Helio Training Bootcamp - CLOSED

The best thing was the job searching assistance. To tell myself I wasn't totally scammed by Helio I think of that. As for the rest, the salesperson lied about the instructors being professionals in the field they teach. It was a QA program but they had... Read More zero QA professionals on staff (and that REALLY matters. Devs who are relatively good at QA still suck at QA. That's why QA still exists even though devs are famous for saying they don't need it). Their curriculum required having at least 5 students and we had only 3, but they went ahead anyway without changing a thing. In fact they didn't even follow the curriculum they wrote. The instruction was almost non-existent. Entire days went by without the instructor coming in to teach us anything. Not exaggerating. We were told to find our own online tutorials and ask questions when we had an issue. Not exaggerating! I complained, they listened, and they did absolutely nothing but keep my money. I came out with about a week and a half of training for a 6-week course. Funny thing about bootcamps is it's in your best interest to not leave bad reviews, since you want to leverage your bootcamp to get a job. Now, 2 years later, after much effort and heartbreak, after attending every related meetup and free training available, after getting more free help from the head of Helio's primary competitor than I ever got from Helio, after dozens of QA professionals being amazed how little I learned at the bootcamp, after temp gigs and a year in tech support, I finally landed the full-time QA job I wanted. Now I can be open and honest. Helio is a waste of your money at best. Hard not to call it a scam. They lied about their program and employed an instructor EVERYONE AGREED was a terrible instructor. By everyone I mean all their former students, everyone on staff, and their reputation from Neumont University. Plus they've never spent a day of their life as a QA specialist. I was told that doesn't matter because he's a great programmer. Fine, go be a programmer, stop stealing from people by masquerading as a teacher. Go LEARN to be a good instructor, if you're so smart. And the director was fine with all of this. I could go on and on and on. 2 years later and I'm getting mad again just writing this. I attended every class and made this the focus of my life. I was an excellent student. But the bootcamp was a disaster. Go to Dev Mountain instead. They're good. They have a plan and follow it. Doubtful their employment assistance is any better that Helio's, but since you'll come out actually prepared to do the job you're more likely to get one.

I attended the Immersive Full Stack Web Dev Bootcamp at the Draper Helio Campus in the Spring of 2020. I graduated at the end of April and accepted a job offer as a Software Developer at the end of May.

Background

To get the most out of my review, I think... Read More it is important to understand my previous experience. At the time of taking the class I had an engineering degree and had been working as an Environmental Engineer for two years. I was always interested in programming, I took a Java programming course in college and had dabbled in many different programming languages. I wanted to change careers, and I knew I needed a immersive experience.

What I Liked

Our instructor, Kevin, was awesome. He not only had the expertise, but had the patience and took great care to make sure everyone had the experiences they needed to be successful. It is hard to keep the class going at a pace that is good for everyone, and I think Kevin did a great job.

What I learned was useful. The technologies learned in the class should get you a job or allow you to learn other technologies quickly. The job I was offered uses C# and .NET and I learned all of that outside of class. If you put in the work, you will have the skills and knowhow you need for any tech stack.

The Draper location is great. It was a great learning environment.

Classmates were awesome. All the classmates I had were there to learn and were respectful.

Career services did an excellent job preparing me for networking and interviews.

Helio had an excellent response to COVID-19 and did their best to provide the full experience online.

Improvements for Helio

Resources and requirements could have been communicated better to the students. Many students, including myself, were unaware of several learning resources until midway through the course. Several things were hard to find, being in separate locations (LMS or Teams). These resources weren’t vital but would have been nice to have on hand.

Curriculum - The curriculum was a bit chaotic. This is something they were working on at the time, and I am confident that they ironed out all the wrinkles.

Tips On Being Successful

Do the pre-course work! Do it!

Set aside the time. The 13 weeks you are in the course should be dedicated to the course.

Ask Questions. Everyone at Helio is eager to help and they are super nice! Don’t be afraid to ask.

Both Windows and Mac will work fine. Come with the computer you are the most comfortable with.

Start with simple projects that check all the requirements. When it comes time to make your own apps, start small and make sure you have the basics covered.

Apply to all the jobs. I had to apply to 40+ jobs before one stuck, be prepared to work hard after the class is over to get a job.

I've never written a review that was less than positive for any company - but feel like my experience might be helpful when someone is considering which bootcamp to attend.

I did not have a good experience with Helio - and count the $5k I used to take... Read More the first class a loss.

For context: I took the full -Stack web development after hours course in 2019 (It's taken me awhile to get up the nerve to post a review)

Here are some of the main issues that kind ruined the experience for me:

1.CURRICULUM: While the teacher was nice - there was very little structure around curriculum. It seemed like he just showed up and started talking. I had to miss the first week due to being out of the country, but according to the curriculum, the first week was covering HTML basics so I took an online course to make sure I could hit the ground running. When I arrived on the first day, however, Javascript was being covered, and it looked like they were pretty far along. I spent the first 3 hour class completely lost.

2. ENROLLMENT: I did my research when looking at companies, and Helio's after hours class was a candidate, but I didn't commit until I talked to the enrollment counselor. Looking back, I feel mislead by what was told to me that tipped me off in the direction of going with Helio. He stated that there was a set curriculum for each course that all instructors follow (not the case for my class) and that Helio was connected with an "adult learning" company so the pedagogy would work well for those working full time and taking the class after hours. There are so many online courses for free, but I wanted a structured environment where I could work with others.

3. KEY CARD: I was unable to get into the building for the class for three weeks. This was very frustrating and had resorted to waiting outside the front doors of the building hoping someone would let me in before the class began. I emailed (and have copies of all the emails mentioned) to ask for a key card after the instructor and the instructors assistant were unable to provide one after two weeks. I was told it was going to come soon, and still waited another week for access to the building. It's a small but rather crucial thing to be able to get to the classroom, and I didn't appreciate feeling like it was a bit of a wild goose chase to get in.

4. OVERPROMISING and UNDERDELIVERING: While I could tell that all the students in the class were working hard - there was a dramatic and very clear difference between what was being taught and where the class was at. I was told over and over again that this was normal and expected, but it got to a point that, when told to 'work with a partner' the room fell silent because no-one knew how to do what was being asked. After I called and talked with the leadership at Helio several times, a person was sent into the classroom to ask how it was going (with the instructor gone). The feeling in the room was palpably tense and there was ALOT that people had to say, none of it positive. The Person sent in did a great job hearing all the comments, but then NOTHING changed in the actual class. Really disappointing. On the outset, it was expected that everyone do 20 hours a week outside of class (which I know not everyone did, But even when I DID put in all that extra time, it was impossible to keep up) I feel like Helio should either decrease what they are promising students will learn, or standardize the lessons so every class learns the same things and they get a better sense for pacing. There were also different "homework assignments" being given by the assistant and the instructor and there didn't seem to be any way to figure out which ones do do.

5. PRESSURE to INVEST MORE: From the beginning, I was asked to sign up (and pay for) two classes. The after Hours 1 and 2 together are 10K. I chose to take the first class (5K) and see if it worked for me before investing more. When I was unhappy with my experience, I was told several times that I could "Retake" the class for free. That was reassuring, as I thought I could just deal with a crappy situation first time around, and take the class again in the fall.

6. DECEPTION about REPEAT POLICY: However, when I asked to repeat the class halfway through the first one (knowing I would need the chance to revisit the curriculum before moving onto advanced material) I was told I had to pay for the second class (ANOTHER 5k) before I was allowed to take the first one over again. I have IN WRITING from the people at Helio that this was NOT in the fine print. However, on the phone it was a different story and by this point I was so thoroughly frustrated with the company I didn't know if I wanted to spent any more time interacting with them.

From the beginning, I was clear and consistent in my communication with Helio, and I feel that I didn't receive clarity or consistency in return. I made multiple calls and probably spoke with every person on the team at some point (first to get my key card for the building, then when classmates started dropping out of the class because of curriculum mismatch, I spoke with several people in the company).

After I was told I couldn't retake the class (which is one of their big selling points, at least when I enrolled) I asked for a refund and was denied (also another selling point.)

I would recommend Helio continue what they are trying to do, but clean up their act with how they treat students/customers. I would ask for integrity in what they promise and suggest that anyone looking to take a bootcamp consider what I've experienced. I know that many learning programs have their pro's and con's (that's actually my line of work, structuring and administering educational material) and even with a wide berth, this company failed to deliver.

I would still appreciate a refund.

I took immersive full-stack Web Dev course. Good experience with great mentors who are there to teach you everything you need to know. The lead instructor Wes was working really hard to get the students experience he has. The mentors we always there and... Read More helpful. Curriculum is upgrading in first two months in fast pace. If you want to get the most of the course you need to put the most into it. Dedicate all your time and even if you are tired try to work at home after class. Another advice is to keep coding and learning on your own after graduation. It is challenging, but is it worth it.
I had excellent experience after graduation when i needed help for my projects and when i was feeling stuck. There always been Mike Corey - one of the mentors who never let me discouraged! Anytime i had questions he scheduled meetings with me and was willing to help even when i was not enough prepared. He was nice and trying his best to meet my needs and give new ideas how to proceed. Thanks a lot!
One the other hand they give you the opportunity to shadow the course which i did. It is really helpful and makes you understand everything more detailed after you already have the bigger picture and concepts in mind. Totally recommend.
And last, but not least Helio provides career service which is absolutely necessary and useful. The career service manager Amy is doing her job professionally and devotedly. She was checking the progress of everyone and helps building your resume, and how to present yourself (how to sell yourself).
Overall Helio is a great environment and i would recommend it to everyone! It is network of nice people working toward achieving your goals along your way!

I came into the class knowing little to nothing about coding, which made it a little bit of a harder start for me. However, over time the concepts, terminology, and how they all tied together became more clear. The instructor I had was very knowledgeable... Read More about what he was teaching (15+ years of experience), and he was always able to demonstrate how to make code run/work. I didn't always understand the "why", but again, over time these things will make sense. Always ask questions, especially if you don't understand what is being taught. Chances are the people around you are wondering the same thing or might hesitate to ask questions themselves. If it doesn't make sense to you, that should be reason enough to ask the teacher to explain it again or in a different way. I think it was clear to my class what was expected of us, and how much time was required (12-14 hours outside of class) to become proficient software developers. A consistent and diligent effort is the key to succeed at this boot camp. Helio knows what they are doing. They point us in the direction of what to focus on so that you can become an expert and be ready to get a job. I've wanted to give up many times. Don't do it! Things will get better :) Loved my classmates, too!

I wanted to recognize Mike Corey for being such an amazing mentor and friend. He himself has been through the Helio training boot camp and knows what it is like to learn what we are learning. He knows the struggles that we all go through. During and after the class he has consistently reached out to help me with my projects and increase my understanding of key concepts. I would not be nearly as confident or knowledgeable without his help. I can't recommend him enough.

Wanted to take an in-person course to learn more about UI and UX. Ended up being an online course. Class outline and expectations were never clear. Instructor had excuses for coming in late all the time and/or moving the class to be online. It felt as... Read More though he didn't plan classes ahead of time and would just wing it. Very disorganized. I don't feel like I learned much than what I knew before. I ended up going out of my way to teach myself how to use certain programs and learn UI/UX. Total waste of time and money.

I chose Helio because they demonstrated that they would be there for their student beyond the duration of the course. The opportunity to shadow a future class to further solidify one's knowledge and understanding seemed like a great way to support students... Read More that really wanted to stick with it but may have struggled through the class. So like they say if at first, you don't succeed try try again! So I was sold and enrolled ready to take on the challenge.

Jumping at the opportunity to get the precourse work done and completed before the class started was a great move. This helped to expose me to some of the things we would be learning more in-depth through the class but was just enough to help the first two weeks go smoothly without feeling lost or behind the class. Once we started to get more into JavaScript I found myself feeling a bit more confused but also building excitement. While I was starting to feel like I was having a hard time fully grasping the material I was starting to see more how it all came together and that my only limitations seemed to be my imagination.

Knowing fully well that this course was going to be a challenge before I signed up I was ready to work hard and persist. I continued to struggle through the troubles I was encountering with understanding the material. Asking some questions but also trying to do what I could to discover the answer on my own. One regret I have is not asking more questions when I found myself stuck and could not seem to find the answer.

My biggest obstacle was my own self-doubt. When things got hard and I felt stuck for all too long I found myself questioning my ability to really grasp and pick up the material we were going over. Thankfully I am persistent and determined. I started to work through some of the confidence issues I was having with a few small wins that showed me I was starting to understand.

I still struggle with things to this day but find myself looking forward to the challenge knowing that I will gain that much more confidence once I overcome it. The structure of the Helio program is not to teach you all that there is about web development but rather to guide you down the best path for learning how to learn the material. They focus to give you a solid foundation with HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and various other tools and tech you will use in the industry but the main objective is to help you find the best path to continue learning on your own.

I completed the course getting proficiency before graduation and after taking a week to celebrate I was back on the computer to continue learning and start feeling like more of a master. I still struggled with somethings and after a few months going on my own learning journey, I found myself taking Helio up on that opportunity to shadow a class. It was not until I returned to the class that I realized just how much I had learned the first time around. It is easy to forget about how much you learned because there is so much to keep learning. It was when I started to help others and work on teaching them what I learned when I really started to see just how great of an education Helio had provided. So thankful for the opportunity to shadow that is helping me step into the light and keep my dream alive.

I am writing this review one year after attending Helio Training. Many of the reviews that have been written on this bootcamp seem to come from people who have recently gotten out or are still attenting. I wanted to give this review to describe the challenges,... Read More the ups and downs, pros and cons, and how Helio prepared or underprepared me for the real world in web development.

To start off, I will say that you will not and cannot learn full stack in 13-14 weeks. It is simply impossible, no matter how many hours you spend coding, the concepts will be difficult and will take a lot of time, repetition, building up and burning down projects. With that being said, I believe Helio did not transition the concepts well and I, as a student could not grasp the concepts of Javascript very well. Since it is fast paced, and goes through fullstack, the structure itself is flawed, and leads to confusion, many gaps in knowledge, and lack in competency as a developer. I believe it is professionally irresponsible for Helio to teach fullstack in 13 weeks, it may work better for them to just have a front end course or a back end course for students to choose from and extend it out to be atleast 4 months.

In my current position, I am a front end developer, and have struggled in the role. Obviously, your first dev job is going to suck and it will have a lot of growing pains for you. From this experience alone, I have realize that Helio has inadequately trained me. Yes, it is important and essential for devs to continuously grow and learn and make this a lifestyle, however, it should be Helio's duty to teach us how to learn these things in a way where it is retainable, which they did not do unfortunately. What I learned from my current job is that it is essential to understand Javascript concepts, what functional programming is and why we use it. Many bootcamp grads do not have the competencies to answer this. At the end of my bootcamp, I could literally not answer concepts in regards to variables, scopes, closures, recursions, etc, you get the point. Helio also does not talk to you about how a dev oriented team operates, and that may throw you into a curveball as well. Its important to know and understand the agile process as well, but that can be learned at your first job.

As for the career serive, it is and was helpful to me. I was able to get my resume fixed up, and had some connections made. I do wish however that the career services did more follow up and have more connections for grads to get onto. Perhaps, an apprenticeship approach may be better suited for Helio, because many of the grads are obviously under qualified for many of the jobs available in Utah and beyond.

The instruction I recieved from Helio was disorganized. There was a curriculum laid out on paper, however it was not followed in those orders and became a bit disorganized. The classes were not started in a timely manner, and topics would pivot. The instructor was very smart and well versed in web development, but seemed to lack the passion and enthusiasm that could have really helped other students and myself. When building our projects, we were not given adequate guidance. I do wish that they could have done some group projects based on a concept we learned and build on top of those concepts in the later weeks so that the learning can be better solidifed. Projects are so important to presenting your knowledge to potential employers, so an improvement in that process should be a bigger priority for Helio.

After Helio and a year later, I realize that all the tools I need to learn are online. I spent a couple hundred dollars on codecademy and there are many paths in there to choose from ,I chose web development and data science path, and I actually have learned more from codecademy than Helio and it was $9,900.00 cheaper than Helio. So if you are considering changing careers and going into web dev, I would strongly suggest codecademy first, before considering a bootcamp.

So would I recommend Helio? They have amazing reviews, and mostly positive comments, but the positive comments are from people who come out fresh from the bootcamp, I urge you to do more research and be more realistic. Finding a first dev job will suck, ALOT. Learning to code will take alot of time and energy, you will have to make a lifestyle change to get this information burned into your brain and Helio cannot teach you that. Can you learn these things on your own? Yes you can. Can you find a job on your own without a bootcamp? Yes you can. Can a bootcamp help? Depends. Helio and other bootcamps may add value because of the career service and people that may hold you accountable. You also work with people who are in the same boat as you. Helio also offers tuition reimbursement if you are not able to find a dev role in 6 months after graduation, however that comes with stipulations, so I would ask about that prior to joining.

With all that being said, my final note is, just do your own research and come up with your own conclusion, ask many questions and don't feel pressured to join. It is your money at the end of the day and it is your life.

I attended the Full Stack/Full Time Web Dev Bootcamp at the Draper Helio Campus in the Fall of 2018.

About Me:
Before we begin, you need to know a just a few things about me.
In a bootcamp setting like Helio, every student joins with different levels of... Read More understanding in regards to Computer Science and Web Development. I had none- of either. My background was in people management, sales and marketing. I was a basic ‘user’ with no prior exposure to the complex world of Computer Science or technical trades. I chose to attend a web dev bootcamp not because I absolutely knew I wanted to be a programmer but because I knew I needed to upskill myself in an environment of accountability with someone being a ‘sherpa’ to me in this big new world. I also knew this would be a challenge and having an in person resource 45 hours a week would give me ZERO excuses to fail.

My learning can be broken down into two basic components. What I learned about myself and what I learned about Web Development.

What I learned about Web Dev:
Helio will teach you (if you trust the process) Javascript, HTML, CSS and how to interact with your terminal like a real programmer. To make it a full stack you will learn about APIs, Database Schemas and basic CRUD operations. They will teach you how the languages are used within libraries and frameworks and the unique elements around each framework. Also you will learn about the Software Development Lifecycle and many, many, many more things not mentioned here.

What I learned about myself:
I can do hard things. Attending Helio has given me credibility with myself and the confidence I need to continually progress as a person who values technical skill sets. During the bootcamp, I was always totally out of my element. This is GOOD NEWS! Growth only happens in the pain and the constant feeling of never really being sure about what I was doing and sorta just rolling with it is good for anyone to experience. Lastly, I walked away with a deep sense of pride in what I had accomplished. I was more proud of myself for finishing Helio with proficiency than a 4 year degree and many other professional experiences that I had previously held on high. Also, my problem solving skills significantly improved.

Advice to Future Students:
Watch CS05 Lectures on YouTube for context about what you are doing.
Do the pre-work they assign, multiple times.
Take time to prepare yourself. While I do not suggest online training as a replacement for the bootcamp experience, it will serve as good context for what to expect when you do enter the bootcamp so you can ask better questions for clarity.
Learn how to learn.
Learn how to read documentation.
You likely will want to give up many times- don’t do it. If you are open, you will NEVER regret this experience for many reasons listed above.
This will be challenging. Breakdowns and freakouts are expected. Just when you think you understand something, a new element and level to understanding that thing will make you feel completely inadequate again. This is normal learn to enjoy it. In a sick way, I actually crave this now that I am graduated...time to upskill!!!!

Advice to Helio:
Questions? My least favorite part. Questions? Huh… of course I have questions. About pretty much everything..where to even start?!?!?
Advice: Instead of waiting for the class to ask questions, it would be nice to have instructors check for knowledge to expose those black holes.
Continue the lectures, and afternoon coding sessions. Also continue to review content multiple times for understanding.
Continue to be supportive of your students! I cannot thank you all enough for your patience and support. The personal connection I had with everyone (instructors, career services and even the president of Helio) will not be forgotten. Special shout out to Wes and Tanner in Draper. Yall are Tops and I appreciate you so much!
Make sure that students are aware of all the different career paths in tech. Programming might not be for everyone but being technically literate surely is!
Keep the class sizes small. So great for 1:1 understanding and attention.

When I first heard of a coding bootcamp, I was a little skeptical of the idea. How can somebody go through a 13 week program and be employable with no previous experience?

Well let me tell you, sitting through this program will not make you employable.... Read More At Helio training you can't just talk the talk, you need to WALK the WALK. I REPEAT: this is not a passive learning enviornment!!! You have got to put in a lot of effort, but if you do you will be able to change your lifes direction.

This is not an easy road, but it is a fast one. If you are unhappy with where you are, or where your life is going, I recommend Helio Training. The staff is great and they will be there to help guide you, but they cant walk for you. You have to make the progreess yourself.

Also they have shuffleboard. 10/10