Software Guild

TL;DR--
Do it.

I spent (am spending?) time as an Apprentice at the Software Craftsmanship Guild Java Jan 2015 cohort. It was one of the best decisions of my life.

A bit about me: I'm 23, lived in the Akron area my whole life, went to Kent State for biology, and had no experience with coding at all before the Guild. None. Can't stress that enough. I loved math, more specifically formal logic. I was a sous chef in the Akron area after college and was presented with a choice: pursue a career in the culinary field or do...something else. I wasn't sure. I heard about the Guild on NPR and, after a few days of intensive research on what a dev bootcamp is and how this one stacks up with the others around the country (incredibly well, by the way), I took the assessment and enrolled.

This is an intense experience. You have to fully commit yourself to it. It's like a twelve-week cram fest. On top of that, when you finally see the forest through the trees, you realize how little you actually know. A certain type of person is upset about that. A very different type of person is absolutely pumped to continue to learn. To really truly succeed at the Guild (and in the IT field I would imagine) you need to be that latter person. That's number one. An insatiable lust for learning.

The Java course curriculum focuses on full stack development. You start by learning the basics of Java, Object Oriented Design, N-Tier design, and the Agile Methodology. The amount of material thrown at you, that you have to internalize, is huge. Luckily, the Java cohort has an incredibly knowledgeable and patient lead instructor in Eric Ward. If he has anything to do about it you will not fall behind. Sarah Dutkiewicz, another industry veteran, acts in a role similar to a traditional college TA. Like Eric, she is incredibly knowledgeable, patient, and kind. The student-to-teacher ratio is low enough that individual attention is never an issue. There are no dumb questions because, honestly, four or five other people are probably hung up on the same concept that you are. After a Mastery Project delving deeper into the core concepts of Java you're on to the finer points of Maven dependency management and the Spring framework, auxiliary technologies that allow you to build bigger and better things. You inch your way closer to the front end, brushing up on the HTML, CSS, JavaScript and jQuery pre-work you did months ago. Web development comes next, learning about RESTful web services, JSP's, AJAX calls, and the Spring MVC framework. Finally, you switch focus all the way to the back end, learning about database management and MySql. And...that's it. You now have the tools to tackle the Capstone Project, a three week long project incorporating literally everything you've covered in the course and a whole lot more. It's huge. There's a reason I'm writing this at 8:30PM on a Sunday from the Guild, which has 24 hour access in case you do need to pull long nights or weekends.

Your day to day routine will change. The Guild offers living arrangements for those coming from out of town. Luckily, I live in Stow, about thirty minutes from Akron. The formal learning happens between 9 and 4 Monday thru Friday but you would be fooling yourself if you didn't allocate at least twenty hours a week on top of that for extra learning or to strengthen key concepts. You really get out what you put in. Maturity and drive are huge parts of the process. Eric won't really require you to do homework in the traditional sense (other than checking on your Mastery and Capstone projects). You paid ten grand for this, man. Don't be an idiot.

The jobs will come if you put in the effort. For me, the most stressful part of this whole process was the "speed dating" events, where the Guild brings in a lot of interested companies for you to connect with. On top of the curriculum and your side projects it can be quite a difficult time. The Guild was absolutely phenomenal with how they handled it all. They provide you with all the resources you need in order for you to find the right fit. It's a tough balance to strike between learning and the need for a job. Luckily for me I was offered a position at my dream job fairly quickly into the process, which I quickly accepted. They can't guarantee employment but I find it hard to believe that the type of people the Guild attracts (and the vetting process of the Guild itself) would be unemployed for long. The Guild is hugely respected. I can't count the number of times I heard potential employers tell me they value the education I received here over a traditional CS degree. The job placement rate was (I think) one hundred percent the last Java cohort and I see no reason why those numbers won't be repeated this time around. Many of my fellow students over here and on the .NET side already have accepted offers from interested firms.

If you are seriously considering a career change and have the grit and intelligence to hack it, the Software Craftsmanship Guild is an incredible choice. I can't speak highly enough about the Guild or the instructors or my fellow students (who were just as valuable a resource as StackOverflow, and great people to boot). It exceeded my highest expectations of not only what I would learn but the institute of learning as a whole. Traditional schooling seems so...inadequate now. What Eric Wise has managed to put together here is incredible. It has honestly changed my life for the better.

I attended the August 2014 Java cohort with Eric Ward.

I studied accounting in college and did three years at a Big 4 accounting firm, as a CPA.  Then I transitioned to finance at a Fortune 20 company, making it to director level before pausing to ask ‘what do I want to be better at in the next 5 years?’  As much as I love Excel and financial modeling, I couldn’t create much that would be useful to a broader audience.  My experience with technology at that point was little more than submitting IT tickets at work, insisting each one be marked urgent. 

As a side project, I was working with a web designer on a website, and I just kept thinking, I wish I could do this myself. Not just the HTML & CSS, but I wanted to be able to create and tinker, to dream up and play.  I didn’t know what that meant (at the time, I didn’t even know the difference between HTML & CSS), but I knew I would never get there staying in my world of finance.  So, I started to explore and came across the Guild about a month before their August session began.  The session was already full (it fills quickly!) but I was fortunate and got a last minute seat when someone dropped.  Day 1 of the class – I was a complete novice.

This is where I’ll say put yourself in the best possible position ahead of time by doing all the pre-work.  And really study it, learn it.  You won’t have time to ‘catch up’ on it once the class starts.  You just won’t.  I promise.  There were questions I hesitated to ask because I wasn’t sure if I should have known that from the pre-work or not.  Set yourself up for success.  Also, ask the question whether you think you should know it or not.

Eric Ward is the instructor of the Java class.  He’s passionate about both technology and teaching. He’s endlessly patient, while still pushing the class at a grueling pace to cover the material.  He not only asks for feedback regularly on what’s working, what are we hung up on, what’s not working – but he also adjusts on a dime based on this feedback.  He’ll explain things you don’t understand three different ways, and when you’re still struggling, somehow he’ll find three more ways to explain it until something clicks.  If you are able to explore beyond the course material and run into questions, he’ll help you through those questions, too.  For those who are book learners like me, he also provides fully annotated notes of the code examples, which were a lifesaver.  I refer to them regularly still.  In short, he’s incredible at what he does. 

The course is twelve weeks.  It’s long, long hours.  Don’t expect to get around that.  And don’t short-change your experience by trying to get around it.  Not sure if you can break away from life for that long?  I often remind myself – time is going to go by no matter what I choose to do.  A year from now, will I wish I had started today?

And life after the Guild?  I had my first interview early November, job offer early December, and started early January with an IT consulting firm in Columbus who came to an open house the Guild hosted.  I’m in a hybrid role, doing some business analyst/testing work, and I’ll also get to program.

I’ve also joined user groups, taken more classes online, started reading programming books, and began a side project.  I’m committed to immersing myself in this world, see what I learn, and determine what direction I want to take this whole experience.

As a side, one thing I’ve noticed from some in the IT space who aren’t developers is a sense that they have an interest in better understanding the world of software development, but it feels so vast and there’s no clear path to clarity for them.  I feel like the Guild helped to shape that world for me.  I generally understand how the pieces fit together, even though I still have much to learn.  I can strategically learn versus aimlessly meander on the periphery, like so many do who never end up jumping in.  I feel in control of my destiny and that my path is mine to choose.  That’s huge.  The Guild gave me that.

If you do take this course, my advice to you: get out of your own head.  Turn off the negative voices.  Seek to understand – this takes precedence over getting through the homework.  And try, really try not to compare yourself to others in the class.  Learn what you can each and every day.  If you improve 1% each day, you’ll double your ability every 70 days.  Where will you be a year later?  And five years later?  Best of luck on your journey.

Not only did I quit a comfortable job at a company with a great name and environment to come learn at the Guild, but I also put every penny I had into the move and the cohort. I was particularly skeptical and demanding because I was putting everything into it, and bootcamps can be a hit or miss investment. You know what? the guild was the best career move I've ever made. I am now making $10.40/hr more than I was making before starting the guild. That means this program will have paid for itself in the first year. Twice. This is also just my starting salary. Their hiring network was growing at a serious pace as I was attending, but I had to go back home to my family. I got a job outside the network within 3 weeks after finishing the course, and I went on vacation for two of those. NOTE: I was on my phone and computer a lot while on "break" arranging interviews . The morning after I landed back home I had an interview and they offered me the job. I know this first part kind of sounds like a commercial but I can assure you this was all written because I'm just genuinely glad I made this move. 

That's just the end result though, so what was it like attending? It was definitely fast paced and frustrating at times. A lot of content in a short amount of time is an adjustment, and if it everything doesn't click right away you can't take that personally like I did in the beginning. So do not apply if you are looking for a shortcut. This will take your full attention inside and outside of class, and do yourself a favor and do all of the pre-work. It was great to learn from someone who's actually spent a significant amount of time in the industry. Someone who will be real with you about what you can expect to use and not use in real world business applications. Wise is a straight shooter and there will be no coddling. So again do not apply if you are not dedicated. 

Your average day will consist of slide decks and lectures in the morning, then you will be set free to work on an assigned project or your labs for practice. You will be working by yourself, pair programming, or in a group of three. Help is available whenever you need it. 

I came in with a little self study but basically as a complete novice, I wasn't really sure I could do this up until the middle of cohort. I would have sold myself real short had I listened to those incorrect assumptions. I struggled a little bit in the beginning, but Sarah (the AWESOME Microsoft MVP tutor) and Eric were more than available for me. I lived in the Lofts that they sublease, and it was great to be near other apprentices in the off hours. 

Summary: all in all a very worthwhile experience and investment but don't expect it to be an easy ride, there's a lot to cover in 3 months. Things move at a frustrating pace sometimes, but your instructor will always repeat or clarify if you just ask. 

PS. I attended the Aug 2014 .NET Cohort

Short Review:

I came into the guild with very basic C# concepts and understanding. I left the guild able to build a fully functional, data base driven web application. Net result, a TON of knowledge. My teacher, Eric Wise, had this magical ability to take concepts and simplify them in terms that anyone can understand. And if it didn’t click the first time he explained it, he found others way to explain it until it did. While the course is very much set up for independent learning, and working closely with your class peers…Eric is always there with a thought provoking question to guide you toward getting to an answer. I watched my peers who had 0 programming experience coming into the class really push themselves and turned into pretty good developers.

If you are a logical thinker, if you love technology, love to learn, if you are always thinking “man, I wish I could build something to do something” – the program will push you, motivate you, and educate you to where you need to be to enter the wonderful world of development. This was well worth my investment in myself.

Longer Review:

Pros:

-Eric knows how to simply things to a level anyone can understand, even some more advanced concepts.

-The program is very heavily designed to give you what you put into it. There are a ton of practice exercises to keep you busy and learning. You have peers who will push you to succeed. But at the end of the day, if you want to work, you want to learn, the tools are put in front of you and you just need to embrace them. During the first 8 weeks I was putting in 20-30 hour outside of class learning and the results showed. During the final 4 weeks I put almost no time in outside of class learning, and the results likewise showed in the opposite direction. At the end, you choose to win and learn, or you choose to not.

-There is a good deal of employers that have taken interest in the guild and will come in to meet you. It’s nice to have that instant network available to you following the program, given you choose to embrace it. My biggest regret (and again this was all my fault) was believing so strongly I was going to get in at a company that I failed to take advantage of this network…and when in the end they were not interested in me I was left behind. Again, as the theme with the entire guild, the doors are opened for you if you just walk thru them.

-Peer Programming. Getting a chance to talk with someone on the same level as you about a problem. Talk out a solution, really helps solidify concepts.
-3 months of programming experience walking out. You spend plenty of time in the workshop programming, plenty of time outside as well. This isn’t a 2 hour a day twice a week college course, this is an internship.

-The Family known as the Guild. I met 7 students and 1 professor I genuinely like…people I’d call up on any given day to hang out with. Everyone is supportive, encouraging, and wanting to see everyone else succeed. I know I will have these people in my network long beyond the end of the guild, and I am thankful to have met them.

Cons:

-Companies outside of the guild network are very new to the concept of the boot camps and the guild. I found myself during interview situations fighting an uphill battle to prove I had enough knowledge to equal what they believe a person comes out of college with. Until this becomes more widely accepted, it could be considered a con. However, I do know some of my classmates found employment in places outside of the guild network without a problem, so this could be an isolated situation.

-You spend about 4 weeks on core C# which is great and you get plenty of practice. You spend about 2 weeks on SQL Database which is great and you get plenty of practice. You go thru a ton of content for 2 weeks on Web and are given a final mastery project set to give you the practice. I wish we would have had more in class time to practice these concepts – but again – this happened about the time I started to stop putting in my effort outside of class so I could have done some self-learning here to combat this.
 
Finally:

Be it a novice like I was, or someone who has never seen a line of code in their life I believe can learn to program with the tools provided, resources available, and the teaching style Eric provides IF one wants to put the time required to learn. There are no grades, there is no pass/fail, you are investing in yourself by being a part of this course and you decide for yourself if you pass or if you struggle. I realize the things that didn’t go “to plan” were of my fault – and even though I made some…poor decisions…Eric has remained a wonderful mentor and friend continuing to push me to succeed.

I will echo another student – who put it pretty simply:

12 Weeks - Hardwork - New Life

I was a member of the April-June 2014 class at the Software Craftsmanship Guild in Akron, Ohio. I chose the .Net cohort due to personal preference and my early interactions with Eric Wise, then President of the guild, which were extremely positive.

I had been a high school math teacher for 12 years, teaching AP-level courses and working with extremely bright and motivated students. I enjoyed teaching but had become restless, wanting a change, and I had always had a love for technology and computers. From a young age I tinkered with computers, dabbled in programming, and was the one who friends and family members called when they needed tech support or advice. After researching my options, I decided to change careers. I chose the Guild due to cost, location, convenience of housing options, and most importantly, the curriculum. I wanted to learn C# and the .Net stack because I felt that it would make me very employable, and I was not mistaken.

While the program is grueling in its intensity and not for the feint of heart, I have no regrets about my time at the Guild and would do it all over again. You learn more in 12 weeks than even I, as a teacher, felt humanly possible, and you get plenty of hands-on practice so that by the time you leave you have a strong skill set and are more than prepared to enter the field as a junior developer. Furthermore, with resume help and guidance, mock interviews, and plenty of advice from field-tested veterans, you can’t help but to succeed… given that you hold up your end of the bargain, which is to work extremely hard for the duration. I would estimate that I spent roughly 70 hours each week including class time, assignments, group work, and my own personal projects. Help is always available and you get an incredible amount of support and practical advice throughout, but it is very challenging and more than a little stressful at times. However, with hard work and dedication, it is totally doable.

I started interviewing during week eight and accepted a job offer on Monday of week ten. I began work as a web developer two weeks after my cohort ended, and I can honestly say that I have found my niche and could not be happier. I love the work and the company I work for, and my skills have literally taken off in the months since I graduated. I hit the ground running and was using everything I learned at the guild right away. I highly recommend this program to anyone interested in becoming a .Net developer.

 

4 months ago, I didn't know the first thing about software development. Last week, I accepted a job offer from a company that wants me to be a software engineer. I spent the rest of that morning politely declining three other job offers I received. The guild works. During your time here, you will be trained as a full stack developer.

(for those interested in Java)
This means you will learn:

• Linux and command line basics (we use Ubuntu 14.04)

 

• Source code control - Github

 

• Java syntax - how to write Java code

 

• object oriented principles - How to create simple programs in Java

 

• The Spring Framework - most companies use a framework to aid in software development. You will learn how to properly utilize a framework in conjunction with Java.

 

• XML - how to use XML files to configure your programs

 

• Database basics. How to design, create, maintain, and manipulate a database using MySQL.

 

• Web - MVC, HTML, CSS, Bootstrap and how to create a web site that utilizes Java.

 

• SDLC - The software development life cycle, including the Agile method for development.

**Please keep in mind that the curriculum is constantly being refined and improved, but rest easy that any changes are done to make you a better developer

The course is demanding. It is 7 hours per day for twelve weeks. Is is like drinking from a fire hose. Our instructor, Eric Ward, was nothing short of fantastic. Eric worked in the industry as a senior software developer for many years before deciding to teach. He knows what employers are looking for. Having a resource like Eric in the classroom everyday was invaluble.

The guild's best feature is its hiring network. There are over sixty companies in the network at this time. In the last six months, the network has doubled in size. During the middle of the semester, the guild held a job fair for us. Over twenty companies came to our campus. I got face time with 7 different companies in two days. This resulted in formal interviews with 6 different companies, and 4 different job offers.

I can't recommend the guild enough. I went from knowing nothing, to being a software engineer in twelve weeks, for the cost of a semester of college.

tl;dr signed up for the guild, learned a ton, got a well paying job.

Hi Guys, 

My over-review for Software guild 0/5. There is a reason behind for '0' Rating

1) Be aware new joiners there is big scam going on in Software guild. For instance I just delayed 9 days to submit assignment which is Badge-2. Then senior called me and asked to re-take the course again and pay $2000, even though I passed the exam with good score.

2) I dont think SG really worth , its waste of $10000. which is big scam.

 

 

 

I come from a background in many different areas. The most recent being ministry. I had a 4 year degree in math and about a year of self-taught experience as I was beginning the Louisville Software Guild .NET/C# Bootcamp. I quickly exhausted all that I learned in my year of self-teaching within the first 3 weeks of the bootcamp. Not only did I learn how to code, but I also learned other concepts that are extremely important if you want to break into the field. Concepts like OOP, how to write clean code, testing, data structuring, MVC, and others. Between in-class work and home-work I put in, on average, 70 hours a week for the duration of the 12 weeks. I also drove an hour one way everyday to attend the in person bootcamp. I say that just in case someone else is thinking about taking the plunge but doesn't live in Louisville. It was difficult, but definitely doable. After the Guild it only took 2 weeks to be hired by a company in Louisville. I believe most of my class (maybe 90%) of them had already accepted/pending job offers by this point as well. 

The only negative thing I could say about my time with the Software Guild was that my .NET/C# professor was pretty terrible, but he's since moved on from the Software Guild. All the other staff is phenomenal though! 

Good program. I like how you can take both the .Net and Java classes when you take one for regular price. You get a lot of practical instruction on useful enterprise-level Java tools to immediately become marketable to employers. Sometimes the lectures got long and boring (I like it when the lecturer has his stuff all together and organized to instruct us, having to hunt and peck for the answers is very distracting). The instructors really do know a lot about the material and I'm glad I got to study under them. I just hope that I'm able to get a job now that I've come through their bootcamp. I've got some really cool programs in my portfolio.

I went to the Software Guild in 2014 when it was known as The Software Craftsmanship Guild, and this review will document my conclusions as a “graduate” who has been in the industry for three years now. 2014 was at the very beginning of the coding bootcamp bubble that has since developed. In short, my experience with the Software Guild was disappointing, and that disappointment has persisted and amplified as I have attempted to work in the software development industry. 

First, I found the Software Guild curriculum to be underdeveloped at best. It was very cookie cutter and essentially a weak clone of the curriculums developed by the original west coast camps (Hack Reactor etc.). In retrospect, I can confidently conclude that the instruction was abysmal. Anything of substance that I learned during my time at the Software Guild was due to my autodidactic tendencies. (pro tip: if you don’t have autodidactic tendencies…DO NOT go into software development. You really do have to be learning new material constantly) Without fail, my instructor (Eric Wise) would stop in the middle of lectures to answer business phone calls or meet with potential investors visiting the site. I found this incredibly disrespectful to the students who each paid $10,000 for the course. If this had occurred in the first week of the course, I would have demanded a refund on the spot, but unfortunately I was too deep into the program to quit. I realized halfway through the program that Eric Wise is an enthusiastic salesman and businessman, NOT an instructor. Finally, there was some woefully inadequate "career guidance" that consisted of the other founder (Jenny Zamberlan) ensuring that we would parrot the script of non-thinking yes men/women during our interviews with prospective employers. Most of my classmates were employed with 3-month contracts upon leaving the Guild. I sure hope the Software Guild does not count these short contracts in their employment statistics, but something tells me they sure do.

My experience after the boot camp ended has been equally disappointing. Anybody who is smart enough to be a legitimate software developer should understand some basic economics. Opportunities for developers are heavily influenced by the supply/demand curve, and the supply of "developers" is rapidly increasing due to increased CS degree enrollment and the glut of boot camp "graduates." Many employers now view boot camp graduates with deep suspicion. I have actually removed The Software Guild from my resume and all employment sites, as I feel that having a no name boot camp on my CV is actually harmful to my employment prospects. Also, the H1B threat is real. I thought it was a bunch of “took mah jerbs” tripe a few years ago, but I have since lost my job to a flock of Indians on H1B visas. You must understand that the types of software development jobs that are accessible to boot camp graduates are HEAVILY exposed to the risk of outsourcing and H1B abuse. With no CS degree and only 12 weeks of experience, you are a code monkey when you “graduate” from a boot camp, and this global economy has plenty of code monkeys who want your job more than you do.

In conclusion, if it's too good to be true...well, you know the rest. If you are serious about a substantive career as a technology professional, please heed my advice and earn a legitimate computer science degree from a well-known 4 year institution. You'll have a depth of knowledge that is orders of magnitude greater than a boot camp graduate. Anything that a boot camp can purportedly teach you in a few months can be learned on the side as you work towards your legitimate CS degree. 

The only good thing I have to say about my experience at The Software Guild was that some of my classmates were great people, and I am still in contact with some of them.

 

I took the bootcamp two years ago. The day went like this: The morning started with a standup meeting where everyone stood in a circle and each person stated what they did, are working on, and will work on. It was followed  by a short quiz on the PC about previous day's lecture and a short question/answer assignment. Then there was a lecture and some coding work along until lunchtime. After lunch we all worked on our coding warm ups.

The coding work along, that we were suppose to code along with the teacher, went a bit too fast for everyone to keep up comofortably. It was a rush to code what the teacher was coding; some got it and some didn't.

Those who moved into the Lofts (apartments they provide at a cost) teamed up and worked together while on the campus or in the apartment; they hung out together, ate lunch together, and worked together. Those who commuted from home were left on their own to work alone. So, it was one these commuting students who eventually were given the boot after 4 week evaluation.

After 4 weeks there is an evaluation, if they think you are good enough to complete the bootcamp then they let you stay and if they think you are not then they expel you. You will have finished the .NET material by then, and the next few weeks is covering the other full stack stuff (html, javascript), and then the project. 

The cost is $10k some of which can be refunded depending on when you drop out or are kicked out.

They had a guy who helps with finding a job. He was very unproffessional and wasted everyone's time. He was in the program before and dropped out but came back and got a job as an HR person to help graduates get a job (from what previous guild members said).