I am on my third week on CS50, and it is starting to get hard. Recursion is crazy. I am beginning to think I am not as smart as I thought (and my daughter agrees).

Hats off to all the computer scientists out there.

On the more accessible side, I have been doing many of Apple’s Swift Playgrounds puzzles. I like how engaging they make them.

I am also starting to understand the whole wide world of programming. I heard about programming bootcamps and have been doing some research:

School App Academy Hack Reactor Fullstack Flatiron Lambda Thinkful
Programs Software Engineering Software Engineering Software Engineering, Cybersecurity Software Engineering, Data Science, Cybersecurity Fullstack Web, Data Science, iOS Development Software Engineering, Data Science, UX/UI, Product Management
Online 24 weeks 12 weeks 17 weeks 5 months 9 months 2 - 5 months
$ 20k 18k 18k 15k 30k 7k - 19k
Part-time   9 months 28 weeks 10 months 18 months 3 - 6 months
$   18k 16k 15k 30k 5 - 10k

It is extraordinary that you can spend a few months studying programming online and then getting a job as a programmer. It is also encouraging that many bootcamps offer the possibility of charging for the tuition payments once you get a job.

It seems that software engineering and full-stack web are very similar. Data Science seems very interesting:

Data Science

I believe I am competitive in two of the three areas and I want to grow in the third:

  • Domain / Business Knowledge - 20 years of business experience, strategy, and entrepreneurship.
  • Math & Statistics - I have a strong foundation as an engineer.
  • Computer Science / IT - Here, all I have is a deep affinity, but I’m enjoying learning.