Zip Code Wilmington

                Zip Code Wilmington has set me on a path in my career that I have been trying to achieve for years! After learning from friends about this new coding school in town, one fateful day in April, I decided to make the phone call that would change my life. Getting admission to the course was the first big challenge I faced. There were four levels of interviews and technical challenges that we had to clear before getting admission to the course. Having prior coding experience would be helpful, but is not a must. What they are looking for is a passion to learn programming, and logical thinking and problem solving abilities.

                As an SAP consultant in my previous life, I did have functional IT experience, but had never done programming per se. I was eager to learn and was thrilled to hear that I had been selected! Being one of 25 selected from a pool of more than 250 applicants, I knew going in that the next 3 months were going to change my life! Every waking hour (which would be 18-20 hrs, no exaggeration!) of the next 12 weeks were spent learning core Java, JavaScript, HTML, CSS, frameworks like Spring MVC, Angular JS, app building, just to name a few. Core Java is the skill that is the most in demand in today’s industries, and you will come out of this boot camp very well prepared to deal with the challenges you will face as a Java application developer, and also equipped with the wherewithal and confidence to learn new languages and skillsets.

                You will get to meet the big wigs of the banking industry based in Wilmington, who are eager to hire from Zip Code. There are many opportunities to meet and network with hiring managers and senior executives from most of the major companies in Wilmington. There are talks every week by speakers from companies like JP Morgan, Bank of America, Amazon etc. that give you an insight into their hiring process and work culture.

                And last but not least is the amazing group of people at Zip Code that make this boot camp possible—This is a group of people solely dedicated to helping you ascend the career ladder as a software engineer! Tariq, Froilan and David are exemplary teachers and will push you to do your best, even beyond your wildest expectations! And, the heart and soul of Zip Code is Melanie, the Head of School, who will move heaven and earth to make sure you are gainfully placed in a job/apprenticeship after the boot camp. She went the extra mile to get me interviews with companies that I was keen on joining, and ultimately, getting placed with Bank of America, made my dream come true! I would highly recommend this boot camp to anyone with the passion, drive and perseverance to work towards your goal of becoming a software engineer in 3 months!

A challenging program that puts it on you to dictate your success. No one is here to spoon feed you. However, what do you get it is an envirnonment that is the breeding ground of underdogs. If you can push yourself through the fatigue, and keep yourself motivated, you will see your efforts bear fruit.

The program curriculum is rock solid. It teaches you the skills that employers want. Then, you can get placed in a job that will make sure you do what you learned. All you have to do is just listen to the teachers and do what they say.

 

 

 

 

 

Zip Code Wilmington was not only one of the most life-changing courses of study I've ever been through, it also taught me all the skills I needed to become a full time Java Developer.

Most coding bootcamps out there will teach you front-end development languages and frameworks like Javascript (and AngularJS) or Ruby (and Rails). A few out there will teach you database management or testing frameworks.

In my research prior to signing up, I set the explicit goal of learning Java because it is the single most in-demand language for any developer to know. Zip Code Wilmington is not only one of the only schools teaching Java (in addition to Javascript) in a bootcamp format, it was also highly successful in teaching my entire class how to learn new frameworks on an as-needed basis in order to successfully complete any given project on time.

The other big benefit of Zip Code Wilmington's course design is the emphasis on testing. By designing accurate tests for your functions before writing them, you set explicit criteria of what you're trying to accompish with that function, which clarifies what you're trying to do so effectively that it's almost always obvious how it should be accomplished from there.

Zip Code Wilmington is a difficult course to survive. When I applied, more than 250 other applicants applied for the same cohort. Of those 250, the top 30 were selected to participate in the class. Of those 30, 26 made it to graduation. This kind of intensive program takes a lot of grit to survive, but once you're through it, you have the confidence to take on just about any project, because the pacing is almost guaranteed to never be as intense as Zip Code's breakneck grind.

But if you have the grit to make it through, you'll find yourself in a new career path with a decently large (and very active) network of fellow Zip-Coders to ask for help and career advice. The school offers an excellent apprenticeship program that pays well and puts you on the road to success as a Java Developer.

Zip Code has my highest recommendation to anyone with the grit and smarts to handle it.

The first thing you should know is this is a NON PROFIT school. They are not here to make money, they are here to help you. That being said, entrance is competitive. You have to put in the work to get in, and put in 3x the work to stay in. Sleepless nights, no free time, lots of stress and doubt. In the end it is only 3 months and totally worth it.

Not only do they teach programming, they teach professional development. They make your resume shine! They teach you how to network. They force you to go to networking events to enforce said skills.

In 12 weeks we went from barely being able to do coding challenges to being able to craft an application, from database to front end. The company sponsers are involved and see this, and want you because of it!

The only way you wont get a job at the end is if you dont put in the effort (which if thats the case you wont make it through) or if you dont want one. When you get a job you will not be in debt to the school as the sponsers pay the rest of your tuition.

Best decision of my life.

Thank you Zip Code Wilmington! 

There is a bit of magic that goes on at Zip Code Wilmington. The magicians are those who Wayne mentioned in his review, plus the head magician and Head of the School, Anthony Pisapia, who makes sure all the most important people in Delaware are watching and supporting the bootcamp.

A continuous promotion of ZCW is being done daily by all the main actors, and that unrest makes the classroom what it I like to call a glass showcase for employers. The students are on display for the entire course of the 3-month program. Involvement beyond the daily classwork is made known and encouraged by Anthony and the instructors who are on the look out for relevant applications of the work being done in class. Those who volunteer themself for the additional events and projects only help themselves to shine brighter on display among a tireless group of aspiring developers. Meanwhile, more and more local employers sign up to become partners liking the drive they see.  

It seems like every day, a new representative of one of the partners and future partners are stopping in to see the magic that is happening each day in the classroom. Because of this, students are getting many opportunities to get to know the employers and the employers are scouting out the individuals they want to give a job to at the end of the course. ZCW gives you what other schools don't--3 months to show a future employer that you are worth their investment. That is what is truly magical about Zip Code Wilmington.

 

My Background:

I am an alumnus of the first Zip Code class. Before Zip Code I was teaching math in various roles including Long Term High School Math Substitute, and working as a waitress during the summer. I have a Bachelors in Psychology. I chose to go through Zip Code over the option of pursuing a second degree in Information Security as I desired a career in technology. I had minimal experience in HTML/CSS, with no experience in JavaScript and Java prior to the pre-coursework. When I learned about Zip Code, I quit my part-time summer job to focus on the pre-coursework. In the last 3 weeks of the bootcamp I was offered a fulltime software developer position with one of the partner companies, and invited to start immediately upon the course's end. I love the continuous challenges that are presented at work. In my free time, when I am not taking care of my dog, I am taking on additional opportunities to be involved at the firm and giving back to Zip Code and the tech community in various ways. Zip Code gave me the lifestyle I have been searching for, and a clear vision of my future with a series of goals I look to achieve in the upcoming years.

Articles that include things I got to be a part of while at ZCW:

http://technical.ly/delaware/2015/10/21/5-zip-code-wilmington-students-building-app-tedxwilmington/
http://www.delawareonline.com/story/money/business/2015/11/20/del-techhire-initiative-preparing-21st-century-workforce/76100100/
http://technical.ly/delaware/2015/12/07/zip-code-wilmington-grads-making-bank/
A must read: http://technical.ly/delaware/2015/10/29/zip-code-wilmington-boot-camp-is-no-joke/

A three-month full immersion courses in which I learned Java, JavaScript, as well as 6-month apprenticeship to start fresh with a new career. The instructors and curriculum really pushed us out of our comfort zones and consistently gave us challenging projects while having us follow test driven development, agile methodologies, and supplying us with a steady stream of guest speakers every week within the industry themselves. We actually met a few CTO's from the major financial institutions within the area. Every single graduate from the first cohort (In which I was a member of) received fulltime jobs or 6 month apprenticeships. 
Also the course costs $2000 up front or can be waived based on income. The additional $10000 is payed through from the employer upon student acceptance into an Apprenticeship.

Zip Code Wilmington is a tough, no-holds-barred bootcamp for aspiring Java Developers. We didn't spend ninety days figuring out HTML and CSS—we worked with real, cold, hard Java.

The experience was fantastic and Zip Code fully supports its graduates in finding gainful employment. The entire inaugural class, including myself, was placed in local paid apprenticeships. Zip Code not only provided us with the technical skills we needed to get software jobs, but also the career coaching and interview skills needed to complement employers' interest.

Tariq Hook, Froilan Miranda, and David Ginzberg are not only phenomenal instructors but also well-seasoned, tried and true software engineers. The main focus of the course is Java, but there is a healthy dose of Javascript and several other auxillary technologies that developers use in the workforce. The course is excellent because it teaches students core skills that can be applied to any development environment. Instead of focusing on a particular technology (other than Java), Zip Code's instruction style focuses on principles rather than the deep quirks of a particular stack. We may have learned Git, for example, but we would have no trouble getting up to speed on SVN if that's what the workplace required. Several of us are working in entirely unfamiliar stacks but the underlying principles Mr. Hook, Miranda, and Ginzberg taught us have given us the ability to adapt and thrive.

Melanie Augustin, the Director of Corporate Partnerships at Zip Code, did an absolutely fantastic job at coordinating apprenticeships with the employing partner companies, but also coached us rigorously on our interview skills and made sure our resumes were in tip-top shape before we sent them out to be reviewed by potential employers. This career coaching without a doubt significantly contributed to the success of the first cohort.

Zip Code Wilmington is a great start if you are looking to jump into software development. It has been an entirely worthwhile experience where I not only had a lot of fun and made a lot of cool developer-friends to network with, but I also got a job that is satisfying and rewarding. If you're thinking of taking through the program, apply. It just might change your life.

 

First things first! Zip Code is a way of life for 3 months. Say goodbye to your friends. If you’re married with kids, make some plans because your partner will become a single parent while you study all hours of the day. However, at the end of those three months you WILL become a software developer. It WILL change your life. There is one caveat… Zip Code is unlike any course you have ever taken. It is not high school, it is not college. You are going to have to work harder than any other time in your life. You will be working until midnight at least once or twice a week. You will want to give up probably more than once. Thankfully, there are other students going through the same thing as you. Rely on your cohort and you will all prosper. At the end of three months you will probably be closer to your cohort than you are to friends you have known for years. In the end, Zip Code is not about passing grades or getting a fancy certificate, it is about learning how to learn… and learning Java. Put into it what you want to get out of it. Work hard and try to keep up!

From a stay at home mom with a science background , to a software engineer in 3 months ....... sounds almost impossible! But that's my story  ! 
This was my dream , I was not sure how I would achieve it , given the big gap in my career , but Zip Code Wilmington made that almost impossible dream, come true.  

Zip Code Wilmington is not for the weak and faint hearted ! It is an intense 12 week bootcamp which challenges you daily and will push you to the limits , you never knew you could survive . But they don't just push, they help you and guide you and encourage you in every possible way. They have a wonderful set of extremely talented faculty and staff members who are always available 7 days a week /24 hours a day with advice, training, any help , even a hug ! Another very valuable asset of Zip Code is the ever helpful Alumni. Their help, advice and encouragement is so valuable. They help us any time we need help with assignment or any learning . They grill us and prepare us with countless rounds of mock interviews . Their advice helped us during Zip Code and even after that ! Today at my work place our Alumni are still our mentors, always available for advice and help. 

I am thankful to all the faculty and staff for believing in me, encouraging me and supporting me in every possible way .  
Zip Code Wilmington made me realize that, if we have the desire to achieve a goal and are willing to work hard, nothing is Impossible. My motto during the whole 12 weeks was "Failure is not an Option". Zip Code Wilmington challenged us daily and taught us skills that helped us  excel at interviews and get multiple job offers ! 
I don't have adequate words to express my gratitude to this wonderful group of educators and staff who work tirelessly to help us achieve our dreams ! 

Joining ZipCode was absolutely the best decision that I have ever made  !

I entered Zip Code having worked in general construction and labor, and 4 months later I am fully employed as a software engineer.
It was one of the most difficult things I have ever done. The community of alumni and students is amazing, the support system that is in place at Zip Code is one of the only reasons I was able to make it through such a gruely course.
I feel that what really separates Zip Code from any other Coding Camp is the way they prepare you for jobs - Interview training, resume reviews, talks with industry specialists and job recruiters. The support from the staff from day one to prepare us for what it takes to get a job in this industry was amazing.

Disclaimer:
5 days a week in the class room, 10-12 hours per day, including Saturday and Sunday at home...it was intense, but worth every minute. You will be worked hard, instructors will not hold your hand and spoon feed you information, but with determination and hard work - you will change your life in a few months.
 

To this day, I feel very blessed to have been given the opportunity to participate in this amazing program. First off, we were selected from among 250 applicants to give a cohort of around 25 students so it is very competitive. Secondly, the instruction and support we received throughout the program was unmatched, the faculty and staff really do care about your success and will go above and beyond to ensure that you get the very most out of the program. Finally, while the support and structure is there to almost guarantee placement in a job opportunity, it's not a given. Based on my experience you must be 100% sure that you are willing to commit and invest in yourself to see the program through and level up as much as you possibly can prior to interviews which come during the final weeks of the program. As of now, 22/25 of my classmates got placed with really good jobs after 3 months. You can't argue with those results!

There are 3 things that you will get by investing yourself into this program:

1. You will get cutting edge skills to begin a journey as a software developer

2. You will get constant exposure to employers, building a network and "putting a face with a name", and in most cases these are top leaders and hiring managers for those companies

3. You will grow as person, a major theme for success in software development is having the right attitude and the staff "meet you right where you are" and help you to make any adjustments that you will need to be successful in a corporate setting.

Zip Code is the full package, hands down!! It's a special place that anyone given the opportunity to participate in will remember for the rest of their lives. Also, all your fellow students and colleagues will be great people!! Wishing you the very best and hope you apply.

My background before:

Worked as a Chemist in academia, Zip Code Wilmington helped me to make a transition into my current role as an application developer at J.P. Morgan.