Ironhack

Enrolling Ironhack had been one of the hardest decisions of my life. I left my job, my city, my family and my comfort zone to face something totally new for me.

Well, after finishing these 2 intense and crazy months, I can say it is an experience worth living. It takes you to the limit, both physically and mentally, but the level of satisfaction you reach is huge.

Without any doubt one of the best things are your classmates. It's amazing how in such a short period of time they became your friends, confidants... people you want to have by your side the rest of your life. Together we have cried, laughed, got frustrated, felt great, but always together and supporting each other.

It is specially good to discover how far you can go. Honestly, it is much further than you think at first. All of this thanks to the incredible teachers and the Ironhack team, who were always listening to our needs and tried to improve every day.

For all of this I can say without hesitation that I will repeat the experience of making a bootcamp at Ironhack.

Joining Ironhack Barcelona was one of the best decisions of my life. I coded 12-14 hours per day, weekends included, and loved every second of it. I learned more during 2 months than in 5 years in university. The people were a big part of the experience being so fantastic - I was lucky to be able to study with 13 motivated peers, very inspiring and engaging teachers and helpful teaching assistants. 

As this is not always obvious in the male-dominated tech industry, it’s worth highlighting that during 2 months I didn’t think about my gender even once, since nobody ever gave me any weird comments or treated me differently for being female. 

During/after the bootcamp I received several offers for jobs and interviews in Barcelona, and got a new job in my home country. As I work as UX designer, I feel like the bootcamp has greatly improved my career, since I have now the capabilities to implement my own designs (at least front-end-wise) and the readiness to start to work as junior developer as well. I have also formed a clearer picture about all the development technologies out there, and know what to start learning next. I can highly recommend Ironhack to anyone who wants to work as a developer, or who needs better understanding about development for other reasons.

Ironhack has been the most amazing educational experience. This was the best career decision I could have made. Ironhack was the best choice for entry and transition into the tech world. This comes from someone who graduated from college five months ago and didn’t have any background in programming. Like others I tried learning myself but it’s not as effective. I live in Virginia and could have chosen to attend General Assembly or Code Mojo, but the reviews and reputation were not nearly as good as Ironhack’s.

My journey began when I started reading all these reviews and I couldn’t understand why a company would have consistently five stars. After my extensive online trolling, I decided to submit my email via the Ironhack website. Once submitted, Alia (Admissions) scheduled an interview and we spoke for over an hour on the phone. I was sold. Her personality, charisma is rarely found. Once I was finished interviewing with her, I spoke to Ariel (Co-founder), who was also incredibly charismatic and genuinely interested in how Ironhack could help me accomplish my educational and career goals. The third part of the interview process is with the Jedi Master: Nizar. I cannot emphasize enough how patient and compassionate he is. Nizar wants you to not only learn, but he wants you to succeed. I saw that in our first interview because I was incredibly nervous.

Once accepted, I paid my deposit and was sent the pre-work. The pre-work is essential because if you have any questions or concerns, that is your time to ask. Ironhack will also do Google hangouts to help. You should also attend week 0 (before week 1 starts) to ask any questions. During the bootcamp, there were many times that took me longer to understand certain concepts. But Nizar, Josh (Assistant Instructor) and my classmates were always there to explain the concepts with such an incredible amount of patience. Most importantly, both Nizar and Josh never made me feel like I wasn’t good enough.

In career terms, Daniel is your man (placements manager). He knows many tech companies and has several connections. Daniel will help you with your resume, and most importantly build your own brand, trust him he’s awesome.

The way Ironhack has laid out the learning process is: weeks 1-6 is learning (go to the website to see the breakdown), 7 and 8 are to build your own web application, which to be honest: It was difficult, and stressful. But it was completely worth it. Everyone has to their web app during the Hackshow which was so much fun! We had over 180+ people that came to see what my fellow students and I had created (good networking).

Ironhack declines applicants for many reasons. So you have to take it seriously. You have to be willing to work hard. This bootcamp doesn’t stop and you have to be mentally prepared. There will be times that you may feel that you are not good enough, but that is completely normal because you are being overwhelmed with so much information. The good news is that everyone at Ironhack will be there to cheer you on, including your classmates (your new best friends).

Even after finishing the bootcamp, I know there is so much to learn. The good news is that Ironhack gave me the tools to learn things on my own.

Just remember to trust the Ironhack process. They know what they are doing, and it works.

   

I really hate school. I have always liked learning and making things but the way that I was taught at school really deterred me from pursuing any of my interests. I tried for around a year to teach myself to code from videos on different sites like Udacity and similar ones. I felt that although I had gained a lot of individual abilities and skills, I still felt uncomfortable building a deployable and usable application. Even worse I felt that I would never feel comfortable applying for an actual job with my set of knowledge. I decided to join Ironhack and it was the best decision I have ever made. The facility is awesome and was a fantastic place to both work as well as cool down during breaks. The rest of the students were all pretty cool and smart for the most part which also made the experience even better. The course does not only teach coding. It also actively ensures that you connect to members of the local tech community. Furthermore, they help you write your resume, make your linkedin, lecture you on interviews, and do countless other things to make you more easily hireable. I have never felt so confident in getting a job in my life. However, the absolute best part of Ironhack to me was the staff. It was a bit of a family and every single person in it was just on another level of nice. Even more than nice though we were always laughing and joking and getting genuinely enthusiastic about programming. The owner of Ironhack Ariel was around a lot of the time and he is one of the most genuine and respectable people I have met. The staff all around were just great people and great teachers. I learned so much and feel like I am picking a job now as opposed to finding one. Even further, I feel confident to run my own applications and sites all by myself. As I said, I hate school but love Ironhack. They teach you to actually create things instead of blind learning. It feels like more of an arts and crafts class than a science.  If you are not passionate about what you are doing right now you should sign up. 

About me  .  . .

Background: Customer Services, IT Support, Communications

Programming Experience: HTML, CSS and JavaScript (no mucho)

Previous Courses: Udacity

Summary

The bootcamp itself was a stimulating and rewarding experience. Though, retrospectively I wish I had waited and deferred entry until I had done more pre-work on my own. The structure of the course was as intensive and fast-paced as I expected it to be. I still have mixed feelings on the tuition. Ultimately, this bootcamp will give you a good foundation in Ruby and Ruby on Rails but it will not lead to job. 8 weeks was not long enough and the reality of the job hunt means that it will take 32+ weeks.  Bootstrap and the JavaScript in this course will only get you so far and are not inline with local industry requirements.

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Pros

All the TAs were dedicated and were willing to explain things multiple times. At times I thought that they were overworked. There was only 11 of us; it was one of the smallest class sizes that I have ever had. However, due to poor filtering and selection of candidates the bootcamp had candidates of mixed abilities.

At times this was a real positive, I was sat next to Ivy League graduates and very capable web designers and multimedia producers. However, I felt that this was unfair on those who were quicker as they did not receive the attention that they paid for. Everybody has their own pace and everybody was better at one part of the curriculum or another.

At the beginning and end of every week we answered surveys. These allowed us to communicate changes that we wanted and Ironhack was very professional, responsive and flexible in making those changes when we asked for them. I cannot fault their customer service during the bootcamp. It was very impressive.

Cons

Hiring week and The Final Show was a disappointment. The people that had been assembled to view our projects were not in a position to hire. They were looking for Front End Web Developers with a lot more experience. They neither returned our emails or hired more than one person from the bootcamp (who eventually lost their job due to lack of funding). If Ironhack wants to improve it must offer solvent companies that actually have open positions.

Conclusion

Ultimately, I am glad that I have completed the course and learnt a great deal. The subsequent follow-up and job assistance was disappointing. I feel that an extended bootcamp with more focus on a portfolio or greater attention to career support would have helped. I got four interviews last year, three in Spain and one in London, England. Something definitely worked but I feel that this was not necessarily due to the career support that I was offered. I hope to continue my hunt later this Summer.

There are few things that can change your life completely; where you live, your significant other, your work, etc. For me, Ironhack was one of these things. Through all of the 20 hour days, hundreds of coffee’s and endless frustration, I became a programmer. The experience was one of the most difficult, but most rewarding of my life. I found a job the night of the Hackshow, and I am now working as a Growth Hacker for a consultancy based out of London, named Earlybird. I’m able to use the skills I’ve attained from Ironhack to code TwitterBots, and implement metric tracking tools.  I’ve also been working with Dockbit, a deployment app built on rails, building the front-end for their metric displays. 

 

The teachers in the program are incredibly knowledgable, and have a way of making you believe that you’re able to do everything. Along with them, the students, and outside network of companies and entrepreneurs available to Ironhack, make for an incredibly community that I am proud to be a part of. 

 

Enrolling in Ironhack is one of the best decisions I’ve made in my life, and I hope it becomes yours too.

I've been a student in the Barcelona Bootcamp in October 2015.

Before joining Ironhack I had started my personal learning process but after some months of practicing javascript I felt lost and without a real guidance.

This world is exciting but at the same time you understand how important to learn fast is.

This is why I joined this bootcamp. Unfortunately I missed the first two days,  so I missed some basic concepts, that's why the begginning has been hard and sometimes overwhelming but in a week after I spent all my week-end studying and making exercises I've been able to catch up with the other guys.

The course is very intensive so in order not to loose track of the program you'll have to work hard and make a lot of exercises. One of the most important aspects of the learning process is that you'll acquire the method in order to face and solve the errors will be shown continuosly by your terminal.

The professors have been great and they were often available to help you also in extra hours.

All the staff was supporting but I think the greatest aspect has been to be all days in touch with my course-mates. Some of them became some of my dearest friends and we keep seeing each other every week and we keep talking also about codes as at the beginnings.

If before joining Ironhack I knowed nobody that was a coder now I can say that I'm constantly sarrounded by the coding world and I'm learning every day.

As an ex-student you are invited togheter to other people to meetup events and Ironhack also organize free events in the new campus such as workshops where you can be introduced to new technologies and where you can meet new people all time.

If you are looking for a new start in this field I suggest people to think seriously in engaging a course like this.

BTW, Barcelona is an incredible city, that's why I still here. The next course will be about catalan.

 

Four years ago I finished my architecture degree, with the luck of finishing just in time for the crisis, when it was impossible to find work. Since then I haven’t stopped working and studying: I enrolled at University again (law degree), studied German, I worked at Zara and I've been a teacher for a while. I've spent the last years lurching from one thing to another not finding my place. Six months ago, however, I heard about Ironhack by chance. During the course I haven’t just met amazing people, but also I learned more than what I thought it was possible in just two months. 
I had never heard of anything related with programming, and today I work in Cabify developing their mobile application. Thanks to Ironhack Hiring Week I found a job that I enjoy and something that I love. It has not been easy but definitely worth it.

I was a student in the 2016 Miami January-March Web Developer class.

    The admission process is fairly thorough. I really like how the interviews give you a chance to experience what the course is going to be like. After the initial interview, you will receive a basic coding lesson to do on your own. I liked how short it was and at the same time challenging. The next interview is a technical interview with Nizar, the head instructor. At the interview I had to complete a coding challenge based on the lesson. 

    This is similar to how the real course is. Each day begins with lectures and a handful of short coding exercises. The lessons are on the Ironhack servers so if you miss a day or need to go back to review you can do so wherever you are. In the afternoon, you will be given a task to complete relating to what you learned in the morning. It is a very hands on approach. You will learn how to code by coding. You will also be really good at learning how to learn to code (mind blown). Ex. It’s easy to Google a coding problem but it takes a little more skill to read and digest the solution. 

    At any time during the lectures or afternoon exercises, Nizar, Josh (other instructor), and Karen (teaching assistant) will be around to answer any questions you may have. In addition the rest of the Ironhack staff will be around if you need to talk to them. Everybody is on Slack (communication app) so if they’re not around they will most likely be online. I like being able to look up from my laptop and get help right away.

    In addition to learning how to code, you will also make friends and feel like part of the tech community. The classroom is on top floor of a shared workspace with 25 other companies. It’s really cool to see how other companies work and what they’re doing. I also like the monthly Pizza Friday. Everybody in the building gets to eat FREE pizza TOGETHER! There’s also a weekly newsletter about any tech meetups or events happening in South Florida.

    For me, Ironhack was a way to get a career in the tech industry. Alida, who is charge of operations and growth, helped us with the career searching. I had my resume and LinkedIN redone to reflect the new skills I learned at Ironhack. It’s a process that lasts until you leave the course. At the end of the learning and coding portion, there’s a week of career building activities. Different companies will come in to interview you. I updated my resume and LinkedIN a few more times.

    I feel really good about my skills and what I’m capable of coding. I’m also happy about all the friends I made in class and outside in the tech community. It’s an exciting time to be in the Miami tech industry. 

I went to Ironhack in order to update my technical skills, because let’s face it, technology waits for no-one. What I didn’t expect was how much Ironhack has done to help me fall in love with coding again. The course is intense, which is part of its charm, but retains a balance between everything we are taught so we leave with enough skill to become a valuable member of any quality tech team.

I could reel off catch phrases like TDD, frontend: HTML, CSS, JS, jQuery, backend: Ruby, Rails, postgres - but the most important thing I learned from Ironhack is the persistence to keep learning, because let’s face it, technology waits for no-one. Ironhack did not baby us. They supported our growth as professionals. I have absolutely no qualms recommending any and all of those colleagues of mine who ran the gauntlet with me and can call themselves Ironhackers. Let’s see if in a year or so I can wing another 8 weeks to do the mobile course just for fun.