iO Academy

I couldn’t have asked for anything more from the Mayden Academy bootcamp, I feel like the skills I’ve learnt over the past 4 months have set me up for a career as a developer

There are so many positives things to say about the course but here are just... Read More some of my highlights:

- Commitment of the trainers
I was in Mike’s class throughout, I found Mike to be extremely knowledgeable with a real ability to explain concepts in a way which was easy to understand. He is also very patient and happy to explain things several times if needed, and was also happy to stay late to cover content 1 to 1.

Ash was also in our class providing support and delivering content, it was great having a second teacher to ask questions and he is very helpful, friendly and approachable.

I wasn’t in any of Charlie’s classes so can’t talk to his teaching skills (which I’ve heard from others is very good) but he is a very funny, energetic and positive person.

- Access to trainers and small class size
Each class consists of 8 students which I think is the perfect ratio of students to trainers. This small size allows you to ask as many questions as you like and form a close bond with others in the class.

Class size is something which I think is really important and Mayden Academy were offering the best student to trainer ratio.

- Ways of working
One of the most important skills I learnt on the bootcamp was how to work as a team in order to build an application. Mayden Academy arranged for us to have two days of Scrum training from an external Scrum trainer, supported us to gain scrum master certification and applied scrum principles throughout project weeks. I think this gives you a big head-start going into your first position as a developer and is something which you can’t teach yourself.

- Getting you hired
The point of a bootcamp is to learn relevant skills so that ultimately you can secure your first position, Mayden did everything they could to support people getting a job at the end of the course including:
o Giving us the skills to build a portfolio website
o Spending a day discussing CVs, covering letters and what to expect from interviews
o Reviewing CVs before sending to employers
o Arranging for a photographer to take professional headshots
o Introducing us to companies actively looking to recruit at a hiring partners evening

I had been thinking about changing career to become a developer for a number of years, having completed the course I just wish I had done it sooner!

A great way to get into the industry. All the teachers were very patient and helpful, the entire course was really well thought out, and teaches you everything you need to know to become a full-stack developer. The various hiring partners they work with... Read More around Bath and Bristol, as well as the help they give towards re-writing your CV also facilitates the job-hunting experience. Would recommend to anyone wanting a career start / change as a software developer.

I joined Mayden Academy after extensively researching bootcamps and assessed that they provided the best emphasis on professional skills and being able to do the job from day one. Needless to say they provided that and more. Working in both the LAMP and... Read More MEAN stacks, we gained an exceptional level of knowledge in just 4 months and left with a technical capability far beyond our expectations.

Charlie and Mike foster a wonderful atmosphere at the Academy full of support and banter in equal measure while keeping everyone focused on the goal in mind. The pace is blistering but you never feel it's beyond you. The support staff were also on hand whenever you needed help, and the meet & greet with the hiring partners they organised yielded a ton of interview offers. I found my job a mere two weeks after graduating.

If you're serious about this change of career and want the best possible springboard into it, you really need to apply here.

Finishing Sixth Form and going onto the course was extremely daunting for me. Within a few days of starting I realised my worries where null and void. I was taught by Charlie, who I knew was a great guy from the second he laughed at the ASCII cows I had... Read More put into my code. All the trainers and staff are friendly and helpful, going out of their way to make sure you get the most out of the course. From hunting for jobs, reviewing and giving advice on your CV to shoving you in a pub with potential employers and booze, or letting you work on you strange coding side projects. You learn great tech and all the stuff you need to come out as a great developer, all while having a great time. If you want to learn to code like a pro and enjoy yourself all the way, you should be here.

My Coding Experience Prior to the course:
Knew I liked coding for several years but didn't have much experience prior to the course apart from a few bits and pieces with Fortran at uni, Swift and very basic HTML and CSS.

Content:
There is a great balance... Read More between keeping up with the latest technologies and developments in the industry and teaching content that incorporates the fundamental aspects of programming that can be universally applied across different languages and frameworks. We were taught coding best practices: code reviews, unit testing, properly documenting our code and backing it up regularly on github. We got to work as a team and individually, on brand new and legacy projects.

Class Size:
There were 2 different classes in my cohort that ran in parallel. Max size 8 people per class up until the point where you can choose your track in week 14 after which my class was 9 so it still stayed pretty balanced numbers wise. The small class size definitely contributed hugely to my learning, you get a lot of 1-1 time with the trainers which was brilliant for clarifying things we'd just learnt or getting some help with a difficult exercise. I think I would have begun to struggle in a larger group of 12 or more.

The Teachers:
I was lucky to get the chance to learn from all the trainers at Mayden who did their best to make us feel welcome and included, accommodating their classroom and teaching style for students different learning needs.
Mike was my trainer for the majority of the course. He taught me not just how to code but how to write code that is good quality, concise and secure. He consistently went above and beyond for his students, sometimes staying late so we could work on our portfolios, giving people help with CV writing, always being approachable for advice or if we had any problems.
It was great to have Ashley around while he completed his teacher training, he brought a different perspective to problems and was a patient teacher, I think he will fly with his first cohort! :)
I took Charlie’s track for the final two weeks: Charlie is very fun and full of energy, he has a very practical approach to teaching which suited my learning style, the track was very exercise based and felt a lot closer to project weeks but with a bit more structure and guidance.

Classmates:
These people really made the experience amazing! Mayden Academy are very good at putting together a team of people that work well together and get on. I made some great friends from the course and I think we all learnt a lot from each other, everyone has a unique approach to solving a problem or a quicker, neater, more interesting way to write code. We did a lot of pair-programming on the course and I found it invaluable it helped to improve my standards and got me to think problems through and be able to explain my process to another person.

Skills aside from coding:
I felt like the course at Mayden Academy simulated what working in the industry is actually like. We pair-programmed, code reviewed each other’s work, learnt the ins and outs of Git and Github for backing up work, we planned projects from start to finish holding each other accountable for our mistakes and for our achievements, we rallied together and supported each other, it was awesome being a part of such a great team! We learnt Scrum, an organisational framework which is used throughout the industry (not everywhere but a lot of places use it or a variation of it) to estimate the speed at which a team can work through projects and breaking down projects into smaller more manageable chunks of tasks. The had daily quizzes and bi-weekly tests (just for your own reference) that helped us gauge how much of the content we had grasped and what we needed to go over. We had a daily meeting as part of Scrum which meant we were always checking in with each other about how everyone’s learning was going and how each project was progressing. These skills have put me in great stead for a job in the industry.

Career Support:
A full day dedicated to interview skills, CV and cover letter writing as well as ongoing support with job applications for the duration and even following the course. I even got some advice with writing introduction emails as it’s a huge blocker for me and I generally put it off so much the vacancy has been filled by the time I actually apply!
The hiring event they put on was initially nerve wracking but ultimately exactly what I needed, it was great to just be able to chat face to face with representatives from really great local companies without the communication barrier of phone calls and email conversations and without the intense pressure of an interview situation. I think we all benefited from this stepping stone into the world of technical interviews and I think personally I owe this networking evening to the job I have now.

Attending with a Partner:
My partner and I took the course together, although we were in separate classes on the prior request of the teachers (this is for several reasons but the one that resonated with me most was that you then get to bond with your teammates better and have your own individual experience of the course). So in my cohort there were 2 classes of 8 and we attended in parallel. It was a great getting to share the experience with one another, we learn it quite different ways so we could help when the other one was struggling and we could talk though a problem together. Both of us have come to coding from different industries so it is nice to be able to share that understanding with each other now as we start our new careers. It was difficult financially choosing to attend together and we had to rely on savings as well as loans from family and friends to see us though so I would definitely consider that aspect as well before jumping in. But it was very worth it in the end :)

For anyone with an interest in software design and programming, this is the course for you. I started the course with little experience, a keen interest in technology and the motivation to jump into something new.

From day 1, all the students were welcomed... Read More and fully supported in the journey to become software developers, from learning the basics of website creation through HTML & CSS, to writing complex Full-Stack applications using PHP & JavaScript frameworks and libraries. The course structure is fantastic, with one week of learning followed by one week of project work. It's a great way to learn the processes involved in software development and build a great portfolio to display your work. Towards the end of the course, we were given a crash course in the job application process, including CV writing help and interview prep, with support being given at every stage when applying for jobs.

I spent the majority of the course being taught by Charlie, who was engaging, knowledgable and would also go that extra mile to make sure the content was interesting and well understood. While the pace of learning is fast, the content is constantly reinforced so that by everything you learnt a week or two before becomes second nature. Over the duration of the course, I found great support in my fellow students and the fantastic team spirit we developed along the way enabled us to end up learning a lot from each other.

If you want to wake up every morning and be excited to learn something new, be surrounded by amazing people and create fantastic opportunities for yourself, Mayden Academy is for you!

You will see that Mayden have almost exclusivly recieved 5 star reviews. This is not by accident. The course is very well put togther to take you from complete novice to a professional standard and get you ready for a career in software development. The... Read More course changes every time so that they can keep it as up to date as possible but fortunately the trainers do not change every time as they are great.

If you want to get into software development I can think of no better way.

Being on the Mayden Academy bootcamp is like being welcomed into a new family. The trainers go out of their way to make themselves available for anything you might need, from technical questions about the work to any personal struggles along the way.... Read More They hunt job sites for you, give advice on CVs, put you in a room with potential employers, and all this while teaching you the skills you need to make it as an entry-level software developer with a solid foundation to build a career.

The course was life-changing and some of the best fun I've had in my life. I'd highly recommend it to anyone unreservedly who might be considering a change in their lives; there's no chance you'll regret it.

[TL;DR]
Joining Mayden Academy was the best decision I made, if you're considering about becoming a developer, go for it.

[Background]
I worked as a UI/UX designer for few years in the tech industry. I studied fashion in college, worked in graphic design... Read More a little bit before that.
I enjoyed UI development part of my job (mainly HTML/CSS) so I wanted to change my career to full time developer for almost 3 years. I never had enough courage to actually do it, but feeling very unhappy doing what didn't interest me anymore, I finally left my work and did a lot of research on bootcamps.
I live in Bristol, so Mayden wasn't the most convenient choice for me, but I really liked their curriculum and the reviews of previous graduates sounded promising, so I decided to apply.
I'm really happy to say now, that it's been really great 16 weeks, and that decision I made was the best.

[Mayden Academy Experience]
The class consists of small number - 8 at the most. They set up the environment as real working environment. There is a product owner, scrum master in project weeks, we did spring planning, review and retro which helped me so much. When I had job interviews, companies value these experiences I had a lot.
Instructors really do care about students. They truly enjoy mentoring others, always helped us when there was any challenge.
Their curriculum is really well designed. One theory week is followed by one project week where you can actually build stuff with the knowledge you got in the previous week. I also got a lot of practical knowledge as a non-computer-science-background person, as well as good core concept on programming.
Their course is designed so that you won't get burn-out, there's no "too much work" you need to do after class time. What I was learning was a lot, but I never felt overwhelming. I had a good class/life balance even when I was going to classes everyday 9-5.
The atmosphere in the academy is very friendly and chill. We played Wii or any silly but funny games together during lunch time. We would go to pub on Fridays where we often could meet previous graduates.

[Job Support]
They are genuinely supportive all the way from the very beginning to the very end (actually even after it ends). I was the last one in my class that accepted an offer, so while my classmates already accepted offers even before the course finished, I spent few weeks applying for places. They were continuously checking on me how I was doing, shared job opportunities they found with/for me, shared industry contacts, etc.
I started working for a tech company in Bristol, and I'm enjoying it so much.

I applied to Mayden Academy because I was making a career change from Communications to development. I'd done some learning in my spare time but decided to kickstart my career change by taking a Bootcamp, specifically because even with the hardest work... Read More on my own, I couldn't get good first-hand experience of teamwork, or the benefit of teachers who have the knowledge to push me down the right paths and to build the confidence to make the leap into a new role.

The tutors are great - not only knowledgeable and skilled, but also good people who are good teachers with great ability to get across complex ideas.

The students in my cohort had a wide variety of skills - some people had a small amount of professional experience, some (like me) had done some amateur work and learning - and some had little to no prior experience. Everyone was able to contribute. The academy had obviously worked hard to build a good mix of people - we had a good gender mix, a variety of ethnic and nationality backgrounds which all enriched my experience there. This kind of atmosphere takes dedication and work to build and it's something the academy team have really done well.

The curriculum is really well honed to give you a set of skills that will get you a job - I was able to secure offers from 4 different companies after finishing the course - I put this down to the strength of the curriculum, combined with the CV help and tips on finding the right company from the course.