Alchemy Code Lab - CLOSED

The instructors were great overall, and were flexible and attentive to what students seemed to struggle with and understand. The curriculum constantly changed and our group was subject to many tests and often combined with other groups because we were... Read More small and one instructor left due to maternity leave. Things often felt disorganized and nobody seemed to know exactly what was going on, but things moved forward anyhow. Overall, I could do everything they taught me and I found a job.

The longer version: - The cost of this program is... a lot. It's a huge decision to take on this kind of debt, especially when you are trying to make a career change from a job that doesn't pay well. The cool thing about Alchemy is that there are different... Read More options for paying the tuition, including an Income Share Agreement. If it weren't for the ISA option, this would not have been possible for me. - The program is a 6 month, FULL TIME commitment. This means 40 hours/week for 24 weeks of in-class lecture time, work time, team project building, AND additional time after class and over the weekend to complete assignments and fully understand difficult concepts. Something that drew me to Alchemy over other programs was the course duration. I could commit to 6 months and felt like it would be enough time to really learn something. By the end of the program, I couldn't imagine being prepared to break into tech if it were any less. Alchemy teaches you everything you need to know to be able to learn the rest of everything you need to know afterwards. - Finding a job after the program takes work. Part of the curriculum will be career development. This covers everything from resume/cover letter writing, to interview prep, to NETWORKING. As an introvert, this is the part of the program that I really wasn't looking forward to, but was also 100% essential to landing a job and developing my skills as a collaborator. Another thing that lead me to choosing Alchemy was the transparency in the data that was available for program completion, length of job search, average salary post-grad, etc. It's difficult to find companies that are open to hiring people early in career and from non-traditional educational backgrounds, but they are out there and many of them are particularly open to hiring Alchemy grads. Expect the job search to take 3-6 months (less or more for some). After the program, you will still have the support from Alchemy career dev and your Alchemy network, but it is ultimately up to you to put the work in to land the job. - Be prepared. Alchemy offers a free, week-long Dev 101 intro course. The intro course is optional before enrolling in the program, but just do it. There is also assigned, required pre-work before the start of your cohort. The pre-work will give you an intro into some of the basic stuff you really need to know, and if you spend a lot of time getting familiar with the fundamental concepts and diving in a little bit deeper with the pre-work courses, you are going to struggle a lot less throughout the program. I would also recommend doing your own self-guided learning before even deciding to enroll at Alchemy, or any program. There are endless resources online for learning software/web development... if you take the time to build a foundation with some basic languages and concepts (HTML/CSS, intro to JS), you'll really set yourself up to do well at Alchemy. My background/experience: When choosing Alchemy, I really wanted to know this kind of stuff about the people who had success in the program... - 10+ years in the service industry (barista, bar-back, receptionist). - My prior tech experience was limited to MySpace coding and self-guided learning (freeCodeCamp, Grasshopper, Mimo, Google). - I enrolled in Alchemy for the Nov '21 - June '22 cohort, including Dev 101 and pre-work. - I chose to cover my tuition via the Income Share Agreement. - I received a job offer as a Junior Developer 5 months after completion of the program and my start date was Nov '22. - My income post-grad has increased by > 130% * If you take the time to do your own research and preparation, understand the full commitment that this is, and have the resources and support to get through the program and job search... Alchemy Code Lab is 11/10 the program I would recommend.

Having just graduated Alchemy all I have to say is, WOW! This was such a great learning experience. The classrooms are much smaller than most boot camps (around 15-20 students) so you get much more time with instructors and TAs. I came into this program... Read More with 0 coding experience, I was previously a nurse, and I learned so much in 6-months here! There is a lot of help if you need it with the teachers and TAs and I never felt like I was drowning. With that said they don't spoon-feed you either. You will leave this program a very competent coder. The career-service side of the program is phenomenal! With the guidance of career services, I got my resume looking clean, learned to write an effective cover letter, learned how to interview confidently, and much more. I actually got a job as a full-stack software developer at a start-up 1-week before the program even finished. I would go through this program a second time if I could 😅.

TLDR: My experience at Alchemy contained a lengthy break (due to legal issues with curriculum)from classes before I was even three months in. After that break they had a new curriculum that treated my cohort as guinea pigs. I am left in the dark with... Read More a new ISA servicer despite being trained on a different servicer's practices. Alchemy is long and dense, too much so if you ask me. I was constantly worried that even just a few off days could ruin my 25 week experience. All for the low low price of 36k(since I used the ISA) I would not do this program again. If I could go back in time I would do a bootcamp that is half as long and 10k cheaper, especially since there are some out there with similar outcome statistics. Small/Inconsistent: Toward the beginning of my cohort Alchemy ran into some legal issues pertaining to the curriculum. This caused a pause in classes that lasted maybe four weeks(I don't remember the exact time). The pause was brutal as my peers and I were still very new to coding. Beyond the wait, this legal dispute made Alchemy change curriculum essentially treating my cohort as guinea pigs. I get it, it happens, but for 24k 36k if you are looking at the ISA? They offered us an option to join a future cohort but that just didn't seem viable as I had quit my job two months prior to join this bootcamp, and the idea of going back to work for a small chunk of time just to quit again didn't make sense to me. Another change they made was the ISA servicer. To qualify for the ISA you had to do these trainings and pass a test (With 100% if I'm remembering correctly). They made sure you reeeaallly knew this contract and how to deal with servicer. Now as I am in the process of checking in with the servicer, the trainings (other than the numbers) are different than the reality with this new company. The switch of servicer sucks, but the new servicer is terrible too. This isn't Alchemy's fault since it is a third party but ... the servicer regularly hangs up with those on hold, their website is low quality, when you can't reach them their help page isn't helpful, and they rarely contact the "borrower" even in the case of account changes. Alchemy's inconsistency makes it hard to justify such a high price tag, but that price seems like it can't go lower since the program is so long. Per week this is an affordable bootcamp but the length drives it up, I'm sure. Length: This bootcamp is incredibly long and incredibly dense. You will learn a lot, but Alchemy shows that there is such thing as too much of a good thing. Alchemy's curriculum is almost half a year of 60 hour weeks(if you count homework) and if you can't commit to that don't even consider this program. A guy in my cohort had some medical issue, missed a handful of days, and never caught back up. When I read reviews about the rigor of this course I was all for it. I was a 3.7gpa college student before this program and my pride was too high to see that this was an issue. The content isn't hard there is just so much volume here. Those that do graduate have a really solid grasp on software engineering concepts and should be proud of themselves. That being said I would not do this program again.

Alchemy was the best decision I could have made for myself and my career. Through my time at Alchemy, I never felt like I was just another student they were trying to get through. I felt like I was seen as a whole person with a desire to become a software... Read More engineer and a life outside of bootcamp. There is so much support available, you just have to decide who you are the most comfortable talking to - from instructors to TA's to the founders, to the career services team, there are never a shortage of people who will go out of their way to show up so that you can learn and grow as a dev and a person. This is a small business, not a massive bootcamp company! This is definitely a path for those who want to invest in themselves - you get out what you put in, but you're never alone on that journey if don't want to be. The alumni network is pretty extensive as well and continues to be a community even after you graduate. A more personal note... As a trans person, I started this journey quite skeptical of all bootcamps. Understanding the cis, white, maleness that dominates the tech industry, I wasn't sure how welcoming any portion of tech would be for me. But when I looked at the Alchemy website, I was initially impressed with the scholarships available. It is obvious that the goal is to diversify the tech industry and show support where they can, so I took that as a good sign. When I spoke with the co-founder, Megan, in an information session, she continued the notion of welcoming BIPOC, trans, & gnc folks at Alchemy. I figured over time, this wouldn't hold. I'm quite skeptical about how welcoming and informed a place actually is, but that never actually happened here. I was impressed repeatedly and any small bump along the road was always addressed thoughtfully and with an emphasis on equity. My experience was that ruptures are few and far between and repairs are approached with the consideration they actually warrant.

In terms of the bootcamp's first module being called Dev 102 and requiring you to be familiar with the concepts covered in Dev 101, it's potentially quite easy to be prepared for the bootcamp without taking Dev 101 - but it's still the best way to determine... Read More if Alchemy is right for you. And if you're not already thoroughly prepared for Dev 102, while you have almost infinite ways to prepare yourself, Alchemy's Dev 101 is perhaps the best way. Anyway, all of Alchemy's propaganda about: Taking Dev 101 to see if their teaching style is right for you; Getting up to speed for Dev 102; Asking questions in Dev 101 about the bootcamp, career outcomes, and how the "career services" part is integrated throughout the bootcamp - I don't usually trust an organization's "why we're great" verbiage, and initially I tried to get as much info as possible about coding bootcamps from third parties rather than their own websites and ads, but go ahead and read Alchemy's. The process so far has been what they say, and everything I've seen leads me to believe the full bootcamp will be as excellent as they say. Dev 101 lacked some of the structure and stuff I want from the bootcamp (i.e. we didn't turn in any assignments), but that would have been less appropriate for what Dev 101 is, and the bootcamp will have perhaps exactly the right structure (certainly actual assignments to submit).

Pros: Great teachers. You really get great help and support from the TA's. They wen't through a curriculum change during our cohort that made things difficult, but I don't see that being a problem in the future. The bond you get with your cohort really... Read More helps make the experience even better.

Like many folks, I lost my job when the pandemic hit. I started researching programming boot camps on the advice of some friends who had found success in tech after participating in similar programs. My background wasn't in this field, I had to do some... Read More light programming for various things in college but I never had any real grasp on what I was doing. I shopped around, I attended a few free intro courses that many boot camps offer to feel things out. They were fine, but things felt impersonal, most of the teaching was done by recent grads and the classes were huge. Everything changed when I found Alchemy. Every single person I met through this school made me feel like a capable and worthy human being. I deserved to be here. The classes are small and personal with plenty of TA's (who are truly amazing) to help anyone in need. The lectures are engaging, the exercises are relevant to what you might be doing on the job. Most importantly, you are supported by the staff, they really want you to succeed in this endeavor. You need to embrace that support network, this program is hard, it requires a lot (A LOT) of dedication to what you are doing and if you can't do that, you might be held back or asked to leave. But the help is there, the resources are there, you can do it. This program has a great reputation for a good reason, and if you put in the work, you'll come out of it a very capable engineer. Some of the things taught to my cohort were vanilla javascript (a deep dive), React (with hooks and the context API), NodeJS, Express, PostgreSQL, and how to make the best use of Github. They also have events called "hack days" which are workshops for you to pick up other skills. I got to mess with typescript and tailwind CSS. I still can't believe all of the things they taught me in 6 months! On top of the programming skills, Alchemy provides you with a talented and motivating career services team (as I said, they want you to succeed) who will help you nail down a proper resume, and give you realistic interview practice. Don't underestimate the value of those things, I was getting interviews right out of school because my resume and portfolio looked professional. Not everyone needs a boot camp and not everyone can handle that kind of workload. If you are the type of person who thrives in a community setting and you don't mind hard work, Alchemy could be a great fit. I highly recommend you give them a chance.

Alchemy turned out to be a great experience. The instructional staff was top notch and continually demonstrated their vast experience as coders and teachers. They approached each day with professionalism, they were dependable, invested, and considerate.... Read More They provided one-on-one time with students and engaged with the Alchemy student community at school networking events. Educational excellence and a superior learning experience is clearly on Alchemy's agenda, as each cohort is staffed with 1 TA per 7-9 students, plus a Lead TA. TA's are well trained Alchemy grads, and any tough debugging can be escalated to the Lead TA or even the instructor. It really did not feel like we were left alone when we hit roadblocks. Alchemy's Career Development department digs in to provide students with crucial advice about networking, job searching, resume drafting, interview prep, and more. They really felt like they were in my corner each step of the way. On top of that, they will stay in contact after graduation to help you with the job search. The Alchemy alumni network is another great resource for job searching. I attribute Alchemy's career dev for turning my resume and interviewing skills around. Outside guests speak regularly at the school, lecturing and presenting on current tech topics, job searching, and career advice. The school's curriculum is homemade, top notch, and strategically planned out. Hitting up databases in your first weeks gets you in the swing of things quickly, and their emphasis on test driven development is huge. Alchemy's TDD is something that sets their students apart from other junior devs, and even mid-level devs. All in all, the staff as a whole really embodies a Portland vibe, cares about their students, and brings their best to the table every week. What you're paying for with Alchemy is the best instructors, curriculum, career development, community, 1,000+ hours of learning, and the edge you need to get a job. It was worth it.

I'd first heard of Alchemy through a friend who went through the program in 2016. During the early pandemic I lost my job and decided it was time to take my future career more into my hands. I saw coding as an increasingly in demand field and with pay... Read More that would lead to financial security for myself and my family. I looked at programs around the Portland area and surveyed friends in the tech world to see what they knew about local code school options. One friend told me not even to bother with a boot camp and to just teach myself. When I mentioned I was considering Alchemy they immediately stopped and said, well I have actually only ever heard good things about that program. Between that and my friend who had gone through the program previously my mind was made up. My informational interview with Megan was purely a formality (but I will admit it made me even more eager to start ASAP). Megan was very honest about time commitments, academic rigor, and job search following the program. If I wanted to make this transition, it was not going to be easy or brief. That was exactly what I wanted to hear. 6 months of coding and a portfolio with at least 4 projects to show to prospective employers gave me full confidence in the program. The program itself lived up to the hype. I won't lie and tell you it was always fun, or that I even felt like I was progressing each day. However, each week I felt like I was a stronger coder, reader of code, and critical thinker than the week before. Alchemy blended solo work and group work to create a nice measure of personal progress and learning to code and manage group dynamics. They also incorporated career services assignments throughout the course. This gave students dedicated time to work on things like resumes and researching both technical and behavioral interview questions. It also provided time to work with colleagues on our answers to those interview questions. My personal favorite during all of this was 1 on 1 meetings with the career service staff to tighten up my resume, craft my narrative of becoming a software developer, and gain confidence in talking professionally about my skills. Overall, I would highly recommend the program to those ready to make the leap. It has given me the tools to succeed in the tech world and enhance my ability to contribute to companies and provide me and my family financial security going forward.