Galvanize

I had no prior experience programming, but always loved spreadsheets and problem solving. This program took me from zero-to-developer in 6 months (+ 1 month job searching). Each class seems to be a little different, but here's about my class which wrapped... Read More up April 2015.

Format: first 3 months - heavy lecture, last 3 months - heavy project/individual work
Tech: Ruby on Rails, CSS, HTML, Javascript, Ember.js

Pros:
* Interview prep - soft skills and programming style interviews
* Lots of projects for your resume to highlight aka less focus on whatever else you were doing
* Exposure to various companies in the area (and other locations Galvanize is in)
* Experienced teachers who come from the field
* Gain 25+ other junior developers as resources throughout the class and beyond
* Galvanize's increasingly large network of industry professionals, incoming students, teachers, and past students

Cons:
* You are now poor and at wits end trying to figure out x problem of the day.
* You were probably really good at whatever you did before... and now you're a beginner. (This is what I struggled with the most.)
* Your teachers are human and Galvanize is a start up. Sometimes they won't get it right.
* You could probably learn and debug some of this at home by yourself for free. However it will probably take you longer (I needed the classroom setting) and according to my boss, harder to hire. Having Galvanize on my resume instead of "I learned at home by myself" showed I would make the commitment to something new/tough and persevere.

Side note:
Allow for 2+ months to find a job. Some found a job right away (or 3 weeks before class was over), others took at least 3 months. 7 months after my class graduated, several have already changed into happier jobs and everyone has a job who was looking for one.

If you are interested in programming and the art of building internet applications, there is no better place to hone your schools than the Galvanize Full Stack program. gSchool is among the most comprehensive courses of its kind. More importantly, the... Read More instructors are incredibly dedicated and passionate about their fields, and will do the utmost to guide you through web development training and ultimately help you launch a career in software. Highly recommended if you are truly interested in becoming a modern-age builder of tools that can impact the world.

This was probably the largest single propellor of a career that I've ever heard of. After attending the course I was given a ton of resources and opportunities for face time with companies in the area. I had a job two days before graduating and I'm absolutely... Read More loving it. The teaching staff is very tuned into the cutting edge of what's going on with the development community and they tailor the course to the current climate of technology. It was an incredible experience and I'd highly recommend it for anyone who wants to turn code into a career.

gSchool separates itself from the rest other coding/bootcamp schools by employing industry-proven instructors who know how to write production quality software. If you put the time and effort in, six months with these guys/gals will have most anybody... Read More ready for a junior level software position. I think the program will continue to improve so long as there is still a market for junior developers.

Gschool is one of the few coding programs that offers you depth and detail.

You work on projects that most jr developers do not get to experience or learn.

You work in an amazing location integrated with start-ups and places that you could eventually... Read More work at after graduation.

I had been looking at other programs to learn how to code, but am so glad that gschool was the one I ended up with. The skills I learned there allowed me to develop into a full stack developer and not just someone who knows how to play around in the terminal and write basic methods.

This program will change the way you think and how you can solve problems. It is difficult but well worth the pain

This review is going to change after I graduate from the program. I have been here for one week so far and my experience has been great. I have done more programming in one week then I thought possible. The rate at which we are learning new concepts is... Read More very fast and the instructors are there to support us every step of the way. Deciding to join gSchool is by far the best choice I have ever made.

As I near the end of graduating from gSchool I could not be more impressed with the program.

The instructors are all very experienced and gSchool also does a great job of selecting your fellow classmates and assigning you mentor(s). I've found that throughout... Read More the program I've learned just as much from my classmates and mentors as I have from the instructors.

It is certainly a large time commitment, but it is well worth the effort that you put in. You will learn a great process for writing code that while giving you some structure, also allows you to be creative. By attending gSchool you'll gain the knowledge you need to land a great job or even build your own company.

We are roughly 7 weeks away from graduation and I can't believe how much we have learned! One thing I like best about gSchool is the flexibility of our instructors to really customize our education according to what we are personally interested in and... Read More the type of job we would ideally like to have upon graduation. I find a lot of power in thinking of an app that would be cool, and being able to kick it off right then and there with the support of classmates and instructors :)

We're now in the last couple of days of gSchool and I can honestly say it was one of the best decisions I have ever made.

The first three months were very intense and were mainly dedicated to lectures, workshops, exercises and pair programming. We mainly... Read More learned ruby, javascript, html and css. Most days had a similar schedule where we'd start with a warmup problem to challenge our brains, learn some new things or solidify techniques we had previously learned, next we would listen to a couple of lectures or presentations. After lunch, we would normally pair up, work solo or in small groups on exercises that could take anywhere from one to eight days, depending on the project.

The last three months, we split our time between pairing on production code for real clients or working on our personal projects. The personal projects were an opportunity to really stretch our minds and skills by introducing completely new technologies of our choosing. You could chose to push your personal project as far as you want and had the help of the instructors if needed. We also all worked individually on a required class project so that we would have a complete project implementing many technologies to show employers of our skills.

Outside of class, my cohort was very social and we had many events such as Soup Sunday, a fantasy football league (which I'm still determined to win), barbecues, a prom party, twice weekly fitness bootcamp led by another student and many other things. I can honestly say that the people I met at gSchool will be not only my colleagues but also some of my best friends.

We also gathered once or twice a week to learn topics that weren't covered in class like computer science topics, algorithms, and code challenges. This was first created to just prepare us for job interviews but turned out to be tons of fun and really pushed our knowledge and skills.

The instructors at gSchool are all top notch and were absolutely amazing. I will say that gSchool is what you make of it. I had an amazing time and think that I am fully prepared to go into any job situation and will be able to perform at a high level and learn quickly BUT with that being said, if I had just done the bare minumum and not taken the initiative to push myself, I don't think it would have been quite as good.

If you have the chance to go to gSchool, you should absolutely do it.