Ruby on Rails Bootcamp - Key Takeaways From Participants

In 2022 we are holding our third Rubycamp. It’s a unique bootcamp dedicated to Ruby on Rails where, for two months, participants immerse themselves in Ruby with hands-on mentoring by experts.

While bootcamps are not new, we have been experimenting with our successful Monterail recipe. And the results have been promising: some participants joined commercial projects just a couple of weeks after wrapping up the initiative!

I talked with organizers and participants about past and future editions, what new joiners should expect, and the Monte way of organizing bootcamps.

What is a Monterail Bootcamp?

Starting with the basics.

Bootcamps in IT are often defined as intensive, short-term training courses that focus on practical knowledge, generally tailored to those seeking to land their first job in Information Technology. They have many well-known benefits for everyone involved, as summed up by one of the mentors:

Bootcampers not only attain knowledge but also can meet a huge part of the team, ‘taste’ a project, and verify if this is a company they would like to work in.

Jan DudulskiBackend Principal Engineer and Rubycamp mentor

This applies to our initiatives but doesn’t paint the whole picture.

By researching other offers and learning from our attempts, we realized we could create something unique.

We are not only showing how to organize code well, or how to use some specific methods from the documentation. We are teaching how to be a craftsman. How to be a high-performance programmer, how to be a good business analyst and a good leader, and, finally, how to balance all the roles to be a superman in our work.

Wojtek MaciejakBackend Principal Engineer and Rubycamp organizer

In practice, mentees have daily training sessions covering the theory and practice of web development (yes, with homework as it helps to learn). All culminates with two weeks of shadowing, when they join a real-life project, take part in meetings, learn about the business aspects, and receive tasks.

We engage many mentors so there’s a huge variety of code review perspectives. Project Managers are kept in the loop to spot a project which can benefit from a new joiner.

Wiktoria KrzyżSenior Recruitment & People Partner

Wojtek adds that this is indeed a long process of learning. “But when we show that the life of a developer does not end with writing code, we reveal a new path of development.”

And it has paid off. In the first two editions alone we cultivated a group of almost 10 people with great potential. What’s more, we received positive feedback from partners who appreciated the work of developers who “graduated” from Rubycamps.

Learn about some of these projects:

Uncap - Unconventional Capital case study

The Monterail Way: what is unique about Rubycamp

• Unique focus on shadowing (learn more about why shadowing is key)

• Organized by different teams (Technology, Operations, People)

• Broad, holistic view of development beyond coding

• Connected with other initiatives such as Rails Girls

• Mentors who are experts in the technology

• Proven track record of success stories

• Fostering both hard and soft skills

• Participants are compensated

Learn more: Why Did We Decide to Organize a Ruby Bootcamp Our Own Way?

If you are interested in the technology choice, read why we organize bootcamps about Ruby.

Some highlights of Rubycamp streams in May 2021