Sabio

Sabio is  an amazing program, both Liliana and Gregorio really care about their students. I had the great fortune of having Gregorio as an instructor and I seriously have never met anyone more dedicated and commited to his craft! The bootcamp is tough and there were many times that I felt like i was in over my head, but I always felt like i could count on my team to help. 

I took the .NET course, finished at the end of June and it only took me a month to land a job as a Junior Developer. 

I completed Sabio's ASP.NET program in Culver City in June, and I have just accepted an offer for a development job at the end of July. The program gave me a strong base of development knowledge and I truly feel like I've been through a software project's full life cycle. The instructors are highly knowledgable and ensure that the curriculum, work level and instruction is tailored to every student's skillset. Experienced students will be consistently challenged while beginner students will leave with a firm foundation in fundamentals that will ensure they enter the industry.

I really don't have anything but good things to say about Sabio. When I was researching bootcamps, their name obviously leapt out to me due to their consistently excellent reviews, and I have to say that they totally lived up to the hype. The co-founders, Gregorio and Liliana, so clearly put the student experience at the forefront of everything they do and it will pay dividends for you if you put forth the effort they ask of you.

Background: No coding experience whatsoever (my computer literacy was average at best), never made more than 30k in my life, did not graduate from college. February 2017, I quit my job to begin my 3 month Sabio journey. June 2017, 2 weeks after i graduated from Sabio, I started working as a temp making more than double what I've ever made in my life. July 2017, I was brought on as a full-time employee at a financial investment company in downtown LA (this came with another pay raise).

For me personally, the 3 month course was an everyday struggle and I wouldn't have had it any other way. Sabio instructors simulate the real world environment by not holding your hand through problems. If you're stuck, they will guide you in the right direction and allow you to struggle through issues rather than just giving you the answer. That approach forces you to interact with your classmates and vastly sharpens your research skills.

A couple of weeks before graduation, focus shifts to job search. Sabio provides all sorts of tools and resources to find a job as well as a strong community to fall back on. The number of people that are willing to go out of their way to help you really shows the strength of the Sabio community.

5 months ago I was working at a place I did not want to be, with no degree feeling like I was stuck. Today, I'm coming up on my 2nd month working as an Application Developer at a major financial institution and it's all thanks to Sabio.

Best decision I've ever made!

My life has changed for the better because of the decision I made to enroll in to Sabio's program. 

I was a community college student looking to transfer to a four year university as a computer science major. Faced with the prospect of spending another two years studying to get my career started as a developer, I felt frustrated and wanted a quicker path to achieve my goal. So I researched some of the coding bootcamps in my area and ultimitaley decided to attend a Sabio information session. At the session, I met Aaron Gibson -- who eventually was the instructor for my cohort -- and noticed that he was very passionate about helping people become programmers. I also liked the fact the Sabio's mission is to open up the world of software development to historically underrepresented groups. Aaron's passion and Sabio's mission (and their amazing reviews) were the determining factors in choosing Sabio over other programs. The pre-work session was a great way to dip my toes into the world of programming. The instructor for pre-work, Varr Willis, was an immense help during that time of my life, and I credit him with much of my current success. The bootcamp itself was tough, but because of my wonderful instructor, my cohort mates, the support the Sabio provides, hard work and determination, I was able to successfully complete it. 

I was offered a job a week after completing the program, and started my job the week after that. Now I'm a Jr. Web Developer working accross all tiers of development, and I'm making twice as much money as I was making before. 

Sabio was the best decision of my life. Sabio will teach you the skills you need to succeed as a software developer. And Sabio will get you that dev job you're looking for. Rest assured, this is easily the best coding boot camp in southern California. But beyond that, Sabio will become a family like you've never had.

When you sign up with Gregorio, you join a community of software engineers exactly like yourself. New to the industry and hungry to learn. Immediately, you have 300+ connections and friends who are looking out for you. To help you through tricky spots, and even to find a job. Sabio grads are a tight-knit bunch (whether we're rolling a hackathon or not); you couldn't ask for stronger support as you begin your new life.   

I want to tell everyone about my experience AFTER I graduated from the bootcamp; your cohort experience will probably be different than mine, but I am absolutely positive that your experience after bootcamp will be the same.

I struggled after graduation -  in many different ways - but I had great community get me through it. I was reassured that the learning and support didn’t stop after bootcamp, and I’m so glad that holds true today. You have unlimited support from the community, a team to join at hackathons, and a ton of opportunities to learn new tech at exclusive Sabio meetups.

As I said before, your experience during bootcamp won’t be the same as mine, but I do want to give a piece of advice:

Do not expect to be carried through this process. You have to push yourself. Sabio is there to support you, not hold your hand until you find a job, and they will give you ALL the tools you need to succeed. If you’re not being pushed, you have to push yourself.

I did not have Gregorio as an instructor, but I have no doubt whatsoever that he has your best interest at heart. He really cares about his students. I think just having him on your side is worth the $$.

PS I have a software engineering job and I like it :) 

I began teaching myself the basics of the .NET stack using the online platform Pluralsight.  However, soon after due to a looming company layoff at my previous employer, I was placed in a position where I needed to make a quick decision whether to continue my current career path or pursue a new career in web design.

Eventually, I decided to make my move into web development.  I heard much about coding bootcamps and the potential they held but knew little about the specific camps or the differences between them.  I visited one and still felt undecided.  However, when I attended the Sabio orientation and experienced a very down to earth, no BS feel from Gregorio, along with what seemed like very appealing, realistic statistics regarding their previous cohorts and success, I decided to take a chance with them.

The pace moves very quickly, beginning with the pre-work.  It definitely helps to have some background learning prior to coming in, as it helped me move through the program.  However, I knew plenty of people entering with little to no prior knowledge, and they made it through just fine.  It is very important to trust the system that was designed, as it is easy to feel anxious and overwhelmed, especially near the end.

Regardless, I can happily say that I finished my first week in my new position as a web developer, which I was offered one day prior to the end of the program.  The program works, and it definitely does teach and solidify the necessary concepts in web design to help land your first position.  I eagerly recommend that any person looking for a new start and is interested in programming or web development to give this place a try.  Have a little faith, trust the system, and you will be rewarded.  The people running this camp are very experienced and knowledgeable and are working tirelessly in your best interest.  A great investment, and I would happily do it again. 

Previously, I worked as an accountant, but didn't enjoy the work itself and wanted something more technical and challenging. I had completed some Codecademy courses (which I would recommend to anyone prior to enrolling in a bootcamp - not everyone is going to enjoy coding), and I found myself coding in my free time just for fun. It was time for a career change, and I have no regrets looking back. Bootcamps aren't just a replacement for attending college, they're also a great way to change careers if you went to college for the wrong thing.

Pre-work can be a bit of a pain to attend and isn't the most exciting, but it's important information. It's a totally different format than the bootcamp itself and more of a necessary evil than anything else - it is not representative of what you will do the rest of your time at Sabio. By learning those fundamentals prior to the bootcamp itself, you can hit the ground running and jump straight into the project-based structure of the course.

The bootcamp is structured like an actual workplace where the entire class will work on creating a project together for a local entrepreneur, and I would absolutely say the format of the class put me at an advantage going out into the workplace. You can expect a teacher to be onsite ~9-6 Mon-Fri acting as a lead developer, but you should also expect to stay a couple additional hours to work with classmates.

Sabio's goal is to make a full stack developer out of you, so typically work is divided into verticals. You pick an area that interests you, such as FAQs, and build the front-end, middle-tier, and back-end. Once you complete that, you pick another vertical, and the class builds an entire company in this manner using either Git (or TFS for .NET) to collaborate. Expect to meet with the entrepreneur a few times throughout the course to discuss his / her needs for the software and to give several presentations to other students about what you have been making.

As graduation approaches, you'll start doing practice interviews and whiteboarding code to become more comfortable in interviews. Sabio will occasionally bring in potential employers to campus to interview students. I was the first MEAN cohort, so Sabio didn't have as many connections in the job market for those positions as .NET. They still did a good job of posting job opportunities and recommending employers, but .NET cohorts do have an advantage when looking for jobs. I would expect Sabio to have established a good amount of MEAN stack connections by the end of the year now that the first cohort has graduated and the second MEAN cohort has already begun.

It took me around 4 weeks after graduation to find a job, but it's one I'm very happy with in both salary and job responsibilities. Had I been less picky, I probably could have found one a bit quicker, but you should plan for it to take around a month to find a job.

All in all, I loved my time at Sabio and would still choose them if I did it all over. I feel like I'm a better developer than most people graduating with C.S. degrees, and I'm confident going into the workplace.

TL;DR:

• Complete a few Codecademy courses to decide if you enjoy coding before enrolling in ANY bootcamp
• Don't form an opinion on Sabio based solely on pre-work
• Expect to work 10+ hours a day (with much of it on campus)
• You'll make a really cool project as a team that employers love
• Everyone will actually work as a full stack developer (if you're in one of the full stack cohorts)
• You'll learn practical knowledge and be able to beat C.S. grads in coding tests
• Sabio has a great network for finding .NET cohorts jobs and a growing network for MEAN cohorts
• You will feel like you've already held a development job by the time you start your first official job
   

A year ago I was really unhappy with where I was in my life career-wise: I felt highly unfulfilled and bored working as an executive assistant, making a few dollars above minimum wage despite having a college degree. I decided to do something about it - I wanted a job that was more challenging, well-paying and in-demand. I decided to do programming, and looked into bootcamps in LA. 

I decided to go with Sabio because they offered federal financial aid through their partner university, as well as a very welcoming environment (Sabio is very much into promoting diversity in the industry). 

Pre-work at Sabio was a wonderful experience. Pre-work wasn't easy, but Sabio staff is there to make sure that you are being given the proper attention or help that you need to succeed. The instructors, Nicki and Jitin were so knowledgeable, patient and friendly. If someone was struggling or falling behind, they always made sure to help and guide that person so that they could keep up with the coursework. 

Bootcamp was also a great but even more challenging experience, and that's how it's supposed to be. I was part of the first ever Node cohort at Sabio, and it was a really good training ground that prepared me for the real world. With every module or task that is assigned to you, you are encouraged to figure it out on your own and get it done in a timely manner. The instructor is there to help you and give you guidance, but don't expect to be spoonfed. Aside from giving you the hard skills that you need to succeed in the industry, Sabio also hones your problem-solving skills and self-starter attitude. 

Sabio also dedicates some time for interview prep. The last two weeks of bootcamp are mostly dedicated to honing your resume, practicing hard and soft interview skills, and job-searching. With Sabio's connections we were able to do mock interviews with a few actual recruiters and developers, which really helped us prepare for actual interviews. In my case, I was able to land a full-time software developer job within 6 weeks. 

I'm telling you, it's worth it. If you are thinking of making a career change into development, I suggest attending an info session at Sabio right away. 

If you are somebody who isn't happy with his/her current financial situation or want a change of career into something that is in demand, a career in web development might pique your interest.

During the fall of 2016 I wanted a career change because I wasn't having much luck pursuing the job I wanted and if I wanted to make any real money, I had to obtain a Master's degree. I decided to stray from my current path and find a new opportunity. I remembered hearing about a career in coding and how it was a trade in demand. I did some thorough research to see if this was something that I could possibly pursue. After doing some research, I narrowed down my choices to 2 schools. One was a completely online course and the other was Sabio. Though the online course was several thousand dollars cheaper, I felt I wouldn't be able to discipline myself if I were to study at home. I attended one of Sabio's info sessions and was pretty happy to see that I wasn't the only person in the room. I listened carefully to what Gregorio (co-founder) had to say and was immediately sold. I studied on my own time, took the pre-work, passed the assessment in 1 try and moved on to the bootcamp.

The following three months were pretty stressful because we were tasked with learning new things on a daily basis. There wasn't a lot of hand holding and we were expected to try to figure out problems on our own. Our instructor (Mike) made sure to assist us if we were ever blocked from completing our task. Though we did get assistance, he rarely blatantly told us the solution to the answer. My guess would be, it would defeat the purpose of this bootcamp if somebody just told you the answer to everything. There are times when you'll feel like an idiot for being stuck for so long, and you will eventually doubt yourself. Inevitably, you WILL begin to compare yourself to your peers as some people appear to have a natural talent in this. But, it is crucial to know that everybody has his/her own pace of learning. Just because you are exposed to the same content, doesn't mean it will click the same for everybody. With that said, the most important thing (in my opinion) is having your peer's back. There may be a time when you are stuck and maybe your instructor has a jam packed schedule in front of him. Your only means of help are your peers and the internet. Luckily all my peers were super awesome people and we all got along. It is important that you have a good relationship since you will be stuck in a room with these people for 12 weeks for at least 9-10 hours a day.

As the program begins to wrap up, your cohort will naturally begin to freak out. Our freak out weak was...week 9? People will begin to doubt their ability and whether or not their knowledge on the code will suffice in getting a job. Nevertheless, keep your cool, and trust the system. Sabio knows what it is doing. You may not know it, but there is a lot of knowledge in your head by week 9 that you may not be aware of. By that point, some things will just be second nature to you. Be sure to try to keep your weekly hours at 70 hours of code per week. They tell us to do that for a reason. If you are ever feeling concerned, you can always talk to your instructor or Gregorio about your problems. They are heavily involved and invested in each and every one of us. I wasn't the strongest developer in the team and I managed to land a job as soon as the program ended. As long as you put in the effort and can honestly tell yourself you tried your best, things will work out for you at Sabio. For current and future Sabio fellows, when in doubt, trust the system. Seriously, trust the system.

I think the major difference between Sabio and other bootcamps is the fact that Sabio doesn't treat it's training like coursework. You get to work for a real company in an environment that is essentially the same as a professional work environment. You do some "excercises" in the first 2 weeks to get some basics down, then go straight into practical coding after that. You work all day (9-7pm), do stand-up meetings in the morning, and tackle practical coding challlenges that are demanded by the product you are designing. It's pure gold.

Now, as some others have noted, it is a bit rough around the edges. The prework is chaotic and sometimes the classes are structured in ways that don't seem to be very well thought out. 

There is a vast difference in quality between the prework and the actual cohort. VAST. The cohort is amazing. It challenges you, it can give you experience working for a real startup company and it forces you to put in the raw hours neccessary to learn coding for real.

I feel like the prework would probably serve as a deterrent for most people. It was for me. Don't be deterred! Do the prework to see if you have a personal aptitude for coding, not as a demo of what the Sabio experience is like. The prework is not like the cohort. Do the cohort, you won't regret it!