Application workshops

1. Introduction to the community

Expression of Interest & Tribute Page

July 19, 2021 — October 1, 2021

• Submit an Expression of Interest
• Complete Basic HTML & Basic CSS on freeCodeCamp
• Create a Tribute Page and submit it via our website

Application stage

July 19, 2021 — December 10, 2021

• Participate in the Discord community
• Work through the rest of the course requirements with the community
• Attend workshops and meetups
• Learn how to study on your own and with others

Interview stage

December 13, 2021 — December 17, 2021

• We usually interview 24-32 people per cycle
• Conversational and technical interview

Note: We’re rethinking our interview process and we may change this before the deadline. We’ll communicate any changes on Discord.

Mondays at 17:00

• Led by Gregor
• Participatory - we’d like everyone to have the space to share their suggestions
• Focus on the key parts of applying to FAC
• Introductions, follow-up on your own, share your learnings on Discord

Applicant meetups

Work with others in the community in small groups. Mentored by our current cohort of developers.

Tuesdays at 18:15

• Let us know what you’re working on
• Work in small groups with other applicants
• Learn from each other
• Supported by a mentor

Discord is where our applicant community lives.

🏠🌳

Our online community is full of other people learning to code and hoping to apply for our programme.

You can attend meetups and workshops, and work together on coding problems with other applicants.

Discord Demo

Inclusion in our Space

We prioritise a cohesive cohort of people who we think will work well together over any strong individual candidates.

Learning to code is just part of what makes you a good developer.

The tech industry is disproportionately white, male and university-educated.

Founders and Coders will always prioritise marginalised people’s safety over the comfort of the privileged.

Application Requirements

On our website…

1. Create a GitHub account

You will use this account to host the repository of your application website.

2. freeCodeCamp

Complete these sections of freeCodeCamp’s curriculum:

Responsive Web Design Certification

• Basic HTML and HTML5
• Basic CSS
• Responsive Web Design Principles
• CSS Flexbox

JavaScript Algorithms and Data Structures Certification

• Basic JavaScript
• ES6
• Basic Data Structures
• Basic Algorithm Scripting

3. Codewars

Complete all 20 of our listed Codewars challenges.

4. Create a personal website

Create a website demonstrating what you’ve learned.

Where to look for help

Let’s say, I’m working through freeCodeCamp and I get stuck on a problem.

// Setup
var myDog = {
  name: "Coder",
  legs: 4,
  tails: 1,
  friends: ["freeCodeCamp Campers"],
};

// Only change code below this line

myDog[name] = "Happy Coder";

Update the myDog object’s name property. Let’s change her name from Coder to Happy Coder. You can use either dot or bracket notation.

Google

update an object property javascript

// Setup
var myDog = {
  name: "Coder",
  legs: 4,
  tails: 1,
  friends: ["freeCodeCamp Campers"],
};

// Only change code below this line

myDog["name"] = "Happy Coder";

Helpful documentation

• MDN Web Docs
• W3 Schools

Asking for help on Discord

We want to cultivate finding enjoyment in the process of untangling yourself from a difficult problem — because that really is what a career in web development is sometimes.

While finding the solution is important, knowing how to efficiently ask for help is just as important.

In our online spaces, we ask everyone to follow these tips when asking code questions:

1. Read through your code, again

Your problem could be as simple as a typo or a missing ;

2. Ask Google first

Many code problems can be solved with a quick Google, so give this a try first. If that doesn’t help, head back here to ask your question, and follow the tips below.

3. Clearly describe the problem, and explain what you have already tried

Explain what is happening, what you want to happen, and what you already tried — you don’t want people to suggest things you have already done.

4a. Share your code

It’s very unlikely that anyone will be able to help you without seeing your code. We recommend either sharing your code in https://replit.com/

If you’re going to share your code in a message, make sure it’s formatted correctly using back ticks, like the example below, don’t forget to put js after the back ticks.

```js

let str = “learn how to ask for help”;

```

will look like:

let str = "learn how to ask for help";

4b. Share the link

Most people probably won’t know what you mean if you just say “I’m stuck on Record Collection”.

Please always make sure to link the problem you’re referring to.

5. Send screenshots

We don’t recommend sending screen shots of code, but it can be helpful for other people to see the browser outputs or error messages.

6. Send updates when you figured it out

So other people know whether their answer has helped you.

Start thinking of your learning journey as part of a wider community learning alongside you.

7. Help other people out when you can

You don’t have to be a senior developer to be able to help someone else. Founders and Coders is a peer-led learning environment, and we really encourage a collaborative learning space. If people see you helping others, they might also feel encouraged to help others too!

An example…

Hi everyone, I have a question regarding RegEx, I find it very confusing, even after having read about it and worked through a lot of the FCC RegEx curriculum. I am working through the Kata - Regex validate PIN code. I have the following code which works and submits, but I would like to combine the two regex conditions into a single condition.

function validatePIN(pin) {
  //Two regex conditions - regex4 and regex6 - check 4 and 6 digits
  let regex4 = /^[0-9]{4}$/;
  let regex6 = /^[0-9]{6}$/;
  if (regex4.test(pin) || regex6.test(pin)) {
    return true;
  } else {
    return false;
  }
}

Any help would be really appreciated