Code Fellows

I attended the Code Fellows Software Development boot camp in the fall and winter of 2020/2021. I have been holding off on publishing a review because I had the great fortune of being offered a full-time position at Code Fellows shortly after my graduation and did not want my review to appear biased.  I have recently moved on to an exciting opportunity at one of the "big tech" companies. I am now in the unbiased position to recommend that anyone that is considering attending Code Fellows should do it!  Before attending Code Fellows, I earned an MBA through an online program from a respected state school. From my experience, Code Fellows offers a much more rigorous and better-produced virtual learning experience.  I was plesantly surprised by the program's ability to build a community and network of like-minded professionals. If you are serious about breaking into the tech industry, be prepared to make the program your primary focus for as long as you are in the boot camp. It will be a challenging and ultimately rewarding experience. Having spent a year and a half "behind the curtain", observing how the program was developed (and continually redeveloped), I can attest to the effort, passion, and care that is focused by every member of the Code Fellows team on the single goal of helping their students achieve their career goals!

I started my software development journey January 2022. I started at 101 since I had never written a line of code before and couldn't tell you the difference between JavaScript and HTML.. After 6 months of intense class and long nights of study I became a software dev. My experience isn't in tech, in fact I am a wilderness leadership instructor w/ years of living in the mountains under my belt, so making this career transition wasn't a simple one. It wasn't just a process of learning while you're working on projects, often you're just trying to make sense of last weeks instruction and struggling to work out the week that you're now on. Thankfully the instructors and the TAs are there for you. Often instructors from other courses are willing to work through problems with you if you reach out on a late night.  

This is what I believe, nobody knows what they are doing when they start, and you'll quickly realize that there is even more to learn than CodeFellows could every teach. If you approach your learning from the position of a lifelong student then you can do this. It's going to be hard. But the school is on your side! They want you to win! If you grind through the struggle lean into the tutoring, TAs, instructors, and your fellow students, you will come out of it a software developer.  

Really outstanding learning environment. Fast paced but comprehensive. Along with in-depth curriculum, emphasis is placed on job readiness and obtaining relevant certifications. Teachers and TAs willing to answer all questions and take their time to make sure core concepts are understood. 

I just finished the course and it's Awesome. 

This was a great bootcamp. I came in knowing nothing and had Audrey Patterson as my 201 instructor which was fantastic! I ended with taking Python with JB, and it was awesome. Super fun, and he made learning a new language so accessible. 

In my 5th year since graduating from Code Fellows I am proud to say that choosing to enroll in their program was one of the best decisions I have made in my life. As a college graduate in 2016 I was uncertain on what to use my degree (Mathematics + Russian language) for and had no idea where to direct my career. Taking the risk of switching paths into software development and enduring the dense 18-week program the Code Fellows provided has proven to be just what I needed, their instruction equipped me with the tools necessary to be a hirable candidate in the job market. Since then I have grown to expand my skills to many areas I would never have imagined accessible at the time of graduation. This has allowed me to get the job that I have now with an industry leading employer, also entirely unimaginable when I first started. To anyone who is on the border of whether or not Code Fellows is the right decision for them in their career path I fully recommend enrolling, you never know where it may take you!

Pivoting from a non-tech related career, boxing coach, into a software engineer role is not an easy thing to do. Code Fellows gave me the foundational knowledge I needed to do just that. From the onset of my experience with this coding boot camp, I felt welcomed and valued as a student. They cultivate a rich inclusive environment which helps students learn not only the skills to do the work but also to work on a team as so many tech careers require folks to do. Highly recommend this boot camp for anyone looking to skill up in tech.

I decided to enroll in Code Fellows after knowing two people personally that had done their curriculum and received developer jobs shortly after graduation. Code Fellows is an exceptional coding bootcamp experience that truly prepares you for what life will be like when you get your first job as a software engineer. They provide you with the knowledge, tools, and skills you need to be successful in this industry. Not only do they teach you how to program, they also teach you how to write your resume, interview, and network. 
I graduated from their JavaScript track in June 2021 and landed a tech job 4 months later. Most of my classmates have jobs now too. It's really a life changing experience! You're going to get out of it what you put into it, so just keep that in mind. It's not just about getting the certificate, it's about putting in the work to learn the skills you need to be successful in this industry. If you fully commit to learning the course material and you keep practicing you will absolutely find success and be able to break into tech. It's hard but absolutely worth it in the end!

I’ve completed my coursework up to 301 and I can honestly say I have never felt more supported, encouraged and motivated ever. Not in all my years in college, no institution or class made me feel as prepared for success as code fellows has made me.
If you’re lost, there’s always someone to help you. If you’re overwhelmed, they hear you. If you have a different way of learning, just ask and they’ll accommodate you. Honestly, you cannot go wrong attending Code Fellows, you just can’t.

▾ Great For Career-Changers • I recommend Code Fellows for career-changers and people looking to start down a programming path • I do not recommend Code Fellows for software engineers with degrees and prior work experience • Code Fellows is an excellent school for people who want to jump into application development but have little-to-no hobby experience, and absolutely no professional experience in the field • I enjoyed my studies at Code Fellows and I ultimately feel that I learned a lot about frontend development • I came to the program after 6 years of work experience as a senior backend engineer wanting to fill frontend knowledge gaps • Nobody else in my classes for the 3 months I was there had the experience level that I did • The critical thing to understand is that the school has to find and cater to an average-level of understanding among the students • Unfortunately for me, having so much experience made the advanced course feel extremely lacking in depth and breadth, which is understandable given that this bootcamp caters to career-changers • If I had known that up-front, I would not have chosen Code Fellows to fill knowledge gaps but found a school that is not as entry-level • I am glad I did though because it was fun and I learned a ton about frontend development • If you are in a similar position as me, with prior experience and a CS degree, I would finish through the 300-level course and not take the 400’s • I’m currently in the middle of the 400 for advanced JS and not sure if I want to put in the effort to finish the remaining assignments because I’m not learning much at this point and working on grad school applications this year for my CS PhD at the same time. Therefore I may not actually graduate from this bootcamp
▾ Approach • You’ll take courses until you complete the Advanced course, then you graduate • You can test into the courses so you don’t have to sit for classes that aren’t helpful for your goals • Assignments are graded and there are, in my opinion, too many assignments to be of value as a learning experience
▾ Intro (200-level) • This class-level is very foundational but I found it absolutely necessary and very helpful for learning the basics of HTML, CSS and JavaScript • I found the intro class (200-level) helped me with knowledge gaps I had from 6 years working exclusively as a backend engineer • I learned how to put a basic frontend together and all of the options there are for the presentation layer
▾ Intermediate (300-level) • This class-level is great because you’ll learn web API, testing your code, and presentation libraries like React, Bootstrap and Tailwind • I learned a ton about frontend in this course and I’m very glad I took it
▾ Advanced (400-level) • This class-level is where, as a student, you choose your path. Do you want to stay with JavaScript? How about .NET? Maybe Java? • You get the opportunity here to break out into other languages • The reason I joined the program was to fill knowledge gaps from years as a backend engineer, which were entirely frontend gaps • Having worked exclusively in the .NET languages and Java, I opted to continue-on with JavaScript as the advanced course • I found the advanced concepts a bit lacking in this course because it mostly felt like a rehash of the previous 300-level intermediate course
▾ Jobs • After this bootcamp, you’re likely to be eligible for tech internships and junior developer roles
▾ Career • A big plus for Code Fellows is that they have a career workshop program that you can join where they help you with interview and resume prep
▾ Takeaways • This bootcamp is not designed for engineers with prior experience, which should probably be explicitly stated on the Code Fellows website • I was able to fill some frontend knowledge gaps • I felt the advanced course was a bit lacking in breadth and depth
• The overall experience was great, in my opinion• I enjoyed seeing career-changers learn CS concepts and make cool applications

A fantastic, no nonsense course that covers not only JavaScript, CSS, and HTML, but the needed fundamentals of all supporting items

This is a great school and I had a great experience. I highly recommend! The experience as a whole was grueling but so rewarding at the same time. It was an incredible journey and I am looking forward to the next chapter! Shout out to JB Tellez and all of the TAs, THANK YOU!!!!

Code Fellows supplies ample resources for learning the tools and skills required to break into the industry. I felt that I had access to all the resources I needed to continually learn and grow. I feel confident in my job search as I know Code Fellows has the resources and connections to assist me in my search.

code fellows, instructors, TA's, and students have a great supporting network. the class covered a wide range of materials and industry-standard tools. so I am confident to have the tech industry expected skill.

Great school with excellent teachers.

Since retiring from my previous job, I had a late start getting into the software development field.  I did many hours of talking to several boot camps in the area.  I knew software development was what I wanted to transition to, but didn't know how to start.  I can say with full honesty that from my very first phone with Code Fellows they have fostered a welcoming and supportive atmosphere.  The instructional staff always seemed to go the extra mile and lend support whenever and however they could.  Parts of the curriculum were adapted to our class needs to ensure we had the time and help we needed to progress.  

This was by far the right choice for me, and I would not hesitate to recommend them to anyone interested in joining the Software Development Team.

Great course! Learned a lot about Microsoft systems such as domains, domain controller configurations, and the active directory. Also got good practice with pfSense and setting up captive portals.

Deciding to pursue my interest in software development at nearly 40 years old after working in the arts for over twenty years was terrifying.  But after my journey through Code Fellows, I can say with confidence that I'm prepared both technically and culturally. 

I'm leaving these courses with not only the skills to competently program in my chosen language, but also a deeper understanding of the logic, and the agility to quickly learn new languages and tools.

Along with feeling technically sound, the career preparation curriculum has left me feeling ready to face this new unknown industry.  I feel comfortable and prepared for interviews, both technical and behavioral.  I also feel prepared to be a viable, adaptive, member of a development team.

Code Fellows didn't just teach me to code, they taught me how to be a developer, and a valuable commodity to any team.

I have seen more students get a dev job in Seattle by going through CodeFellows than any other bootcamp. This is the program to take if you want to be a web developer.

I'm taking the time to write a review of Code Fellows as a current student because I know lots of people will do some shopping around to find if a bootcamp is right for them, and if so, which bootcamp. I highly recommend Code Fellows and have found it to be a place where people are really celebrated for who they are. The curriculum is stacked so that bit by bit, projects and labs build on what has been taught previously. There is excellent instructor help and TA help during lab time. It's also been great to collaborate with peers on projects and assignments (which include some pretty crazy code challenges that have really rounded out my understanding of some JS methods and regex). I have had Ryan as my 201 instructor and Nicholas as my 301 instructor thus far. I'm going to be capping things off with 401 soon and really looking forward to it. It has been intense and rewarding. I highly recommend it here.