Ironhack

Lo que me animó a hacer Ironhack fue la necesidad de un cambio, la universidad me dio mucha teoría pero cero práctica y no me veía capaz de incorporarme al mundo laboral, tan adulto como me parecía. 
En cuanto a contar de Ironhack, la verdad que sólo puedo decir cosas buenas, el equipo es una maravilla, ha sido mi familia en Madrid durante estos dos meses y siempre dispuestos a echar una mano con cualquier cosa; en cuanto al curso, genial, empiezas la primera semana poco a poco y cuando te quieres dar cuenta, estas luchando contra el último proyecto, con unos conocimientos, ¡que parece que llevo programando 3 años (mínimo)! 
La experiencia, mejor que bien, de verdad, es que me ha cambiado la vida "radicalmente" en dos meses y medio, llegue a Ironhack con miedo en pleno Agosto, y ahora en noviembre llevo 2 semanas trabajando de desarrolladora FullStack, confiaba en Ironhack, pero no pensé que sería tan rápido.

Y en cuanto a lo que he aprendido, mucho, ya no sólo he aprendido JS y a todos sus amigos, si no que también he aprendido a seguir investigando, y así puedo seguir formándome yo sola, que en el mundo tecnologico, o te renuevas cada día o te oxidas, y eso lo he aprendido allí con vosotros.

After giving joining a coding camp much thought, I decided to pull the trigger and join Ironhack’s Full-time Web Development Cohort (Miami) in January of 2017 and I must say it one of the best decisions that I have made to date. I enrolled with the intent to only further my skills as a developer and put myself in a better position to enter the market as a professional but I walked away with so much more.

Anyone throwing around the idea of joining a coding bootcamp has to do their due diligence and really be sure that they get all the information they can on the camp before committing. So as an alumni I am putting myself back in the shoes of a prospective student and will shed light into some of the pressing questions that are sure to be on the mind.

• Investment: Any coding camp is going to be a sizeable investment in not only money but time as well. Anyone who is toying with the idea of getting into coding and has not yet attempted to learn on their own is running the risk of losing on this investment. A prospective student should be absolutely sure that a coding camp is the right choice for them because the last thing you want to do is be tippy toeing around the idea of a life as a developer only to have gone through the bootcamp and realize that maybe it wasn’t all that you built it up to be in your mind. Look at all of the free resources (Google, YouTube, etc.) and at least attempt to learn on your own beforehand. A career in development is one that involves life long learning so I have to emphasize that you ask yourself if you are considering this bootcamp for the right reasons (i.e. genuine love for development and not the money chase).

• Curriculum: Ironhack is constantly keeping an eye on market trends with regards to the skills employers want in to see in Junior Developers. In 2017 they decided to take the web development curriculum from one that was Ruby centric to one that teaches Full Stack Web Development (MEAN) with Javascript. This right here is big because it makes you  more attractive in the eyes of potential employees as the demand for these skills high and you are given the foundation to go off and build the next big application or at the very least understand how the most popular applications (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.) are built.

• Course Instruction: Nizar Khalife (Lead Instructor for full time Web Development course) is an experienced developer with real world experience who has a wealth of knowledge and is more than willing to share it if you are willing to receive it. He Knows the material like the back of his hand and you are going to wish that you had more than 9 weeks to pick his brain to extract all of his wisdom.

• Career Placement: Daniel Brito (Placements Manager) is someone who you need to have as a professional contact as he knows just about everyone in the Miami Tech scene. He worked many years as a Senior IT recruiter so he knows exactly what employers are looking for in Junior Developers.  He is also someone who will bend over backwards for you by not only placing employers in front of you but will also show you how to hustle your way into generating quality leads for yourself. His career services are invaluable and are not to be underutilized.  

• Networking: Aside from technical skills, there is networking aspect that launches you right into the heart of the Miami Tech scene. Ironhack has been able to build relationships with major companies and industry leaders that you can easily leverage once you are a member of the Ironhack family; student or alumni. If landing a job as a developer after taking the course is your goal (which it should be), skill alone will not get your foot in the door (unless you are gifted with genius level abilities). You also have to network and make yourself be known in the eyes of the community and Ironhack is your ticket into it.

Daniel Brito and Nizar Khalife are invaluable resources that make Ironhack what it is and make worth the cost of the bootcamp. However, they are not alone in making Ironhack the machine that it is. The rest of the staff are an absolute joy and you will never feel like you are just another dollar in the pockets of another organization. Everyone is extremely hands on and will go above and beyond to ensure that your experience is one that promotes your success.

In my eyes, Ironhack is by far the best coding camp in South Florida that provides you will all the tools and resources needed to get a return on your investment.

 

I will say that attending Ironhack’s 9 Week Web Development Course has been one of the best personal decisions for my life by far. This is not an exaggeration. I chose computer engineering as my major in college to make my parents proud; however, computer engineers are about signals and circuitry, and I could not see myself pursuing a career revolving around this. I spent 2 years stumbling to find a passion, and eventually, I found it in coding.

 

As a disclaimer, prior to the bootcamp, I gain some coding experience from college, and while unemployed, I attempted to learn HTML, CSS, and JavaScript basics through online resources, but I felt like my learning was sporadic and unstructured. I attempted to apply for programming jobs for six months, but after about 90 job applications, no one reached out to me. I felt discouraged, but I knew I needed to find guidance. Ironhack provided this guidance.

 

The 9-week course was fast-paced even for a person with some coding background, so I strongly encourage students with no experience to learn basic JavaScript prior to the start date. The teacher, Nizar, was able to break down complex concepts into simple examples and analogies making them easier to understand. He also provided step-by-step implementation for web application examples. Each day, there are periodic breaks between lessons, so he and the TA can assist us throughout the class; therefore, everyone remains on the same page.

 

The three projects at the end of each module were great opportunities for all of us to shine. I felt proud of my projects since the ideas came from myself, and I was the one (with some existence) who needed to break them down into coding solutions. Having a project at the end of each module helped solidify the skill sets learned in the current section and build on the previous skills. These projects were done in a short span of time (as short as one week) forcing us to learn project management skills.

 

I had one issue that frustrated me and other students during project week. The length spent troubleshooting problems for individual students were far too long. Sometimes one student would take one or two hours of the teacher’s time fixing a feature while there was a queue of other students waiting for assistance. Because of this, during the final project week, I spent a lot of time troubleshooting issues on my own, and I was unable to complete most of the features in my project.

 

After graduation, career week followed, and those seven days were very helpful. I learned strategies for job hunting, and I realized that those six months of no-follow-up job hunting was due to poor tactics. Our advisor, Brito, made sure to have multiple companies at our hiring fair. The hiring fair reminded me of speed dating where you only had twenty minutes per company! It was stressful and excited at the same time. From this hiring fair, I received 3 interviews, and I got an offer 2 weeks later. I am now an associate software engineer making twice as much money as I did a year ago, and honestly, I am excited about my career path as a developer.

At Ironhack I not only learned how to build applications using modern technologies but also improved my work ethic and became aware of the Miami tech ecosystem. The instructor was outstanding and the TA also did a great job.

The whole Ironhack staff was organized and supportive and the building always had a cheerful atmosphere. Our placement magager did an excellent job helping us grow our network and improve our soft skills.

Ironhack was definitely a big step in my career as a software engineer. 

There is a reason why Ironhack is rated so highly. They really do take you from 0 prior experience to building full on websites in 9 weeks. 

I can't say enough good things about Nizar. He is an absolutely amazing instructor, very patient, kind, and gives his all to ensure all of his students are successful. He will never abandon you when you're truly stuck, and sit with you and make sure you understand. He is also genuinely hilarious which helps a lot when learning how to code. I am very grateful to Nizar, he helped me so much throughout the duration of the course.

Our TA,  Kevin was also very wonderful. He worked very hard to keep up with all of our questions. Even when he wasn't sure of the answer he sat there and would work together with you to figure it out. He also wasn't afriad to leave us to figure things out on our own when he knew we were capable. I appreciated that. Sometimes we also had Dapper Dan as our TA, he was also super helpful. 

The staff at Ironhack is great, everyone is very kind and friendly. You really get that feeling of famiy while you are there. 

Brito, our Placements Manager is also equally amazing. He really does make himself fully available to you to help you get a job. Just to be clear, he's NOT there to do all of the job-hunting work. That's all on you. If you need suggestions, advice, need to prepare for an interview, or pretty much anything else, he's there for you. 

Overall, I highly recommend Ironhack. I want to send a huge thank you everyone at Ironhack for all of your hardwork!

If you're thinking about getting into the Web development field and you don't have a clue where to start, this is exactly the school that you need in order to start a successful career as a web developer. I not only learned how to code and build amazing websites and web apps but also was pushed me to learn every day something new that later on will become a new set of skills. The instructor, Nizar, was well prepared and knowledgeable about all the topics shared during the boot camp, and whenever somebody didn't understand something without thinking it twice he will stand right next to you and explained it, making sure that you fully understand it before moving to another topic.    The IronHack staff was amazing and very friendly, at the point that going to IronHack really felt like going to visit your loved ones. With a really nice kitchen, big terrace, and sky view, you will be able to work and enjoy in a really nice and peaceful environment. Last but not least the guy in charge of job placement at IronHack, Daniel. If you feel insecure and afraid that you won't find a job right after graduation, please, don't worry about it! Daniel got your back. There are only 3 things you have to do in order to succeed and get a job in this field right after graduation:     1 - Listen to Daniel! He will give you very important info that will help you not only to find a job in this field but to get a job in any field.   2 - Work hard! I will go to IronHack and spend 7 -  8 hours coding and as soon as I got home, I would continue working on projects and going over all the lectures.   3 - Practice practice and practice! IronHack will give you the all the tools and knowledge that you would need to start a career in this field but if you don't practice and put the hard work now, later on, it won't get any easier and you need to create a "practice & study" discipline and routine.   To wrap it up, IronHack not only will show you how to code but will also give you new sets of skills and disciplines that will change your life completely. I deeply love IronHack. It is without a doubt the best coding school!

Cuando mi amigo me recomendó Ironhack como método más fiable para entrar en el mundo del desarrollo web, el primer paso fue vencer el miedo a no dar la talla y no encajar en un mundo totalmente nuevo; después de pasar por el campus del Matadero y tras apenas 10 minutos, los miedos se esfumaron por completo; el buen rollo que se desprendía allí, hicieron el resto.

Una vez dentro te esperan horas y horas de clase, de luchar contra la frustración codo con codo con tus compañeros, de llegar a casa y no poder pensar en otra cosa que no sean arrays, funciones, objetos y puntos y comas; el tiempo parece ir a otro ritmo y, en dos semanas, te plantas delante de 20 personas y presentas un juego completo que además funciona. 

Después de dos meses, cuando llega el final del bootcamp, te das cuenta de que solamente han pasado nueve semanas pero que parece que conozcas a tus compañeros de toda la vida. Las tardes en el Matadero, cerveza en mano y los buenos ratos que pasas allí dentro hacen que merezca la pena tanto esfuerzo; cuando después de la hiring week te llaman 5 empresas y acabas trabajando de algo que no has hecho en tu vida, aceptas que la recomendación era buena y no te queda más remedio que invitar a tu amigo a una buena cena.

Tenia ganas de aprender a programar en serio, a no tener que hacer un curso online sino a hacer algo intensivo y con gente a mi alrededor que me motivara a elevar mi nivel de programación en poco tiempo.
Lo que más me gustó fue la actitud de la gente por aprender y la constante necesidad de superación que necesitas para sacarle provecho al curso.
Mi experiencia global ha sido muy buena, sin duda repetiría si fuera posible. Creo que en 2 meses ha conseguido tener el nivel necesario como para entender como un desarrollador con experiencia afronta su trabajo y sus retos diarios.  
Además de aprender la parte del las tecnologías MEAN, en lo que más he aprendido es en a pensar como un desarrollador, a dividir los problemas de código en trocitos pequeños y a ir paso a paso resolviendo problemas grandes.