Coding Dojo

It's difficult to write a review Coding Dojo without also reviewing Coding Bootcamps in general. So I will try include both my "review" of Bootcamps in general and then also my review of Coding Dojo relative to other Bootcamp options.

Bootcamps in general:

One piece of advice I feel morally obligated to include as a warning to anyone looking at Bootcamps: do not assume that once you finish the Bootcamp employers will lining up begging to hire you. In fact, expect the exact opposite. Once you complete the Bootcamp you are going to have to scratch, claw, and fight your way to an entry level position. So as I write this review, I just want anyone considering Coding Dojo or Bootcamps in general to be completely sober and realistic about what this is going to be. Throughout the Bootcamp you are going to work harder then you’ve ever worked before. Your brain is going to absorbing and learning enormous amounts of new information. You will be frustrated at times as you spend long long hours looking in front of a glowing computer screen. Then once you finish you will have at the incredibly sense of accomplishment, but at the same time that sense of accomplishment will be mixed with a feeling of: “oh crap now I actually gotta convince someone to hire me.” And it will be DIFFICULT for every 100 resumes you send out you’ll get like maybe 1 response. My advice is that you are going to have to aim LOW. Junior level, intern, total entry level, hell you might have to consider unpaid internship because I’m telling you it is not easy to get someone to hire you a brand as new Bootcamp grad with no formal professional experience. That first job is going to be HARD to get, but the major value in the first job won’t be the pay it will be experience that your gaining.

Still interested? If so, here’s pros and cons of Coding Dojo specifically:

I think one of the main benefits that Coding Dojo offers is that it is one of the cheaper options out there (no small thing). I know a lot of other Bootcamps that were much more expensive. Other than price, one of the unique things about Coding Dojo is that they take you through 3 stacks. By far, this is one of the most distinctive characteristics of Coding Dojo compared to other Bootcamps. And there are benefits and drawbacks to this. The benefits are that you have a wider range of skills. This makes you eligible for a wider range of jobs. You don’t have to limit your search to purely one stack. The drawback is that while you have a wider range of stacks to draw from you haven’t had as much time in each one. In some ways you might feel like your just starting to get the hang of something (say Angular) and then boom time to move on to the next stack! So your skills will be wider, but that might mean that they’ll be a little more shallow as well. Towards the end you may want to start specializing and focuzing on getting good at that one thig, The other benefit about the Dojo is that they don’t kick you out the door the minute your done. They have solid career services and let you do a Residency program after your done. This can be helpful. Other than that, Dojo is as good as any program it's really about what you put into it. What you put in is what your get out.  

I had a college degree and 2 years of work experience in technical sales before going to Coding Dojo to make a career change. 

I was extremely impressed with Coding Dojo. They had a good online learning suite as well as good instructors. I was also very impressed with my classmates, as they were all dedicated and wanted to work hard and learn. 

Coding Dojo is not easy. It will require long days and a lot of effort to learn everything in so short a time. They also intentionally leave some things out of the instruction to force you to learn how to learn on your own (like you will in the real world). 

You'll get out of it what you put in. There is a career advisor that helps you with your resume, interviewing, etc, but a job isn't going to just land in your lap. There were some companies that came to codign dojo specifically looking for people to hire, but not so many that everyone gets hired by them. I didn't have too hard a time finding interviews since a lot of recruiters reached out to me on linkedin, but I did have to do a lot of work on my own to prepare for interviews and get my resume and linkedin profiles to look good. They are there to help you, but you need to be proactive about it. Overall they did a good job and I did end up with a job that I'm really happy with. I would definitely recommend coding dojo. 

Coding Dojo provides you with the tools to go from 0 to qualified Full Stack Developer; PERIOD. I am not going to bore you with the details as many here have gone into details about their own experience. Yes, I invested 60+ hours per week. Yes, the material was highly challenging. Click here if you want that story. Two important points to highlight that blew me away:

1. At the conclusion of the program, I was able to attend the career readiness week at the DC location, which was within a reasonable drive for me. This comprehensive program prepared me for the rigors of the actual job hunt. It made a huge difference in confidently approaching the job marketplace.
2. When I logged into the platform a few months after completing the program a decent amount of material was completely different. I cannot emphasize how important this is as they are updating the content to ensure bootcampers are learning skills and tools that are being used professionally. Compare that to some CS programs at colleges that haven’t changed their curriculum in more than 5 years and you see why that is a big deal. Many employers are seeing the value and versatility of hiring people that attended a solid coding bootcamp such as Coding Dojo.

Please keep in mind that you will not know everything when you complete the bootcamp AND THAT IS OKAY. Coding Dojo gets you to the front door of the job marketplace and prepares you to be an effective Junior Full Stack Developer. Employers are looking for (and hiring) Coding Dojo graduates. I had my first offer within 3 weeks of completing the bootcamp. My experience is not abnormal for those that put in the work. You 100% get out of it what you put into it. I would recommend investing time learning some programming basics before coming to Coding Dojo. No need to spend thousands of dollars to find out that you hate it. If you truly want to get a solid foundation and start a new career as a full stack developer then invest in yourself and attend Coding Dojo.

Joining Coding Dojo was one of the best decisions of my life. I can't say enough great things about it.

I walked into the onsite boot camp with no more than vague recollections of an "Introduction to Computer Science" course I took in high school over 20 years ago, and I have now been working as a full-stack developer for 6 months...and I LOVE it!

Shameless promotion of my alma mater, aside, here's the stuff you're probably looking for if you're reading these reviews:

Q: Is a boot camp right for you?
A: That really depends on you. I found it extremely helpful to be a semi-structured learning environment that kept me focused on the task at hand. Could I have learned the basics of three stacks on my own? Probably, but it would have taken me a lot longer than 14 weeks.

Q: Here's a question that I get often: Can I get anything out of it if I attend 40 hours a week?
A: My short answer is: probably not. I took it to the extreme and easily spent at least 80+ hours a week there (sometimes 100+) and I loved every minute of it. Remember, (for most of you) you're trying to pick up skills that will launch you into a career as a software developer...in 14 weeks. That's not a lot of time, folks. 3.5 months is over before you know it and, trust me, the more you put into it during your time at the Dojo, the gladder you will be when it comes time to start looking for your first position in your new career.

Q: Which segues nicely into the next question: Does Coding Dojo help you get a job after you graduate?
A: Coding Dojo does have advisors dedicated to helping you launch your new career as a developer. They help you build your resume and online presence, counsel and prepare you mentally for the job search process (Imposter Syndrome can be a big one) and put you in touch with prospective employers. They do so much more than that, and if you're really interested, I recommend getting in touch with your local branch and scheduling a tour. In the end, though, it all comes down to how much work you put into it during the program and how much you work you put into it during the job search. (Seeing a trend yet?)

Q: Okay, I'm sold. I want to join a boot camp, but why should I choose Coding Dojo over the other ones?
A: I can't speak to any of the other boot camps from personal experience, but I visited another boot camp in the area and spoken to some of their graduates and I am rather confident I made the right choice. If you're looking for a practical, hands-on way to learn how to program, I found Coding Dojo to be very effective. It's not a substitute for a Computer Science degree, but in 14 short weeks (and trust me, it's over before you know it), it can be a pathway to get your foot in the door of one of the most exciting and lucrative industries for the foreseeable future. The instructors are knowledgeable, friendly and helpful. The platform is designed to give you lots of hands-on experience, gradually introducing new concepts as you build on your foundations. The course is designed in such a way for you to become a self-reliant developer, able to solve problems on your own, but the instructors are there to provide assistance if you truly get stuck. Finally, I hadn't realized it at the time, but the algorithms that Coding Dojo builds into their morning routine can be a game changer both during and after the course. Not a lot of boot camps focus on them as much which can be a hindrance during the interview process.

Bottomline: If you're willing to put the work into it, Coding Dojo's onsite boot camp is an amazing program that will provide you with the tools you need to create an opportunity for yourself to work in software development. But learning how to program isn't easy and you have to really want it. Or better still, if you're really lucky, love it.

I came into coding dojo with no programming experience. I am a current university student who just wanted to learn how to code in python, and I didn't even know if I would like coding. However, Coding Dojo made me fall in love completely with programming and the skills I learned have opened me up to opportunities that most university students are unable to participate in.

The instructors are phenomenal and the experience is really yours to create. While no one is forcing you to come into the dojo, watching my cohort push through tough assignments and working together really motivated me to perform at my best. The onsite bootcamp is fantastic for getting help and being taught from experienced coders and for using your cohort as a support group.

I came out of coding dojo confident in my coding skills and more marketable when looking for summer internships in a wide variety of industries -- not just tech!

I highly recommend coding dojo to anyone who wants to learn how to code and is hungry for knowledge. The environment and the people make it the incredible program that it is.

Everyone says it and that's because it is so true; you get out of Coding Dojo what you put into it. I began the program with little coding background but decided I wanted to make a major change. I'm use to school coming fairly easily to me but that was not the case at the Dojo. Long hours and hard work are required. Daily algorithms and challenges check for understanding and the pace is very fast. There were several times when I really considered throwing in the towel but fortunately my cohort, instructors, and career advisor were incredibly supportive and convinced me to continue. I learned a ton during my time at the Dojo and got support when I needed it. I received a job offer prior to graduating so I did not have the chance to go through Career Week but have heard it was fantastic from my classmates. The platform did have some areas that needed attention but this is something that was being worked on. If you are serious about wanting to learn computer programming and willing to put in the time, I would definitely recommend Coding Dojo.  

My stacks(Frameworks): Python(Django/Flask) / MEAN (Angular 2+) / Java (Spring Boot)

To me, the most important thing to know about Coding Dojo, and perhaps any bootcamp or training program out there, is that you're only going to get out as much as you put in. Coding Dojo places a large emphasis on not just training people who can code, but people who can learn to code in any language they desire. They like to say that they don't train just programmers, they train self sufficient programmers. 

A big tennant of the program is the idea of "Strength through struggle" - meaning that often times, if you're stuck on something, they want you to spend 20 minutes trying to find a solution online, then 20 mintues working with your fellow students before going to your instructor. That doesn't mean they won't help, I've seen the instructors sit down for half an hour or more to help solve especially difficult or uncommon problems. They care, and they will help you whenever you need it, but they are also trying to prepare you for the day that you're on your own, a deadline looming, and for some reason your AWS instance keeps coming up 404 when you try to deploy the site you've been developing for the last month. 

They also place a large emphasis on learning the foundations of programming. This is why they take you through three full tech stacks over the course of three months. Not because you can actually become an expert in three stacks in three months, but becauseby learning three stacks from top to bottom in three months, you walk away with an understanding of programming concepts that range from simple conditionals and iteratives, to Object Oriented Programming and Database Management (SQL and NOSQL). 

Additionally, they run you through a 14 week Algorithm program to teach the basics of Computer Science and data structures. This also served as a great time to work with your cohort-mates and build relationships that will last beyond the dojo, when you're all graduated and you find support in the people you went through the program with.

At the end of my program, I participated in the month long residency designed to help make the transition from student to job-hunting developer. It's been great for helping me re-tool my resume, get a sense of what employers look for in cover letters, and how to best take advantage of my personal network, and how to effectively utilize online sites like Linkedin and AngelList. The only drawback was that the career counselor who was there for most of my time, left after the first week of residency to begin her new job. Obviously not ideal, but the majority of my residency was spent finalizing projects and getting them into my portfolio, so aside from the week dedicated to job hunting, I don't know how much of a difference it makes that our career counselor left before it was over.

I want to re-iterate what I said at the beginning, that you will get out of this what you put in. I put in something like 70 hours a week combined between time at the dojo and time coding at home. Most of my weekends were spent coding. I walked away with confidence in my ability to learn any programming language or related skill that will be asked of me in the future, a solid sense of Computer Science fundamentals, and a belief that I can find a successful career in this field. 

I decided to attend Coding Dojo for two reason: the people and the variety of technologies I would learn. A coding bootcamp is a huge time commitment and I wanted to learn in an environment where I enjoyed the people around me. I attended open houses and a Saturday workshop to get a feel for the environment, the people and the teaching style. There are a lot of good boot camps available and I believe that a large part of success is not finding the best, but finding the best personal fit for you.

Trying to learn three stacks in 14 weeks is a daunting task, and I knew that I would not have the same depth of knowledge as someone who may have spent that same amount of time focused on one technology. However, I saw several advantages to this approach. By learning several technologies I was also learning how to learn and use other new technologies in the future. It also gave me a chance to work under several frameworks with different advantages and disadvantages in order to better understand how and where to apply the technologies I was learning. With these skills I knew that I could always continue to grow my knowledge base as time went on and continue to improve myself.

The Coding Dojo was a place that transformed my career and I would certainly recommend it to anyone interested in learning how to code. That said, it is a lot of hard work, and requires a lot of preparation to be truly successful. Remember that this isn’t a traditional school and it doesn’t function like one. The onus is on the student to drive motivation and success. Be proactive in your learning, be curious and ask questions, don’t be afraid to fail.

If you are looking for a place with core resources to learn the foundation of web dev languages and also grow as a self-sufficient programmer then Coding Dojo is a right fit. I personally don't believe boot camps are for everyone because they are very intensive. But I also believe anyone with no prior experience that is patient enough to struggle through and self-motivated to put in the work will do excellently well.

I came into Coding Dojo with no prior CS/programming experience. I recently graduated with no just above 95% score on all my exams taken for 3 different courses but most importantly the confidence in building things on my own. I also had a lovely time at Coding Dojo because I didn't just connect with my classmates but also with the instructors and previous graduates. It's like a family there.

Counterintuitively, what you might find odd is that the instructors don't lecture as much, we were made to go through the notes on our own in most cases but obviously, ask for help if we got stuck. This I believe was a major key to my success. Struggling through the material and learning to figure things out on my own quickly shaped me into developer I'm today. For me, this was the most rewarding experience I got from the Dojo.

Again, boot camps aren't for anyone but anyone willing to put in the work and that understands the art of patience will be a perfect fit for Coding Dojo. I came all the way from Nigeria and everyone made me feel most welcome.

I had a fantastic experience at Coding Dojo.  It is definitely a full-on immersive course and the ~70 hour weekly expectation is very real.  It is an expectation and not a firm requirement as the instructors/staff will not chase you if you choose not to put in the time.  You'll get what you put into this, so I would highly recommend giving it your all.  There were certain times where I felt very comfortable with the material (more toward the beginning) and didn't feel the need to put in 70 hours and other times where I felt I was struggling or falling behind and put in more than 70.  

Your typical day will begin with an hour of algorithm white-board practice which is a key skill not only for programming but for upcoming technical interviews when you'll be searching for a job.  I would recommend being sure to attend these and pay full attention.  I do think that the brevity of these sessions and the group nature did leave a few people behind in understanding that may have relied on their stronger group members, but this is a great example of where those individuals could put in more time to catch up.  You'll then receive a lecture on a given topic before essentially moving into an open lab period where you will proceed on the Dojo's online platform.  Your cohort-mates and instructors will be available to help you if you're stuck, and I highly recommend taking advantage of this.  Many times working on difficult assignments in a group was highly beneficial to me.  

Generally the platform is excellent, clearly explains the given concepts and moves at a quick pace.  I will say that some of the platforms were better done than others, especially towards the beginning.  I took MEAN as a third stack and I believe it had just been revised and contained some typos and grammatical errors.  While not at all game-breaking, it was frustrating at times as coding requires a very precise attention to detail.  Those are also simply typographical errors that did not really affect the quality of the actual material.  Overall it was fantastic and perhaps my favorite element of the course as it let me proceed in the material at my own pace.

The instructors are also excellent, coming from a wide variety of backgrounds.  They are generally very supportive and helpful and made themselves available throughout the day.  

Just a few minor nitpicks - the actual building the Dojo is located in isn't the best - it's facilities are a bit outdated and it had some internet connectivity issues while I was attending there.  I do believe the Dojo is planning to move at some point and this certainly should not deter you from attending as the camp itself far outweighs any negatives.  Just pointing it out as it was a bit annoying on some rare occasions.  

I would overall highly recommend Coding Dojo.  I reviewed quite a few coding boot camps before deciding on Coding Dojo and maintain that I made the correct choice.  Good luck!

I graduated with a major in Health Services Administration in 2016 and worked as an IT technician through out my college career. I wanted to change my major to computer science and by the time when i developed my interest to learn coding I was already a senior so I didn't had the confidence to change my major and re-do my undergrad over-again. Shortly after my graduation I worked for a global company as a service desk analyst. Here I got to work along with the Business Analysts and programmers. One fine day at work, few of the new delopelopers stopped by and I was responsible to show them the applications we use at the service desk. So i started talking to them and asked them about their programming experience. Those progarmmers lerarned to code from some coding bootcamps with no previous coding experience. This huge inspired me to look for the coding bootcamps.  I started comparing multuple coding bootcamps and Coding Dojo stoodout for me. I applied for the program did the general interview. Once i was confirmed that I got into the program without even thinking for a second I gave two weeks notice to my manager and moved from Minneapolis to Seattle. Learning to code in only 14 weeks was the kind of opportunity i couldn't pass on. 

I have learned so much from coding dojo and from my cohort. Its been a month since I graduated from here and still looking for job. I have been able to create multiple projects on my own and I am glad I choose Coding Dojo over other bootcamps.