Coding Dojo

For some background, got my bachelors in Political Science about a decade ago, and coding was something I always wanted to do, but could never find the time in my previous job. After looking around and coding by myself for awhile, I eventually found coding boot camps in Chicago that might help me get over the coding hump. Went to the open house at the Coding Dojo, and I knew it was the place for me. I applied shortly thereafter, quit my job, and devoted the next 14 weeks to coding. The faculty was incredible, the material was great, and I managed to learn 3 full stacks in a short period of time. Just a month after graduation, I was offered a dev ops role in a great young company, and I couldn’t be happier with how everything turned out. Excellent resource for anyone looking to reinvent their career.

I tried to learn programming languages on my own through online resources like Coursera, Codecademy, and other online tools, and while they helped, I still couldn't piece so many different concepts together well enough to feel confident developing on my own. I also maybe didn't have the self-discipline to push myself to research things I didn't understand, often because I was just overwhelmed by the amount of information to sift through and was uncertain which things were actually relevant.

I had learned Java about 10 years ago, so to be fair, I did have some experience going into the bootcamp, which helped me get through the material relatively quickly compared to some, but I still learned so much, and those concepts that had seemed so disparate previously now all make sense and I feel much more comfortable reading documentation, understanding the big picture of all the different layers of technology, and learning new concepts and placing them coherently into my overall mental map. 

I like structure, so it was a bit of an adjustment at first because the Dojo, while curriculum-intensive, also maintains a very laid-back culture. The lectures are short (and more valuable if you're staying on pace) and the instructors deliberately don't tell you the answers to your questions immediately. Many of them will answer in the form of a question to try to help you reach your own conclusion. It may feel frustrating initially, but eventually you realize how rewarding it is to learn how to find your answers. The learning platform itself provides a solid foundation for knowing the right terminology, distinguishing between language-specific/framework-specific and general ideas, etc. Now I know how to ask (i.e. google) more educated questions, sift through and find relevant solutions, and actually understand the documentation I read!

I can only second so many of the others' comments--you get out of it what you put into it!

I went to the coding dojo from March 15th to June 30th, 2017. It was hard. We had some tough times as a cohort and many of my classmates would say the same. The difference is, I didn't let it phase me and I also didn't complain. Coding Dojo puts you through 3 Full Stacks of technologies, mine was Python, Mean, and Ruby (in that order). They're currently working on getting Java up and will soon add it. The instructors are helpful but stern. Chill but they make you do your assignments. And the algorithms, well, I don't like them but they are definitely needed in this field.

Day 1 you're taken through some HTML, basic algorithms, and some CSS. First 2 weeks are all front end and I had an upper hand because I had been working with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript previously. Sailing through took an abrupt stop once I hit python. I had never programmed anything like it before. Yes looking back it was easy and I shouldn't have freaked out but honestly, when you're in it, you're freaking out a little. Don't let that phase you, keep pushing. Same with life in general.

Probably the hardest thing that hit my cohort was our career advisor leaving. We had her for about a month and a half and she got an amazing job opportunity she couldn't pass up. Before that, I had already been in her office twice and went in a third time to get every ounce of knowledge out of her before she left. That's what YOU have to do. You go to any boot camp you have to be in it to win it. You can't just sit back and think it'll happen because it won't. Literally, I bugged her so much and asked probably stupid questions, same with coding and so on. I push myself and my teachers.

Once I got through Python things got like 5% easier. you've gone through flask and Django, so you know what a framework does but the MEAN stack kicks your butt. Like hard. Really hard. You stress so bad about it unless you're a JS king/queen and nail it down week 2. Getting all the parts together was stressful and I didn't know if I would pass my tests. It took me 4 tries but I finally got my black belt and bam, I was on to stack 3.

Ruby is Ruby, there's a lot of built ins you have to learn and rails make it a dream to get something going fast. The hardest part is the quires. They literally know it's so easy so they made the tests harder. But, come on, it's ruby.

Overall I'd give it a 4 out of 5 purely because I don't like giving 5 stars, no one is perfect and you shouldn't look for perfection. Look for the people who will tell you if this coding life is for you. Maybe it isn't and that ok. Maybe you should do something else in a tech company. My biased advice is to GO TO CODING DOJO, my unbiased advice is to research the competition. Only thing is most won't teach you 3 high in demand stacks. So do you but be 100% if you go to the Dojo.

Oh yea, I got a Job 3 months after the program as well.

I attended Coding Dojo with very little programming experience and a background in Finance. 14 weeks isn’t enough time to learn 3 different programming languages. However, it’s plenty of time to build self-doubt and unreasonable expectations that can sway your experience and results.

Coding Dojo has the resources to help you with your goal of being a developer but it’s up to you to take advantage of your resources. If you don’t plan on taking advantage of the resources provided by Coding Dojo, you would be better off learning to program by yourself at home.

You are surrounded by highly intelligent and motivated people. Become friends with your cohort mates they are your support system during and after the bootcamp. If you’re struggling with a topic, ask your cohort mates. On the other hand, if you overhear one of your cohort mates struggling to grasp a concept, offer your help. Some days your cohort mates will be frustrated and it can create a negative environment. It’s up to you to motivate everyone and be positive because your cohort mates will do the same for you.

Your instructors were once in your position and understand your struggle. They are successful developers themselves, they have friends that are developers, and most importantly they know the industry.

My instructor had qualities of a developer that I admired and after graduating, I asked her to be my mentor. She encouraged me to pursue my career as a developer when I had my doubts. She helped me communicate my new developer identity and until this day challenges me and holds me accountable for results. Additionally, I often met with the Coding Dojo career counselor and gained valuable advice which helped me to build my developer brand and attract employers with my old and newly acquired skills. 

At Coding Dojo, I built a foundation for future learning that eventually lead to becoming a self-sufficient programmer. I learned the key is accepting you will not understand everything right away, quickly moving forward, and not being afraid to ask for help. 

My experience might be different than others but Coding Dojo is a contributor to my success because I took advantage of opportunities outside of just learning curriculum.

I loved my time at Coding Dojo Chicago. The instructors are very knowledgeable and care deeply about student success. Their learning platform is great at providing a number of assignments in order to practice a new skill (as opposed to just being slide after slide of information). Students practice algorithms every morning, which allows exposure to computer science fundamentals like big O notation and data structures. After learning each stack (At the time of my attendance - Python/Django, Ruby on Rails, and MEAN), students can participate in a project week, which was my favorite part of the experience. It was great working on a longer-term project, putting our skills to use, and working on a team (practicing a loose agile methodology and collaborating over Github).

The fact that they teach three full stacks is a bit of a double-edged sword. On one hand, it allows students to get a wide berth of exposure to different languages and frameworks and potentially find a favorite or one they want to target in their job search. It also teaches you to learn new languages and frameworks quickly, as you'll have experience starting from zero at least three times. On the other hand, you can come out of it with experience that looks a bit shallow compared to someone who went to a bootcamp and studied one stack consistently for three months. My advice is to find your favorite and continue expanding your knowledge in that after graduating. (And overall, I prefer the idea of learning multiple stacks.)

I found the career services to be solid. There's a week after graduating devoted to coaching students on resumes, LinkedIn, etc. They also do a good job of bringing job openings and events to students' attention. The one problem with that is that it becomes a bit of a feeding frenzy toward the posted jobs and connections made at events, but I'm not really sure there's a good solution to that problem. I was able to find a job within a couple of months after graduating, as were my other cohort-mates who were in the top of our class. With that said, it wasn't an easy process. There's still a huge stigma around hiring bootcamp grads, and job searching (while simultaneously trying to continue coding) was more than a full-time job. If you plan on attending, definitely plan on not having a job for more than just the three and a half months of the bootcamp (and budget accordingly). 

Like everyone says, it's all about what you put into it. Most of my cohort-mates and I put in 10-12 hour days everyday and worked at least one day out of the weekend. I'd say if you're not ready to do that or don't want to, then this probably isn't the route for you. Additionally, I highly recommend putting significant time into programing before you come (at least a month or so of self-study) - not just html and css, but actual programming fundamentals (try taking some of CS50 or getting a good way through freeCodeCamp). While the program is designed to accommodate everyone, in my experience, those who had at least a decent amount of prior experience were able to hit the ground running and not struggle so much early on. Overall, I loved my time at Coding Dojo, and strongly recommend it. 

I went into the 14 week full time program with minimal at most programming experience. I came out of the program be very knowledgeable in 3 stacks. The online platform that they use can be improved in some sections but they are very prompted and helpful in correcting any errors you may find. I'd say the most valuable part of the bootcamp would be the teachers. They are very knowledgeable and ride the thin line between giving you all the answers and not really helping you at all. But riding this line is allows the students to better learn problem solving techniques and explore alternative option to fix an issue. 

I came out of the program and found work as a Microsoft contractor a few months later. It worked. It was hard. That said, this program and most other bootcamps are not for everyone. The program tries it's best to be inclusive and fun and all that, but the sad hard truth is most people who attend shouldn't waste their time and money.

There are really only 3 types of candidates:

1) People with no exp whatsoever, who are just chasing that mythic job for dollars, often with no higher education experience

2) Mid 20's people who got degrees in something they don't use, are tired of their current jobs.

3) Seasoned tech professionals who just don't know modern web stacks/languages.

The people who will be successful are group #3 and people from group #2 who are driven/hard working enough. The rest are the types who are probably the naysayers leaving negative reviews. Most of the time it's not an issue of ability, but one of expectation. People who haven't been through college often don't understand the hours/effort required to truly learn something. A lot of people who did go to college don't understand what it actually takes to get hired, and just assume (incorrectly) that showing up and getting a piece of paper is enough to get a job. 

The building is crappy - but you don't go to have a nice building. You go here to learn. People who judge a program based on anything else are just acting spoiled. 

The instructors are great, each one has a different angle. Jack has an amazing ability to communicate algorithms/time complexity. Ray is very caring and patient, and can explain things to people with no technical background in ways which make sense to them, if it still doesn't, he'll find a way. 

All that being said - the program is getting too greedy. They keep expanding class sizes with each cohort - and it's gotten out of control. Last I checked, their new class had 50 students. Ideally, 15-20 quality students is about right per instructor. The bootcamp needs to do a far better job with 'vetting' candidates to their bootcamp. 

Had I known about this practice I probably should have went to Galvanize or something like that - they actually require real tests/assignments before being accepted, and a friend in the current cohort only has 15 people in it - although their price tag is far less affordable. 

The Job assisstance was actually better than I expected, it definitely got rid of a lot of erroneous assumptions I had about finding jobs/the hiring process, and I say this as someone with an Engineering degree with professional experience. 

The coding experience itself is enough to get you going - it provides enough tools that you can go and learn on your own afterwards, but the program is by no means enough on it's own to snag you a job - it's up to you after that. 

After working 6+ years in the IT consulting, I decided I wanted to take a different direction in my career. I earn a degree in computer science but never got into the web technologies. After doing research about the different web dev accelerators, I decided on Coding Dojo.   

The variety of content offered via the three stacks platform. The instructors are constantly adjusting their teaching styles to better suit every individual student's needs. The small cohort size allowed me to get the attention and coaching I needed to succeed.

My cohort was the third group of students to study at the Chicago location, there were changes during my time there. There were instructors from the Seattle location on loan until they could find Chicago-based instructors. All the instructors were great, though some were a bit rigid in their teaching style. The community manager has been active in helping students find employment after graduation. 

The learning is done via an in-house platform that allows students to apply self-paced learning. That style of learning works for me, but some might want more of a lecture-centric environment. The typical day starts off with a short lecture covering the previous night's reading assignment, followed by white-boarding algorithm solutions, the remainder of the day involves working on coding assignments and perhaps a demo from the instructor for the stack. 

I attended Coding Dojo, with virtually no development experience. As the program moves fast, I learned a great deal within that relatively short time span. Learning 3 Full stacks allows for you to understand development principles much better, as well as how they can compare to each other. As someone who always learned best through comparison, this really benefitted my learning. In addition, I find myself much more able to learn new technologies over someone who learned only one stack. 

This bootcamp is by far the best learning experience that I have ever had, including attending a 4 year university, and could not recommend it more.

As I am still looking for a job, the Coding Dojo staff are active in the process trying to place it's students into Chicago companies. Their active approach I believe maximizes success, as I feel that I will land a desired role soon.

I recently graduated and am freshly entering the tech world, so I don't know how the tech industry is as a whole, but I really enjoyed the environment at Coding Dojo. The instructors and my fellow students were all very friendly, and the vibe was generally very relaxed and easy going. There is a biegarten literally a 1 minute walk away and that also made the experience extra fun. With that said, learning to code requires dedication and persistance. One of the rules at the Coding Dojo is that when you are coding, you need to first struggle for 20 minutes before asking help from an instructor or TA. You can ask a fellow student, but you guys must also struggle for 20 minutes first. This may seem counter intuitive too many at first, but in my opinion this is a great policy. This really teaches you to become more self reliant, creative in searching for solutions, and a better problem solver. This is also a simulation of the coding environment in the real world. BUT with that said, if you're completely stuck on something and you gave your best effort, definitely ask for help after 20 minutes. There's no point in being stuck for longer than that. The TAs and instructors that I've worked with have all been very intelligent and helpful. They can find the problems in your code no problem, but they want you to try by yourself first. When you actively engage your obstacles, that's how you really internalize what your doing. If someone just handed you all the answers, it may feel good at first but it would be hindering your long-term growth. 

I'm a big fan of the learning platform offered by the Dojo. I've heard different opinions from various people, but for me it provided me all the tools to delve into coding and eventually build web apps. I personally learn a lot better by doing projects as opposed to heavy lecture based curriculum. The Dojo provides demos and lectures, but I still prefer learning by reading and doing. Before I came to the dojo, I learned html/css/jquery, basic javascript and python through code academy but nothing related to servers or databases. In fact, I've never even heard of many of the technologies we learned. By going through the Dojo, I've been able to develop web apps that are currently deployed (online) which is awesome in such a short amount of time. Still, with that said, it took a lot of hard work and long hours (70-90 hours a week for me). Nothing will be handed to you. Just because you enroll doesn't mean you'll magically become an awesome coder. You have to earn and struggle through every obstacle and achievement you make. 

Ok I feel like I've started rambling a bit. My take home message is the Coding Dojo provides a great environment to learn. You have to embrace struggling because coding is hard. Help is always around the corner, but try try try by yourself first. And just like anything in life, the more you put in the more you get out. 

Before I came to the Coding Dojo, I had a background in biotech. I graduated college with a degree in Biochemistry, and then worked in that industry for a bit before realizing it wasn't a good fit for me. I had a feeling that would be the case before I even graduated college, but I decided to play it out a bit and see how it went. While I was still in college, I was starting to look into coding, but I didn't do so very seriously until after I started working and realized it wasn't going to work out. I did a lot of research on the bootcamps in the area, and after talking to some graduates from the Coding Dojo that had jobs right out of the program, I decided to go with it.

The experience there was almost overwhelmingly positive. The environment was great, super laid back, and working together to solve problems was encouraged. All the instructors seemed like they really wanted you to succeed, and between them and the TAs there, there is always someone you can ask for help, even to things unrelated to assignments. The amount of work you have to put in to be successful is no joke, when people say 60-70 hours a week they mean it. More would help. There are a LOT of concepts to cover, and between learning the basics of algorithms, frameworks, and different languages, there is no shortage of things to learn. Keeping on schedule with assignments can be pretty tough sometimes, a lot of people tend to fall behind by a day or so by the end of each stack.

The general layout of the program is as follows. The first 2 weeks are spent learning the basics of algorithms, HTML, and CSS, and touching a bit upon Ajax, jQuery, and Git/GitHub. Then everyone moves to the first stack, which is always Python, since it is a great starting language for most people for a variety of reasons. The layout of the stacks is the same. The first week is spent learning the language, and beginning to integrate it into HTML. The second and 3rd weeks then cover either the single framework you are using, broken into its component pieces, or initially a simpler framework (to teach basic concepts) and then the actual framework you will learn. At the end of the 3rd week, you have a test called the Belt exam, where if you score higher than a 9.5/10 you get a "Black Belt." It's very challenging to do this, because it is timed, and you build a project from scratch. Definitely doable, but most don't get it on their first try (you can retake it several times). Then the last week is spent working on a project, usually in a team, before presenting it at the end of the week. The project can be anything of your choosing, preferentially in the framework you just learned but that isn't required.

After the 3 stacks, there is a month of the residency program. When I went there, that had just changed to a new format, one that I found very helpful. The first week is spent going over the job hunting process, interviews, technical questions, and LinkedIn stuff. Just overall career outreach and what your next steps should entail. The remaining 3 weeks is time to touch up portfolios, finish projects/stacks/belt exams, and learn about some more advanced concepts that people vote on every day. These will range from computer science concepts to more job-related things, depending on what is on everyone's mind that day. There is also some more technical question practice during this time, and getting that down is very important.

In terms of honest criticism, there are a few holes in the experience, though I felt like they were being addressed fairly and in a reasonable amount of time. The platform occasionally had some outdated/incorrect info, but reporting this had it dealt with fairly quickly, and frameworks change pretty often so it can be hard to keep up with every last detail the exact moment it happens. Parking was a nightmare, and the solution was to just not have people park on site anymore, which should start soon if it hasn't already. This is actually better than having 150 people fight over 10 parking spots by seeing who can get there first, so this also seems fair in my book. You will not get feedback on assignments by just turning them in, as there is way too much for a few instructors to go over every day. However, you can get feedback on anything if you ask for a code review with an instructor. You just have to be proactive about asking questions. 

Overall, the experience was fantastic, and you will get out what you put into it. It's not a degree, so you don't get a piece of paper that entails you to easy access to the interview process. You have to prove yourself to recruiters and employers with code you have written via projects you worked on, so take that seriously. I know some people complained about this program, but honestly I can say that I know these kind of people (we had a few in our cohort). They would only occasionally show up and didn't really seem like they wanted to learn, just that they wanted a job in a field that pays well. If you decide to go this route, make sure it is actually what you want to do, and you will have fun even in the midst of 70+ hours of coding a week. I had a ton of fun, met a lot of amazing people, and made quite a few new friends. I am 2 weeks out of the program and interviewing at 4 different places already. I am moving faster than most of the other people from my graduating section, but it's definitely doable, especially if you are proactive about this process.

My decision to come here was one of the best decisions I have ever made, and if you honestly want to get into this field and learn how to code, this is the place to do it.

I first heard about programming boot camps on the radio and I always wondered how much someone can actually learn if they immerse themselves in a subject for a full three months. My previous programming experience was limited to a compulsory CS course from back in college in Matlab, so I had the advantage of already being familiar with concepts like if/else statements, for/while loops, arrays (often treated as matrices in Matlab), and nightmares about recursion. When I decided to enroll in Coding Dojo, I showed my friend who is a web developer a list of all the technologies I would be learning and he seemed incredulous that it would be possible to learn all of it. So I initially approached the boot camp with a bit of skepticism and the goal to get as much out of the experience as I could.

I soon found that both the coursework and the instruction was superb. I feel you really get exposed to a good cross section of web development. I cannot understate the time commitment that is expected however. I spent 70+ hours a week programming, and I did not witness anyone who was successful in the program that didn't dedicate a similar amount of time. The pace was grueling, but I somehow found myself waking every morning re-energized and excited to learn new things and interact with my classmates and the instructors who are genuinely fun to be around. Ultimately, three months had passed and in the process I had learned three full stacks, developed the ability to self-learn new languages, and made life-long friends.