Academy Pittsburgh

I came into Academy needing to learn a new skill and start a new career path. I had absolutely no coding experience and on exiting feel confident in my abilities and excited to keep learning and growing. The instructors and TA's were the kindest, funniest, and most supportive people I could have asked for. While any boot camp experience is daunting given the speed at which they move, Jean and John have a way of guiding students that reeeeeeeeeaaaaally makes it all not only manageable, but fun. I have made life long connections, gained the skills I need to move forward, and most importantly I learned how to learn. When you leave Academy you gain a support network that can't be compared to anything else. It isn't just you and your classmates, but all the alumn that have graduated since the start.

It was exactly the career step-up I was hoping for. Better even. After Academy I started a career in software development alongside folks with 4-year degrees and/or a few years experience. Any company interested in agile development should be interested in hiring Academy grads. Because the iterative learning process benefits the individual as well as the process. Each class studies the most relevant technology and irons out challenges of the class before it.   
I can't speak more highly of my experience. In the interest of giving a balanced review, I will say that the for job search is more on the individual than some other bootcamps. This worked for me, but if the process of applying and interviewing sounds like the hardest part of breaking into the industry, then there may be a bootcamp better suited to you out there. 

I received a better, quality education in 12 weeks at Academy Pittsburgh than I did in four years of going to college. I have the confidence and skill set to approach any problem with a positive mindset that I just have to keep chipping away and it will get solved.

For anyone looking to radically transform their own life and finally feel like you belong in a learning environment, I highly recommend Academy Pittsburgh! If I could leave more than five-star ratings, I would.

I think the instructors do an amazing job of teaching a wide breadth of material effectively in a short amount of time. They make themselves readily available both during and outside of class hours if you need any additional help. One thing that I felt was really beneficial is that instead of focusing on learning just one language, Academy teaches you how to code in a way that allows you to quickly pick up any language thrown at you. The vast alumni network is very supportive. I was able to receive a job offer one month after graduation thanks to a connection I made through Academy. 

Before Academy, I really only had experience in clerical work and project coordination. I had 0 experience as a developer, and 6 months after graduation, I landed my first developer gig. I am soososososososo happy I took the chance and powered through those 12 weeks (I did so with a full time job, which I would not recommend, it was incredibly hard to manage). I'm more happy with my job than I've ever been in my entire life, and the opportunities are endless. The program is rigorous and so difficult. But it is worth it. Academy not only teaches you the fundamentals of coding, but also how to be employed and how to work with a team (almost more important than knowing how to code). We were visited by various speakers in the field of development, but also mental health, former Academy students, and improv.  They're a great team who will always be available for you, even after graduation. 5 stars!

Instructors and TAs are readily available and willing to help you. They're very encouraging, work hard to foster a non-competitive class environment. The course covers a different subject every week, which can sometimes feel like skimming the surface. However, the curriculum is so well structured that even if you feel like you don't have enough practice with a concept one week, it will be used in later lessons that help you solidify your understanding while giving you context into other aspects of programming.   Also, If you are not forced to stay at home by a pandemic the instructors will provide lots of snacks. Large network of alumni and 'friends' that are eager to get to know you, share resources and experiences. ISA funding option makes financial dive easier.

This is a very fast paced, well designed, thorough bootcamp that focuses on learning by doing. Students will often times feel in over their heads with subject matter, but thanks to the instructors and the class culture, students will feel able to persevere through the unknown by asking. This course teaches students how to learn whatever they need to know to solve any kind of software problem that they will face in the future. Students are able to learn first principles that are applicable across languages, frameworks and are thus prepared to enter the work force with a robust, flexible set of skills applicable to any employer.  This program offers connections to an extremely strong and healthy professional network.

Highly recommend Academy Pittsburgh for anyone who wants to learn to code but doesn't have a tech background. For context--studied the social sciences in college and did Americorps for a year prior to starting bootcamp. In 12 weeks, I went from learning to write "Hello world!" in a console window to creating an application that will actually be used by a local nonprofit. Not to mention, Academy really gives you a jump start on getting involved in the thriving local community of programmers in Pittsburgh. It was an exciting, challenging, and empowering experience and I got to know some of the greatest people!