Letter of Introduction to Launch School
Published on 10 Jul 2017
by Alexander Garber
Name
Full name: Alexander Jacob K. Garber
Online handle: clockworkpc
Education and professional background, programming experience
Résumé attached.
Formal education:
Bachelor of Arts from the University of Melbourne, Australia.
Certificate of Commercial Law from Deakin University, Australia.
Relevant work experience:
After familiarising myself with Linux, I tried my hand at making a living from servicing people's computers under the business name, Clockwork PC. I have built up considerable experience in resolving quotidian complaints of non-technical users — "viruses", email, backing up data,
retrieving data, etc.
Informal, auto-didactic education:
Installed my first Linux distribution (Ubuntu 8.04) on a Dell Inspiron laptop in 2008 and spend the next 12 months distro-hopping and learning how to solve problems with drivers, software, and hardware. Over time, I became
familiar with the command line and learned to write scripts in BASH and then Python.
Since January (2017), I have invested 809 pomodoros (404½ hours) in trying to get a job as a junior software developer. A full account thereof may be found on my blog: http://missiondevops.blo
I have completed the course at Code Academy (http://codeacademy.com), worked through 'Learn Ruby the Hard Way' (http://learnrubythehardway.or
Here are some samples of my publicly available code:
Lithuanian language study with strings, arrays, regex: https://github.com/clockworkpc
Advent of Code puzzle solutions: https://github.com/clockworkpc
Simple text-adventure game: https://github.com/clockworkpc
Completed exercises from 'Learn Ruby the Hard Way': https://github.com/clockworkpc
I have had six interviews and got through to the final or penultimate round in every interview, but have not landed a job to
date. The feedback has consistently been that my code is clear and readable, but that my level of technical skill is not high enough to warrant selecting me over a more experienced rival for the job.
Here is an example of the feedback I received:
How I found Launch School
I was originally put on to Launch School by Jason Ona (jason.data@roadbytes.me), a graduate of your programme. From what I can see, he has
received an excellent education and is doing well in his new career.
He gave me this referral link: https://launchschool.com
My impression of the Prep courses
The preparatory courses seem very thorough to me, and are entirely appropriate for someone starting his journey into software development.
Easy parts
I having spent the last six months studying Ruby and trying my hand at programming, the lion's share of the introductory material was very easy.
Difficult parts
There were no difficult parts. The only difficulty was in exercising the discipline to go through the ABCs of code after having done it many times over in other courses.
What I enjoyed
I enjoyed the exercises, where I could put my knowledge to use.
What I did not like
There is nothing that I did not like, per se. 400 hours ago, most of this material would have been new and exciting to me, but at this stage, I have to wade through facile material in order to pick out a nugget here and there
that fills in a gap for me. The following photographs illustrate the useful tidbits I have retrieved.
How long it took me to complete the Prep courses
These estimates are rough:
- About 25 hours for the back-end course.
- About 25 hours for the front-end course.
Have I watched the 'Mastery Based Learning' webinar?
Yes, I watched it. Almost everything that was said I have come to independently, and I have lived for the last 15 years in accordance with those the principles.
Have I read the book 'Mastery', by George Leonard?
Yes, I have read it. Here are my thoughts on the key points.
The most successful path to mastering anything is to practice for the sake of the practice itself, not for the result.
I espouse practice with purpose: neither practice merely for its own sake nor investing one's self in a specific outcome, but rather reaching for an ideal in every iteration. I do agree that there is value in doing something
over by a large arbitrary number, e.g. 300 times, for in the process one will run the gamut of ups, downs, and plateaus. In practice, I agree with the prescription, but I disagree with the formulation of the principle.
All significant learning is composed of brief spurts of progress followed by long periods of work where if feels as if you are stuck on a plateau.
Agreed.
There are no experts–only learners.
This is a good rhetorical antidote for modern Western culture's infatuation with credentialed "experts", but such a declaration is dogmatic. It is true that no-one can achieve total mastery (i.e. omniscience and omnipotence
within a realm), but it would be foolish to mistake Jigoro Kano's humility at the end of his life for lack of expertise.
Definition of mastery: the mysterious process during which what is at first difficult becomes progressively easier and more pleasurable through practice.
Agreed.
If there is any sure route to success and fulfillment in life, it is to be found in the long-term, essentially goalless process of mastery.
This is how I live my life.
Start with something simple.
Agreed.
On the path to improvement: the general progression is always the same. To take the master’s journey, you have to practice diligently, striving to hone your skills, to attain new levels of competence. But while doing so, you also have to be willing to spend most of your time on a plateau, to keep practising even when you seem to be getting nowhere.
Agreed.
As we practice things, even though it feels like we are making no progress at all, we are turning new behaviours into habits. Learning is happening all along.
Agreed insofar as the practice is mindful.
On mastery in relationships: In today’s world two partners are rarely willing to live indefinitely on an unchanging plateau. When your tennis partner starts improving his or her game and you don’t, the game eventually breaks up.
In other words, if you aren't going forwards, you're going backwards. I expect to make some progress, and hope for improvement, every single day; my kith and kin have long since learned that I expect the same of them.
Every time we spend money, we make an indication about what we value.
That is why my default position is not to spend money: there has to be a reason to spend it, and that reason has to be compelling.
The anti-mastery mentality is focused on quick fixes. Heart surgery rather than diet and exercise. Lottery tickets rather than retirement savings.
I call this a recipe for poverty and failure, or perhaps to paraphrase Nietzsche: a slave mentality.
On learning: For mastering most skills, there’s nothing better than being in the hands of a master teacher.
And by contrast, there's nothing more deleterious to learning than incompetent instruction.
On finding a good teacher: To see the teacher clearly, look at his students.
The proof of the pudding is in the tasting of it.
The best teachers strive to point out what a student is doing right just as frequently as what they are doing wrong. The idea of a teacher rarely giving praise and teaching through strict criticism is a myth.
It is only through the waste and sloth of government that such low standards and folly remain prevalent in the school system.
One benefit of learning slowly: it forces you to look deeply at the process and you discover incremental steps that you might otherwise gloss over if progress came easily.
For this reason I elected to spend a year studying rather than do a 12-week crash course.
Regardless of your genetic potential, you have to work just as hard to fulfil it. Potential is just opportunity.
I have not an iota of athletic talent, but people consider me today to be a natural athlete. It is all due to sheer determination and intelligent, mindful practice.
The best teachers are the ones who have discovered how to involve each student actively in the process of learning.
In other words, teachers who have learned how to get out of the way.
Practice is often used as a description of what we do. Instead, we can look at practice as something we have, something we are defined by.
Agreed.
Mastery reveals so much more to learn as you continue the journey. The destination is two miles farther away for every mile we travel.
Agreed insofar as the ultimate destination is total mastery, a Platonic Ideal. For the purpose of getting a job, there are milestones beyond which one can be considered a serious contender for paid work.
Masters love the practice and because they love it, they get better. And the better they get, the more they enjoy the practice. It’s an upward spiral.
Agreed.
The master of any game is generally the master of practice as well.
Agreed.
Every master visualizes their success.
Agreed.
The alarm bells that ring when you try something new (fear, sweat, higher heart rate, discomfort) are signals of growth. It’s important not to ignore them for safety reasons, but you can also look at them as a sign of your improvement.
I have long experience in spending sustained periods in this state of distress, and finding peace therein.
Acknowledge the negative and accentuate the positive.
Agreed.
Denial inhibits energy while realistic acknowledgement of the truth releases it.
Agreed.
To move in one direction, you must forgo all others. To pursue one goal is to forsake a very large number of other possible goals.
Agreed.
Mastery is not about perfection. It’s about the process.
My formulation is that mastery is about the process of striving for the Ideal of perfection.
***
Have I read 'Command Line'?
Yes. I learned a couple of new things, but most of it I have known for years.
Have I read 'Git/Github'?
Yes, it was quite useful. I have been using Github for a while, but I learned a couple of useful commands.
Have I read 'Learn to Program'?
Yes. It was pretty good. None of it was news to me, but it was a decent refresher.
Confirm that you finished all of the Ruby Basics exercises.
Yes, they were very easy for the most part.
Confirm that you understand that Launch School doesn't issue refunds and that you are ready to start the subscription/paid courses at Launch School.
Yes, I confirm that Launch School doesn't issue refunds and I am ready to start the subscription courses at Launch School.