Blaizing Academy

I finished Coding Foundations today and it has been wonderful, hard, at times a depressing and rewarding experience. I had a really great cohort and met some amazing people in this program. We did have our first teacher leave halfway through the program, which threw some of us off a little as they were an amazing teacher and then we had to switch to a completely new teaching style. Our new teacher was knowledgeable and a little faster paced than our previous one. I was fine with the fast pace because it works for me, so I enjoyed him as a teacher overall. We did some great projects and work together. 

Financing wise was the hardest for me being an out of state remote student which is why I cannot continue to Immersions (Software Development) unfortunately. If you are an out of state student just be mindful or have the full tuition prepared because you cannot get the school's deferred tuition or other help if you cannot get a loan for both halves of the program. As the program is split into two parts (Coding Foundations and Software Development) you can be approved for a Climb loan for the first half and not approved for the second, leaving you with no certification or job assistance and a loan to pay back. If you're in state they have many options and resources available to help you. 

In the end it was a rewarding experience and I learning a lot. I am grateful for this experience and I'm excited to continue my journey on a slightly different path than I intended! We had some student services employees taking the class with us and they are phenomenal people so I know students are in good hands when entering immersions and beyond! Thank you to everyone who put up with my silliness you are the best. I may have to visit Indiana someday because you guys represented so well!

I was a student in the full-time cybersecurity program. It was highly intense, and extremely fast paced. You have to learn how to learn quickly, and place priority on classes. For the full-time classes, it may not be possible at all to work while taking these classes, it's that intense. You have to be fully mentally, physically, and emotionally prepared to invest everything possible, but it is possible. I had amazing support from instructors, amazing classmates, and awesome support from career services after graduation. Earned my CompTIA Network+ and Security+, and lots of amazing hands-on training and practice. I job hunted for about 6-8 weeks after graduation and ended up getting an amazing position directly from a suggested listing that I got thru their career services department. You won't necessarily have a job right out the gate, but keep applying, and take any networking opportunities thru the school that you can. They help immensely! I went from working landscaping and customer service jobs, to working on IT and Cybersecurity roles for a major international open wheel racing team. This was less than 6 months after looking at the website and thinking "This might be kind of cool" and requesting more info on applying to attend. Never in a million years would I have thought this was possible. It's not a do all end all tech education. They don't mean or intend it to be. But what it does do, is get you far enough ahead and trained, to get you into a role where you can grow and thrive. Everyone's experience may be different, but for me, it literally changed my life, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

EFA was a total shock. I’ve been in a few bootcamps before, and they all were like “here’s the book, good luck.” EFA gives you a book and so many other tools. They also give a personal touch. Every Instructor is personally invested in you and your growth. You just don’t see that in other programs. It’s a fast pasted environment, but if you need it to slow down, your instructors make the time to help. The CompTIA information is out there, you can get that anywhere. The people make EFA! EFA saved me. Saved me from a life of complacency. EFA helped me grow as a person, as a techie. I have the ability to strive for goals that I didn’t know were possible for me. EFA has helped make a better life for my family. For that I will be forever grateful. From the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU EFA!

Eleven Fifty Academy gave me the opportunity to get into a field I was highly interested in but had little experience or knowledge of how to do that. I was able to graduate with both Net+ and Sec+ on my first attempts and am currently studying for the CySA+ certification and I can already tell how my time at Eleven Fifty has given me the solid foundation I needed to build a career out of it. I am excited to continue my career and because of EFA I know what direction I want to go.  

Eleven Fifty Academy changed my life, and I would tell everyone I know.   After graduating college and failing to get into a graduate program, I was left working at a liquor store for ten dollars an hour.   After months and months of searching, I finally landed a job using my degree, and I was more miserable than I thought possible. One morning, I woke up to an email saying I had been laid off. My wife and I were devastated.   Two months later I had still not found a job and things were going to get desperate.    I stumbled upon the EFA (Eleven Fifty Academy) website by pure accident. Having been a technology hobbyist, I thought, it was at least worth a shot. Why not try and break into a field with a higher entry level salary than my degree?   After discussing it with my wife, I made the decision to go ahead and take a leap of faith and go through with it. Nine months later, I would do it again in a heartbeat.    Admissions: Carolyn was my advisor and answered every question I could think of and then some. She even gave me her personal cell phone number in case I was unable to get ahold of her for some reason. She walked me through the entire process with a smile in her voice and a helping hand whenever I was unsure of what I needed to do.  There was a hang up getting some transcripts that were needed and not for a second did she falter or become impatient with me. Funding was explained to me professionally and carefully, leaving me feeling comfortable with the journey I was about to embark on, as I could not pay up front for my class. Once everything was said and done with the admissions process, I was a little sad that I would not be speaking to Carolyn again, since she was such a wonderfully pleasant introduction to my experience at EFA.   Funding: Part of my tuition was paid for by the Cares Act, and this was a significant reason as to why I choose EFA as my bootcamp in the first place. The rest of it was covered by a PISA agreement, which was something I had never heard of previously, but upon its explanation made a tremendous amount of sense to me and added to my confidence in my choice of bootcamps. Cares Act is over, I believe, however, I know for certain that EFA has a variety of options to help students fund their education.    Class: I went through the Full Time Cybersecurity program. Wow. Just wow.     I was assigned pre-work to do the week before class even started! I thought to myself, "Crazy, class hasn't evens started and I am already being bossed around." Boy, was I glad that I was. The intensity of class was nothing like I had experienced before. During Gold Badge, we focused on material covered on the CompTIA Net+ certification. Come to find out, this was just teaching us the vocabulary to operate in the security sphere of IT. Coming from a place where I did not know the difference between a Switch and a Router, this was the best way we could have been introduced to the material. Since this was the foundation of everything to come, hitting it hard and early helped me, personally, prepare and understand how to perform in class. During Blue Badge, the Cybersecurity portion of the program, we were given new instructors for new lessons and were introduced to TryHackMe, a tool that is used to practice hands-on cybersecurity scenarios and situations in a learning-friendly environment. This helped give us opportunities to practice things we learned during the theoretical portion of class. One of the Learning Instructors even held out of hours meet ups to go over security procedures and walk students through "boxes", security challenges, which furthered our practice and real-world understanding of these concepts. Finally, in Red Badge, training was over and we, the students, were thrown into the mix of a day-in-the-life of a real-world SOC analyst. In Red Badge, instead of classwork we had work-work. We were put into "The Range", a simulator that allows us to experience the "14 Worst Days of a SOC Analysts Life". Here we were let loose and had to defend a corporate network from a multitude of cyber-attacks, with the end of the day having to draft a report for the days' work, as practice for what is to come in the real world. It is the closest most people will get to engaging in a real-time cyber-attack, and we got to train on it as students!! Class time though was seriously fast paced and chalk full of information, and if you were not careful, you could easily fall behind. Personally, I think Net+ could have used another weeks' worth of class time, as it is a ton of material to cover.     There were times when classmates and I would talk about concern over the pace of things.  
Curriculum: All the material covered is Industry Standard. I have no problems with what was taught or why. Net+/Sec+ are entry level certification within the industry and attempting to study and train for them myself would have cost years of my life, time that I just did not have. Being in an environment that structured the learning in a time-sensitive manner helped me more than I ever would have thought possible. It is hard to argue with what is being taught, when what is being taught is what is used throughout the industry. Standard certifications mean just that, "This is what is expected of you". Which made decisions easier for me. Now I do not have to wade through the tons of certifications out there that are similar, but not the same, AND there is someone there to walk me through things I don't understand? This part was an easy decision for me. They instruct what people with the jobs want. Simple as that.   

Instructors: Like in school, not every instructor is the best teacher you have ever had, however, there is a theme with the instructors that I thought was great and really helped give me faith in the program. Regardless of the teaching experience or tech experience, all the Instructors and LA's I had were excited to be there and, in a position, to help others transition into tech from outside the sphere. One of my LA's was a former Green Bay Packer, a pro-football player, and every time I had a question, he would pull me into a breakout room and walk me through it until I understood what's what. Another instructor had been teaching Gold Badge for almost two years and was so incredibly knowledgeable I could not ask a question he did not have an answer for. Then I met MJ and Hunter. These two men know more about information security than I did about breathing, the best part, I got to learn from them. I had a great interaction with every instructor, and LA I had the opportunity to meet with. Life is imperfect and I understand that this cannot be the case for everyone all the time. This is just my experience.     Job Support: I reached out to my Career Services Advisor, Niki, the day my class got into Red Badge and was immediately blown away by how helpful she was. Again, I know not everyone has had this experience, but I spoke to Niki once or twice a day for those first two weeks and every other day after that until I had three positions wanting to ask me for second interviews. Here is where my story may differ from most. I was asked to apply for a position as a Cybersecurity Research Learning Assistant at EFA. Once I submitted my application, Niki told me she could no longer help me, as I was currently being considered by the company she worked for. This made total sense to me, and I saw no reason to hold it against her, and as she went above and beyond to help me, I had a fantastic experience with career services.     Things are never perfect and going to an online bootcamp is no exception. There were miscommunications and things I found to be laughably silly, but in the end, I graduated from the bootcamp as part of the top of my cohort, having been awarded the Leadership Core Value Award, being able to walk into a job teaching other people skills to change their lives.     Currently I work as an Operations and Marketing Consultant for Eleven Fifty helping to carry on the mission of teaching a million people to code in ten years and helping to develop tech talent in the state of Indiana.     Eleven Fifty Academy changed my life. 

I came to Eleven Fifty Academy hoping to “transform” or “launch” myself into technology because it is a rapidly growing field. I began on September 13th, 2021, and had no coding experience except for a semester of basic programming in high school. I knew it would be difficult to learn to code, but the way they advertised it to me was I’d feel comfortable enough to go against the job applicants that came out of an undergraduate CompSci program upon graduation. This was not the case. The graduates that successfully landed themselves into the career advertised had prior experience programming in frontend technologies, and the other taught software to students for a decade. They were consistently top of the class for good reason.

I never missed a day of class and worked hard to understand the concepts. However, the lectures were not interactive and quickly moved on to other concepts. It would have been easier to focus on furthering this understanding via self-study, but all the practice was graded and actually went to whether or not you pass to the next badge. Practice makes perfect, and my practice was not perfect. A “firehose” of information is what they called it and it truly felt that way. If you did not understand the concept right away, you quickly fell behind. My instructor would reassure the class that “you’ll understand it eventually;” my understanding is that if the fundamentals aren’t there, how do you expect to even attempt the advanced concepts? My instructor was also infamous for being late 10-30 minutes and sometimes not even knowing what we were doing outside of lecture. We’d be in a Zoom room, but where would my instructor be?

I fell behind (as did others) because the emphasis is on showing the information, not making sure everyone understands completely. Often times there would be 3 or 4 students that would be done already when there’s a week left to go on an assignment. Not a level playing field by any means. Each project was tough because you had to teach yourself the concepts and develop frontend and backend programming all in a short timespan (1-2 weeks). Some projects were really well done by students, but with a lack of understanding for a significant portion of the class, these are supposed to go into a portfolio to showcase to employers. Many ended up redoing them or scrapping them entirely after meeting rubric criteria. I crawled through the finish line and relied on my instructors for lots of help just so I could obtain the certification to show for my past three months in the Academy.

Within the first month the second instructor (there were two main ones, two learning assistants) left to go work on some other part of the company. So that was great. By the time we were in our last month (note that our class size was now at 15 or so, we started with 30~) Career Services had people leave their team AND Eleven Fifty Academy accepted many more students that they could not handle at the time. Now it’s 50 days since graduation (when they said 80% of their graduates are placed in jobs), and my personal career advisor is leaving Eleven Fifty Academy. So now I’ll get someone new at some point in the future. I was surprised of this announcement because my advisor starts a new position this upcoming Monday and I heard today. Shouldn’t we have someone new to go to right away? At this point I’ve accepted that EFA has failed to prepare myself and others for a web development career (only speaking for some classmates in my cohort), so I have resorted to self-studying and finding a job outside of this field because I feel unqualified.

 I found out about EFA in the middle of 2021 when a lot of things were uncertain in this world. I had recently purchased a new home, adopted a wonderful dog, and was helping my family during a tough time involving cancer- so I already had a lot on my plate. I decided to go to EFA due to a need to change things as well as pivot to a new opportunity to help people.

EFA delivered in full. While I am not the best student, I had a drive to learn and a need to help others (as well as a need for a job, but I digress) that I was able to fully form into ideas and possibilities for my future I never thought possible. The instructors, the structure, the classmates, and the follow-up services with EFA have been amazing and I wouldn't be gladfully employed in the tech world now without their generosity, empathy, and compassion for getting people in jobs that they can see themselves thriving in.

Thank you for everything EFA, you are my superhero. 

Eleven Fifty Academy took me from a beginner with no experience in IT to a novice Cyber Security professional. Their methods mirror those of a shepherd leading a flock of eager learners to a career in IT. They are extremely friendly and knowledgeable throughout the entire process. Upon completion of the whichever course you choose, they have a dedicated team waiting to help place you in the respective industry. After graduating from Eleven Fifty Academy in just a few months, I secured my first job as a Cyber Security Analyst with the excellent help from their placement team. 

I was able to successfully change careers after graduating from the Full Stack Web Development bootcamp through Eleven Fifty, and would highly recommend it for anyone looking to break into the tech industry and wanting to learn how to code. Through the program we we're able to learn HTML, CSS, JavaScript, React, along with back end technologies like node and express. The teachers we're great, and the office hours we're really helpful when having questions (which was all the time lol). Although there are a lot of great resources available to learn on your own, having access to the teachers and learning assistants was invaluable, and it was great experience working on group projects with other classmates. The career services department will also help with your resume, LinkedIn profile, job search, etc. 

Eleven Fifty Academy absolutely changed my life. I was a truck driver who hated trucking. I left trucking in October of 2020 to go through the EFA Cybersecurity course. The instructors were amazing, answering any and every question I could throw at them (and there were a lot of questions). They were knowledgeable and patient with me and helped me to become the Cybersecurity professional that I am today. When I left high school over 10 years ago now, I thought I was stupid and incapable of learning anything quickly. EFA showed me that that was not true at all. Not only did I excel at their courses, I then went on to pursue my Bachelor's Degree in Cybersecurity. I even managed to make it into a sort of Junior Pentesting position where I am able to learn and train on the job in order to become a full-on penetration tester. When I say that EFA changed my life, I mean I went from a job and a life that I hated to having a career that I love, more confidence in myself and my abilities than I have ever had, and a team of friends and now coworkers who are always willing to help me out with learning and continuing to grow.

2020 was a difficult year for a lot of people. I spent 6 years building my career with Sprint and had managed to climb the leadership ladder but the merger dissolved my role. I then took my talents to ATT and started climbing building a career there but COVID hit fast and hard and my role was also dissolved. I felt so lost and aimless, I felt like I was going back to the drawing board but had no idea where to even start. I decided to do one of the scariest things I have ever done, and I decided it was time for a career change. I wanted to go back to school but I did not want to spend years in school and I also did not have the funds. I decided to take a chance on a boot camp and researched for days on the best bootcamps in the country. I found Eleven Fifty Academy on google and began researching, they offered a free intro course which was not offered by many others. I signed up for the intro and they were completely honest with us from the start. They told us it would be hard, and we would have to put in the work but that they would provide us with the tools and curriculum to succeed. I signed up that same day and for the next 3 months I was emersed in cyber security courses. The instructors were very well versed in both network and security and we able to keep us engaged and learning every day. It was no easy by any means, there were a lot of late nights and struggles but they provided you with the support and extra help. They gave you tool after tool to help you learn and if you were struggling, they took the time to try different ways of explaining the subject until it was clear. After I was able to pass both my network and security plus certifications we were given access to a cyberbit range where we were able to put everything we had learned with real world attacks! It was such a blast and so rewarding to see it all put together. While in the cyberbit range I got a change to work with the career placement team and work on my resume and linked in. My career advisor even helped me discover on what I wanted from my next career. I started applying for different roles and within 14 days of graduation I had two offers, my advisor then helped me think through the pro’s and cons of each and eventually I was able to make a decision and that has lead me to my first role in IT. I am an On-site technician and I am l-o-v-i-n-g IT! I learn something new every day and for the first time in a long time I feel passion for my job again. I went into the program having 0 experience in the field of IT and now I am working to build my future in this field and Eleven Fifty gave me the super strong foundation to build on. The future is bright and I can not wait to see where this journey takes me.

I had a terrible experience and would not recommend the EFA online school.  I don't know anything about the in-person school, but I have heard some of the on-line instructors have moved to in-person learning, so I would expect a similar experience there.  If you look at their instructor profiles on their website:  https://elevenfifty.org/about/our-team/ , they are all recent EFA grads with no experience in teaching or coding.  As far as the executive staff...ignore them, because they will most certainly ignore you.  One of the Senior Instructor's profile starts with "I attended EFA as a student with no coding background...then became an instructor with EFA."  The instructor for 2/3 of my school was not, and still is not listed on their website and looked like he was teaching from his mom's basement.  We were constantly dealing with barking dogs, crying kids and his computer issues.  My biggest complaint is that they don't provide you the material or the instruction to learn, they give you topics and you are expected to go out and find sources to learn.   They use a "watch me code" approach to teaching, but the instructors don't explain what they are doing, and the examples they use were made up and the "Apps" they created had no functionality.   During the entire bootcamp they never showed how to create and deploy a real webpage or app.  EFA works hard to get funding so your school will be free, and they treat you like a freeloader.  Only 4 of the original 30 students graduated, and each new section of our school was backfilled with people who failed out of previous classes.  The graduation and hire statistics on their websites are not accurate, not even close.  During my bootcamp there were 22 instructor led classes and 34 lab classes with no instruction, 2/3 of the 24 week school only had 8 instructor led classes, 4 hours each.  As far as a Portfolio...it was never mentioned again after the first section (1/3) of the school was completed, which only glossed over HTML, CSS and JavaScript.   After the Bootcamp the staff initially responded to my emailed questions, but never followed up with responses and I have never heard from them since.  Other students didn't even get a response at all.   The only job placement they help with is hiring learning assistants for EFA.   I purchased a Udemy React course from Academind and learned React in 3 weeks, save yourself a ton of frustration and bypass EFA, you'll end up buying a Udemy course anyway!  

When our world changed drastically due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was the catalyst for me to pursue my passion and rethink my career. I enrolled in the Eleven Fifty Academy to hone in on my web development skills, and thanks to the skills I learned in the course and the amazing career services team, within less than three months after graduation, I landed an amazing job in the tech field! 

I truly can't say enough positive things about Eleven Fifty Academy. The course instructors were incredible. The course work was relevant and challenging, and the instructors often made time outside of class hours to assist with questions and help troubleshoot. I sincerely feel that the web development course prepared me with the skills necessary for me to enter a brand new career in tech. After graduation, the support from career services was integral to my new career. Not only did they offer resume assistance, but the preparation and job lead connections they provided were above and beyond. 

I would recommend Eleven Fifty Academy to any one who is interested in a career in tech regardless of age or ability. Looking back, the only advice I would give myself would be to enroll sooner!

I have attended EFA's Python course back in September of 2019. At that point, I was very skeptical of boot camps. I have done a large amount of research and landed between Flatiron or this. I'm glad that I stuck with EFA.

The best part about the academy comes from its instructors. At first, I was concerned that I will be taught by someone who graduated the Academy itself. My concerns quickly vanished when I realized the level of tech acumen the instructors held. Majority of them are prior graduates who have worked as engineers and decided to then teach others. The whole time you're here, you're surrounded by very smart and knowledgeable staff who cares deeply about your success. The curriculum is solid and ever improving. The technologies being taught are current and constantly updated to reflect what's desirable in the workforce. This results in me getting my first tech job in just two months out of school.

The foundations I have been taught also allowed me to quickly pick up additional languages and frameworks which were required of me on the job.

Highly recommend. My only regret is not doing it nowadays when their Finance team has so many wonderful options that can often cover your entire cost of tuition. Tremendous value.

 I attended Eleven Fifty Academy part time and graduated in February 2021. The Hero's Care Act covered most of the tuition, allowing me to attend the web development course. The course was remote due to the pandemic, so it can be a bit challenging working remotely. This has been one of the best decisions of my life and I now have a contract position as  a web developer/web designer for a digital marketing company. This Bootcamp is very intense and not easy but it is worth it, especially if you want to change careers and get into the tech industry. Getting a job after graduating can be draining and stressful, some people get a job right away other's like myself took about 3months to land a position. The career coaches help you look for positions but I encourage you to apply and look for yourself also. 

This was a great experience for me. I transitioned from the real estate industry into tech and Eleven Fifty Academy was a great option to help prepare me. Beware, the curriculum is fast-paced as it packs a lot of knowledge is a short period of time! My instructor was a great teacher and was very knowledgeable. They even assisted me on some portions of my project that were outside of the scope for the class. The entire company is definitely focusing on continuous learning. I am know a Learning Assistant for EFA on top of landing another position as a software engineer! 

Eleven Fifty Academy's program is inclusive and excellently-taught. The instructors are extremely knowledgeable and, more than that, are committed to making connections and helping students succeed. Even in a remote environment, the teaching methods are effective. The curriculum is in tune with current technology trends, and students will leave these programs equipped with modern, in-demand skills to land a job in today's tech landscape.

I attended the Web Development bootcamp at 1150 Academy and had a truly life-changing experience. Not only did I get introduced to code, I quickly became immersed in it. I got the hands-on experience of a real world dev environment with the support and accountability that the professors at 1150 offered. The careers team was paramount in getting my current role. I was assigned a personal representative from the careers team that helped me with every step of the process.

Got to go FOR FREE because of the cares act! The whole staff and environment of Eleven Fifty was really great. If you put the work in these courses will definitely pay off. The career assistance did a really great job of reaching out to me and keeping me on track(which I appreciate because I'm the most unorganized person ever) The instructors are very sweet and encouraging + the weekly one on one meetings are nice. The TA's are very helpful and active, there are a lot of resources provided by them to get help when you need it outside of class. My only complaint for this course would be that I felt a bit unprepared to tackle technical interview questions, there was some material covering this however I did feel a bit lost trying to navigate more complex algorithms on my own.

It is never too late to start something new!

I had been stuck in a job that paid well but drained my batteries more than it recharged them. That is where I finally learned that passion > paycheck. I decided to take advantage of the cares act and enroll in the 12 week Web Development bootcamp at Eleven Fifty. The one thing I noticed immediately after starting was, this is challenging but in a good way! I was getting challenged in ways that my previous jobs had never challenged me before. It was exciting!

After a few weeks into the program, it was very evident that the instructors genuinely cared about your development and you as a person. Every instructor made a conscious effort to listen and engage with the students and learn a little more about them each day. 

If you put in the effort and work, you will gain great things out of this boot camp. I would 100% recommend this boot camp to anyone looking to change careers and challenge themselves to learn something new and better themselves every day!

I have worked in customer service and operations my entire career, zero coding experience.  I was skeptical I was going to be a coder, but with intense focus and determination this program delivered.  I worked full-time and have 2 children.  Even with my husband picking up nearly everything, there were still many late nights and a tear or two when I became overwhelmed.  The hardest part was finding the uninterrupted time for practice and assignments while trying to balance life. If I had it to do again, I would DEFINITELY go full-time!

This instructors and learning assistants were encouraging and supportive, they were truly committed to my success.  

I actually attended the 24 week Part-Time Web Development Course.

Due to Indiana CARES Act Scholarships I was able to attend Eleven Fifty Academy 100% for free, but I can honestly say after the fact that it would have been worth it if I had paid full price. Eleven Fifty allowed me to launch from a completely unrelated field into the tech industry. I had done some code studying on my own before attending ( with free online resources) which helped tremendously with the fast pace at the beginning of the course. However, the free resources did not give me direction, guidance, troubleshooting, or camaraderie with my cohort, all of which is needed to actually get through this material. I would say we went through most of the material I had learned on my own within just the first 3 weeks of the course. 

While my class was part-time, only meeting 2-3 days of the week, I had access to assistance from Instructors and Learning Assistants throughout the week, and was able to jump in a zoom room with them for troubleshooting easily. You have to be willing to bring gumption and plenty of time to this program, but you have all the support you need to succeed.

My cohort went through HTML, CSS, JAVASCRIPT, GIT, NODE, REACT, and TYPESCRIPT (plus some other smaller technologies), although they are constantly updating the curriculum to match what is actually needed in the working world. You definitely learn as a class, and will get experience in working with a team on a code base using Git and becoming comfortable with presentation skills.

Lastly, I will say their Career Services team is excellent. You will get resume guidance, mock interviews, and 1-on-1 meetings. While I have not found a full time Development job yet (only 1 month out), they personally helped me land a paid summer internship and another sought after training program. I also have an interview next week for a full-time fall internship from their recommendation. They clearly have lots of connections and their fingers on the pulse of the tech hiring world, particularly in Indianapolis. 

I started the Software Development course in the peak of last years lockdown and I was definitely impressed with how seamlessly Eleven Fifty transitioned to offering online instruction. 

The instructors were very knowledgeable and helpful, and everyone was willing to put in work when a question was asked that they could not answer. 

This is an accelerated course, so you have to go into it with the drive and the willingness to work extremely hard, but this was one of the most rewarding experiences for me. I came in with zero coding experience and left with a specialization in .Net development and the confidence in those skills to look for an entry level coding position. 

After a fairly extensive background in IT (systems and networking), I felt the need to change course some and get into a new career path. I had always been interested in coding/programming/developing and had dabbled in it for years. When I first learned about Eleven Fifty Academy I was a little skeptical. After researching it some, I knew I had found an opportunity that I couldn't pass up. I took the full time course in software development and in three (3) months had learned enough to become readily employable and start in a great new career adventure. While you can learn this material from a number of places (and all over the web), one of the great benefits that Eleven Fifty Academy brings to the table is well-planned path to teach the main points of whatever course curriculum is chosen to get the student up-to-speed with what is needed to get a job and start a career. They also help guide and instruct on the skills needed to get a job, and, they teach you how to continue to learn on your own so you never stop learning.

I came to Eleven Fifty with zero background in tech, let alone coding. I never excelled in science or math in my formative years, so I had never really considered a career in tech besides maybe a sales role. Eleven Fifty showed me I did not need to be a math whiz or computer guru to learn how to code. Learning to code is essentially just learning another language. I certainly was not the most talented student in my cohort, but by the end of the bootcamp I was able to build a full-stack web application from scratch using JavaScript. My newly learned skill opened up additional tech opportunities that have lead me to the position I am in today: a full-time tech role doing things I never would have thought I would be doing, within 1 year of graduating from Eleven Fifty, and loving it. I also know there are so many others that have come through Eleven Fifty with very similar stories and outcomes. If you are on the fence about enrolling at Eleven Fifty, let this be your sign :) .  

Throughout my whole experience at Eleven Fifty, I felt that everyone was on my side and invested in my success. From the Learning Team, to the Student Success advisors, all the way through to Career Services, I always felt like they had my back. I also love that EFA is dedicated to helping the community and the individuals who are part of it. They've done amazing things for Indianapolis and it's so great to see their reach expanding to other parts of Indiana and beyond. So glad to have had this experience.

My personal experience was first trying to learn "code" on my own through online resources but falling short because I wasn't sure exactly what to research and the application that each language should be applied.  I decided I needed some guide-rails and chose EFA to produce this.  Not only was it an intense program, providing a ton of information, project-based challenges, but it was also clear that the learning team truly cared about the success of their students.
The biggest take-away that I came out of the program was the ability not only to understand the fundamentals of JavaScript, React, and Nodejs; but how to really research and practice building.  Since I've gone through the program, I've seen how the program has not only changed, always taking past experiences and building a better system with it, but track for even more improvement coming.

Eleven Fifty Academy has given me more than just an education but much needed direction in my life. This bootcamp provided me the tools and instruction I needed to explore my own interests inside the cyber-world. As well I was provided with direction toward advancement and a network of like-minded professionals both experienced and new to the tech world. The friendships and skills Eleven Fifty has helped fostered I believe will be invaluable to me going forward!

This is sincerely the best tech bootcamp.  The instructors care and value the success of their students.  The curriculum was up-to-date and prepared me to be career ready.  The Career Services are amazing and help prepare you for interviews and a professional presence, as well as help you to land interviews and a job.  It was an overall amazing experience and I doubt there is a better school out there.

I decided to attend Eleven Fifty Academy after losing my job in the restaurant industry during the height of the COVID pandemic, and I could not be happier with my decision. Not only were the instructors attentive and knowledgeable, but the coursework was up-to-date and covered just enough of the basics to make me hungry for more knowledge, without getting too much "in the weeds". The Career Services department did a great job of guiding me in my job search following the program, fostering a personal dialogue that helped me establish my priorities in an unfamiliar field, and their well-established network of connections was very valuable. Overall, I feel like I can comfortably call myself a Web Developer with the experience I gained in this course, and I am extremely excited to see what my future in the tech field has to offer.

I was extremely impressed with everything that 1150 had to offer and brought to the table. I originally went into this course with zero knowledge of software development. Now I've been a developer for the past 2 years and one of the first in my company to be hired on full time without having a college degree. Now applications for my company say "A college degree, or a trade school equivalent". Simply put, Eleven Fifty Academy works and gives you all the tools you need to be successful. But in the end, it will come up to YOUR personal drive and commitment to making your dream come true.

I felt stuck in my creative/marketing job and wanted to pursue something new so I could be refreshed. I didn't want to spend too much money or time in a traditional setting so I found that bootcamp was the way to achieve my goal. It had to be a reputable institution and I wanted an in person experience. I found Eleven Fifty, the school that filled all buckets. I'm so glad I did. I'm not joking when I say that every single staff member you meet is ridiculously driven to help pivot/jump start your career. They are kind, knowledgeable and well connected in the industry. My career counselor was sending me applications daily. They truly wanted me to succeed. They will help craft your resume and give you tips on interviews as well as connect you with someone in the industry. They give you all the tools resources and are your biggest cheerleaders. In the end, I got a job I absolutely love. I wake up ready and determined to conquer the day. I have Eleven Fifty to thank for that.

I had tried other bootcamps before enrolling in Eleven Fifty Academy, and despite all of the work I did, I never felt fully prepared to enter a new career in UX. After graduating from EFA, I felt 100% ready to tackle a career in UX head on, and I knew I had the skills necessary to succeed. What made EFA different was the hands-on, real-world experience I was able to participate in. It gave me an excellent start to my portfolio, which the curriculum focuses on building. The format of the class was also perfect for my learning style. It's the perfect balance between independent work and class participation/group work. I also loved that they introduced us to several people working in the field who gave us a real-world perspective on what it's like to be a UX/UI Designer. And I can't say enough about the career placement team. They are amazing!!