LawnCare Pro: What Jody Built at LearningFuze

Jody Clark is a full-time hospice nurse, but in 2024, he embarked on a lifelong passion for technology. After heavily researching coding bootcamps and finding many glowing reviews for LearningFuze, he enrolled in their full-time remote Web Development bootcamp. Jody walks us through LawnCare Pro, his full stack final project, and what it took to build in just two weeks. Plus, Jody gives us his on-the-ground insights of what it’s like to learn online with LearningFuze, and his advice for incoming students looking to change careers in under a year!

What inspired you to switch from nursing to software engineering in 2024?

I’ve had a successful nursing career for the last 15 years but I’ve always had an interest in computer technology as well as logic and analytics, so when the opportunity came for me to continue my education I thought a coding bootcamp would be a perfect way to build the practical skills I needed to make a career change. 

When you were researching coding bootcamps, what set LearningFuze’s Web Development Bootcamp apart?

At first, I was looking for something part-time that was only on weekdays, which narrowed down the search quite a bit. After 12-15 hours of research on bootcamps, I could not find anything negative about LearningFuze. The reviews are overwhelmingly positive!

How did you choose between the full-time and part-time bootcamp at LearningFuze?

After I did the two-week prep course before the bootcamp, I decided to do the full-time bootamp. As I was getting a feel for the program and the type of work I’d do daily, I realized I loved it! I thought about where I wanted to be and was driven to dive in headfirst so I committed to the full-time bootcamp to graduate sooner. Since the live instruction in the bootcamp was held on West Coast time and I was learning online from the East Coast, I managed to use the time difference to my benefit to fulfill other life commitments.

How did you balance the full-time bootcamp with parenting small children and working full-time as a nurse?

I worked full-time throughout the entire bootcamp process! I'm the weekend on-call nurse from Friday afternoon to Monday morning so I could focus on LearningFuze Monday through Friday. For me and where I was in my life, it was very doable and I loved every second of it. I can see how it could be overwhelming to others who may not have a plan in place. I aligned everything, knew what I was getting into, and was ready to face it head-on. I really couldn't be happier with how it all worked out.

Did you need to know how to code to get into the Web Development Bootcamp?

LearningFuze is looking for people with the motivation to learn. They were upfront that you did not need to know how to code to get into the bootcamp and I didn't. Before enrolling, I had only read about software engineering, so when I started the prep course, I didn't know about HTML, CSS, or JavaScript. 

Coming into the program, I wish I knew how data moves through the computer and the basics of JavaScript. It would have been beneficial to know before the bootcamp, but at the same time it's difficult to understand those concepts before you're in the bootcamp setting. Those were my biggest hurdles, but once I moved past that everything else clicked.

Do you recommend others take the LearningFuze’s Web Development Prep Course before starting the bootcamp?

Definitely! It's required with LearningFuze to do the prep course first, because at the start of the actual program, you're diving into TypeScript. So the assumption is you already understand the basics of things like JavaScript, which they cover in the prep course. 

What did you learn in the Web Development Bootcamp?

The first half of the program is mostly all TypeScript and CSS, which to a new programmer can be a bit difficult to wrap your head around. In the second half, we dive into React and Express and the actual technologies and languages associated with the PERN stack.

What were your instructors like at LearningFuze?

My instructor had been in the business for about five years, and he was also a graduate of a bootcamp, so he knew what it was like for us. He was super-helpful, knowledgeable, and always available even through the remote program. He did a good job walking through the exercises so that we had an understanding of what we were trying to do that day and for that particular exercise. I really can't say enough good things about him! 

Did you feel connected to your cohort since you were learning online?

We spent a good portion of the day together online talking about things and doing Q&A's. We all ended up feeling like a little family together. The online cohort was a little bit smaller so we all became friends by the end of it! During exercises or lessons, we split off and worked solo, which is the way that I like to work. I spent the rest of the time working through the process, the lessons, and the documentation on my own. 

In general, what types of projects did you work on in the bootcamp? 

There were 4-5 projects, and for two of those we could choose what we wanted to build. The other projects were more curated, using given templates to build out. There were also project-type assignments, where we would build it from the ground up. Projects could take a few days to a couple of weeks to build.

Tell us about your final project, LawnCare Pro! What are some of the main features of your project?

I built a lawn care application. If you're trying to do a lawn project where you're growing new grass or trying to improve your existing lawn, my app generates a step-by-step plan of action to meet those goals. I had to tackle several problems I encountered along the way to bring all the information I learned into one application. 

One of the main things I tried to do was match the user with grasses that would grow well in their specific region, location, or circumstances. The user can input their zip code and have a matching algorithm that will analyze their climate data for their zip code and then compare that to the ideal growing conditions of the specific grass species. I had 10 grasses in the database with all their ideal growing conditions and care plan templates. I would match the user based on their zip code to the top five grass species for their location. Once they've chosen what grass they want to use they can move forward and generate a best practice template to get their grass to grow from seed or sod or improve their existing lawn.

What programming languages did you use to build this project?

I used React for the front end, Express for the server, and Postgres for the database. 

How long were you given to build your project?

We had two weeks to build out our capstone project. 

If you got stuck while building your project, could you reach out to instructors, TAs and/or peers to help you?

Yes! The instructors were available every day during our class time. After hours, we had instructors or TAs available.  

Did you present your final project on a Demo Day?

There was an in-person Demo Day presentation at the end of the bootcamp, which those of us in the online bootcamp joined remotely. It was great to see what everybody else made and dip our toes into presenting a project!

What roles do you feel qualified to apply for since graduating?

In general, I feel qualified for any JavaScript or Typescript roles, maybe doing React for the front end, and Postgres or Node.js for the back end. I'm comfortable applying to any jobs that use those technologies in that way. 

Do you anticipate talking about your bootcamp project portfolio in upcoming job interviews?

I’d love to showcase my LawnCare Pro app for upcoming job interviews. This project shows how it uses the database for the algorithm, the templates, and the web API for the climate data. All of that highlights my full stack ability, which I’d love to show to employers!

At this point in your career change journey, was LearningFuze worth it?

It’s worth it because I'm reaching my ultimate goal of making a career change. I'm still on the job hunt, but eventually, I will land the job I'm looking for and I anticipate it will absolutely be worth it!

What piece of advice would you give to incoming students at LearningFuze? 

Go into the coding bootcamp knowing that you’re going to dedicate your life to this experience for a period of time and do your best. Anyone going in with that mentality will be happy with their experience. It can be intense — it's every day, all day — but you have to persevere. 

Find out more and read LearningFuze reviews on Course Report. This article was produced by the Course Report team in partnership with LearningFuze.