Starter League

I enrolled at Starter League in the fall of 2012 because I wanted to see if I could bring an idea I had been working on to life. If I'm being honest, I was not and am still not, what you'd call technically inclined. So, I decided to take the UX course... Read More so I could meet others who were. Throughout the course I was amazed at how much I was learning week in and week out. But the thing that got me was the excitement level I had during those few months. Being around other "starters" is contagious. Ideas are thrown around, goals are reached, learning is enhanced! It's hard to put into words what it felt like.

Fast forward a few years and I'm still plugging away on that idea...but I'm doing it with 4 others who were right there with me at Starter League. We are on the cusp of rolling out our first product and again, the excitement is incredible. None of this would have been possible without SL and the people I met along the way. Chances are you aren't going to figure out exactly what you want to do but you will be given the tools and resources to get off to a good start .

Highly recommend!

I came to the Starter League with really no previous experience in web development. I was open minded to wherever it might go, but was certainly interesting in redirecting my career path. For years, app ideas I wanted to build had been plaguing my mind.... Read More I constantly ran into the roadblock of "where do I start..how does this work?".

Through the course I gained an understanding of the development world in general, plus the specific language of Ruby and the Rails framework. I wrote code, developed and deployed basic apps. So I learned the process. I also learned I am not going to be a developer myself, which sounds negative but it was actually helpful. Understanding the backend of things, I can now work with developers with greater confidence - which I enjoy doing as a project manager for my creative agency.

Truly, the greatest take away I have from the Starter League is that it is still paying off - I made tremendous connections with the people in my class and through out the school. The staff/professors are great connections and I am still in touch with some of my classmates; truly brilliant people. Currently, a couple classmates and I are working together on side projects. So while in the beginning I was not sure where it would go, being able to look back now, its exactly what I wanted.

In 2012 I left Toronto and moved to Chicago for 3 months to go to Starter League. It was the best professional decision I've ever made. I now support myself fully as a bootstrapped entrepreneur (not a freelancer- I have my own products).

Going Starter... Read More League was a decision that dramatically moved the needle for me. I was a designer before Starter League and would explain to people that I wasn't the "coding" type. I now know that's ridiculous. Anyone can code and I write (and learn) new code every day. The important thing is to have a great teacher.

I've since had the opportunity to see a number of other bootcamps- and I've noticed how lucky I was to have gone to Starter League. Starter League has an amazing teaching staff and curriculum that I now realize is rare. Jeff Cohen is a phenomenal teacher. Not only is Jeff an incredibly sharp guy- he also knows how to teach. He was thoughtful, understood what it was like to be a beginner and designed an excellent curriculum.

Highly recommended.

I went to the 2nd season of the Starter League, when they were called Code Academy and they were at the Hancock tower. The most beautiful view of the city. I worked from 1871 when they moved there. I wasn't stalking them. It was just a coincidence.

Before... Read More taking the Web Development class I worked in many failed experiments related to software development. My goal was not to become a full time developer but be good enough at managing a software development project.

The results were different...sort of:

1. I found my passion for coding. Even though I took C and Java back in college. I found it difficult. Maybe because I was not inspired. The SL helped me find this inspiration
2. One of the founders noticed I typed with 2 fingers and told me to learn touch type. Learning this increased my productivity 10x.
3. I became an improved project manager for software related projects.

My personal blog uses Octopress (http://tomordonez.com). I write my posts using Vim and I publish them to Github without looking at the keyboard ever.

Before taking this class you should evaluate your personal goals.
* Do I want to become a full time programmer?
* Do I want to become a software project manager?
* Do I want to find a startup/tech related job?

Keep in mind that you will not become a software developer in 3 months. That's like asking a surgeon to take a 3-month class and operate on people. What it can do for you is get Started. And this is a lot. You need to put a lot of effort. Programming is not easy. If it would be easy, even realtors would be programmers*. You need spend a lot of time on your own studying. Maybe take an internship or two. Go to a lot of meetups, ask for advice, code with others, contribute to open source. Read a lot of code. Then you will be on your own to a programming career. If your goal is different, then you need to evaluate this.

*I know 2 realtors that became programmers after taking this course.

While I was *not* a Starter School student, I did take The Starter League's 11-week Web Development and HTML / CSS classes in the Spring 2013.

In those short 11 weeks alone, I built my own website and data-based backed web application, from scratch, and... Read More 100% all by myself. Prior to that, I was only vaguely familiar with HTML / CSS, and had just quit my job working at a startup.

Today, a little over a year later, I'm the CEO of Know Your Company (http://knowyourcompany.com) – and it's largely because of The Starter League. Because of the skills I learned and the amazing people I met through the program, I am now leading my own software company. Without The Starter League, none of that would have happened.

If that was my outcome because of 3 months with The Starter League, imagine how far *Starter School* can take you in 9 months.

If you're not sure if Starter School is for you, or you're wondering how it's different from other programs, feel free to ping me directly at claire@knowyourcompany.com. I'd be happy to tell you about my experience.

Starter School was the single best decision I've ever made. Not only will you learn the skills that are advertised, but the network you build is so valuable. You can read my full review on my blog: http://www.garrettqmartin.com/blog/2014/07/15/my-first-year-as-a-college-dropout/... Read More

Definitely worth it.

TL;DR: A year ago I quit a very stable, very well paying job to attend Starter School, and one year later I couldn't be happier with the outcomes I've realized. If building products sounds like more fun than learning to code and building other peoples'... Read More ideas, and you're willing to work your ass off, just make it happen. You will be better for it.

It's difficult to write a "review" about an experience without just describing it, and this is a difficult experience to describe. So, sure, I'm now gainfully employed and am extremely happy with and motivated by the work I get to do everyday. I build software products at a small shop in Durham, NC and also help students out at a local code school. I've also done some contract work since leaving Starter School.

But, if employment is your primary concern in looking for a coding school, Starter School might be more than you're willing to bargain for. This place is different than those it is often compared to in that the focus is not to get you a job as a programmer. Sure, you'd be prepared for said job, but the focus of the program is on building products. How do you take an idea and make it exist in the world? Being comfortable and familiar with that process is a much more exciting and marketable set of skills than just being able to code. Writing code is a small piece in a much larger picture that is getting people to pay you to solve their problems. It is truly impossible to master this "skill" in 9 months time (if at all), but I'd be willing to bet that Starter School will take you further than any other program thats out there. Getting a job will be the least of your concerns - it will feel like a backup plan.

Additionally and probably more importantly, the network of people that you are exposed to and have access to is unbelievable. They don't really advertise all of the amazing people you will meet and get feedback from on your ideas and decisions. You cannot put a price on it. The experience and knowledge you can accumulate from these people is not tangible or quantifiable. I could go on at length, but, to anyone considering this program who is concerned about the validity of its curriculum, its instructors, the cost, or students outcomes, rest assured that it is legit. The people behind this program are the real deal, and they make their living investing in the success of others. If you're considering attending the program and have questions I'd be glad to answer them (@cbgriffin).

After graduating high school in 2011, I attended UC Santa Cruz where I began to study Computer Science. I embraced being free from the educational trappings of high school. I was obligated to study subjects that I wasn't passionate about. The only solace... Read More I could take was in the exposure I received to various subject areas. I hoped college would be an opportunity to get knowledge that was meaningful to me and applicable in the real world.
After a Computer Networking and History of Computer Science class I was disheartened. I realized that it would be two to three years before I knew enough to start building things. So I dropped out.
I found the Starter League through a friend and was inspired the second I walked in to 1871. I thought I was going to Starter School to learn how to code but I learned so much more.
We began by diving head first into Ruby and Rails, database modeling, HTML & CSS, SQL and much more. But Starter School sets itself apart by injecting design and entrepreneurship into the program. The actual code is just the first step to building a successful product. These areas are equally important, if not more, and you'll learn from the best in the business.
Learning from real world practitioners, I was able to launch a successful product in nine months. I've received many job offers and am currently deciding which path to take.
There are a lot of schools out there that teach you to code, Starter School will teach you how to build a successful product.

Exactly one year ago today I was sitting at my desk at my sales job in one of Chicago's northern neighborhoods. The company I was working for had recently been named 'The Best Place to Work In Chicago' for the second straight year. I did not especially... Read More like my job. I felt unfulfilled. What kept me doing was this little hobby I was working on outside of work. That hobby was HTML and CSS.

A friend of mine down in North Carolina, Chance, was also teaching himself how to code and he suggested I apply to this new code school in Chicago called The Starter School. He had already done so. I applied. We both got in. The two of us quit our jobs and Chance drove almost 1,000 miles to move to Chicago.

To recap:
1) I quit my good, steady job
2) I paid $36K
3) ...to attend a brand new program that had yet to be proven.

What the hell was I thinking? A lot of the confidence I had about The Starter School came from my first encounter with Neal, CEO of The Starter League. We met for coffee at the Intelligentsia in 1871. He spoke with such conviction and determination that he could build a 9 month, all-encompassing program that I knew I had to be apart of it.

The nine months of Starter School were some of the most enlightening, crazy, humbling, and satisfying times of my life. I became great friends with my classmates (the most eclectic group of personalities that have ever sat in the same room together). I learned how to program in Ruby on Rails. I learned front-end design techniques and technologies like Sass and javascript. I got to meet and learn from the guys who ran the technology side of Obama for America. I learned about entrepreneurship from billionaire serial entrepreneurs. I met some of the biggest names in venture capital in Chicago to learn about investing in early-stage startups. I built an unbelievable network. I built a product I care about with Chance (familyroomapp.com). I launched that product to Chicago's tech community at our demo day. I grew. A lot.

Tomorrow (August 20th) marks two months since Starter School ended. Since June I have built a website for a startup with Chance, I have helped redesign a site for another startup, and as of next week I will be going to work as a product designer at a software firm to completely redesign their app's interface. Starter School propelled me into an exciting and meaningful career and I could not be more thrilled with my decision. If you have a passion for technology and want to take control of your career, Starter School is the place for you.

If you are already signed up for Starter School here is some advice! http://bit.ly/1oOYMpR