Epicodus

I was interested in coding for a while and started teaching myself, but wasn’t making very good progress until I came across Epicodus. Two of the factors that helped me decide to take the plunge and enroll were price and location. I can easily say that... Read More this was the best decision I have ever made. Last year I gambled, left my job and moved to Portland in the hopes of becoming a developer. Epicodus took what I was teaching myself and pushed it into overdrive.

What is the secret recipe?
1 - Start with one amazing instructor
2 - Sprinkle in former students with great knowledge and experience in the program
3 - Add an excellent curriculum and
4 - Supplement with eager students that come from different walks of life with the common goal of becoming a developer

Michael Kaiser-Nyman is extremely talented and invested in ensuring that everyone has a great experience at Epicodus. He truly cares for everyone’s mental as well as emotional state when going through this bootcamp. There is a genuine sense of family when you are at Epicodus and that is sparked by Michael’s leadership and values. It’s not just about learning it is also about becoming a better person. Michael tirelessly worked to make connections for every student in the Portland tech scene. Michael set up internships at Portland tech firms which led to employment for many students and scheduled weekly talks from industry professionals and former students. Michael also always kept students in the loop about meetups and encouraged our participation. All of this immerses you in the field so much more than just learning the concepts on their own.

One of the strengths of Epicodus and a testament to this idea of family is that Michael has employed former students as teachers in the program to assist him in explaining concepts and also as a constant visual reminder that - yes it is possible. The team assisting him is approachable and are a TREMENDOUS help in navigating the daily waters of learning at Epicodus. They had a knack for guiding us all towards the answer we were looking for without just telling us so that we could work through the issues and understand better. The feeling of accomplishment when reaching the solution to a difficult problem was great. High fives around the room once a difficult problem was solved were not uncommon! The idea is that, to be a programmer, you have to think like a programmer and the only way to get there is to fight through the tough problems and come up with a solution on your own as much as possible. This I feel is one of the things that prepares Epicodus students so well for success in the real world.

The curriculum is great. It was accessible for someone like me who had never programmed in their life before coming to Epicodus, but was also challenging enough for other students who came to Epicodus with experience in programming. The curriculum always starts with the basics and then takes this concepts and continues to build upon what you learned the day before. We covered many topics and were given great challenges to learn a concept. We were always taught how to create something from the ground up so that there is a firm understanding of how and why something works. There is a strong emphasis on testing and writing clean, DRY code.

Pair Programming is central to the experience at Epicodus and was a huge help to me. At the start of the day we would select a pair who we would program with for the whole day and we were encouraged to select a different pair as much as possible. This is great because by working with someone new everyday, you get to see different perspectives, work on skills together and push each other to places you probably would not have gone on your own. It also places a great focus on the value of communication with your pair which helps you learn so much quicker. There would be days where I was stuck and would learn from my pair, there were days where my pair was stuck and by virtue of explaining my thought process and talking about a solution I got a better understanding of the concept too. Finally, there were many days where both of us would be stuck and we would fight through the problem together. I cannot fully express how valuable pairing was and how much it helped me learn in such a short period of time. It was great!

I am very happy I took the gamble and enrolled at Epicodus. Without Michael and his team, I could have never jumped into the career I wanted and changed my life. Epicodus not only gave me the knowledge base but also helped created connections and helped me to start thinking like a developer which all contributed to me currently being employed as a software engineer. I highly recommend Epicodus. It was an amazing experience!

Let's get the fact that Epicodus is the cheapest bootcamp I know by far. So what's the catch? Frankly, none. Michael, the proprietor, wants a bootcamp that actually accessible to as many people as possible.

I was initially concerned about the high number... Read More of students in the class, about 60 if I remember correctly. Very quickly, it was clear that this was not going to be an issue. Our days are spent pairing with another student and programming throughout the day. The 3 instructors were more than adequate for the class size. They are not there to give you the answers, but guide you there so you can learn.

Every so often we had several guest speakers and they were insightful. Its always good to hear folks talk about their experiences in the industry. One of the most popular questions for the speakers was whether you could actually get a job an an entry level developer right after a bootcamp -- you can, your mileage may vary.

Come prepared to do some work outside of class, not because it is required, but because I saw a general difference between those that spent time wrestling with concepts after class than those that did. That said, its equally important to balance work/study with play.

It was my first time in Portland. And for those of you wondering, it is a very easy city to get around. Public transportation is comprehensive and I had no trouble getting around.

I am a graduate of the Epicodus Spring ’14 class, and I can honestly it changed my life. I was working as a business analyst (translation, spreadsheets all day every day) and found myself itching to get into more of a development role. I knew some SQL... Read More from my data analysis experience and I had taken a semester of C++ in college so I knew how much I was drawn to the beautiful logic of coding, but I really felt like a kid playing in the sandbox when it came to writing usable, efficient code and never dreamed I could actually gain the skills necessary to be a real live software developer. Going back and getting a second bachelor’s degree in Computer Science was out of the question because I didn’t want to spend 4 years and tens of thousands of dollars. I looked at self-directed resources online, but none of them seemed to have the real hands-on training necessary to actually land a job and it required more self-discipline than I knew I was capable of.

Then I found Epicodus. After only 4 months and only $3400 in tuition (much less than CS programs, and even other code schools), I went from barely knowing any code to being employed as a contributing member of a software development team as an intern (I was later promoted to a full-fledged developer).

How did I learn everything I needed to know in 4 months? Well the answer really is, I didn’t. Four months was enough to get a grasp of Ruby, Rails and JavaScript, but by no means was I an expert in any of those by the end. What I really took away, was the ability to figure out anything I came across that I didn’t know. If we didn’t know how to do something, or couldn’t figure out why something, we spent 20 minutes googling, or reading documentation, or asking our peers before any instructor swooped in to give us the answer. If I had been trying to learn on my own, those moments of frustration could easily have turned into giving up. But because I had the support of 59 other people in the same position as me, learning with me, I pushed through those moments of frustration and got to experience the moments of elation when you figure out what you had been missing.

In addition to having the support of classmates, the instructor support at Epicodus is amazing. Not only was I supported throughout the course while I learned, but once it was over, I knew they had my back in finding a job. I was lucky enough to be hired by the same company where I was placed for my Epicodus internship, but I know they did everything possible to make sure all of my classmates found positions as well.

Ultimately, because I chose to attend Epicodus, I am now in a career that is immensely gratifying and intellectually stimulating and I would recommend it to anyone looking to get into software development.

Epicodus is a great coding school to attend for many reasons. I had a great experience, built a new passion, and found a cool job with a great company! Here are some reasons I loved Epicodus:

Great price - Look at other coding schools prices and you see... Read More what a value Epicodus is. Considering the length of the school, guaranteed internship, the job search support and help in place, it can’t be beat.

Great teachers - Epicodus has teachers, but there aren't there to tell you how to do it. The teachers help you to find the answer itself with thought provoking discussion and patience and guiding you to solve the problem with your pair partner. This is very important. Compare this to tons of web content out there where you use someone else's code to learn. They already figured out how to do it and you just repeat what they did. This is not how you learn to code effectively. You have to spend the time and invest a lot of hard painful thinking to be successful as a developer.

Great team - Pair programming is a great way to learn. You make friends and every day you are coding with another person, learning and critical problem solving. It isn't always easy, but it is worth it.

Job support - This is absolutely the most important thing. The outreach coordinators at Epicodus are top notch and focus every day on helping the graduates get jobs. They are constantly building relationships with the tech community which results in jobs. After you graduate you have to get busy and do hard work to get a job, but it is certainly way easier with the support of Epicodus.

If you have ever heard the term “No Brainer” this is it. The choice should be easy. Sign up now!

Epicodus is a wonderful program at an incredible price. Immediately after graduating I received multiple interviews at established companies and have already received two job offers. Your mileage may vary, but this seems like a pretty common outcome for... Read More Epicodus grads.

Michael has done a great job of designing a curriculum that emphasizes best practices and technology used by actual software development companies. Anyone can learn how to hack around with a programming language or two. Epicodus, through behavior-driven development and pair-programming, teaches you how to solve problems using best practices as part of a team. That's invaluable.

I can't stress enough how much of a bargain this program is. Michael, Maureen, Dustin, and the rest of the staff are all doing an amazing job. Highly recommend.

I was lucky enough to already live in Portland when I decided to take an intensive programming course, but Epicodus was an easy choice. Here's a few reasons why:

1.) Coming to programming from teaching, I was really impressed by the learning model compared... Read More to most of the competition: 100 percent learn-by-doing. The curriculum is highly relevant, well-explained, and scaffolded to let you learn at a pace that's best for you. Coming in with some programming experience? Go as fast as you want, up your skill set, and add projects to your portfolio. Does HTML, CSS, and TDD mean nothing to you? Don't worry, you will learn a TON and have a blast doing it with others who are right there with you!

2.) A focus on pairing really helps you practice important interpersonal skills that are hugely important for transitioning to work in cutting edge development environments like Agile and Scrum. You'll work with lots of different people and get good at navigating different personalities and work styles.

3.) A few TA's provide you with just enough support so you don't get stuck for too long, but not so much that you're not forced to practice the most important skill of all: pushing through programming challenges by practicing good problem solving. Nothing is more satisfying than thinking you need help, working a little longer, and realizing you don't!

-- The cost. I am quite serious when I say I got more knowledge and skill out of this course than my Master's degree, and that cost me about 15 times more. $3500 is a SCREAMING deal for what you will walk out of this course with: relevant foundational web development skills, knowledge of how to teach yourself further, and a network of support to help you land your first job.

Bottom line: if you have an interest in the web, like solving problems, and are ready to work hard, then you should come to Portland.

Due to the cost disparity between Epicodus and other code schools, I was initially a little wary of Epicodus. However after hearing feedback from engineering friends that have worked with Epicodus graduates, I made my decision to attend.

Epicodus was... Read More completely worth it. It was worth my time and money. If I had to narrow it down to two reasons why Epicodus was so great, it would have to be the internship program and the career/job support provided by Epicodus staff.

Epicodus’ internship program is amazing. Epicodus set me up with interviews with five different Portland startups for an internship during my fourth month of the program. Not only did Epicodus help me prepare for my interviews (e.g. reviewing resumes and projects), they also worked with companies to generate feedback for students. Working as a development intern for a month was incredibly invaluable—the value was truly apparent at my first job interview after Epicodus. There I was able to discuss and show the live code I worked on at my internship. I was also able to demonstrate that I was familiar and felt comfortable working a member of a fast-paced development team.

Epicodus provided amazing career and job support. They provided cover letter reviews; they also arranged mock interviews, open source code sprints, and career fairs. Approximately one week after the end of Epicodus, I received an offer from a company I met at Epicodus' job fair. The staff at Epicodus was available to talk when I needed advice. Furthermore, they checked in with me for a few weeks (even after I started working) to make sure that I was doing alright.

I am very glad that I attended Epicodus, and I would highly recommend it.

I am so grateful to have done Epicodus. I wanted to change careers from politics to something that was more intellectually and mathematically challenging. Having known Michael for a long time prior to taking Epicodus, I knew that he was a bright and caring... Read More guy. I didn't look into any other code schools, and it turns out that I didn't need to. Initially, I was surprised that so much of our learning was self-directed. I expected there to be more classroom-style, didactic lecturing, but instead we spent our time learning by actually programming. I'm so glad that Epicodus is designed that way because it not only allowed me to learn a lot about web development but it also taught me how to solve problems on my own, work with a partner, and ask questions. Even more than knowledge of specific technologies, the problem-solving skills I learned during class are what I find most useful as a developer now. I was also pleasantly surprised by the diversity of my class in terms of race, age, and gender, given what I'd heard about the tech industry.

Before Epicodus I had been doing research on coding bootcamps for about a year. They caught my attention because the program was longer in it's entirety than most and also cheaper. After having been through the Program and around Michael and his team... Read More for the second half of 2014, I can honestly say that this was the best investment that I could have made ever made education wise IN MY LIFE. NO BULL****! Michael is truly driven by a genuine purpose of helping people get a foot in the door in this industry! Michael has created a program that is challenging and rewarding with a relatively low barrier of entry. He truly wants to expose those who want to learn to the programming world. He has created a great environment to grow and ask questions at a good pace. He also fostered a great culture of making adjustments for improvements as the class moved along. There is a constant flow of feedback between the students, the instructors and Michael, which is awesome. The class wasn't perfect just like anything else in life but I will say this. If you HONESTLY put in GENUINE effort and go in with an open mind you WILL learn more than what you could ever imagined in such a short period of time. Half of the battle is being mentally tough and just having the will to keep hammering it out and asking questions when you don't understand something. Missing a bunch of days just because is not going to cut it. You'd be selling yourself short. And FEAR, it is the number one killer of opportunities. I noticed that many people were so afraid of what might happen 3 months down the line because they had a bad day and couldn't focus. Tell fear, F*** you and keep pushing!(excuse my language)! Some of those same people are now happily employed!! I told fear to fuck off and I am now also one of those employed individuals lol!

Ultimately, The Epicodus program is lead by a really really smart, and most of all, GENUINE guy. And for any program/organization to be great, it must start from the top down, period. So if you are looking to Jumpstart or change your career, Epicodus will provide an excellent opportunity to do just that!

Last year, I enrolled in Epicodus, a Portland-based web development bootcamp. I left my career and moved across the country without really knowing what would happen. It was a big gamble, but it really paid off.

I initially chose Epicodus based on the price... Read More and location. I am still happy with these factors, but there are several others that I have come to appreciate as much or more.

First, the curriculum is outstanding. It is accessible to someone like me who is relatively new to programming but challenging enough for more knowledgeable students. Not sure? Check it out yourself. The curriculum is all online at https://www.learnhowtoprogram.com I am really impressed that Michael (the owner) is so transparent. There are no surprises here. You know exactly what you are buying.

The current instructors are both former students who really know their stuff. They are patient, articulate, and knowledgeable. They have high expectations but don't leave anyone behind. Michael works closely with them to ensure that everything is going well and to troubleshoot any issues.

Class is from 8:30 to 5:30 with a one hour lunch break. Each day, we code in pairs on practice problems. Some bootcamps boast about 12 hour days. I am grateful that Michael has a more realistic schedule. By the end of the day, my brain is mush. I usually spend a couple hours looking at material in the evening but it is at my own pace. I have found that rest and time off are really important to my learning process. Issues that are really confusing on Monday often start to make sense by Tuesday or Weds. Sometimes it just takes awhile for things to sink in.

The student body is large. Probably larger than some bootcamps. I thought this might be an issue at first but it really isn't. 60 colleagues means there are 60 people to connect with and 60 people to turn to for help. When you are stuck, you try to figure things out with your pair, and if that doesn't work, you go to a peer. Instructors are a last resort. The idea is that in the real world, there aren't any instructors, so learn how to troubleshoot now.

Community connections are a major emphasis. There is a lot of encouragement to participate in Meetups and other relevant events. Michael hosts a number of these at Epicodus itself and he is working closely with the local community to secure internships and bring in companies for job fairs. Michael seems to have a lot of great connections, which he has used to help place former students.

Last but not least, the setting is fantastic. Epicodus is in downtown Portland in a large open space with stand-up desks and brand new iMacs. I ride my bike across a bridge and along the river to class each day. It is beautiful and there is always lots of interesting things to see.

There was really no downside to my experience. Every now and then, I got confused by a reading, but Michael usually picks up on any issues and helps us through them. Sometimes, I worry that there is too much to learn or that I will forget something I learned a few weeks ago, but I think has more to do with working in a rapidly evolving sector than with the pace at Epicodus.

After completing my coursework, Michael helped place me in an internship at a great startup in downtown Portland. The internship lasted four months and then they brought me on full-time. I'm loving what I do and thinking about what the future may hold.

All in all, Epicodus was a great decision for me. There might be other bootcamps out there that would have worked out as well, but right now, I don't see how I could have done better.