Code Institute Reviews
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Elaine Archbold
Diploma in Full Stack Software Development
The coursework is very easy to follow and the support is amazing! There is always someone on hand to help if you need it -
Charlie Jeffries-Tipton
Full Stack Course In Software Development
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For the past 18 months, I took part in the Full Stack Software Development Course with Code Institute. Now that I've finished, I can honestly say that it was the best decision I ever made. Code Institute has a friendly team who genuinely care about their students & are willing to take the time to get the best out of them. The course material is extensive & are continuously adding & updating. The tutor assistance has been excellent & are willing to take the time to make sure that you not only get the right outcome to a problem but that you understand exactly what it means. My mentor Spencer was absolutely brilliant & was always there even in his own time to make sure I was getting the most out of my potential. Slack has been an excellent platform for asking questions as people are willing to help every step of the way. Also after the course, they have a career's assistance team who will help with things such as CV's, interview questions & also take your preferences into consideration.
For anybody seeking a new career in Software Development to have you ready to take the next step, I can't recommend this course enough. Yes, it's challenging but people are there to help you every step of the way. -
Darragh
Not a great place
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Did this full time. Not worth the money. I was very unhappy with my final grade but they just shrugged their shoulders. Also a lot of their content was outdated. Also a lot you have to research yourself and if you wanted to ask a tutor with a problem, they dont answer anything but they speak in riddles sometimes to get you to think. I dont think it was adapted properly to someone who has never done coding before. All very well if you have some level of experience or doing it through work. Some of the tutors were nice. I got some basic understanding from the course but I would think twice before pursuing it. If company is paying for it etc then by all means but sorry it didn't live up to my expectations whatsoever. -
Tom Garratt
Full stack developer course review
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From have zero knowledge of coding and zero coding experience I was looking for a way into the coding world, Code Institute made this so easy and smooth. A solid understanding of multiple languages but for me this most impressive thing was the many brilliant types of support that they provide, I would not have been able to get the grade I got without them and they are extremely helpful, mainly the student support. -
Mohammed Marifa Bah
Full Stack Software Developer
CodeInstitute are great I enjoyed learning with them.They care about their student.They give you advice and listen to their students.I am happy to study with them.They are the BEST! -
Stu Bolderson
Intensive Full Stack Software Developer Diploma
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Overall, out of all the things I learnt from this course was sticking to my tasks when it got difficult. Completing a milestone project can be tough. You have to get through alot of learning content, and then apply your own real world project. After submission, despite being tired, you start again on to the next learning materials. The feeling of panic, thinking that i cant do it, that my code is not very good, that i just don't get it is was really important for me - its important because you need to get over it. Towards the end of the course, I was much calmer at not knowing something - i started to have faith that I will figure it out or that i will somehow find a way - which happens. I also started to appreciate how important it is that i take more time to plan my projects - to process my thinking so that i am clear and structured. I am still bad at this but I know its important !!
Regardless of the fact its a Software Developer course, what was great for me was getting a taste of what is out there - what am i passionate about, what are the things i dont enjoy, what are my strengths, and what weaknesses can i improve. For anyone with no prior experience with doing frontened, backend projects - this is a great start. I had some previous HTML/CSS/JS experience, but was blown away how poor my code was.
What I really enjoyed about the programme was that the message was always clear and simple - everything we do is for the user. I know this sounds obvious, but Code Institute really put a big focus on this so that the smallest of details which fails to meet user experience will cause loss of marks. Installing good habits like UX ( testing and documentation ) is an invaluable experience for any developer.
Its a important start because I now feel that i have a standard of code that i am proud of - and that everyday I will now find new ways to better myself. Code Institute gave me the platform that i needed so that i can self learn and develop.
We can all learn things from the internet - udemy, youtube etc - I do it now. However, there are many important skills and experiences that can only be learnt from courses like Code Institute - Project Deadlines, sacrificing your time to learn, learning to reach out for help and going to bed feeling tired, frustrated, dejected but waking up in the morning with a new drive to get the job done!!
As i said, reaching out for help is important and the staff and the slack community are amazing - regardless of the problem, the support team take the time to support you and help you understand the issues.
Joining Code Institute was the best decision I have made in what i am sure will be a fun career in Software Development. -
Pete Willmott
Diploma in Software Development
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This course is both fun and thorough, I heartily recommend it. It starts with the basics of HTML and guides you through the process all the way to Python and Django. The syllabus is dynamic and material is regularly reviewed and updated.
The course material is well presented in a series of bite sized videos. The videos come with a link to a github repository where needed and some of lessons include a responsive work space to try things for yourself. Sections are closed with a mini-quiz to help you gauge your progress and there are walk through mini-projects to illustrate methods and techniques.
The coursework component is made up of 4 milestone projects which you will plan with your mentor. Build on your own and then submit after review and snd adjustment with your mentor. Mentors are all experienced developers with valuable insights into the industry.
The Code Institute is both supportive and helpful. When I raised issues, be it a failure of comprehension on my part or a failure on their part the response was rapid and effective. The tutor service is available to help most of the day and able to rapidly guide you to a solution. Student Care are well informed and helpful finding solutions and supporting students so you can concentrate on code and learning and not administrative or timing problems.
Some of the videos were recorded at a lower volume and I found myself having to listen to a section more than once on some occasions. Though on the whole I didn't consider audio or video quality to be an issue. Occasionally on some of the walk through mini-projects, where there was a little more going on, the link to the git hub repository for that lesson was a step out of sync and I had to look ahead.
The Slack channel is a fantastic resource, the other students are helpful and supportive and being themselves students understand what you were going through when you encounter a problem. The Code Institute staff are also on the Slack channel and respond quickly to any problems. -
John O Sullivan
FullStack Development - A Great Experience
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The Fullstack development course is a very valuable and informative.
The course material is clear and to the point, the assignments make sense and the grading is fair.
I found that completed assignments were more clearly marked than I had experienced in college. I was able to see where I needed improvement and to focus on that for the next assignment. Personally this level of feedback is how I prefer to lern and it was a breath of fresh air.
Between staff, mentor, alumni and fellow students available on the Slack channel, there was plenty of support.
I couldn't recommend it enough. -
John
AWFUL
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I signed up to this course back in 2017 when their entire learning platform was TEXT ONLY. I was stupidly lured in by the idea of having an 'accredited diploma' by the end of it so thought it was a good idea. It most certainly WAS NOT.
The first iteration of their course was full of spelling and punctuation mistakes, grammatical errors and just poorly worded material. This did not give me much confidence right from the outset.
I struggled with the materials for a long time and almost gave up then they decided they wanted to change the entire platform to videos. The streams and projects changed and it left me confused as to where I should carry on. I called the institute and was told it would probably be best to just start all over again. Right. OK.
When I first started looking into coding I wasn't really aware of many of the resources out there which is why I regrettably ended up going with The Code Institute. But by the time they had switched to this new video platform I was now well aware of the multitude of resources and the high standards that were offered, both paid and for free.
This new learning platform was, quite simply, a complete and utter joke. People are reading from scripts, stumbling their words, coughing and clearing their throats, mumbling and several sections had background noise, as if they had been recorded in someone's bedroom. The tutors are dull, boring, monotone and extremely hard to engage with.
I would follow lessons through in meticulous detail only to find the code had changed very subtly from one lesson to the next and then the entire project wouldn't work. I would spend hours tearing my hair out trying to figure out what was wrong and over time it became more and more frustrating.The content of the course, compared to other resources, is quite simply DREADFUL. The new learning platform was released in 2017 and even now in 2019 as I write this it hasn't been updated. Instead there are lazy banners in red at the top of the screen informing of any changes, later versions of tech required or any mistakes that had been identified. Er, I have paid you £5k for this course, how about you record some new material! LAZY!
Mentors. First one was rubbish, then he quit. Second one kept cancelling then he quit. Last one was great so can't fault him but be aware that you only get 3 x 45 min-1hour sessions to 'go over' your projects before you submit them. Not a lot of support for £5k.
Tech support - sometimes ok, most of the time were pretty dismissive and unhelpful. I would have been quicker to just use Google or Stack Overflow. Sorry, why did I pay £5k again?
Its now August 2019 and I have given up on the course and found a face to face one for HALF THE PRICE. Nobody from Code Institute has bothered to even call or email to see how I am getting on or offer any help. Disgusting service, but who cares, they've got my money now.
For anyone wanting to learn to code DO NOT BOTHER with this rubbish institution. Their materials are awful, content outdated and you will be learning a technology stack that has fewer job opportunities than other courses out there. There are far less Python jobs on the market than, say React, just have a look on a job search engine.
My advice if you are going to teach yourself.. Udemy, Free Code Camp, YouTube, then maybe join a local coding group and build your skills from there. You can get WAY better content than this on udemy for around £12 for a full stack bootcamp course. Why would you actually choose to pay £5k for something you can get at a fraction of the cost at a much much higher quality elsewhere. DO NOT MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE AS I DID.
Finally, don't be fooled by a diploma. Nobody gives a sh*t. Can you code? Do you have a portfolio? Can you demonstrate your skills in an interview? Their diploma is accredited in Scotland and several English universities that I contacted said it would not be accepted for any formal entrance requirements to higher education courses, so again, why waste your money?
Oh and one other thing. If you don't complete the course within the given timeframe (12 or 18 months I can't remember) they will charge you £100 per month for every additional month you need the materials to be able to continue your studies! WHAAAAT?! GO ELSEWHERE GUYS!
I wish I had never come across this awful business called Code Institute!
:-(
Neil Kavanagh of Code Institute
Student Care Team Lead
Sep 04, 2019
Hi John,
We are very disappointed to hear that you were unhappy with your course experience and we would like to talk to you to resolve your issues. If you could please contact our Student Care team at your earliest convenience and we can work towards a resolution.
To answer some of your concerns; our course has been designed by industry experts and is the only university credit-rated coding Bootcamp in Europe. Our programme is credit-rated by Edinburgh Napier University and has since received recognition from the Ministry of Education in Ontario, the Higher Education Authority in Sweden, the Ministry of Communications in Singapore, and the Higher Education Authority in Ireland. It is level 5 on the European Qualification Framework. Our graduates find our external recognition extremely helpful when seeking employment, especially if they’re competing with university graduates. Free courses have value, and they are a good way to test your interest and advance specific skills. However, our course is a contextualised, immersive and supported learning environment aimed at. helping students with no coding experience become a Full Stack Developer in a short amount of time.
The support we offer our students is as follows:- Students have access to 14 mentor sessions, not three as highlighted in the review.
- These sessions are curated by Senior Software developers currently working in industry. They assist students with their portfolio development and interview preparation.
- Weekly priority tutor support to help students with learning issues.
- Regular student care support (Monday - Friday)
- 24 hours Slack community.
- Community Hack-a-thons.
In response to your issues around user experience, back in 2017, we identified the opportunity to make the course more interactive and therefore implemented a complete overhaul of our content and LMS in order to improve our standard of teaching & learning. The new Learning Management System was developed by MIT and Harvard, the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive to the LMS and content upgrades. All students prior to the changeover were given the option to continue on the text-based learning programme or migrate to the new LMS.
Our videos, programme, and curriculum are continually updated in line with industry changes. This is a positive offering of our course as students are confident they are learning the most up-to-date tech.
In response to your issues regarding the course curriculum, we choose to teach Python along with JavaScript due to it’s rising popularity. After consultation with our Industry Advisory Council who are made up of Accenture, RedHat, Salesforce and more, we were advised of the growing need for Python developers within the industry. The latest TIOBE (https://www.tiobe.com/tiobe-index/) index for July 2019 show that Python has overtaken C++ as the third most widely used language, but more importantly, it is also growing at a faster rate than any of the others within the top 20.
We pride ourselves on having excellent tutor supports, and a priority ticketing system is in place for all students depending on the urgency of your case. Our mentors are recruited from industry, and generally, they are working full time. The advantage of this is that our students can be confident the support they are getting is focused on generating an excellent portfolio to present at the interview stage. Our mentors are also human. They have good and bad days like us all. We do acknowledge that pairing students and mentors is not a science. If students are dissatisfied with their mentor, we will assign a new mentor immediately until a student is happy with their pairing.
We would be delighted to arrange a call with you to try and rectify any course difficulties you may have had. Thank you for your feedback.
The Code Institute Team. -
Marcus
Bad experience
I spent £5000 on the full stack web developer course and was very disappointed at the assessment criteria and then even more disappointed at being charged an extra £100 on top of the £5000 already paid to resubmit an assessment. I can't comment on the classroom based course but do not sign up for the distanced learning course, the support just isn't there. -
Nakita McCool
Highly recommend the Full Stack Developer bootcamp @ Code Institute for anyone looking for a career in coding/ tech - well worth the investment!
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I completed Code Institute's 13 week Full Stack developer bootcamp in April 2016. Before applying to Code Institute, I did quite a bit of research on bootcamps in both Ireland and the UK. The three key reasons I believe I made the best choice in going with Code Institute are as follows:
1. The course content is driven by industry/ employer demands:
Code Institute have an Industry Advisory Council (IAC) made up of a number of industry experts and employers who they meet with regularly to discuss the skills and technologies being sought in industry. The course content is developed to align with industry demands - meaning that the languages and frameworks covered on the course are relevant to current job opportunities. For this reason, a high percentage of past students of the bootcamp and online course have been successful in finding developer jobs upon completion of the course. Furthermore, they constantly review and update their course content so that they can keep up to date with the industry - which is a major plus for jobseekers in a market that is constantly evolving at pace. The Code Institute team organise 'Employers week' - whereby online and bootcamp students can meet and attend presentations from recruiters and employers. Students can also avail of CV workshops and mock interviews (technical and non-technical) which helps get you application, interview and job ready.2. The course is competitively priced and you can choose a learning path to suit your own schedule:
I did quite a bit of research on different coding courses (ranging from free to fee-based, part-time online to full-time classroom) and in my opinion Code Institute offers the best value for money. The fees were significantly lower than comparable courses in the UK and the languages and frameworks covered on the curriculum (HTML, CSS, JS, Python, SQL, Mongo, Angular2, Django) are relevant to what employers are looking for in developers. Furthermore, the Code Institute team are supportive of helping you find a learning schedule that is tailored to you - whether that be a full time bootcamp or part time online course. I chose to do the bootcamp as I believed this gave me the best opportunity to up-skill quickly and the best value for money. However, I've talked to online students who complete the course part-time and benefit from support from mentors as well as group chats on slack to help them work through the lessons.3. The faculty and student support team are excellent:
Before applying to Code Institute, I spoke with Denise (then Education Advisor) and Brian (Programme Director) to see if the course would be a good fit from me. Both were incredibly helpful - a trait which is prevalent within the Code Institute team. Both myself and the other students availed of great support from the team throughout the course. The teaching staff (Richard, Brian and Neil) were excellent - knowledgeable in their fields and able to challenge the students to learn new technologies at speed. They were able to explain complex topics in layman terms. They also were patient and supportive when you faced a challenging topic - and encouraged you to get to the answer yourself (without giving the answer to you) which I appreciated as this helped me to learn from any mistakes and understand how to resolve them. The Student Advisory team (Tiffany, Will) were also on hand to organise meet and greets/ presentations with employers and to help us resolve any issues.The three key points above are a summary of my three biggest pros of choosing to study with Code Institute. In terms of cons, a simple suggestion I would make is to advertise the Employer's week more (either on the website or in a conversation at the point of students applying to the course). Week 13 (i.e. Employer's week) was one of the most valuable weeks of the course which I was thankfully able to make - however when signing up to the course I thought the course was 12 weeks only. Technically, the bootcamp does last 12 weeks only (as all course content is covered in that period) - that said I'd argue the 13th week is something you don't want to miss!
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Juan Keville
Code Institute Bootcamp
I went from plumber to coder after completing the Full Stack boot camp last August. If anything the course will get you into the interview room, after that it really is up to you.
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Ben
Great way to learn programming
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I completed the 12 week bootcamp in classroom. The experience was great. I had very basic HTML knowledge before starting the course and now feel comfortable trying out any new technology. More than the languages and frameworks that are actually taught the process of learning and how to solve problems was the biggest takeaway.
The technologies used in the course are very up to date. I attended a careeers fair in Dublin a few weeks after finishing the course. Employers were suprised and impressed by the range of technologies I had covered. The technologies were inline with what start-ups and growing companies were using.
I was able to secure a job one and a half months after finshing the course. My only criticism is the gap between finishing and getting a job. I would have liked more suppourt with the job hunt.
I would recommend the course to anyone who wants to learn programming. Before the course I was looking at unpaid internships and work experience. After building a portfolio with the Code Institute I was interviewing with exciting companies for full-time permanent roles.
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Abel
More than learning coding lenguages.
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This course is not just about learning how to use some coding languages. It's a step beyond. It shows you what actually involves working as a developer. It is more than a course, it's the closest situation to a real job. It provides you with a rich overall view of front end and back end. Obviously, you need to continue learning and practising-indeed a coder's life, basically, consists in that. You won't be a senior developer after finishing the bootcamp, but you're ready to any junior role. Apart from the languages, it teaches you some of the latest technologies and a lot of necessary tools to work in this industry. It's an intensive experience, but if you actually like coding, you'll enjoy it and the time shared with your classmates. Last but not least, I'd like to say that since the first moment, you feel that the Code Institute team is really committed to offer you the best possible service.
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Niel
Excellent way to switch into coding career
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I completed the fulltime course having decided to change careers into coding. Doing an intensive 12 week course like this was a great way of going from a novice to creating full stack web apps. The first month concentrates on front-end with particular emphasis on UX. The second month is coding, data visualisations and databases. In the last month you create an app with secure payment, user authentication and a fully hosted backend database.
Being in a classroom bootcamp environment helped me learn as we could work in a team. This way of working tallies with how software is developed commercially.
You get out of this course what you put in. There is prework to do before the class commences and I found I had to do a couple of hours of work in of an evening to reinforce learning.
I would recommend this bootcamp as a way of getting up to speed on full stack coding even if like me you have no prior experience. Having worked previously in the large tech corporations as an engineer I'd also say it is a good way to learn how to work successfully in a tech organisation.
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Darragh
Excellent course
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This is a fantastic bootcamp. I took the 12 week classroom based bootcamp and have never looked back.
The first month is about everything front-end. Whats front end ? Its the look and feel of the website. Its how everything lines up and how the user feels when using your webpage. The skills taught in this area are HTML,CSS,Javascript,Jquery and more.
The main thing about this course is there is always more to learn. You are given the tools to continue learning when you've completed the course. That is such a valuable skill in this industry as web technologies continue to change every couple of years and the ability to learn them in a fast and effecient way is the most valuable thing any developer can have.
The classroom is based in Dublin city centre so was easy to commute to the class every day. You need your own laptop to do this course which is much better than having machines in the class as you can take your work with you.
The price is expensive but nothing out of the ordinary for courses like this. The way I viewed it was an investment in myself and that at the end of the course if I worked hard enough I could land a job with the advertised €30,000 and that number isn't an exageration.
Overall this course has been the best decision in my whole life. It took me out of a rut and taught me the skills to really change my career. I really want to thank everyone involved at the Code Institute for helping me get where I am today.
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John Tangney
Worth the money
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I did the fulltime course. Over four or five months (if you include the pre-course materials) I went from knowing absolutely nothing about coding to being able to build a website with a registration, login, and payment facility and deploy it online. I also got loads of experience in finding out the answers to problems I encounter by looking for them online, and a sense that this is a normal part of web development, so that after the course I know how to solve problems when I no longer have teachers at hand. If I'd been trying learn to code from scratch without the support of experienced teachers, and of colleagues going through the same process, I would've given up. There's no substitute for the informal knowledge-sharing that goes on in a classroom, and the network that you develop there is a resource that lasts beyond the end of the course.
The teachers on the course were extremely conscientious and got us through all the roadblocks in our projects. The next few batches of students will have a much easier time of it because of our difficulties, but you learn as much from fixing the stuff that doesn't work the first time as from the stuff that does. I think the curriculum was basically well designed. We learnt everything the hard way i.e. by first building a webpage using basic html and css, then learning jquery, then learning flexbox and bootstrap, then Angular JS before going on to the backend languages and frameworks, so we got a sense of what underlies the amazing shortcuts that are available before we used them.
The course is expensive but similarly priced to other bootcamps around the world. If you really want to learn to code, and can afford it, I think it's worth the money. You could do it on your own using free online resources but it would've taken me a few years instead of a few months to get to an equivalent level.
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Ronan
The guy who gave 2 stars is an idiot
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This is a coding bootcamp, not a graphic design course.
Everythin was excellent. By the end of this course I had the knowlege to build clones of most major websites on the internet today. My final project was a dating website which had practically identical features to Twitter and Facebook.
The emphasis is mainly on learning to program, which is great because its (in my opinion) the most important aspect of web design. The two star guy is obviously an idiot who doesn't know a thing about software development.
If you want to learn to paint pretty pictures with crayons and colouring pencils, do an art course. If you want to learn how to program with the big boys, this is the bootcamp for you.
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Daniel Hoksza
Look elsewhere.
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Introduction
I'm a student now but my experiences with this course are so bad that I feel an urge to warn people before investing their money in this course. I have to also mention that I asked them to give me money back, because of my bad experiences with stream 1 I'm going to write about below. There is also stream 2 and stream 3 I've no taken yet.
Do you want to know how to make a nice responsive mobile navigation with a button to hide it? Do you want to know how to make a tooltip? Tabs? Popovers? Photo-slider with testimonials on it?
And the answer for 4500 euros? Add class to Bootstrap. Do you want to know how to make it yourself? Too bad.
I asked the director about it and he told me over the phone "I don't want students to worry about the design, that is why we chose Bootstrap". You know what their sell page says? LEARN HOW TO USE CSS3, FROM BEGINNER BASICS TO ADVANCED TECHNIQUES, BUILDING UPON YOUR HTML5 SKILLS, TO DESIGN AND BUILD BEAUTIFUL RESPONSIVE WEB APPLICATIONS FOR ANY TYPE OF DESKTOP OR MOBILE DEVICE. You won't be taught to design anything, just add a class to Bootstrap. Is it an information worth 4500 euros? Don't you want to know how to design page elements yourself? No? Than this course is for you.
There are tons of free resources where you can learn Bootstrap for free, I expected this course to have something extra considering the amount of money I paid. I got even less than I get from those free resources. Search for DevTips - Travis Neilson, he was recently hired by Google, he is the best teacher I ever had and I've learned a lot on his channel and for free. Btw. he also teaches Bootstrap.
Project for the stream 1
This is what the assignment says:
- Use bootstrap or flexbox for main navigation and grid layout.
Allright, I want to know how to design these page elements so I choose flex-box. I don't want to take any shortcuts in case I'm asked about these in a real job. There was nothing besides flexbox tutorial in the course content, that would help me to create these page elements I've mentioned above. I've searched elsewhere. I expected jQuery lessons to teach me how to create these page elements, but nothing besides pointless exercises on how to change background-color was available. Thanks to my book "Javascript and jQuery by John Ducket", I've managed to create some tabs and accordion. Also this book is "practical examples" based which helps to remember stuff. This course just teaches you the language, it does not teach you to create anything with it. But so does Codecademy and bunch of other free courses. Is wrong from me to expect a little more for 4500 euros?
- Please use AngularJS as your framework.
After I finished designing the layout of the page which took me much longer than expected (course content was almost no help) I started integrating Angular in my project. The code that Code Institute provided on their pages didn't work. I've got an $injector error. Not sure if they fixed it yet but I've spend couple hours figuring this out. Allright, I could have asked them about it, took me bit more time, it isn't all that bad. What was bad was what happened to my tabs made with jQuery. I asked my tutor about it and he told be jQuery and Angular aren't a good match in some cases and that is not recommended to use both in one project. Yet I was asked to include both in my project. It was extremely frustrating. I got a correct code but it does not work. No warning about that in the course. Code Institute tutor told me. I've send them an open letter mentioning a lack of concept even before I encountered this problem. This just proves it. They just glued lessons on different topics together without worrying about the big picture. How is that even possible for the amount of money they ask for?
Tutors
Online tutors don't have a proper chat equipment. My last session was done over mobile phone microphone. I bought myself one of the best available web cameras to get most out of the course. How come that people paid for it didn't? The lack of common sense I have encountered in this course is mind blowing - let me remind you this is a 4500 euros course. I've had three tutors already. The first one was from India. He was more than qualified to be my tutor, very impressive resume. But the reception was so bad I had to ask for replacement - his accent didn't help. I got an Irish tutor who just started doing web development. He helped me to set up the stream 1 project with gulp and npm (not in the course content) but other than that he struck my as inexperienced and even he had heads up, he wasn't prepared for our session. That was a point when I sent Code Institute an open letter mentioning all the problems I had with this course and I respectfully asked them to either give me my money back or hire me to help them improve the course. So I could actually do something about it not just whine about it.
Won't give me my money back
Neither happened. Brian O'Grady - Code Institute director told me that it's over 30 days, so they won't give me my money back. Because I completed stream 1 I tried to be fair and asked them for 2/3 of the money I paid. Instead he forced himself on me by saying he wants to help me. I'm basically extorted to stay. If you have any other questions about the course, please, contact me here: daniel.hoksza@gmail.com .
Look elsewhere.
A lot of content that is covered in Stream 1 is available for free in the Viking Code School.
Btw. they canceled a course with part-time classroom students, because the students weren't happy about the course. They gave them money back or let them join the online course. My reasons aren't big enough I guess.
The good?
HTML, CSS, D3 lessons and Angular were decent.
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Anonymous
Learning coding fundamentals
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I am UK-based and I finished the Lv5 course in April this year, had a brilliant mentor (I was on the now discontinued lv5 course) and the learning pace was decent.
However, it has to be said, the Lv5 Diploma in Software Development was very Web-Dev heavy. Nothing wrong with web dev, should have been marketed as such in the first place.
The issues I have is that jQuery is used as a more advanced library/framework, when it is used on legacy codebases.
The Bootstrap they taught was already end-of-life. (Bootstrap 4)
Python is a good language and Django is a solid web dev framework, BUT....... The UK junior dev market isn't set up for or around Django. At all (Better off in the USA/Canada for that).
Code Institute would have been better using php or full stack JS, as these are far more aligned to the UK/EU junior dev market.
Regarding the 3 specialisations, I only had the choice of e-commerce. And that was it. (No choice to do more front-end or predictive analytics)
Also, their careers hub wass pretty much dead in the final 2 months for me.
Personally, I would rate it 2.5 out of 5. -
Anonymous
It is really good
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I recently completed this course and found it to be well-structured, practical, and highly relevant to my academic and professional goals. The course content was logically organized from basic concepts to more advanced topics, which made it easier to build understanding step by step. Each module was designed with clear objectives, and the explanations were supported by real-world examples that helped connect theory with practical application.
One of the strongest aspects of this course was its balance between conceptual learning and hands-on practice. Assignments, quizzes, and projects allowed me to test what I learned and identify areas that needed improvement. The learning materials were easy to follow, and the pace was suitable even for students who are new to the subject.
The instructor’s approach was clear and focused on problem-solving rather than rote memorization, which is critical for long-term learning. Overall, this course helped me gain not only technical knowledge but also confidence in applying those skills in real situations. I would recommend this course to any student who wants a strong foundation along with practical experience. -
Anonymous
Beginner-Friendly, but Excellence and a Strong Portfolio Are Crucial
For experienced developers, there are plenty of valuable resources available for free. However, if you're a beginner, this program can be a good starting point. Keep in mind that securing a job after completing the course may not be guaranteed; it will require a high level of proficiency and a strong portfolio to stand out in the job market. -
Anonymous
A great experience
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This bootcamp is an excellent way to build a strong foundation for a career in software engineering. The community is vibrant and supportive, providing an ideal environment for learning and collaboration. Monthly hackathons offer a realistic experience of a working environment, teaching essential skills that are difficult to acquire on your own. My best advice is to approach every challenge with determination—more often than not, you'll find a solution. If you hit a roadblock, the tutor service is there to guide you. The only downside is that some of the course material is slightly outdated, but updates are in progress, and older content is being swiftly replaced. -
Anonymous
Dishonest about advisor qualifications
I recently did the five day challenge and after finishing I spoke to the a so called "education advisor" who was really just a salesperson! I found him on linkedin afterwards and he has a history in sales and no education training whatsoever. Shameful lies. Not signing up with a company willing to misrepresent their salespeople in this way just to get thousands of euros from customers.Code Institute of Code Institute
Student Care
May 05, 2023
Dear Anonymous,Our Education Advisors inform potential students about our programme. They do not tell lies. They are here to inform people about how our programme can help them change careers. There is no misrepresentation. Regards,Code Institute Team. -
Anonymous
An ok course
Read more Read less of Anonymous's review
Completed the C.I Full-Stack Diploma in E-Commerce Applications this year and overall when looking back, I can’t say I’m much more than moderately satisfied.
The course material is decent, but is in dire need of a massive update to keep up with other courses out there.
The cost of the course has gone up since I enrolled, and I don’t see the justification for it either.
The mentorship is a bit misleading as you only get someone to basically go over your projects with you 3 times and they aren’t there to mentor you through the course as the name might suggest.
The course also puts you together with other students regardless of prior coding experience, so a beginner coder is at a massive disadvantage compared to someone who has prior coding experience or a degree in CS. I think they should address this by splitting the course into two different categories to account for this or have more lenient marking for students without that background as an advantage.
There’s a lively slack community and you can ask for help on there. But for the most part you’re on your own and will find yourself using resources such as W3School, MDN or Youtube tutorials to teach some material to be honest.
There were several bugs and issues with some of the walkthrough content, especially between PP3 and PP4, and disappointingly PP5 was just the old MS4 recycled into this new course.
On the plus side, you do get an EQF Level 5 at the end of it all. Though I am not sure I can say I feel like a qualified Software Developer as I hold the certificate in my hand.
Code Institute of Code Institute
Student Care
Apr 14, 2023
Hi there,
Thanks for your review. We’re sorry to hear that you weren’t entirely satisfied with your experience, however, we are delighted to hear that you have graduated. If you haven’t done so already, and if your goal was to change careers, we strongly advise you to get in touch with the careers team.Regarding the content on our course, the technology and tooling that we use is always changing. The libraries the content depends on, and all the tooling we depend on are constant moving parts. This will occasionally introduce bugs in some content elements and workflows. We try to get ahead of these with first-line responses from our support team.Regarding our mentors, our welcome pack explains that mentors are on hand to assist with projects and that there are a set number of meetings per project. They are there to help with project scope and offer advice on how to plan and approach projects. If other support is required, it is available through community and tutoring.Thanks for your review, and once again, if you haven’t been in touch with the careers team - please get in touch. Kind regards,
Code Institute Team -
Anonymous
Absolutely Horrendous!
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I have currently been a "student" of this deplorable bootcamp for the past 4 1/2 months. I am also going through the bootcamp through Springboard which makes is absolutley free for me. Paying €8,000 for this course is the equivalent of throwing your money into the fire.
1. The course is outdated. Several videos are 2-3 years old with a comment box above the videos saying how to "remedy" the issue. Which in my case mostly never works as the "remedy is often outdated aswell"
2. The way the "instructors" teach is horrific, they fly through the videos telling you what to do but not actually offering anything of informative value. They are all just code along videos which doesnt help anyone. It just makes you walkthrough dependant.
3. From what I have learned while trying to become a software developer is that you must google everytthing which is perfectly fine. But if you spend €8,000 euro on a course they damn well better try and help you to the best of their ability and have as much content on their page as possible. Which they don't, I have spent 90% of my time on other sites I.E Coding with Mosh, YouTube and W3schools learning as the CI's attmept to teach is pathetic.
4. Up until project 4, the course is a solid 3/5, as you can teach basic HTML, CSS, JS, Python to anyone. When it gets to project 4 and you actually have to start coding and relaly learning the course just becomes a joke.
I could write all day but im just drained from this "Bootcamp". Biggest waste of 4 1/2 months. Thank God I didnt pay for it.Code Institute of Code Institute
Student Care
Jan 23, 2023
Hi,We are sorry to hear that you are not enjoying your time on the programme. However, it’s important to point out that we make every effort to ensure our students can progress through the coursework. This is why we have ample tutor support available, as well as student care and mentors to assist our students. As is typical with technology, it changes and updates all the time, and sometimes, it is necessary to use temporary measures to allow for new content. However, the existing content is still accurate and relevant. Our coursework is university credit-rated to ensure that what we teach is relevant to today’s coding workforce. While many of our students have completed our programme, using just our LMS, like with any other course, and like in the real coding world, it is often necessary to google information. This will be expected from you as a software developer. Once again, it is disappointing to read that you are not entirely satisfied with the programme. Please feel free to talk to us directly if you feel you need extra support. Kind regards,The Code Institute team. -
Anonymous
Do not recommend
Read more Read less of Anonymous's review
I would not recommend this Full Stack course with the Code Institute to anyone due to my experience with them. I applied and took on the 5 day challenge , Unfortunately I hadto request 2 days extension due to my laptop breaking but that was granted until Monday I was told. Monday morning I submitted the completed challenge with a 100% mark.
First off , I will admit the lessons provided were very good and I learned the basics pretty quickly and it has inspired me to start a proper Honours Degree in Software Development , so thanks for that.
But anyway I was told a few hours after my submission that my application was unsuccessful , so naturally I enquired as I figured a 100% mark was more than sufficient. I received an email the following day to inform me that the reason behind my application being denied was due to my extension request? Along with sections 2 & 3 of the coding challenge workbook being failed submissions. Unfortunately the coding application provided by the Code Institute for their 5 Day Coding Challenge is subpar to real world coding as the application did not recognize certain parts of the workbook in sections 2 & 3. I got very frustrated with this code constantly failing that I referred to a professional who confirmed my lines of code were in fact correct , so I submitted the correct code (marked as failed on their system) so I could view the "Solution" offered ,the solution and my "incorrect submissions" were the exact same lines of code. I also highlighted this issue in my application in the event that the Code Institute was not aware of this issue but it was marked as a reason for my denied application. ( Maybe they weren't too happy that I pointed this out )
Bottom line , I would not recommend this course based off of my experience with them and I personally wouldn't pay the near €7k price tag.Student Care of Code Institute
Student Care
Sep 15, 2022
Hi,
We are sorry to hear you didn’t have the experience you expected on application to do our course.
Since you have posted this anonymously, we cannot identify your individual case. However, we would like to note a few things we feel are important.
Firstly, since you have not undertaken our programme we must point out that your review does not reflect our course. Unfortunately, we do not accept everyone who applies to our programme. Often, this can be down to a person’s abilities on the challenge, not just technically, but also timelines are important. This ensures students stick to a realistic schedule that would be required of them on the course.
We would be more than happy to talk to you personally about your issue. Please get in touch with the education advisor you were talking to, and they will be happy to discuss your case's specifics.
Kind RegardsThe Code Institute Team
-
Anonymous
Mr
Read more Read less of Anonymous's review
The course started with the 5 day coding challenge it was made in the way, to make me think that once I pass it, will mean, that I am pretty skilled in this area “of thinking”. It consisted of tasks in HTML and CSS. For somebody who has never touched coding, and does not know that HTM and CSS are very simple tools to learn in coding it is easy to fall in this TRAP to think that you will be good at it. Why not create 5 day coding challenge in JavaScrip or Python, much more complex languages????
It started of well as with HTML and CSS, but the JavaScript and Python modules were intensely complicated, with badly laid out theory, with end module challenges often with elements not corresponding to the course material making the challenges even more confusing. Majority of the time I was left to research the subjects in other resources on my own to understand what I was being taught.
The tutor support are not allowed to give you straight answers (I have been taught that many times) plus you have to wait for their support 30/40min to 1.5 hrs. There is a limit of how often in a week you can ask for the support. So, if you have used them twice in a week you are unlikely to be helped third time in the same week or may wait more than 3hours. The flow of conversation is very slow as tutors (many recent graduates) are talking chatting to other students at the same time. I had to wait for my answers in conversations between 20min to 1.5hrs. 9 out of 10 times tutor’s shift ended during the conversation and I was told to wait for another tutor for help.
Mentor support your have is between 30-60 min three time during your project. 1 when you talk about your idea. 2 when you are in the middle but expectation is that you should have at this stage completed 70% of your work. 3 before the submission and when project is completed. This is not a help really as ideally you need at least 1-3hr every week to discuss many aspects and problems as this is a completely new field for you. The mentor would often send me to research my queries anyway. This is simply some tick box exercise for the provider of the course to make it look compliant and encouraging.
They say that you can use 24hr support in Slack, used by students asking questions that are drown in a despair slowly learning that they have had wasted their money. There are many bugs in the tutorial content and for that reason, the end challenges do not work but you are not able to know whether that is your error in the challenge or something else. No to mention spelling mistakes. Tutorials refer to Cloud9 but you have to use completely different GitPod … this list can go on, it is very depressing.
If you struggle with the content there is nobody to help you. Student support just make calls to you to tick box as they do not actually listen to your struggles. They count their time on the phone making sure it is not extended and you end up with no substantial support to what you are asking for.
For every late submission you pay extra fee, for every resubmission you pay extra fee. With the above support it could be an endless and costly experience.
This course is for people with prior knowledge of coding in all offered coding languages. For a beginner is an absolute nightmare as you don’t know what you are doing therefore a lot of support is needed. You will be left completely abandoned with your issues the only real savior can be a developer friend if he/she has a lot of time to give you some attention. CI put a lot of careful attention into getting you into the course 5day VERY EASY coding challenge, with many email reminders, marketing and getting your money. I can give them 5* for the three areas. You will be better off studying on your own. Do not pay for this course unless you have a lot of previous coding experience or you are a beginner but a complete genius! Otherwise, you will pay thousands to learn how to google or use Stack Overflow. I have chucked this course in the middle of it’s run, learning from free and better explained resources and have never been happier since.
Code Institute of Code Institute
Student Care
Mar 02, 2022
Hi,
Thank you for your review. It is unfortunate that you were not happy with the programme, however, we must disagree with some of your statements.
To begin with, learning anything new can be challenging, and we make it clear that learning to code is a challenge, which requires students and learners to face the complexities that can arise whilst learning to code.
As it happens, JavaScript is a language that has many complexities, and as our graduates have shown, if you stick to the programme, it will get you through those complexities. You mention that you needed to search for resources to help you through. This is something that we actively encourage. Like with any other higher education programme, sometimes the need for extracurricular learning is advantageous - while not always necessary.
You've mentioned our tutors not giving 'straight answers'. This is the policy from the outset, and the reason why is really important. We want to guide our students to frame a problem, engage in troubleshooting and be able to solve problems they're facing in much the same way they will in their first developer role.
Regarding your issues with the amount of time you get with a mentor, you have laid out correctly how this operates. The role of a mentor is to help you with best practices on your projects. This is a highly valued support arm and one which our graduates often applaud in reviews, etc.
Finally, regarding the 5 Day Coding Challenge. This challenge is in place to test the aptitude that a person might have to code. Generally, when a person starts to learn a language, the fundamentals are often easier to grasp. However, without the fundamentals, learning everything else would be near impossible.
Once again, we are sorry to hear that you did not enjoy your time on the course and if you still have time on the programme, we invite you to get in touch with our student care team.
Kind Regards,The Code Institute Team. -
Anonymous
Retro Gaming Hackathon
Read more Read less of Anonymous's review
This was my second time signing up for a Code Institute Hackathon in as many months, as I'd enjoyed the Pride-themed one back in June so much and found it had sharpened my coding and teamwork skills considerably. Once again, I got to work alongside fellow students of various experience levels and backgrounds in sprint-based collaborative bursts as we grappled with an unfamiliar topic/technology (game development on this occasion). And once more my biggest takeaway was that, while the learning content that makes up CI's Full Stack Diploma course is great, there really is no substitute for being brought out of your comfort zone and given a strict deadline to work against...
Over the course of five adrenaline-fuelled days, we pooled our skills and each played a part in building a pretty cool '80s-inspired arcade shoot 'em up. And although our project didn't end up winning, the competition aspect was eclipsed by the overall experience factor in terms of learning to coordinate group workflow and implement best practices around version control (etc.) - with the added bonus of gaining new connections and having lots of fun thrown in for good measure.
There's no doubt about it, remote bootcamp learning can be a solitary path at times, even allowing for the fact that we as CI students have access to several pillars of support (Slack, mentors, tutoring etc.). So to have these hackathons available as an extra-curricular outlet every couple of months goes a long way towards redressing this balance in my view. They've given me such a shot in the arm, in fact, that I've made reference to my hackathon experiences to date in a couple of recent job interviews!
TL;DR: If you're reading this and wondering if you should sign up for the next CI Hackathon, I can wholeheartedly recommend it as a great way of levelling up your dev skills and having something tangible and worthwhile to talk about with prospective employers ;-) -
Anonymous
Full Stack web development not worth the cost
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There are 4 practical projects that you can show up in your github and a lot of practising exercises on each of the 4 big modules. The course curriculum is really good and well structured it is including the latest real contents currently used in companies, I've seen many of the contents used in the start up tech company, where I used to work.
The student portal used to have frequent errors, at least in the time I did the course, although is easy to use, (moving among lessons inside one module is easy) but very annoying when trying to move among modules to one specific lesson, I missed a more accessible/less-clicks/page reloads way to get to any point of any module.
Deadlines are VERY rigid for finishing the projects, if you are currently a full-time employee (normal 8h/day) is practically impossible to really learn everything from the course, you can finish the course and follow it yes, but you will finish with the feeling of not really learning, because you are constantly rushing to get to deadlines, moving to the next lesson without being able to go deeper as long you need in any specific topic.You will end up with a vague general understanding of each field, definitely not enough for the price of the course.I would recommend this course only if you are not full-time employed and if you have money.
ProsThe course curriculum, and the students community in Slack
ConsWay too expensive for the kind of "support" you actually receive.Most of the time you end up asking among the other students community rather than getting actual support from mentors, as they are only there for general guidance in your projects, not to help you solve code problems.Your access to the portal and study contents is removed once you finish the course, which to me makes no sense at all, and forces you to take extra separate notes, using more time for notes that could be used to actually practice.
The interviews/job finding preparation is a joke, you can get the same advice and support anywhere free in internet as they don't communicate with you directly.The last module of the course corresponding to the last project, is way too long in content/complexity compared with the rest of the other 3 modules, which is normal but you still have the same time to complete it than the previous, which adds additional pressure.
Code Institute of Code Institute
Student Care
Aug 04, 2021
Hi Loa,
Thank you for your review and congratulations on completing the Full Stack diploma.
We’re happy to hear that you were pleased with our course content and that you found our global community of learners a useful support.
We noticed that you hadn’t mentioned our Tutor Support team, so we wanted to mention that our team of tutors are also at hand to provide additional support when tackling challenges, with support available 24 hours Monday to Friday and 9-5 on weekends. Throughout the course we encourage our students to reach out to our tutors as and when they need to.
It is true that the Full Stack Diploma is an intensive course, and as a university credit-rated diploma programme students are required to adhere to project deadlines. We understand that students are busy with work and life commitments and this is why we created a flexible, remote method to achieving a career in software development. The success of our graduates and high employment rates demonstrate that preparedness.
One-to-one consultations with our in-house tech recruitment experts are a unique offering of the diploma programme, giving you tailored advice to support you on your job search. Please be sure to reach out to our careers team, who are there to provide personalised support to both students and alumni.
We very much value your feedback and we’d really appreciate it if you could reach out to us - studentcare@codeinstitute.net.
We wish you all the best.
The Code Institute Team -
Anonymous
Full Stack Web developer
Read more Read less of Anonymous's review
The course is online and can be achieved in a year, the modules and material are easy to follow, the support teams are super pro active and provide really good information that helps you move forward. The videos are available for the full year, the assignments range from easy to challenging but achievable. The 4 projects assessed throughout your learning are up to standard. What you learn and put the time in is generally paid for.
Plus you get a mentor and the constant support of the tutors and slack community for any technical questions. -
Anonymous
Poor Assessment
They failed my assessment twice, prior to them my mentor and other students read my Readme documents, and they were all happy. I don't see any issues on validation other than coming from Bootstrap cdns, they failed mine for Bootstraps validation errors. There were some criterias for Merit, and they failed my assessment for the Merit criteria.Rory Toal of Code Institute
Digital Marketing Manager
Feb 10, 2021
Hi,
Thank you for your review. We are sorry to hear that you had difficulty with your project assessment.
Our programme is credit-rated by Edinburgh Napier University and is a level 5 qualification on the European Qualification Framework. As a University-accredited programme, there are strict marking criteria that must be met when projects are assessed. Students are made aware of requirements by our support teams, who are at hand to provide further information and advice in this area.
The Code Institute full stack course is an intensive and challenging programme provided through a supportive learning environment. We cannot comment on individual assessments but would very much like to discuss your issue with you, and our dedicated Student Care team is at all times at hand to assist and advise students on various aspects of their learning.
Please be sure to contact our Student Care team and they will be able to advise you further.
Kind Regards, Code Institute
-
Anonymous
Not good, will pester you including phone calls without consent and will lie despite vulnerability disclosures.
Read more Read less of Anonymous's review
I gave them disclosures I was vulnerable yet they still gave me information encouraging me to take out loans to do their course with a completely unrealistic 'return upon investment' advice, including how I would earn roughly £31k as a junior developer. Even in London, without a proper degree and/or years of experience, you're not getting £31k from doing a course like Code Institute.
I thought quite well of them and was genuinely considering trying to financially position myself to complete the course but given the months of being hounded by their marketing department and asking questions, when I made it clear I knew I was being manipulated in bad faith they, funnily enough, just stopped responding. I did remove myself from the mailing list but they made no effort to correct my interpretation of their actions when I made it explicitly clear I didn't think they had my best interests at heart and, as such, found it difficult to believe I'd be efficiently taught any skills I would be required to have upon taking a job after completion. -
Anonymous
Full Stack Software Development Diploma
Great online course for anyone new to Software Dev and looking to upskill or reskill -
Anonymous
Poor Quality
I belive the content should be more up-to-date, poor content at times, and it's a lot fo money invested for services that you can get for 10 pounds on Udemy. I strongly advise other people to stay away from any bootcamp and learn on their own.
-
Anonymous
Stay Away
Don't waste your money. I've completed the 12 week bootcamp and let me tell you you will need a lot more than this to secure a decent role in Coding with a reputable employer. I'd prefer to invest my money in an established University where I can gain global recognition.
Tiff of Code Institute
Community Manager
Oct 18, 2016
Hi,
Thanks for your review. We appreciate all feedback which allows us to improve our programme and create a better experience for our students.
For the sake of clarity, Code Institute is accredited by Napier Edinburgh University. Successful students are awarded a "diploma in software development", the first of its kind in Europe. This is level 6 on the NFQ and it is globally recognised.
Taking on board that you are not entirely satisfied with your experience, we would love to lend you our full support and find out some more specifics and help you achieve your course goals.
Please contact us on 01 5397973 or email studentcare@codeinstitute.net.
Thanks,
Tiff.
Code Institute Customer Care Team