u/International-Bed413 wrote (the comment Michael replied to):
I actually originally applied to formation about 2 months ago with 0 DS experience. (I saw it on Reddit and said yolo lol) Chris told me that while I wasn’t ready for formation (I definitely was not) to study up on DS for about 2 months and reapply. And that’s how I started Al
u/michaelnovati replied · ★ FEATURED
Yeah you are borderline and I agree you could use either higher starting DS&A skills or more extensive project work to have a higher chance of success with our training. Note: for anyone else who might read this, if you are not at our current overall bar, our training is less effective so we want to make sure you are there before joining, or that we have adapted our training enough to support you (we have people who really want to do Formation, but it's too early in their journey and I don't want them to read your specific case and generalize). When we work with someone it's until the very end, so we have to accept the right people.
So two approaches for you specifically:
1. Keep practicing DS&A. Great growth so far so keep going down that path to get through a good number of LC easy problems.
2. I think a standalone project that's not a personal website is great. Ideally something where people can do something (not necessarily sign up, but interact). For example, very early on I built a "Walt Disney World Itinerary Generator" that computed a list of rides to go to on specific days, depending on the number of people and the types of rides they like. No one used it but it was live and they could use it.
I think another month of doing 1 OR 2 could help you could be ready.
BUT AGAIN! GOALS! If you want a foot in the door job, starting a bootcamp ASAP might be a good option. If you want a top tier job no matter how long it takes, then Formation could be a good option.