Bitmaker General Assembly

So much hype when you walk into this place. No joke, they make you feel like they are about to change your life and you will walk out of there with some crazy ability to code at an intermediate level. Then you go through the interview, which really is a formality, because judging by the class, they are letting ANYONE in. Like anyone. I think 4 ridiculous people couldn't even really use a computer. So I'm stuck sitting next to them and watching as our TA is trying to help them for like 30 minutes and I'm feeling like I'm watching exactly where my money goes. No matter. I'll get a job. Except I didn't. And don't have one. And their CEO doesn't know my name. But he knows if I paid or not. But what's super stupid is that when I talked to a guy who went there who interviewed me for a job in his startup, he told me the problems were the exact same like 2 years ago! WHAT?! So it's always been like this and nobody is fixing it? For sure people know the name which is probably worth something. Julie Hache was so good too. And really even liked some of their staff like Erik. Lots of these people cared for sure. Also, really liked some of the speakers who came in. If I had to pinpount the problem it's probably that their CEO (will remain nameless as I'm not about name dropping) could do a bit more to know the students and know what's going down in his own place. Pretty sure the dude just learnt how to code himself. 

Picked Bitmaker based on some of the reviews I'd seen on here originally so figured I would let anyone else trying to make that choice know what's up! 

Great team, got the sense that they genuinely wanted everyone to succeed. Good focus on real world skills and practical solutions. It wasn't perfect, but their intent was continuous improvement and it showed.

Taking the course at 42, I was at the top end of the age range in Cohort #4. I came in with some basic skills in HTML and CSS and some ancient BASIC experience. I came out with everthing I need to build an end-to-end web application. I have been working on that app for the last year, and the company around it.

I would highly recommend Bitmaker.

I decided in May to quit my full time job and take the 9 week immersive web development course at Bitmaker Labs as I had a strong interest in learning Ruby on Rails. The course provided much more detail on the lifecycle of the HTTP request than I had anticipated and also an introduction to TDD as well. The instructors are very knowledgable and helpful, and the entire environment was very fun and welcoming! I'd definitely recommend it to anyone looking to learn web development with no prior experience in programming.

I wouldn't say that Bitmaker was a bad experience, it was just not what I thought it would be. Having had friends that went to other bootcamps I decided to go to one in Toronto where I live. There were 2 that I found and Bitmaker was definitely awesome in looking at it from the outside. Great space, really cool people and interesting curriculum. 

The problem is this place is all about the money and has some pretty backwards policies. First off, compared to what I have heard from other schools, their career side is abysmal. Their '9 weeks' include 1 hiring week where they set you up with some interviews and that's it. They don't help you beyond the 9 weeks and once you are done the program they really do nothing for their alumni. I know bootcamps like Hack Reactor, MakerSquare, HackerYou and Lighthouse Labs all help you until you find a job. Also, pretty sure their 93% can't be true because I literally met so many alumni who are without jobs and many of which gave up. It truthfully made me feel stupid for not finding them before, so I guess that's my fault. Overall, they just take your money, teach you whatever they can and then let you leave and figure it out. 

Also, small things here, but they have 40 people in a class and 3 people on the floor at any given time. Not super helpful, though I must say that their teachers themselves are really cool and very good. Just not enough to really help 40 people! 

Look, I can code and that's awesome, so I'm really happy with that, and I won't say the money was poorly spent, but bootcamps are everywhere and from what I have seen and heard, I probably could have picked a better one. 

Earlier this year, I was heavily considering taking the UX Design course at Bitmaker since it seemed promising and I wanted to do a FT Bootcamp course for the Sept 2017 slot. I inquired early in July and was told that my fees would be $12,000. After a few "scholarships" and deductions, I'd be down to about $11,000 and they said they could offer me a 6month payment instalment. Anyway, obviously that was FAR too expensive for me so I chose to go with another school. Until I found out from fellow students (whom I graduated university with) that they were attending the exact 2017 fall slot for UX Design at 8500$ (after scholarship and early bird deductions) 

Is this ok? It feels really arbitrary and honestly, I kind of feel lied to. For 8500$, I would have taken the course myself but idk, maybe if they're willing to lie about things like this, maybe it's for the best.

Prior to the course I was very much into UX but didn't have any training or experience in it. My wife was taking a different course at Bitmaker and she suggested I should take the one about UX. I looked into it more and thought it would be a good idea. 

Right from the first class I was really impressed with everything I was learning. The material was very good and they provided a lot of links to read up on your own. I think I learned more outside of the class but overall I think my UX unedrstanding grew tenfold. Especially after going to a UX conference that the instructor suggested.

We worked on a project throughout the 12 weeks. That was very helpfull in practicing our new skills as we learned them. Maybe there could have been a bit more time dedicated to that part during class hours.

Overall, after taking the course I knew that I had to change my career from graphic design to UX and I think that the course provided a solid foundation for me in understanding UX.

I was lucky to have the full time Web Development program included as part of a compensation package from a local Toronto startup. 9 months after finishing the program and I'm in a web-developer role specializing in PHP/CakePHP. Bitmaker taught Ruby on Rails so well that I am now able to pick up new languages and frameworks quickly.The program exceeded my expectations. I was expecting to leave the program knowing how to code. What I was not expecting was how empowered I would feel after finishing. Having access to such incredible staff, who are experts in the industry, make me feel like I can take on any coding challenge or entrepreneurial project that I have in mind. Definitely worth the investment, but like with most investments, what you get out of it is a function of what you put into it!

I recently completed the 9-week web development course at Bitmaker. After doing a lot of research, I choose Bitmaker because I wanted to learn both front and back end skills, and I they offer the opportunity to accelerate the learning process.

At first I was a little skeptical about the schedule because when you have four hours every afternoon, it is easy to get distracted and be unproductive, however, as long as you are willing to remain focused and dedicated, and put the time into the program, this was the best part of the day. It was during this time I was able to work on the assignments and figure out what concepts I understood and where I was struggling.

I quickly learned that the true value in the course is the instructors and TA's. They all have a wealth of knowledge and experience in the industry. More importantly, they were great at spending time with each student to answer any questions we had. What I really appreciated was that the TA’s would help walk us through each problem and solve the problems ourselves rather than giving us the answers right away.  

Prior to enrolling in the course I had no coding skills and was struggling to learn independently, but after completing the bootcamp I have successfully build a web app and I am now able to pick up new skills and have a  much easier time learning new languages.