Sabio

Overall I had a positive experience attending Sabio. My studies began early February when I joined and started the pre-work which is a preliminary pre-requisite to the 12-week boot camp program. I found the pre-work challenging and rewarding because it laid the foundation to becoming a software developer.

I chose to start the boot camp later because of personal reasons and they had me enroll in labs to keep me from getting rusty in between the end of pre-work to the beginning of the program. I found the labs to be very helpful and learned a lot from the instructor.

When the boot camp began it was challenging from the beginning to the very end, but that’s why they call it a boot camp because it’s supposed to be challenging. I was in a cohort of 10 others working on a project that was fun and to see develop into a full functioning app was rewarding.

The instructors were experienced, knowledgeable and dedicated to their craft. There was a queue system, and if you needed extra help you would post a question on a trello card and drag it into the queue. Although, the instructors would have the answer they would challenge you to figure it out yourself and come up with the solution. The overall staff was also wonderful and professional and well organized.

After I got a job last month, I learned that more than half of my co-workers were Sabio alumni. The hiring manager liked the boot camp candidates and being that we’re all from Sabio tells a great deal about the quality of the program. If you’re thinking of attending a great coding boot camp that you can learn and grow professionally than Sabio is for you.

Are you tired of wasting your skills and talents and not getting paid what you are worth?  Do you wonder how all those apps and websites that you visit everyday come together?  Are you passionate about technology and want to delve deep into the rabbit hole that is the vast world of software development?  Then look no further than Sabio.  I'll split up the journey into sections and provide reasons for why Sabio is the best.

Before you begin...

Do your research into what this program is.  It is not a 4 year comp-sci degree replacement and Sabio's CTO, Gregorio, would never purport that.  However, if you go to Sabio's info session, you will see that Gregorio present a no BS attitude that states that if you work hard, then you will become a fully-fledged software developer. 

The key difference between this bootcamp and others is that you get an extremely high level of instruction from Senior Developers who have an average of 10-20+ years of experience working as professionals in the field.  Look into other programs and ask them who will be in the battlefield with you while you are struggling to learn intensely high & low level concepts.  If their answer is a 1 or 2 year alumni of their program with NO experience in the professional field, then be wary of what they're selling you.  As bright as these alumni most likely are, they most likely don't know what it's like to deploy an enterprise-level web app that has thousands, and sometimes millions, of visitors daily, whereas Sabio instructors do.

If you are worried about outcomes, take a look at https://cirr.org/ which Sabio is a member of.  It's a testament to the strength of the program if they are upfront about their outcomes which are verified by an independent third party.  If you look at the other names on the list, you will see other big-shot bootcamps so you know you're going to be joining an elite and select group of people.

Prework

Get ready to code about 15-20 hours a week learning the basics of web development(HTML/JavaScript/CSS).  You will sometimes feel lost, but know that Sabio has great prework instructors who will support you 100% of the way.  If you don't do your work and are a lazy bum, you are going to be held accountable.  You will also be enrolled for labs before you begin the actual program which will show you how the request-response life cycle works within a web application along with RESTful API conventions.  This stage will take 1-2+ months and will provide crucial growth for the upcoming full-time bootcamp.

Full Stack Web Dev Course

You will be challenged. Period.  It's the instructor's job to do so.  Whether you have experience in the industry or not, be ready to be confronted with real-world programming problems that will let you appreciate how much there is to learn out there.  You will not be working on a dinky project that is going to be a small demo for you to put on github. Instead, you will be working on an enterprise-level web application with the most relevant/modern programming libraries and frameworks that the web has to offer.  You will also learn best-practices and soft skills necessary for becoming a great dev. If you go to some job board and search "web developer" and look at the technologies that all these companies want, expect to learn most, if not all, of those listed items.

You will bond with your peers throughout the project and make amazing friends that will last you a lifetime.  These peers will become excellent software devs in their own right and you will increase your own worth as a programmer as you learn from them, code alongside them, and overcome bugs together which will fine-tune your craft.

You will be led by a senior developer who has 10+ years of professional experience building scalable products for well-known companies in the tech world.  This senior dev will be with you in the trenches for more than 8 hours/day for 5 days a week.  My instructor was absolutely amazing and there was literally 0 questions that he could not answer whether they were small problems, algorithms from Google interviews, or even questions about implementing load-balancers on websites that get millions of hits per day and transfering hundreds of gigabits of data per second.

The last few weeks of the program are dedicated to getting you ready for the work-force, which is a whole different type of grind  Sabio trains you throughout the whole bootcamp with mock interviews as well as giving you the tools and information necessary to ace those interviews.  

Expect to put in about 60-70 hours/week for 12 weeks.  Monday through Saturday.  

Life after Sabio

Sabio provides 5 years of professional training after the bootcamp is done.  These training sessions aren't your "grab pizza let's have a mixer" deals.  You will meet devs from some of the biggest names in tech and you will learn the most cutting edge technology, that the world has to offer.  You will also be able to glean and absorb knowledge about the plethora of different fields you can get into as you expand your skills as a software developer.

Lastly...

Your success solely depends on you.  Sabio will teach you and give you the tools.  They will back you up 100% and encourage you to become to the best version of yourself.  They want you to have far-reaching goals that will challenge and shake the tech world.  And most of all, they want you to be happy with your new life as a software developer.  

As for myself, I was offered my first job as a fulltime software engineer 3 weeks after the immersive program ended and I signed onboard to another position 2 weeks later after realizing (through consulting Sabio alumni and staff) that I was worth a lot more than what the first job was offering.  In many of my interviews, the interviewers are impressed with the amount of knowledge I display even though I only have a few months of programming experience.  Some have explicitly stated that I know how to implement solutions that CS grads are not aware of.  I have been to tech meetups and devdays and I have been able to hold my own around tech professionals who have decades of experience in the field.  I love to talk about code and the bigger implications that technology has on our lives as we strive onwards into the 21st century.  

If you are a good dev, then your skills speak on your behalf.  And trust me, Sabio trains elite software engineers.

Like a lot of us seeking to change our careers and our lives, I found myself stuck and unhappy with my current situation. Going back to college was not a viable option for me, so I looked around for a career booster that I would actually enjoy. I came across coding bootcamps and began doing online courses to see if it was the right fit for me. I enjoyed it  and decided to pursue coding and eventually found Sabio. The bootcamp itself was definitely not a walk in the park- it was difficult, challenging, and sometimes made me feel like I wanted to give up.. DON'T! What made up for it was the potential to change my life and with all the right people around me going through the same thing, we keep on pushing. The instructors are super knowledgeable and the community is awesome and super helpful. 

My only recommendation is to start coding as soon as possible. Gain as much knowledge as you can before starting the bootcamp. There are many resources available online that can help you get started. Don't just watch and read, but actually code! This is an ever-changing career and you never stop learning. Do some research on the available stacks (MEAN vs. .NET) to help you decide what would be best suited for you. Make the commitment and invest in yourself!

I would recommend Sabio to anyone wanting to become a professional developer. I came in with no prior coding experience and limited knowledge of computers. I switched careers and I'm now making more money than I ever thought I would. I have great benefits and I get to enjoy weekends off for the first time. My instructor was awesome and the mock interviews really help you gain confidence and prepare you for the industry. The bootcamp was practical as we spent most of our time building a useful real world application instead of diving into theory all day. There seems to be a lot of pretentiousness involved with bootcamps and computer science in general, but you won't see that at Sabio--the entire team is very down to earth and values diversity. Gregorio has worked his way up from the bottom and he's a very inspiring connection to have. 

To future applicants, I would highly suggest coding as much as you can prior to starting pre work. Try to fall in love with code and you'll have a much more enjoyable experience. Sabio is a booster and will take your knowledge to the next level, but you have to be dedicated and enjoy solving problems. Sabio doesn't guarantee you a job, but you get out what you put in. You'll get a job if you stick with it! I also suggest doing a lot of research to determine which stack interests you the most (MEAN or .NET). You can use job trends (https://www.indeed.com/jobtrends) on Indeed to see what is in demand. Do searches to compare stuff like C# and node. Coding is hard and my cohort was extremely stressful, but it gets easier and easier the more you practice. Don't let the stress get to you! Stay positive! 

I used to be a software developer in the 2000s, and this year I decided to be back to technology. At the beginning I took some free online classes but quickly learn that it will not work for me, I needed an instructor to make questions to and a curriculum to cover a lot in short period of time. So I started to look for solutions and evaluate few boot-camps; I saw excellent reviews from Sabio and what I liked most was during class you have to develop a real project, a fully functioning website from back to front end.

I can say that it has been one of the better decisions of my life and it totally exceed my expectations. Why?

- The instructor has more than 15 years of real experience in software development, and he was totally willing to answer any question and since I had experience he was challenging me to learn more stuff. He has become a mentor for me and today after the class end, he is still answering my questions.

- The project was a real website that we developed, doing the back-end in SQL, the middle tier in C# and the front in AngularJS. We developed using the standards and procedures of a real company. That helps a lot when you are looking for a job.

- The support from Sabio founders, other instructors and the staff is great. They have developed a lot of tools, procedures, and a network to help you during the project, looking for jobs and after you found a job.

- It was a small class and my classmates were incredible, very professional, responsible, great persons, and I am sure our friendship will continue for many years.

The result:

-I am working as a senior software developer with 3 of my classmates converting a website from Classic ASP to MVC/AngularJS. The company, the project and salary are great and we are using everything that we learn on Sabio.

Conclusion:

It was not easy and during class I usually dedicated more than 65 hours by week but it was totally worth it and I recommend it to everybody that it is serious about becoming a software developer or like my case want to get back and learn the current technology.

I am a father of two young children and choosing which coding bootcamp to attend was an incredibly difficult decision. After a couple months of in depth research and visiting other bootcamps. I made the decision that Sabio was the best choice for me and my family. Now having finished the program I am 100% confident I made the right choice. Sabio has provided me so much knowledge, guidance, and support throughout the program. Even after graduating they continue to give me so much support and resources to find the best job and continue growing my skills.

Gregorio and Liliana the founders, show that they truly care about you and will always be completely honest. This honesty is very refreshing. With other bootcamps I visited I always felt like I was just being told what I wanted to hear. Plus NOT a single other bootcamp stated that they help or offer additional support after completing the boot camp. Sabio is the only boot camp I know of that will give so much help during and after the boot camp.   

Going into the boot camp I had very little knowledge of coding. I had taken a few classes on codecademy. Sabio has turned me into a full stack web developer within 3 months. Don't get me wrong, it took a lot of hard work and discipline on my part.  

The Sabio instructors and staff are amazing! I had the great opportunity of having Gregorio as my instructor. I'm so thankful that I did. The number one thing I loved most about him is his positive mentality. There were so many times during the course of 3 months that I was assigned a task completely out of my comfort zone. Many of the times I doubted I was even capable of completing the task but not matter how much I doubted myself Gregorio's confidence in me always pushed me to overcome roadblocks and grow as a developer. After finishing the program I feel incredibly prepared and I am proud to say I am now employed as a Front End Web Developer for an amazing company. 

Thank you Sabio!

Look, I was in your position 6-8 months ago. Looking for a new career in an industry that seemed impossible to break into. I didn't have a CS degree nor the knowledge to differentiate a <div> from a <span>. But after months of hard work and dedication to my future I've found myself on my second job in the industry making 80k a year. Don't get me wrong. This is no cake walk. You will doubt yourself, the process, your life even. But if you have the grit and determination to make a positive change in your life; this program will give you more than enough tools and support to make this change very possible. Simply believe in yourself, make the jump, commit the time, and the future is yours. I was just as doubtful as you but the program really works. This is no BS. Make the commitment and you'll never look back again. 

PS Gregorio is the man. So much post-graduation job support. It's truly unreal. Mike is pretty killer too ;-)

I have always been interested in computer programs in general, but did not begin to become academically aware of these programs until senior year of high school. I was enrolled in a class that covered the coding language of C++ during my senior year for two months before having to drop it because I was enrolled in too many college classes while in high school. Upon graduating from Berkeley High School and becoming a student at Santa Barbara City College, my incentive toward reaching my goals in computer science seem to become unreachable due to the rigorous requirements presented to attain the undergraduate degree. In search of how I could adjust, but still explore my interests and expand my knowledge in the computer science field, I was introduced to Sabio's Full Stack Web Development Program. Yes, it is long hours, but fortunatly, Sabio's has very supportive, understanding, bright, and patient staff to help push you along with the rest your cohort.

First off I want to mention that the owners Liliana and Gregorio care for their students. They have a sincere motivation behind their business and I witnessed this numerous times when graduates would come visit them or at our graduation ceremony where you could just see the sincerity, the heart. Great People.

In regards to the program:

Sabio offers professtional experience and I can't think of other bootcamps that do the same. I mean you literally are working with a client to build a web application with a team of developers (your other classmates). The Instructors, actual Lead Developers with over 10 years of experience each, offer incredible guidance and help you learn to solve problems independently and collaboratively. I was a Barista going in and around a month after my graduation I obtained .NET Developer position. Gregorio, in particular, offered crucial advice for applying for jobs and how to self represent yourself, a skill many developers may lack.  Also, you gain access to a thriving community of developers who all love to Code, Code, Code. Oh and I can't forget, you get the BEST hoodie ever at the end!!! Awesome program!!!