Bloom Institute of Technology

Since joining Bloom Institute of Technology about seven months ago I feel that I have gained true industry experience. I feel confident that I am already gaining skills which tech companies in my area and many others find essential. This program has helped me to feel as though I'm actually going to be ready be the time I finish. I've already been reaching out to recruiters and networking as was recommended many sprints ago. I'm not even halfway through the course yet and I've gained so much! I'm excited to see where I'll be by the end of the bootcamp.

You can literally learn everything they teach from Udemy courses. Job replacement is very poor. Their interview staff thinks that real life experience depends on your tech knowledge not personality. Are you kidding me?
 I've been in tech industry for 20 years but never learned to code though.
So I wanted to make some changes and went to Lambda School, now it's Bloom Tech. After I graduated, start to look for software engineering jobs for the last 3 years. I didn't even get an interview.
Long story sort, I went back to my old job, hardware test engineer.
Now I'm stuck with $1000 a month payments to Bloom Tech. Because, they say that I'm in tech industry. I was in tech industry before Bloom Tech was found. 
Do yourself a favor and stay away from these people or any other boot camp.

My experience with BloomTech (FKA Lambda School) went above and beyond my expectations. I was switching careers and had no math or coding background. I didn't want to go into debt for a graduate degree, and a $15k 3-month boot camp seemed risky. I chose BloomTech because of their no-tuition-up-front ISA, and the 12-month part-time curriculum was the right amount of time for me (that program is on pause, currently only full-time is offered). 

The school went through some changes throughout my year there. My cohort experienced a shortening of the curriculum from 18-months to 12-months, piloted a peer mentorship program, and after our cohort there would be layoffs of the teaching assistants and no more new part-time cohorts. These things shook up some students, but I felt the school was staying true to its goal: to help me get the best job with the best salary after graduation. They communicated every change they made, and explained how it benefitted the sustainability of the program, or would help us become better candidates. I did everything the school suggested: I showed up to class and office hours, turned in every assignment, networked and applied to jobs far earlier than I thought was appropriate (2 months into the program!). 

I was surprised by the depth of education on career development. It went beyond working on your resume and interviews. I learned current work methodologies and tools, how to be a better teammate, how to work through conflicts, how to learn and persevere when faced with a challenge, how to know yourself better. It expanded the way I thought about work and life outside work. These classes, and the amazing but eventually canceled mentorship program, were part of BloomTech's efforts to create the kind of candidates that employers were asking for. 

It paid off!! I got a job at Accenture six weeks after graduating, with a six-figure salary. Before I got the offer, BloomTech hired me as an office hours assistant (Support Hour Lead), and also got me into a month-long Fellowship as a Data Engineer for a startup, where BloomTech paid my salary, not the startup. The Careers department pushed job openings my way, counseled me if I was feeling down (mental health is big here), and helped me negotiate a 9% salary increase. 

As a warning, the attrition rate of students in my cohort was extremely high. I don't fault BloomTech for this, I think it's the nature of the beast. I don't even fault the students who dropped out, they probably had the best intentions. I think BloomTech is the best option for a quality education without having to risk cash up front or go into debt, and the careers department is where the value of the ISA really kicks in. 

When I first started, we had TL's with weekly stand-ups, code reviews, and a sense of a cohort team vibe. It was great, but I hear the new direction they are taking has gone away with those things, which is what really made my experience memorable.

They do have a good curriculum, and job assistance, along with preparation for tech interviews. My resume for sure would not be as good as it is today without their assistance. I still keep in touch with some of my cohort since we developed a great bond.

Like any school what you get out of it is what you put in. That being said, I was really happy with the instructors, curriculum, and support team. I was able to land a non-developer role in a tech company within only 3 months of starting the part-time course. Then when I graduated my company offered me a full-time dev role. I had always worked hourly jobs in the past and didn't have any history in tech except for a few self-taught studies that I had done online. I was in a really tough financial situation when I started the course so the computer I was using at first was less than ideal. It would take me hours to download course material and the likes. When my team lead found out he jumped on it and the school actually sent me a computer to use for the course. 

Now that I have been working in the industry for a while and am two months away from paying off my ISA. I can honestly say Lambda School was one of the best investments of my time and resources that I have ever made. I am more than happy to pay back the ISA knowing that the school is helping so many other students just like me. 

Before starting at Lambda school I was debating going to a 4-year college or doing a Bootcamp. At the end, I went with the Bootcamp because I heard someone say that the person who does the Bootcamp will probably be interviewing the 4-year degree student since they get in job faster. This is so true. In my role, I have been a part of hiring 3 new devs and it hasn't even been 4 years since I made the career change. Also, I have noticed that unfortunately, a lot of the applicants that we get who are computer science majors are not qualified for even an entry-level job because they haven't done any projects or practical coding. 

If you are on the fence, like I was, about 4-year or Bootcamp. I would highly recommend Lambda School. 

I joined Lambda School after doing extensive research on bootcamps and listening to its founder on multiple podcasts. I had zero coding experience, and I had never coded anything before.  From day 1, I was dedicated to fully immersing myself in the course material, guided projects, and the huge network on Slack. I am an active learner, and I found Lambda to be challenging, yet super rewarding. I felt the more time I put into learning, connecting, and practicing the more I got out of my Lambda experience.

The instructors were by far the best teachers I've had in a long time. I often think back to my days in college, where professors would shrug me off and get annoyed if I asked the same question twice. Lambda School instructors were clear and open to explaining things in a different way. If I was struggling with something, I found quick relief by attending office hours.

I found the Lambda School slack channels to be a goldmine for networking, technical interviewing practice, and coding-related resources. Learning how to code is not the only thing required to get a job. Communicating with your peers, making teams for build weeks, introducing myself to alumni, and learning new ways reach out to hiring managers were all unforeseen benefits of this amazing private community.

After finishing my coursework, i was able to work on a real project for the Boys and Girls Club of Conejo Valley in Lambda School Labs. This became the first technical project on my resume, and it served as life-changing coding experience for me. During labs, I was able to "file the switch" from novice to developer. By throwing me into the deep end using a real nonprofit project, Lambda School actually made me believe that I could be a developer. I left labs, the last unit before graduation, with the self confidence to tackle even the biggest of projects.

I applied to over 150 positions after graduation before I landed my first job. I can confidently say that more than 85% of those applications were referred to me by my Lambda School Career Coach, sourced from a slack channel in the Lambda School community, or sent to me via LinkedIn by a Lambda School alumnus. Technical interviewing is hard, and it takes months to master both behavioral and data structures/algorithms questions. I found material, guidance, examples, past questions, and 1-1 practice through Lambda School.

Lambda School has changed my life. I can't stop raving about how rewarding all my hard work at Lambda School was. I believe a bootcamp should do more than just teach you how to code. Lambda School taught how to work well in a team, how to breakdown a problem, how to build a product, how to network, and how to interview. Plus, it taught how to code. I recommend Lambda School to everyone. If you're like me, when I was first starting in my bootcamp journey, you probably have a ton of questions. Feel free to reach out at ashtilawat23@gmail.com. I will do my best to answer all that I can! 

I started Lambdaschool at the beginning of 2021 full time.  I have had several years prior knowledge of web development through self study but I wanted help in finding work and also to fill in any gaps of knowledge.  I researched several schools prior and wanted to a school that passed my requirements.  The curriculum is everything I expected it to be and more.  I know what the core elements are for a web developer to have experience in and they teach all of it.  They have some excellent instructors who not only knew the material but they also do a good job in teaching it.  This kind of bootcamp is not for the light-hearted or for the undetermined person.  You will have to work, and work hard at Lambdaschool.  There are students who have completely no background in tech and graduated, but I really believe you'll have a better chance at making it in this field if you already did some pre-work on your own and have a year or more of study in the field.  In the end it's not the school that determines your success, it's YOU!  But a good quality school like Lambdaschool can help you along the way.


PROS

• ISA - If a school doesn't offer this then they can't even compete IMHO
• Computer Science Unit - You need this if you don't have a CS degree
• Top notch curriculum
• Job Finder Support 

CONS

• It's 100% Virtual - I'd prefer a real classroom setting, but because of Corona this is the next best thing
• Computer Science was a little short.  I would have loved an extension here.  (side note: Lambda allows for any student to redo a unit at no cost)
• I think a little more structure with Team settings could be improved.

When I decided I wanted to make a career change I wasn't sure where to start. I found Lambda and was initially interested trying due to their ISA agreement. It helped me go through school without paying a dime until I had a job of at least $50,000. After enrolling, I was nervous on not having any experience at all and was afraid the learning curve would be too extreme. Fortunately, the instructors, TL's, and fellow students were more than amazing and always willing to help! Not only just to find the answer but to find out why that solution worked for a deeper understanding. After going through the iOS, Computer Science, and Labs curriculums I graduated in 1.5 years while attending part time. I immediately started with a start up company to keep up my skills with connections I made through the school. Working with a cross functional team and with my experience from Lambda with many builds throughout, gave me a competitive edge when applying for full time jobs! Five months later, I've just been hired as an iOS Mobile Software Dev and starting my new career! It's hard to believe that I've gotten to this point. I know I put in the work but I will say without Lambda's faculty and students I might now be where I am today. Thank you Lambda!!

No college degree, attended school from October 2019 to July 2020, first tech job started in October 2020, been there ever since.  I make six figures, and the school helped me negotiate an extra 20k onto my salary.  I had run a court transcription business for over a decade prior to that, still do a little bit on my off time, and so I hadn't looked for a job in over 15 years.  They helped me extensively with the job search.  
I liked the classes; they were pretty fast paced.  But while I was attending, I didn't just study what they told me to; I searched out job descriptions and studied what I thought would make me more valuable.  You really do get out what you put in here; it's not just handed to you.  Put yourself in uncomfortable situations, don't be afraid to make mistakes there, and soak in everything you can in terms of learning.  They aren't telling you to do things just because; they're telling you what they're telling you because it works.

At my current job, about half the stack is stuff I wasn't exposed to at all in school.  My employer is very happy with me, and I love my job.