School of Code

As a graduate of School of Code, who read a fair bit about bootcamps prior to attending School of Code I feel it is important to first explain why SOC is not your average bootcamp: 

• School of Code is a 100% FREE, (business model based on recruiter fees, partners/sponsors & investors) - therefore bootcampers pay nothing - no down payment, no % of subsequent salary.
• The 16-week bootcamp takes people from absolute scratch,  (no pre-requisite 300hr courses etc), all the way through to professional developer - this really gives newcomers a fair chance.
• there is an incredible level of support for graduates to get them into work. This includes creating an extensive network of vetted tech companies willing to invest and grow the potential of diverse tech talent. Lining up at least 3-4 interviews for candidates and continuing to reach out and support candidates to catch up and check in on the first weeks of work - this demonstrates the investment of the bootcamp in the success of your learning and their confidence in it solidifying into real results through a successful career in tech. 
• There is a huge extensive support network - guest lecturers, ex-bootcampers, tech experts and companies which allows you to meet and hear from those working in tech regularly. 
• School of Code has shown exceptional resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic-  our particular bootcamp transitioned from an in-person bootcamp to a remote one for the first time never losing momentum, focus or support for all bootcampers & extended team - well done!
• The core of the model is inclusive diversity meaning the differences in people who attend the course  is a huge benefit to participants

Why do this? Their aim is to help more and different types of people benefit from the tech industry - especially as we see increased unemployment, rising automation, and the rapidly changing job landscape - creating extensive social impact and tech talent - truly inspiring!  

I attended the 2020 bootcamp from Jan - May and started my dream career in tech directly after the course in May as a Site Reliability Engineer at the Economist. School of Code and the Economist who ran a workshop with us during the program were able to identify a great fit between candidate, company and skillset and both sides were incredibly positive and supportive of my transition into a new career.  

If this sounds like something you are interested in - I really encourage you to apply - you have nothing to lose and everything to gain both professionally and personally. If there is anyone that you think this could benefit, please send on the details or like/share School of Code on social media so we can spread the word and help as many people as possible. 

Thank you School of Code for the opportunity for us to be an agents of change in tech and contribute to the transformation of the industry to include a whole range of different people full of potential! Keep doing amazing things!

I took part in this course with zero coding knowledge.
After 16 weeks of excellent teaching, mentoring, coaching and being fully integrated into the local tech community I found myself with a choice of excellent job opportunities in the tech industry.
A once in a lifetime, life changing opportunity to make a career change into an industry full of exciting roles. School of code is now well regarded within the industry as providing excellent candidates who bring not only cutting edge tech skills to industry but many other additional skills that make the graduates excellent team members within any organisation.

The School of Code was an amazing experience. Chris created a brilliant inclusive environment where we could work cooperatively and I learned a massive amount in 4 months. We learned a range of technical and soft skills and worked on some amazing projects. Everyone had a personal mentor from a company in the Birmingham area who were incredibly helpful and generous with their time. A range of guest speakers gave us a good idea of the range of careers available in the tech sector. There was a lot of support to help us into jobs at the end of the course and I started my job the week after finishing the bootcamp. I was really well prepared for my new career.

The School of Code was a fantastic, life changing journey. I was looking for a career change, away from teaching, but struggling to transition into a new career. Initially, it was hard to believe that the course was free to students, but after applying and spending 16 weeks training with Chris at the school of code, I was able to gain a job as a mobile junior developer with a multinational media company.  
The 16 week course is very intensive but thoroughly enjoyable, learning a variety of coding skills, technical skills, personal skills and also making great friendships.  If you want a route into becoming a developer  there cannot be a better way.  Fantastic course!

I went from being a jaded jazz guitarist just about scraping a living to a man with 5 job offers in the space of 4 months. I decided to stay on and work for the School of Code!

Not only did I have the best four months going on an epic journey with 23 other people, I also learned how to code, made great new friends AND got myself a job.

Chris was a fantastic teacher, the course was a fantastic course. I'm so glad that I took the leep of faith and joined the School of Code, and am very happy to now be working there. 

 

The highlight I found most appealing was starting the day at bootcamp with new challenges. I was quite satisfied with how Chris taught us how to face a task by drawing it up on paper and breaking it down into smaller chunks BEFORE attempting to code. This made me to not dread being assigned tasks no matter how difficult it may seem.
I especially loved how my colleagues were willing to help each other in problem solving as well as forming some kind of support group.
One of the difficulties I faced was having to learn new JavaScript libraries like React and NodeJS. Others seem to pick up faster than I did and at some point I felt a little left behind but I am grateful for the online resources provided as this helped me learn during my free-time at home and over the weekends. 
Team work was absolutely fun as there was mutual respect among team members and everyone seem to have the same level of passion. People were made to identify their weaknesses and strengths when coding and this helped to strategize as to how best to contribute during group tasks.

On the 4th September 2017, I arrived at the bootcamp fully expecting to hate the social side of the course, but to love the code side.  I could not have been more wrong!  I loved every single second of the course.  From the very beginning, i was finding out new information, new skills and new abilities that I can genuinely say changed my life.  For me, the most enjoyable part was the part I expected to like the least - the social aspect of the course, particularly the team-working and the pair-programming.  The highlight for me was the opportunity to go to OpenBankHack17 (a hackathon in london) with 3 of my class mates (now friends) and winning "best organised team".  It was very hard work - i was getting up approximately 6am, and not getting back in til approximately 7:30pm.  Some evenings, I would be coding whilst eating my dinner with my wife.  But I can genuinely say I enjoyed it, even with the ammount of time put in it.  I would genuinely 100% advise anyone who has any thoughts at all of joining this boot camp to do exactly that! don't miss the opportunity to change your life.

I'm a lady in my mid-forties who has spent most of my life working minimum wage retail jobs. I had always wanted to work in tech but had been dissuaded by negative, disbelieving comments. One day I decided to ignore the naysayers and was thrilled when I was accepted to School of Code. I learned so much, achieved so much and by the end of the course I started to believe that I was a capable person. I loved the hands-on practical coding experience. The teaching is amazing: It is responsive and adapts to the needs of the bootcampers. My verbal communication skills improved drastically. At the start of the course I started shaking every time I had to speak (even in small groups). By the end of 16 weeks I felt confident talking and presenting to industry professionals. Every single person selected for the bootcamp was a uniquely talented individual and I learned so much from them.

Cons: There is so much to learn in such a short period of time;  Now that the bootcamp has ended, I will have to revisit everything I've learned in more detail. The job search could potentially take a while.  The work is always done in teams. This means your experience is partially reliant on your teammates (luckily they choose bootcampers with care).

My time at School of Code was absolutely fantastic. It was one of the hardest experiences I have put myself through, but it was also the most rewarding. There were multiple times where I didn't think I would be able to get through it, where I thought I wasn't good enough, where I felt everyone knew more than me. However, I am so glad that I had the support from the coaches to push me and encourage me to persevere.
My only criticism is that the coaches aren't necessarily teachers, so I felt like some topics were just recited as opposed to be taught. This was definitely augmented by the fact it was all remote learning, which turns out, isn't my preferred way of consuming information as I am easily distracted. (I didn't think about this being an issue before starting).
Job assistance gets a 4/5 just because I haven't had the contact with the recruiters after applying for roles. I feel like there is a disconnect between the learning side and the recruiting side. However, I believe this my bootcamp was the first time it had been ran nationwide so I imagine there are going to be a few logistical issues when arranging jobs.
All in all, I definitely recommend School of Code. My life has been forever changed and every future success will, in part, be due to School of Code.

School of Code offers a unique, refreshing take on learning. Prior to applying, I watched videos of previous bootcampers and felt convinced it was something I wanted to experience. It was inspiring to see people from all backgrounds come together to support each other and learn to code (as well as other essential skills). There is a low entry barrier, with the only real requirement being a desire to intensely learn and be challenged. The course is accessible to all (otherwise, I don’t think I could afford a circa £7k course elsewhere) and the job placement rates (upon completion) are high.