Code Institute

In 2022 I lost my position due to Covid cutbacks and was on Job seekers for the last year or so. I am a graduate of Game Art and Design with L.I.T but have struggled to find my place and work in the games development industry. When the option to partake... Read More in a 16 week Full Stack Development bootcamp came up through TIAS and Intreo, I jumped at the opportunity. I'm very happy I did. Code Institute have done a really good job of making myself and my cohorts feel that we CAN succeed in this industry, and equipping us with the skills to do so, setting realistic expectations but remaining transparent and helping us however they can. Our facilitator and student support team felt like friends, not disconnected and distant.

It has been an incredible journey, with some intensely challenging moments due to the vast array of concepts and information we needed to absorb. There were times when I doubted if I could finish, but as they say, what doesn't break you only makes you... Read More stronger, and that's exactly what happened. I managed to achieve my goals and ultimately earned a final grade of Merit. The lessons, videos, lectures, exercises, and overall content are very solid and well-explained. The student support that Code Institute provides is also fantastic; it has great coverage that ensures any questions you have are resolved very quickly. Highly recommended !

The course overall is great. The support you receive day to day is immense and everyone is onboard to help if you have an issue. The support offered in terms careers is also amazing, from CV masterclasses to employer webinars. Cons, the curriculum is... Read More tough. You are provided a scheduler but you must stay ahead of it. If followed to a tee, you are not afforded enough time to complete your projects which can lead to some panic in the run up to submission day The level of detail from the course at the first half of the course is vastly different to what you receive on the second half. With the latter feeling more like you're shown how to do something via demonstration than being taught how to do it yourself. Overall I highly recommend the course, as it is great fun even when things get stressful. I have made some lifelong friends from interacting with people in the same boat and it also opens some wonderful opportunities.

I have completed the 9-month Full-Stack Web Development Course, so my review is based on that, not the 10-day coding challenge. I did this course from October 2019 to final submission in July 2020 (And some optional re-submissions to raise my grade after).... Read More I scored a First Class Honours. It was a programming rollercoaster. If you are considering this course, be ready for the ride. Overall, I found the course fantastic in what it teaches, if you are willing to commit yourself. Now that I've finished, I believe there is no programming language I cannot take on and learn to be competent in after a few months. It gave me that ability, that confidence and the know-how. That's potent. I would give it five stars just for that, but there are some serious faults which I am going to address first. Good-to-know Details: - Languages: HTML, CSS, Javascript and Python - Other stuff: Bootstrap, Materialize (should be removed IMO), MongoDB, MySQL, PostgreSQL, Flask, Django. - Can be completed entirely online. - Support is through phone, email, chat and Slack. Some support is 24/7. Covers from course info to tech and career support. - Course duration can vary, either 9-month or one year. It depends on your method of entry. - Cost is €6500. You can also apply through Springboard in Ireland. It will lower the cost to €600 (or free) depending on your circumstances. They request previous experience for acceptance. Cons: - Disorder: some lessons are a bit messy, useful course material is scattered throughout their support systems, etc. The worst con for me was this. - Support is inconsistent. Some brilliant, others useless, or redirect you to other supports, that also redirect you. You can tell nearly everyone works remotely. - At times, you are really on your own. You must have the will to drive yourself. - Grading is inconsistent. It's more like a lottery than a coherent system. Their own example projects wouldn't get the mark they indicate. I made a very long complaint about it. I heard they have since updated it. - Lots of material needs a refresh. It's still relevant learning, but they've updated the systems they use to teach, and the videos have not followed suit. - The course material isn't always up to the level they expect you to reproduce for a project. Neutral: - The course is often updated. It would be a Pro if they prepared the updates better. They've recently created one of the highest quality modules I've seen online. At the same time, they changed online IDE mid-course, didn't update the videos and just let students be the debuggers when they encountered problems. Not Cool. - They leave you to your own devices. Pace, project design, topics etc. Double-edged sword. I liked it except for when it came to inconsistent grading. Giving free-reign for project design but expecting set requirements for the project was a contradiction in my experience. - The course is intensive; more intensive than difficult. - Self-drive required. Pros: - European University Credits, one of the only University rated online Bootcamps (maybe the only one) - Course material is well-balanced and thorough. - Genuinely useful test projects make up part of the course. - Useful Milestone feedback. - The overall teaching arch is well thought out. By the end of the course, I was programming things in days that had taken me weeks in the beginning. Understanding is built step-by-step, and you experience your own progress. - Builds self-confidence, capability and outside-the-box skills as a programmer. - Teaches you to use all available real-world supports and resources available. - Can build a fully-fledged e-commerce site by the end of the course. - Learn four languages, and several frameworks, DBs and libraries. I ended up learning plenty of things that are not present in the course. - By the end, you have learned great learning methods you can use to teach yourself any Programming language or framework. And have the confidence to do so. - Lots of seminars, web-chats, lessons, etc. - Extra-curricular projects run frequently. - Staff and support are friendly. - Lots of support channels, some 24/7. - Phone and career support is of the highest quality. - Career support will check in every so often after finishing the course. - Take feedback very seriously and do act on it. - They provide an Online IDE. You can finish the course only online if you choose, no installs required. I did the whole course on a 2014 (Verge of Death) Chromebook. All in all, I highly recommend this course to anyone willing to push themselves for max potential. You will learn beyond the scope of your expectations. Be ready to work.

I attended the 12 weeks long Level 3 bootcamp and I'm starting my Software Developer job this month. The course is focused on self learning but there are daily stand up and down calls that include group exercises. If you really want to commit to a career... Read More swap then you are in the right place but remember as much you give as much you get. The course provides you with essentials needed to find a job and career support afterwards is really amazing - especially Robyn. Something to take into consideration is the hiring process for the IT jobs as some of them take up to two months long but then you start a new career so it's all worth it in my opinion. I would recommend it to anyone wanting a career switch.

I really enjoyed this course. There was a good structure which made it very engaging - attending daily stand-ups and tutorial sessions etc. I had no previous experience in software development so it was a fantastic overview of a lot of different topics.... Read More Of course, with the short duration of the course, it was a bit of a whistle-stop tour on some topics and could be a bit challenging as a result. However, there are great supporting resources available such as tutor support to help you along the way. There was a fantastic sense of team and camaraderie created amongst our cohort group and we had a lot of touchpoints. All of the Code Institute staff I encountered were incredibly knowledgeable, willing to help and made the course a more enjoyable experience. The slack is very active and there is a lot of effort put into community building and engagement. In terms of job support and careers, there were frequent webinars both for our cohort specifically as well as general ones open for all. The topics are practical and cater to a wide range of people from creating your first tech CV to agile methodologies and spotlight employers. The content was relevant, abundant and the speakers were always extremely knowledgeable. Overall, I would recommend the course and the Code Institute. The BootCamp is especially good if you are looking for a structured introduction to software development. You will gain insights into many topics in a short space of time. It's a great starting point and taster to help you identify particular areas you are interested in. You will definitely finish the course being very comfortable building a website with basic JavaScript/Python functions and looking nice with HTML/CSS. You will also learn how to leverage agile techniques in doing so!

pros - incredible learning experience going from knowing little to no software development experience to knowing full stack development languages in 14 weeks which is incredible, excellent support from the Cohorts to the tutor support. cons- course intensity... Read More , tight deadlines.

After 16 weeks, within such a short period of time I have learned so much. From backend to front end technologies, agile methodologies, problem solving, building and delivering my own full stack application, I can safely say this program has been a great... Read More success. Although I have a lot of year’s experience in this field, I have learned so much and gained some very valuable experience with my colleagues. It was extremely challenging meeting our daily KPI’s, but isn’t that what a bootcamp is all about. Thankfully we had a fantastic facilitator and wonderful mentors to help us get through the program. I would highly recommend this program to anyone who would like to become a software developer, or for someone like myself who needs a refresher.

Pros - learnt html,CSS,js,python, heroku, elephant SQL GitHub, gitpod Cons- sometimes it's too much material to learn or remember in one day, learning material is too much to adjust in one day and if you don't keep up you have to move one there is no... Read More holding back. Hackathon experience was helpful and stand up and down session was good as well(sometimes I asked questions during stand up and down from my facilitator and my facilitator reminds any incoming schedule) I did not use coding coach during 12 weeks but it is very helpful too and you should use it very effectively.

The full stack software development skills bootcamp was very rich in content and provided me with real time experience in HTML, CSS and Jacscripts for Frontend development incluiding UI/UX design and then Python and Django for Backend developement. The... Read More use of coding along tutorials was very helpful and gave me the oppotunity to explore and learn more. Also, the course considerably involved working in teams during hakathons or capston projects which help me increase my communication and collaborative skills which are soft skills very much needed in the software development industry. I would say overall the course though very intense but was full of information and all that you may need to start-off with as a full stack software developer. The course might do with making learners work on a predefine projects (hakathons/ capstone projects) where learners are require to follow a project description / requirement to design a product following specific requirements to test for understanding rather than having learners choose for themselves what to work on.