Actualize

For various reasons, I found myself wanting to learn how to code. I picked actualize because it was the only in-class part time program available - but that certainly wasn't the reason I stayed. Actualize is different from the other schools offered in... Read More Chicago because their focus is on delivery and not just content. What do I mean by that? Actualize hires teachers first and developers second. This is a HUGE benefit over other schools whose students, who I've personally interacted with while Actualize was located in 1871, find themselves self stumped and frustrated, not because they don't have the capacity to learn, but because their instructors had no formal teaching experience. Learning to code from a "developer first, teacher second" is near impossible - Don't believe me? Ask a software developer at your workplace, or a friend, to show you what they do and explain it. It'll be like going to a cocktail where you just shake your head but don't understand what the stranger across from you is actually saying.

My experience of going through Actualize was transformational and in a lot of ways, disruptive - the good kind. I was able to test myself by gaining new skills which has opened up more opportunities in life. Everyone in my class was there for a different reason, but we were all in it together. We had a university professor taking the class as research for a genetic engineering thesis, an insurance salesperson looking for a more rewarding career, and myself, who didn't really have an end goal in mind- I just wanted to learn to code and build cool stuff.

So great; the class is awesome, but it's a huge time and money commitment. Did it pay off? If you do into this chasing dollars signs, great - just make sure you enjoy the work first and take an online tutorial. While software developers can make a lot of money, junior developers only do okay and depending on your current salary, you could even see yourself taking a short term pay cut. It's the second job, as a mid-level where you break into 6 figures. The case with me? I didn't pursue full time development work, but I got a new job that I wasn't qualified for pre-actualize, received a 19% raise, paid the class off in 6 months, code a bit for work, and code more for myself after work. That being said, I would refrain from comparison when making this type of commitment because it's really for yourself and what you enjoy doing. I had a classmate who didn't have a college degree and is now a full-time developer with significant quality of life upside, and I had a classmate or two who may never code for a career and potentially taking the class was a mistake. Actualize does a good job of trying to only take dedicated students, but at the end of the day, it's on you and your desire learn and grow. If you have questions or are curious, Linkedin message an alumni and grab a quick coffee.

Well that was a long spiel, but I can't end a review of actualize without a big shoutout and thank you to Peter Jang (Instructor) and Jay Wengrow (CEO) for the opportunity to better myself. They continue to support me even after graduation and the whole cohort/program really feels like a family and the network is only growing.

I don't have any complaints with Actualize. Josh(teacher) was very clear on the subjects he taught. The curriculum itself was very organized and progressed smoothly. The whole class got along, and the environment was friendly and challenging. If you every... Read More need help out of class, you can come in up to 2 hours earlier and instructors will typically be there to help.

You will learn a lot of Ruby on Rails & PostgreSQL, you will learn some Javascript, (a javascript framework, we learned VueJS), CSS/SCSS and HTML.
Understand that you will finish as a well-rounded entry-level web developer. You get what you put into this... Read More course, if you do the daily problems, if you do the exercises and troubleshoot them after class you will be a much better coder for it. Try not to balance this class with too much personal life, I have very limited time between class and work and this made it difficult to do daily problems and troubleshooting exercises and I feel I would have been much better off if I had more flexibility with time.

Before any of this coding business happened in my life, I was not a tech-savvy person, much less a coder. I graduated from college with a degree in Business Management and had a huge passion for interior design. I was the least expected person out of... Read More my circle of friends to become a programmer because let's face it - it's a skillset I never touched upon and rumor has it if you didn't come out of college with a degree in computer science, you'll never be good enough to compete.

That all changed when I learned about Actualize. I took a ride with my sister to Chicago from Des Moines, Iowa to an info session on design/coding bootcamps located in Chicago's 1871. There were four bootcamps that presented at the time: Evolve, Designation, Fullstack, and Anyone Can Learn To Code (Actualize). This was the link: https://public.1871.com/event/E617103747. My first impressions were so:

Evolve Security: Cyber security seemed a bit out of my league from where I stand in coding (which is ground zero) so I ruled out Evolve.
Designation: My sister attended Designation and there were hopes I could too, but seeing that they focused more on just UX design and no code, I crossed it off my list.
Fullstack Academy: From a first impression, Fullstack coding bootcamp is full time and very intensive. They have strict guidelines and tests you must pass, and having just come out of college, I didn't want to learn in an environment where I'm all about the test score.
Actualize (Anyone Can Learn To Code): Then there was Actualize. Jay Wengrow, the founder, gave a speech about how the company truly believes anyone can learn to code, and that it's just a matter of how hard you're willing to try and persist. Jay goes on to explaining that unlike other coding bootcamps, Actualize is a mentorship where instructors with excellent educational and coding background guide you along and there is an optional apprenticeship experience. Not only did Jay seem passionate about the bootcamp, but he also believes in his students. Diving into coding unknown is horrifying, but that all changes when someone walks you through each step of the way.
So I decided that Actualize was for me. Jay gave some of us a tour of the classrooms and students in apprenticeship, and on that same day, I had an interview with Nick the admissions counselor, which consisted mostly of getting to know more about me and whether I'd be a good fit for the cohort (it's not intimidating don't worry). It really stuck with me how much Actualize really cares about the peers their students work with.

Fast-Forward: I went back to Iowa, and was accepted at Actualize; however as much as I wanted to attend the program, I learned that certain circumstances prevented me from attending Actualize in person. Jay and Peter still kept in touch with me in case my situation changes, but at that point the future was hard to tell. One day, Jay reached out to me and said they were opening their very first online course, exactly like the in-class, but live online. I was thrilled! This changed everything. I could actually learn coding through Actualize in the comfort of my own home. I grabbed the opportunity and started class June 2017.

FF x2: I graduated as part of the very first Actualize Online cohort and simply put: I can code now. I can legitimately say that I am a web developer who knows the fundamentals of coding and how to make apps from scratch, and I can apply my skills anywhere, be it learning Python, or a new Javascript framework like React. I can say to an interviewer at a job that I've worked in a peer-programming environment and I know all about git. I can also put on my resume that I know how to work with apps using postgresql database and integrating APIs using jbuilder. But most importantly, I can say to anyone who questions our curriculum why we start out with Ruby and not Javascript, or why Vue and not React, that it is through these specific language and framework I managed to build a solid understanding in fundamental coding, and I am now a ball of clay, ready to be moulded. That, I think, is the true purpose of taking coding bootcamps in general. We also reached out to connections on our job hunted and I had coffee with two developers, one of them being a lead senior dev.

I will be starting apprenticeship in a week or so, and hopefully afterwards I can give you an update on how that goes and job hunt as well.

The coding world is always changing, and it's changing fast. Actualize has taught me that I came out this bootcamp knowing I can learn anything as long as I persist and work hard. It's not a bootcamp where you focus on the most popular language or framework; it's a practical one that handpicked the language and framework that is easiest to understand and build a solid foundation in. It is giving you the key to unlock the door to many more skills to come.
I highly recommend Actualize if you have no background in coding or computer science and would like to pursuit a career in it.

I am a graduate of the first online cohort at Actualize. What's unique about their online course is that it is actually live. I had the full live experience from the comfort of my home (read garage), complete with pair programing and team collaboration.... Read More The tech team had it all running smoothly with screen sharing and video all seemlesly recreating the in-classroom experience.

One reason I chose Actualize was because their instuctors, besides being experienced engineers, are also experienced teachers. My instructor Brian was great. He understood what the students were confused about and really knew how to explain things. He also pushed us to debug our code on our own and discover thing ourselves which is half of what being a developer is.

Overall my experience was great and anyone looking for a real live class with quality instruction but doesn't want to spend an hour and a half traveling downtown in name-your-city. should certainly check out Actualize.

Actualize is an incredible education experience. Starting from pre-work, the instructors were incredibly helpful and gave us tremendous support in getting through the first four weeks, which are all home-based. We watched short, instructional (and funny)... Read More videos that taught us the fundamentals of programming, and completed exercises, and were graded on our work.

Class was an enjoyable experience; it was a pleasure getting to know my fellow classmates and we became like a close-knit family. The instructor would teach a concept, demo it, give us the opportunity to solve an exercise using the information we were just taught, and them immediately go over the exercise so we could see how to properly go about it (and generally he would show us a shortcut, after ensuring we understood why it worked the way it did.)

So many other educational experiences teach a lot of theory, then spit out a slew of exercises that students need to slog through, and if you're lucky, the professor will review the correct methodology to go about solving the exercise; more often than not, you are completing the task in an incorrect and/or inefficient manner and no one ever corrects you.

The Actualize methodology was really cool to experience and I always left class feeling like I had a good grasp on the subject matter that was taught.

It's also part-time so I was able to work during the day and still keep up with classes on nights and Sunday, and there was no mandatory homework either!

I feel prepared to pass tech interviews and land a dream job :) If you are debating between which bootcamp to attend, Actualize is definitely a top choice!

Overall I really enjoyed the Bootcamp and was something to me to look forward to after school. I feel more prepared than I was at the start and feel like I could take on way more with this new experience of life.

This has helped me with my coding skills... Read More and giving me abilities that I never thought I would have so soon.

I spent most of 2016 debating whether or not I should quit my job to pursue a bootcamp. My interest in changing careers was strong, but the financial commitment and the extended loss of full-time income I would have had to undertake held me back for a... Read More long time. I was excited to learn about Actualize in summer 2016 because it allows applicants to keep a M-F day job, since classes are all day Sundays and 6-9:30 M-Th. This schedule allowed me to keep working and pursue development. I started in fall 2016 and finished in late January 2017. Then I started the apprenticeship portion in February 2017 and completed it in June 2017. I had a job offer in development in early June 2017, and I was able to talk about my experience in the apprenticeship during the interview for that job. All in all, Actualize allowed me to develop skills that led me to my new career, without having to go without the security of my full-time job.

Thanks to Actualize, I'm now a software engineer.
And I'm not the only one. Everyone in my cohort who went for a new job got one. And that is pretty much the case in every cohort before and after mine as well.
I have so many good things to say about the bootcamp and... Read More the company as a whole, that I don't know where to start. I'll explain my background and how I found/decided on Actualize, and then break my review down into four categories: Instructors, Curriculum, career support, and community.

My background:
Before attending Actualize, I had a varied educational background. I got my undergraduate in Psychology and was in a masters program for Speech Language Pathology. During grad school, I realized that I wanted to pursue a career in software engineering instead of Speech therapy, and by chance, I heard about programming bootcamps from a friend of a friend. I researched a few different bootcamps that I found on Switchup.org's website and applied to a few of them. The process of applying to Actualize was great - the CEO, Jay Wengrow, interviewed me himself and invited me to tour the space. I observed Josh, one of the two lead instructors, and knew right away that I wanted to attend Actualize (then known as Anyone Can Learn to Code). I went to one of their showcases and talked to the other lead instructor (Peter Jang), their admissions advisor, and some alumni that were there. In my opinion, Actualize had the highest quality education and best value of all the bootcamps I looked at in Chicago.

Instructors:
The instructors at Actualize bootcamp are the absolute best. I had Peter as an instructor, but also worked a lot with Josh after graduating. They're both really funny and are great teachers. They had teaching experience before Actualize, and are both brilliant coders. Josh regularly stays very late after class to help his students to understand the material because he's highly dedicated to his students' learning. They're both very responsive to messages and make themselves available for office hours.

Curriculum:
The way the bootcamp is structured is: about one month of online prework, three months of in-class instruction, a showcase where you show your capstone project to potential employers, and at least one month of apprenticeship, as well as white-boarding, lessons on computer-science fundamentals, and job-training. Class takes place in the evenings and on Sunday all day so that you can keep your full-time job, and the apprenticeship is where you work with actual clients to build their apps and websites. NO other bootcamp in Chicago does this. It's what makes Actualize so unique. Your capstone is individual, unlike some other bootcamps which have group capstone projects. Individual capstone projects are awesome because potential employers know that everything in your project was built by you.

We learned Ruby on rails, Javascript, AngularJS, git, jquery, HTML/CSS, SQL, API integration, and more. The curriculum is always evolving and improving, though; for example, current cohorts are learning VueJS .
We learned how to make apps from scratch and add features to them. And we were constantly reminded to push our apps to github as we developed them, so when I graduated, I already had a large amount of work on github to show employers.
Actualize teaches programming fundamentals that can be applied to any language. Many of my classmates and also previous alumni got jobs coding in languages we never used in class, such as Swift and Java. That's because Actualize does an amazing job of preparing you to be an actual developer. You're taught how to get unstuck when you get errors in your code, and you're taught how to learn new technologies on your own. For example, we learned how to read documentation.

Career support:
And you're not just left on your own after graduation. They have a dedicated career-management director, Taylor Dorsett, who has the #1 most-viewed profile in Chicago; he was one of the best recruiters in the country, so Actualize hired him to ensure that Actualize graduates are able to find jobs right out of bootcamp. After graduation, you'll get weekly trainings from him and Jay Wengrow, the CEO, to learn how to network, ace interviews, do whiteboarding exercises, and pass coding challenges. The value you will get from all of this training is worth the tuition in itself. Actually, the increase in my salary from finding a job in software engineering has already paid for my tuition.

Community:
I have made friends for life because of the awesome people I met at Actualize. They are now the people I spend the most time with. We grill together, have game nights all the time, and still participate in Actualize events and attend all of the showcases. It's a wonderful community of like-minded people who are all contributing positively to the tech community in Chicago. We attend meetups and continue to learn new technologies, either through our new jobs, or for our side projects. The network that Actualize provides is unbeatable. It not only changed my life, but it's changed my future. I would recommend Actualize to anyone interested in a career in tech. You will not regret it.

Attending Actualize literally changed my life. I had been stuck in a dead end job for years and was just going through the motions. I was searching for a change and a family member in the tech industry suggested that coding may be something that would... Read More interest me. I took some online courses and found that I really enjoyed it! The only problem was that I could only take myself so far and felt I needed some hands on instruction. My research led me to coding bootcamps but I was discouraged because they were all full-time programs and I was not in a position to quit my job. One day while researching bootcamps I came across Actualize. I was immediately intrigued because I saw it was a part-time camp that would allow me to keep my job. I did have some doubts because I did not know how they could train me to become a web developer in such a short time while only being a part-time program. I decided to push those doubts aside and I went for it. It is one of the best decisions I have ever made. We were given hands on instruction and my teacher was/is awesome. We were given lectures followed by exercises to put in practice what we just learned. I learned so much and if I ever needed help someone from Actualize was always there to help push me along. It was not easy, but the road to success usually isn't an easy one. The staff is so supportive and they were always available to us (even the CEO!). Not only did I have a great experience learning, I also made some life long friends along the way. I would highly recommend Actualize. I now have a great job at a startup and the opportunities to continue learning and growing are endless.