Blaizing Academy Reviews
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Levi Emanuel VanWinkle
Intro to iOS (course)
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Course: Intro to iOS- Crash course-style learning, good for introducing a person to a lot of information at once in a short period of time. Very knowledged/skilled instructors that teach practice instead of just theory in a field-submersive environment, where the student is always in the code doing it themselves. Instructors not only teach, but work it in their career and have years (some with decades) of experience in programming and the business of it.
Welcoming environment for beginners like me- never felt out of place. Definitely worth looking into!
John Qualls of Blaizing Academy
President
Apr 20, 2017
Dear Reviewer,
Thank you for your kind words. We've come a long way since your visit. Hope to see you in new classes soon! (or volunteer in the community to give back!) -
Elyse Swoverland
An Incredible Immersive Experience
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I had almost no coding experience when I took the Intro to iOS class at Eleven Fifty. They made programming a fun, easy-to-understand experience. I learned so much through the immersive experience that I was able to start a career in programming with an incredibly solid foundation. I would recommend that anyone interested in coding take a class at Eleven Fifty, you won't regret it.
John Qualls of Blaizing Academy
President
Apr 20, 2017
Wow. Sounds like you got a lot packed in during your visit.
Love to see you again (or hear about you giving back through teaching others) -
Randy Oest
Learning iOS Development with Eleven Fifty
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When Eleven Fifty says "In just seven days, we teach you new real-world skills that you can build upon immediately", they mean it!
I had never attended a bootcamp before and I wasn't sure what to expect of that learning format. I was wondering if the long days were going to be too long. As it turns out, I was excited about what I was learning the whole time! Every hour I was learning something new, adding it to what we were working on, and watching the actual apps I was writing come to life!
I blogged about the whole adventure, if you'd like to see what it was like in more detail.
In the end, I've added a marketable skill and I am currently working on apps to send to the App Store!
John Qualls of Blaizing Academy
President
Apr 20, 2017
Thanks for the kind words. While note easy, the crash 5-day classes go through a lot of material quickly. We had to pull back to 5 days because it was killing the instructors and many didn't like giving up their weekends for work-related training. -
Greg
Javascript Beginner to Intermediate
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The immersion method of teaching at Eleven Fifty was new to me but I felt that it was effective. Seeing real cod being created with explanation as to why it is being created helped a ton. The instructors were very patient and gave understandable explanations to how and why something works. Having an open syllabus was nice in case we had to take a step back. I walked away with a solid understanding of java script and reference to look at while I create my next JS application. Looking forward to my next steps in JS and what I will be creating!
Amentities at Eleven Fifty are nice. Meals are provided for students and there are assigned breaks to allow your mind to refresh for the evening portion. All of the staff at the boot camp are accomodating and friendly. The facilty and teaching lab/theater is very comfortable, you feel like your at home beacause you attend the course at a beautiful home.
John Qualls of Blaizing Academy
President
Apr 20, 2017
Love to hear you enjoyed the course. Hope to hear more about your success! -
Michelle
Ready, Set, Code!
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Eleven Fifty is the school for you if you are ready to dive right in to a new language. I took their 7-day immersive iOS course and it is THE definition of a crash course. Each moment was spent learning and developing with not a second wasted, except for the delicious meals!
The days were long but you are most definitely getting what you pay for. Terrance was my instructor and I would not change one thing about his style of teaching. I am a "doer" and learn better from doing the actions myself. I was able to code right along with Terrance as he projected his screen for the whole class to see. I felt like I was fully capable of developing my own app using Swift after completing the course.
Attending the iOS course at Eleven Fifty was a great experience and will be my first choice when I need to learn a new language!
John Qualls of Blaizing Academy
President
Apr 20, 2017
Hey, thanks a lot for the review. We love 'Doer's'. If you have a moment, send me your name and email and I'll send you the official 'Do'er' Manefesto poster.
A must for all Masters of Do. -
Erik
Luxury Learning
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The Java for Web was a great course in a great environment. You really do get to learn in an environment where they care about you and make you feel welcome. They are there to help you learn and make sure you are on track for knowing what is important. This class focused in on basic understand of Java the first two days, then you went all into learning Spring for Java the rest of the week. The class is more hands on then lecture which was great for us. The instructor was always on hand to help and answer questions.
John Qualls of Blaizing Academy
President
Apr 20, 2017
Glad you enjoyed the course! Hope to see you again! -
Marek Wojciech Ługowski (Lugowski)
Life-changing experience
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From what I've read, developer bootcamps often run for weeks and cost appropriately escalated sums of money. I say that taking a week-long course in-residence at Eleven Fifty Academy in the Indianapolis area is the sweet-spot of boot-camping. I don't think I would have opted, at this point in my life, for weeks of do-nothing-else intensity at a huge money outlay. Having gone through the Intro to iOS Development in Swift programming language, naturally using Apple's Xcode integrated development environment, with Parse.com used for backend and Twitter and Facebook APIs to effect authentication, and using my own Mac Book Pro proved to be amazingly skill-elevating and eye-opening. Frankly, it felt like a virtual brain transplant, or my dormant programmer's brain re-awakening. I had been a lapsed developer, and still think of myself as a computer scientist, among other things, so my perspective may be a bit niche. However, everyone around taking the course with me, whatever their background, appeared to have the same take on the course: eminently enjoyable, supportive, and most importantly, effective. I am sure much of that come about directly from the instructor Terrence Kunstek, who does a brilliant and brilliantly friendly job. In no small part the environment of Scott A. Jones' "palatial estate" ($1 to Indiana Business Daily), and the truly awesome catering orchestrated by Greg Abes, and the not too shabby extracurricular activities offered us, the students, had all combined to make this a wonderful, life-changing experience. The people at the long bootcamps are equally competent, one hopes, and supportive, and all that, but frankly, it is not something I am in any position to find out on my own. I will take the Advanced iOS class at the first opportunity available to me, because not to do so feels now like leaving a construction half-finished. Whether you too are a lapsed developer or a greenhorn suffused with trepidation, or a completely sure of yourself in-between, whoever you are, this teaching/learning thing that Eleven Fifty Academy is well worth your time and resources.
John Qualls of Blaizing Academy
President
Apr 20, 2017
Dear reviewer,
Thank you for your kind words.
It is reviews like this told us to ensure to keep the 1-week immersive programs in place even though we now offer 3, 5, 4 and 12-week immersive programs.
We continue to improve programs and hope to see you again. -
Audrey Frank
Like Nothing Else
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Eleven Fifty is like no other school out there. I took the 2-day Into to Computer Programming Course, and what a great experience. Coming in, I was nervous because I had no knowledge of coding whatsoever. But the instructor started with the absolute basics and worked up to higher concepts. The weekend class just introduces you to the bare bones of coding (specifically javascript), but it made me want to come back for more.
What's more, everybody who works there makes it their goal to ensure you not only learn a ton, but that you also have a great time and feel at home. You walk around the house in slippers or socks, have your choice of snacks any time, and on the breaks you can take advantage of the pool table, fireplace, or many other amenities.
If you want to learn about coding, you couldn't find a better investment than Eleven Fifty!
John Qualls of Blaizing Academy
President
Apr 20, 2017
Glad you enjoyed the course. Come back and see us! (or take the time to teach someone else) -
Trevor Steele
Great Course, Great Investment!
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I took the weekend Intro to Computer Programming course at Eleven Fifty and couldn't be happier! The instruction was phenomenal and very hands on, I was typing my own code and editing images and actually understanding what was being taught. I felt comfortable asking questions at times when I didn't fully grasp certain concepts, but the course itself moved at pace that kept me from feeling like I was drowning.
I couldn't be happier with Eleven Fifty and the investment I made in this class. I will certainly be returning for more advanced classes in the future!
John Qualls of Blaizing Academy
President
Apr 20, 2017
You work hard for your money. Glad the experience was worth it. -
Anonymous
Great place to learn iOS
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I enrolled at Eleven Fifty because they offered a bootcamp that was 7 days versus the typical 6-8 week course. Being that it was to take place at the home of Tech Entrepreneur Scott Jones, I figured it had to be worthwhile. Well, it was. I went from not knowing ANYTHING about iOS development to now having the ability to understand the basics of app development. There is still more to learn after this course and will definitely be back to take the advanced course. Terrence was my instructor for iOS and he is a very experienced and knowledgeable developer that was willing to share all his knowledge about iOS development and more. We learned syntax, swift, xcode, parse and also learned how to submit an app for approval by the app store. During the course we developed 3 apps from scratch (using some already provided code for some sections which we reviewed in detail so we understood it). The entire staff was quite helpful and I would certainly recommend this course to anyone serious about app development.
John Qualls of Blaizing Academy
President
Apr 20, 2017
Thanks for the kind words. While we now offer 3,5,4 and 12-week immersive courses, we still offer these intense 5-day courses. (sorry, we had to drop the 7-day course, it was smok'in the instructors) Happy instructors, happy students. -
Anonymous
Best Coding School Out There!
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I took this course a week ago, and I am now proficient at building apps. They definitely give you the building blocks to go out and build your own app once the course is over. Even though the course runs 12 hours a day, you do not get burnt out because they have well-placed breaks and the material is extremely interesting. We built a note app, a Snapchat copycat app, and a Tindr copycat app. Anybody of any age who wants to learn how to build apps should definitely attend this school. The instructors and staff are extremely great too and are willing to help you through all of your struggles and are also very accomodating. Plus, the food was catered in from some delicious restaraunts.
John Qualls of Blaizing Academy
President
Apr 20, 2017
Thanks for the kinds words. We keep improving and its feedback like this that keeps up going! -
Anonymous
Great Learning Experience - CyberSecurity
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First things first, the admissions process was hectic and clumsy. High pressure sales pitches. Little to no communication if you have questions about the program or financing. The instructors were great. The curriculum was great. The career services department literally did not exist. The company was going through some sort of transition (they laid off something like 60% of their workforce). Even after they hired someone for career services (about 3 weeks before I graduated, I had little to no interaction with them. The job field is not at all like they convey. There are plenty of jobs, but even entry level positions usually require some IT experience, if not specifically networking or security.
Pros: Great instructors and course materials, resources for learning outside of class
Cons: Lots of information very quickly, Hard to keep up at times
Admissions process was hectic and high pressure, lack of communication
Career services were non-existent, lack of communication -
Anonymous
If Something Sounds Too Good To Be True Then It's Likely False
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I completed the web development course through EFA and would advise you to look elsewhere if you want to learn how to code.
The staff at EFA embraces the drinking from a fire hydrant learning method. This is ineffective. Humans don't learn well by trying to absorb a bunch of information in a short amount of time. It's why your middle school teachers told you not to procrastinate and wait until the last minute to do an assignment/study. Unless EFA students have prior coding experience or an unusual ability to learn a large amount of new information quickly you are not going to get it. This method is not wise for learning period let along something as complex as coding.
One of the appeals of attending a live, interactive school is access to instructors who can help you where you need it. EFA spends a lot of time telling students how they need to be able to figure stuff out on their own as a developer. While this is true students are paying a lot of money to attend. As a student I was not looking for someone to simply tell me the answer but I was expecting someone to help me figure out what i'm not understanding. That largely did not happen. Instead what you will often get as "help" is a link to some article to read online. After spending an hour on a problem and not getting it I thought $15K would get you a little more help than a "here is a link, go figure it out yourself" response. Oftentimes that is what you get. If EFA wants to maintain this level of help than I would expect a significantly less tuition amount because their program is more inline with a self paced / figure things out yourself program that is a fraction of what EFA charges.
The instructors themselves vary in quality. They are sometimes recent EFA graduates themselves with no coding experience beyond being an EFA student. The same goes for assistants. It's disappointing when you realize there is superior educational content on YouTube compared to what students pay EFA thousands for.
All this isn't to say that there are never EFA graduates who land developer roles. There are simply not that many of them especially compared to the number of students that complete the EFA program. EFA will tell you that a certain percentage of their graduates get jobs in the tech space but many of them become EFA employees or get non developer roles for a tech company. You certainly don't need EFA to land a job in software support or sales so don't believe the spin they put on the jobs their graduates get.
EFA has their fair share of cheerleaders pumping up the school. The truth is that it is way overpriced. Even if it was free you don't need to try and learn everything required to land a junior developer role in 3 or 6 months. You are naive if you think the masses can do it. Realize that it's ok to take your time with it. There are countless other resources online that are both superior in educational quality and significantly less expensive than EFA.
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Anonymous
Student
I had a great time at Eleven Fifty Academy and I learned a lot of valuable real-world skills that helped me in getting a career and gain a lot of work experience. -
Anonymous
Best Experience of My Life
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I decided to do the part time web development bootcamp after months of self-teaching and research. I needed an environment where there were teachers were knowledgeable and readily available to help, as well as a structured learning schedule to get the best out of the experience. I found that and more with Eleven Fifty. Not only was the learning environment a great one, but the curriculum was perfect. Also I was able to get real experience building my own projects both individually and in a team setting. Also the network I built was helpful in navigating the job search as well as just having support throughout the course and after. The career services does their best to help land a job after which was big for me. Overall, Eleven Fifty is a great experience I would definitely recommend to anyone looking to make that change or learn that new skill. -
Anonymous
Great Overall Experience
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Eleven Fifty Academy was able to deliver a great online bootcamp experience from start to finish. In an amazing partnership with the Hoosier CARES act, Indiana residents such as myself could get the bootcamp for free or very cheap! The teachers and learning assistants were always available and truly wanted to help everyone. The career team was very dedicated and was always willing to make time for me and to hear me out. -
Anonymous
Alex Volyk - Senior Admissions Advisor
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After I had applied to Eleven Fifty Academy and spoken with a representative, a staff member arranged for me to have an admission meeting with Alex on July 23rd on Zoom at 6:30 PM EST … he never showed up (I waited for 30 minutes). Consequently, I rescheduled an appointment for August 5th at 3:30 PM EST … once again, he never showed up. So, I called and left a message on his personal office phone; he never called me back.
Mind you, I was told by Eleven Fifty staff members that Alex was well informed on July 23rd, and on August 5th that he had an appointment with me.
Alex Volyk, if you did not want to speak to me or did not have adequate time on your schedule then you should have been honest about it from the beginning. Instead, you opted to waste my time.
Disclaimer - I had left 5 stars for Instructors and Curriculum in the rating section because Course Report wouldn't allow me to choose Not Applicable for those categories. -
Anonymous
.NET program
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I really enjoyed my time there and think it paid off. I landed a developer job just a couple months after graduation. There's still so much I have to learn but I feel Eleven Fifty did a good job of giving us a solid base to grow from. I learned a lot of useful tools that prepared me for the role I was eventually hired for.
There was really only one criticism I could think of. I think the instructors need to complete the cohort they started with. We had Lawrence leave relatively early and I do think it made a bit of a difference. Becky was great but it was definitely a transition in a program where time is already short. I know most of the instructors want to move onto outside developer jobs but it can make it tough to keep learning well when an instructor leaves. I don't know if you could have a contract stating an instructor has to finish teaching a program they start. When I signed up, I didn't know instructors could leave partway through the program and I do think that matters. You have excellent instructors and it'd be nice to learn from one main instructor across your program. -
Anonymous
Easy to understand curriculum, helpful teachers, great academy!
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I took an iOS Bootcamp in 2014 with Eleven Fifty Academy. We were using Swift, and created three apps during the course. The instructors were great, and really made sure everyone was understanding the curriculum. I felt extremely comfortable and confident after. When I returned to school, I definitely had a leg up to my peers with my coding experience. I graduated with a computer science major, but don't think I had a course at my college that compared to what I learned in this bootcamp. -
Anonymous
Turned my Career Around
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One of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Friendly and helpful staff. They help explain and guide you to what you’re looking for rather than just spoon feeding all of the answers.
The career services department passed along my resume to an employer that they were in contact with. I interviewed and was hired the same week as my graduation, making nearly $40/hour.
If you put in the effort, this investment will pay for itself. -
Anonymous
EFA Grad
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Not having a computer science or tech background, Eleven Fifty Academy most definitely gave me the basics and foundations I needed to continue learning independently after graduation. I will always be grateful for that.
That being said, it could also be that the course I had decided to take was only the second or third class and felt there lacked structure. Beginning, we learned all the basics, which were useful. Then we jumped around different frameworks. It didn't help that I found out the next class's curriculum would be completely different from what I went through as well. I'm guessing it wasn't just myself that felt the curriculum needed tweaking.
I also felt there wasn't much professionalism from the instructors. One of them actually said to another classmate that the money we were paying for this boot-camp was for the food.
In regards to job assistance, EFA goes out of their way to keep in touch, make sure you're prepping and applying for jobs.
To wrap it up, I am always thankful to Eleven Fifty Academy, as they are the ones who helped jump start my career in tech. I believe everyone's experience will be different and it comes down to whether you're willing to take a chance or not.Dewand Neely of Blaizing Academy
COO
May 26, 2020
We appreciate the feedback. Eleven Fifty Academy practices continuous improvement of its programs and curriculum. We seek feedback and guidance from students, staff and industry experts to ensure we are doing the very best we can to create an effective learning environment and keep up with the ever-changing needs of the tech market.
Eleven Fifty Academy takes its image very seriously and strives to create a professional environment and experience. We have used this anonymous review to reiterate the criticality of these types of student perceptions to our entire learning team and beyond. We apologize for anything lacking in your experience at the Academy, and we would be most interested in getting your constructive feedback on an ongoing basis to help us be better for all future students.
“The Food” is a tradition carried over from the early days of the Academy that has stuck with us. Eleven Fifty Academy provides lunch and other snacks on campus, for faculty, staff, students, and any visitors that happen to stop by that day. This is not a part of student tuition and is provided by the academy as a benefit to faculty, staff, students, and visitors.
We are very happy that we were able to be a part of helping you jump start your career in tech and we wish you much success! -
Anonymous
Great Job!!
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I thought this was a great course and I learned a lot!! I had some struggles off and on with learning the skills necessary to move on to the next project and building confidence in order to enter the working world in this discipline. While I thought that was somewhat due to my own issues with time and stress-management, I also did think that the curriculum's change in pace from mostly instructor taught to mostly self-taught was slightly too abrupt. I thought that it needed to be more gradual, and I actually agreed with Kayleah's thoughts on that topic. With that being said, I thought Paul, Kenn, and Jay's knowledge was astounding, and I aspire to be as good as them some day. I really do enjoy solving a good puzzle. I also thought that Chris' assistance with interview and resume prep and pushing people to go with Employ Up was extremely helpful, as it seems like it might be a great resource to use. I have not found a job in this area yet, but I hope to do so in a reasonable amount of time.
John Qualls of Blaizing Academy
President
Nov 08, 2017
Thank you so much for your candid feedback!
Truly an example of our values around genuine and authentic interactions. This is important feedback that will go into the evaluation and iterations of our program's curriculum.
Please continue to leverage our team to continue your journey.
You didn't leave your name, but don't hesitate to reach out to me directly if I can help, or you have more to share that will improve the experience and outcomes. -
Anonymous
Have A Long Way to Go
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The Academy is nothing but a moneymaking venture for the organizers. It is a travesty to give this non-profit status. If someone wants to drop out during the first session (after actually seeing the course work) they won't get ther money back.
The instructors are great but their style is greatly hampered -- they are not alowed to give any handouts nor presentations. Class time is wasted setting up software which should be done ahead of time. People cannot work at their own pace.John Qualls of Blaizing Academy
Qualls
Nov 08, 2017
Dear Anonymous,
We're disheartened to read your comments here. I would be happy to meet with you in person to discuss any issues you have with our program.
Specific to the issues you have shared:
Drop out. We make every attempt to ensure students are qualified to enter our program both in aptitude, attitude, and support. We offer a two-day course to expose the student to the teaching style and classroom pacing. This class also has an instructor and industry assessment that is conducted and shared with the student. Did you take advantage of this opportunity?
Money back. Our refund policy is transparent and available for review through the entire admissions process. We believe our policy of students only paying for the modules they start is a differentiator from other programs. If a student drops in the first module, they are not obligated to pay for the second and third modules. Any money paid that exceeds the cost of the first module is fully refunded.
Handouts and Presentations. There are several e-books that are distributed and fully available to students through the course. Can you be more specific about what you were looking for?
Classroom time setting up software. This is surprising. There is an 'InstallFest' conducted 10 days prior to the start of the course in which we provide orientation and support to set up your machine for the start of the course. In addition, there is a make-up date the week prior to the course should the first one be missed. Did you attend the InstallFest related to your course?
Self Pace learning. Our program is intentionally designed to support the Gradual Release of Responsibility (GRR) learning methodology. We look for every opportunity to challenge students at their skill level. For example, our classroom challenges are broken down into bronze, silver, gold (and at times Platinum) to give students the opportunity to push their skills further. We're sorry this style is not the right fit for you.
As I shared above, happy to speak to you directly on any of these issues to understand.
Wish you every success in your future. -
Anonymous
.NET Track
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Eleven Fifty Academy was one of the best decisions I ever made. The curriculum was challenging, engaging and the instructors made it a really fun environment to learn. Everyone was prepared, and for me specifically, broke things down into digestible pieces so that I could understand and apply my learning. Although I am still looking for a job, I have had a couple of interviews and employers were impressed with what I was able to learn in 12 weeks. I highly recommend this program!
John Qualls of Blaizing Academy
President
Jul 20, 2017
Thank you for your kind words. I hope you are working closely with Chris and Tonya in the career ready area to assist you in your job pursuit. Don't hesitate to ask for me directly if you feel you are not getting the experience you expect. -
Anonymous
Java Accelerated Learning Program
I learned not only about Java, but also how all kinds of different technologies work together to create web applications.
John Qualls of Blaizing Academy
President
Apr 20, 2017
Dear Reviewer,
So glad to hear you enjoyed the course! -
Anonymous
Good, but needs more fine tuning.
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Initiallly took the Intro to Coding class, enjoyed it even though the instructor Ari was a little bit of a smart jackass. Besides that I enjoyed the material I was learning and thought I could try coding out as a career. I enrolled in the Java ALP in September and enjoyed it thoroughly learning many skills that people don't normally have. The curriculum was pretty good but sometimes felt like there could be more. It was really about teaching the core aspects of the language we were learning then building simple console applications with what we learned in class. I felt like the course should be a little bit longer considering all the information they throw at you and most people can't absorb information that fast and produce a quality program in that timeframe but it is a "bootcamp". They don't offer apprenticeships anymore and after graduating your job hunting on your own without too much help or guidance on who to talk to. Some people out of my cohort got jobs right away while others changed fields or got another internship somewhere else. They are still building their relationships with potential employers and the community to know that they are producing quality talent.
John Qualls of Blaizing Academy
President
Apr 20, 2017
Dear reviewer,
I seek to understand more about your experience? I am a little confused on the dates of this review. I believe the course your course was in 2016 before we stood up our career assistance programs (internship/apprenticeship and placement) The date of this review is 4/2017 and we have 3 dedicated team members assigned to the student, employer and program.
All of our graduates now receive assistance for 15 months after the completion of the program. I encourage you to reach out to the Career Ready team if you need it.
Reach out to me directly if you wish to share additional concerns or insight on improving the experience with our program. jqualls@elevenfifty.org -
Daniel
Great Courses!
I loved the courses. I literally went from knowing very little about code to being capable of getting a full-time job. Really grateful for these courses!