Makers Academy

I worked in Education prior to joining Makers Academy. I had no prior experience in any stem related subject so was very nervous about making the switch and if I was 'smart' enough to do the course. Here are some of my reflections: - The coaches were... Read More kind and willing to explain things to you if you ask. I received help through slack messages and zoom calls if there was something I was stuck on after a workshop or a question I had whilst doing some self learning. - There is a heavy focus on pair programming which I found really helpful for practising new skills and understanding how and why certain things work. I was either learning from those more experienced than myself or helping/working with others on a similar level to me. - There is also a big emphasis on pair and team work and coming from a job that can be quite solitary I had to really work on my skills in this and with the help of Dana the lovely 'Chief joy officer' I was able to work really well in teams and talk about what I'm like to work with during interviews and sell myself as a good team member. - A good range of programming skills are taught. Whilst you only use two languages formally in the course, there is the opportunity to use other languages if you're familiar with them. You complete backend, frontend and fullstack projects and use relational and non-relational databases. - The weekend challenges are tough and time consuming but it did surprise me how much I could do and how far I could get independently as a beginner. - Finally the careers coaches are lovely! Candida and Hunor have really taken the time to guide me and offer support when I had an interview and they would always check in and ask how it went and follow up with me. - It is really hard to come in as a beginner as there is so much to learn and the pace can be quite fast. I think you need to be resilient, organised and really think about your personal goals and what you want from the course. Don't be afraid to try and to ask questions.

The course is well structured, but given there is a lot of material to cover, it's kind of intense, because you have to jump from one big key concept to the next one in a really short amount of time. Having said this, the environment is really friendly,... Read More the coaches are very supportive and knowledgable and the entire vibe is just wonderful.

It is challenging and intense, but so rewarding to reflect on how much you have learned within 12 weeks. I was really impressed at the efforst Makers puts into mental wellbeing and peer support - with EQ workshops, peer group sessions, meditation etc.... Read More Most importantly, what has really struck me after reaching the end of my Makers bootcamp is the opportunity to meet a whole new community of incredibly talented and interesting people - a rare opportunity as an adult. You share an intense 12 week learning experience together, you learn together, work together, share intense challenges together. Not only have you come out of Makers with an entirely new technical skillset, but you have come out with a new professional network of incredibly talented people who are going to be working in the same industry as you. The alumni community is also brilliant. Would recommend it!

I did the full-stack course, and this was the best decision I made from the course structure to the job support. It was very intensive throughout but I always felt supported and it was very challenging which allowed for rapid growth, learning and development.... Read More

Pros - The course is a great experience. It is super intense, and it will push you to your limits but it will be worth it in the end. Although it is very tough, the overall experience is really positive. Cons - It is a self-taught course and whilst I... Read More understand the logic behind this, I do feel there could have been more coach support during each week and more lectures covering topics rather than being directed to You Tube. I felt that the after-course job support was exceptional and was beyond any expectation I had. I would recommend if you are serious about wanting to change career.

The Makers Academy bootcamp was great for learning the fundamentals skills of software development that are highly relevant when applying for your first role. It's tough to learn at such a quick pace and it's a big time commitment (6 days per week for... Read More most of the course) but it's definitely worth it. The support after the bootcamp for applying for jobs is really helpful too.

PROS: - a holistic approach to learning. Makers recognise the importance of supporting students to care for their wellbeing. Meditation, yoga and EQ sessions are led by the wonderful Dana (Chief Joy Officer)! In my experience, every coach was highly emotionally... Read More literate. - focus on learning how to learn. A lot of time will be spent pair-programming, and completing self-led learning. You set your own learning goals and keep on top of reviewing how you're getting on. The responsibility is on the learner to raise any blockages when they get stuck, or if they want further clarification/ reading materials. This style of learning supported my transition into the workplace where I will be taking responsibility for my continued learning and development. - you will meet a lot of wonderful people in your cohort, which will provide a support network of junior devs on the other end of the course to chat to about your first jobs! - job opportunities and job hunt support. I got a job within 3 weeks of finishing the course through a Makers hiring partner - woohoo! CONS: - not a con more a recommendation. The course runs at a fast pace, those who had already learnt some basic code before beginning Makers seemed to have slightly lower cortisol levels. If you aren't massively time pressured for this career change, take your time to learn some basics before starting. I loved the edX CS50 course - but I would say that may be a bit excessive as you'll cover a lot of this at Makers. It was good for me with a slower processing speed (yay dyslexia!) as I could learn through repetition. - not suitable for someone who wants to be taught by a coach for the majority of the course. You are left to your own devices with students from your cohort a lot of the time.

Pros: I was able to learn and work with new technologies and programming languages as well as learn best practices such as TDD and agile methodologies. I believe that the skills learned in the bootcamp will definitely help you with getting that first... Read More tech role. It was great meeting everyone in the cohort and working on different projects together. The coaches are all amazing and very helpful. Makers also provides great resources that one can have a look at in their own time. Cons: It would have been helpful to have more workshops/tutorials that would cover the most difficult concepts in each weekly/weekend challenge. It would be great if a coach could show how they solve the weekend challenge.

I had a great experience at Makers. I had done some programming before, mainly beginner-intermediate tutorials and codewars-style coding challenges, which had gotten me interested in switching careers to software engineering, but I didn't know how to... Read More actually make anything. I feel like in Makers I not only learned how to actually make full-stack web apps, but to do it with the best practices and using TDD. Technically, there's nothing in the course you couldn't teach yourself but I know FOR A FACT I wouldn't have bothered with stuff like TDD if I was self studying. There were some things that were different from what I was expecting, not necessarily in a bad way. For one, the hands-off approach of the coaches. You're encouraged to figure out stuff by yourself. Pair programming was VERY tiring, yet I loved working in teams for the group projects (by far my favorite aspect of the course!!). It did go by super fast and in hindsight I do wish it had been a little longer, although when applying the 12 weeks does sound appealing. As for the job hunt, one of the main reasons I actually chose Makers is because I could see that one of the ways they make money is through their hiring partner side, meaning they would not only have jobs to introduce us to, but it would be in their best interests to get us a job. I was not wrong. I successfully landed a job offer with one of the hiring partners just 3 weeks out of the course, and I had also been interviewing/taking tests for other hiring partners. I know of several others within my cohort who got jobs within the same timeframe. My few attempts at applying to external jobs were unsuccessful so the access to hiring partners was extremely valuable and one of the best aspects of taking the course.

Pros: learnt so much in a short period of time, lots of support networks, recognised learning, you will learn how to learn anything, especially tech based. Cons: Is very intense and some may not have time for the full time course. I would advise anyone... Read More with family or other commitments to think if they have the time for this course.