Build software projects in teams: Voyage 33 teaser & how to get started

🔥 This article will help you get oriented and ready for your remote team Voyage experience! Don’t feel like you have to read & watch everything (you won’t be able to).

(Note: this article is a part of Chingu onboarding. If you haven’t applied yet you can do so at chingu.io).

Welcome to the Chingu community!
Why Chingu exists and how can it help me?
Roadmap — Schedule, What’s next & how can I start?
What’s the solo project quality check?
What can I expect from a Voyage?
How can I best prepare for the Voyage?
Project showcases from past Chingu teams!

1 — Welcome to Chingu!

So, you’re going to be joining a Chingu Voyage? Here’s a welcome from the community. 😃

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B77vVksuu1I&ab_channel=Chingu

2—Why Chingu exists and how can it help me?

So you’ve been conditionally accepted to a Chingu Voyage?

Guess what?!

Not only are you now on a path to accelerate your learning, meet new developer friends from across the world, and gain experience working in a team, you’ll also be contributing to Chingu’s Moonshot mission of…

Helping unlock the world’s tech talent through collaboration!!!! 🚀

Since 2016, Chingu has helped people get jobs at companies like Amazon, Facebook, Microsoft, and even Freecodecamp!

Chingu exists to help people from around the world come together to build together & reach their goals. Chingu members gain confidence in their skills, finish actual projects for their portfolio, and gain experience working in real remote teams (these are all things employers happen to love 😉 ).

Here’s a few videos of Chingu members:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSwdKQzrU9U&ab_channel=Chingu

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4E3JZ-ny3R8&ab_channel=Chingu

3— Roadmap: What’s next & how can I start?

Step 1: Read this article

Step 2: Join the Chingu Discord server (the invite link can be found in your onboarding email).

Step 3: Answer the question: Do I have a completed solo project I can submit?

Step 4a): If yes , submit that project via the Project Submission Form (this form can be found in your Chingu onboarding email).

Step 4b): If no , the first step is to build a solo project & submit it. You can find solo projects to build here.

Step 5: Receive feedback on your project & add the Voyage launch date to your calendar!

Schedule for Voyage 33

There are 2 due dates to keep in mind when getting started.

Solo project submission due date : August 24, 2021

Voyage team launch date : August 30

Each Voyage team project lasts 6 weeks.

Note: Each month we launch a new batch of teams working on projects. This is usually around the beginning of the month.

4— What’s the solo project quality check?

In order to maintain quality of teams we require members to submit a completed solo project to be checked before being added to a team.

Some members will join Chingu and have a completed project they can submit right away. For others, this will be an opportunity to finally finish a project from start to finish! 🚀

If you don’t already have a solo project, we recommend building one of these.

Here are some quotes by past members who completed their first solo project:

I finished my first project :) that was amazing.😃

It was a great step in getting me out of tutorial hell. I didn’t realize how much this has hurt my growth until recently.

I learned SO MUCH. It made me feel certain I was able to move on to the next stage (a Voyage team project), and it allowed me to sharpen my Git skills. I am finally seeing the light at the end of the tutorial purgatory tunnel, as I had to complete the project without having a reference guiding me along. I would do a “solo project” every month tbh.

It was an important test. Now that I have successfully completed a project I feel I have what it takes to be a developer.

It really forced me to use skills that I had learned but not really applied

5 — What can I expect from a Voyage?

Be surrounded by curious builders from around the world

Chingu attracts developers & PMs from around the world. You’ll be surrounded by ambitious learners who share your goals!

Gain experience in a remote software team

People underestimate the skills involved in working in a remote software developer team. Git/Github, merge conflicts, PRs, coordinating tasks, communication nuances, etc. are all a big part of building projects. This is why employers want to hire people with experience.

Get out of your comfort zone

Let’s also not forget: you will be challenged to level-up your skills. This is not a tutorial where you can lazily follow through. Participating in a Chingu project (solo or team) is not easy.

Joining Chingu = getting out of your comfort zone.

Confidence & a shiny portfolio

You can also expect that if you show grit, you’ll come out with a shiny new project for your portfolio (some teams even build nonprofit projects or projects that create value for others).