Coding Dojo

(This is coming from someone with a CS background)

Overall good experience from the coding dojo. I already knew a few programming languages prior to the bootcamp so the overall experience wasn't too difficult. 

As for people who didn't have any coding experience, the initial phase seemed to weed out those who didn't prepare for the bootcamp effectively. I would highly recommend doing the pre-bootcamp work before the bootcamp starts if you do not have any coding experience.

Make sure to go to algorithms in the morning, even though many people seem to think that it is not important. When interviewing, you are guaranteed to be given alogorithm questions.

Also, make sure to invest quality time on your end-of-stack project. These projects are going to be critical for your resume so dont skip doing the projects just because they dont get graded. In my opinion, a strong project is much more important than getting a black vs a red belt.

I have not found a job yet, but I have only started searching recently. The seattle location is currently looking to hire a recruiter to work at the dojo and help alumni, so I will be utilyzing that option once it becomes available if I need to.

I came into the coding dojo with already a background in Computer Science,(I have a mscs) and a goal in mind to refocus my career towards development as well as to learn new technologies.

I have to say I enjoyed every day I attended, the instructors were super helpful and cheerful, you can tell they like their job by the passion they demonstrate during lessons and the immediate willingness to help with any problems you may have. That being said, it is a very demanding curriculum and you're expected to not just look at the instructors for answers, but to challenge yourself to research and solve it first.

I won't say the bootcamp is for everyone, it is meant to teach you the basics of 3 fullstacks so that you can take that knowledge and build on it on your own.

If you're in a similar situation to mine, or if you want to learn coding but don't want to be confined to one technology, I would no questions recomend this course. If you're, however, looking for a course to teach you a particular techonoly very in depth, I don't think this would be your best bet.

I highly recommend the onsite-bootcamp that Coding Dojo offers. Before I began the course, I spent years working odd jobs with no real career path. I had always been good with computers and was curious about programming. After doing some research and attending a couple of free intro classes at Coding Dojo, I decided to enroll. It has been one of the best descisions I have made.

If you put in the time and do all the work the way you are supposed to, you will be in a great position to find a job a few months after graduating. I was easily spending 10 hours a day on campus...but it wasn't hard to maintain those hours. The curriculum was engaging and very practical. You always had the sense that you weren't learning anything you didn't need to know, and were being put in a position to master the skills employers are looking for. The instructors are all extremely knowledgeable and are always there to help. Don't be afraid to ask questions!

Post bootcamp, Coding Dojo offered guidance throughout the job search. It is important to note that the program doesn't actual place you, but if you take their advice and learn through their experience in the field, you will be in a great position to land your first developer role. Don't expect to land something right away though. It took me almost 7 months to land my current job, but I ended in a position where I'm truly happy -- which was the whole point of the career change! You need to keep working as hard as you did during the bootcamp on your own -- building out your portfolio and sharpening your skills. If you do this, the hardwork will all be worth it. 

If you're not prepared to work extremely hard, this is not the path for you. This is all about commitment. You have to put in the long hours and want to learn the material. No job is going to hire you just because you went to a bootcamp. You must put in the work. 

The Dojo had a wonderful staff all around. I truly enjoyed my time there and couldn't recommend it enough to any prospective student who's seriously looking for a career change. Good luck! 

I came into the Coding Dojo bootcamp with very little prior coding experience. However, I found out that becoming a good developer is possible even if that person had totally different background. I also came from a different background and decided to change my career to Web developer after taking a basic Python course from online. One of the reasons I want to become a web developer is that I can create whatever I can think of with coding.  In order to learn more and improve my coding skills, I decided to attend a coding bootcamp.

The reasons I chose Coding Dojo were that it offers 3 full stacks and also has a great curriculum. I gained a lot of knowledge and learned a lot from there within 14 weeks. The instructors are really helpful and knowledgeable. Their teaching strategies are really helping us to become efficient developers. Their 20 minutes rule is training us to become independent and self-sufficient developers since we have to figure out how to fix the bugs and how to improve our codes on our own by reading documents online when we work in tech industry.

I also like their career advising since the advisor is really helpful and provides us a great source of strategies and tips in networking and interview processes.

I really recommend Coding dojo to future web developers who are willing to learn and put a lot of efforts in order to become a self-sufficient developer. 

Before Coding Dojo, I was looking for a career switch. I had a degree in Chemical Engineering, but had realized that I had no passion for a career as a process engineer. I was introduced to Coding Dojo through reviews and blogs online, and decided to go for it. After 14 weeks of the program, I came out with 2 job offers, a portfolio of functioning web applications, and a new found passion and knowledge for software engineering. Coding Dojo was an intensive program that you get what you put into; the instructors were always available and amazingly knowledgable. Not only did they always assist and provide guidance for the required projects and assignments, they also aided with side projects and technology stacks and concepts that were beyond the scope of the course, but were of interest of myself and other students. I am so grateful for my experience and knowledge I have gleaned from this program.

I am a Coding Dojo alumni, completed the program in 2017. I had the best and the most challenging time of my life. If you trust the program and the platform you’ll be amazed at what you get out of it and what you’ll know and be capable of at the end. 

When you’re being told you’ll become a self sufficient developer, that it most certainly true.  

One thing thought, it is challenging but I feel it’s also up to you as well at how deep you want to get into a language or tool and completing all the optional tasks, which I highly encourage.

About the program itself, I would suggest to spend a little bit of time on focusing on test driven development and some on code quality/cleanliness but I do understand it won’t be a short program anymore.

I never regretted picking up this Bootcamp specifically, I got out of the bootcamp knowing 3 full stacks (and I actually took the 4th optional for myself) honestly on my everyday job I am coding in all 4 languages 🤪, got pretty lucky they offered exactly these stacks.

Thank you to all the instructors and founders and whoever supports the program! 

As many, I was very skeptical entering an online bootcamp that costs over $5000, after doing some research I found out that they allow for scholarships. I applied for the diversity Scholarship and was awarded $500 off, and they were also running a sale at that time so my total for tuition came out to $4000. Not bad taking into account the fact that they also were very flexible with my installment plan dates.

Upon entering their started courses I was a bit overwhelmed, but was quickly helped by one of the instructors on where to find my course material, what to study, and how to properly prepare for the Python course (lots of precourse algorithms to get your mind prepared). They also had a Mattermost group where you can find live help from instructors and tutors, all of which I found as a great tool.

The initial course was a web development fundamental course which was very easy and straight forward as I have experience in Frontend Development, and ended up passing that with 98%. The next course however was a whole new world for me as it dealt with Python, Django, Flask, Jinga2, and MySQL very heavily, none of which I had worked with prior. I must say I really enjoyed Python, as it was loosesly typed just like JavaScript, yet so powerful for a severside programming language. Passed that course fine as well. Then came the MEAN Stack course (MongoDB, Angular, Express, and Nodejs). The beginning was great and easy to pick up on if you know a bit of JavaScript, however as the course progressed I felt things started moving fast, I ended up only having weekends to do assignments which was a big regret later. Ended up passing the course on my 2nd try and got a Red belt (2nd highest belt).

Pros: Overall my goal was to learn more about MEAN stack and be able to comfortably build fullstack applications, I gained the knowledge to do so, and then some. I am very satisfied with the results. I do wish they went over more on Object Oriented Programming on an advanced level, as that's what most employers seek these days.

Cons: Some of the coursework moves too fast, if you don't practice prior or do your own research, you will be left behind (however there is Mattermost and instrucors to help). It's best to be prepared at all times in order to be successful with your learning goals.

Attending Coding Dojo was a great experience for me. I wanted to get some practical experience with web development, and the curriculum and instructors were really top notch. With an emphasis on doing, I was able to to create simple websites with a small backend and database in three different tech stacks. The daily emphasis on algorithms and data structures was excellent interview preparation. The teachers were knowledgeable, talented, and very helpful. Only complaint would be that there isn’t a formal internship or employer hiring pipeline, but they do teach you how to find a job.

If you are coming into this bootcamp with absolutely no programming experience (like I did), I highly recommend taking a few free online courses beforehand, in the languages you will learn. For a brand new person who may not be very tech savvy, it is exTREMEly challenging and frustrating. You should expect to spend at least 10 hours a day (including a weekend day) on the massive amount of coursework. Now if you have any programming experience, you may not find it to be this way.  It may be much easier for you, for it was for a couple of my classmates who had personal, not professional, experience. 
Add'l words of advice: 
Become strong on algorithms! Those technical interviews are important. I recommend beginning algorithm study before the bootcamp (in addition to what is in the bootcamp pre-coursework).

DO Strong projects during project week!! Otherwise, after you have graduated you will be trying to get strong projects together. 

Start STRONGLY looking for jobs at the beginning of your third stack. Networking is PARAMOUNT in this endeavor.

After a taking a winding path through life I was drawn to Coding Dojo by the lure of the programming world. It was time, I realized, to embrace a mindset oriented around strategic growth. There were a myriad of accelerated learning courses to choose from. I chose the Dojo. I set out across the counry to attend the course in person hoped the days ahead would be transformative.

There was no way of knowing, at this point, that I would meet so many fantastic people in the months to come. There was no way of knowing how much I would walk away knowing. But that's beside the point, because I know now. 

In four months -- too short -- we went from command line illiterates to command line innovators. We learned how the web and its Domain Name Server works (the phonebook analogy is simple, but oh so accurate). We were introduced to frontend and learned the importance of HTML, CSS, and Javascript in crafting client-side webpages. After the fundamentals were hammered into us it was time to progress to true, monolithic coding languages: Python, Java, MEAN, C#, Swift... we learned the importance of setting up our coding environments correctly. Some languages won't run without the proper sandbox. We dove into Object Oriented Programming, creating models that instantiated model managers in order to implement stored functions. We wireframed, built, and deployed full applications. 

I can go on. The scope of information that Coding Dojo whisks its students through is vast. It's easy to feel lost in the information at hand. But clever students will realize that this is a lesson too. Few skills are more important to a programmer than the ability to parse information quickly and effectively. No matter who you are, as you go through this course you will fall into a love triangle with two omniscient programs: Google and StackOverflow. They are exponentially more intelligent and well read than you. Ask them questions. Use them as the tools they are. It's critical to your success. 

Looking back I have nothing but a deep gratitude for the instructors and the students who, to a (wo)man, inspired me to learn more by being so hungry to learn more. Four months of eleven hour days and at the end of those days a new world entire, for each of us, built by the effort. 

Here's to a fall in Seattle devoted to the pursuit of incremental success, strategic growth, ping pong duels and top pot feasts. Here's to instructors like Ray and Noelle, for putting in the long hours to help those struggling with new concepts and cheering us up with snippets from Hamilton. Here's to my classmates, my friends. Rachel, Evan, Franz, Andrei, the Maces...salud. And long live the Dojo. 

Hello, my name is Isaac. I attend Coding Dojo in Feb 2018, graduated in May. I am here to share with you my experience at Coding Dojo.

Choosing a Bootcamp: 

Quitting my previous career and going to coding bootcamp was a very big decision for me, I know it was the turning point in my career, even in my life. I was taking this move very seriously. The first question was which bootcamp should I chose.

I believe if you did any research at all, you already know Coding Dojo’s curriculums, offering three different stacks, allowing you to work in different languages. I don’t have to share things you already know, I just want to share with you my experience on choosing bootcamp.

I spent lots of time researching, comparing bootcamps and attending a few bootcamps’ open houses.  I have to say Coding Dojo’s open house gave me the best impression, not because they provided very delicious sandwiches during the event, but most importantly, I had some very good conversations with the instructors and career advisor. Moreover, I even talked to the students directly, asked them about the studying experiences. Almost every student was very enthusiastic, they shared with me their backgrounds, their projects, why they attend a bootcamp and what they had learned and etc. I felt a very motivated, positive, friendly and energetic atmosphere.

I also have many IT friends from Silicon Valley because I went to college in the Bay Area. I asked them about coding bootcamp, I felt Coding Dojo has a good reputation. Most of my friends are recommending Dojo, some of them even had colleagues that were Coding Dojo graduates.

In terminus of tuition, I don't Coding Dojo’s is the most expensive bootcamp. Actually, after my research and comparison,  I felt all bootcamp tuition is not much different from each other, they are all in the same range. When I applied Coding Dojo, there were different scholarships opportunities. I applied one called “Career Change Scholarships” (sth like this) and I got approved. There was also an early enrollment discount. So, I think I saved almost 2k in total. (Yeah~~~) 

Bootcamp market is very competitive nowadays I guess. There are more and more bootcamps now than before. I believe most bootcamp are teaching students great skills. However, I think the most important factor is ourselves. Success requires hard work, otherwise, even attending the best bootcamp (if there is one) will NOT make anyone success.

My Experience at Coding Dojo:

It has been a year and a half since my graduation, I miss my study at Coding Dojo a lot. I had some very good time and learned lots of incrediable skills that are still benefiting me at my work. I am still connected to some of my cohort mates because we became good friends.

The daily study is pretty intense and the pace is fast, but it is totally acceptable. There were group algorithms work every morning, then followed by morning lecture, the instructor will lecture on the new concept. There was afternoon lecture in most days. Where the instructor will go over some of the challenging assignments to make sure everyone is understanding the concept. The rest of the day, we were studying on the platform. (The platform is very well designed I think, I even subscribed the whole year alumni pass after my graduation.) There are readings and videos supporting students to understand the knowledge, as well as assignments to practice. Every day, we had our end of day goal (EOD), in order to achieve the EOD, it required hard work. My advice to you, work hard, be focused, do NOT waste time, finish all the lectures and assignment and keep up the pace. This is very important!!!

After each stack, we will have the exam. Taking the exam is NOT mandatory or required. Students are allowed to postpone the exam if not ready. The exam result is not going to affect anything. However, just from my personal opinion, I highly recommend to take the exam and get a good result. It proves that you have learned and mastered the knowledge you learned from bootcamp. Falling to pass the bootcamp exam is NOT a good evidence to prove that you are qualified for a professional developers’ job. (Well, if your goals are not to be a professional developer/engineer, please disregard my words. ) We have time to work on group projects after the exam. The project is basically whatever you want to build. Normally students can come up with very brilliant ideas and develop some amazing projects. Some people say projects are more important than exams. I personally think they are equally important.  Getting black belts (Grade A) from all exams could make you stand out on your resume. You can prove that you are a top student from your bootcamp and you are ready and qualified for the professional career.

Like I said previously, Coding Dojo provides a very energetic, motivated, positive and friendly study environment. Instructors are answering questions patiently at any time. My cohort mates are looking out for each other, we help each other, we learn and grow together.  Even though the study path wasn’t easy, but it was full of fun.

Job hunting experience:

Now, I am a full-time software developer working at an awesome IT company in Orange County, CA. I love my job, I love development work. 

Job hunting could be very stressful. Coding Dojo offers two weeks of career training. There will be resume evaluation, technical interview questions, interview skills training, mock-up interview and etc. The career advisor will share all possible hiring leads. The training session could be very helpful.

No bootcamp can guarantee any job. Someone can get very lucky, some are not. I know some graduates from my previous cohort got hired from good companies right after their graduation. However, some super smart graduates have to wait for their offers. Job hunting is NOT easy. I started my job hunting in early September and received my offer two months later. During that time, I went to many job fairs, applied average 30 - 40 jobs per week, complete my online profile on many job searching sites. I have also finished a few cool projects which I always show to my interviewer during interviews. Again, job hunting is NOT easy, You have to be positive, confident, motivated, full of hope and eager for success.

Conclusion:

I think I made a good decision of going to coding bootcamp, I love my job. I am happy.