Ironhack

A couple months ago I did the first full-on Javascript WebDev Bootcamp at Ironhack Barcelona, now I have a full time job in development and a part-time job as a TA at the same campus I studied in. 

I am a mucisian from career and spended the last 5 years of my life studying that, my prospects where complicated and promised loads of work for little to no pay and no stability.

Then I decided to go for coding, to have a change in direction. I went for a bit of code online, to see what was it all about and for about 6 months I did a bit of selfteaching over the internet. Then I knew Ironhack from some friends, and I decided to take it seriously. 

It was one of the best decisions of my life. I have discovered a true passion in code, those two months where intense and irreplazable, awesome classmates and incredible teachers. I learned more in two weeks than I had learn in 6 months of self teaching over the internet.

I would recomend it to everyone who likes, loves or is interested in code. A truly worth it expirience with really good carrer expectations.

The Ironhack Webdev bootcamp is a gamechanger. The course foucses on a range of tools that set you up to jump into the developing world and work on real projects as a Junior Web developer. I was able to build iterations of personal projects and intern at a health tech company a few months after the course.  The program goes by quickly, you'll find yourself working in groups each day, culminating in a final project. By the end you will feel competent in RoR/ JS/ Html-CSS and ready for interviews. The head instructor Nizar and Nick the TA will work with you unitl you get the concepts and can fly solo, so you will leave the course feeling like you have gained tangible skills.

More than the coding skills, the personalized career support is what sets them apart. Ironhack's placement manager, Brito, is part life-coach part wizzard and knows the HR game in and out. Having the continued resources to find jobs and interview hacks increases Ironhack's value to a large extent. 

My time at Ironhack was amazing. The curriculum was Ruby / Ruby on Rails, html, css and Javascript. I didn’t have any previous experience in coding and I can say i’m very confident in the skills I have acquired during my time there. I had no idea i was going to learn this much in such a short amount of time. Don’t get me wrong it isn't easy but with focus and hard work it is definitely achievable. The staff is very helpful and always makes sure you’re in the best position to succeed. I could not think of a better instructor than Nizar, he always presented the material in a way to keep our attentions (Being seated in a classroom all day isn’t easy) and was able to explain complex info in a way that everyone could understand. Nick, the T.A, was beyond awesome. He’s patient with the students and makes sure we’re able to apply the concepts we learned in the morning. There was a lot of opportunities right out of the gate once we graduated and for that I have Thank Brito. As far as Job placements no one has your back like Brito does, he work tirelessly to build the relationships the Ironhack students will need after graduation. Essentially it comes down to making the most out of this experience and soaking up as much value out of it as possible. 

After I graduated in December, I decided to move to Los Angeles and founded a startup focused on HealthTech. The platform we’re building wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for me getting this jumpstart at Ironhack and I am very grateful for the staff and lifetime friends I’ve made there.

During my time at Ironhack, I learned source control, and the principles of HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Ruby and databases. Daily exercises require students to practice different methods and concepts to understand how all components come together to create web applications. Through this experience I gained an array of skills necessary to work with software developers. Subsequently, my career transitioned from graphic design to user experience and user interface design. Ironhack is a great opportunity to meet industry professionals, entrepreneurs and developers!

Overall I really enjoyed my time at Ironhack. The instructors and TAs were very helpful. I didn't find the curriculum too challenging but I have some experience coding. Still, I did learn a lot about how web development works. I loved working on the final project and having a whole web app that I built myself and understood inside and out.

The facility is really great. It's wondeful to be a part of Building Co. You get to meet other people in the tech scene and really feel like a community. Plus the roof is a great place to bond with your team while playing cornhole.

I must admit I'm a little jealous that I missed out on the new MEAN stack curriculum, but Ruby On Rails has proved helpful in my current job. As far as career assistance goes, I didn't get a job offer (or at least one that I wanted to accept) as soon as I would have liked, but I did eventually accept a job that I was excited about and I do think that Ironhack helped me make the connection. The interviews that they set up were great practice and lead to some oppurtunites. I love being part of the Ironhack community. Even though I've been a grad for a while now it's nice to have someone to talk to about career development and the Miami tech scene. 

Ironhack seemed very interesting to me and it definitely was. It made me look at design in a whole different way. I learned how to create a project from the very beginning to the end, always thinking about the user it is aimed for. I learned to use new tools and got the needed knowledge for understanding UX/UI design and what goes beyond from it. The course requires a big effort, it can be a little intense, but the philosophy of "learning by doing" made it not boring at all. It made me realize I not only know the information, but that now I actually know how to apply it. It was a really enriching experience! 

My name is Guillermo, but from an early age everyone knows me as Simon, my surname. Before entering ironhack I studied the degree of multimedia and graphic design, which I believed would open many doors to the professional world, but it was not so. From that moment I started to look at sites and courses to specialize in something, then I discovered ironhack since they offered a scholarship to make the UX / UI design bootcamp. The fact is that I tried my luck with the Madrid scholarship (there was another for Barcelona) and I won it. At that time I did not know very well what that was, so I researched a bit on the internet, went to a couple of talks and finally I decided to take the course.

The bootcamp in ironhack lasted two months, two of the most intense and stressful months of my life, but I say this with a smile from ear to ear since I do not regret anything. I take a lot of ironhack, all that we learned, the professionals who have shared with us their wisdom, experience and tricks, the colleagues and friends that I have met and with whom I have shared this trip ...

What I most liked and impressed me at the same time is all I have learned. In two months of bootcamp I have learned more than in 4 years of design career. If it is true that I have known new fields of study, because the UX was new to me, but right now I do not say that I am a graphic designer, I say that I am a UX / UI designer.

When I finished the bootcamp I saw how fleeting it had been, I remembered every afternoon that I stayed in ironhack until 10 pm when there was nobody in the facility, all the exercises and the walls full of post-its, the classes teached by people that was was their daily bread form them... and I only had to look forward and trust that I would find work. And so, just one week after finishing the bootcamp already had two job offers.

Since I finished the bootcamp I have not stopped researching, reading, searching, experimenting... they have awakened on me a curiosity for all this world that does not stop growing. And I know that I have a family in Ironhack.

Simon.

My time at Ironhack was like none other. I was in college for a couple of years majoring in Computer Science, but didn't get the connection and support I needed. Coming into Ironhack, I was scared that I would be behind everyone and fall behind like in college. Eventually I learned that I wasn't the only person who felt that way and things got less intimidating. As the weeks go by, you form a family with your peers and instructors that help you grit it out and come out a well developed web developer. 

At the end of the day, this is a huge jump to make, especially if you're coming from another state like I did. But if you come with the right attitude, commit to getting better every week, and use all the amentities that Ironhack offers you, you'll get everything you need to graduate and find opportunities within the field. I currently am doing contract web development work with Samsung.

When I decided to join Ironhack's Bootcamp of Full Stack Web Development, I was scared: my age, even my gender, which already was being an obstacle in several professions. 

I studied in a Spanish University, which I remember as the worst waste of time in my whole life. Ironhack changed it, for good. I still remember an inspiring speech of Alvaro Cotello, Campus Manager in Ironhack Madrid: "Destroy University". And that phrase took my hand to the next level. Because that's what I think as a key for changing things and evolve.

 I have to say that they won't give a magic key to you: you will have to give the best of yourself, you will have to work hard. Remember: you will forget your family, friends, even sleeping properly, for several weeks, and you will always know everything's worth it. Definitely, you will learn to learn, you will learn to think in another way, as a real programmer.

After the bootcamp I spent some time studying more, working in a project by my own and suffering imposter syndrome. 

However, I repeat: it's in your hand. And I have to say that actually I'm working in the company of my dreams. All the efforts provide results if you want so, and Ironhack's family provides you with tools enough in order to develop your career. 

DISCALIMER: STUDIED AT IRONHACK OVER A YEAR AGO AND HAVE A NON PROGRAMMING ROLE

When I signed up for Ironhack I was extremely excited to begin my career as a Web Developer and engage in the startup and tech world in Miami! I have to say, Ironhack exceeded my expectations.

When I had my first interview with Alia is when I fell in love with the Ironhack. I felt like she truly cared about my well-being. She wanted to know my dreams and aspirations and what I wanted to get out of this program and most importantly she was honest. Alia was upfront about what Ironhack could provide and if it was a worthwhile investment for me. After our discussion, I talked with my family and we all agreed that Ironhack provided the best opportunity to my grow and achieve my aspirations.

When I started the class, I was a bit nervous. Others seemed to be far ahead of me because of prior coding experience. To be frank, I was intimidated, I wanted to quit and didn't think I could ever catch up. After the first few days, Ironhacks true strengths started to reveal itself. Nizar, my instructor, and Josh, the teaching assistant, were extremely helpful. To be clear, they helped me think through a lot of the problems or guided me to resources. I appreciate this a lot because it developed my critical thinking skills and also pushed me to become a better programmer. Josh and Nizar were able to do this because of the intimate class size, and I felt they were truly passionate in myself and other classmates.

I also felt that the entire staff at Ironhack was unbelievable and open to having discussions with me. Ariel, one of the co-founders, was always at the campus and made it his goal to know all the students. He was always available to talk and address any concerns I had, or drink a few beers with me and the other students after a long week.

At the end of the course Ironhack did a great job of prepping us for work. While I did not end up taking a developer job, Ironhack set me up for success in two ways. The first, Ironhack taught me how to learn. There was no answer in the back of the book, there were resources like stack overflow that I had to use to figure out my bugs. I had to be resourceful, and truly think through problems to see if they made sense, this was a skill that Ironhack defiiently helped develop. Secondly, while I did not take a coding job, Ironhacks location in a co-working space worked great for me. I was offered an unbelievable opportunity by a tech company that worked out the same space two weeks before the completion of the program. I would have not had that opportunity come to me otherwise.

Ironhack was amazing, and an extremely worthwhile investment for me. While I don’t program now, I work with many developers who are helping build our product and it has made the conversations easier and the process 50x smoother. If you are interested in coding and are willing to do the work and challenge yourself, then sign up for a coding boot camp. If you really want to make a difference in your life, then sign up for Ironhack.

PS

I recently went to Ironhack site to check it out for old times’ sake and I saw they updated the course to more JavaScript and less ruby and they also added a UX/UI course. I think this is great because they are never settling on just one thing and want to provide as many unbelievable opportunities for their students as possible.

I had a great experience at Ironhack! Nizar is an amazing and patient teacher, especially with someone like me who came from a marketing background and had zero coding experience/ knowledge prior to Ironhack. The T.A.s including Josh are also great at turning seemingly complicated subjects into something you can actually understand and apply. The classroom environment is a work hard, play hard mentallity. While everyone is there to learn and make the most of their experience, Building Co. & Ironhack also have many fun events and there is lots of time to make meaningful friendships and meet some cool people. The web development bootcamp was one of the most challenging (and rewarding) experiences of my life, I highly reccommend it to anyone curious about learning more about coding and/or the tech community in Miami.