Coding Temple

My instructors, Dylan and Christian were top notch. They were professional, patient, willing to reflect, and clearly know what they are doing. They are good at giving positive feedback, regardless of the situation, and make an effort to avoid embarrassing anyone. All the qualities of good teachers.  The curriculum is as much as you could realistically pack into the allotted time-frame.  As such, expect to do a ton of learning after you graduate, to prepare for the workplace.  The course itself is HARD.  Well, it's hard near the end. Surely you see advertisements saying "anyone" can learn to code at one of these bootcamps.  In my opinion, you need to be above average at math, logic, and puzzle-solving, and you need to enjoy these subjects as well.

I wish there had been more reviews before I enrolled; perhaps I would not have made the mistake of enrolling in this program. This is why I want to share my experience — so that others know what they are getting into. I enrolled in the self-paced program because that is how I have always learned best; however, I could not learn from their online instructor. Based on the many positive reviews, I am assuming their online classroom training is much better; but their self-paced program is more recent (since Covid), and the instructor is new, so the overall positive reviews of this program are very misleading.  If you have ever tried to learn a musical instrument, I am guessing the teacher did not tell you to watch him play something and then copy what he did. But that is how this teacher imagined I would learn software engineering — watch a video of him coding a problem, and type along — exactly what he typed. Well, everything I copied off of him worked, as it should; but when I went to work on the assignments, I still had no idea what I was doing. All I knew was how to type along to the instructor, and he was NEVER available to help me with the assignments — not once in the four months I attended. His solution? All the explanation I need could be found online; if I get stuck, just google it. This may be true, but then I don't need to pay thousands of dollars for a bootcamp. The assignments took three to four times as long to complete because I was spending so much time on Google looking for explanations to help me complete them. This would not be so bad, except I enrolled in a part-time class because I am still working full-time. So now I am taking three to four times as long to complete each course; which they allow, but you have to pay them an additional $1500/month while you're figuring it out for yourself using Google.  I will not say it is impossible to complete the self-paced course; but if you do not already have a good understanding of the courses being taught, be prepared to spend a lot more time and money than you think.

I wanted to take a moment to express my sincere appreciation for the incredible experience I had at Coding Temple and to give a special shoutout to my dedicated instructors, Sean Currie and Dylan Smith.  Both Sean and Dylan created a positive and inclusive learning environment that fostered growth and collaboration.

Throughout my time with Coding Temple,  I want to thank Dylan Smith for his unwavering support throughout the Bootcamp. Dylan’s teaching style was engaging and insightful, making complex concepts much more approachable. His willingness to share real-world examples and his patience in addressing our questions were truly commendable.

I’d also like to acknowledge the dedication and commitment demonstrated by Sean Currie which truly stood out. Sean’s tireless efforts and his “helicopter parent” approach made a world of difference in my learning journey. His after-class hours were an invaluable opportunity for me to gain a deeper understanding of the course material and clarify any doubts I had. I could always count on Sean to go the extra mile, ensuring that no student was left behind. His passion for teaching was evident, and his guidance was instrumental in my progress. My rapport with Sean was fantastic, and his dedication to his students deserves recognition.

For anyone considering enrolling in a coding bootcamp, I highly recommend that you choose Coding Temple for your education. I recently graduated from their part-time software engineering program (full-stack web development). Completely remote (zoom). 

Let me just say that I had a lot more fun than I expected to have during this coding bootcamp. My instructors, Christian and Dylan, were very good at keeping our classes light and fun yet structured and concise. And they were able to do this even though they needed to get through the material quickly as to leave time after classes for any one-on-one meetings we needed to have. They're definitely up there with some of the best instructors I've ever had in school. Not only did they make the bootcamp an enjoyable experience but they also are excellent communicators. Their ability to package complex ideas into simple, easy-to-understand concepts is truly impressive and something that I myself strive to emulate. While they would walk us through a new language or concept, they were super patient with us asking questions and almost always gave good clarification. Whenever one of us had an issue in our code that we couldn't resolve, Christian or Dylan was able to find the solution. Honestly, any problem I showed them, they knew how to solve and usually rather simply. Additionally, I always had at least one of them for outside-of-class help. I can't tell you how many meetings I had with Dylan and he always put me back on track or nudged me in the right direction on how to do something I struggled with.

And once you graduate from your program, you'll still be in good hands with the career specialists who will walk you through building your portfolio (projects to show employers), polishing your resume and LinkedIn profile, as well as preparing you for the technical side of interviews (whiteboards -> problem solving). I am currently in this stage as a graduate and so far, the instructors have made it really easy for me. 

Now, I feel as though I was only able to get this type of good experience from my instructors because I put in the work. And I can honestly say that I cared about the work I was doing and, therefore, reaped the benefits of my instructors answering my questions well and showing me new ways to do something. Simply put, you get out what you put in. I'm sure many people have/will say this to you and it's so true.

So, if you enjoy programming and building projects that you get excited about, you really owe it to yourself to find a good education that can provide that foundational knowledge. And I absolutely believe that Coding Temple is one of the best places to do that.

I was in a group of 6 for my cohort which made for a more intimate experience in this bootcamp. The instructors are brilliant! Not only from a technical perspective but from a personal one as well. My instructor was Brandt Carlson, he was always ready to give a fully fleshed out answer to any questions you may have. Always ready to take a peak at your work and go through as many issues as you needed him to and he was just as good at keeping the atmosphere fun, lighthearted, and comedic in class. Brendan Carlson was his teaching assistant for some time before being pulled away to other duties. He is also technically brilliant and a very genuine, warm individual. The program isn't exactly easy so it's very fortunate to have people like this who will at least warm up the environment and reliably help you through any issues you may be having!

The software development course at Coding Temple was fast paced and challenging, My instructors Christian Askew and Dylan Katina were extremely patient with our class. They continuously found ways to articulate and clarify complex concepts in a way that I could comprehend despite my lack of prior coding experience. They offered constructive criticism, advice, and encouragement all along the way. The T.A.'s I received assistance from(Robert, Sarah, and especially Brendan) were just as helpful and patient. T.A.'s were basically available everyday except Friday. My only complaint would be that due to my work schedule I still sometimes struggle to find time for additional work with my instructor or an T.A. Overall this was a great experience that I would recommend to anyone dedicated to learning and advancing their knowledge in software development.

I have just completed the Full Time Software Development bootcamp and it was a great 10 week journey of learning. The instructors (Alex, Ryan, and Brendan) were truly amazing and so patient, positive, and knowledgeable. I received so much valuable feedback and tidbits of knowledge that I would never have gotten with a self-study approach. There were also many opportunities for building relationships with classmates and learning how to work in teams within a software context with people of various different personalities and strengths. This experience was invaluable going forward into the job search. The projects, homework, and capstone also pushed me to learn the lecture contents in more depth and apply them to a real world application or project. 

This bootcamp does move really fast and it feels as if we are skimming the surface of each of these core subjects including HTML, CSS, Python, JavaScript, Flask, SQL, and React such that I don't feel entirely comfortable with any one thing afterward. However, it does give you good exposure to be able to decide a core area of interest that you could direct your focus on going forward with continued self-study. I liked the structure of each day too, in that there was often several hours of post-class review where we could often get 1:1 assistance from the instructor with any problems we were having. This allowed a good mix of independent learning, but also hands-on guidance.

I also appreciated the daily whiteboard coding problems in class as it forced me out of my comfort zone with problem solving and talking about my code and thought process. The instructors were always positive and supportive through these nerve-wracking situations, but also tough. This provided good preparation for future technical interviews and also just learning algorithms and logic important for software projects in general. 

There were also several opportunities outside of class to continue to expand one's skills, including several whiteboard workshops, career development workshops, and TA after hours assistance. I have not started the Alumni portion of the program, but it appears we have career support for as long as we need it and access to continuing workshops and Slack groups.

One reason I also chose this bootcamp was the Job Guarantee. The process of meeting all the expectations necessary to continue to qualify for this guarantee sounds quite intense, but seems it could be worth it if I am able to get a job in a reasonable time period. 

Overall, this was a great experience, with great people, both staff and classmates, and has really gotten me inspired and optimistic about a career change to software development.

This Coding Temple bootcamp is no walk in the park, it's a lot to take on! But if you're determined to level up your coding skills, it's totally worth it. The instructors and teaching assistants are amazing, always there to help, and there's even after-hours support available. Plus, the career services after graduation are a fantastic bonus. Personally, I had the pleasure of being taught by Alex & Ryan, and they were simply phenomenal. If you're ready to code like your life depends on it, don't hesitate to dive in! Highly recommended.