BrainStation

A well facilitated, learning experience, exposing students to the full design process. Great content, a bit condensed given the limited timeline. An understandable limitation nonetheless. 

Observations/feedback re: wireframe software used, there was notable compatibility issues when converting between mediums. My free Sketch trial ran out prior to submitting the final project - this was due to downloading Sketch for the pre-course challenges.

I took the Data Science (online live) course with Brainstation in the fall of 2019. For context to this review I am not in a technical career (I work in HR) but I study computer science part time and have about 18 months experience programming, mostly in Java. This is my second Brainstation course, following a part time web development course I completed in 2018.

Initial impressions to this course were very good – there is pre-coursework to be completed prior to the first session and the initial pace of the course is gentle, which gave me a chance to get my bearings with Python, its syntax and Jupyter Notebooks (which is the application used to teach the material). The pace rapidly increases however and the course covers many core data science concepts over the weeks that follow. This was one of the things I liked most about the course – as it covers a broad range of subjects you get a solid overall understanding of the foundations behind data science, which sets you up nicely for further study and research in the future.

Parin Shah was our instructor for this course – he was very good. Very patient teaching style and happy to slow down and go over things as many times as necessary for them to sink in. Would recommend.

As for the platform (doing the course online live rather than in person) this was good and offered more interaction with my peers on the course than I expected. I would recommend a 2 screen set-up for this course if you have the hardware available – it is a great to be able to go through the material with the instructor on one screen while trying things out as you go along on the other screen as well.

Overall this was a great experience – I know a lot more about data science and python than I did a few months ago! If you are someone looking to start studying in data science I would for sure recommend this.

I took the 10 week Data Analytics Course via their 'Online Live' platform. My entire experience was awesome! I'm glad I made the decision to learn with them again, after already completing the Product Management certificate. 

I felt very supported by the entire BrainStation team throughout the entire course. My instructor was excellent. He was an expert in the field and provided industry examples for all of the tools and concepts we learnt. He was organized, engaged, and truly cared that we were getting the most out of the course material. 

I would definitely recommend the course and would encourage trying an 'Online Live' course if you can. It's a great way to level up your skills in a more flexible and accessible way. Looking forward to applying my new knowledge to my career!  

Enrolled in the course to learn some new things and to become a better marketer. I’ve taken a few other courses at BrainStation so I was already very familiar with the structure and quality of the curriculum. This course was a fantastic dive into the world of data analytics. Aside from the theoretical concepts of data analytics, I was able to gain hands-on experience using tools such as advanced Excel, SQL, and Tableau. Very quickly, I applied the skills I learned in class to real-life challenges at my job. 

I took the “Online Live” version of the course, so there was a bit of adjustment in the beginning. A few things you might want to consider when choosing online live over in-class:

Pros: 
— You can attend class from anywhere. Although the instructor is based in Vancouver, we had individuals who checked in from other cities and time zones. 
— The format of the online live version is just like the in-class version. No worries about feeling like you’re missing out on the BrainStation experience. 
— Things were easier to see because it was happening right on your computer screen instead of squinting at a monitor at the front of a classroom. 

Cons:
— You miss out on some of the spontaneity and organic conversation that occurs in a real-life classroom. People in the class seemed to be apprehensive about chiming in because it’s a video conference.
— Since data analytics is a very hands-on type of class as opposed to something like digital marketing which involves a lot more explanation of concepts, you miss out on some of the benefits of having an instructor physically present. For example, many students ran into some tech issues when using SQL or Tableau, but they couldn’t easily show their screen to the instructor. 

Overall, the instructor dealt with these issues to the best of his abilities. Despite these small hiccups, I definitely recommend this BrainStation course and Online Live!

Just graduated from Brainstation's Web Dev Bootcamp. Great experience overall, the material was very thorough and up to date with the current development environment. The units moved by quickly and were extremely comprehensive, and overall the community was amazing and really has helped empower me in my career change towards web development. 

I took the full-time user experience diploma program in the fall 2019 cohort. It was quite intense both during class and outside of class but well worth it!

I really enjoyed all the workshops and events that helped us connect to professionals in the industry.

The mentor ship program was amazing! Our mentors helped us through and gave us great feedback on how to be successful.

I didn't come from a design background so it was quite intimidating to start a new career path in design but BrainStation made it achievable and provided the knowledge required. 
 

Although BrainStation provides a great foundation and support, the success of students is dependant on the effort and work that is put into this program. Expect to put in the work to see the results!

Feel free to connect with me through LinkedIn if you'd like to chat more! 

The digital marketing course was a great experience for me.

Both instructors were very good. They explained the concepts in a very clear way, with lots of examples from real world. They had a very positive attitude all along the course and they were always open to suggestions.

The curriculum of the couse is a good one and many resources were shared by the instructors.

The only downside of it was that the school does not provide a demo account for some programs that are being used during the class so it is a bit difficult to practice. 

I loved my recent online live course obtaining a Product Management certificate. The 10 week course seemed to cater to both new students who were just starting to understand what a PM does, but also could be very good practice for seasoned candidates who already have a PM role and want to be better at it. My Fall course had a small class of 6 students, which was the perfect size to make sure we were all heard and participating equally. This particular online live course was every Tuesday night for 3 hours. We generally took a small break as a class about halfway through the learnings, but otherwise the rest of the time was jam-packed with custom Brainstation slides to supplement the lecture. The slides definitely helped me (as I am a visual learner) and now that it's over, I remember the course work from memory based on the visual layout of charts that they gave us to help brainstorm our products. These slides will be used for sure in the future, so even just those little resources are invaluable. Brainstation was eager and happy to fix a slide that I gave feedback on when I mentioned that the font was hard to read. All of the students in the class learned so much over the course of 10 weeks- this was evident at the end of the course when we presented our MVPs. The final assignment was low pressure and open for interpretation- which was refreshing for us to be able to define the assignment. Some of my classmates even worked on projects that they could present to their bosses at their full time jobs. Our instructor Britt was seriously the best. I was hesitant to go "back to school" based on previous negative experiences I've had with other colleges and teachers, and Britt reminded me that some teachers can still be great. She was knowledgeable, professional, and very helpful when she gave real life examples for just about every topic. She was never condescending when someone asked a question that might've been obvious, and made a point to actively engage everyone in the class. I also really liked that she was always available outside of class via Slack to help us as we worked through assignments, or just to kick around ideas. The course length of 10 weeks was a perfect amount of time to learn a lot, but not so long that I didn't get burnt out while juggling a full time career. I will definitely be looking into other courses that Brainstation offers, as this was a very positive experience, and everything I could've asked for when making the choice to devote my spare time to help further my career. 

Opting BrainStation to upgrade my skills was the best decision I’ve ever made in my career. Learning resources are insightful, support from educators are incredible.

Before taking this program, I took some online courses. This full time program is a totally different experience. The educators are nice and knowledgeable. Although the course is very intense, you will need to push yourself and I've learned a lot during these three months.

I just finished taking the Search Engine Marketing Class with Brainstation. This was my fifth class with Brainstation and I have gained a ton of value from each of them. 

This class was a great overview of Search Engine Marketing, what to look for and how to do it. Both the instructors were hands on, constantly working with students on individual learning, and both very knowledgable. 

Won't be the last course I take from Brainstation, and I recommend it to you. 

I couldn't recommend Brainstation's Web Development course more! 

Each concept was explained clearly and thoroughly. We got a lot of learning value out of each class.

Zach taught the lessons at a good pace - one that was easy to follow for beginners but also provided enough challenges to ensure growth. Adam made sure that all of our questions were addressed and explained concepts very clearly. 

The student support at Brainstation is great as well. 

 

I had a fantastic experience while I studied at BrainStation Vancouver. The instructors were always presenting examples and trying to explain the hardest things in an easy way.

Machine Learning is an amazing field and I'm happy to have had the opportunity to study the concepts at BrainStation.

I'd highly recommend this school because they really want to accelerate students' progress.

 

I cannot believe  how much I was able to learn in 12 weeks. The class was challenging. We learned skills that I feel are practical and applicable. The course is suitable for ones without coding background but if you have some statistics knowledge it would be easier.I would absolutely recommend this program to those who want to shift their career to working with data. 

 

The instructers were always willing to help and offer guidance throughout the course. 

All BrainStation team really support us to have a great education experience though the whole course.

It was an amazing experience and I will recomend this course to whoever wants to change careers path or even if you are already in the industry and you just want to build more skills. I signed up to the UX Design full-time diploma with no design background and I can say that i feel confident jumping into the design world! BrainStation community is very friendly and all educators, TA's, and employees at the campus always make you feel comfortable.

I recently got done with the extensive 12 weeks UX Design Diploma course at BrainStation and would like to share my review on the same. 

BrainStation is such a positive place, everyone you meet there is willing to help and wants you to succeed. I had no experience in design before this course but now I am confident that with practice and time - I can reach my goals. I learnt a lot not just from the Education team at BrainStation but also from the support staff and my batchmates at BrainStation. 

I would definitely say that in Toronto (not sure about other cities) there is no better place to upskill than BrainStation. 

I completed the 10 week User Interface course in December 2019.  I really liked the flexibility of the online elarning environment, although there can certainly be pros and cons to this format.  I think you get out of what you put into online learning.  One thing that impressed me is that if I had a question, communicating on Slack was super easy with my cohort and also instructors and the broader school community.  So that was great to help fill in blanks if waiting for more feedback or help from one particular person...

In general I found that the course was a good foundation for theory, and hands on learning helped to build on that base.  The course material was fast paced so you really needed to be on top of your learning game and attend all sessions if possible.  The instructors provided good real life examples and pro tips for developing as a designer, and some career coaching.  

I want to say that the expectation should be not to run out and immediately get a job in UX/UI after, but this is a great kickstart on a learning journey in working in the User Experience Design field.  

I'd like the pace for theory slowed down a bit, and access to the course material via a downlaodable format which currently ins't available.  You have access to the material for 6 months but I feel this is a bit of a gap.   

Overall for me it was a positive learning experience and suitable for some one looking for introduction to design principles and tools, or interest in cross training to a new function in the field.  

no soy alguien que normalmente deje comentarios sobre algo en especifico, pero espero que esta informacion pueda ayudar a futuros interesados en el programa, el bootcamp de 10 semanas es una de las mejores experiencias, pero se deve estar preparado para tomarlo y cuando digo preparado me refiero a disponer de las 10 semanas solo para aprender codigo incluyendo los fines de semana, aunque el horario de clase diga que es hasta las 4 de la tarde no es asi, lo mejor si quieres realmente aprender y extresarste lo menos posible, lo mejor es quedarse y  despejar dudas con los TAs despues de clase, es un bootcamp dificil ya que recibes mucha informacion en poco tiempo, por que si te descuidas arrastras debilidades durante todo el curso, mi consejo para llevar el bootcamp de una manera mas placentera, antes de empezar el  bootcamp,  un mes antes en lo posible estudiar las bases de javascript, el resto de cosas como HTML,CSS, command line, git hub diria yo que se adaptan muy bien con el tiempo de apredizaje en el curriculum, hablo desde mi punto de vista de como yo senti el programa. obviamente hay estudiantes que tienen experiencia previa o una capacidad de aprendizaje mas rapida y puede que les cueste menos aprender y se adapten mas facil a los tiempos establecido para cada tema, pero para una persona que no tiene ni la menor idea de codigo ese seria mi consejo. pos data: los proyectos de fin de semana son lo mejor para probarte a ti mismo.

el bootcamp es completamente en ingles, alguien con un 80% de ingles diria yo que puede tomarlo, espero que algun latino interesado lea esto.

 

 

This experience has been humbling, it has has given me all the tools that I would need to perfect the user experience in my digital designs. I would totally recommend this program to anyone seeking to enhance their career in technology with the users experience in mind. You totally get a fulfilling  amount of information at a rapid speed. In the beginning it may feel like a lot but eventually your brain will catch up and you will truly understand all the information you are learning. TRUST ME!!!! Patience is a virtue and you have to make sure to instill that in your journey. You will leave with a growth mindset and feel better prepared for an exciting future in Technology. Take my advice and sign up to become a part of the Wyncode family! See you soon!😁

I was a graphic designer for 15+ years. I felt very stuck in my career, my salary had hit the ceiling and although I had worked in various industries the type of work was always the same. Print design and a bit of web/app design that was really designing in the dark because it wasn't data driven. I would receive a creative brief with some cursory research at best and be expected to design a successful app or website. The people I worked with didn't know any better and frankly neither did I. As I started to research UX/UI design I realized there was a whole discipline that knew how to design digital products for a postivie user experience and so I signed up for some on line courses but it was really difficult to do them after work and putting my son to bed. I was too exhausted to absorb and understand the content on my own.  I knew I had to immerse myself into the world of UX/UI and listening to myself instilling growth mindset into my son on a regular basis I finally decided to practice what I preach and become a REAL UX/UI Designer. Wyncode taught me so many new skills, technical as well as soft skills (ie; presenting) and I acquired a ton of knowledge that would have been difficult to have achieved on my own in a 10-week time frame. I'm not going to lie, this was VERY hard. Every week I would find myself working till 1, 2, 3 o'clock in the morning. This happened at least 3x's a week. It is not a course for people who don't want to work hard. I am a Mom, and I managed but if you are a parent, planning to do this course, get your resources in place to make sure you have child care. You will not see a lot of your family for 10 weeks. Sometimes you have to be selfish though to make a better life for yourself and ultimately your family. Good luck!