I wanted to share my journey and seek advice on my current situation. Six months ago, I made the decision to enroll in a bootcamp with the goal of learning programming and getting a job. At that time, my programming knowledge was basic, and I had only built a few console applications and simple games. Luckily, I convinced some family members to let me to stay with them rent-free during this period, and I'm truly grateful for their support.
The bootcamp itself was intense and fast-paced, covering various topics like HTML, CSS, JavaScript, React for front-end development, and C# for the backend. Although I did learn a lot during this time, I can't deny that I don't feel as confident as I had hoped. I can't build a full-stack application, and creating visually appealing websites without heavily relying on frameworks like Bootstrap is a challenge for me. Writing raw HTML and CSS (Especially CSS) feels hard to me, even though its just CSS. I feel like a fraud when I tell people that I've been programming.
Seeing posts online about individuals who secured jobs or became employable within six months, or sometimes even as short as three months, has left me feeling frustrated and disappointed in myself. It's difficult not to compare my progress to theirs, it really makes me feel like a failure. My family has certain expectations, believing I should have reached a professional level or secured an entry-level position by now, or at the very least, be capable of creating visually impressive websites.
However, the reality is that I currently feel overwhelmed and lacking in confidence. I struggle to write really anything without a tutorial of some sort. It seems like I might need to start relearning coding from scratch, but I'm uncertain about where to begin. I feel like I've retained zero information even though I graduated. Right now, I'm revisiting the front end only—HTML, CSS, JS, and React— and knowing what I know now, I feel like I'm atleast 6 months to a year out from even just a front end only position.
Just wondering if anyone else has come out of a bootcamp feeling completely incapable. Honestly I feel so embarrassed and don't really know where to go from here. Even worst, I'm in debt and will probably have to return to my old job. Not that my old job was bad but I just feel horrible now and worse off compared to before I started the bootcamp. Mental health feels very bad honestly, I feel really dumb. Thanks for taking the time to read my post, any advice is appreciated.