AI + Fullstack Engineering

I was a little reluctant to join a coding boot camp, I knew it would be a huge commitment. I can say that I am so happy with my decision to join Actualize. I learned so much from beginning to end, that I would not have been able to learn on my own. The support and help you receive is incredible. The instructors go above and beyond to help. This experience was really worth all the time and effort I put into the program. I encourage anyone to join Actualize.

I would highly recommend anyone to commit to an Actualize course who has a goal of becoming a full-stack software engineer. After researching several different bootcamps I made the decision to attend the Actualize bootcamp and it was absolutely the right decision for me. The instructors are excellent educators. Their teaching methods, support, and guidance are superior and allow students to be successful throughout the entire course. This course is not only phenomenal for the skills that are developed in programming but the career advice and support that leads students to being successful in finding a job. 

I took the 13 weeknight course and it was intense. It is a coding Bootcamp and it is intended to teach you full-stack within 13 weeks. It is a short-term commitment but it will take all your free time. 

Languages:  Ruby / Javascript / HTML / CSS 

Frameworks: Ruby on Rails / Vue.js

Version Control: GitHub

I begin looking at bootcamps due to a need and drive for a career change. When I started looking at bootcamps, I was stuck between Actualize and another bootcamp that specifically offered a guaranteed job. 
Actualize was recommended to me by a friend in the industry who has helped out with the program directly, and personally vouched for their success, not only their education but their graduate hire rate. He told me that while Actualize does not guarentee a job, I would have no issues finding one based on their course content and passion for teaching.

Having completed the course I can whole heartedly agree. I came from a background of only minor HTML and have gained the knowledge to not only create a full stack web application, but to learn whatever it is I need to in order to advance my knowledge of programming. My instructor was able to connect and teach a wide range of students all from a different background and seeing them change from day one to the final day was truely amazing.

While Actualize does not offer a guarenteed job, the provide muliple services designed to help you get one. Next up for me is the Job Hacking as well as the graduate program that allows graduates to collaberate and bolster your experience and portfolio in order to offer a more impressive resume.

I feel confident that if I continue with the same drive as I applied to this course that the possibilities are endless for my future.

10/10 would do again. 

Coming from working a full time job and being a new parent I wanted to find something that would work well and actually get me the skills I needed to start a career in programming. Actualize is the place  you get the in class room setting and classmates which is needed to learn code trust me, I am so thankful for this bootcamp and cant believe how much the staff adn techers care about helping you to actually learn how to program and set you up for success in searching for a job. Dani was the day tiem Instructor I had and am so glad to have been a part of her class she works really well with all the students and finding the learning concepts that will click with them to move forawardand understand whats going on. So gratefull one of the best descions of my life!!!

Actualize was a great experience and the capstone project at the end of the cohort is one of the most enjoyable things i've ever done on a computer. The instructors are extremely caring for their students and their main goal is to teach you properly. A wonderful academic journey that I would highly recommend to those who are interested in web development!

I choose Actualize because it offered me the opportunity to learn to code while keeping my full time job. Also loved the fact that the instructors where actually people with teaching experience not just coding. Huge plus! My experience was amazing. I knew nothing going in and learned so much by the end. Never felt like I couldn't ask a question no matter how basic it was. Definitely recommend to anyone that wants to learn to code regardless of how little knowledge they have going in. 

When I made the decision to pursue a path in coding, I did extensive research on which program would be the best fit for me.  Actualize checked all the boxes in that it was part-time (I couldn't commit to a full-time program) and because the program focuses on teaching first - this was different than any other program I was considering.

From prework through the intensive 12-weeks of live class, I felt supported by my instructors throughout.  I can't say enough great things about Brian and how patient and supportive he was with me and my classmates when there were concepts we didn't fully understand.

This experience has taught me a lot about myself and I am amazed with how much I have learned and have achieved.  I would absolutely recommend this course to anyone who is interested in pursuing a career in tech. 

I chose Actualize because I wanted to attend a bootcamp that worked around my family's schedule.  I liked that Actualize was offered online but in a way that is like a regular classroom.  I could ask questions and get help as I was working.  

I learned so much.  It's amazing how much is covered in just a few months.  

I would recommend Actualize to anyone wanting to learn to code and needs to do it a way that is flexible but still wants the benefits of in-person course.  

I came into the online live boot camp with little experience in coding. The set up of the screen sharing from the instructor for demoing concepts followed by working on examples to practice the new concepts really helped me learn the material and retain the information.

I am extremely happy with my choice to make a career change and enroll in Actualize. The instructor and teaching assistant were very helpful promoted positive learning experiences. They tought not only the hard skills needed to code but also how to succeed in my future career.

This course did an incredible job of creating something from nothing in my skill base. It's set up in a way where you can learn things really sequentially but are able to build out your knowledge at your own pace to some extent as well. The balance between structure and freedom was good. I also got to create a more extensive portfolio than I expected, which is helpful for job searching.

I chose Actualize because:

They emphasized the fact that the instructors are actual teachers
I was intrigued by the post-bootcamp apprenticeship with nonprofits
It was the cheapest, part-time & online

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I was nervous about the logistics of doing the class online (audio/video quality, screensharing, etc) but that worked perfectly for me the whole time. In fact, the ability to view the instructor's screen during the lessons & share my screen during exercises was extra helpful.

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Part-time was a great option for me. I would have burned out in a full-time program because of how intensive each session was.

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The content is not too hard for anyone. It’s the way the content is presented. There were a number of times when I would study, re-review materials, finally grasp a concept & then realize it could have been explained in much more clear/precise terms. This is the problem with the coding community as a whole but Actualize doesn’t do much better than average in this regard.

In addition, I was disappointed with the depth of content outside of Ruby on Rails. I feel like we flew by Javascript, SQL, Python, Heroku, etc. Maybe this is a tough balance for any bootcamp though?

Still, you are left with tons of great resources after the course is done!

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My instructor was Brian. He is an excellent teacher- super patient, knows lots of tricks for learning/teaching the content & tries his hardest to be sure no student is left behind. He did a great job of teaching me how to learn to code. More than anything I appreciated that Brian could put his ego aside & admit when he didn't know something or was wrong; it showed he was willing to learn too (which was encouraging). Brian does have kind of old-world/rigid ideas about punctuality & civil discourse. That was obnoxious but maybe others in my cohort didn't mind as much & he might have just been that way to protect his job, I dunno.

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Stories from my experience that might be useful:

After I agreed to the course with the recruiter I was sent a bill for the wrong person, for the wrong amount (not cool)
As my cohort was getting to the last few weeks of the bootcamp we were told the nonprofit apprenticeship was no longer going to happen (which was one of the primary reasons I selected Actualize)

Also in the last few weeks we were informed we would have to present our capstone project on Youtube Live. That didn’t sit well with me; then, after Brian handled mediation between… me & Jay/Peter presumably… I was told I needed to record a presentation of my capstone if I wanted to graduate from the bootcamp & participate in the job coaching [which had replaced the apprenticeship]. The fact that they were making up program policies on the fly seemed a bit ridiculous to me.

Nothing in these bootcamps should be compulsory (particularly if you are not told what it is that will be required). You are paying money & everyone recognizes it is up to you to get what you can out of the program.

I really gained tremendously from Actualzie bootcamp and learnt so much so quick. I took the online bootcamp and it really felt like a real live class with 100% interaction. Brain Rice is great and professional instructor. 

Actualize bootcamp style is instruction - excersize - instruction - excersize etc. This style really gets students invovled, executing and internalizing the information fluidly. Also every class is video recorded giving students full access to any information needed to review. I really found the videos to be a huge help. If I missed some points in class I was able to review those videos fill in the viods. 

All in all it was an excellent experience! Thank you Jay Wengrow! 

There were some nights I had to keep a bottle of Excedrin within reach due to the bombardment of information, but it was all worth it. It's hard to realize how much you learned until you think back to how long things used to take you, and suddenly you can whip through them without a second thought. Very glad I took this class!

Actualize drew me in because of the technologies they were teaching and the hours the course takes place.

I kept a full time job and attended the online bootcamp during nights and weekends.

The 'online' portion of the class is well done (everyone jumps in a teleconference meeting with webcams and screen sharing).

After researching and speaking with a few different bootcamps I decided to enroll at Actualize because of the way they were set up and because of what they offer. The classes were conducted online via zoom chat, which to be honest, was a bit disappointing to me when I first found out. However, even after the first class I realized that I would not be missing out on anything that I might have gained from an in-person-type class.

I found the structure of the classes very helpful.. the lead instructor and the TA's were very intentional in what they taught and how they taught it. It wasn't just about heavy loading us with a bunch of material, but the instructors made sure to explain why something was important and how it was applicable in other instances. Also, in situations where we might've been confused or had questions, rather than simply giving us direct answers, they would coach us in problem solving for ourselves. In my opinion, the best thing that Actualize does is that it creates an enviornment that promotes growth above all else.

When I decided to sign up for Actualize I had two primary concerns:

Will the skills I learn be outdated in a year?


Will I actually learn what it takes to start a new career in a more technical field?

Actualize was able to qualm these fears by doing one thing that I believe is the greatest part about Actualize: teaching you how to think like a developer. Now I am a fairly skeptical person so if someone told this to me I would laugh and say thank you for your time. After all, I would never accept such a vague statement about a program that is supposed to teach a technical field. In the spirit of computer science logic, I will provide a few examples to support this claim:

While the curriculum gave a strong foundation in Ruby, Ruby on Rails, JavaScript, Vue.js, SQL, etc., the course open the floodgates and exposed me to thousands of concepts that I didn’t even know existed. The point here is that, and let’s be real for a second, the most knowledgeable people are the ones that know about (may not be experts in but are familiar with) all the concepts that surround a field. While I may not be an expert in calculating time complexity of various algorithms, I sure know that that is a concept and can tell you why it is very important. Further, while I am not an expert in front-end development, I can tell you that it is very easy to quickly set up a demo and I know where I can turn to do this. The primary take-away here is that I feel that I can speak with an experienced developer and not get completely blown out of the water.


I finished my Capstone a tad early and Brian (the teacher) suggested I scan the internet and find some additional functionality that could be cool. I started looking around GitHub, reading some documentation, finding some samples of the function and it hit me! I was learning about all these new things I had never heard about and wasn’t really struggling to understand. I feel like that last sentence doesn’t really portray the message here: I READ A DEVELOPER’S DOCUMENTATION AND UNDERSTOOD IT. Further, I implemented it!

Whatever your reason is for looking into the world of development and development bootcamps, Actualize can make a massive difference. Actualize taught me that development is not just about computer languages and scary sounding frameworks but is a thought process and a way of learning. I am not concerned that Rails may one day be obsolete, I no longer scrounge the internet looking for an article that will tell me what the most popular language in 3-5 years will be, I no longer worry that the way we look at Web Development today will be completely different in 5 years. Actualize made me excited for these changes and gave me the skills to succeed when everything inevitable changes. I am very excited for my future and can attribute a lot to Actualize (and Brian!).

I'm just finishing up the online class portion of my time with Actualize and getting ready to start my apprenticeship with the school and as many before me has said, this really was a life-changing experience that went beyond learning how to become a software developer.

The Classroom Environment:

One of the main reasons I chose Actualize is because of the live teaching envrironment. For me, this was key. I have worked with other bootcamps that didn't offer any kind of teaching and a minimal amount of recorded videos, and I truly do not know how I could properly learn software development without an actual teacher. I can wholeheartedly say that a full program without actual instruction doesn't even compare to a day of online classroom experience with Actualize. Additionally, our class might have been spread throughout the country, but we were still able to become a close-knit group and everyday I looked forward to meeting and working with all of them.

Instruction: 

Our class had Brian as an instructor and he was beyond awesome. He always came to class prepared, full of information, an ability to constantly answer questions that were thrown at him, and patience for when we struggled. I've had college professors that couldn't offer this level of professionalism and assistance.  He was also able to make what could be a dry subject one that was interesting and an atmosphere that welcoming, lively and fun.

The Education:

We covered A LOT in 12 weeks. From Ruby to building an actual app. This isn't a course to half-ass through. You need to be aware that you're learning a lot in a certain amount of time and you HAVE to stay on top of things. Studying outside of class is a must. If you really enjoy programming, this level of work and committment won't be painful and totally worth it. I do, however, wish we had more time to go further in-depth and focus on some of the concepts. 

Career Assistance:

We had days devoted to working on "career-hacking" and developing skills to assist with finding work. This included creating a personal website, networking, blogging, and even white-boarding. All of which were helpful. We're going to continue focusing on career development during our apprenticeship too, which I'm looking forward to. 

We are about to head into the apprenticeship portion of our time with Actualize and although I can't review it yet, it sounds like a further extension of our learning experience, but with the ability to put everything we have learned into actual hands-on experience. 

Last, If you're willing to put in the time and effort, Actualize gives you the information and skills you need to become a full-stack developer. I completely recommend this program.

Doing the Actualize Coding bootcamp was one of the most rewarding experiences of my adult life. If I could go back, 100/100 times I would choose to do it again, even if a career as a developer were to never end up panning out. Over the course of the last 3 months, I learned a great deal about myself, my ability to grapple with and ultimately learn varied new subjects, and the factors that help me boost my productivity. Of course, as you might expect, I also learned a tremendous deal about web development.

A bit of background about myself: I had some previous knowledge of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript before going into the program, as well as a few years of experience in the general tech field. Originally, I had tried to teach myself web development, but had only gotten so far. I found that my primary hold-up was the time lost researching the next step and getting the fundamentals of web architecture down (web requests, APIs, communication between front-end and back-end technology, etc.). Because of this, after having spent a year trying to teach myself web dev, I could only really construct attractive static pages with minimal JS interactivity.

Actualize changed that for me. After learning more about the technologies defined above, I am now able to craft a fully-fledged web application that can pull in dynamic database data or data from external sources by making API calls. That leap in knowledge cannot be underestimated.

I also feel that, although I would not be considered an expert in any languages or frameworks, I now possess the skills to learn other languages and frameworks. In other words, I have learned a great deal about the fundamentals that permeate the field in general, despite knowing the absolute specifics. That knowledge is enough to get me the rest of the way.

I really cannot say enough good things about this program. From the course curriculum to the structured classes, you can tell that everyone involved in this program legitimately cares about the students. The CEO of Actualize actually interfaced with us a few times throughout the course, and was present when we all presented our final capstone projects. He also provided helpful job placement advice and expertise, and it is clear that the man does his research on topics that will help you get placed. That investment and presence from someone as busy and accomplished as Jay Wengrow really meant a lot to me and made it clear that Actualize was not just in it for the money or to kick students to the curb as soon as they graduated. In fact, an optional 17-month internship helps develop skills and build portfolio pieces even after the course has finished.

The quality of care does not stop there; it flows from the top down. The main instructor for our class, Brian Rice, was truly excellent. He never let us sleep on our exercises or on our faith in ourselves. He was bluntly honest about the sort of trials and tribulations we would experience as fledgling developers, and was there to help push us past those feelings of uncertainty to achieve greater levels of learning. He never held our hand or fed us answers, but was there to provide support if we felt like we were drowning in code or concepts. He expected a great amount from us, but we often rose to meet his expectations, surprising even ourselves. He was incredibly approachable and available, and he and the TAs really made an effort to assist students in their journey through the course. Brian was also able to explain complex topics in relatable ways and help us break down daunting errors bit by bit. Finally, he listened to student feedback and shifted the course accordingly, which really indicated a desire on his part to learn, grow, and meet the students’ needs.

The topics covered spanned a large part of the field of web dev, and seemed to be in alignment with the important topics I’ve researched on my own. We started from the basics of command line, HTML, CSS, and basic JavaScript, eventually moving our way up to RESTful architecture, Rails backend API calls, Relational Database structure, SQL queries, Git commands, and modern JavaScript frameworks (VueJS in our instance).

By the end of the course, our capstone projects had us building apps using a frontend Framework (VueJS), a backend framework (Rails), a database (Postgres), and (in my case) several API requests and Javascript plugins. This is something that would have taken me a long time to achieve on my own path of self-learning.

All in all, I am incredibly grateful for the experience. It is not something to take lightly. It will tax you, exhaust you, and challenge you in ways you’ve never been challenged. But if you’re up to the task and want to learn a great deal about this field, then I can’t imagine a better program than Actualize for doing so.

That said, do I feel as though I could step into a dev job right away and be successful? I’m not sure. I know MUCH more than I did, but there is also an infinite amount of knowledge to know. The instructors at Actualize utilize every second of class time moving you toward the goal of becoming a full stack developer, but there are so many things that 3 months cannot cover, no matter how rigorous. However, a few more weeks of independent study learning more about computer science topics, sound software design principles, the nuances of certain languages, and the finer workings of the DOM should get me to where I need to be.

Regardless, I am forever grateful to Actualize for providing the experience and look forward to a future career in the field of web development.