Code Platoon

- One of the best career decisions I ever made - Accommodating - Affordable - Challenging I enjoyed the other students, the instructors, the facilities, the administrators and the curriculum. It was very challenging but equally rewarding. Code Platoon... Read More proved to be a huge boost to my career and I’m proud to call myself an alumni.

Code Platoon was tough and very fast. It is best to go in knowing at least most of the content to some extent. Also, most students have created webpages or other projects before so the pace is intense. But the instructors, TAs and other students are very... Read More helpful and can help you. It is worth it. In my opinion this program is as good as it gets. I liked having full stack in one course. Lots of help is provided from configuring your coding environment, environment variables, getting the right packages, and sometimes downgrading to a package that works. The students are all very knowledgable and smart and can usually help you. Mentor program, interview prep, job search help with Rich Luby was also great. For my learning style it is better than university because it is immersive and collaborative. A lot of people take this course while already knowing almost all of it which can make you feel very behind. Some had already worked as engineers, many had already designed webpages. If you can help it you would want to have exposure or proficiency to most of the curriculum before you start. Additionally, the internships are competitive. If the class is large not everyone will get placed.

I would recommend Code Platoon to any veteran or spouse who wants to learn to code and needs some structure an external motivation to do it. The curriculum, though extremely fast paced, gives you a good foundation of coding/computer science concepts and... Read More really does get you ready to code your first full-stack app in 15 weeks. The environment is collaborative and supportive, instructors and TAs are excellent, and all of the non-lecture content (guest speakers, career development help, etc) are valuable and there for a good reason. I'm excited about my upcoming job search with the help of their career services staff!

My journey into professional software development started as I was transitioning from an Active Duty service member into a Navy Veteran. I came across the VET TEC program on the Veterans Affairs Education website. The VET TEC education courses are helpful... Read More for Veterans and Spouses that would like to transition and advance into the high-technology industry. The goal is to match up Veterans with a leading training provider to help develop those high-tech skills to quickly be placed in a high-paying tech job. The program has a long list of approved providers. As I scanned through all of the providers, the one that stuck out most was Code Platoon's Full-Stack Software Engineering Bootcamp. It was a program that focused on giving Veterans the tools they need to succeed as a Full-Stack Software Engineer. Additionally, it's located in Chicago, near the same place every Navy Saylor starts their career at the Navy Boot Camp Recruit Training. Initially, my experience with Code Platoon started with the administration process. You begin by filling out some forms about your background. You provide some videos of yourself answering some interview-like questions. Finally, you're given some resources and some coding challenges to complete. Once you've completed that process and have done everything correctly, you'll be approved to start in the cohort of your choosing. I was a part of the PAPA platoon cohort, which officially started OCT 2021 and ended JAN 2022. Before the cohort starts, you are required to complete some prework. It's about four weeks of self-paced learning to get you prepared. The initial prework documentation outlined expectations, resources for help, and all the tools needed to set you up to be successful in the Boot Camp. At the end of the prework, you're given a live coding challenge with one of the instructors to ensure that you completed the prework and retained the information. Now, the actual course can be pretty intense and fast-paced. Each week will become increasingly more difficult. You will need to show up five days a week on time, ready to learn. Every day starts with a live online workshop teaching new programing or career-building concepts. In the second half of the day, you will be applying those newly learned skills on your own or paired with other students in a paired programming environment. If you get stuck, you have access to a group of very skilled and knowledgeable instructors and TA's that will quickly help you out. Their goal is not to give you the answer but to help you develop the skills to find the answer. Each week you'll focus on learning JavaScript, Python, Django, SQL, React, Data Structures, Algorithms, Version Control, Paired programming, Career building, and much, much more. Overall, the Code Platoon Boot Camp will give any Veteran willing to learn all the tools needed to succeed in the Software Development space.

I have a close friend and sibling who have attended other, more well known and very "prestigious" bootcamps and comparing Code Platoon comes out easily as good or better. The curriculum was really, really good in my opinion. You build to create django+react... Read More fullstack apps, and I think the knowledge base is a really good foundation. The class was small and for the field very diverse.

Code Platoon is a self paced program that delivers on its promise. It is a rigorous, fast paced, challenging program that is meant to prepare graduates for a career as a full stack software developer. The instructors lay out expectations early and give... Read More ample feedback on your progress. The remote community that they foster is second to none. It was amazing to see that as a student I never felt alone. Any time of the day if I asked a question, there was an instructor, teacher assistant, or fellow student that was willing to help. The curriculum is amazing. They are very focused on making each iteration better than the last and are very receptive to feedback.

Code Platoon is a self paced program that delivers on its promise. It is a rigorous, fast paced, challenging program that is meant to prepare graduates for a career as a full stack software developer. The instructors lay out expectations early and give... Read More ample feedback on your progress. The remote community that they foster is second to none. It was amazing to see that as a student I never felt alone. Any time of the day if I asked a question, there was an instructor, teacher assistant, or fellow student that was willing to help. The curriculum is amazing. They are very focused on making each iteration better than the last and are very receptive to feedback.

I was impressed with how this school handled remote learning. They were flexible with my time - so when my kid had some issues at school, I was able to deal with that and then get back to class. I loved being able to work as part of a team with other... Read More students. The students in class with me were other individuals who were extremely motivated to be there, and really made the experience shine. The teaching assistants were amazing. We ALWAYS had someone to ask a question to. The alumni so far are great - anyone I reach out to replies within a few hours to connect. I feel more prepared now to get a job than ever.

I originally picked this bootcamp because of the updated and relevant curriculum and the too-good-to-be-true reviews that I read online. I can say that even with the great reviews, this bootcamp has blown away my expectations. The lectures are clearly... Read More taught, there are TA's available to help during and after class time, and the students are all willing to help each other succeed. Additionally the curriculum is reviewed and updated each cohort based on the weekly feedback from students, meaning that each cohort will be better than the previous one. I have nothing negative to say so if you are a veteran or military spouse sign up, keep studying, and don't be afraid to reach out on Slack to ask alumni for help .

Could not recommend more! I went from knowing basic Python and JavaScript to being able to create a full stack web application in a matter of less than four months online, growing in so many ways. Throughout the course the instructors and staff ensure... Read More that students are consistently in the "stretch zone," where we are challenged but not overloaded. The patience, knowledge, and willingness to make us better engineers and people is what sets apart Code Platoon from many other organizations, and what made the experience so worthwhile. Expect to work very hard, increase your hard and soft skills, and make new teammates that all share the military as a common background. I cannot say enough good things about Code Platoon, Rod, Tom, Ankur, Jon, and the rest of the staff there.