BrainStation Reviews
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Jaxson Khan
Product Management Course was great
The course was detailed and practical for an aspiring PM or someone keen to learn more about developing products in startups and innovative businesses. The instructors were experienced, attentive, and engaged. I highly recommend it.
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Deven Blackburn
The Smartest Decision I've Ever Made
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I spent two years planning my jump into the tech industry and the fact that I remained here in South Florida is somewhat remarkable, considering I have been yearning to head back to the West Coast ever since I left, more than ten years ago. It also speaks to the fact that South Florida has a budding tech scene where you can really make an impact and a name for yourself. While I considered several bootcamps back on the West Coast and overseas, I ultimately settled on Wyncode because of the value of their program. Obviously I'm referring to the tuition fee, but you get much more than other schools offer; specifically I'm talking about their network of tech companies whom they utilize for job placement of their graduates. That industry network alone is worth the tuition price, without instruction. You get much more bang for your money here in South Florida than NYC or the West Coast, certainly. The programs I considered elsewhere had no network to help with employment after graduation. Wyncode actually has staff who work with students from day one until the very day students get their first tech job. The instruction is very much hands-on; our head instructor (professor Auston Bunsen) engages every student and everyone is expected to code along during lectures. The bottomline is that you simply do not learn this stuff by listening or reading, you learn coding by coding. The curiculum is constantly being improved and built upon each day and you can really tell, as a student. The Wynfam (alum and industry supporters) are also a great resource during and, more importantly, after graduation. Have an emergency? They're there for you. This was likely the smartest decision I have yet made in my 31 years on this planet. I only wish I had done it sooner. There is such a demand for tech professionals everywhere. You can literally guarantee your job security for a lifetime. I will warn you - be prepared to give 110%. Give whatever program you decide on your all and expect that it will be hard. You will cry. You will gain or lose an unhealthy amount of weight. But it will be worth every sacrifice. -
Sonny
Tough for beginners but a great course
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I recently took the iOS Development class at BrainStation offered in Fall 2016. The favourite part of my experience with BrainStation was the great instructors with well organized course materials. I was very impressed with things we do in the class, which was heavily focused on hands-on projects. Although first couple weeks were reviewing what I learned at school, it was essential since I lacked in basic foundation in Swift language. I loved how not only instructor is there to help you but also the TAs. They work in the relative field to iOS Development, and I was able to get some professional experience over the shoulders from them. As a student, this was a huge asset for me in getting an internship position.
This course is pretty tough for beginners, but people who do their homework and are very passionate got to finish their courses successfully. Reaching out to the instructor is also important, as they are willing to help you as best as they can.
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Susie
Web Development
The teacher was amazing. Explained to detail made sure everyone was understanding what we were learning. The assistant worked out well so that there was enough to get around the 10 people in the classroom which helped on the waiting time for others to catch up. Well organized and structured course notes.
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Krystina Roman
SEO & Google Analytics Bootcamp
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I've taken 2 bootcamps with Brainstation TO and I loved them. The one thing is the levels within the class are very varying. I have some experience with SEO and Google Analytics so it was easy to be engaged and I learned a lot. If you have no experience or desire to prepare a bit before you will be lost. I've done 3 different SEO type courses to help learn from a wide range of teachers and I really enjoy the teachers at Brainstation, especially Jenn Daly. She has corporate, SMB and startup experience so a wide range. The Nov 27th class was a bit too big. SEO and Google Analytics is very hands on and they do a good job of having demo accounts available and teaching you tricks and tools of the trade. I can read the deck myself, their hands on examples and real life experiences was very helpful. -
Sean Gilchrist
Solid foundation to start your career in the web dev world
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Here is my opinion on the reviews that say you could learn all this for a fraction of the cost in online courses and a couple of textbooks. If you are a legend like Matt Damon and believe everyone who had any formal education “wasted $150,000 on an education you coulda got for $1.50 in late fees at the public library,” then you are correct. There is a wealth of knowledge online waiting to be consumed, and if you have the discipline and drive to teach yourself then you can really learn any programming language you want because it is all out there.
Unfortunately though, not everyone is a janitor with an IQ over 200, and what you don't get in that fraction of the cost, is a focused and guided track, an awesome lead instructor (Ed), and a supportive community where your success is their primary focus. Wyncode gives you the foundation you need to then continue learning on your own. You need to come to Wyncode (or really anything in life) with realistic expectations. You will leave Wyncode with a programming foundation that you will then spend a lifetime building upon. You won't be a monster programmer straight outta Wyncode, but you will have developed the tools necessary to start working your way through problems, and each problem you solve you will continue to improve.
Juha and Jo (the founders) really care about each individual student and their success. Wyncode has a community that you can lean on as much as you want or not at all, but I suggest you use the network around you because that is what you are paying for in addition to the course. I moved to Miami to attend Wyncode, did not know anyone in the tech scene (or in Florida for that matter), and had a job a couple weeks out from one of the Wynterviews they had set up. I now work with an awesome group of people here in Miami.
If you put in the time and work, utilize the help they have to offer, and go in with realistic expectations then you will come out ahead at the end of the program.
Best of luck!
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Jesus Barrenechea
A Good Investment for Me
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Wyncode in my opinion is a good investment in a nutshell, especially if you're someone who is new to the programming world and have zero to little knowledge. And that was exactly my experience with programming; I had none.
The Wyncode experience will be different for everybody. Some will go with the intent of just learning where others will go with the intent of starting a career. I fell under the category of having the intent to start a career in programming. So I took the course very serious despite some minor flaws here and there. But overall Wyncode opened a lot of doors and some of the things I thought were irrelevant actually were very relevant. For example, as much as I hated the one on one assigments, it did prepare me for that kind of experience. It also taught me to think differently and become a better problem solver. Wyncode gives you the basics to build on, so whether you have to learn a different language or new software, you have the necessary skills to learn it.
Another great thing about Wyncode is the community. I met some very talented people in my cohort who I keep in touch with and keep me up to date with the latest technologies or languages since this industry is always changing. Wyncode is also really good about keeping the community abreast of tech meet ups and events which was one of the reasons I was able to get hired at a company. I consistently went to the meetups there and got to know the staff there and ultimately landed an interview. Wyncode also gave good advice towards the job hunt. While I wasn't a fan of applying to same positions as other Wyncoders, it did do a good job of staying on top of new opportunities and keeping us informed about it. Some of the tactics I used to land a job, came from advice given to us from the instructors and the founders. I really wanted to work for this comapny and I kept staying on their radar which is pretty much the advice I got from Wyncode.
Overall I feel Wyncode was a good investment for me. I went in with the intent of finding a job so my approach to course was 100% commitment. I studied hard and had late nights. In other words, I put the work in in order to take full advantage of what I would take from Wyncode, and it paid off. I was hired within 3 months of graduating. But understand that it is not a guarantee if you don't hustle on your end.The amount you learn in just nine weeks is impressive. And it gives you the confidence to know that you can learn to code.
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Katie Black
Worth it.
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I had planned to start grad school ten days after completing Wyncode, but that all changed when I found something I genuinely loved doing. It isn't for everyone, but it's a whole lot more than the sum of its parts - it's a community that you can't get if you just do an online course, and it's a fire under you that will force you both forward and upward. If nothing else, it will force you to come to terms with whether this is a life you want or not. It's hard, and you will be tested. But don't let that scare you. If you want to be a developer - if you want a career that's made by thinking on your feet and a bit of a cavalier spirit, then do it.
I always had an interest in programming, but never went beyond a bit of training in Java from college. A family friend recommended Wyncode, and I had exactly 9 weeks before school started, so I figured I might as well do it. Best decision I've ever made.
There's a base structure to the boot camp, but what you take from it is all up to you. Many of us went all day, every day - from 9 AM to sometimes even 4 AM. You definitely don't have to do it, but every ounce of effort you put in, you get back out.
By no means is it a perfect course. The head instructors are phenomenal, but sometimes the other instructors are maybe not as helpful as they could be. Students usually bond more with the TA's and find them to be more helpful, and often more knowledgeable. Wynwork - job-placement assistance - is helpful for sure, but at the end of the day you getting hired is based on your ability to hustle. It's not a complete knowledge set - you won't be ready to work at Google, but you should also know that going in. This course is designed to get you started - to give you a skill that you have the ability to grow. It teaches you the basics and how to learn more. The rest is absolutely up to you.
I'll never forget what Johanna Mikkola - one of the founders - told us on one of our first days: that we were about to experience something akin to swimming in high seas, and that Wyncode's job was to be a lifeboat always keeping pace beside you. She told us that we might swallow a little bit of water, but they would never let us drown. And they didn't.
I started with minimal programming experience - a year out of college with a degree in Biology and a background in research. I ended as that, but also as a full-stack web developer with a genuine skill. And a Pitch-Day Winner. And a member of our C10 family. And soon after, hired by a great company.
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Karen Lam
One of the best decisions I've made.
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I purposely came to Miami from New York to attend Wyncode, and it has been a wonderful experience. As someone with zero coding experience, Wyncode's 9-week intensive was ideal for me. Bootcamps which were 3+ months long didn't appeal to me, as I didn't want to invest too much time to begin with. Nine weeks was sufficient to dip my toes, get a great foundation, and gauge whether I enjoyed coding (which I totally do). The content, weekly one-on-one’s, implementation of student feedback and overall helpfulness of the staff exceeded my expectations.
The support from the staff and alumni is amazing, and they’re all awesome people. Wyncode instantly made me feel at home, and I've made a ton of great friends for life. Even where Wyncode is located, at a co-working space called The Lab Miami, there is camaraderie amongst the tenants, a great sense of community, as well as opportunities to collaborate and meet people in the startup world.
As for the job search, I was impressed with how Wyncode facilitated many interviews and introductions for us. They always kept students abreast of hackathons, networking events, meetups, hiring opportunities, as well as coding resources for students' use.
Although Wyncode provided an excellent environment to learn coding, ultimately I was the one dictating my experience. I got exactly what I put into it. The point is not to know everything or depend on Wyncode to teach me everything, but to learn how to learn. I don't consider myself to be the smartest, but I am hard-working. I went from not knowing any code to winning my cohort's pitch day! All in all, I'm happy that I chose Wyncode :)
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Nick Leone
The Truth About My Wyncode Experience
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Am I happy with my decision to attend Wyncode?
Absolutely. I would definitely do it all over again. I have learned to read and write code in several languages. And also to think like a developer. More importantly, I learned how to teach myself to learn new technologies and programming languages. This is so important because this is a daily part of being a programmer. You will constantly have to solve problems and figure things out on your own - so get used to that. The perseverance is what will make you a great programmer. I also made some GREAT friends and will always be a part of the Wyncode network or WynFam.
Would I recommend it to a friend?
I actually got turned onto Wyncode from a friend of mine that attended a cohort before me and had a great experience.
Yes, I would recommend Wyncode to a friend. However, with caveats...
I'm sure you've heard this in every review and will hear it often once you're at Wyncode, but here it is again:
What you get out of Wyncode is determined by what you put in (just like everything else in life)
Yes, the job placement stats are a huge selling point and are vetted by a third party. I would say they are pretty accurate. Yes, local companies are excited and interested in Wyncode graduates. But keep in mind, jobs are not being handed to you. Again, just like everything else in life, you have to earn it.
Would you expect a hand out in any other field? I'm guessing your answer is no. So don't expect anything different here. Look at this opportunity as an accelerated jumpstart to your programming career. The real work begins upon graduating from the program.
Something you may want to think about prior to attending Wyncode or upon completion: determine if you want to become a developer or just want the coding background for other types of careers. Most people in my cohort wanted to become developers. On the flip side, one person came in with a strong advertising background and wanted to gain coding skills in order to be a stronger, well-rounded professional in the advertising world.
*Very Important (especially if you want to become a developer)*
DO NOT STOP CODING.
You may feel you've reached the finish line, but don't fool yourself. Keep up the momentum coming off of 12 hour days and keep the Wyncode mentality and work ethic churning. This will absolutely separate you from the crowd and your 29 other classmates who will all be competing for the same jobs. The first people that get hired are the ones who continue building things right after Wyncode.
Keyword, building. Continue making commits on GitHub and have something to show prospective employers. Companies want to know you are serious about being a developer and are constantly coding.
I'm 5 months out of Wyncode. One thing I have learned is that coders code and build things without having to be told to. Either you are into this or you are not. The best programmers are ones who are always working on something. Stay in touch with classmates and work on projects. Attend hackathons. Become part of the community.
Wyncode opened up doors and opportunities for me that would not have been possible before.
Yes, I wish there was more time on JavaScript. They actually just added an extra week for front-end stuff, so there ya go.
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Maddie Shang
Complete BS
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Did a advanced level part-time course with them that is no longer offered.
Really didn't learn much of anythning... the instructor spent so much time debugging his code and offering vague explanations that we were all very lost. Some were stuggling with simply getting things to work, some struggled to get a deeper understanding of the material because instructor can't answer questions.
Also terrible in following up ... we were told we would get a video tutorial on the rest of the material which we didn't cover when we ran out of time and course ended.... we never got said video.
Terrible waste of my time and $.
We started with about 12 ppl and by the end most had dropped out.
I offered to provide feedback to the founder but they weren't interested.
FYI lighthouse labs in toronto seems to have better quality instructors and take teaching more seriously.BrainStation of BrainStation
Student Experience Team
Dec 06, 2018
Hi Maddie,
We appreciate your feedback. At BrainStation, we are constantly updating, reviewing, and rebuilding courses to keep pace with the industry and reflect the most relevant skills in the technology job industry today. This could be why we no longer offer the course that you took.
Student experience is incredibly important to us, so please don’t hesitate to reach out to us directly at contact@brainstation.io so that a member of our team can help improve what appears to be a negative experience. -
Lauren Leibowutz
Perfectly lays the foundation for success
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I went to Wyncode with no previous coding experience at all to pursue a carrer change. The enthusiam, 24/7 support and encouragement was more than I ever expected. All the support and guidence needed is easily available. You get out of it as much as you put into it! The TA's and instructors are incredible. They are always (ALWAYS!) available morning, noon and night! The environment is motivatational, not comeptitive. The program is always evolving and improving since the instructors are very receptive to the daily and weekly feedback.
You learn the fundementals of computer science which is a great starting foundation. At Wynocde you learn how to code but you also join a coding family (community). Wyncode sets you up with everything you need to get and excel at a job.
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I’m A Hyper Active Caffeinated Euphoric Millennial!
Transparency Is Key
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Everything below is based on my experience:
I would like to start off by saying everyone’s experience is going to be different. If you make the decision to “punch the clock” and set your eyes on the prize of becoming a “Full Stack Developer”, here are somethings you need to consider:
“You get out what you put in…”
The saying above is something you will hear quite often while attending the full-time intensive program. This is definitely a true statement not only for the “bootcamp”, but also in life. If there is anything you need to make sense of, is that this program will give you a good foundation but you will not leave the course knowing everything there is to know about web development, especially within such a short time frame.
My Overall Experience:
I definitely enjoyed my time at Wyncode and met some awesome people which I still connect with as an Alumni. I’m almost certain I would not be in the position I am now without it. I have built a strong foundation of the coding basics and how to learn which is the most important skill in this industry. I am able to grow as a developer and have the knowledge to progress on a daily basis on my own. On the other hand, being a graduate of Wyncode, I’ve realize the Tech Scene is not an easy scene to jump right into as entry-level or junior developer. This leads to many hard times, decisions, and misguidance which is an area Wyncode should strive to improve in. “If I had to do it all over again I most definitely would. The network you build and the foundation you can work off afterwards is phenomenal.”
Curriculum:
As far as the curriculum everyone, will have a different opinion but this is where I stand. Ruby on Rails is the programming language being taught at Wyncode as I write this review . Most of the companies in the South Florida Tech Scene I looked at and have applied for mainly work out of different programming languages and stacks such as Javascript Frameworks, PHP, C#, C++, and ASP.net; this is something to keep in mind.
They do dive into Agile Methodologies which is extremely important for today’s Tech Scene. Although it might seem pretty boring or pointless the first week or so, I spend most of my time in this new field spending half of my days working around being agile.
During the bootcamp, you might find some subjects to be irrelevant but they come into play once you move on to start-ups and big opportunities. You may think some subjects are not relevant but in fact they are. Wyncode tries to make sure you soak in as much material as possible before you go into the real world of development.
One of my main issues was the speed of certain lectures, this wasn’t often but when it occurred it was very frustrating at times. It can be very hard to keep up, especially when following along with the instructor who writes code at 70+ wpm, while trying to comprehend the entire lesson. Another thing to know is that that sometimes what you were taught would only cover a portion of what the homework assignment would entail, which forces you to become a soulmate of google and learn to teach yourself. This can be frustrating for some but was a minor issue for me.The frustration you go through while in the bootcamp will also translate into becoming a better programmer in the long run because you’ll learn to deal with hard situations and come up with solutions.
Instructors:
The instructors and TA’s were amazing and somehow are always available to answer any questions, whatever time of day they were just a simple slack message away.
Don’t be scared to ask any questions, in this field there is no such thing as a “stupid question” we’re all here to learn and grow. It’ll seem like those teaching you at the bootcamp always seem to known the answer and that might make you feel like your far from becoming that stature, but best thing for you to do is to take advantage of it and ask as many questions as possible.
Job Assistance:
Not to brag but I’d like to start off by saying I was the first person in my cohort to receive a job right out of Wyncode and I want to tell you everything I did and Wyncode so you have some sort of ground to work off of. You are given all the tools to succeed while in the bootcamp to receive a job coming right out but there is so much to learn, you come out realizing you need to keep hustling and striving to learn a ton more before being on your way down your new venture.
As for me, I stayed focusing on building my network to the biggest I possibly could while being in the cohort and also maintaining those relationships as an alumni. During the bootcamp you will have multiple outlets on learning to do so with free workshops before and after class. There also tons of meet ups during the cohort that you have to take advantage of
WYNWORK
Wynwork is a way for alumni from Wyncode to find opportunities in the job search. Wynwork supplies you with companies/ hiring partners who are looking for developers looking to make there way into the industry. The main thing you should keep in mind with Wynwork is that everyone attending the cohort and previous cohorts will be tackling the same applications so you’ll need to try and be persistent as well as different in some form or fashion for those specific job opportunities.
***Side Tips***
Tip #1
If your looking to work in a different market out of South Florida, you need to put in the extra effort of building a network there as well. For example, if you plan to work in New York:- Join Slack groups for New York Devs ( To be more specific look up by “city” )
- Join LinkedIn groups as well as added companies and developers from those companies, that way you communicate with them, build a relationship, and find out what there looking for.
- Add recruiters based out of the state/city so you can have someone help give introductions in the area.
- Email and call companies based out of the state or city you planned to work in, seeing what they have to offer and what there looking for.
***And if your like me, take a flight out and build your network in the state. Plan accordingly so that you have meetings, interviews, as well as meet-ups to get the most out of your trip.***
Tip #2
Do research on the companies you plan to work for, I can’t stress this enough. If the company your interested in is not a RoR stack based company you need to hustle and dive into the language they use. That way you have a better understanding when you get the interview and you won't be lost when they ask questions about there stack. Just state how passionate you are about the industry and how you’ve got your feet wet in the stack they use. That way you can at the least dive in and learn on the job!
In conclusion, I know this is a lot to soak in, but ultimately the decision is yours. Like I said before, if I had to do it all over again I most definitely would. The only difference is I would spend a majority of my time during the bootcamp building the best portfolio possible and adding as many side projects to it, because that is what is going to separate you from the crowd. Good Luck and hope anyone pursuing Wyncode has an amazing experience like I did and if you need any help or advice, feel free to contact me.
Wyncode’s slack channel: Jschloss309
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jschloss309
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jschloss309
Email: jschloss309@gmail.com
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Mike Gregory
Best Decision of My LIfe
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Why did I do it?
Before Wyncode, I was working at a small investment consulting firm. I was close to graduating college and I was considering taking the Series 65 to become an investment advisor. I had always had an interest in coding and over the years I had done bits and pieces of a few codecademy courses, but never could put it together to actually build something. I knew I really liked coding and the satisfaction of building something cool, so I quit my job, dropped out of college, and enrolled in Wyncode. It was a tough decision and I don't regret it one bit.
What did I get out of it?
I worked my ass of and learned a ton. It's cliche to say, but you do get out what you put into it. Ed (the lead instructor) is incredibly knowledgeable and earnestly cares about the students and building a thriving tech community in Miami. If you're not picking his brain whenever you get the chance, you're doing it wrong.
The most obvious thing that you get out of wyncode is that you learn how to make web apps. If that was all you got out of wyncode, it probably wouldn't be worth the cost, considering all the great resources available online. This is what you get from Wyncode that you can't get online:
- Lifelong friends
- An incredibly motivating environment (you will want to work all day and night)
- Soft skills (writing emails, networking, speaking, etc)
- Job support
- Access to the wyncode slack channel (an invaluable resource)
- Access to other wyncode resources (I use these all the time)
- Access to an awesome coworking space, the LAB Miami
- A large and ever-expanding network of tech people.
Any Complaints?
There are only two things that I really hear when people complain about wyncode: not enough focus on JavaScript and not enough job support. I agree with the first one. I didn't feel like I learned enough about JavaScript during the course, and really I didn't pick it up until after the course was over. Fortunately for you guys, Wyncode just added an extra week of JavaScript practice to the curriculum. They're always listening to feedback and improving.
The second complaint is about job support. I disagree with this pretty strongly. The wynterviews (every student gets interviewed in their final project groups by local companies) are a huge opportunity. There's also a growing name recognition that comes along with being a Wyncode grad, since so many are kicking ass all over the place. You have an instant network with the other wyncode alumni that you can leverage for opportunities. It took me awhile to get hired, but I owe it entirely to Wyncode. I got hired after doing well in a hackathon that was exclusively for wyncoders and employees of the company that put it on.
TLDR
If you're not happy with what you're doing and you want to work in an awesome industry building cool stuff, but you don't know how to get started, do Wyncode and live happily ever after.
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John
Web Development summer 16
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My exerience with Brainstation was amazing!. The structure of the curriculum enabled students to learn concepts in the most effective manner. The staff here are friendly, knolwedgable and always willing to help. The program is pricey, but if you are passionate in development, it is definately worth your time ( or learn it yourself that may take you years).
Some tips for people enrolling:
1) Dabble with programming to see if you like it. Knowing some basic javascript will clear some pain in the long run. The pace of the curriculum is quick so getting familiar with the language and syntax will ensure you don't fall behind.2) Be assertive in asking questions and claryfing conepts repeatedly. Brainstation is a friendly learning envrionment and most people don't come from a programming background.
3) Most importantly, have realistic expectations. Brainstation will give you all the tools and knowledge to become a full-stack developer in 10 weeks. It is the fastest way to become one. However, don't treat it so lightly as it will come easy. Because the pace goes pretty quickly, get ready to put in the extra hours of work and even working on it on weekends. I recomend putting all your heart and soul in those 10 weeks!
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Sarah
Web Development - Summer 2016
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I had been looking all around Vancouver for a web development course for over a year, but I had a difficult time finding something that met all my requirements. BrainStation ended up meeting all my repirements: a schedule that easily fit into my busy life, was intensive enough to get value for the cost, and most importantly, I needed to work on projects that I could see myself using in the real world.
I was really impressed with the entire experience. The facilities are beautiful and modern, the course portal is a great resource to use inside and outside of class, the educators are passionate, knowledgeable, and helpful. I learned more than I exptected and I'm so proud of the final project I created.
Just be sure to bring your own laptop! The school does not have their own computers and I nearly showed up to class without one.
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Hilton G. Santos
BrainStation Vancouver - Review
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I went to BrainStation Vancouver to participate in the Summer 2016 courses of Digital Marketing, Product Management and SEO/SEM & Analytics and was very impressed by the management, the staff and the instructors.
BrainStation has a team of very knowledgeable instructors who also work in companies like Herschel, Unbounce and Mobify (among others) that are a pleasure and privilege to work with.
The atmosphere is laid back, mature and professional.
The Vancouver headquarters will satisfy the most demanding standards.I definitely recommend BrainStation to anyone considering a career in Tech, or increase their skill set.
A special thank you to Kyle, Andrea, Liana, Justin and Loki for having made the experience delightful!
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Deri Cleland
FTL Cohort 5
Overall good eperience. You get what you put into it and if nothing else will guide you to what you really want to do. If you come in with zero coding experience you will get a foundational understanding. Getting to the next level is up to you.
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Manuel Huerta
Great Success!
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Wyncode was an amazing life changing experience! That’s what I tell very one when they ask me about Wyncode, because it true. I went to Wyncode not only to make a change in my life but to also start my career in technology. My previous work experience was in teaching; So my background had nothing to do with technology but it was something that always interested me since I was a kid and I got my first computer.
If someone told me, you can land your dream developer job. All had to do is work your ass off and have no life for 2-3 month, then your life would change forever. I would think that it sounds too good to be true. But I’m living proof that Wyncode is no gimmick.
Not to say that completing Wyncode was easy, by any means. But you get what you put into it. If you follow everything the course gives you to be successful and work till you cant no more, you will come out on top and land your dream dev job.
Besides learning to code and becoming a developer, Wyncode also teaches you the soft skills to being a professional in the tech industry. Which is and might be more important than learning to code.
When it came to the education you get at Wyncode, somedays were better than others. But that’s because the Academy is so new and fresh that they are still improving their curriculum daily. I graduated in Cohort 4 in FTL, and as of today Wyncode is in Cohort 6 in FTL. With that said, since I graduated Wyncode it has improved TONS. Wyncode after every cohort try to improve on their course and make the next cohort better than the last. The instructors every week want us to give them feedback on what they did right and what they need to improve to make even every week better than the next.
The computer languages you learn are Ruby on Rails, JavaScript, HTML, CSS, and much more. But the biggest thing I learned coming out of Wyncode was the ability to pick up any computer language out now or that will come out in the future and be able to understand and master it! So you pretty much become an expert in “Learning How to Learn”! In the tech industry things can be out dated within the hour, that’s why this new ability is so important.
After finishing Wyncode don’t think that they are done with you. When you joining Wyncode, you are not only getting an amazing education but you are gaining a family. They will always be there for you for anything you will need in the future.
Therefore overall Wyncode Academy did follow up on their promise that “You will learn the ART of code.”
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Lauren McP
Thumbs up from an arts student!
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Currently enrolled in the Intro to Web Development at BrainStation and am loving it. I have a content website and paid a hell of a lot of cash to have it designed and developed - I'm taking the course out of interest in expanding my skills, and so that I'm not having to pay someone to expand my site in the future.
As someone with a background in the arts, it can take me awhile to grasp the logical thinking required for coding, but the class has been excellent at giving me the foundation of coding and training me to problem solve like a developer. Definitely recommend for any creatives out there! -
Daniel Crough
A breath of fresh air compared to post-secondary
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I've been taking the Digital Marketing course at BrainStation for the past few months and I love it! I have a marketing degree but needed to get a refresher on some of the digital components of my degree. BrainStation was the perfect choice for me. The classes are relaxed and fun, but in-depth and relevant. The instructors are hip and are all working in the industry. I highly recommend BrainStation.
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Alex S
Awesome Experience
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Choosing Wyncode was a great decision for me. Being in my early 20's I was going to school and working part-time and was just tired of waiting to finish. I decided to enroll at the Fort Lauderdale location for their 4th cohort.
The curriculum was well structured and is continuously improving. You dive into code, learn as much as you can, you cant expect to learn everything, but you will learn what is necessary to get started and begin your career.
The Instructors are there to help you every step of the way and you have this awesome network of alumni you can always connect to if needed. The biggest asset you can have by attending here is becoming apart of this community because Wyncode is in the heart of South Florida tech.
After graduation, I hoped to find a job right out the gates, but I also looked at myself and skills and knew it could take some time. I decided just to continue to develop and learn as much as possible. Lacking any real professional experience, but the business acumen taught really helped leverage my attributes and helped me recieve messages and get interviews.
My overall experience was great, I learned a lot, met some lifelong friends, and have a direction forward. I am now a Junior Software Developer in South Florida at a company I have been a fan of for years. I could have never thought I would be this far in such a short amount of time. Wyncode was one of the best decision's I have ever made.
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Julia Stanescu
Best UX Design Course
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I took the UX Design 12 weeks bootcamp in October 2015. It was one of the best investments I've made. The instructors are very knowledgeable and they are always there to help you.
One of the aspects that I liked the most about the course is that you get the chance to apply all the lessons you learn during the class into a project on your choice. The information I received has given me tremendous value, and contributed in helping me to build my own business.
I highly recommend Brainstation classes to anyone who plans to move up to the next level in their career, start a new career, start a business, or simply just wants to learn something new
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Jaime G
Phenomenal Learning Experience
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Learning technology skills such as mobile development, web design, and coding was the main motivation of submerging myself into this program. It was not an easy choice since there are a ton of coding boot camps out there with great reviews. However, Wyncode offered what I was looking for: majestic curriculum, outstanding classmates, incredible job placement rates, unlimited teaching assistance, and prolific instructors. You can not go wrong with this program. I traveled all the way from Houston to take this course. I wanted to be dangerous, and confident enough to land a job in the IT world. My recommendation is put your time and focus in class since all this knowledge will payout. Another important segment of this curriculum is the development of your soft skills. Get ready to be challenged, and more important, this boot camp will help you to establish your network, advance in your coding skills, and obtain a job in the software periphery.
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David K
Great experience
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I had very few doubts initially that Wyncode would be a good experience. At first, my toughest decision was which campus to go to. In the end I chose to attend the Ft Lauderdale cohort. It ended up being an awesome experience. My instructor at the time, Auston, is superb and really shows a passion for teaching. I think that if anyone is looking for this type of career change, this is the way to do it. Immerse yourself in a program like this, and you will realize that this is the way you truly can make changes in your life. The people at Wyncode do this for a living, they are not just teaching you to code, they are giving you the tools to make a change in your life for the better. It is tough, but if you believe you have the dedication and desire you can make it through and come out feeling like you have made a significant change in your life. Make no mistake, you have to really enjoy writing software so it's best if you have at least tried some preliminary online course first. They have a very good curriculum and they do a good job teaching. They also offer plenty of assistance, TAs, and assignments, but you have to be ready to work hard.
After the program, Wyncode really does make a concerted effort with job placement. Some people get placed quickly, others take a few weeks. It obviously also depends on the situation with the current job market. If you look nationally you'll have a good chance to get placed quickly. But one key advantage is how connected they are locally. So if looking for placement within South Florida is important to you, Wyncode has an invaluable network that helps to increase your odds significantly.
I made it throught the program and I got placed in about a month in a DevOps position here in South Florida. As far as coding bootcamps, my opinion is that they are the best in the region.
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Courtney Bertsch
Events, Workshops & Course A++
I’ve attended multiple events, the SEO workshop, I’m currently enrolled in the Digital Marketing course and I’m already thinking about what I can take next. BrainStation is a fresh approach to learning business concepts with smart and passionate professionals. I would highly suggest BrainStation to anyone looking to build their education or to refresh an old concept.
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Neil Haines
Worth it?
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Like most other people I will start by saying this is an honest and objective review, it is (in my opinion anyway), the only thing is that everyone’s experience is different.
If you do choose to attend Wyncode then you will hear the phrase “You get out what you put in” or something similar, which is true, not just for this course but in life. If you are not ready to fully commit then you may not get what you need or want from this course.
You have to understand that this is the basics being taught, it is a good foundation but you will not leave the course knowing everything there is about programming, I don’t think that will ever be possible and definitely not in just 9 weeks.
Overall Experience:
I did enjoy my time at Wyncode and met some great people while there and honestly believe that I would not be in the position I am now without it. I have learned to code the basics and can grow my skill and knowledge from what I have been taught.
On the other hand, there is a lot of fakeness surrounding the tech scene which can be hard to navigate and Wyncode does you no favors in this area.
I think the best way for you to know if you enjoyed something or if it was worth your time is to ask the question “would you do it again?” and in this case I think I would!
Curriculum:
People have differences of opinion on the curriculum, is Ruby the best or most relevant programming language to be taught at the moment? Most companies I looked at did not think it was but the majority of my cohort that were hired as dev’s do work in Ruby so it’s not an easy subject to resolve.
They do also teach Agile which some of the class thought at the time, was pretty boring or pointless but on the first day of my new career half of that days training was around Agile. Some subjects you may think are not relevant but they are so make sure you take in as much as possible.
Some other classes were, in my opinion, completely pointless, such as “Twitter and LinkedIn power using”, in other words if you want to search anything on these sites put it in the search bar, if you can’t figure that out by yourself then this course is probably not for you anyway.
One of the issues is the speed in which the lectures go, it can be very hard to keep up, especially if you are trying to code along with some of the instructors, sometimes you are best to just take notes and go over everything after class. Also sometimes what you would learn in class would have no relevance to the homework you would be given for that evening this forces you to look for references and teach yourself, this may work for some people but not all. This frustration was heightened when you ended up being taught it in a future class, after you figured it out.
Instructors:
The instructors and TA’s were great and somehow always seemed to be on hand to answer any questions, even at 2 am, if they were not there in person they were only a slack message away.
Now they say “there is no such thing as a stupid question” but every time you approach Ed (Head Instructor) with one it will feel like you have asked the most obvious thing in the world, he seems to know all the answer’s (well about programming anyway) and you would be best to try and use this to your advantage, he is a fountain of knowledge, so ask as much as possible.
The only thing that annoys me was the buzzword’s (I hate buzzword’s). they are so disingenuous; I would rather you just didn’t say anything. I was going to write a few as an example but I even started to annoy myself even thinking of them!
Job Assistance:
This is one area, in my opinion, that failed completely. There was no real advice given here or that much help at all. It was more like you do all the work job hunting and when you tell them what you have found each week they would steal your ideas and leads and tell them to everyone else.
I know, on no less than three occasions, when one of my cohort applied for a position and mentioned this at Wynwork or to the hiring partner or a founder, everyone else from my cohort (and every other cohort that was still not employed) was advised of this position. This meant that the company would be flooded with resumes and would then reject the idea of hiring anyone from Wyncode.
During my cohort, one of my class asked what the tech scene was like for employment in a certain industry and they were advised that it was up to them to find out.
Since my cohort there has been a change of staff and I have heard that things have improved immensely but cannot vouch for that since its just word of mouth.
Matt Campbell of BrainStation
Director of Admissions at Wyncode Academy
Jul 28, 2016
Hi Neil,
Thank you for taking the time to provide A review of the web immersive program at Wyncode. It's great to hear the positive experience you had with our course and that given the chance, you would go through the web immersive again. I wanted to provide some information and add clarity to your point regarding Wyncode's placement services.
At Wyncode, we're most proud of the network we've built in the tech ecosystem in South Florida. Over 80 companies have hired Wyncode graduates with more than 30 hiring at least a second Wyncoder. Our top two hiring partners have six Wyncoders each. This speaks to the value we've been able to add to these companies and helps Wyncoders get placed after graduation.
As far as our current job placement services, Wyncode provides the following job support:
- Wynterviews during each cohort, where Wyncoders meet local tech companies prior to graduation.
- Pitch Day, where over 300 tech community members see the Wyncoders pitch their apps and can approach them for employment
- Wynterviews during each cohort, where Wyncoders meet local tech companies prior to graduation
- Twice weekly Wynwork sessions, available free of charge for life, where Wyncode staff provides information on open jobs, individual support, and training to help in the job search and personal introductions to companies
We’ve recently added improvements including a Hiring Coordinator to support the job placement search and Wyncode's co-founder, Juha Mikkola, involved in day-to-day support. As far as your claim about us sharing roles, our goal is to help Wyncoders find jobs, not harm their efforts. We would never take a Wyncoders' role and offer it to others. If this has happened without our knowledge, please let us know the details so we can investigate.
We are also committed to transparency, and as a result, we will be the second coding bootcamp in the nation to have its placement outcomes independently verified by Morrison, Brown, Argiz & Farra, LLC, one of Miami's most respected accounting firms. This is part of a commitment made public in a letter to the President of the United States in March 2015. Please keep a look out for this report, as it will provide clear data regarding the job outcomes of Wyncode graduates.
We appreciate you leaving your feedback and are happy to have improved on our job placement services as well as the transparency regarding our graduate outcomes.
Thanks,
Matt -
Roger R
Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This
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- Post clear, valuable, and honest information that will be useful and informative to future coding boot campers and what could they have done better.
I can only tell you how i see it and what i when thru. I took the Miami cohort and i did my research just like you are doing now i may have done it a little more than you since i actually moved from another state to attend the Wyncode Bootcamp. The pre-work was challenging time-consuming & i didn't do it all, ontop of that i set up parts of my environment wrong (Ed, the instructor, will say this the first day "there is always someone that doesn set up things correctly" yes, that was me!). The course starts out hard the first week and gets harder the second, am a pretty slow learner so it was hard for me the whole time!! get use to this rhythm. the teaching style that Wyncode has frustrated a couple of my peers but like all things, there is always and explanation and a reason for doing things.
learning style: Wyncode is gonna push you to your knees and expose you to things you do not know and that they have not YET cover they will not tell you "we will teach you this later" so it adds to the pressure of you trying to figure it out literally the entire day!! (class ends at 4 work ends at 1am 2am perfect for the waking up at 9am to make it to class by 10am). this worked out for me perfectly casue jumping without a parachute and knowing that feeling of not knowing shit! made me remember things better once they actually thought this it made it stick more and i for sure know how important that parachute is now. i feel if people dont understand this its gonna actually fuck with them so https://www.amazon.com/Make-Stick-Science-Successful-Learning/dp/0674729013 here is the book where i learned this. audible that if you end up taking Wyncode.
INSTRUCTORs: ED Toro MIT grad and exelent instructor will throw as many references to you so that you can relate things you already know to the new things he is teaching you one of my roomates mr.sean G give me this insight casue ofcourst i had no idea what he was talking about when he talked about the other things either lol so i used the jokes he told tp relate them to the things he was teaching overall ed is as real as they come and straight to the point if u have a chance to talk to him milk him for as much knowledge as you can as he is always ready to share it. TIM Reen, Joe Ciancio and Bryce joe and Tim are wyncode alumns that know how to teach you since they know where your coming from you see them face problems and solve them infront of you i love there teaching style they will all ask "those this make sense?" and the only person that can stop you from learning is your ego my answer to this question is NO once i got to know them i didnt even wait for the question i just when PAUSE i dont understand this or i lost you here .. ask for help ! they want to teach you and sare there knowledeg with you!
CURRICULUM: You will not have time to learn everything and you never have enough time (this is still true now that i actully do this for a living) they pick out the things that they feel are relevant to the job market and teach them to you, you will absorb what you choose and look back on everything else to recall it (notes are your friends shout out to SANTI for lending me hes notes !). i used everything i learned and continue to revisit what i thought i had learned. if you choose to go to a bootcamp and your reading this go to treehouse right now ! while you have time! trust me!!!(wish someone would have screamed at me like that.)
JOB ASSISTANCE: they will assit you give you the openings and the tools to show up to a job without feeling like and idiot the assistance is seen on slack they pretty much act as a job search engine and will put a good word for you so you have better chances . i cant really speak much on it since i gota job almost 2 weeks later with out using much of there network. KEEP IN MIND JOB ASSISTANCE DEPENDS ON THERE BEEN JOBS! THE LESS JOBS THE MORE COMPETETIVE IS GONNA BE. GET EXPERIANCE Wyncode will give you some by hireding you to be a TA but aside from that you gotta come up with more real world experience.
Overall Experience: FIRE ** 808&codebreaks Wyncode & Wynfam4life!!!! this was and amazing experiance with and amazing group of people i dont know where they all are right now but i will say i love you all!! step back i just put my whole c8 clan on a pedestal! BLess! ^^
DONE BETTER: every great meal deliciouse slice of cake end up in the the toilet smelling like shit so here is something that i feel can be improve in wyncode. LONGER cause hey i alwasy want more for my money!!!! more hiring partners cause there can never be enough! better mechanisam for picking groups i felt i got bambusol in my group am lookin at (retracted) and (retracted)! people should work on what they choose to work on at the end it worked out but it couls have end it bad! Wyncode does adapt what we give in retro but most of the big changes come in for thenext cohort (am jelouse of you already), i know you cant change a system you have set up right away but maybe make it more object oriented and where you an make a change in one place and apply it faster.
conclusion if you wanna change your life and by that i mean your career then Wyncode will transform you and give you the tools to modify yourself. now i hear this other bootcamp is better well idk what to say to that cause i didnt do those other bootcamps i did this one.
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Christina Nguyen
They Nurture What You Put In!
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If you are debating on doing a bootcamp over the question of "can you really learn everything you need to be a developer after 9 weeks?" then you are looking at it the wrong way. Even people who have been in the field for 10 years still have more to learn. So what makes this bootcamp worth 10 grand?
This isn't a factory that is going to give you the most common 100 steps you need to learn to build a web-app and get hired. They try to introduce you to as many technologies and concepts as they can so you can break down a problem and figure out how you want to solve it. You learn that there is no one "right" answer to approaching a problem. The lectures cover a wide-range of things you should learn to become a junior dev, and it is a ton of information shot at you in those 9 weeks. The point is they teach you how to use the free resources out there to teach yourself so you'll be able to grow with the industry for the rest of your career in tech.
Is it hard?
They have a motto: "You get out what you put in". I'd say they do that plus a bit more, but you have to put in the work. You definitely need to dedicate hours of undivided attention to learning the material. However, the resources (TA's, projects, and networking) make all your hard work flourish. Sure, you could use all the free resources out there to teach yourself, but Wyncode gives you the structure to achieve that in less time, plus connect you with companies and classmates who also can connect you to companies. Wyncode is as hard as you make it.
This bootcamp was definitely worth my time and money. I wouldn't have been able to push myself on my own. They won't hold your hand. You have to fight for the job, and fight to learn, and get help. However, in the end that will help you make the most of what they have to offer.
I was hired 1 month after the camp was over by one of their hiring partners, SapientNitro. This isn't just a boring, build-a-simple-website, sort of job. It's an exciting ad agency that wants their workers to continue to grow and learn. Did Wyncode hand me the job? No. The set up group interviews and then I had to put in the work to follow-up, interview well, and show my skills. Wyncode was valuable because I wouldn't have known about SapientNitro if it wasn't for Wyncode, and vice versa.
I love Wyncode and the people behind it so much that I am also a part-time TA for them now.
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Sean R.
100 Days Out - Was Wyncode worth it?
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I'd like to preface this review by stating that I was asked by one of the founders of Wyncode, Juha, to write a review. I planned on writing one anyway prior to his request, but I wanted to wait out the post-graduation 90 day job placement period before doing so to give Wyncode a fair chance. As of writing this, it’s been exactly 100 days since I’ve graduated. This review is fully honest, transparent, and objective. I’m not holding anything back.
Also, this review is based on my own personal experience... and like anything else, your mileage may vary. That said, I’m not going to preach the clichéd "what you put into it is what you get out" hustle statement because that should be common sense. I can't think of anything in life in which that does not apply to.
As some of the reviews below reflect, our cohort had difficulties. We had a new instructor who was apparently hired right before the cohort began. It was obvious that he hadn't had enough time to learn the curriculum, and that becomes detrimental when you are learning at the speed of a coding bootcamp. We also had an awesome daytime TA take another job a few weeks in, and she wasn’t replaced, which made it tougher to get help when we really needed it. Finally, Fort Lauderdale’s former classroom was a dump. The chairs were great, but everything else sucked. It was covered in dust because the walls were unsealed concrete block, it was directly next to train tracks which caused constant (and often extended) disruption, the internet connection dropped daily, and coming and going at night was shady to say the least.
So why a five star experience? Because nothing in life is perfect, but what I got out of Wyncode was more valuable than anything advertised.
I learned how to learn.
When things broke, and when we didn’t have enough TAs, we had to fend for ourselves. While that might seem like a negative, it really opened my eyes to what I’m capable of. In nine weeks I went from knowing basic Web 1.0 HTML and CSS to creating fully-responsive web applications. I’m proud of that accomplishment, and Wyncode gave me the resources to get there.
Yes, there are a ton of free and inexpensive online courses to learn development. But they don’t give you the benefit of working with others to generate ideas and problem solve. The true benefit of Wyncode is the people you meet and work with daily, and the insight you gain from working together. I was forced to get out of my jaded, introverted comfort zone. I spent crazy hours and weekends with a great bunch of people. Most importantly, l learned how to learn quickly. Learning quickly wouldn’t have been possible for me had I tried to go it alone.
To my knowledge and experience, all of the other problems I addressed have been corrected. I visited the new classroom. It’s not directly next to the train, and it’s very nice inside. I sat and listened to the new instructor for about 30 minutes and he seemed to be doing a great job. I didn’t hear any complaints in the Fort Lauderdale Slack channel about the internet connection following my cohort.
I found a really cool job with a start-up two weeks ago. Wynwork, the post-graduation job search sessions that are held weekly, gave me the motivation to get that job. Someone below mentioned that Wynwork is like group therapy sessions for the unemployed. I agree 100%, but I certainly don’t see that as a negative. Being able to hear the struggles and successes my peers were going through and know that I wasn’t alone pushed me to get where I am today.
Also, Juha and Johanna are awesome people, and really do care. They were swift in addressing the issues I personally had, and the way they handled those issues came from the heart. They hire great, positive people from an industry that can be cold and closed off. They’ve built a great program, and they know what they’re doing.
Would I do it all over again if I had the chance? Hell yes. I see myself as a different person after Wyncode. Wyncode not only taught me how to code, it gave me some very important life skills, and I’m forever grateful for the change that I went through. Prior to Wyncode I’d never in a million years let my cynical brain say anything like that. Nothing in life is perfect, but learning what you’re really capable of is invaluable.
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Michael Busta
Family First
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From the very first day the Wyncode "Family" accepted me for who I was and was constantly encouraging me to always be learning and growing. Wyncode taught me that some days we make massive strides, and other days’ mere inches but as along as our efforts are channeled in the right direction you'll always be better then you were the day before. Wyncode not only provided me with the knowledge to be a Web Developer but they provided me with a "family" I know I can always rely on. The support they offer their students and alumni is overwhelming: technical support, after class/week-end teacher assistants, and even weekly "job search" workshops. It is truly amazing how much one can learn in a collaborative environment surrounded by like minded individuals all reaching for similar goals. I will be honest it is intensive, you will be studying/practicing at LEAST 10 hours a day 5 days a week not including weekend projects and homework assignments. You WILL get frustrated but like I said the support is there you just have to be willing to put in the effort. Some of the draw backs of Wyncode is that it is only 9 weeks long and the amount of time spend learning JavaScript is not nearly as much as the time learning Ruby, but that is on purpose. See Wyncode teaches you that once you have learned one programming language you tend to be able to learn other languages a lot faster and I would 100% agree with that. So although it would definitely be great to have more time spent between the two programming languages it is not necessarily needed. Overall going to Wyncode has been one of the best experiences of my life and I wouldn't trade the people and connections I've made for anything! If you are considering attending Wyncode please attend a pitch day event or stop in one day and see what it is like I am sure you will be impressed! (Special shout out to: Juha and Jo, Ed, Jose, Joe C, Henry, and Bianca... Amazing group of people!)
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Gregory
Turbocharged learning
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Yes, it's possible to follow the self-study route and learn Ruby on Rails, HTML, CSS and JavaScript. However, the coding bootcamp route has definitely paid off for me. My previous experiences with PHP took me ages to learn with self-study and I did not understand how to use the correct tools for the job, nor how to write 'DRY' code (modular non-repetitive code).
The nine-week course I completed at the Ft. Lauderdale campus (at the FAT village art district) offers a well-rounded study of all of the web technologies and tools to create a functional web application. The course also stresses mobile-first development, so your web pages can operate in many ways like a mobile app. The curriculum is not perfect, but the instructors are intelligent and the TA's are always helpful.
While a large portion of class time consists of lectures, there are also other learning formats such as socrative, hackathons, class coding and group coding. Self-study is also important while in the bootcamp, as the projects are quite time consuming, regardless of experience level. Expect to spend many hours working to get the most out of the program.
Though I had previous coding experience, most of the others in the cohort did not. There is no expectation of programming knowledge, but the program moves very quickly. Be sure to complete all pre-work to gain understanding before the course begins.
Two other reasons I chose Wyncode were that you are given a membership at the coworking space...this provides a helpful environment with less distractions (as focus is key when working on a tedious thing such as computer code). Though placement is not a guarantee, there are access to hiring partners, networking events, and Wynterviews (group interviews).
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Brian Ma
Web Development Immersive - Spring 2016
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I graduated from BrainStation's Web Development Immsersive Class in June 2016 and found the experience to be comprehensive and enjoyable. In 10 weeks, students are taught how to build a functional web application from beginning to end. Many students have no previous experience in web development and are still able to follow the course's quick pace, although it would certainly be beneficial. The course is structured in a way that students are presented with new topics in a meaningful order that allows a thorough understanding of how the different parts of a web application are connected. Although there is no formal job assistance, the staff at BrainStation is very active in helping students achieve their goals. I would certainly recommend this course and would advise prospective students to have clearly defined goals heading into the course as well as a realistic expectaion of the amount of work that is required to achieve loftier goals.
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Matthew Kellough
Cohort 8
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Before coming to Wyncode, I graduated from school with a degree in both Finance and Marketing. After graduation, I spent a year in Madrid teaching primary school. I have yet to mention coding in my background, because January 11th, the first day of cohort 8, was the first day I ever touched or had even seen code. I will admit, the first week I was pissed, frustrated, upset, etc. but that was only because doing this course and learning this material, I had to adapt to a new way of processing and thinking.
Fortunately, the great instructors and ta's at Wyncode really helped me through this. I felt at ease, if not overtly comfortable, asking whatever questions I had, no matter how stupid they were. All due to the atmosphere that this program has created. If I had not elected Wyncode and went with another program, I strongly believe I would not nearly be at the level I am at now.
To be blunt, previous to Wyncode, I envisioned this career as one that is completely isolated and done while hidden in a cavernous basement pounding down bags of Dorito's and liters of Mountain Dew but this could not be further from the truth. Yeah, after Wyncode you'll be able to create things you never thought imaginable, but to me, that was only a small part of the overall experience. The intangibles of creating a network in this exciting new space and the people I met both students and in the tech community, I value just as much.
And because this is such an honest review, there were many others in my class who were better coders than I was. With that being said, I still have a job as a developer. It's easy to ridicule this program for their job placement services if you are naive and expect Wyncode to magically gift you with a job upon pitch night. That's not going to happen. I worked to get my job but I am aware and thankful that if it were not for Wyncode and what I learned there, I would not be in the position I am now. The jobs are there for you if you work to find them.
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Ashleigh Collins
Amazing Place!
Took the Social Media Marketing workshop last weekend, and it was awesome! Learnt so much in one day, and the instructor Erin was great- super knowledgable and so helpful! Not only are the Brainstation facilities incredible, but the staff are wonderful as well. Well worth my time and money and I would highly recommend to anyone thinking to try out a course at Brainstation!
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Amanda M Ring Rissler
100% ROI in 5 Months!
Wyncode launched my career change in less then 8 months! I transitioned from hospitality to tech after completing the bootcamp and launching a career as a business analyst with a Wyncode hiring partner. I’m ecstatic to report that I have seen a 100% ROI on my investment in just 5 months!
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Marko
Full Time WDI Course
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I took the full time immersive web development course winter 2016. It was one of the best decisions I made. Before I began the course I planned on taking online bootcamps so I studied a bit of Javascript on my own and had a solid basic understanding of the language. But I decided on Brainstation because of the curriculum. They teach the JS frameworks throughout which makes it a bit easier than having to learn Ruby AND JS for example.
I knew I liked programming but I didn't know what to study on my own, hence why I decided to take the course. Suffice to say, I got maximum value out of the course and have to really applaud the instructors and organizers, they put tremendous effort into ensuring you come out of the course with an arsenal of skills. There was always extra projects / challenges to tackle if you finished early or ahead of schedule and the instructors and TAs are tireless in helping out. Fantastic atmosphere, fantastic learning space as well. If you are planning on getting into this field, Brainstation is a no brainer. But I do suggest you familiarize yourself with some material beforehand, spend as much time as you can learning JS and doing practice problems as it will let you focus on utilizing the tools you know to build things instead of learning to use the tools.
The course is paced well for any type of learner, slow or fast. You will build projects for every major topic and thats where the magic happens. The more ambitious your attempt, the more value you will get out of the course. The projects are also managed by the staff to mimic real world environments, ie. agile development with sprint plans etc. Job prep is also included in the tail end of the course. You will get a sense of what is required for interviews, the importance of an online presence, personal projects and contributions etc. We were also interviewed by the parent company's technical director as a practice exercise. I was lucky enough to land a second interview and an internship position sometime after the course.
I did however spend all my weekends working on course material and trying to build different things based on what we learned thus far. In the final 2 weeks where the entirety of the course was focused on individual final projects, I spent over 9hrs a day working on my web app. Brainstation won't guarantee any % of graduates landing jobs but if you invest a signifcant amount of time and effort into creating a small portfolio while you are doing the course, you will have a very good chance of being hired for a junior role somewhere in the city, I am confident of that. Brainstation provided a platform to dive deep into this field and extract maximum value and knowledge in a relative short span. Although I come from a technical background and have a slight inclination to technical topics, I believe anyone willing to put 100% energy into this can come out of it with as much value or more than I have. Excellent staff, excellent support, excellent course material.
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Anonymous
Change Your Career. Change Your Life
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For more than half a year I had been trying to learn how to code online.
There are dozens of pretty decent resources out there, and I knew people who managed to get certificates and start coding after all. But, unfortunately, for me it was extremely hard to A. find time and B. has someone to monitor my progress to assure the commitment. That’s when I knew I needed something drastic: I needed a bootcamp.
Once I narrowed down the geographic factor to Florida, it was very easy for me to choose Wyncode. Not only because of the positive reviews online, but mostly because I knew they were here first and had an established presence and connections that I needed to begin my new career afterwards.
If you are considering a bootcamp right now, I suggest, you go to one of the Wyncode open houses and see for yourself: lots of reviews here mention great team and assistance, so I won’t say more; but another thing that was mostly important for me was that Wyncode teaches you variety of skills apart from programming, which can be crucial for finding a tech-job. They teach you how to work in a team and take on different roles: scrum, front-end, back-end. You will have a huge network of developers, business owners and just tech-writers, if you take advantage of Wyncode’s regular events and meet-ups. Wyncoders are also extremely friendly and there is a special bond among most of them regardless the Cohort.
I was lucky to experience myself and witness the personal involvement of the whole team including the co-founders Juha and Jo in finding jobs for graduates after the course. That was very important for me: to find a job and enter the tech-world.
Studying is not easy. In fact, it’s pretty demanding. If you want to maximize results: be ready to devote all your life for at least 2 month to the program, otherwise, it can be very difficult to catch up and super easy to fall-off and get discouraged. Apart from the course itself, you will have to find your own ways to learn and explore to stay on top of the game. But it will be so much easier, once you go through Wyncode, to navigate what and where you need to research. You will learn to learn, they say at school. And for a programmer, product/project manager, tech writer, business founder or whoever you decide to be afterwards (the possibilities are vast): there is never an end to learning.
One more thing, if you have an app idea, and want to create a successful start-up, Wyncode is the perfect place to go. They always support each and every start-up that comes out of the classroom. It is their pride and honour to be as helpful as possible and match you up with the right people.
I do not work for Wyncode and was NOT paid for writing the review. I just went. Studied. Struggled. Survived. And loved it.
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Milad Zolnoor
Transparency
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Prior to my experience at Wyncode, I was a Pre-Medical Student. After spending the majority of my upper level academic life studying the natural sciences, I decided it was time for a change as I was no longer happy with my academic direction. I was fortunate enough to find Wyncode. This enticed me to take a complete chance and change the path I was on. However, everyone chooses to take this jump for different reasons, I wanted to be able to have some sort of creative outlet in what was to be my career.
Wyncode is 9 weeks of bliss and difficulty. This experience will push you to the limit, specifically if you have no programming experience prior to Wyncode. These 9 weeks will force you to walk a contrasting line. You will have moments of complete happiness when you are able to understand, conceptualize, and implement new ideas and practices. However, you will have moments of absolute frustration, anger, and anxiety when you approach tasks and objectives that don't make sense at the time.
This difficulty is normal, coding/programming is difficult. It isnt meant to be easy, you will need to give everything you have to this program to be successful and get what you want out of it. You will be given new concepts to build on everyday, you will hear terms that you have never heard of, and you will be explained ways to implement all of this in ways that will require practice to develop fluidity. For the 9 weeks, you will have to put certaine routines on hold, you will have to remove yourself from the familiar comfort zone you were previously residing in. You will have to change your mindset, you will need to ask everything of yourself.
With that said, I believe Wyncode to be a great and a beautiful place to learn this unique skill. Wyncode provides the environment and staff to make sure that this transition and learning curve are taken on as smoothly as possible. Wyncode's Miami campus employs a gentleman by the name of Ed Toro. He could be one of the most well versed educators in his craft. His true value lives in his patience and his desire to see every person who walks in those doors understand and learn. When Ed is not available, Wyncode schedules teaching assistants everyday, even on weekends. These are individules that will spend more than just 5 minutes with a student. They don't get tired of multiple questions and they want to see you succeed. They are there every weekend for projects and for every syntax error along the way. Every individual deserves some sort of recognition on this post, every instructor/teaching assistant who stays after hours for the greater good of the cohort, each one that answers a slack message at 1 AM, these are the people you will be fortunate enough to learn from and grow with.
Wyncode's curriculum is heavily based around Ruby and its most well known framework, Rails. You will spend a better part of 4 to 5 weeks on this subject matter. There will be one week in between Ruby and Rails that will be dedicated to HTML and CSS. Following this area of the curriculum you will encounter JavaScript. I appreciated the curriculum as a whole for building some sort of infrastructure for my programming life but I do believe more attention should be placed on JavaScript. Wyncode's curriculum currently and going forward will not make you a senior developer or a intermediate developer. Your knowledge will be very limited as it is only 9 weeks, but Wyncode TEACHES YOU HOW TO LEARN. This will be the most valuable lesson you will learn.
When it comes to job assistance, the first thing that gets noted is that people will assist you. Rita will go in the trenches for you, she will put you in positions to get the job, but you must GET the job for yourself. IT WILL NOT BE EASY. NO ONE IS GOING TO HAND YOU OR GET YOU A JOB. YOU WILL HAVE TO DO IT YOURSELF. This should not be a shock, Rita will tell you this, Jo and Juha will tell you this, every Wyncoder prior to you will tell you this. If you don't grind, it will be noticed. If you don't work hard it will be noticed. Push yourself to get a job with intensity.
I would recommend this experience to anyone who has the desire to learn how to program/code. It will be worth it at the finish.
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Rodney
Tough but worth it.
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If you have any questions feel free to ask me at my email rodneyeperez@gmail.com.
Some background:
I came into this course with no previous experience in coding. I was a history major in college. I did not go to any pitch days and didn't know what I was getting into. I joined because I wanted a career and life change. Wyncode will require your full undivided attention.
Course:
You learn Ruby, HTML/CSS, then you move on to Rails, learn javascript, and learn concepts of test driven development. You also learn Agile and other Lean startup practices
Instructor:
My instructor was Auston Bunson. I'll say I wish all my college professors were as dedicated to making sure everyone learned as he was. He was open to feedback and worked hard to make sure you were a proficient coder. He is a brilliant guy and if you were a job you’d be very lucky to have him as a senior. I know a lot of people would say he goes too quickly or isn’t a good teach but I’ll go ahead and challenge them by saying that they were probably not very good students. Did they ask questions, did they do all the assignments, did Auston ever turn anyone away from asking their question? I think you will find that they tried to cut some corners.
Job Placement:
Getting a job isn't easy. In any field, it is hard. You have to interview you have to do coding challenges. Wyncode does try to make it easy as possible though. They host tech events for you to make people, introduce you to people hiring, give you practice interviews. They do as much as they can. I don't see any college going this far. Rita tries to prepare as much as possible. My own personal experience is that I wouldn’t have a job in this field without Wyncode introducing me to my future boss at pitch day.
My Thoughts:
Anyone that comes in with the mentality that this course is going to teach them everything or make it easy to do anything is not going to benifit in my opinion. You have to put in the work and really dedicate yourself to being a self learner and self starter. Wyncode gives you so much to get where you want to go a lot faster. If it came with no classes but just the Wyncode community it would be worth it. They are willing to answer any questions at any time of day help you with anything and are just great people. I would recommend this course over any amount of college. These people actually care if you succeed or not.
If you have any questions feel free to ask me at my email rodneyeperez@gmail.com.