Code Fellows

I have a mechanical engineering background. I got that degree about 22 years ago in a college in Everett. Once mechanical engineering began a decline, I started looking for a new tech field that would interest me. I decided after hearing an advertisement... Read More on the radio to check out the one day $99 codefellows Workshop. I was hooked. I enrolled at codefellows and began my first course. When I started 201, I had a really old laptop that would not keep up with the information. So I spent the four-weeks struggling with the laptop instead of learning. With the help of Brian, my instructor, we decided I should take 201 over again with a new Mac. That's when the experience really began for me. I was having major difficulty with understanding, learning and most of all retaining the material. I ended up confiding in my instructor about a health issue that ultimately put me in a coma for a month and in the hospital for 3 months and in and out of the hospital for the past 5 to 6 years. I'm on a lot of medication and some of those medications cause brain fog and the course was going too fast for me to retain the information well. But I kept trying until Brian, Brandi and I sat down and decided it would be to my benefit to take the night courses 301 and 401 and slow down the pace a bit. It was not easy to confide my medical conditions, as I am a mechanical engineer and I wanted to be perceived as an innately smart. But this was so important to me to complete and Brian was so supportive and had my back through the whole ordeal that I took their advice and transferred into the evening courses. I completed 301 with a 100% and am now in 401. JB is my instructor now and he is just as great! And so understanding as I have confided in him of my medical issues. The school, Codefellows, has taught me more about what treating others should look like and how to respect each other no matter our backgrounds. They are exceptional at teaching computer science but more exceptional at treating each student fairly and with the utmost respect. I'm amazed every day at the kindness the school puts out for its students, faculty and visitors. Thank you Codefellows! You have no idea, but you have given me a second chance at this thing called life!

I graduated with a Bachelor's of Science in Computer Engineering. I had worked about 6 years as a QA engineer in the automotive industry in Detroit, and had just started working as a QA engineer in tech in Seattle. I learned some assembly, C++, and a... Read More touch of Java in undergrad, but didn't get the coding education I wanted. I also never got the chance to do any on the job. I had some code background, but was nowhere near proficient.

When I heard about CodeFellows, I decided to take the Code 201 class in the evenings, while working full time at Amazon. The first couple of classes were kinda review for me, but were definitely necessary to reinforcing concepts I had already known. I was challenged with the , but wasn't given anything I couldn't handle. By the end of the course, I feel most of the class followed along, and had a firm grasp on the material. The instructor (Scott) and the TAs were all dope - knowledgeable, friendly, and available to help. I especially enjoyed working on the final project, where we got to choose what we wanted to build. My partner and I chose to make a musical synthesizer which also used a physics engine.

The following session, instead of going to Code 301, I was the teaching assistant for Code 201. This gave me additional experience in code reviews and collaboration with GitHub. I loved learning and working at CodeFellows. I was able to take some of the skills I learned there and apply to my full-time job. CodeFellows allowed me to provide immediate value to the job I had at the time.

Javascript was definitely the most beneficial part for me. Code 201 gave me a solid understanding of Javascript practices and patterns. Although I realized I didn't want to be a web developer, this gave me a solid reinforcement in object-oriented programming, as well as how to approach learning to code again. Since finishing the course, I have learned many new languages by working on various projects - Android (Java and Kotlin), iOS (Objective C and Swift), React-Native (Javascript), as well as various web development frameworks. CodeFellows reignited my passion for learning, and helped me develop the skills and discipline to do it better than ever before!

I went to Code Fellows from August to December 2017. I took 201 and 301 back-to-back, then took Python 401 a short while after.

I've taken on a lot of difficult academic challenges in my life, but Code Fellows was different. It's refreshing to be in an... Read More environment where the culture and curriculum are aimed at getting you a JOB, not just teaching you for the hell of it, relevance be damned. (The way it sometimes felt in college.) The staff were great. I only ever had Nick Hunt-Walker while I was there, as he taught my 201, 301, and 401, and I honestly don't think I would have decided to continue the series if he hadn't been my teacher. I was so inspired by him, and his down-to-earth teaching style resounded with me. The TAs were also very fun and helpful.

At Code Fellows, the first two classes (aka, the first 8 weeks) are taught in JavaScript, then the last class (aka, the last 10 weeks) are taught in a class of your choice: either continuing JavaScript (with React), Python, Java, or .NET. I'm super biased of course, but I'm every day very happy that I took the Python course. With multiple languages in my toolbelt — especially given that one of them is frontend-focused and the other is backend-focused — I feel I had a leg up in job apps. That course, the final 10 weeks, are by far the most difficult part of the bootcamp. People dropped out, I stayed from 9am until 8-10pm every day, and it was overall super difficult. However I learned a ridiculous about. It's honestly crazy to look back on.

I now work as a software engineer, using JavaScript and Python in my daily job. I make a very good salary (over the bootcamp's marketed "average salary") and have been since around 1.5-2 months after the end of the bootcamp in December. That said: I am not in the majority from my class. As lucky and great as my experience has been, many people from my classes still don't have jobs around 5 months after the end of the course. Compared to other bootcamps, Code Fellows doesn't do a great job with job support. They do have resume prep days and set you up with mock interviews, but compared to other bootcamps where they guarantee an internship (!) it's hard to compare.

So if I have any complaint about CF, it's that: the job support. However, curriculum-wise I feel they really killed it -- especially in the final 10-week python 401 course. It absolutely kicked my ass and I slept for about 5 days straight after it ended, but I learned so much and that combined with lots of personal interview prep and networking got me a job soon after.

If you can afford Code Fellows' high price tag (or if you can get enough financial aid to subsidize it sufficiently), it's worth it. Great decision for me, and I'm very happy with my job and the guidance I received there, especially from Nick.

I started at Codefellows with the desire to learn how to code and see if I would enjoy the work more than my previous career. Codefellows has a really great approach to teaching, they are less interested in telling you the answers and more focused on... Read More directing you to find them yourself. They put a big emphasis to always learn new things which, let's face it, in this industry is crucial to staying relevant. Not only did my time at code fellows teach me how to code a high industry standard it also taught me how to collaborate with others, how to plan and organize your work (how else do you get all those assignments done!) and how I should go about my job search.

For the Python track, which I was taking. I was definitely geared more to web development (which worked out fine by me) but if you are looking for the number crunching data science that is all the rage nowadays, I'd suggest looking elsewhere. Having said that, my knowledge of Python when I finished up was good enough to self-teach many of those topics.

I had been thinking about a career transition, and several of my friends had suggested coding. I researched a few programs, but most of them were one shot - it was a big risk to put down all that money and commit to all that time without knowing if coding... Read More was something I would really enjoy. I liked that Code Fellows broke up the classes - both to allow specialization later and to provide a lower risk option in terms of both time and money. I figured I'd take the 4 week class and if I hated it, I never had to go back. Plus it would help me with my website even if I decided not to go on with coding as a career. (Spoiler alert: I loved it and decided to continue.)

After much research, I decided on Code Fellows. Because I find it to be the most complete program I could find. I have seen graduates from other bootcamps (Galvinize, Coding Dojo) and they don't seem as prepared.

Pros
- Sure, it's really tough to go through.... Read More Hours upon hours spent on coding. But the toughness prepares students in a fast time with high-quality teaching. I mean, learning software development on an advanced, industry-level in 4 months...It seems impossible. But it's been proven it can be done.
- The teachers are bar none the best. Very experienced, understanding, patient, and giving of their time.
- The program also prepares graduates on a professional level. Helping with job searching. Brandy is amazing at her job, having worked at multiple startups to completion.
- Military GI bill is accepted here. No other place can say they do this.
- Scholarships are awarded.
- The environment is very safe. Everyone's safety is heavily considered. We had a stalker scare last week so Code Fellows changed all the door codes the next day.
- Apprenti program.

Cons
- Too many offerings of Javascript and not enough of the other courses like Python, C# or Java. It would be nice to see more of the different offerings.
- Seemingly not enough scholarship sometimes.
- School-Life balance. Don't expect to have any free time.

Overall, if there's any bootcamp to choose, I highly recommend you go to Code Fellows.
And if you can, take Amanda's C# and asp.net course. She knows her stuff better than anyone else out there.

I went to CodeFellows with one goal, learn to code. I learned that as well as I learned to be a more empathetic person, I learned how to be a better teacher, I learned how to be a mentor. On top of all that I made really good life long friends and not... Read More just with other students, but with the instructors and staff. The amount of care and support shown to me while a student was overwhelming, whether I was having issues with school work or just personal life issues. There are loads of great people there and I can honestly say that attending CodeFellows change my life, it’s like a home.

"I am a software developer," never imagined I would be able to make that claim. Code Fellows has been an amazing, challenging, stressful and thrilling experience. Curriculum is presented in a stack style approach to learning, where you never feel you... Read More have mastered a topic before a new concept is presented. This course is not for the faint of heart, but truly challenges you to own your learning and push yourself beyond what you think possible in such a short time.

The instructional staff and TA's are top notch, knowledgable, patient and available to support students from all backgrounds. They encourage diversity, support veterans and those under represented in the tech industry. The post graduation ('Career Advancement') network is very supportive with job placement, career advancement and connection with industry partners.

Code Fellows made my dream to become a software developer into a reality. Truly a fantastic experience.

I have a background in computing, working in various tech fields for the past 3 years, and have taken a few programming classes at community colleges and universities. Code Fellows blows all of that out of the water, both in pace and practicality.

Currently... Read More in the final course (Code 401) I can safely say that it gets tougher, not easier, as you progress through the curriculum. Code Fellows employs a "stacked" learning model, meaning that EACH DAY a new topic is presented, with a lab due at either midnight that night, or by the time lecture starts the following day. What we cover in one day would take a week at a university to go over (I know through personal experience). And in that same week, you'll cover 90% of the content that would be covered in the entire quarter.

If you want go forego the "standard" educational paths, and learn skills that you can use on day 1 at a new development job, go to Code Fellows. You won't regret all that you learn, but you need to STICK WITH IT. I've seen some of my cohort-mates drop off due to the pace - you WILL NOT feel comfortable with the majority of the concepts until project week, that's when I've seen it "click" for most students. I've spent many nights wondering if and how I will be able to fit so much into my head before graduation, but I've seen many do it before me and know I just need to put in the time and effort to see my goals come to fruition.

If you're still reading this post, you're probably searching pretty hard for a program that you think will meet your needs. I've looked at many other coding boot camps, and some of the people in my cohort came to Code Fellows after completing other boot camps in the Seattle area (those students are just as swamped in work as the rest of us) and I can say pretty unequivocally that Code Fellows is the way to go. They are in constant contact with Recruiters and Software Development Managers from several of the nearby companies in order to keep the topics they teach up to date with what's desirable in industry.