to secure jobs in their respective streams outside and inside Proshore. One of my mentees even landed a job as a project manager!”
Rikesh: “When I started in this industry, I wish I’d had a mentor to guide me and make my learning faster. That’s why I became a mentor myself. Sharing my knowledge with others not only helps them, but also allows me to learn and grow. It’s a fulfilling experience that motivates me to continue mentoring others.”
Krishma: “Each bootcamp has given a new experience and insights on how people learn, how they communicate and what they value – which is a good insight given my line of work – HR! It helps me understand the talent pool better.”
Sanket: “The most rewarding thing about being a mentor was seeing bootcampers apply the ideas, and packages we taught, using them to complete the project. The demo they put out on their graduation day remains a standout for me. Seeing their output gave me a sense of accomplishment!”
Kritika: “Being a mentor, I was there to share my knowledge and experience with bootcampers, but I also got to learn new things whenever we encountered new problems. For me, these were the most pleasing things about being a mentor.”
The view from bootcamp
Our bootcampers from this edition also had lots of positive things to say about their experience:
Chunan: “The bootcamp has been an opportunity to grow and improve as a person rather than just a learning opportunity. I also appreciate the time and effort of our mentors. They were always there to help us, even during late hours or through weekends.”
Piyush: “My overall experience in the bootcamp was incredibly enriching. The online and offline sessions, hands-on project working, team collaboration, resolving issues, and great learning environment helped me to not only become a good programmer but also a confident individual with better soft skills.”
Sanjeev: “This bootcamp helped me get better at frontend development and also increased my collaboration skills. My future goals and aspirations are to explore the Javascript world, which might involve getting better at React or learning backend technologies like Nest.”
Are you ready for Bootcamp #5?
Are you looking to gain experience in the software development industry in Nepal? Thinking about applying to the next Proshore Bootcamp? Discover more about the Proshore Bootcamp in our blog post on the first edition.
In our next installment of the Proshore Bootcamp, we’re looking forward to creating more opportunities that contribute to the promising future of Nepal as a tech hub. The fifth Proshore Bootcamp gets underway sometime around the 4th quarter of 2023.
If you’re interested and don’t want to miss out, get notified via email. In the meantime, you can follow us on socials to keep updated with exciting career opportunities.
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