Meet our Graduates hosting the AMA (Ask Me Anything) sessions from October 16-19th in the #ama_sessions channel in Slack! Get to know their personal story and read their advice for finishing strong! 🚀 See the full AMA schedule on our home page here.
Hi my name is AJ! I graduated android basics last month. I’m happy to be here! It was a hard journey but I just kept at it while working full-time and taking care of my family. My advice to help you graduate is never give up. If there is a problem staring you in the face just walk away to reset your brain and come back later.
Hi, I'm Carlos. I completed the FEND track and graduated on October 2nd. It was definitely not easy! I have a full time job in the game development industry (artist role), and I have a family. Finding time to go through the coursework and complete the projects was definitely a challenge! But I really did enjoy the challenge and look forward to sticking around and helping others finish.
My advice to help you graduate is submit, submit, submit! If you think you're close with the rubric requirements, SUBMIT the project! If it's sent back for review, you'll have a comprehensive list of tasks to accomplish. You'll always think you're missing something. I submitted a couple of projects fully expecting them to be sent back only to be pleasantly surprised that they passed!
Hi, I’m Steve. I graduated in August 2018 from the MWS program and the React Nanodegree program in 2017. I had to make some tough choices to get through the program. I work full time and since the program went through the summer, I had travel plans and wanted to enjoy the Seattle Summer. I pushed through and submitted my final project while on vacation with my family.
My advice to help you graduate is to use whatever time you have. 10 minutes to fix a bug, 5 minutes to review a video, a few minutes to start adding a feature or debug. Most importantly, focus on the requirements, get those done and submit. You can always go back and make improvements after you graduate.
Hi, I’m Jason (or drunkenkismet [FEND] in the Slack universe), and I graduated October 8th! My journey began almost a year ago when I applied to the Udacity-Grow with Google challenge course, which proved an amazing series of bonkers roller-coaster rides. Having almost zero coding know-how, It’s been a humbling, confidence-boosting experience—regardless of one’s prior knowledge, health, or socioeconomic status, web development opens both figurative and literal doors!
My advice to help you graduate: Always search out alternative explanations for concepts you don’t understand, rather than give up. I almost quit the program a couple of times. But then I’d hop online, research the bejeezus out of something until I found that one phrase that made a concept click. When you land on these a-ha moments, it makes the struggle seem paltry next to what you gain.
Hi, I'm Gil. I graduated from the AND track earlier this month. I worked as a hardware engineer for almost 26 years, then circumstances motivated me to make a career change and re-visit one of my other interests, developing software. I finished the scholarship while also teaching sophomore engineering labs as an adjunct lecturer at a major university.
My advice to help you graduate is to fight off discouragement by remembering why you started this scholarship, and by thinking about the knowledge and self-confidence you will have gained by the time you finish. The deadline extension has given everyone who has not graduated a second chance, so make the most of it.
Hi, I’m Doug. I graduated five months ago from MWS. My journey for this completing this course was quick, as I had a good bit of free time at the office and applied it all here. I manage UI development for www.academy.com and wanted to get more hands on time, knock off some rust, update some skills and learn all the new things that we should consider for rebuilding our site (like Service Workers, IDb, etc). Since graduating I’ve spent my time trying to help everyone else as I have a real passion for the UI development space and love to see more people growing in it.
My advice to help you graduate is do first things first! The projects in MWS build on each other, and within any given project there are steps on the path to completion that, done in order, make each subsequent step easier to complete. And like in Hitchhiker’s Guide, DON’T PANIC! I’ve helped several students who felt like their code was a wreck and they were on the brink of collapse, and when I looked in their repo they were only a few small changes away from having the project finished. Remember that you’ve got this!
Hi, I’m Jill. I graduated on September 16. Completing the Nanodegree was a HUGE challenge for me. I’m older and have never taken a coding class in my life prior to this one. More than a few times I felt I was a failure, I’d never get this course done and I would never understand it. I just kept going forward...sometimes backwards but ultimately forward!
Couple of tips for graduating are to just keep at it and ask for help when you need it. I absolutely would not have completed the course had I not asked for help.
Look through the lesson’s project rubric before and during the coursework. That helped me understand what the lessons were ultimately going to be used for. Made more sense that way for me.
Get up and leave when you get frustrated. Pet animals, get coffee go outside.
Hi, my name is Chad! I graduated from the Mobile Web Specialist Nanodegree last month. I'm extremely grateful for the opportunity Udacity and Google have given me as previously I had been studying web development on my own. Between working unpredictable hours in the restaurant industry and being a single father of an autistic boy I've had to get in study time where I could. Thankfully I have an amazing mom who lives nearby and has helped me out a bunch!
What helped me on my journey more than anything was always keeping an eye on my goal of becoming a better developer, not just trying to pass. Sometimes I had to make a small project to really understand a concept before implementing it in my actual projects. Other times I had to take a detour and learn something I knew nothing about. Also helping another student with something that I just completed made it really stick. I know time is short but see if this can help you too!
Hi, My name is Kasia and I graduated from FEND Nanodegree Program about a week ago. I went through many ups and downs during the program, but it wasn't until Project 7, when I seriously started doubting my ability to graduate. Come to the AMA session on Wednesday, October 17 at 8 AM PT to hear my story. My advice to students: " If you still haven't learned t how to ask for help, now is the time."
Hi, I’m Alexandro. I graduated a month ago, on September 8th. I felt like I wasn't going to make it because of I was behind in Phase 2 and 3, but now I can't believe it's been a month since I graduated! I have a full time job working as a cook in a restaurant, and since that has nothing to do with computer science, sometimes it was hard keeping up, but I'm glad I never gave up.
My advice to help you graduate is don't hesitate to ask for help. One of the things I've learned the hard way, and I keep getting reminded by some developer acquaintances, and even read in articles, is that as developers, we learn *how to find* solutions to a problem, not the solution of every problem. So just because your'e struggling to find the solution to the problem in front you, it doesn't mean you're not developer material, it just means you're gaining experience while solving that problem.
Hi, I’m Matthew. I graduated on August 25th. Learning Android was something that I never imagined I'd succeed at, and I wasn't sure how I would manage to find time to devote to learning with a full time career, and being married with 2 sons under 6 (and the third on the way). Coming from no coding background, it was hard - but I surrounded myself with people who continually encouraged and challenged me - and now I have a clearer understanding and a firm foundation to continue forward with.
My advice to help you graduate is: Find a group of power users (they don't have to all be at the same skill level, but find people who can help challenge you and find people who genuinely want to see you succeed. Developing Android is never a solo job - there is a huge community of developers to learn from and grow with, so make sure to use them.
Hi, I'm Josh. I graduated a little over a month ago. Working a full time job, I was worried I wouldn't be able to dedicate enough time to the program. Not having enough time to finish was one of my earliest fears when the program started. After setting up a schedule and building momentum, I was able to finish with more than enough time to spare!
My advice to help you graduate is to stay consistent. If you can dedicate just 15 minutes a day to studying, you'll keep your momentum and it will be a lot easier to jump in to the project when you're able to dedicate more time to it. When you don't look at your code for a week, you need to re-familiarize yourself before you start working on it and that process can be demoralizing and slow you down. If you stay consistent with it, you can be surprised with how much you'll accomplish!
Hi, I'm Charles. I graduated in September 2018 from the Android Basics Nanodegree program. It was a great experience and I learned a lot from it. The community of students and interactions made the program a truly amazing thing.
The best advice I can give to help you get to graduations might seem counter intuitive, but, take breaks. Even the best of us run into bugs and crashes that we struggle to figure out. Take a break and come back to it with a clear head when you get frustrated. If you find yourself still struggling about an hour, ask for help. Also, Thanos did nothing wrong.
Hi, my name is Adnan. I graduated from the MWS program on the 29th of July 2018. I completed this course pretty early because I was dedicated and really wanted to soak in all the knowledge. This course was really challenging and it wouldn't have been possible for me to tackle it so quickly if not for the support of my family and all the friendly help and activity that went on in these slack rooms.. I did this whole challenge while working full time and growing my own web development and marketing business on the side.
My advice to help you graduate would be to keep trying and keep asking questions. You can do it!
Hi, I’m Steve. I graduated yesterday, 10/14 [Well, technically, I haven't graduated yet because the button isn't working, but I completed the course yesterday.] I wasn't sure I'd be able to finish before the deadline. I'm a single parent and have a full-time job with a contract ending the day after the original deadline. I fell behind a couple of weeks, but with careful planning and the support of my awesome study group that has been together since the second week of the Challenge Course, I managed to get everything done!
My advice to help you graduate is: Keep plugging away, as much as you can, whenever you can. Help other people too, because it cements what you've learned in your mind, reduces stress and increases good karma!
Hello I’m Miriam, and I was thrilled to graduate on October 3rd! I’m a stay-at-home mom of twins, and this journey presented a number of personal challenges that disrupted my ABND coursework at several junctures. At one point, I was sure I knew how Napoleon Bonaparte felt at Waterloo because I was sure I had met my Waterloo. I just was not sure if I would be able to finish.
My advice to help you graduate is this: Forget perfection! My apps were just plain oogly (very ugly) --- however, they passed! Also, please forget about mastery of the lessons and concepts. Mastery comes with time and experience. Since you will continue having access to the lessons after you graduate, you can always go back, and re-review the lessons. This also goes for the apps. You can always go back to the apps and spiff them up after you graduate. The reviewers are not grading you on technical genius or Picasso-caliber works of art, but on fulfilling the rubric for each project. Also, please seek help if you are stuck! Do a Google search on error messages that don’t make sense, and on whatever you are trying to achieve. Finally: believe me, I have always been the person who likes to take the bull by the horn, and do things on my own. However, we are under a time constraint, and so I reached out to others here on the forum for help when I got stuck. Graduating on time is possible! Just be willing to do it imperfectly!
Hi, I'm Brenda, and I recently graduated from the ABND program. The past seven months have been very challenging, not only because I was learning a new programming language and tech tools, but also because at a personal level I had a lot going on. I had a new born and toddler to care for when I started the challenge, then soon went back to work full time, lost my only two siblings to a deportation, and had both my parents hospitalized for different illnesses. Throughout all this, I kept telling myself I could do this and that all my sacrifices, such as sleeping few hours, would not last forever and that I should continue my daily time commitment to learning. It was not easy, but I learned I am capable of more than I thought, so be assured you will too, just keep working at it.
Hi, I'm Rashmi. I graduated from FEND track on August 21. I am on a career break and I am trying to make the most of it my taking courses. Since taking a break I have always wondered if I would fit in when I go back to the work force. This course has definitely helped me regain my confidence in coding and helped me update my skills. I am hoping to graduate from more courses in the near future.
My advice to help you graduate is :
Hi, I'm Ryan. I graduated from the Android Developer NanoDegree on October 9th, 2018! My journey was long and difficult but rewarding. I had very little coding experience, no experience with git/github, no experience with object-oriented programming and had to juggle a full-time job.
My advice to help you graduate is to do only what the rubric requires you to do and nothing more. The most important thing is to graduate. That said, you can work on project aesthetics later on. Similarly with your capstone, you want a minimal viable product. Don't try to push out a PlayStore-worthy app. Just get something that meets the rubric then work on the project further after you graduate.
Lastly, in the same spirit, since we are in a major time-crunch at this point, if there is a way to do something that's easy versus a harder way, go with the easy way for now and try the hard way after (i.e. Android widgets is a great example). Good luck everyone, I know you can do it!
Hi i am samarpitha. i graduated from Android Basics Nanodegree on October 4th. Actually it was little hard for me to complete with my toddler, since i had Java background it helped me a lot , any time i needed help there were Mentors,Project Coach who were available all the time, Project after the other loaded more data in my head which was little confusing.,but i worked on Rubric and met specifications for the projects. But ALL hurdles look so small once i saw my Nanodegree Certificate.
My advice to the students are on Reading Lessons go on rubric meanwhile if you find any Technical words work on that part little harder. Once you don't understand do work on concepts twice and again it should be done
Don't feel Shy to ask small Doubt, Because we all are learners here. Slack will help you in resolving.
