BrainStation Reviews
Page 18
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Meade Verified via LinkedIn
More than I could have expected
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I came to Wyncode to learn the basics of UX/UI Design and I'm leaving with a solid grounding the methodologies, princes and best practices of digital product design and mastery of the software designers use including Sketch, Adobe XD, InVision, Overflow, Whimsical, Keynote and Google forms. What was unexpected was the level and amount of collaboration we would do with the Full Stack Web Development cohort. Over the course of 10 weeks, we worked with WebDev students on multiple projects, gaining invaluable experience for our future careers, for designers to work seamlessly with developers (always a goal) they need to know how to communicate with them, how to build collaborative teams where everything is working towards a common goal.
One of the things I didn't expect when I came to Wyncode was how relevant my previous experience would be, I jumped into the program hoping that my academic and work history would help me but I was delighted to find that 7 years of working in coffee shops, restaurants and hotels taught me to see things from the customers perspective, to empathize with them, it turns out this directly translates into User-Centered Design. Working in software sales taught me how to talk to developers and how to brake complicated information down into manageable bits for the customer, this experience helped me learn to design websites and mobile apps that presented information in manageable pieces for the customer and gave me the ability to explain to the developers on our team how the product should work.
I didn't need the experience I had when I started this program but I love that jobs I thought of as totally unrelated proved to be an asset to me as a product designer.
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Edwin Verified via LinkedIn
Recent Grad
I had a great time learning in this program. I was exposed briefly to coding prior to the course and I feel confident in the skills I learned in just 10 weeks. The course was hard to say the least but It builds good work ethic especially for the self discipline required after the course is over. The relationships built between other classmate was unexpected and immeasurable.
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Johan Gace Verified via LinkedIn
Exceeded my expectations on every level
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I joined Wyncode a few months after my college graduation and I am convinced that Wynocode was the most valuable educational experience in my life.
The founders Johanna and Juha deeply care about the students and they have created a diverse and highly engaging learning community that is transforming Miami's tech scene. The addmissions director Francis and the program manager Bria are commited to help the students succeed. The instructor Andy, is an expert in Web Development and an amazing teacher. The TAs are supportive and willing to help. After 10 weeks of learning we are being offered Job Support . Milad and Beto follow up with the students and they are great resources for finding a job. I already have an internship lined up through their Future leaders Fellowship program which is an amazing opportunity.
Becoming a coder is a challenge but you will be provided the tools for succes and at the end of the day a student will get what they put in the program. Every student in the program is eager to really learn the craft and we pushed each other to build great apps. This bootcamp is for whoever who is willing to challenge themselves and start a new career.
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Soph Verified via LinkedIn
Life-changing
Unique and challenging educational exprience, can't imagine having learned all of these skills any other way. The staff, the TAs, the instructors - all brilliant humans. I've gained a new, irreplaceable family, and have been forever changed by my decision to come to Wyncode.
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Josh Verified via LinkedIn
Best Decision of my life
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This was easily one of the best decisions I have ever made. Being a recent IT graduate I knew a lot of programming theory and learned some programming but the experience, projects, and mentorship goes above and beyond to set you up for real world in the tech industry. The technology stack(html, css, javascript, react,ruby) is great and very current in the market today. They also have daily and weekend breakout sessions to teach new and different technolgies such as react hooks. There is not enough I can say that could represent how amazing the experience is here. By the way, this experience goes well beyond the end of the course. Last thing I want to note is that this is the only Tech Bootcamp to accept the GI bill and have a ton of scholarship opportunities for women. No mater what your background is you can become a webdeveloper.
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Tushar Poojara Verified via LinkedIn
Full Stack Student
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Coding bootcamps are terrifying, you are going in with very little information and experience and hoping to end the course with the knowledge to get a job. It's fast paced and at times lots of dense information coming at you. Wyncode does an amazing job with the TAs and Instructors helping you out when you get stuck and not always giving you the answer, but guiding you to the answer. They have job support for the Full Stack program and I consider the rest of my cohort (classmates) as family.
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Jajuan X Verified via LinkedIn
Spectacular Course
I learned so much here in 10 weeks here. This course gave me the confidence I needed to jump into the tech field! I went to another boot camp as well, and this one was the best. The're also aiding in job placement! Absolutely the best!
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Raidis Verified via GitHub
Full stack webdeveloper
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Enter to the Web developer full stack Bootcamp was a blast. I came here with some expectations, but their all were exceeded. They teach us no only how to code, but how to be prepared to find a job and to have a growth mindset. There were moments of frustrations proper of the learning process, but we always have the support of the Wyncode family. They are a big community that I am proud to be part of. Thanks, Wyncode Academy, for this opportunity.
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Andrea Baker Verified via LinkedIn
Women Tech Cohort
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This has been an amazing expierience. The entire program, specifically the All Women Tech Cohort has been desgined to see its students succeed in every way possible. Each member of Wyncode really goes out of their way to see its students excel. This is something you simply can not find anywhere else. The instructor made a complex study very easy to comprehend and apply. She not only taught what was expected but exceeded this to give each student what she personally felt would help them flourish long term in the tech community. Wyntalent gave amazing tips and suggestions on professional conduct, resume construction, interview readiness etc. Leaving this program I am confident in my abilities, and not only my ability to find a career but also the resources I have access to in order to find the one of my dreams! Thank you
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Nikki Daye Verified via GitHub
Front End Web Development
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Literally changed my life. I am forever grateful for this experience, my instructor Cece Claridge was the most helpful nurturing teacher I could ask for to introduce me to such challenging topics and help me build confidence in starting my career in tech. The whole Wyncode family including all the TAs, Thayna, Yomairy, Laz, Nick, Eduardo, and Leo have been so solid as well in terms of helping me through this process. I always felt supported and equipped for the future.
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Patrice Verified via GitHub
Fullstack web Developer program
This program was amazing. Mostly intense. I would recommend this school to anyone pursuing a career in tech.
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Parvaneh Z Verified via LinkedIn
A Brief Review: Web Development Full-Time, Diploma Program
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As a recent graduate, I would recommend this program to anyone who is interested in creating modern web applications and developing custom APIs using frameworks, such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript, React, and Node. This 12-week program is indeed intensive and challenging. It is designed for those who are extremely passionate about learning and developing their skills.
I personally enjoyed every single day of classes led by excellent educators, especially the lead educator, Jonathan Bluks. What helped me the most was the highly organized teaching plan. It was easy for me to be prepared for each class by following weekly schedules, including lectures, labs, demos, quizzes, white-boardings, and projects. It was also great that I had the opportunity to participate in pair-programming, collaborative, and hackathon projects. In addition to all these positive factors, the building, located near the Waterfront Station, with its unique, bright and inspiring design full of lovely plants helped me to stay motivated, commute easily, enjoy my lunch break by the water, study well, and achieve my goals.
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Mikko Verified via LinkedIn
Impactful Instructors and Oustanding Learning Experience
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I've taken both their Digital Marketing and SEO. Their Digital Marketing was outstanding. The instructor was informative from a personal and professional level. She was keen on making sure we were all in the right direction. My group was struggling to find a focus in our project, but we all managed thanks to her guidance.
Similar experience with my SEO instructor. He was keen on making sure I was doing fine and actually doing things properly. He gave constructive feedback that helped me navigate around my organization's problems.
If I could have them as instructors for the other 2 courses I want to learn, I would. They were phenomenal. I'm sure the other students felt the same way too.
I feel more confident and ready after being mentored by them on these courses. Looking forward to taking more!
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Ivan Rickard Liow Verified via LinkedIn
UX Design Diploma Review
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So I just recently graduated from the UX Design program in Vancouver, and what can I say, what a fantastic experience! To start, the campus was gorgeous, well-lit, and had lots of natural light. The BrainStation staff were always super approachable and really friendly. It's located at a great spot in Downtown Vancouver, so lots of good food options, and really accessbible by Canada Line.
In terms of the how I found the experience, I would say having done a "bootcamp" at Lighthouse Labs for Web Development gave me a leg up in terms of how exhausting it is to learn so much information in a compressed amount of time. In my opinion, to get the most out of any "bootcamp", you really need to commit 118% of your life to it for the duration; I didn't really feel like I had much cognitive capacity to think about what was going in other aspects of my life. Finding that balance so you don't go crazy is extremely important, so maintaining some physical activity and getting enough sleep is crucial (admittedly, I went from working out 3x a week to 1x at best).
In terms of how the academic work was structured, you will have lots of projects non-stop through the program that build upon each other like lego. Also, these projects often support what you will work on in the subsequent stage of your Capstone project (which is ultimately what you'll be showing on Demo Day).
Coming out of the program, I definitely felt very prepared to handle a role as a (Junior) Product / UX-UI Designer, and highly recommend looking at BrainStation for your digital skills training needs
Feel free to hit me up on LinkedIn if you have any questions :) [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ivanrickardliow/] -
Edward Johnson Verified via LinkedIn
Data Science Full Time 13 weeks
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The course is comprehensive, fully loaded, educator-led and an excellent deep dive into Data Science, Machine Learning, Python, and the many toolkits and techniques required to start a Data Science career.
However, it is important to note that this is course designed for highly motivated students who are prepared to dedicate themselves 120% to the course content, challenges, and tough weekly assignments for the entire period. The educators were very knowledgeable and were extremely capable in switching between highly academic subjects to real world worked examples. Daily Python code-alongs and challenges kept all students fluid in the learning by doing, and learning by making mistakes. The course material was well structured, building up the knowledge over time. An unexpected bonus was that our student cohort was quite diverse but became tight-knit during the three months and this led to additional knowledge sharing and problem solving approaches amongst us.
BrainStation's overall approach was multi-dimensional and holistic.... we learned Data Science, but this was also complemented with learning to present our technical results, visits to other Tech firms and even a 1-day internal hackathon to help us understand how to work with UX/UI designers and Web developers. I feel capable to take on any new Data Science challenges in the next phase of my career.
I would recommend the course to anyone who seriously intends to transition to a Data Science career. Full accessibility to experienced educators and technical environments always beats any number of hours of online videos.
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Arshad Kazi Verified via LinkedIn
Life Changing Experience
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My experience at BrainStation has been life changing and eye-opening to say the least. I went in to the program with little to no knowledge about how to code. My experience with coding dates back to the HTML only days and Geocities where I taught myself a little bit of coding during that time and that's it.
After going through the program it blows my mind every time I think about how much I have been able to learn in such a short time. The program is structured just right where each week's lesson is applied in the weekly 'sprints' of each project. I was part of the full-time Full Stack Web Development dimploma program from Spring 2019.
Let's talk about the pros first...
I did a campus tour at each BootCamp in the area and the one thing that attracted me to BrainStation is the fact that it is part of Konrad Group, one of big tech consulting firms in the GTA. They teach all the best practices and coding policies also used by their coders so you can be sure that you are learning the industry best practices in the process.
The instructors and TA's are absolutely phenomenal, with a wealth of knowledge from the industry. The assistant instructor is an actual Konrad Group employee and the main instructor comes with decades of coding experience in several languages. The TA's are from previous cohorts who have been through what the current cohort is going through.
What I specially liked was that the material was always current, considering how quickly the coding world evolves.
Now lets talk about the cons...
During our cohort, they missed out on some key teaching points that, from our tech tours seemed to be important for a Junior Web Dev.
- How to Test Code
- Deeper knowledge about Database
- How to Deploy your project
- Working in a group and cross-team environment
We got a brief lesson about how to use Database, Deploy code, work in a group (second last project), and work with the other departments just like the real world. They definitely need to spend a few more days on the ones mentioned above, but then again there is only so much time in the 12-weeks.
Some words of advice...
Don't worry too much about HTML and CSS. They are pretty easy, but definitely try to understand Functions and For Loops as much as you can before your program starts. That is the basic of any JS framework. As long as you understand those two things, you will be fine. The course is jam packed and will go by faster than you can take it all on. Don't worry if you are not really able to understand the nitty gritty of the material. Just try to grasp the key concepts and spend the rest of your free time if you have any on what you didn't get. Otherwise, you will fall behind. Missing even 1-day is a lot.
Go in knowing that you will be MIA from your friends and family for the next 3 months of the program. You might have a handful of weekends to yourself but otherwise you will just be too busy with each sprint.
Otherwise all I can say is that you will come out of it loving the program and becoming really good friends with your classmates. You are taking a huge leap in making going through a Career Transformation and spending this kind of money on the program. I for one do not have any regrets. It is scary but exciting at the same time.
BrainStation has a great staff on hand during and after the program where they will do what they can to help find a job. They have a big group of alumni as well as well. The frameworks they teach are current so you won't feel out of place when you are done the program.
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Jevon Hill Verified via GitHub
Full Stack Web Development
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Wyncode is a 10 full-time plus course that teaches command line, github, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, React, Ruby, Ruby on Rails, React on Rails, & exposes you to other tech, teaches you how to learn & search for answers to coding problems. It is fast paced, but they have teaching assistants and former students willing to help. The instructor Andy teaches best practices & clean code. You can walk in there as a stock clerk at Publix and leave knowing how to write a web app with functionality and databases.
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Ashley McAllister Verified via LinkedIn
10 Week Part Time Web Development Program
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I've always had an interest in website design and development, and I've had the opportunity to develop basic skills in my career. However, our tech needs had become greater and I knew I needed some more hands-on education, but with a full-time job, it was difficult to find the right kind of training. BrainStation was the best decision I ever made. Their part-time program made it easy to attend the classes after work once a week, and their support was incredible throughout the whole process. Each week felt very intense, and we learned a lot despite it being a part-time program - way more than just the basic skills. It was hard to believe that by the end of 10 weeks I was able to code a full website from scratch, but I did and loved every minute of it!
The instructor was amazing - he was clearly experienced in both the subject matter and how to teach, and made every topic feel approachable. He intuitively seemed to understand what concepts the class needed more time on, and was able to be flexible, sometimes introducing concepts typically outside the scope of the course when we seemed ready to try a more advanced topic. Having support not just during class but also available online in between classes made it feel like we had way more class time than we actually did.
The campus was located in the heart of the Toronto tech scene, so it felt like there were constant references to real-world examples of what companies were doing right down the street, which was super cool.
BrainStation also made it really easy to find a way to not only find a class to fit with my busy work schedule, but also the scholarship opportunities made it possible for me to attend and learn a new school that may have otherwise been out of reach.
I truly can't recommend BrainStation enough - I'm confident that any class you took there would result in a new skill set you can be sure to use in the tech industry today!
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Loris Orsolini Verified via LinkedIn
Great Stepping Stone
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I had been thinking of getting into the tech industry for a while, but I wasn't sure how to do it. After doing some research, I found that code bootcamps were a potential way to get my foot in the door. Of all the bootcamps that I researched, Wyncode stood out to me because of the people that worked there. Jo and Juha are genuinely nice people who go out of their way to make themselves available to you, even though they are extremely busy. Andy, for all of his accomplishments, is a very modest and laid back person who loves to get to know his students. They all provide an opportunity to not only grow as a programmer but a person as well. Finally, the Miami tech community is a growing scene and there are ample opportunities to network, find jobs, and start businesses. For all of these reasons, I moved to Miami, even though I had only been there a handful of times before. It was one of the best decisions that I have ever made.
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Emmanuel Verified via LinkedIn
Full Stack Developer
I have learned an immense amount of technical knowledge and skill set to match because of Wyncode. The staff is friendly and truly caring. But more than that they are organized and fully prepared to take their students to the next level.
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James Pharr Verified via LinkedIn
Full Stack Web Dev
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Guys, I am the kind of guys who reads and writes a lot of reviews because I think they are the key to continuous improvement.
Wyncode is one of the best experiences I have ever had in my life, I think mostly because of the human quality of the team. You are dedicated to us the students and we can see that everyday.
The program is accurate and complete. I've worked in IT for the past ten years and I can tell that you guys are putting us in the right path in this competitive field.
The school is modern and it welcomes you to learn and do your thing!
Andy is one of the best teachers I've ever had as well. He is a natural for teaching and coding.
Would do it again in a heartbeat!
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Lazaro Quintana Verified via GitHub
Wyncode is awesome!
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I was looking for a change in my life and an improvement in my work quality of life. I was recommended to go to Wyncode by a former graduate and I have been best friends with software developers, I took the chance and came to Wyncode...I do not regret it for 1 second! I learned so much in 10 weeks, Andy is an amazing teacher, the support system at Wyncode is amazing from teacher assistants to the job support and everyone that helps build your personal soft skills. I will warn anyone that tries to make the change and take the Wyncode leap... you need to give it 110% of your attention and focus, you will get what you put in. I came to Wyncode with about 3 months of prior self-learning with code, mostly Javascript and some other front end languages, that head start helped a ton, try not to come in completely unprepared. There is a lot of good support for new students and they will guide you but you need to put as much extra effort on your end as you can! I would spend 10-12 hrs a day at school and would spend my weekend either at school or at home coding or researching what we were learning at the time. It can all payout at the end if you really give your all, it's only for 10 weeks, time will fly by! I cannot recommend Wyncode enough, if you are on the fence, let this review be a push in the right direction!
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Bryant Ramirez Verified via GitHub
Full stack web developer
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My time at Wyncode was definitely well spent. I learned a lot about the growth mindset and many different coding languages. Most importantly though, I learned that I can learn any language and how to apply myself in that way. It was a lot of work and not something I can recommend to everyone, but if you put the effort in and do all that they ask, you will come out as a successful graduate. I look forward to working with them to help find my first job in the tech field.
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Vanessa Turpin Verified via LinkedIn
Great Introduction to User Experience Design!
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I just finished the User Experience Design course at Brainstation. I decided to pursue this course beause after 5 years of working in the digital marketing sector, I was ready to learn new skills that could lead to new career opportunities. I had heard good things from friends and colleagues who had studied at Brainstation- so I decided to take the plunge!
I signed up to take the course online part-time, so I could study outside of my full-time job. The course was short but intense, and I learned a lot. From designing a sites information architecture, to wireframing, prototyping and user testing- I now feel ready to explore the job market with the skills I learned in this course.
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Daeryun Meyers Verified via LinkedIn
Great overall snaphot of an emerging industry.
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This might have been one of the more intense learning environments I have encountered. Having said that, I appreciate how immersive and all-encompassing the curriculum was. There may have been a bit too much content in a small period of time. But it gave me a chance to see how the wide industry looks, works and how it will affect my life. Now I am utilizing the tools given to create an insightful plan of attack.
The course allowed me to showcase my strengths and make a realistic plan for where I aim to guide my career. The faculty and course instructors, as well, were very sensitive to where I had difficulty and supported me throughout the program in order to finish successfully. -
Callum Upfield Verified via LinkedIn
One of the best experiences of my life
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BrainStation was one of the best experiences of my life. It introduced me to the tech industry in such a fantastic way. I hit the ground running and have been set on an incredibly positive trajectory of which I never before thought possible.
A bit of background on me: I took the full time User Experience Design Course at BrainStation Vancouver back in June 2018. Leading up to the course I was working as a photographer, lost at where my career was heading and flirting with the idea of moving into the tech industry. I wanted to stay creative so UX seemed a logical option and the appeal of launching a new career from a fast paced bootcamp was huge. Too good to be true surely? For traditional teaching methods, sure. For the educational wizards at BrainStation, no they’ve got it nailed. The moment I first walked into BrainStation I knew it was the place for me - I attended their intro to UX workshop which helped me understand what UX was and if it would be something of interest to me. I also experiencing a Demo Day to see how previous students managed (highly recommend!) and seeing what is possible in 10 weeks was astounding. The professional nature of the students, educators and environment helped me confirm my decision that BrainStation was the one.
So I started the course. I had no prior design experience and we didn’t ease into things, diving into the deep end on the first week with a design sprint. Incredibly challenging, incredibly rewarding the growth and progress I saw in a week 1 was noticeable. This continued week on week, with the syllabus combining learning new material in lectures and applying it immediately in design challenges and week long projects. Oh and we were introduced to the mother of all projects - Capstone. Capstone would be the pinnacle of all we learnt during the course, allowing us to show future employers what we’re capable of. During the 10 weeks I felt myself moving from sketching anxiety to being confident in calling myself a designer. The course content has clearly been iterated upon multiple times to give students the perfect platform for a successful career in UX, whether it’s hard or soft skills for post bootcamp life and this really shows. In summary the full time UX programme at BrainStation has prepared me incredibly well for real life UX work. I feel like I even have more current UX knowledge than some of my now colleagues that have been in the industry for years.
The people of BrainStation are the main reason for making the whole experience so memorable. They exude positivity and do everything in their power to get you on the best track possible. I was fortunate enough to have Brad and Uzi as my educators and they really are perfect examples of an educator, tech or otherwise. Their enthusiasm is infectious and they were so knowledgeable and supportive during the entire experience. The post course support is also great and the team is always there to help with any queries in the period after - shout out to Teddy for that one!
So where am I now? Since finishing the course I moved back to the UK and I set about building my portfolio and getting my first UX role. 2 months after the course finished I landed my first role in a tech startup and I now have 6 months of experience. A rapid transformation especially compared to traditional education methods. A role won’t fall into your lap though - listen hard and do everything you can during the course and after to make yourself employable as possible. It’s not an easy role to break into with a lot of juniors out there looking for first jobs so do everything to make yourself stand out.
I haven’t gone into specifics too much in this review, so please reach out to me on LinkedIn if you have any questions regarding anything BrainStation or UX and I’d be more than happy to help.
Pro tip: don’t overthink Demo Day. Just go out there, do your thing and have fun!
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Jonny Caron Verified via LinkedIn
12 Week Full-Time Web Development Bootcamp
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After graduating with a degree in Kinesiology in 2017, I decided to make a career change working for a Vancouver tech startup in Customer Service. Making the transition from Personal Trainer into the tech industry was hard, and I found myself longing for ways to upgrade my skills so that I could feel like an asset to the company I was working for. I started looking into bootcamps as time was of the essence to me. I wanted to get involved in a more meaninful career fast and equip myself with a set of skills, that I could be confident to put to use.After sifting through some of the bootcamp options in Vancouver, I decided that Brainstation was the school for me. The campus had an inviting feel and seeing students both hard at work and having fun exemplified to me that this was a place I could establish a valuable new skillset along with a new network of friends and co-workers. Upon graduating Brainstation after my 12 weeks, I have to say that it exceeded my expectations in all of these realms.
The instructors have seemingly unlimited patients and an incredible empathy that allows you to push yourself through this tough 12 weeks. I found the collaborative, hands-on teaching approach of day-to-day class allowed me to learn in 12 weeks what would have taken me six months to a year.
Activities included: Multiple labs per day, codealongs with instructors and fellow classmates, a group hackathon, in-class exercises, and a weekly assignment.
Following my 12 weeks at Brainstation, I got a job working as a Customer Success Coach at Unbounce two weeks after finishing the course. While the job I got was not directly in Software Development, it has helped me join a great company with a clear path towards achieving that goal. While I will say the 12 weeks at Brainstation will be very tough, it will also be the most rewarding weeks of your life.
Positives:
- Payment plans for tuition
- An open campus that encourages going out and meeting your classmates as well as other full-time course participants
- Career support during and after the program
- Discounts on meetups and workshops
- Tech tours that allow you to talk to industry professionals about what it's like to be a developer
- Access to the course material after the program for 6 months
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Alicia Cervoni Verified via LinkedIn
UX/UI Design | Full-Time 12 Week Diploma Program
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I made a career switch from Commercial Real Estate Research to UX Design and I am so incredibly glad I chose BrainStation to guide me along the way.
Don't get me wrong, the program is INTENSE. 480 hours of class time over 12 weeks plus 20-40 hours/week outside of school requires focus, determination and self discipline. However, our educators and TAs make every effort to provide the support you need and ensure you're grasping each concept.
The curriculum structure is outstanding. A typical day in the UX program consists of morning lectures and afternoon labs. This ensures quick application of the knowledge you've learned just a few hours before, increasing your confidence in the content. With strong time management skills and the pride to be able to ask questions when you don't understand, you can be wildly successful in the program.The most successful graduates continue learning post-program. BrainStation has newly implemented post-program content that provides graduates with content for 4-5 months after they walk out of the classroom. The Career Services Team is always available to assist in your career transformation and their guidance doesn't end when you graduate.
I highly recommend this program and field for anyone interested in design, solving complex programs and collaborating with a team to achieve incredible results.
Be prepared to be constantly working, learning and growing over those 12 weeks and beyond.
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Tasneem Verified via LinkedIn
12 Week Web Development Bootcamp - Amazing!
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I knew for a while having been exposed to the tech industry that I wanted to be a web developer. Amongst all the boot camps in Vancouver, BrainStation stood out to me the most, because of how engaging, collaborative, and supportive the learning environment seemed. I can confidently say that all my positive assumptions were true. The instructors and program coordinators went above and beyond to ensure that this seemingly daunting experience as we transitioned into new careers went smoothly.
The instructors really take the time to explain complex concepts in simple and easy-to-understand ways. They were always available for help and were extremely supportive and reassuring throughout the whole journey. The content taught at Brainstation was very applicable to job demands in the industry. Although we raced through the content quickly, weekly assignments and in-class exercises ensured that we were constantly practiced new topics. In-class codealongs -- in my opinion -- helped me really understand more complex topics.
Pros:
- Payment plans for tuition
- A campus that offers lots of space to work, study and engage with other students. Very accessible via transit (and right above a coffee shop!)
- Career support after the program,
- Discounts on job fairs and meetups
- Tech tours, and the change to talk to industry professionals about what it's like to be a developer
- Access to the course material after the program
Cons:
-None!
I can confidently say I'm so happy to be a BrainStation alumni. I really did enjoy the program, and all which I'd been able to gain over the past 12 weeks of learning. Can't wait to apply these skills in the future!
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Mo Mesgin Verified via GitHub
Web Development - Full Time
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It was less than three months from my immigration to Canada when I chose Brainstation to study in. I did a research about bootcamps in Vancouver and asked some people who were in Vancouver IT industry to help me to find the right place and Brainstation was their number one pick. Moreover I found their curriculum the best one amongst others and also the camp atmosphere was amazing!
The content they provided for the Web Development program was truly a complete full-stack which gave me a big picture of the whole cycle of web development. Though the main program focus was on React and front-end development I learnt a lot about databases, middleware, REST and etc.
We would start the day with a lecture from our knowledgable teacher Jonathan Bluks and then would get our hands dirty by coding and practicing those concepts in real challenges. Beside 10 project assignments and one final project! we also had a hackathon experience which was one of my best coding experiences ever.
I would recommend this course to anyone who is serious about learning web development.
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Billin Yu Verified via LinkedIn
An amazing learning experience and a turning point in my life
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It’s been 8 months since I graduated from BrainStation full-time UX design bootcamp. It was an amazing experience which turned me to a designer as I wished. I’m now a UI/UX designer in a development agency and having fun. I got the job offer in week 9 - big shoutout to my instructor Brad who helped me with the performance check during the interview process as well as my TA Uzair who helped refurbish my resume and cover letter completely.
A bit of my background: Before joining the program, I was working as a 3D artist in a VR studio, then quit coz it’s crap. Then I was home tutoring high-school kids for half a year, then stopped coz it’s frustrating (I was making good money out of it but not my thing). I wanted to be a designer doing some cool shit, but never had a job opportunity to get started. I sent my resume and portfolio to a bunch of companies in Vancouver, got responses, got tests, got interviews, but never got the position. I realized leaving the industry for a couple of months (when I was tutoring) made my sense dull and skills rusty - I need a place where I could sharpen everything again and get my thunder back.
I’m gonna share some reasons I joined BrainStation and how the results ended up. If you have a similar situation and consider whether to join the program or not, my story may help you.
I’m a layman. I need a place to teach me both practices and theories. I tried counting on myself to learn the skillset and toolkit of UX design, but it was frustrating coz I literally didn’t know where to start! To learn software first? Or read books? Or do a small project? UX is such a giant shit blackhole and could almost suck everything in: business analysis, research, information architecture, UI design, interaction design, visual design, content writing, or even front-end if you wanna be entitled as ‘full-stack designer’ (fascinating) - whatever you can possibly associate with product development. Yeah UX design is such a sugarcoated beast, sounds high-end, easy-going, user-friendly, but in reality quite intimidating and could bite your head off - if you dive in blindly without fair guidance. As a 3D modeler before, I did know Adobe Suite, but in terms of the current tools of UI/UX design such as Sketch, InVision, Principle, etc., I’m a total outsider. Fortunately, during the pre-course, I learned the essentials of Sketch and InVision from the step-by-step tutorials; then throughout the next 10 weeks, I was improving my hard skills considerably by working on the weekly homework and capstone project. The instructor and TA would teach us tips every now and then to quicken our speed of work. As for theories, I did know user-centered design and some relevant approaches such as user stories, usability testing, but they were too scattered in my mind and never systematically came into shape as a ‘UX tree’ or ‘UX umbrella’. What BrainStation does is breaking down the whole UX topic to 10 smaller ones - each topic per week. Each week we focused on one topic and did homework around it to deepen our understanding. Meanwhile, we could update our capstone project by adopting the new stuff learned this week. The weekly basis is fast indeed, even crazy (using one week to investigate UI design, are you kidding, that’s even a job title!), but come on, this is a bootcamp and we only have 10 weeks. This curriculum is brilliant in my opinion (and PPT is well-done): it takes care of all epics of UX design such as research, IA, UI design, etc. - which should be mastered more or less as a UX-er; but in reality, we could (and should) leverage our advantages and choose to specialize in one or a few directions. Taking myself as an example, I’m more interested and better at visual stuff than research, IA or business whatever, so I actually put more weight on the chapters of UI and visual design but honestly much less on certain sections (I got 55/100 once in one of my assignments, shame… ).
I’m lazy. Yes if nobody pulls me up, I could stay in bed for whole day. I tried saving money and studied on my own - and wonderfully, I slept in till 11 am, opened my laptop reluctantly, and lost morale in one hour. You know what’s so good after I joined the program? I COULDN’T SLACK OFF! Yeah I was busy like shit: class from 9 to 5, homework stacking up, capstone project crying for feed, workshops awaiting, portfolio pending - gosh, don’t ever underestimate ‘FULL-TIME’ training (this is not a joke). Frankly, the workload is immense - I was working in the evening, during the weekend, sometimes burning night oil. It’s not only because I myself wanted to work harder, but once I saw my classmates working their asses off, how could I sit still and enjoy the couch potato time? Most importantly, we paid to learn, so the only way not wasting the money is - work hard!! It’s painstaking, but it will pay off. Everyone in my cohort was progressing so much - I’ve seen people who made stunning interfaces in the end even having zero design background at the very beginning.
I’m an introvert. I bet you all know socializing is as important as swimming when you’re in the job-hunting vortex. Sadly, I’m afraid of socializing and terrible at selling stuff. ESL is a reason but it’s more about my personality. I desperately needed a community at that moment where I could find a comfort zone with like-minded people. And yes BrainStation is like that for me. Amazingly, our cohort had 12 folks, and we teamed up differently for multiple projects, so everyone had a chance to work with each other. Every Friday, we went to a bar to grab beers after class. At the night of graduation, we barbecued and sang karaoke like a bunch of weirdos! People are professional at school but could be so wild afterward! The instructors are also super approaching (yeah they joined our beer too) and other staff are quite helpful (just ask them if you need a favor.) Besides, we have tech-talks, workshops, and presentations every week, so don’t worry, you’ll be pushed under the spotlight and try your best to entertain the audience! In summary, if you’re like me, not good at networking, then at least you will have your cohort and the staff, which will become your own community and, it’s still growing.
Last but not least, I bet the tuition is a big concern to most of us and I admit it’s not a small amount indeed. I was jobless and broke from the moment I gave up on tutoring, so yeah I thought about this a lot. So I tried two options to make it less unaffordable: firstly, applying for the scholarship. Do ask the staff what kind of scholarship you are eligible for; secondly, there’s an installment option to pay off the debt in 12 months (and I chose this). Good news is you can use the tuition for tax return, yeah! And once you land on a new job after graduation, I suppose you won’t mind this educational investment. (The common salary of junior UI/UX designer in BC is 40k-50k)
In conclusion, this was my happiest training experience, maybe because I finally found what I like to do. I hope my story could help you in any way. Good luck and keep it up!
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Jackie Lee Verified via LinkedIn
User Experience (UX) Design Full-Time
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I switched from Architecture to UX Design only knowing the basics about the field. Like many others, I had my skepticism about being able to learn about everything in UX Design within 12 weeks time. After completing the program, I can say that BrainStation genuinely cares about teaching you relative and applicable skills to do a full career change. It is dense, fast-paced and full of excitement every day.
Pros:
- Our instructors, Alex and Ann-Marie, always provide a full understanding on why we are learning the material. They also answer any questions we throw at them without hesitation.
- The BrainStation team is very approachable and are constantly seeking for feedback to make your experience better
- The guest lecturers that visited and the tech tours gave us industry insight on the current practice and allowed us to compare and validate the importance of the course content
- Demo Day helped me successfully engage in deep conversations with industry partners and reaffirmed my understanding of the design process
- Career support post graduation
- The one day Hackathon that allowed us to work alongside Web Dev and Data Science students
Improvement Opportunities:
- We had a good amount of open studio for our capstone project in the last few weeks, but it felt like there can be more structure to guide the students on their projects during those times.
Overall, I feel very confident committing to the career change with what I learned. You will still have to keep learning about certain concepts (and they stress that learning doesn’t end after 12 weeks) as you can definitely start to deep dive into UX concepts. I find that those who succeeded from the program are the ones who: fully prioritized school, empathized, asked many questions, and is always learning outside of class. Be prepared. -
Arthur Cheung Verified via LinkedIn
Web Development Winter 2019
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Tutors are able to delivery the course contents and very helpful, encouraging and supportive.
The course contents are up to date.
The manager constantly gave insight and reminder to the class throughout the course.
The after course career support is current and the manager gave insight of where to go next in the alumni slack channel. The course material is still available after course. It is great that class participants can have a slack channel to exchange messages and ideas. The vibe of the whole experience is very motivational and high in sprite.It is a very good place to learn and improve this new web development skill set.
I fully enjoyed the company and acquired the new knowledge during the whole course. Hope to keep connected.
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Clement Verified via LinkedIn
Learned a lot in 12 weeks
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Looking at where I was from where I started to where I am now, BrainStation has been a transformative experience. While expensive, the data science diploma program laid a strong foundation of knowledge for the most in-demand skills needed for data science. There is a lot of content packed in these 12 weeks; students who are unable to keep up will quickly find themselves having to catch up. My only wish during the 12 weeks was that the program was longer, allowing more time for the more complex subjects to sink in.
The school environment is great. BrainStation does a good job of finding a diverse group of peers that are strongly passionate in their fields. Instructors were also very helpful and always willing to help. We also had guided tours of businesses and had guests from data science departments come to speak about the industry to us.
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Daniel Aganga Verified via LinkedIn
Worth the money
Overall, a very satifying experience.
The educators and the T.A's were very helpful and the lectures were excellent. The staff are quite friendly and they will help and offer support after graduating.prospective students should be aware that it is a lot of work and if they don't stay on top of assignments they might struggle.
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Dave Verified via LinkedIn
A wonderful experience
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I can't say enough good things about Brain Station. While it is expensive, you do get your money's worth. The entire staff is very dedicated to making sure you are doing well, and absorbing the content. The instructors and TA's are always there to answer your questions.
The building is really nice and modern. The tech talks and office tours of nearby business' were very interesting. Demo Day was a great way to meet potential employers.
The course content was great. We learned so much over the 3 months. It can be intimidating to learn so much in such a short time, but the instructor did an excellent job conveying everything in a way we could understand.
Fantastic!
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Jordan Verified via LinkedIn
UX Design Diploma (Full-time Immersive)
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Summary:
-Teaches you how to learn at an accelerated pace and for immediate implementation
-Industry Relevant Hard Skills
-Soft Skills to work in agile, collaborative environments
-Amazing Career support and coaching
-An approachable and friendly team
Learning Highlight: They have an in-house hack-a-thon building on the skills of UX, Data Science and Web Dev allowing for real-world experience in collaboration across teams
BrainStation is a learning experience like no other. Key strengths include developing and implementing a curriculum that allows the student to maximize their 12 weeks of learning.
As a student, you are expected to learn and execute at an accelerated pace versus many of the traditional learning environments. The BrainStation education team supports and coaches you on this journey. Learning how to learn quickly and execute has been discussed as one of the most important skills for future proofing your career and would highly recommend this program on that basis, in addition, they provide excellent development of UX/UI skills that are relevant and marketable.
The industry partnerships, demo day and post-course support allow alumni to feel supported and a sense community as they enter the job market.
Lastly, classes are diverse and come from eclectic backgrounds creating a rich environment to formulate different ideas and discuss a variety of opinions. In UX, I am not sure there is a more important skill.
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Reema Gowda Verified via LinkedIn
Full time Web Development Diploma (Bootcamp)
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Attending BrainStation is one of the best decisions I've ever made. I was a bit nervous going into it -As I was new immigrant. But the community is warm, supportive and very welcoming.
My coding journey with BrainStation began when I enrolled in their Winter jan 2019 Diploma in Full time web Development. Before attending BrainStation, I had to spent many hours assessing other courses and bootcamps in the city. Although they all seemed qualified in their own right, I decided BrainStation was the best fit for what I wanted out of my education and career.
The instructors did an amazing job at making the classes engaging yet challenging, and they also managed to keep the learning environment relaxed and fun.
The bootcamp is very well structured in terms of learning and instructors availability, which enables you to learn fast without feeling overwhelmed.
I had a blast doing the bootcamp, had a blast working on the assignments and discovering my new passion for web development. I would 100% recommend the courses at BrainStation to anyone who is hoping to build skills in the field of internet and technology.
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Dakarai Turner Verified via LinkedIn
UX/Ui Design Full-Time
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Going to BrainStation was one of the best decisions I've made in terms of my carrer. It allowed me to transition into a new industry with the confidence to find a job after graduation. BrainStation also does a great job putting you in situations where you can build your network in the industry. From your classmates/educators, to industry events, to guest speakers, it really helps you establish a network that you'll need post-grad.
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Karina Verified via LinkedIn
UX/UI Design Diploma
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I'm so happy I chose to take the UX/UI Diploma program at BrainStation. Prior to starting the program I was coming from an industry that is completely unrelated to tech (performing arts, event managing, and matchmaking) and was hardly tech savvy. The program allowed me to fully immerse myself in this new field, and I feel like I've come out the other side of it with a solid set of skills and tools that I can take forward into this new career. It also instilled confidence in me both with the tranferable skills I already had from my previous industries, and the new technical skills I learned during the course.
