Skillcrush

I have been extremely impressed with Skillcrush. I have learned so much in the approximately 3 weeks I have been a study in the Break Into Tech Bluprint. The program is very reasonably priced for all of the teaching, resources, and instructor support you get. The mentor sessions are what really drew me to this program. I had been learning to code online for a little while but really wanted some face-to-face (virtually of course) contact with a mentor to help guide me in the right direction in the tech world to switch careers. Overall A+ program. 

This course is a nice pace both for people new to coding as well as those with very limited experience. It gives ample explanation of concepts, and even gives multiple explanations for harder concepts. I especially liked that there were transcripts available for all the videos. I felt like it was a safe place to ask even the most basic questions, and everyone was very helpful & welcoming. I do have to say that the fact that it is mostly women here is making learning much more comfortable and confidence building, and it is SO NICE not to be talked down to!

I'm excited about this new opportunity to have a job I enjoy AND can make a living doing. It's a relief to know that career change IS possible with some work & perseverance, and I'm very happy to have stumbled upon Skillcrush at this point in my life.

Okay. I only write reviews if my experience was awfully good or awfully bad. Ive been enrolled with skillcrush for over a month now and i have learnt a lot!!! Previously i had spent months over months on othet online platforms like udacity, udemy, coursera, lynda (you name it) to learn web design, development and git but some of the concepts were extremely confusing to grasp and i ended up giving up because it got so frustrating without clear tutorials and not much help from the instructors. Online learning can be very challenging! Then aftet a year i decided to join skillcrush and i have to admit its worth every penny!!! they make learning a breeze. The tutorials are amaaaazingly simple and at the same time very informative. If you get stuck you can turn to their google hangout or an instructor on live chat. The responses are fairly quick. And the instructors dont rest until they have resolved the issue for you. They make learning so much easier and fun!i look forward to learning stuff every day (who thought learning was so fun, right?!). The curriculum is great. You learn super hard concepts without even realizing how hard it was.

I have been in retail way too long, and finally decided to take the leap and change careers completely. I have 2 little girls, and do not have the luxury or income to attend boot camps or get another college degree. Skillcrush was the best decision I made! It made it fun, interesting and applicable. I tried other online courses, which were helpful, but Skillcrush guides you so you don't feel lost or overwhelmed. And it sets you up perfectly for an actual job when you're done. Loved it!!!!

The Front End Developer course is the first I've taken with Skillcrush, but it definitely won't be the last. I have never taken an online course, and felt incredibly hesitant to learn tech this way (what if I have a million unanswerable questions!!! what if I get behind on my classes!!!), but this Skillcrush course is designed in such a way that learning (and getting help!) was a breeze, even for a total beginner like me. I even took a week off of classes for vacation, but it was a cinch to work at my own pace and stay up with the material.

The Skillcrush folks do a great job of creating an online community vibe, so I never once felt isolated or alone in the process. BUT, I will say that these courses are much easier IF you read all of the instructions, complete orientation, go through all of the basic beginning steps before class starts, and really set yourself up for success. 

When you're learning on your own, it's SO tempting to skip steps, jump to the cheat code right away, or just do other things besides class. I believe these courses are best suited for folks who know themselves well, are self-motivated, can hunker down and stay on-task (even when they have a ton of questions and feel uncertain about their work), and can exercise patience when waiting for questions to be answered via email. 

Personally, I LOVE working on my own, don't have trouble staying focused, and was able to resist the urge to cheat through the course - the answer code provided at the end of every learning module helped me immensely when checking my work.

I HIGHLY recommend Skillcrush courses. I will most likely take the Wordpress course next - this stuff is FUN to learn. 

I am a current student doing the All-Access Career Blueprint.  This is a very valuable course as it allows the student to learn about more than just one area.  You can do the design courses and the Wordpress courses and the Ruby courses if you want to.  It is great for people who want to develop more than one skill set.  The courses are well-paced and they make it easy to learn the new skills.  The other great piece is that you get a career counselor who will work with you one-on-one to help you develop a personal plan for entering the workforce.  That to me makes it all worthwhile. 

So, I'm only just a month into this blueprint and I like the way this is working for me. The fact that I can work at my own pace is great. I am sometimes concerned that I don't have all the in-depth knowlege I might want to have, but I also know that I have time to catch up. I also love that Skillcrush points me in the direction of articles, other Developers and their websites, and other relevant resources to help you learn more on your own. 

And I have to say, going to a networking event and even mentioning that you are learning tech skills--suddenly people want to talk to you.