Software Guild

I am a recent graduate and had a WONDERFUL experience going through the Java Bootcamp at the SoftwareGuild school in Louisville, KY.  The instructors were professional, super intellegent, engaging, supportive and tough when they needed you to push your limits.  The course content was very applicable and I feel prepared me for the position I'm now working in.

The school staff was also very supportive and easy to work with.  I would highly recommend this school to anyone who is trully committed to emersing themselves in learning a fast paced environment geared toward learning in demand skills, fast!

I attended The Software Guild Java Bootcamp in Louisville, KY between February and April 2017.

The curriculum included full stack development, so to say we covered a lot of ground in a short time is an understatement.  Although I have an IT background, I was completely foreign to Java and many of the supporting technologies that we covered during the course.

The pace of the coursework was sometimes - adequately - described as drinking from a fire hose (or three), and it required adapting to an agile mindset that was willing to simply "follow the pattern" to finish the objective and have faith that the understanding will sink in later.  For me, this was especially challenging - after all, my future job prospect was dependent upon me *understanding* Java development - but, eventually, I made the adjustment, and found the guidance to be true.

Given this, I must credit the staff and instructors at The Software Guild.  I believe they made all the difference by showing genuine interest in our success and compassion during the challenging times.  

The Guild has a great curriculum that starts slow with the basics of programming and gradually moves faster between topics.  If you're familiar with programming then the first month will probably be a recap for you.  The instructors are helpful and insist on asking questions.  They have resources outside of the scheduled lessons for more detailed learning, so you can learn at your own pace.  Their facilities are excellent and equipped with everything you'd need to feel comfortable and prepared.  They have social activities where you can meet alumni and software developers.  And they're committed to helping you find employment once you're finished.

I was an apprentice in the Software Craftsmanship Guild's Fall 2013 Java Cohort. The Software Craftsmanship Guild was an excellent experience, and I highly recommend it.

I believe that I am the first of our cohort to review, so I'll share some stats. 7 started, 6 finished. Job seekers who weren't already affiliated with staffing firms all received jobs. 2 received full tuition reimbursement.

Like many of the apprentices who left reviews, I had no background in software development. I had been teaching in a private school in Beachwood, OH for five years and I was looking for a change. I had really wanted to enter the software space, but was having difficulty figuring out how to do it.

I tried to take advantage of online coursework, both free and paid, but they were all lacking. All of those courses could teach me the concepts, but they couldn't provide me with enough exercises to truly reach mastery. These courses could provide experienced and thoughtful instructors who could lecture, but that was about it. I wanted someone who I could interact with, ask questions to, review my work, and coach me. In the online courses, I was all by myself. Forget about instructors, I had no camaraderie. At the guild, I would be working with every member of the cohort as we tried to learn and use this new information. Lastly, the online courses are interested in providing you with information. I wanted to be mentored by experienced developers. I wanted to create a network with other (future) developers.

The Guild provided me with all of those things and more.

Eric Ward, our instructor was, and continues to be, a tremendous teacher and friend. He is at the cutting edge of his discipline and can still make any and all of these concepts accessible to the neophyte. He was supportive but pushed us to get better. He taught us concepts, best practices, and helped us get a feel for the new industry and what employers were looking for.

Eric Wise, although not with our cohort day to day, brought headhunters, career advisors, and other meaningful speakers to help navigate the job search and enrich our experience.

The other apprentices were absolutely fantastic. I am happy to say that over 12 short weeks I have made new friends, coworkers, and network contacts. I hope to stay in touch with them for a long time.

As fantastic as the program is, your success rests in your own hands. It is a lot of work. It can be overwhelming and intimidating at times. However, you can do it, and everyone there will do everything in their power to help you. But you have control your own destiny. You have to put in the time both during hours and after hours. You have to practice and repeat. You can't be bashful about asking for help. I know that I was shameless about doing so.

One last piece of advice: I used something called the "Two Week Rule." I realized that whenever we were learning something new that I would only completely understand it or feel completely comfortable with it after two weeks. By doing this I was able to limit the anxiety and overwhelming confusion of new concepts. If you can convince yourself that this is the case (and you do the requisite work) your life will be much easier (especially in the first four weeks).

Take this course. Be great!

This was an intense 12 week course that challenged me every step of the way.  I started the course with no coding background and felt like I was always trying to catch up to my peers.  In the end I completed the course and after a little de-stressing realize how much I really learned.  Upon landing a job as a software engineer, my solid background in Object Orientated Programming and C# became evident to me.

I would recommend this course to others who are willing to put aside their life for 12 weeks to learn the material so you can launch yourself into a new career. 

The Software Guild is a fast-paced coding boot camp and if you are not ready to give up 12 weeks of your life to learn a new craft and really put in the effort, then this is not for you. 

The Software Guild is not like traditional schooling where you can do the bear minimum, show up to class, and graduate. You must work every day on your skills during your time at the guild. The boot camp can be super stressful especially if you have not had prior experience. Although it is not required I would recommend getting familiar with a language before signing up. 

In 3 months, I went from knowing nothing about programming, to accepting a job as a developer. If you are dedicated to becoming a software developer The Software Guild is a great decision.

I finished the Guild in October 2016, and I don't think I could have a higher opinion of the program. In the three months I was there, I learned how to write a functional web application from scratch (a blog) which was more than enough for me to get a two very good job offers one week out of the guild. But let me begin at the beginning.

The three two weeks covered fundamentals of Object-Oriented Programming in Java and frankly, they were the toughest part of the course. At the time, I spent 70+ hours on Guild assigned work (but I want to emphasize, not more than that. I had plenty time to sleep). Fortunately, the first three weeks are the most intense! I guess they do that to see if you can get your brain to click when it comes to object oriented programming.

And some students will find that challenging, and two out of my cohort dropped out by week three. We had no one else drop out afterwards and then most of us were clocking about 60 hours weekly. Regarding what you will learn: Enough java for a junior dev job, Spring framework, HTML, CSS and Javascript (although, the fundamentals for these three are covered in the pre-course). You will also learn two other features of JavaScript, Ajax and jQuery which are essential for modern web development.

Once you edge towards the end of the program, the guild will have a job fair, which seems to provide about 60% - 70% of all the jobs. Currently, a big chunk of graduates are taken by one company, and I'll let the reader figure out what it is. However, I will say that the Guild is constantly expanding its network and is more attuned to the needs of employers needs than the two expensive private universities I have graduated from (yes, the guild has higher placement and better average salaries than they do [adjusting the salary for the living costs, since most grads end up in Cleveland/Akron area] and both rank in global 30 for employability).

Out of my cohort of 8 students, I believe there is one who is still seeking employment after 3 months. One found a job while still in the program, me and another student got a job after one week the program ended, and I think that three more guys who got jobs one month afterwards. One more guy got a job I'm not sure when, but started working in January.

Most of these were local. One person went to NJ and another to Columbus, so I guess I'm not qualified to say if being in the Guild will get you that stellar job somewhere else. From what I hear, it's more difficult but definitely doable.

I guess now's the time for the honor roll. What I said for the guild, goes double for my instructor Pat Toner. From day one, Pat has been able to be totally informal and completely acessible while remaining a professional. That's not easy to do, but he was open to answering stupid questions, or pretty much what have you, and he always managed to set us on the right track. Additionally, he'll give you honest answers about the job market as he has experienced it for the last 15 years. 

On a larger scale, the Erics (Wise and Ward) in charge are also deeply committed to a functional business model. After spending time at Guild, I fully believe that they want to make sure they teach you the real skills for the real world out there. Everything at the guild is oriented towards that.

Also, the staff always have time for the students. If you post a question one of the slack channels, it will be answered within minutes, granted it's not 10 pm or something.