My AltSchool Experience: Rediscovering the Thrill of Learning

Rediscovering the Thrill of Learning

After four years as a developer, I realised something awkward: I wasn’t really learning anymore—I was just doing. Growth had hit the pause button, and honestly, I missed the thrill of figuring things out. That’s when I found AltSchool—a chance to shake things up, relearn how to learn, and get back to building with purpose.

Crushing KPIs but Missing the Spark

Don’t get me wrong—I was learning, but it was the passive kind. You know, the “just enough to get the job done and meet KPIs” kind. And hey, I was absolutely crushing those KPIs. My official title is Senior Backend Engineer, but honestly, I function more like the CTO. I oversee my company’s product architecture from end to end, conduct code reviews, approve pull requests across the entire stack (frontend and backend), and occasionally dive into frontend code to speed up deliverables. Sounds great, right? And it was. But deep down, I knew I had some major gaps—gaps that might become crucial for both my current role and the future ones I aspire to.

My Journey into Tech

So, how did I get here? Let me give you the quick(ish) breakdown of my career journey:

I started out as a self-taught developer, bouncing between languages—C++, Java, PHP—until I stumbled upon web development. That’s when I dove into HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Node.js. Then came a pivotal moment: a 30-day backend bootcamp. I built APIs, joined a hackathon (where I discovered React), and instantly loved it. From there, I devoured books, articles, crash courses, and built projects until I landed an internship as a React developer.

That internship turned into a full-time full-stack role, and I thrived as a frontend developer, occasionally contributing to backend projects. I freelanced, got more offers, tackled gigs on Upwork, won hackathons and kept expanding my skillset. Eventually, though, I got bored of strictly frontend roles. That’s when I made the switch to full-time backend, landing my current job. I went in full throttle—knocking out tasks, attending meetings, and juggling responsibilities like a pro.

Hitting a Wall and Looking for Change

But somewhere along the way, I noticed a problem: I was so focused on work that I stopped exploring and relearning, I'd also gotten a bit... let's say, comfortable (read: lazy) about learning outside my day-to-day tasks. Sure, I grabbed roadmaps, job descriptions, books, and courses to close my learning gaps, but I couldn’t keep up. One month in, I’d only finished three chapters of a book. Video courses? Forget it—my attention span for those is 30 minutes max. And don’t even get me started on hour-long videos; I’d be dozing off by minute 20.

That’s when I knew I needed help to reignite my passion for learning. Enter AltSchool. Their School of Engineering Backend Certification Program (12 months) caught my eye—not just for the certificate (though, bonus!), but for the structure and accountability I needed to get back on track. Applying to AltSchool's School of Engineering felt like a no-brainer. Plus, the scholarship options? Chef's kiss! 😉

Applying to AltSchool

I stumbled across multiple scholarship options—some on the AltSchool Scholarship page and others on Hack Sultan’s LinkedIn (AltSchool’s cofounder). Naturally, I applied for every open scholarship 😆. Don’t judge me; we shoot our shots over here!

To qualify for the scholarship, we had to pay an application fee and pass an entrance exam. They provided learning materials covering basic web and programming concepts, and I breezed through them a day before the assessment. When the results came out, I passed!

I managed to secure Hack Sultan’s 30% scholarship, but I was holding out for the bigger fish: a 100% scholarship. Unfortunately, I received an email saying I wasn’t selected for any full scholarships. While writing this article, I found an email I’d missed earlier—it turns out I had been shortlisted for the Cleva Scholarship interview stage! Ouch 😣. How did I miss that?

On the bright side, I got another 50% scholarship, which I used to pay for AltSchool’s 12-month program (you can pay yearly, quarterly, or monthly). And just like that, I was in!

The First Semester: Early Weeks

The first few weeks of AltSchool felt like a breeze. We were onboarded into the LMS system, and the first week’s materials were similar to the ones we studied for the assessment. For the first semester, all engineering departments—Cybersecurity, Cloud, Backend, and Frontend—study combined foundational content.

We had our first live classes, town hall sessions, and even an election for School President, VP, and Course Rep. I’m not much of a politics person, so I didn’t participate.

A Surprise Lesson

By the second week, we dove into HTML basics. My first reaction? “I already know all this.” But then, the instructor emphasized something I hadn’t explored much: web accessibility. It wasn’t a topic I’d found particularly appealing before, but this time I dug deeper. Spoiler alert: I’ll be dropping an article about it soon. Just two weeks in, and I was already learning!

Some of the courses were recorded videos, and I completed the first week’s content in a single day—without dozing off! (The content was that good… or maybe because I was already familiar with the topics. Time will tell.)

Balancing Work and School

By week three, I started struggling to keep up with the courses and live classes due to work. But I came up with a system to balance work and school, which I’ll share in another post.

AltSchool Circles

AltSchool groups students into Learning Circles—small communities of 10–20 learners within the larger community. The goal? To create accountability partners, share ideas, collaborate effectively, and build friendships.

My circle started out quiet. Initially, I didn’t want to take on an active role because of work responsibilities. But after a member complained about the inactivity, I stepped up. I hosted our first meetup, facilitated conversations about engagement, and—together with my circle members—came up with some exciting ideas:

Weekly Engagement Activities: (This article is one of them, lmfaooo.)
A Peer-to-Peer Accountability System: We even plan to automate it with a web app!
End-of-Year Circle Party: We formed a committee to organize it and boost engagement.
Weekly Moderators Roster: To keep everyone active and involved.

Wrapping Up

The AltSchool experience has been amazing so far. I’m excited about the weeks ahead, the conversations, and everything I’ll get to learn. It can only get better from here!

Oh, and just so you know: writing articles about our experiences and learnings is part of our circle’s weekly activities. So, you’ll be hearing more from me soon. Stay tuned!