Learn by Doing

I learn best by doing. I like to get hands-on with the problem, and understand it by experiencing it. That could mean jumping into code first instead of reading docs, seeing applications before studying theory, talking to people before reading synthesis.

Olin’s curriculum was nearly entirely project-based - I think I sat for one, maybe two proper “final exams” during my four years of undergrad.

In my software engineering career, I tend to “learn by doing” when writing code. I like to try something and see if it works, then dig into the why (as opposed to carefully reading documentation and reading the precise way it should be done). Therefore, it’s important to me to have fast feedback loops in my work, so that while I’m learning by doing, I know if I doing it correctly or not. Software testing and especially test-driven development are tools that really help my learn by doing quirk.