Are you a bootcamp grad feeling overwhelmed in your first job?

Are you suddenly feeling like you're out of your depth? Like maybe bootcamp didn't teach you as much as you thought it had?

Feeling pressure to ship code you half understand? Do you dread code reviews, or worse, not receive them at all?

Without the context of a CS degree or longer term exposure to software development, it can be difficult to step outside of the tools and patterns that you were taught in your program. Courses and tutorials often assume more experience or fundamental training than you have, which can make it difficult to find your way in and relate the material to what you already know.

That's why I'm here. I'm a self-taught engineer with a decade of real-world experience. I'm a former bootcamp instructor, and I've seen the things that new grads struggle with. I'm creating instructional materials for recent grads that will prepare you to do your job and do it well.

Ben Wilhelm Headshot

New Course!

Test Like a Tech Lead

You know that feeling when you look at the code you've just written and have no idea how to test it? The problem is that you don't know how to write testable code. Learning to write code that's easy to test--and to write the tests themselves--is just another skill that you have to practice and get good at.

  • What if you knew exactly where to start when you sat down to write your tests?
  • What if you showed up to your next code review with beautifully tested components, and could describe to your technical lead exactly why you made the choices you made?
  • What if you could confidently discuss testing strategies in your next job interview?
  • What if testing was a satisfying and enjoyable part of your development process?
  • And what if you didn't have to learn this all on your own, but could consult with an experienced software engineer and former bootcamp instructor, along with a small cohort of other developers?

You're closer to this reality than you think. You graduated bootcamp. You got a job. You've already proven that you can master complex technical subjects. With some foundational instruction and some practice, you'll be able to apply industry standard testing techniques to the software that you write.

Learn More

Free Video Lessons

Each one-hour video below is a from-zero introduction to the topic, aimed at new bootcamp grads. The recordings were made with a live zoom audience, so you'll see me interact and answer questions as they come in via chat. Each video also includes five written lessons delivered via email.

Test Driven Development

Knowing how to test your code is one of those things that separates the pros from the not-yet-pros. In this session, I'll share practical tips for why and how you should be writing tests for your code, and where testing fits in your engineering mindset and toolset.

Once you understand how to do it well, testing can dramatically speed up your workflow and help you write more stable, maintainable software.

“You have a gift for teaching, Ben.” —Mike
“Really appreciated the idea of taking the logic into the business layer to test, mind blown THANKS” —Biz
“Before your webinar I was nervous about learning how to write tests but now I feel more comfortable. Looking forward to more content!” —Waverley
“As a complete newbie to TDD this was a great start.” —Katie

Debugging Web Applications

Debugging your code can feel like looking for the proverbial needle in the haystack. What if you had a system for approaching defects? You could learn to effectively identify unknowns and quickly isolate the areas of your application that likely contain the offending code. I've spent a lot of time helping students and early-career engineers debug their work, and here I share a few rules and guidelines for making sense of things when things don't make sense.

“A BIG thank you for this session, Ben, can’t wait to start applying these steps!” —Anneloes
“Thanks so much for giving this talk Ben! Very helpful to have the thought process written into clear steps.” —Kathleen
“Thanks Ben - Great methodology :)” —Kelsey

Understanding Webpack

Webpack is the unsung hero of modern front-end web development, but getting down and dirty with it can be intimidating. Chunks and bundles, plugins and loaders? What are all of these things and how do you use them? Starting from zero, I'll demystify it for you over the course of an hour, giving you a foundation on which to build further study.

“Thanks so much for your webinar(s) and for your daily insights. It was really interesting to see what Webpack does under the hood, to see regex in action, to learn about IIFEs (I'd never heard of them) and to generally learn more about what happens behind the scenes.” —Shelby
“thank you! super helpful!” —Helen

Exceptions Welcome

The podcast for coding bootcamp grads

Collin Miller and I taught together for several years. With our quarter of a century of combined self-taught experience, there were many, many things we were not able to fit into the time we had with our students. This is our way of extending those lessons.

Listen and Subscribe

“⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Ben and Collin are knowledgeable and down to earth, and is up there with the top tech podcasts I listen to...If your looking to get into software development or are currently an entry level developer this podcast is essential listening.”
—_johnboy

Some nice words about me

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Matthew Noesen

“...technical brilliance and genuine human caring...”

Ben has that incredibly well-tuned balance of teaching ability/experience, technical brilliance, and genuine human caring that genuinely set him apart. You will always feel not just respected, but emboldened… willing to make mistakes and learn from them. This is absolutely crucial, in my opinion, leading to better retention and a deeper understanding.

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Jonathan Kurinsky

“He is an extraordinarily thoughtful and effective teacher.”

I had the privilege of being a student of Ben's, for a time-- he is an extraordinarily thoughtful and effective teacher.

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Nirali Shah

“...understood when to step back to have us connect the dots...”

Ben was able to break down complex concepts into manageable chunks that were much easier to understand. He’s very knowledgeable, and was able to share relevant stories from his own past and learnings. Most importantly, Ben understood when to lean in to provide guidance and when to step back to have us connect the dots ourselves.

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Minkyu Yang

“...most amazing instructor ever...”

Ben is a most amazing instructor ever met. He is not just giving an answer, but guide students to think right direction, something missing or finding and fix bugs. He gives specific, practical advice whenever I need help.

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Mary Warrick

“...he knew how to respectfully interact and stimulate learning.”

He was always allowing us to make mistakes and firing back thoughtful questions about our choices. With a wide range of skill levels in the class, from novice to intermediate, he knew how to respectfully interact and stimulate learning.

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