Codesmith

This review is long overdue, but I can honestly say Codesmith changed my life. It didn’t just teach me software engineering, it taught me how to learn on my own and how to push past challenges. I also met some amazing people who made the journey even better.

If you are on the fence about it, my only advice is to go for it. It is completely worth it. Just know what you are signing up for. Codesmith does not babysit you. They give you the tools and the structure, but it is up to you to put in the work. They push you to step up, and that is exactly why you grow so much. It is the perfect mix of being hard enough to inspire you but never so hard that you want to quit.

When it comes to the curriculum, I graduated in November 2023, so I am sure some topics have shifted a little, probably more toward things like AI. But the way the course is structured is what makes it so powerful. In the first half you are getting new lectures every single day. It feels overwhelming and you might think you are not learning everything. Everyone feels that way. What you are really doing is collecting all the pieces of the puzzle. Then, when you hit the project stage, everything clicks. That is when your learning grows exponentially. I loved that stage and learned so much. It did not even hit me until I got my first job how prepared I really was. I realized I had skills that people already in the field were missing, like using the terminal and git properly. Trust the process because it works.

The job search stage was the hardest part for me. By that point I was already a little burnt out. But the great thing is Codesmith keeps supporting you even after you graduate. They offer resume reviews, interview prep, and career coaching. I had my resume reviewed twice and did four mock interviews. After my first mock interview with Alexander, one of the career coaches, I left with so many tips that every phone screen I had after that turned into a real interview. The support is there, you just have to take advantage of it.

Another part that surprised me was the community. I did not think it would matter much, but it ended up being one of the most important things. Your peers are the ones who help you through the tough moments, especially during the job search. I am also grateful to Eric who helped me negotiate my offers and guided me in the right direction.Looking back, I would do it all over again. Codesmith gave me everything I needed to succeed and the support did not stop once the program ended. If you are serious about becoming a software engineer, this is the program to choose.

Codesmith was an amazing experience from beginning to end. You learn so much more than just coding from this experience. You learn how to become a software engineer and take deep dives into the reasoning behind engineering decisions. From learning javascript, to react, to express, to creating products for developers, it's almost crazy how much you can learn in a few months of time. Even better were the people I was cohort mates with. I got to meet engineers from various backgrounds that made the experience even more amazing. I definitely recommend this experience as it was life changing for me.

Codesmith provided me with exactly what I needed. The curriculum was set up to cover some of the most prevalent concepts and technologies in the industry, and what I left with was a strong foundation to stand on, a solid understanding of how to grow moving forward, and the dedication and confidence to do so. Since graduating, I've stayed in contact with my cohort mates and other people I met through the program (all excellent good-hearted people) and continued to learn and expand my skill set and capabilities. Recently I realized my goal, and with the help of the Alumni and Job Support Team (shoutout to Eric Kirsten), I landed a job as a Software Developer! 

Attending Codesmith a few years back was one of the best decisions I ever made. The supportive community made learning possible since the web development world can be vast and confusing. The curriculum was well-structured for the most part, with hands-on projects that solidify your understanding and prepare you for real-world challenges.One of the best parts was and is the amazing hiring support. The career team offered personalized guidance, from resume building to mock interviews. Even now, a few years later, their support has been invaluable. I recently landed my second job and I was able to negotiate better with their help (thanks again Eric and Annie!).The alumni network is also a fantastic resource, full of people eager to help each other succeed. I’ve stayed actively engaged in this community and have met many amazing people.Of course, it wasn't without its challenges. The program was intense and demanding, which can be stressful at times. However, the effort is worth it, and the payoff is huge.Overall, Codesmith continuously exceeds expectations. The combination of a great community, thorough education in this space, and exceptional hiring support makes it a top-notch program for aspiring software engineers. However, it is important to note YOU need to put in the work and trust in the process, as well as stay resilient during tough times. Though this review is overdue, I'm incredibly grateful for my time there and the lifelong and new friends I've made.

I attended Codesmith in 2022 fully online after growing disillusioned with the Biotech industry. I had already had some past experience in software engineering in college, but spent the majority of my time doing repetitive work in labs. I'd had some prior experience in web development as a hobby as well.

Attending Codesmith was and will always be the best decision I made for my career. Codesmith isn't just a bootcamp or a way to "level-up" your coding skills. It's a roadmap to a new way of thinking and transformed my understanding of software engineering. They don't just teach you the skills you need in the job market, they teach you how to learn anything you need to in order to succeed in any position. Since attending Codesmith, I've worked as the solo developer on a Nuxt frontend and Node.js middleware. Despite having no prior knowledge of Nuxt, I was able to jump right in and solve session related issue day 2 of my employment. By month three, I had used what I'd learned in Codesmith to completely refactor the Node.js middleware, improving response times by 50% and cutting the lines of code by 80%. By the end of my first year, I'd refactored the frontend and improved loading performance from 2-3 seconds to 200-300 milliseconds. All of this was only possible because of my education at Codesmith. 

Pre Codesmith Profession
Prior to attending Codesmith, I pursued a career as a healthcare professional, investing seven years of my life to earn an advanced degree. However, upon venturing into the real world, I was taken aback by the rapid pace at which healthcare companies exhaust their professionals for the sake of financial gains. Overbooking, subpar care quality, inadequate compensation, and stymied long-term growth opportunities left me disheartened with healthcare as a whole. The whirlwind of COVID-19 served as the final catalyst, prompting me to seek an alternative path. It was during this time that one of my closest friends, a Senior Software Engineer, recommended a switch in careers. He recommended that I pursue a boot camp, and after conducting thorough research and considering various factors, I found that Codesmith consistently delivered the most exceptional outcomes, making it the clear frontrunner in my rankings.
Pre Codesmith Prep
During my search for programs, I simultaneously pursued Harvard's CS50 course. As I delved deeper into the requirements for admission to Codesmith, I shifted my focus from C to Javascript, immersing myself in the fundamentals through CSX and Eloquent Javascript. Additionally, I dedicated myself to self-teaching data structures and algorithms by solving Leetcode problems, laying the groundwork for a successful job search after graduation. Months of consistent effort in preparation for the technical interview paid off, as I was fortunate enough to secure acceptance on my initial attempt—a noteworthy achievement given the high selectivity of Codesmith. Recognizing the program's rigorous standards, I made the decision to invest in a new Macbook Pro, a decision that proved invaluable, as I encountered no compatibility issues throughout the duration of the program. 
During Codesmith
Life during Codesmith offers a profoundly distinct experience. It demands unwavering dedication and investment in personal growth, as well as a collective commitment to the success of one's peers. It is a journey that requires pushing oneself beyond perceived limitations and persistently striving to overcome obstacles. Days consisting of 10-12 hours of intense learning and perseverance become the norm, with some individuals choosing to extend their efforts beyond the structured schedule. The program unfolds in two distinct phases: the initial half, characterized by structured classes and learning modules, and the latter half, where the true essence of learning emerges through project work. My overall experience with Codesmith was truly exceptional. From day one, the atmosphere fostered empathy and kindness among the cohort, and this sentiment resonated with my personal encounters. Whether offering assistance or receiving help, each interaction was infused with a sense of fulfillment and compassion. The main instructors, mentors, and teaching fellows showcased exemplary skills and dedication. I attribute the extraordinary quality of my experience to Codesmith's meticulous vetting process and the nurturing environment they cultivated. Our class made it a collective goal to ensure that every individual felt comfortable with each topic, readily providing tutoring and support to one another. The unwavering commitment to high standards and positive vibes permeated throughout, leading to a transformative and life-changing experience.
Post Codesmith
Upon graduating from Codesmith, one swiftly realizes that the journey has only just begun, and it is an exhilarating prospect. The growth potential that lies ahead over the next 3-6 months is nothing short of inspiring. Personally, I was picky with the roles I applied to and only did 200 applications, which ultimately led me to secure my first role. In contrast, some of my peers took a more extensive approach, submitting 2-4 times that number. Unlike traditional universities, Codesmith does not simply hand you a diploma and bid you farewell. It is more akin to an anti-university, placing little emphasis on pedigree, titles, or mere pieces of paper. Instead, Codesmith's core values revolve around tangible outcomes. Remarkably & deservingly, many individuals in my cohort have successfully secured senior positions or are earning annual salaries exceeding $150,000. The support provided by Codesmith extends far beyond your initial job search. They offer comprehensive career assistance, regardless of whether you are seeking your first job or embarking on your third. While there were moments of discouragement during my own job search, they were fleeting thanks to the unwavering encouragement and motivation provided by the support team and my fellow peers. Eric Kirsten was of immense help during the process, providing positive encouragement and real-life stories to aid in the hunt.
Summary
Overall, if you are looking to change careers to be a Software Engineer, I give Codesmith my highest review. Keep in mind it will take a long time of grit and grind, but it will pay dividends. If you are interested in pursuing software engineering, I would teach yourself a first language and dig deep into if this is something you want to pursue. Allot at least a year for the full transition, and expect to give it your all each and every day. 

Codesmith was better than I could have possibly imagined. It has skyrocketed my career and income! Now I am doing work I am more passionate about and getting paid WAY more. Totally amazing. And I was already a software engineer before joining Codesmith.
The community is incredible, really supportive and I feel I have some friends for life even though the course I did was remote.
The instructors are passionate and genuinely care about the students, pushing you to go the extra mile and helping out those who are struggling.
The best thing about Codesmith though is how intelligent their approach is. I went to another bootcamp before Codemsith and the results were mediocre. Then I saw how Codesmith do things.
They get you build something cutting edge, pushing the boundaries of programming in the field. This helps you distinguish yourself as an engineer and innovator. It puts you apart from the rest in the field.
Then there is the job search support which is par excellence. They teach you how to sell yourself, communicate and negotiate in industry in the right way. This is so powerful, and now I feel like I am “in the know” as to how the industry works.
Before I was sending out all the wrong signals when interviewing and marketing myself. Now I know how to position myself as a high value engineer.
They also give you access to incredible people like Eric Kirsten, he helped me to negotiate an extra $25k on my salary before I had even finished the course.
And then I have reused what he taught me in regards to negotiation to earn many multiples of that since.
So just that advice alone was worth significantly more than the whole cost of the course.
But I am also a much stronger engineer technically thanks to Codesmith. It taught me to be more ambitious technically in what I am building, so that keeps paying dividends.
Most of all Codesmith was great fun (though challenging too). I did it during the pandemic remotely, and while most everyone else’s pandemic was terrible, mine was amazing thanks to Codesmith.
It was one of the most productive and high growth periods of my life.
And also the connections I made with other cohort members has continued to help advance me in my career long after finishing the course.
So big shoutout to the whole Codesmith team, I owe them a huge debt of gratitude for what they do.

After dedicating 12 years of my life to nursing, I made a decision to pivot my career and pursue my true passion - technology. The experience provided by the full-time immersive  proved to be both challenging yet immensely fulfilling. It pushed me beyond my limits and helped me realize my true potential, showing that with  determination, I had the potential to be a talented engineer.

For those who are considering a career shift to technology, I highly recommend  Codesmith. The supportive and helpful community offered here is exceptional - before, during, and even after completion of the program. I'm grateful for the lessons learned and the lifelong friendships I developed along the way. They truly changed the trajectory of my life and that of my family.

Going to Codesmith was one of the best decisions I have ever made! As I am writing this I just finished my first day as a software engineer making 3 times more than I have ever made! So I can tell you that Codesmith really does what they say it does.

The tuition alone is worth it for Codesmith's hiring program. They help you hone a resume that you can be proud of! They teach you how to reach out and get interviews even in a horrible job market. And they provide continued support after you graduate. I did not come from a tech back ground either. I mostly worked in the service industry and government. 

The thing that impressed me most about Codesmith was that it wasn't designed to take you from zero to hero. You actually have to work hard to get in. They have a free program called CSX and weekly free trainings that will get you to a junior level skill set. Once you are in the program you hit the ground running and they start developing the skills that will take you to a mid to senior level engineer. You learn the stuff you really can't get from YouTube videos or medium articles. You work with other humans and develop technical and empathic communication skills. As you grow as an engineer the challenges get bigger and bigger. Then to cap it all off, you and a small team of engineers build a production level application that is designed to impress other engineers. I can guarantee that you will look back on your journey and be shocked at who you have become and what you can accomplish! 

It is not an easy program. It is not easy to get into Codesmith. You will work your ass off and you will hit a lot of blocks that you have to work through. But those challenges literally made me a better man and they made it so that I could handle the challenges of the job hunt and now the challenge of onboarding as a Senior Engineer (I don't know how it happened, I wasn't anywhere close to the smartest in my cohort, but I landed a Senior Fullstack Engineer roll - I am still in shock). I was in the part time program and it was a wonderfully fulfilling nine months that I will always cherish. I made life long friends. And honestly, it is the fact that it is not easy that makes Codesmith so valuable. I genuinely feel like this tuition was the best money I have EVER spent!

This is a long review, but I know how intense this process can be for those of you looking at attending a bootcamp. It has now been about a year since I decided to attend a bootcamp to change careers. I looked everywhere online when I settled on going to a bootcamp; I read every review, I watched every video on Youtube, I even messaged alumni of different bootcamps on LinkedIn, and eventually, I found my way to Codesmith. For the last 3 months since the program, I’ve considered myself lucky everyday I made the choice I did.
 
 Codesmith is without question, the best educational environment I’ve had the privilege to learn in. I’ve been lucky enough to go to good schools in the past, but I’m really proud, frankly, to say that this online bootcamp has really left them in the dust in key ways. I’ll make a note here that I was hired as a fellow by the program after my time in the immersive program, so if you need a grain of salt to start, there could be one. 
 
 - Admissions: It is worth making a comment right away that getting into Codesmith is not easy, but it is NOT an unjust process like I experienced in other programs. I speak from experience as someone who applied elsewhere, tried to go through admission processes at other places (everyone should have options), and eventually conducted the literal technical interviews for Codesmith myself, the admissions process is doing its job well. I won’t get too lost in the details, but I will say that if you can pass the Codesmith technical interview, you have what it takes to become a software engineer. They test on every quality and detail that I was tested on in a real technical interview for the job I have now. That all said, don’t rush into this process. It is possible, having seen both sides of admissions, to brute force your way through, with time. Do NOT throw $20k into something before you are ready. If you understand, for example, how to add methods to a prototype so they can be inherited by other objects, you could be ready. If you have no idea what I mean by that, do not stress even a little bit; just take your time to learn is my point (:
 
 - Curriculum: The curriculum is fantastic. You will touch all the technologies you need to get a full-stack developer position: Javascript (you’ll be a pro), React, Node.js, Git/Github, etc. However, what you come to appreciate and feel confident in by the end of the program is that you could see any tech, any framework, even any new language, and given realistic timelines / expectations by your team “in the wild” could learn what is needed to solve a problem in whatever tech stack. This is really because — Codesmith doesn’t create cookie-cutter engineers; Codesmith creates first-class problem solvers who communicate empathetically and technically like senior engineers. If you want to understand why outcomes seem so high for this program compared to others, the answer begins with these 2 qualities above all the rest.
 
 - Portfolio: Not a ton to say here, although a ton could be said. It is worth noting that you will have a better time job hunting when you have real open-source products on the resumé. And Codesmith focuses on making you build real, open-source projects before you leave. You don’t want to pay for a program that is tutorial style really, because why not just spend $2k (at most) in Udemy courses and be done with it? Codesmith makes you build in small teams of engineers (like in the real world), on projects that are technically impressive and that are REALLY challenging. You’ll hear “hard learning” thrown around a lot in and out of the program, and there is no form of better learning than solving a bug you’ve been stuck on for 6 hours with a team; this makes a good portfolio for sure.

- Hiring Support: I have so much love for the hiring support team answering every ridiculous, anxious question I ever hit them with, day or night. Codesmith really points you in a direction at the end of the program and teaches you how to carry yourself in interviews in the tech industry. Tech interviews and getting hired generally as a software engineer is honestly very formulaic. It’s almost entirely behavioral / very ceremonial, which was somewhat surprising to me. Codesmith guides you through all of these processes and really do their best to ensure you have support networks (during and after the program) to guide you through the idiosyncrasies of the tech industry. I would NOT have gotten a job as smoothly as I did if it wasn’t for their mentorship.

- Management/Team: This part could be a never-ending rant. I think what you will find, even will find just by attending the free workshops, is that Codesmith is a community of really passionate people that are putting in the work for the right reasons. I truly believe Codesmith only works because the instructors and the management of the organization are people who are passionate about seeing people change their lives. Will Sentance is the founder and owner, and not only will he give your cohort a lecture at the end, but you will get several chances to hear from him throughout the program; could not be any more apparent this person cares about fostering a space for people to change their lives. Eric Kirsten is a senior board advisor that will lead you through the hiring program. Eric is another huge element of the “secret sauce” of success at Codesmith. Takes a certain level of tailored mentorship to get an engineer to negotiate $15k in base salary after only 8-12 months of studying the industry, and Eric will take a hands-on approach to make sure you get that. Phillip Troutman, he’s the chief academic officer, is another key player you’ll hear from often. Let me tell you, part of the secret of Codesmith is convincing students every day they can do everything and anything so that they actually go out and attempt insane feats of engineering; Phillip is the key to that happening. Every program has different instructors, but in the central remote program — Katrina Villanueva and Jared Lewis are *the* reason students understand the core curriculum so well. Their compassion and attention towards student success is without question what makes the CTRI immersive so effective. For the sake of not making this piece of the review endless, I’ll stop here, but yes, there are that many incredible people in this organization.
 - School / Life Balance: There is very little balance. This is my very real, very difficult con for the program that I would not hide from anyone. You will eat, sleep, and breathe Codesmith, which at times will be a lot to handle. This program is hard. You will watch your cohort go lows and highs of imposter syndrome almost daily. It can even feel a bit cult-like, I suppose, at times. But what can I say — you get a room of intelligent people together every day who want to change careers in a (seemingly) impossible time frame into a field that is really challenging and competitive. It isn't crazy to assume that process will be hard, but if you put the work in you’ll be so glad you did it one day. It took me about 10-11 months, from start to finish, from the day I decided to attend Codesmith, to the day I got a job offer.
 
 There are other great programs out there for sure, but if I was to do this all over again, I’d be right back at Codesmith.

I've been working as an engineer in the industry for over 3 years now. Whenever I needed help/advice with negotiating my salary Eric Kirsten has ALWAYS been there for me. I've been able to negotiate upwards of 15K on my first job acceptance, and 15% pay bumps every year after (thanks to Eric's advice). Not only that, as of my latest job hunt I was able to negotiate over 15K just on the base (not including bonuses and pay bumps)! Eric is an absolute gem of a resource, his advice has already paid Codesmith's tuition 2-3 times over! 

I chose Codesmith because I perceived it to be the most rigorous program out there with regards to curriculum, portfolio, and job support, and it absolutely delivered on these promises. Here's a breakdown of how each manifested:

– Curriculum: the first part of the program is built around hard learning, challenges, and pair programming. Most units are taught over the course of a few days, which start with lectures and then continue with challenges meant to push you to learn and develop as an engineer. You do these challenges with a pair programming partner and also engage in other common practices like code reviews and collaborative coding. Not only are you developing your coding skills, but you are also learning how to interact with other engineers and problem solve through tough technical challenges. You're killing two birds with one stone.
– Portfolio: I believe Codesmith stands out the most from other bootcamps in this area. During my program, I worked on a variety of projects across the full stack (frontend, backend, DevOps, etc.), and this is where you get to put your skills to the test. You learn what it takes to break down complex applications to their component pieces, plan out how to approach the implementation, and then work through bugs and issues. The cornerstone of the program, the Open Source Product, pushes you to solve complicated engineering challenges by finding and solving pain points in the developer community. During this phase, you explore new tech, face challenges you can't just Google away, and gain a deeper understanding of the ambiguous problems professional engineers face.
– Job support: you receive career support from the Codesmith team for life which is a fantastic perk. If you feel like you need more resume help, they'll do as many iterations as you need. If you want more mock interviews, they have that covered too. If you just want to talk about the emotional struggle of job searching, you can talk to the staff or you can lean on your cohortmates or post-grad hiring group. They have all the bases covered and will continue to support you as long as you need or want it.

For anyone wanting to take the leap into the world of software engineering, this is a rigorous program that delivers on its results and is there to support you in your journey.

I got into Codesmith with 2 months of studying while working full-time, pulling 80+ hour 7-day weeks & attending every Hard Parts workshop they had. At one point I stood outside a packed workshop room with my ear against the glass just to catch bits and pieces of what was being taught. I got in. It wasn't an easy full-time immersive experience - a lot of personal mistakes & challenges, but I came out on top. I slept on the couch just to dedicate the 1.5 hour commute time into the city on studying (I wasn't the only one). I graduated with an offer thanks to Codesmith's Hiring Day, started working a different job the week after graduating, then finally landed on a consulting gig for the Google Cloud Platform a month and a half after graduating. I doubled my salary in 6 months.

Fast forward 4 years and I'm now a tech lead at a start-up. So far in my career, I've worked alongside Google engineers, built cutting edge AI multi-platform apps for Point72, co-founded a software development agency where I hired engineers, and have mentored other aspiring engineers into their first roles. 

It hasn't been without its challenges but looking back I know that life happens for me, not to me, and that change is an opportunity to reach higher to become more. I'm grateful.

Pros
- The best 0-to-bootcamp trajectory on the market
- Unique community focused on excellence in an "in it together" culture you won't find at other bootcamps
- Rigorous full-stack JS course focusing on the capacities that make you an engineer, not just a developer
- Multi-disciplinary curriculum spanning design, AI, dev-ops, security, etc.
- Paid post-graduate opportunities
- Post-graduate support is lifelong, consistent & growing
- They see potential in you - sometimes before you see it in yourself. They take a chance on you.

Cons
- Can be cult-like, but the best companies & cultures usually are. 
- Post-graduate support isn't industry-leading yet (emphasis on "yet" - they're the type of people to make it happen)
- Their taking a chance on you can sometimes lead to prematurely entering into a full-time immersive program which can lead to a rough during-Codesmith & post-Codesmith experience. Mental health can take a toll, but last I heard Codesmith offers support throughout. This applies to SOME non-technical aspiring engineers, not all, and is rarely the case with residents with some past technical experience or those who've spent more time studying

Prior to joining Codesmith's LA Immersive Program, I'd had some experience with programming, having taken a few intro computer science courses in college and tinkered around with JavaScript and Python through youtube tutorials. As coding became a passion of mine, I decided to try and apply for a software engineer role, but found it immensely difficult as I found the technical assessments to be out of my range of skill and a lot of companies were hesitant to hire a person without a technical background i.e. I'd recently graduated with a B.A. in linguistics.

Then I decided to join Codesmith's Full-time Immersive Program. Codesmith's curriculum consists of all the basics of JavaScript which sets you up for learning and working with modern web technologies like React, Node, Express, and Redux. Not to mention they also go through data structures and algorithms as well as testing and technologies associated with DevOps, i.e. Docker and AWS. In general, Codesmith technical curriculum emphasizes collaboration, which is crucial for being able to technically communicate in interviews.  

The instructors for the technical lectures were passionate, empathetic, and always willing to offer any guidance. Many of them were great mentors as well; they were instrumental in managing the course of an open source product I eventually worked on. The phase of the immersive where you're asked to create an open source product with your fellow bootcamp attendees plays a very significant role in the technical experience you end up talking about in interviews. This is huge. Prior to Codesmith, the only things I was able to talk about to recruiters were intro computer science classes and amateurish web projects.

In addition to equipping me with the necessary technical skills and experience, Codesmith's Immersive also guided me with how to actually get hired. Their comprehensive hiring program was excellent in making sure that I knew how to conduct myself in phone screens, technical screens, and onsites. It was obvious that the people running the hiring program had industry experience and really knew what they were doing. 

All the instructors and lecturers at Codesmith were not only exceptional at what they do, but also deeply empathetic and a pleasure to work with. And in particular those that really stood out to me were Michael O'Halloran, for his superb teaching ability and technical knowledge, and Eric Kirsten, for his outstanding advice on how to negotiate salary and unrelenting willingness to make sure Codesmith graduates find the jobs of their dreams. 

Two years ago, I went to a very well known bootcamp right before the pandemic hit. The experience was ok as far as learning about coding, but to be honest the way in which they prepared us to actually get a job was extremely lackluster, to put it kindly. I struggled greatly and felt totally rudderless and not sure how I was ever going to crack into the industry.  Fall of 2021, I ran into a friend who had recently finished Codesmith and got an amazing job only a few months after graduating. After telling her I had been struggling for about 1.5 years to get any traction, she was able to sell me on going to Codesmith.

At first I thought I was going to coast, because of my previous experience, but I couldn’t be more wrong. The students that they accept have to pass an entrance exam that frankly not many people from my bootcamp would have been able to pass even after graduating. So people were prepared to hit the ground running. And that is exactly what happened. Codesmith is not for everyone, because they really force you to struggle and embrace not knowing something and using your resources to figure it out. While Codesmith is not for everyone, I really believe that anyone who embraces their methodology can succeed. I believe that because I’ve seen it. Most of my cohort that graduated have jobs and it’s only been 3 months as of this writing. The average base salary offered to those grads is roughly 150k, and only a few - and I really mean a few - had any experience with programming prior to preparing for the exam.

The program is hard. Like, extremely hard. Don’t think you can just show up and coast and get an amazing job in a few months. But if you really want this and are dedicated to working your butt off, it will work. It’s an incredible program and almost unfair that it gets lumped in with other bootcamps, because it really is just far and away the best I’ve experienced and seen. Plus the hiring portion of the program itself is worth the cost alone. 10/10 could not recommend highly enough to those who are serious about this.

2019 I knew I wanted to make a career change. I remember reading this reddit post calling codesmith a scam. It deterred me away but my curiosity had me investigate their free hard parts workshop and finding alumni to get their take. Their CSX platform was excellent, hard parts was fun and mostly importantly majority of the alumni I talked to has great things to say about the program. No one said the program was perfect and had issues with some parts of the program but never the whole program. 
I decided to trust the people I've reached out to and take the dive to sign up for the full time immersive.(RIP my wallet) 

After finished the program 2 weeks ago I already cannot believe I already got one offer from a start up for 100k. The program was tough, some of the program in my opinion needed a tiny bit more hand holding. Overall I had an amazing experience, I walk away with REAL skillsets and knowledge to tackle finding and performing software development jobs. Like any program if you don't take advantage of the community, instructors and resources you might as well of thrown your money in penny stocks or SPY puts. If you're scared that codesmith is a scam, feel free to reach out to me and ask any questions. I do not work for codesmith and don't get any benefits from reviewing them. It's a program that has changed my life and I hope it can change yours too.

I'm a pandemic career-changer in my early 40s and I left a good, stable job to pursue software engineering. This may have been the most significant decision and the most challenging project of my life. Before I was fully committed to this monumental life change I launched a deep research project to determine which boot camp was going to set me up for the greatest success. My research led me to Codesmith.

Every reputable coding boot camp offers some kind of free live workshops and online resources to get you started, get you involved in the community, and help measure and improve your skills. Most offer some kind of "boot camp prep" course. Tuition tends to be pretty similar across the board. So how can you really know which one is "best" or which one is right for you?

My approach was to try them all. In addition to reading reviews and articles and checking out their YouTube channels, I used the free online resources from ten different schools, and I attended the prep courses for three different schools. I figured this would give me the greatest insight into how each school operates and whether I should trust the outcomes I saw published on their own websites as well as in the reports from the Council on Integrity in Results Reporting (CIRR). My experiences led me to Codesmith.

Codesmith's free workshops curriculum is incredibly robust. It includes sessions targeting everyone from Day 1 beginners to employed engineers seeking a deeper understanding of advanced concepts, and many sessions occur more than once per week. When I attended my first "JavaScript: The Hard Parts" session I immediately felt like I was witnessing something of real value. The instructor was a total pro. The approach and the method were thoughtfully constructed. The attendees were engaged and participating. The quality of this experience was in stark contrast to what I had seen from all of the other schools. I was mostly sold on Codesmith.

The thing that sealed the deal for me was the challenge of getting admitted to Codesmith. At one point I had failed two attempts at the Codesmith technical admissions interview, and I had already been accepted to two other top coding boot camps. It would have been easy to throw in the towel and get started with one of the alternatives but my thinking was if I'm going to quit my job and take out a big loan at the same time, run through my meager savings, and risk everything for a chance at a great new career then I want to make sure it's the greatest new career possible. I couldn't be satisfied with a junior-level position that paid about the same as I was making before; I wanted to go into job interviews with the confidence derived from knowing that I had been through, by far, the most challenging software engineering boot camp available. Codesmith sets the highest barrier to entry and teaches the most advanced curriculum. They're able to do that because they have the best approach and retain the best staff. The formula is working.

In a few days, I'll be starting my first job as a software engineer. I'm going to work at a large financial institution in a mid-level position with a team working on an exciting product. I've acquired all the skills I need to succeed in this industry, I've made a bunch of new friends-for-life, and I've built up a formidable professional network. I would recommend Codesmith to friends and family (and I do, frequently) and to anyone who is serious about getting started in the software industry.

Codesmith was an excellent experience and for me it was definitely worth it. I attended the full time immersive and it was a lot of long hours and tough work, but ultimately absolutely worth it and truly rewarding. I had already done some self studying when I enrolled and it really took my engineering skills to the next level. The most valuable parts of the program for me were the community and network you find, the project focus, and the hiring portion. I chose Codesmith because of the CIRR outcomes and the sense of community. I highly recommend checking out one of their free workshops if you want to get a sense of the teaching style. 

I got a job fairly quickly and have been extremely happy with my choice to make a career change. I'm able to do more satisfying work for more pay, and Codesmith really helped me get there. 

Two things make Codesmith stand out: the open source product and the community. 

The OSP grants a critical advantage in the job search that is unattainable through self study alone or by writing CRUD toy apps. Codesmith's curriculum doesn't teach GraphQL, Electron, TypeScript, microservices architectures etc., but depending on the OSP you choose (and the work you put in both during and after Codesmith), you'll come away with the ability to a) talk knowledgeably about a selection of such highly marketable skill-sets at a level of understanding that will make seasoned engineers see you as prospective peers rather than blank slates, and b) acquire genuine narratives about technical/organizational/interpersonal challenges, breakthroughs, milestones, failures, lessons learned that will demonstrate a level of experience clearly beyond that of entry-level candidates who have only worked on course assignments and scratch projects in small groups. Grinding leetcode will only get you so far in prepping for mid-level big tech interviews, because they will also delve deep into your experiences in engineering, collaboration, and leadership. While there's no replacement there for real world work experience, the Codesmith OSP provides a close approximation. 

As for community, Codesmith doesn't kick you out for falling behind. On the contrary, if you fail assessments you get supplementary sessions. I've also personally never heard of anyone dropping out of the program. On the other hand, decisive action is taken against rare cases of egregiously problematic behavior. Time is set aside every week for shoutouts, game nights, and mingling. All this sets the tone for a safe and warm environment where everyone is "in it together," and residents see each other as collaborators and friends rather than competitors or rivals. Codesmith sets a grueling pace and the material is demanding, so it's helpful and motivating beyond words to have a group of highly competent, driven, and caring people with whom to exchange assistance and emotional support and to unwind. This atmosphere of goodwill extends to the alumni community as well, where I've received extraordinary help and advice freely and readily given from so many awesome people already. I'd gone the self-study route for a while and made good progress before joining Codesmith, but I can say with certainty that it would have taken me years to get to the point I am now had I not sought out a community of like-minded people. 

After months on the job search, I've signed on with an exciting early-stage startup for a senior-level base salary far outside the max range shown in the CIRR reports, and favorable compensation compared to a competing big N L4 offer. While I've been particularly fortunate, there is also no shortage of alumni I know who are now working in highly desirable positions and earning above the reported median wage. Some of them had prior academic or professional experience in STEM, but many more, including me, hail from a completely unrelated background. In short, if you're ready to put in the work for a career in tech, you'll be in the best possible company at Codesmith. 

# Curriculum
I loved that the "JS Hard Parts" approach of deep-diving into the fundamentals of any given concept very much carried over into the immersive. Some subjective nitpicks:

- React unit: Fully switch to functional components and hooks and maybe discuss strategies for avoiding unnecessary re-renders. Should better equip residents to tackle common React takehomes/onsites using up-to-date practices. 
- Node unit: More detail on REST API design constraints and conventions, as well as practical differences between Node.js vs. browser environments.
- Database unit: More practice for composing SQL queries (with CTEs, parameterization), drawing out ER diagrams, and especially avoiding common pitfalls when designing relational data models (i.e. general rules-of-thumb for normalization, enforcing referential integrity).
- Pick a responsive CSS framework and use in every module so the code examples can serve as reference material. 

# Instructors
Michael and Caitlin gave clear, tightly-paced, and engaging lectures, and were always able to provide more in-depth context, detail, and direction as necessary. Codesmith's picks for fellowship in my cohort sandwich also made it clear that they choose the best. 

# Job Support
- Somehow spacing out the OSP and hiring portions would be great so that residents aren't completely burnt out for the latter, the pace isn't so hectic, and residents can get some supervised practice in more areas e.g. sending out a Codesmith-style app, optimizing resumes for ATS while still following Codesmith guidelines, countering negotiation tactics employed by recruiters from the very first email/call, understanding perks and equity packages etc.
- Post-grad hiring and negotiation support quite literally pays for the tuition. Shoutout to Eric and Cassandra and the team for being wonderful. 

# Overall: 
Lifechanging experience. 10/10 would do again.

I joined the Codesmith community through CSX, then CSPrep, then the full-time LA immersive, attending virtually from NY.  It was evident from the beginning that Codesmith's secret to success was their built-in community.  By the time I was done with CSPrep I had a community to struggle through the technical interview process with which was key to my ability to pass the technical interview.  I'd agree with other Course Report reviews that say "persistence is key."  Once I started the full-time immersive it was incredibly helpful to be a part of a nobody-left-behind mentality in such a rigorous program.

One of the things I, personally, wasn't excited about was still how little experience I had with CSS after the immersive, as someone who came in with zero prior experience.  Be sure to get into that because it will likely prove important during the interview process for frontend roles.

The hiring portion gives you the opportunity to ask any and all the questions you need and an answer is always close by.  You'll continue to feel fully supported like this until you land your first job!  Shout out to the hiring team and Eric for helping me navigate my way to a well-paid internship in 3 months, and a full-time role in 6 months.

Very similar experiences with other reviews. I had a great experience here. People are very nice and supportive. Please don't come in expecting you'll get a job without working very hard. It requires a lot of dedication but if you're determined, you'll pull it through.

I got a job 3 weeks after I graduated without the CS degree, but I do have an engineering degree from UC Berkeley though, and I'm not sure that'd be relevant in my job search. It's a very rewarding career.

Good luck and I wish you all the best!

I considered many other bootcamps like fullstack academy, general assembly, etc. but then codesmith hiring outcome came to my attention as codesmith's hiring outcome was the best among bootcamps out there. After going through 12-weeks of program and now getting a job, I can see why codesmith has the best hiring outcome and I am really glad that I decided to go with codesmith. It provides the best curriculum for people who want to be engineers and how to think and code like mid to senior-level software engineers. I got a job offer that is well above the median of codesmith graduate outcomes, so I can say that it actually works!

And the best part for this program is open-source product and how it helps you with job search!

Codesmith was such a great experience for me. I was stuck at a deadend job for way too long and needed to make a change. I found codesmith through a friend of mine who did the program in 2019. This help make my decision to make the leap of faith alot easier because I saw he completed the program and got a great job. Knowing someone first hand helped me put me at ease.

To practice to get into Codesmith they have great free workshops call Javascript the easy parts (intro free classes) and Javascript the hard parts(more challenging concept classes on closures, recursion and callbacks). This is where it was solidified that I want to do the program because they had great instructor and really dug deep under the hood on what was actually happening in the code which I loved. Having a deeper knowledge builds a super strong foundation for everything you learn forward. Afterwards, it took me two tries to do pass the interviews and the rest was history! 

The 3 month program was intense. It's 6 days a week and about 12 hour days. I will say the days go back so quick because you are learning so much and they have cool units to work on with a partner for section. At the end of the program we create a production project for a month with a team of engineer that will impress senior engineers. This is great for your resume in many ways. It helps you learn how to work on an engineering team as well as building an app from scratch using everything you learned. This is where you do the most learning I would say, because you are practicing by doing. It was amazing to see our team's concept go from a drawing to a real electron app that developers can use.

Lastly, codesmith has an amazing hiring program. They help you from everything from your resume, narrative, interview white boarding, system design interviews and algos! Even after you graduate you have lifetime help which is an amazing perk in itself as I saw other bootcamp only offer like 6 months after graduating. 

I got a job at a company I love now with better hours and pay and I definitely couldn't have done it without codesmith and most importantly all the close friends I made along the way. They help you get through the tough parts in the program and even if it was virtual you became close quick. We were all able to meet in person for different events at bars and traveling and it's been a blast and the funny thing is everyone was the same as they were on zoom. In the end, this experience literally changed the trajectory of my life and can't thank codesmith enough! Let's gooo 

I’ve waited to make this review because I wanted to be in the right mindset. That being said, I’ve obtained more value from Codesmith than my years as an engineer in college. Sad.. but very true. I am sitting here almost 3 months into my job with an income 3x more than what it was before I joined Codesmith. 

They will give you the skills to be successful and competitive in the job market. I’ve taken everything they have taught me - especially the nontechnical stuff such as communication, collaboration, vibe, job interviewing and applied it. I think these are the most important skill sets that a Codesmith has to offer. Any school is going to teach how to code, but no school is going to teach how to be an ethical, responsible, driven, and most importantly..... caring engineer. Oh, and by the way, their curriculum is amazing - They always push you to try technologies that are not taught in the program. I came out learning GraphQL, DENO, Redis, Svelte, React native (mobile) + so much more on top of your typical MERN stack. 

I strongly recommend you try their 2-week courses, especially if you are an experienced engineer. I promise you will learn more about how code works under the hood in those two weeks than you would have anywhere else. 

Geo

git commit -m “My Codesmith Review"

I graduated from Codesmith in June, was hired on as an Engineering Fellow by Codesmith for a three-month contract and am now preparing to end my Fellowship and move on to a full-time job as a GraphQL Full Stack Engineer with LexisNexis. From the first time I set foot into one of Codesmith's free public online workshops, I was impressed with their teaching style, pedagogy and above all empathy. They built a positive, ego-free environment where people worked hard at a difficult thing to better themselves, and always with an eye towards enthusiastically helping one another to understand the technology on a deep level. Other Bootcamps gave me the impression that I'd be going through the motions and simply 'making the code work' but Codesmith taught me to think deeply about my mental models and the language that I use to communicate what is happening technically so that I could share that mental model. 

I found interviewing for jobs after Codesmith to not only be un-intimidating but often a real pleasure - it was fun to share my understanding with others and describe what I knew! And because Codesmith encouraged me to always consider other engineers, I leave now feeling that I can continue to grow as a mentor as well as an engineer and human being. Codesmith is a really special place that is kept running by some really dedicated people and I admire them and am proud to have counted myself among them, even for a brief while! 

I owe a particular debt of gratitude to Nancy Kousholt, Katrina Villanueva and Grisha Levine-Rozenvayn, all of them former or current Fellows, Lead Technical Mentors and Engineering Instructors who showed me what it means to be an empathetic engineer!

After working on Codesmith's free JavaScript lessons through CSX and attending a few free workshops, I was ecstatic to win a free weekend intensive of "JavaScript for Beginners" (JSB). My instructor was Sophie, and I can't say enough about the whole experience. Sophie was kind, patient, and knowledgable. As an educator with 23 years of experience, I appreciate the methodical way Codesmith breaks concepts down and gives you ample opportunities to practice and apply what you learned before moving on. The main thing that sets Codesmith's approach apart from other workshops I have attended is their emphasis on technical communication. Both during interactive lectures and through pair-programming, you learn to communicate clearly and concisely about your code, which not only helps you communicate, but helps solidify the information so that you own it. The course culminated with a group project, which I was nervous about. Despite being a teacher and knowing the value of group projects, I have traditionally not enjoyed doing them myself. I couldn't wrap my head around how "coding by committee" could possibly work. I am happy to say the group project was one of my favorite parts, and Codesmith made it easy through their pair-programming system. I can't believe I actually enjoyed a group project and built a product with my awesome team-member classmates. I can't wait for more! Thank you, Sophie and Codesmith!

Codesmith is a tier above many other bootcamps for one simple reason: They don’t just show you what to learn. They show you how. They encourage hard-learning and how to overcome  the very same roadblocks software engineers face on a day-to-day basis. Their fellowship program offers residents a way to connect with recent grads who understand the struggle / learning process.
 
Also, the culture of the program is truly special. Let’s be honest-doing the kind of mental gymnastics a bootcamp requires can be overwhelming and exhausting. Even in the current remote setting, Codesmith scheduled moments to socialize and unwind. These kinds of connections with your cohort-mates and emphasis on community are in many ways just as important  skills to learn as the technical ones. 
 
The career program is an added bonus most bootcamps overlook. Codesmith gives you an opportunity to hone your resume, practice system design and general interview technique, as well as connect you with recent grads at large companies for networking days. I actually got my current job from my cohort’s networking day, so I’m proof the system does in fact work. Before joining Codesmith, I was naturally skeptical of their numbers, but I quickly saw that they back up their talk. The 3 other members of my cohort’s project group all snagged six-figure jobs well-within the first 3 months post-grad. 

There aren’t enough good things I can say about the entire program. This time last year, I had lost my job, had zero technical background, and was just starting to apply to various bootcamps. A year later, I snagged a dream salary at a major national company.  The technical elements, commitment to diversity and inclusion, community, and median salary for grads sets Codesmith apart from the rest. 

If you're looking for a career change over to software engineering, then definitely consider Codesmith. After attending, I gained the confidence and competence to build a full stack application, understand dev ops, and system design.

There are two main components that make Codesmith work: the production project and career support. Of course, the lectures, exercises, algorithm practice all matter in terms of building the foundation of your competence as an engineer, but the meat of the value lies in those two earlier things I mention.

The production project is about a one month long open source project that you work on with a team of 3 other people. Its main objective is to produce a some sort of tool that bring real-utility to the developer community. It not only showcases that you can solve hard problems with code, but that you think deeply about problems that matter to real engineers. This is what sets this project apart from just any final project from a bootcamp. Just go to the Codesmith website to see that many of the open source projects made by its students are being used by actual developers.

The career support is the other piece that is so important to landing mid- to senior-level roles. They prepare us for the job search very thoroughly from resumes, job profiles, applications, phone screens, technical interviews, etc. This itself is an entirely separate skill that warrants its own focus, and Codesmith works very hard on this part of it. They will continue to provide support after graduation and into your job search. But make no mistake, you have to put in the work both during Codesmith as you learn and also during your own job search. It took me about 2.5 months before I landed my senior software engineering role. Others have landed their roles sooner, but it all depends on the individual's self-discipline to keep at it. If you've got that and really want to break into software engineering, then you'll be ok.

And as a side note, the CIRR reports are accurate.

Codesmith has made a world of difference in my career, and I could not have done it without them.   UPDATE: I finished Codesmith in 2021, but it is still helping with my career long afterward.

Even though one might think that having professional experience should make getting the next job easier, I had completely forgotten all the lessons learned from career support 2 years ago. Nearly all of my applications were rejected, and I was having trouble getting through the 2nd round of the few interviews I did get. I needed to go through 9+ revisions of my resume, overhaul my interview narrative and responses, and practice systems design thinking all over again before I finally started getting to the later rounds.

The only way I was able to steadily improve my interviewing results was through the help of the Codesmith support engineers. They are Codesmith alumni who now work as part-time support engineers, giving advice and feedback to anyone in their job search. The 1 on 1 sessions are so helpful, since it's personalized to my situation and sometimes to the job that I am trying to interview for. And they are highly experienced professionals. They conduct interviews in their companies and have helped many other alumni over the years. So they are  skilled, well-practiced, and experienced in knowing how to handle these nuances of the interview.

And of course, there is Eric, the secret weapon. If you want to know more, just read all the other reviews that mention him.

Given the current state of the market, I took much longer to land a position this year than I did in 2021. But with the help of the support engineers, I kept learning what I needed to handle the next interview and the next and the next. I not only gained the confidence to comfortably go through the interviewing process, but I became more optimistic that I would eventually find something, regardless of what else is going on around me.

Choosing to learn a new skill was the best decision I made in 2020. It got me through a lot, and I got a great job. I have Codesmith to thank for that. The program taught me things I didn't even know that I needed to know. They pursue hard learning with empathy and all the understanding and open-mindedness in the world.  For the program, I applied myself vigorously, and I got back so much more confidence in my knowledge because of that.  They teach you an entire stack, so focusing and dedicating your energy to learning what they are teaching you is the key, but there is a great wealth of knowledge to be learned and applied here. More importantly, they care that I did a good job. They were just as keyed into my education as I was, and they helped me every step of the way - with helpful guidance that changed my understanding of software development, and sharpened my skills as a technical communicator and a teammember. With the confidence I gained from Codesmith, I got a job in 4 months. I applied myself, and focused, and filled out applications just like Codesmith told me to.  

(Disclaimer: As far as I know, the program is virtual-only at this point. I was in an on-site program pre-pandemic so some of this might not apply)

A big reason I decided to invest my time, energy, and money (lots of money) into Codesmith was because I subscribed to the same philosophy of hard learning. Everyone is going to have a different experience in this bootcamp, and some of those experiences might have negative aspects. But for better or worse, Codesmith pushes you to be detail-oriented. This is the program for you if you're into seeing how the sausage is really made, as in knowing how your code is ACTUALLY working behind the scenes. You're not just learning languages and frameworks. You're being exposed to all the adjacent tooling surrounding them, like version control, containerization, state management, etc. That being said, Codesmith does hire people who only recently finished the program, to support and teach other students full-time. While some of these mentors are awesome, you obviously can't expect 100% accuracy from them all the time.

Codesmith works because it's somewhere between a college course and a 9-5 job, in that it simulates a real world environment with your peers who are all in the same situation as you. You have meetings, projects, deadlines, happy hours, etc. Once you finish the program though, the hard part is actually putting all that knowledge and experience together in a cohesive package and selling it to an employer. Codesmith provides excellent support in this area too, especially in the salary negotiation stage, but in my opinion you need to do a lot of this work yourself. Nobody knows how to market your best qualities like you do, so you need to fine-tune the narrative you're presenting in interviews, see what works and what doesn't. It's an iterative process.

While the course is always evolving (even as I was midway through the program), the team of engineers behind the curriculum are brilliant, and can be trusted to keep the material fresh and relevant to employer needs. There are some times where you will finish a lecture and be absolutely lost, but I believe the people most likely to succeed in this program are the ones who are persistent. Show up to Codesmith's events consistently, learn on your own consistently, ask questions consistently, don't be afraid to break things, and be ready to work a full day (and sometimes nights) for months straight. This is absolutely not for everybody, but if you are committed to putting in the work to make this your career, it's definitely attainable.

If you're an aspiring dev, good luck on the path, and keep learning.

As someone who has never worked a full time job in the US, I have to say that going to Codesmith is the best decision I have ever made in my life. I got a freelance offer of $55/hr within 2.5 months of graduation, which I left in a month after because the codebase had way too much technical debt. Within another 2-3 months, I landed 2 other offers - 1 from an acquired start-up with TC at around 120-130k and 1 from a tech unicorn with TC around 140-180k - and I ended up taking the latter because of the technology they are using.

Codesmith has a huge emphasis on technical communication, deep understanding of Javascript and helping students to become what the industry called a T-shape engineer, where you develop a strong domain knowledge in one technology. That is the real reason why Codesmith grads were able to land Senior Engineer roles straight out of the program. The best part about Codesmith teaching philosophy is that it makes every graduate of the program less of a cookie-cutter than their peers and I believe that is also what makes the placement rate and salary of Codesmith grads much higher than every other programs (according to cirr.org third-party-audited data) because everybody ended up with different strong domain knowledge in the end - some become expert in testing, some in React, some in Vue, some in GraphQL, some in gRPC, some in Deno, some in databases and some in microservices.  

In this 12-week program, the portion with a curriculum (we call it the junior portion) really only spans 6-7 weeks and the rest of the remaining weeks (senior portion) are spent on tech-talks and projects where students have the time to learn certain technologies really deeply in groups. Curriculum-wise, I honestly wouldn't say this is a 5 star curriculum program, its more like 3.5-4 in my book. Within the first 6 weeks, lectures are very short and are around an hour each day, and we spent the most time mastering our skills by "hard-learning" and doing exercises that are very difficult but achievable through pair-programming. However, what makes Codesmith's teaching really stand out is its teaching philosophy and that REALLY justifies the 5 stars I give to the curriculum here. The curriculum is more about teaching you how to learn and be curious with new technologies so that you know what to learn and can learn them really fast and really deeply all by yourself without going through numerous tutorials. Almost all of us ended up implementing different technologies by ourselves that weren't taught in the curriculum at some point for half of our projects. The teaching philosophy of Codesmith is so solid that I think the quality of the curriculum is probably purposely designed to be not too perfect so we can fill in the gaps by ourselves, which I am surprised by how well things just magically worked out in the end. 

Before we graduate from the program, Codesmith allocated a week for the hiring portion, which I personally think is the best career advice I have ever had. That portion alone is worth at least half the tuition. We learned how to job-search, negotiate salary, write resumes and cover letters, reach out to recruiters and network effectively on LinkedIn with other working engineers. We also have an alumni channel where alumni would throw job posting and give referral to those who reach out to them and have the right skills set. 

Overall, I would say this is an imperfect program that gets everything worked out perfectly and Codesmith will forever have a place in my heart. 

I attended CS Prep to help level up ahead of my technical interview for the Full-time immersive course at Codesmith. Honestly, I was quite blown away by how much I managed to learn in those two weeks. Self-teaching JavaScript is a slow process but with the help of Matt and Greg ( the course leaders), I was able to get my head around some concepts that I was having a hard time committing to permanent memory like Closure and Recursion.  For the money, I think it's good value and is really helpful if you were to apply to any boot camp afterwards, not just Codesmith. The only con I can think of is that the hours were quite long but that's primarily because I'm based in the UK and so I had to shift my body clock to attend the course that takes place after work PST and late evening EST.

My experience at Codesmith was a solid 3.5/5, but I would definitely round up to a 4. The community is probably one of the best parts. Everyone is super friendly and supportive. The staff are probably a bit overworked, but you can tell that they genuinely want the best for all of the students. I was a happy student and I ended up finding employment.

I will be separating my review into pros and cons, as follows:

Pros:

• Strong, supportive community. Readily available and friendly staff. I made some pretty good friends during my time here.
• The production project is a great opportunity to work on something that will, without a doubt, deepen your understanding of the technologies that you choose to work with.
• Very solid curriculum. The technologies that you learn are very relevant and high-demand. They also teach systems design and machine learning, although the latter is just a very short introductory unit.
• Remote stipend for office setup.
• There is a pretty solid network of alumni. 

Cons:

• Needs-blind admission. At the time of admission, I was a low income applicant and I received zero financial assistance. While there are scholarships, the vast majority of them are diversity scholarships and were not applicable to me.
• No job guarantee. This is something that other well-established (and even newly established) bootcamps offer.
• The instructors are mostly former Codesmith alum. While this is not exactly necessarily a bad thing, I noticed none of the instructors have a computer science degree or any real-world experience as a software engineer. Does that mean they're bad problem-solvers? No. It does, however, mean your instructor or fellow will most likely not utilize or understand best practices when writing code and designing lessons/codebases.
• Despite the great curriculum, the React unit is in sore need of a revamp. Codesmith does not teach Hooks, which is a must-have for any React developer.
• The job searching unit was pretty good overall, but I wish Codesmith was more specific about listing the production project as experience. A lot of job searchers are kind of left to figure things out on their own as far as that goes. I also think it would be nice if Codesmith made themselves available as an educational institute on LinkedIn. Being a bootcamp grad is not a shameful thing and giving alumni the option to list Codesmith on LinkedIn would be great.

Overall, the experience was great, but there is still much room for improvement. I look forward to seeing how Codesmith evolves in the years to come.

A quick overview of my experience: I attended Codesmith from Febuary-May 2020, worked as a fellow until August, and started my first engineering role at the end of August, after applying to jobs for 1-2 months.

(If you don't feel like reading the whole thing, scroll down to the Conclusion section at the very bottom)

I was drawn to Codesmith because I already had a little under a year of self-taught experience with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, and I wanted to attend a bootcamp that had a higher level of entry for its students. After narrowing my choices down to Fullstack Academy and Codesmith, I ultimately chose Codesmith due to the appeal and quality of its in-person workshops. In particular, the Hard Parts series elevated my understanding of JavaScript to a new level — even after I thought I already had a decent understanding of the basics!

I had high expectations coming into Codesmith, and generally speaking those expectations were met. However, I should point out that our cohort switched from on-site to remote instruction halfway through the program due to the pandemic, which affected the cohort's experience for the second half of the program.

Codesmith's curriculum was divided into two halves when I attended (and I assume it's still fairly similar):

• Full-stack instruction: an intensive series of lectures, pair programming exercises, and projects teaching essential full-stack technologies like React, Redux, Node, and SQL/NoSQL databases.
• Production Project & Hiring: students build a developer tool over six weeks, and they also attend a series of lectures and workshops preparing them for the job search. They'll also put together a resume with the guidance of a fellow. Some supplemental lectures and exercises are also included here, touching on topics like AWS basics and CI/CD fundamentals.

In addition, we also had an assessment or algorithm exercise each morning.
Curriculum & Lectures
Overall, the first half of the program was by far the most engaging and fulfilling for me. I came into the program with some frontend experience, and after the first half I felt confident building basic applications with servers and databases. Our lead instructors knew what they were talking about and gave their lectures in an engaging manner.

At some points I did feel that the curriculum could be updated a bit (particularly in the second half - there was an AWS update that wasn't covered in the instructions, and we lost several hours as the instructors worked to find a solution), but I understand that the curriculum was updated during the latter half of 2020 and possibly later. It would also have been helpful to cover modern practices such as React hooks, linting, best practices for codebase architecture, etc. before going into the production project — these would make good quick additions to the curriculum if they aren't already included.

Projects
Possibly the biggest part of Codesmith's appeal is the "production project" - a development tool that a group of residents work on (4 or 5, for my cohort) over a span of 6 weeks. Before tackling the production project, we also completed a handful of other projects, ranging from a Chrome extension to several fullstack apps, which did a lot to prepare us for this project.

While the production project our group built from scratch wasn't exactly what we'd call "production-ready," we did have the opportunity to iterate on several past projects and refine the codebase while adding extra features, which in retrospect might have been the better option, since it's closer to what most engineers do at their jobs!

One aspect of the production project that was a little less than ideal was the group dynamics. In my group as well as others, there were conflicts where some members "led" the project and created a less equal learning environment for others, or in other instances some members were unwilling to make meaningful contributions and instead preferred to chat. I expect that this is always a risk when forming groups (not to mention in the actual workplace), but this did detract at times from the experience. To future students, I highly recommend getting in touch with your group's assigned fellow if any conflicts or issues occur - I don't believe it's worthwhile trying to solve them on your own when the experience is something you're paying a significant amount of money for.

Hiring Portion
Without a doubt, the best part of the hiring portion for me was the resume. I came out of the program with a dense, polished resume that I didn't feel embarrassed sending to employers - in contrast, the resume I wrote before CS might as well have been written by a child.

I had high expectations for the hiring program because I had heard past grads praise it, with some even say that it was worth the cost of tuition on its own. I was 30 when I attended the program and had worked a number of non-technical jobs previously, and I didn't feel that the instruction regarding the job application or interview process broke any new ground for me. I've spoken to some other grads who are around my age and felt the same — I suspect that the people who get the most out of the hiring program are in their late teens to mid-20s.

For me, one thing I would have changed about the hiring program would have been to include some engineers in the workshops and lectures who had experience interviewing and working outside of Codesmith. While our instructors did make a solid effort to cover the standard materials for these lectures, sections like the system design portion would have been more engaging if they were led by an experienced engineer who had gone through or given SD interviews, rather than a fellow who had only completed this same unit weeks earlier. Likewise, I would have gone into the interview process a bit better prepared if I had been given more concrete details about the typical interview process, common exercises, etc. This is something that I had to do on my own time, through speaking to other grads and going through interviews.

Disclaimer: since we had just switched to a remote format at that point, there were issues with timing that caused several hiring lectures to be rescheduled, and unfortunately Will wasn't available to give his usual lectures. I'm assuming this isn't the current experience.

While it's true that you only get better at interviewing by interviewing, some more concrete guidance would have helped immensely, as some lectures felt a little vague. When I attended the program, we were able to interact with full-time engineers at three different points: during an alum Q&A session, during an hour-long mock interview with an alum, and during a 15-minute (I believe) phone call where we went over our narrative with an alum. When I began applying to jobs, I was uncomfortable about reaching out to the hiring support fellow for advice — while they were doing their job to the best of their ability, I felt more comfortable reaching out to someone who had gone through the hiring process themselves. I'm aware that Codesmith now gives graduates the opportunity to book time to speak to past graduates who are now employed as engineers, which is great. I think bringing engineers with this type of lived experience into the hiring program would also be a huge win for everyone involved in it.

Conclusion
Based on my experience, I'd definitely recommend Codesmith to anyone who has decided that a bootcamp is the right choice for them. Codesmith helped fill in the gaps in my engineering knowledge, and it also gave me the chance to work on an in-depth project with a group of other developers. My production project was likely a big reason why I was considered for the first role that I got hired for — I built a GraphQL tool, and GraphQL was a big feature of the stack I ended up working on.

Overall, I'd say the hiring portion was the only part of the program that didn't meet the expectations I had coming in, for the reasons I mentioned above.

Still, a hiring program alone won't help you get a job. After the initial lectures, Codesmith provided me with an environment to push myself to improve, and a community of graduates that supported me as I moved on to the job search and beyond. Without Codesmith, I definitely wouldn't be at the engineering level I am today.

I want to start off my review with a quick preface. If you are looking for an easy way into the world of software or web development then this most likely won't be a good fit for you. It takes a tremendous amount of work throughout. Before the program, during the program, and after the program (where some would say that this is where the real work starts). Your mileage may vary depending on your initial experience and innate affinity for coding and problem solving, but there is simply no way to avoid the effort that is required for this transformative experience. 

I started off with absolutely zero prior experience in coding and began with first learning what a variable is and what we use them for. After a period of self-studying, I wanted to take my learning process to the next level and came across Codesmith by pure chance. What immediately stood out to me was the great sense of care that they had for their applicants and the Codesmith community. What really sealed the deal for me was going through all the free resources that Codesmith provides that I felt were a great benefit in helping to solidify my understanding of the basics. After watching some of the javascript hard parts videos led by CEO Will Sentance, previously obscure and confusing concepts started to click. I was hooked and knew that this was what I was searching for. 

From that point forward my learning process and exposure to coding took off. Everything was geared around getting through the technical interview, which for me was quite difficult. The technical interview IS difficult, but it's not without reason. If applicants aren't able to demonstrate the level needed to enter the immersive programs then it really isn't in anyone's benefit for that applicant to be accepted as once the immersive starts, the brakes are few and far between, and the level of difficulty increases exponentially. Believe me when I say that Codesmith is not trying to trick anyone during the technical interview nor does it require any esoteric knowledge. It's simply testing if the applicant has a good understanding (not mastery) of a lot of the fundamental concepts in javascript that serve as the building blocks for what is to come in the immersive. If you are struggling with the technical interview, reach out to people in the Codesmith community. They truly do care and want to see you succeed, but the effort and dedication from your end HAS to be apparent.

As challenging and exhausting as the full-time immersive was, it was an incredible experience that I wish I could do all over again. Never before have I been with a group of people so focused and passionately working towards a goal for such an extended period of time. The struggle and pain that we went through as we were hit with wave after wave of difficult concepts and frameworks/libraries really helped us to bond and form a close connection (they are still my friends to this day that I confide in). You really do start to get a sense of working as an engineer when going through different group projects, especially when you get to the production project phase and start mapping out your workflow with your team members. The sense of pride that you feel when you create something from scratch at the end was such a rewarding feeling as you work under a deadline with your team members. The anxiety that I felt when going through the program and not understanding everything was subsided by the constant support from the staff and fellows. 

When you wrap up the technical side of things, you start getting into the job hunt phase where you learn how to finally work towards leveraging the skills that you've acquired towards a full-time job as an engineer. Most people would say that this part is actually harder than the technical portion as the job search process is quite volatile. There will be a lengthy trial and error process and no matter what there IS a level of luck involved as well. But those that prepare WILL be able to capitalize on the opportunity when they eventually come across it. You will be able to go through the entire application process at Codesmith, from developing your profile and resume, to how to optimize your LinkedIn profile,  to how to write cover letters and sell yourself as a credible engineer. Codesmith also has advisors like Eric K, who have been in the industry and are a tremendous benefit to helping you navigate scenarios that you will encounter like negotiating your salary and benefits, discussing your narrative and background, and how to portray yourself as a competent engineer so that when you do come across these situations you are able to recall to the experience provided to you!

To wrap up....
I have been on both sides at Codesmith.  As someone that went through the full-time program, and as someone that works for Codesmith. I can truly say that there is no subterfuge, Codesmith genuinely cares about this process and helping people to achieve their goals and to fulfill their motivations for going through this rigorous program, whatever they may be. The effort required is tremendous but all in all, I can say without hesitation that it's worth it. The community that Codesmith has developed here is second to none, and it's why I wanted to work for Codesmith. I wanted to be able to give back to other applicants going through this process just like how when I was applying to Codesmith there were so many people that reached out and helped me to get through everything. Life as an engineer/developer is one of continuous learning and improvement, and if that's what you're looking for I truly believe that Codesmith is a great way to get started. The outcomes and salaries may seem very enticing, and rightly so. But more than that, it's this valuable skill that you are acquiring that will be in demand and dominate our society for years and years to come.