Constructor Academy

Propulsion Academy allowed me to re-orientate my career away from mainframe technology, or at the least, augment that skill-set with web technology.
The preparation work was intensive and pretty much gave me a sneak-peak into what was to come. Even though I was an experienced software engineer, I was pleasantly yet extremely challenged by the workload.The course was well structured yet allowed for some flexibility where needed. The exercises were very engaging and allowed me to apply my learning and build a portfolio of software products I could show to prospective employers. To cap off the course, I had to present my capstone project at a "Meetup" type of setting, which turned out to be a life changing experience. 

   

It was a packed and enriching learning experience for me, the instructors were highly skilled in their fields and were readily available for all your queries. Even though I was a first batch student, I felt the owners took our suggestions very seriously and we could see the improvements being added on the the very next day! The program is structured to suit the job market (Java/Javascript), and the environment created was also very positive and motivating.

I could extend my skill dimensions and I would totally recommend it to anyone who is looking to ramp up their skills!!

I was working as a Frontend Engineer when I decided to join the Full Stack Program. For me it was about boosting my backend skills, and when I read the content of the program I immediately knew that it was what I wanted. I didn’t only learn a lot about Java and Spring framework, but also some FrontEnd concepts that made me evolve to a senior mind state. Some grasped concepts became mastered in my head, and some theoretical design patters were applied into real projects.

Instructors are top, very studied in their fields and no question was left without an answer. They were also very reachable trough online channels, no matter day or time, an important point during a bootcamp in my opinion.

One of the best things of this company is the guys behind it. Even though sometimes I had the feeling of being a beta batch, they fulfilled our suggestions from day one, and they were always there in order to improve our experience.

The level of the students in my batch was very different, having some without any knowledge, for me, already a front end developer did not add lots of value, but for them it was helpful when I contributed and helped them on various questions.

If I was being asked again three months ago knowing all of this, I wouldn’t doubt of doing it again.

I'm currently taking part in Propulsion Academy's Full Stack Web Development program and having a great time. For someone coming from a different field, it takes a lot of effort and commitment (most of my nights are also spent in front of a computer), but learning entirely new skillset and way of thinking makes it all worthwile.

While this is a young program, the founders do their best to make it a valuable experience for all of their students. Also, the team of instructurs is a healthy mix of industry experts and former bootcamp graduates, so they know what 's important for us.

Another great selling point: This bootcamp bases its backend part on Java, which is very difficult to find in Europe.

Basic Python/Statistics: Fairly fast pace so having at least some prior knowledge will definetly help to give you an easier start. However some students in my class did not have prior knowledge but still managed to do it (with a little additional work).
Numpy/Pandas: Very insightful and slower pace compared to the previous block.
Machine Learning: Great blance between basic concepts, pitfalls and practical application.
Neural Networks/Computer Vision: Insightful and a comprehensive overview of developments in the field (Grad-CAM, Bayesian NN, Transfer Learning, Augmentation etc.). However, I personally did not enjoy tensorflow2 all that much and switched to PyTorch after the class.
Neural Networks/NLP: Good overview of a complex field.
Final Project: Propulsion receives many real-world projects from different companies which is great for students looking to find a job. However,  you might be assigned to a project that you're not super interested in (even though they obviously try to cater to your interests). If you happen to have any data to work on that really interests you, you can also work on one of your own projects during this time. I brought data that required a lot of domain knowledge in medicine, and while I therefore wasn't able to receive the helpful feedback from the instructors that other students got, working on a project during a short time frame, with a non-medical but very tech-savy classmate and then presenting it to a non-technical audience was a really important experience. 

Overall, I highly recommend it! Always 1 instructor + 2 teching assistants in the room and a lot of smart/driven students from different backgrounds.