Epicodus

About 6 months before my first day of class I decided I wanted to learn programming, but I wasn’t comfortable or disciplined enough to learn it on my own. Epicodus was so much more than I expected it would be - not only did I receive skills that advanced... Read More me far more quickly than I thought was possible when it came to learning to program, I made friends and gained a network of great people who will be with me in the industry for my entire career. I cannot recommend it highly enough. As a woman in tech, I found the environment supportive but not patronizing - in fact I felt more included there than I have felt anywhere else. I strongly encourage anyone who is ready for a life change to sign up for Epicodus.

I love my Epicodus family (shout out to the Winter 2015 Ruby cohort). I am extremely happy with what Epicodus provided me. If you are considering attending a code school, I think you would be hard-pressed to find a better value anywhere else in the US.... Read More Epicodus gave me a leg up on a career change into web development, taught me how to tackle difficult coding problems, and showed me that I am capable of teaching myself new languages and frameworks. In the Portland area (and perhaps beyond) Epicodus has a reputation of graduating successful developers that follow best practices and pick things up quickly. This is not by accident. The staff is caring and from the top down everyone wants to give you what you need to succeed as a developer, including staff dedicated to facilitating your initial job hunt once you’ve graduated. Emphasis is on pair programming, which translates into the ability to work with people from different backgrounds, to contribute as part of a team, and to explain what your code is doing. It also results in the class partially teaching itself (as novel techniques disseminate through the classroom with each new pairing). I came into the program with a small amount of experience programming in other languages, but not a lot of confidence in my abilities. As with any code school, your personal motivation to become a developer is the most important ingredient. Having a computer background helps, but I also saw fellow students who came in with little or no background excel through hard work. The pace at Epicodus was reasonable, the night homework was generally 15 - 90 min. I have zero regrets about my decision to attend and I am optimistic and excited about the opportunities now available to me as an Epicodus graduate.

I consider Epicodus to be one of my most influential life experiences of the past decade. The phenomenal curriculum, stellar teaching staff and hands-on approach to learning gave me a solid foundational understanding of programming that I continue to... Read More build on. I use this knowledge constantly in my current capacity as a Technology Consultant; supporting clients in finding and using the most appropriate apps/technology for their needs and abilities.

Epicodus catapulted my understanding of programming and boosted my confidence in problem solving. But the icing on the cake was how well I was taken care of after the program was over. Michael Kaiser-Nyman, President of the school, contacted me on a regular basis to support me in finding work. He gave me feedback on my resume and cover letters, and was my cheerleader through many interviews. Once I started working, he still sent me an email every few months just to follow up and see how things were going. This sort of care is so uncommon, and I really appreciated how supportive it was (and continues to be).

I consider Epicodus to be one of my most influential life experiences of the past decade. The phenomenal curriculum, stellar teaching staff and hands-on approach to learning gave me a solid foundational understanding of programming that I continue to... Read More build on. I use this knowledge constantly in my current capacity as a Technology Consultant; supporting clients in finding and using the most appropriate apps/technology for their needs and abilities.

Epicodus catapulted my understanding of programming and boosted my confidence in problem solving. But the icing on the cake was how well I was taken care of after the program was over. Michael Kaiser-Nyman, President of the school, contacted me on a regular basis to support me in finding work. He gave me feedback on my resume and cover letters, and was my cheerleader through many interviews. Once I started working, he still sent me an email every few months just to follow up and see how things were going. This sort of care is so uncommon, and I really appreciated how supportive it was (and continues to be).

Pros:

7-9 hours of dedicated programming time a day.
Networking with talented, motivated classmates and companies around the Portland metro.
Internship program.
Great support from the staff in learning and finding a job afterwards. They went far and beyond... Read More in effort to find me a position. Something I would've never gotten on my own in applying to jobs.
Tuition cost.
Great location in downtown Portland.

Cons:

For me at least, the curriculum wasn't super difficult. At least for the first 2 months until we got to Rails. But I had taken CS courses beforehand at community college and self-taught myself some Python and Javascript.

Not too hands on. Which I understand Michael wants so students can be self-reliant in teaching themselves. But sometimes a little more directed and strict curriculum could've been beneficial. Sometimes I would only see a teacher once a day as they were concentrating on students who were struggling more than I was. I graduated a year ago so it could very well be different now.

I think they could've at least glossed over the basic concepts of algorithms and data structures and at least pointed students where to learn more about these. I didn't even learn about avoiding N+1 queries on a database until many months into my first job position. Again, I know Michael wants to concentrate on basics, but these are fundamentally important to being a software developer and there could've at least been some resources provided to learn about them. Once again this could be different with the new curriculum and elongated length of the classes.

Overall:

I was hesitant to attend Epicodus at first. I was taking community college classes in CS with plans to transfer to a major school to finish my CS degree. But Michael alleviated most of my concerns in a phone interview and I met tons of great talented people through the program, which to me was invaluable. I am gainfully employed at a software agency in Portland with deep job satisfaction. The company even paying me to go back to school and finish my CS degree. The cost is unbeatable and the Epicodus staff went to great lengths to find me employment afterwards. With the cost as cheap as it is, I don't think there is a better deal in getting a career jump start on becoming a software developer.

Epicodus was one of the best decisions I've ever made. I examined a lot of web development training schools before I decided that Epicodus would be the best fit for my circumstances. I have a family to take care of and wanted a school that would give... Read More me the training I needed, yet allow me to be there for my family also. Epicodus fit the bill perfectly. For four months I was immersed in code, totally hands on, doing project after project. The instructors knew how to balance giving help with teaching us how to figure out the answers ourselves. I went from a total newbie, having zero knowledge and experience to finding my first developer job in a matter of months. Although the language I learned was Ruby on Rails that was just a vehicle to teach you the logic of web development and how to problem solve. I was hired to do C# in Visual Studio and though I had absolutely no experience or familiarity with it my supervisor commented on how quickly I was picking it up, even faster than another employee who went back to school to get his computer science degree. He is super sharp, but the college didn't give him the knowledge, training or hands on experience of some major concepts. Epicodus also gives you a lot of assistance in finding a job. You do an internship the last month and they spend a lot of time helping you find a job after. If you are interested in learning web development try Epicodus. The training is spot on and the people there are awesome.

I went to the first Epicodus class that was in Sacramento before Michael moved to Portland. The experience was amazing. Along with learning the skills I needed to start a career as a developer, the class was so much fun! Michael provides an atmosphere... Read More which allows everyone to enjoy the learning process even if it can be difficult at times.

Within a week of completing the course, I was hired on at a Ruby on Rails consultancy and immediately started shipping production code. This was particularly amazing to me because I entered the course with no computer science background of any kind. Bottom line, if you join Epicodus you will learn all the skills you need to start off a career in the programming field and you will have a great time doing it.

The reason I chose Epicodus over other programs is the founder Michael. He is truly a wonderful person. He crafted the program with the intention to help as many people as possible. All course materials are freely available online and that alone speaks... Read More to his genuine passion to teach anyone to code. I would highly recommend this program to anyone dissatisfied with his or her career prospects. The Epicodus sponsored one-month internship is why I am currently employed and being paid to learn iOS development.

I came into Epicodus, physically, with nothing.
However, I did come with a passion for coding and a desire to learn. It quickly turned into the best experience I could possibly have.
It is exemplary in teaching you the skills needed. This is shown even... Read More moreso in how Michael has continued to offer cohorts for students that fall into disciples other than the typical RoR and JS setup. He truly wants to play it to what the market needs and is best for the students.

My class was very successful. Everyone has done well afterwards, and I'm doing amazing in my career and keep growing. And Epicodus doesn't only just teach you how to code. Michael is completely dedicated to virtues like diversity, lack of discimination and sexism, and other matters of that nature and it shows. It is the most friendly, inviting room in PDX and I believe it will be that way a long while.

I rarely write reviews about products or services I purchased. However, I am making an exception for Epicodus because it was such a positive and amazing journey for me. I searched all the programs available at the time (late '13) and Epicodus was the... Read More only 4 month program, by far the longest and also cheapest program out there.
I knew that i needed at least 4 months to learn programming. While I do I have a BS and MS in Information Technology, i was by no mean a programmer. I was successful in my career but deep down the work did not excite me any longer, and I I decided to do something about it. Right after my interview with Michael, I knew that Epicodus was IT.
I have lots of respect and love for Michael. He's one of the most genuine and kind hearted persons I've met. Michael allowed every student to pay AFTER the end of the class and that WITHOUT even asking for your ssn, dob or anything… How amazing is that in today's world? All other schools demand a credit report before even considering to put you on a payment plan.
To me, these schools are businesses and not learning institutions. Epicodus is a learning institution. I would do the program all over again in a heart beat if I could. I loved the vibe of the city, the people, the beer, the daily tech meet ups, the gorgeous hikes and I am certain you will too.

All the best,
Raouf