Codesmith Reviews
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Steven Lee Verified via GitHubChallenging program
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I had found Codesmith through attending a few JavaScript: the Hard Parts events. At the time, I was a front end web developer but was looking to move into more data-intensive software engineering positions. I had also just moved to LA and didn't have much of a network; JSHP seemed to be a great two for one deal: brush up on JavaScript basics and meet other engineers. What I hadn't expected was just how great the JSHP (and by extension, the Codesmith) community is: everyone around me was extremely supportive and giving. Couple this with the high techincal standards, Codesmith seemed like the perfect program to effectively up my technical abilities. Having come through the other end I can attest that it did that. A+, would do again.
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Chris Verified via GitHubChallenge Yourself
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I was a resident and then a fellow at Codesmith so I think I can give some quick insights on the program. If you are about growth through technical challenge and embrace deliberate practice rather than easy wins, this is the place for you. If you want to be surrounded by determined and brilliant people who genuinely care about your learning experience, you've found it. But keep this in mind, no one will hold your hand and you have to come in with 110% of focus and self-determination to make it through. This is great opportunity to excel yourself as a mid-senior software engineer, so come and earn it.
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Pete Verified via LinkedIn
Take your skills to the next level
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A few months prior to joining Codesmith I had quit my job with the goal of learning coding on my own in order to switch careers and create a few projects I've had in my head but never been able to act on. (I come from a technical background, but on the Electrical side - so I wanted to get SW skills in order to be more full stack.)
About 2 months into my self-learning journey, I realized I could solve problems but always felt I was "hacking" the answer together instead of just being able to immediately solve them, which I felt slowed me own drastically.
Enter Codesmith...
After the 3 month course I now feel I have a thorough understanding of the key concepts I needed and, in addition, also a deep understanding of the advanced/cutting edge javascript frameworks - ie. React, Redux, Node.
I received all of the skills that I was looking for and can now immediately reason in my head when solving problems on my projects, as-opposed to having to stack overflow every question and 'hack' together answers.
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In addition, the two things I think really set Codesmith apart are 1) the culture and 2) the projects.
1) A majority of the people that join Codesmith are already solid programmers or problem solvers with technical backgrounds, and they want to take their skills to the next level. This was what was really worth the price of admission, to me. Working on my own I would sometimes hit a wall of frustration and need a break; with the community you're working with at Codesmith, if you hit a wall there is surely someone around who is happy to sit down and troubleshoot it with you. And you're on your way forward in no time. (Not to mention the network of driven people you are now a part of)
2) I don't like how some schools force boring projects on you - I don't think that helps promote true learning because you're not passionately solving through your problems and can just go through the motions. Codesmith lets you choose your own projects (pretty much whatever you choose, as long as the concept is challenging enough and clearly described). This phase was where I really solidified my knowledge because I was working on projects I cared about and that allowed me to spend the extra time to really push through difficult problems, willingly.
TLDR: I'm very happy I made this decision as I now have the skills I was looking for, in only 3 months. Now I can solve challenging problems without help.
Note: It's not easy - be ready to put in the work.
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Daniel Verified via LinkedIn
Software Engineer
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Attended CodeSmith - August 2016 Cohort 9
Background - Chemical Engineering
Currently - Software Engineer (First Job landed after CodeSmith was Nike)
I attended Codesmith back in August 2016 for a 13 Week Program that transitioned me from a programming enthusiast to a software engineer. I understand a lot of things probably have changed since my cohort, but I'm going to assume that it was for the better. Whether that was hardening the course material to focus on current in-demand skills or even providing additional staff for the students. It was one of the best paths I could have chosen for my career. Codesmith provides all the necessary tools for you to succeed. I fully recommend CodeSmith as a JavaScript-focused Bootcamp that can get you started as a software developer or harden your skills as one.
In short - If you love programming, javascript and are dedicated 100%+ to pursuing a job in Web Development (that is if Web Dev is your passion), go for it.
*Note* - One thing that Codesmith does well, is the support. I still get my resume reviewed from time to time and Codesmith does a great job in being responsive to their student needs in regards to Job Assistance.
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Alyssa Verified via LinkedIn
Definitely worth it
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I learned more about relevant technologies and code production at Codesmith than I did in college with a minor in computer science.
Overall it was a great experience. I developed some awesome friendships and am now working as a software engineer at a company that I love.
I do wish there was more back end in the curriculum. I takes extra effort and studying after Codesmith to land a backend position. But that is true for any bootcamp.
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Janelle Verified via GitHubA defining experience
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I come from a background in PR and Marketing, and transitioned into a role as a UX/UI developer. I wanted to build out the functionalities of these static wireframes and prototypes, but my scope of software engineering was so narrow that I didn’t know where or how to begin. I did a lot of research on bootcamps and immersive programmes, and the amount of polarising reviews put me off any further researching. I decided to try the whole “self-studying” thing, and found myself completing algorithm after algorithm, but not really implementing it to build anything useful.
I attended my first JavaScript: The Hard Parts meet-up, and was completely blown away at how in-depth and precise Will went into explaining the JS engine, and how it executes each line of code. There were also a couple of people from Codesmith who volunteered to stay with me past the meet-up event to pair-programme with me until I was at a point where I understood all of the concepts. After attending a couple of more times, I became more familiar with the Codesmith community, and knew that I had to be a part of it. I’ve never been surrounded by such passionate, hilarious, supportive, and talented group of people before, and I still keep in touch with those I’ve met at Hard Parts.
During my time at Codesmith, the hardest part for me was to discipline myself in adjusting to a “new” way of learning. The lectures give you a solid high-level overview of a particular topic, but it’s up to you to put in the hard work to further research how it’s used and how all the pieces come together. Every two days, you’re learning a new concept/framework/protocol along with a unit challenge, and I definitely put in a lot of extra time during and after the programme to ensure that I’ve understood them. During the “senior” portion of the programme, Codesmith really pushes you to explore areas that might feel like impossible to build at first, but when you’re surrounded by such determined and ambitious talent, you pick up on their energy and push through together as a team. My team and I built a real-time text editor with end-to-end encryption - still can’t believe that we worked with encryption!
The last few weeks are dedicated to outcomes and building out your network, which was one of the most important areas of Codesmith. The Codesmith team put in a lot of effort in conducting resume workshops, mock interviews/white boarding sessions, and cover letter/follow-up strategies. You’re in this iterative and refinement phase that further strengthens your technical and presentational skills when it comes to hiring day. You’re equipped with an extensive network of Codesmith alumni that are scattered across major cities, and I definitely took advantage of that by reaching out to them and they were more than happy to meet with me for interview preps. Codesmith built a solid foundation for my career, and I accepted a great offer a few weeks after finishing up the programme!
Haley of Codesmith
Director of Product & Platforms
Aug 12, 2020
I hope you are well, Janelle! Thanks so much for sharing your preparation process for the program, and how our free workshop series - JavaScript the Hard Parts - helped you solidify your foundation. I also loved hearing about your experience in the hiring process and how the alumni network has supported you. -
Gordon Verified via LinkedIn
I picked Codesmith
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Codesmith as a program really lives up to it's hype. I was skeptical at first, as having been a software engineer for 4/5 years back in the late 90's / early naughties I was well aware of how big an undertaking it is to become a competent developer. Having not programmed for 15 yrs, thereby missing the internet/cloud era I found myself drawn to bootcamps as a way to re-immerse myself in programming. I decided on Codesmith having attended JSHP and really liking the community Codesmith was developing. My instincts were correct. Codemith has developed an awesome community, where students, alumni and the Codesmith team, all support each other fantastically. This really proved helpful during the program, where people all stayed on beyond the required 12hr days to help each other overcome the struggles of learning to code. I feel like the base knowledge the program gives you, really instills an ability to go out and tackle any coding challenge. You come away having learned how to break the problem down, research what knowledge you need in an efficient manner and apply this to any given challenge. This ability coupled with the community, I could not have asked for more.
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Brandon Verified via GitHubSoftware Engineer
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I'll keep it short since I can't say much more than the other reviewers have already said:
Codesmith was the right decision for me. I graduated with a Math/CS degree and was unsure about whether any of these coiding programs would be useful for me, but I eventually decided on attending Codesmith and I'm so glad I did! The vibe and energy from the people there was always positive, always friendly, and always collaborative. I was free to ask for help and work with others on what I had trouble with and at the same time other could always come to me with their questions as well. And that was important because the program was dense and without that kind of community, I couldn't learned what I did, and I wouldn't have been able to built what I did. It felt like we were all in this together and trying to raise each other up to become the best engineers possible.
My experience in the program was incredibly valuable and I would choose to do it again in a heartbeat!
Haley of Codesmith
Director of Product & Platforms
Aug 12, 2020
Brandon! Thanks so much for writing about your experience at Codesmith. I think so many Math/CS majors are in a similar position when considering bootcamps. Have loved hearing about your success at Hulu after the program! Hope to see you soon. -
Martin Verified via GitHubGreat program - even for CS grads!
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When I joined Codesmith, I was a cs grad trying to reach for roles that are typically not possible to attain by people who are fresh out of college. I wanted to have the skills and the confidence to be taken seriously when applying for positions that aren't just entry level software engineering roles. I am passionate about engineering and knew that I could do better than performing mindless bug fixes and task/maintanence level engineering. I wanted to build new systems and apply cutting edge technology to real world applications.
The community aspect of Codesmith is one of the biggest contributors to the success of all the students that go through the program. You will be surrounded by highly motivated people and learn how to work in teams, mentor others, and work through difficult and interesting challenges together (just like in a real world environment!). AND you make a bunch of really cool friends throughout the program and beyond!
I have to say Codesmith helped me attain all the things I wanted in my career as a Software Engineer. The skills they teach allows you to be able to reach for higher roles solving actually interesting problems as well as have people take you more seriously as an engineer. You get to learn how to learn, how to design solid systems by building, pick up popularly used technologies, and create real projects. There are also various levels of soft skills that you will inadvertently pick up as well as lots of tools for doing well in interviews.
Coming out of Codesmith, in the interview process, I felt that I was taken more seriously than before. Interviewers got excited when I talked about the projects that I created at CodeSmith, especially the senior project that we built as a team (a realtime subscription system for GraphQL before it was even implemented officially in the GraphQL specification and before Apollo released such functionality!). Most of the offers I recieved after the program were well within and above the range of salaries offered to most Codesmith students.
One year later, I am confident in saying that I was able to apply pretty much everything I learned at Codesmith to excel and make a solid impact here at the company I currently work at. I have been an integral part of designing and creating several new backend systems, migrating our backend to microservices, developing an in house branded UI Component library using all the latest and greatest React tooling, and building lots of new features in our product.
Was it worth it? Hell yeah it was worth it! and it was LOADS of fun! It is important that you take this time to work hard and make the most of the experience. It's not magic where you just go through the program and you come out it being able to be treated like a senior engineer. Work hard, get sleep, eat well, read lots, and dive deep into the topics that you learn (and the topics you don't learn!). If you take the time to make the most out of your Codesmith experience, you will come out of it surprising EVERYONE you talk to. I was really inspired by the growth of all my peers at Codesmith who came from non-technical backgrounds. They worked hard, grew to be excellent engineers, and many of them are making waves at the places the landed afterwards.
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Will Verified via GitHubGreat Investment
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Enrolling in Codesmith is one of the best investments I’ve made. I had some tech experience, but wanted to make a hard turn into software development. I didn’t want to spend a year in self-study or take a junior position where I wasn’t challenged to grow beyond my limits. This program challenged my limits everyday for three months and grew my knowledge and skill to the level I needed to pursue and make that hard turn into software development.
I came to Codesmith after several stints of personal projects and self-study. A night of self-study might have included me crouching over a computer in my living room for a few hours trying to get a web server to accept requests while pretending to watch the Bachelor with my girlfriend. The first successful response would lead to an audible, “Yes!,“ at which point I’d feel a sense of a accomplishment, shut the laptop as if it were an interruption to normal life, and get back to the Bachelor (don’t judge). Stack overflow articles and trial/error would have given me a concept of what was going on under the hood, but a lot of the learning actually comes after hacking together a solution. For three months Codesmith takes over your life. There are no interruptions to learning how to code - getting to the audible ‘Yes!’ becomes the first step of solving a problem instead of the last. Instead of closing the laptop, you take it with you to the classroom and start connecting the dots of why it worked like it did and digging deeper into the underlying architecture so the next project you’re focused on optimization as opposed to just getting something working.
The program is structured from a day-to-day perspective but retains a loose and agile feel to it - include its immersive aspect and you’re forced to make the program your own. Instead of simply experiencing a curriculum, you become part of the curriculum - on any given day you can be the student, the teacher, or even the intangible glue that holds your cohort together in times of stress. Looking back at the experience, this was incredibly motivating and helped drive everyone to keep their endurance and tenacity at the crazy levels needed to conquer each day’s/week’s goals. The Codesmith staff also did a great job of bringing the experience of many previous cohorts to bear in helping students navigate problem areas.
I’ll end the review like I started it - Codesmith is a great investment in yourself. That said, it’s not for the faint of heart. This investment is not only tuition and time but also the energy and dedication put into it. The program gives you all the tools and support to succeed - and really pushes you to make the most out of it. If you have a natural curiosity and urge to learn and legitimately give it 110%, you’ll grow enormously.
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David Verified via GitHubCodesmith
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I did a lot of searching in socal for good bootcamps, and ultimately settled on Codesmith because of how many overwhelmingly positives reviews I found, and the high quality of Javascript the hard parts.
Initially, I was pretty skeptical - how could I learn the skills required to change careers in only a few months? Two weeks after my cohort finished, I had signed a six figure job offer, and within my first week I felt confident about the code I contributed to the team.
At Codesmith, you're surrounded by highly motivated people, and that environment encourages growth, exploration, and learning. You'll quickly become used to the minimum 12 hour days, but also find yourself frequently working even longer. The curriculum is modern, and is frequently being updated to cover the latest frameworks and libraries.
The Codesmith team works very hard to motivate and encourage you to work as hard as you can. This is especially true during the project phase, when they set strict stanardards for building a high quality open source project. To me, this is one of the key areas that makes Codesmith stand out from the rest- it encourages you to go deep into unique programming concepts and features, giving you the confidence to speak to these in depth during interviews.
Additionally, the team also works very hard with everyone to help you build a great resume to make you stand out, prepares you for the tech interview process, and at negotiating your best offer.My one complaint, is that (in my opinion) some of the material is not taught well. This was especially frustrating for me after going from a series of very high quality lectures to some very poor ones- however, you quickly discover the real learning is not from the instructors or the lecture material, but from learning how to learn on your own and in the small groups you work in.
A large portion of Codesmith is focused around pair programming, which really teaches you visualize a problem before you blindly start coding. Technical communication is a term you will hear a lot, and after a few weeks into the program you will become very good and articulating your strategies. Through pair programming, you are exposed to lots of different ideas from your partners, which further expands the way you think about the problem you're facing.
If you are thinking about making the jump - be sure to seriously consider Codesmith. Yes, it's expensive, but for almost everyone it pays for itself within one year. I would recommend Codesmith to anyone I know looking to make the switch. Codesmith was one of the funnest and most productive three months of my life, and all of these reviews of it being a "life changing" experience are completely accurate.
Haley of Codesmith
Director of Product & Platforms
Aug 12, 2020
Thanks for sharing your experience, David! It was awesome having you in the program, and love the points you made about how helpful pair programming was for you. It's been great seeing your success post-Codesmith and that initial job that you got 2 weeks after the program! Disney, MeUndies, and now Dictionary.com have been lucky to have a stellar engineer like you. Hope to see you soon! -
Brian Verified via GitHubA Formative Experience
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I'm going to assume you've read some of the other reviews, and you know about Codesmith's curriculumn (<3 React), it's fantastic culture (I miss Thursday drinks), and it's inclusive community. I'll focus on my journey.
My story with Codesmith is the same as many graduates from the program. I came into the program with just enough Javascript skills to be dangerous, but my experience, confidence, and general knowledge of web development felt entirely lacking to propel me into a new software engineering career. Even while I was enrolled, the success stories of recent graduates always seemed too good to be true, and I struggled to see how my reality could possibly line up with the one I was being told. At Codesmith, this is called "imposter syndrome", and it seems to happen to nearly everyone.
Spoilers: Codesmith transformed my life too. Today, I find myself thriving at a job that felt beyond my reach only a year ago. Software development can be a pain in the ass sometimes, but my experience at Codesmith helped me learn to approach every challenge as a learning opportunity to dive deeper into how things work instead of just patch them together to get them to work. Codesmith is not a traditional learning environment where you are fed all of the information you need to learn and your only job is to absorb and regurgitate it. In order to thrive there, you need to be willing to dive into the deep end, struggle a lot, and learn how to overcome many obstacles on your own. On the flip side, if you dedicate yourself wholly to the process for 3 months, it can change your life. -
Been working a full-time software engineering position ever since at Avetta! Verified via GitHubBest Code Camp
Codesmith really helped foster a hunger to learn more about the software engineering field. Not only did they help me grasp full-stack concepts, I have made great friends. Their program also has great outreach and I was actually able to land my fulltime position through their "Hiring Day" event. Highly recommend it for those that are willing to put in the work.
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Matt Verified via GitHubAn amazing community
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There are tons of coding bootcamps, but only a small percentage of those schools have the potential to substantially accelerate your career. Codesmith is, without a doubt, in this latter category, and I'd be shocked if there's another coding school as effective as Codesmith.
Had I relied on self-study, it would have taken me at least another year to get to the position I'm in today (and I'm a relatively studious/disciplined person). The Codesmith community and resources are invaluable, and these things just can't be replicated by studying on your own. I'm extremely happy with my decision to attend Codesmith.
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Brett Verified via GitHubBelieve in the System
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Me, before: Technical, non-software-engineering role at a software company. Engineering (non-CS) MS and BS from UCLA (Go Bruins). Very very little JS web dev experience.
Me, now: Software Engineer in LA. Making 67% more than I was before. Doing lots of JS web dev and kicking ass.
Thoughts: Codesmith is an amzing way to get 1000+ hours of guided, designed, supported time learning a useful, in-demand set of skills to get hired as a software engineer. It's super fun, too.
I think Codesmith's effectiveness is shown in my hiring experience. We set up profiles for platforms like AngelList near the end of the program and I got a handful of outreach messages from companies nearly immediately. Two turned into interviews, one into an onsite and an senior dev offer before I even graduated. I spent the three weeks after graduation ~50% applying to jobs and ~50% interviewing/preparing for interviews, getting 5 offers in that time. Every onsite interview I had turned into an offer. I accepted one within a month of graduating.
I think part of my success comes from my technical background and fancy degrees (I didn't put Codesmith on my resume), but I wasn't having many results from these kind of companies in my immediately-previous job search. Codesmith set me up with the skills, confidence, polish and support that made the hiring process actually kind of fun.
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Angela Y Verified via LinkedIn
Well worth the investment
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I will keep this short, as there are many other reviews talking about the curriculum in depth and the amazing resources that Codesmith provides. My review will be about what I gained the most during my time there.
Codesmith is a valuable investment in yourself and your future. During Codesmith, I genuinely learned how to learn and now I am confident that I will excel at any software postition that I enter. My background is in Civil Engineering and I previously coded in Java, but I had never experienced this level of intense learning until now.
Codesmith got the philosophy right and you are surrounded by people who are asking in-depth questions about the most interesting emerging technologies. A small group of students, engaged instructors, and projects that challenge you to think critically... this is what all school should be like!!
I did get a great job at a startup working on the technologies that I love (React), but what I really got was a new mindset on software that will take me far. Shout-out to the Codesmith staff, keep it up!
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Bita Djaghouri Verified via GitHubChallenging But Rewarding Career Move
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TL; DR;
Codesmith will be tough to get in to and tough to complete! You will be a mid-to-senior level software engineer by the time you graduate with a production-level project on your resume. The Codesmith team will go above and beyond to provide the highest quality education and help you find an amazing job with an amazing salary. The hours will be long, but the people you will spend your days with are amazing, both personally and professionally.
Acceptance
Acceptance to Codesmith is an educational journey in itself. You must already have some solid foundational programming knowledge just to make it through the interview process. The acceptance rate is lower than that of most Ivy Leagues (~4%). I attended a bootcamp long before I found Codesmith, which puts me in the rare position to be able to draw from actual experience in order to compare Codesmith to other programs. Looking back, I realize that all the knowledge I gained from that bootcamp really only prepared me to be eligible to interview with Codesmith. In addition to the substantive Codesmith interview, there is also a cultural interview. This ensures that the people you spend the next 3.5 months with are people that will facilitate your success as much as the staff and curriculum will.
Curriculum
The curriculum that I experienced in my previous bootcamp provided me with a great coding foundation that made me a great junior developer; however, the knowledge that I acquired there was not sufficient to elevate me to the skill level necessary to join the highly competitive work force as a mid-to-senior level software engineer.
Codesmith residents are held to an extraordinarily high standard of technical excellence and communication. The curriculum is extremely challenging and vigorous. We learned the essentials of computer science (algorithms, design patterns, big O notation), as well as the latest technologies such as React and Redux. As challenging as the coursework is, however, you are not on your own. The one-on-one support from the resident fellows is incredible (think TAs, but they care a lot more). Each person on the staff at Codesmith does everything within their power to ensure success during and after the program.
During the second half of the program, we build production-level projects in small teams. These projects are the best projects coming out of immersive programs in both caliber and quality. Production projects from Codesmith have been acknowledged by the inventor of Redux, Dan Abramov (React Monocle), featured at the Google I/O developer conference (web-dsp) and, on more than one occasion, drawn enormous interest from the React community. My own team's project, Reactide, was the #1 trending app on Github and gained over 5,000 Github stars in the first week of its release. None of these projects were promoted in any significant way; they have all stood on their own merit and ingenuity.
Day to day
An average day at Codesmith consisted of a daily coding challenge, multiple lectures, a lot of pairing, more lectures, and the occasional game of nerf war! What surprised me most about Codesmith was the time commitment required to complete the program. At a minimum, we were there for about 10-14 hours per day, 6 days per week, which is far greater than the time commitment required at a traditional bootcamp. The extra time adds up to at least 2-3 weeks more than you will get anywhere else. The days passed rather quickly, however, given the high expectations and quantity of work required of each of us each day. As I said before: this program isn't for those on the fence about their engineering career!
Classmates
My cohort was a really fun, hardworking, collaborative and supportive cast of characters. Completing a program consisting of over 1,000 hours together created a strong bond between us as a group. To this day, we continue to help and support one another by answering coding questions, giving one another job leads, or just solving interesting challenges together. We even go camping as a group, now and again.
Outcomes
Finding a job, no matter how substantively prepared you are, can be an arduous undertaking. During the last few weeks at Codesmith, there is a lot of focus on preparing for job interviews (including rigorous mock interviews and white-boarding), perfecting your resume, and developing job hunt strategies. This support does not stop when the program ends (as is the case with traditional bootcamps). After completing my previous bootcamp, I was grossly unprepared for the job hunt with absolutely no support from the staff after graduation. This is absolutely not the case at Codesmith. If anything, support in the job hunt increases post-graduation. Staff from Codesmith continued to help me research jobs, prepare for interviews, and keep my coding skills sharp long after graduation day. They even helped me negotiate my salary when I received my first offer. Codesmith students routinely receive offers right out of Codesmith that are $100,000 or more, which is anywhere from 1.5 to 2 times what you will receive as a junior developer coming out of other immersive programs. I can attest to both numbers from experience as my current salary is literally double the salary I was offered after my other bootcamp.
Conclusion
Not long after I graduated from Codesmith, I landed my dream job. I'm a software engineer (with a highly competitive salary) in New York City, building software to help cities and organizations provide coordinated public services for veterans, families, and low-income individuals.
If you are able to be accepted to Codesmith, go! Do not hesitate! It will be the best decision you can make for your career.
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Leah Suter Verified via LinkedIn
My time at Framework
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When I applied I just wanted more practice with JavaScript. As a pleasant surprise it was way more comprehensive and rigorious than I expected. I learned more in 4 weeks than I did on my own in 2 years. I have tried online videos and personal projects but to no avail. We learned about the language itself not just how to code in JavaScript. It was really insightful and now I code more thoughtfully. Once I was done with the course I understood JavaScript so much better. I learned a lot of tips and tricks to make my code more efficient and easier for other web developers to read. Although I had experience programming I still was challenged and learned from others in the class. I learned how to leverage the knowledge of others and how to solidify what I learned. Overall I recommend this course to anyone that is interested in becoming a better web developer. I learned way more than JavaScript.
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Joseph Verified via LinkedIn
Codesmith community
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Before joining Codesmith, I was really hesitant as to whether joining a coding program was really worthwhile, or all hype. After going to my first JavaScript The Hard Parts, I was pleasantly welcomed by the Codesmith community. People were super nice and socialable and shared their wonderful experiences with me. That's when I knew this was the place for me.
At Codesmith, sure you'll learn full-stack JavaScript, but what really makes Codesmith special is the community built around it. They truly care about your success and will help you any way possible. The support doesn't stop when you graduate, they continue to check up on you to make sure you are doing what you need to. If things don't look right or don't seem to be working, they continue to work with you until it does.
It's not easy, and you won't be spoonfed knowlege, but if you are willing to put in the work, you won't regret choosing Codesmith.
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Ryan Smith Verified via GitHubCodesmith Produces Top Class Engineers
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As a recent graduate of one of our nations leading liberal arts colleges, I can honestly say that codesmith, and not my undergraduate education, was the most invigorating and fulfilling learning experience of my life. Four things (listed in no particular order) make Codesmith great:
Staff/Team members:
Codesmith's CEO, Will Sentance, heavily emphasizes the importance of building a warm and supportive learning community. The entire staff reflects this attitude. I moved from Chicago to enroll in Codesmith, and was initially worried about having a small support network in LA. My fears dissipated day one at family dinner, a weekly group dinner where everyone in the Codesmith community (alumni included!) are welcome to dine together and shoutout other community members for their successes and kind actions.
The engineering and teaching staff often stay beyond work hours because they enjoy helping Codesmith residents. The engineering staff have a strong and unified pedagogical approach - they subtly guide residents towards asking the right questions, but avoid directly providing residents with a specific approach to a problem. While this teaching style can be frustrating at times, it taught me to ask the right questions and is ultimately responsible for the tremendous growth I experienced in 12 weeks.
The core staff, who work on hiring support (I'll focus on this later), organize events and meetups, addmissions, and a variety of other behind-the-scenes work, are always happy to take time out of their day to talk with Codesmith residents about how they are doing both academically and emotionally. After all, such an intense program can be draining at times, and the support of the staff is instrumental in making sure every resident completes the program ready to be hired as a mid-senior level engineer.
Peers
Codesmith is highly selective. As a result, I was surrounded by smart and dedicated engineers with a diverse set of backgrounds. Codesmith doesn't only look for technical prowess, though. They are careful only to admit compassionate and thoughtful communicators - people that will be strong team members. After all, the majority of work in Codesmith is done in pairs or small groups. This exposed me to a variety of approaches to problem solving. I learned faster as a result of my peers, and gained invaluable experience as part of an engineering team. My fellow residents would often organize informal lectures or study groups outside of class time to help bring everyone up to speed in subjects they excelled in.
Curriculum / Production project
The first four weeks of the program introduce all of the core material necessary to become a fullstack javascript developer. This whirlwind month is made possible by cohesive curriculum that forces residents to solve complex problems. The real power of the codesmith experience, though, lies in the last 8 weeks, which are focused primarily on group projects. During the last 6 weeks, I worked in a team of 4 to develop production level server debugging software that kicks postman's butt. I went from knowing a few lines of javascript to publishing an open source developer tool on npm in 12 weeks. In the last week of the program, I also gave a talk at the SoCal Node meetup about child processes in node, and field questions on the subject from seasoned developers.
Hiring support
The Codesmith core staff have weekly checkins with alumni to ensure they are making good progress in their job searches. All students go through multiple drafts of their resumes, which are reviewed by Will's scrupulous eye. Residents go through rounds of practice whiteboarding sessions and interviews with both staff and other reseidents. And in the last week of the program, each resident has the opportunity to kick off their job search by interviewing with multiple hiring partners. Additionally, Codesmith has a hiring support team member, Eric, who is dedicated to providing students with interview and application strategies and giving residents advice in negotiating better packages once they have received job offers.
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I was accepted to both Codesmith and Hack Reactor (LA). Hack Reactor certainly appears to be a strong program. Yet Codesmith's emphasis on creating a community of engineers and learners, the incredible quality of open source projects produced by Codesmith residents, and the teaching style of the engineering staff made Codesmith the clear option for me.
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Dan Chen Verified via GitHubChallenging but rewarding
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An intense program that will challenge and push you mentally and even emotionally at times. Fast-paced but balanced with a fun atmosphere, you will grow in many ways. Check out Hard Parts to get a sense of the community and to see if it could be a good fit. Talk to a range of current students and graduates.
I am very grateful for the people I met during my time there. The best coding bootcamp experience I've ever had. Other things I miss: the patio for watching sunsets and bagels for days.
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Cheng Sieu Ly Verified via GitHubAny aspiring engineer must do
Going through Codesmith was not easy (it shouldn't be). The amount of knowledge I gained, the friendships I aquired and the strength I built was not priceable. It was an experience I will remember forever.
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Deep P. Verified via GitHubA transformative experience
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I'm going to have to keep this short, as I really need to get going to work this morning - to my full-time job as a full-stack software engineer. Codesmith, like most things in life, will give back as much as you put into it. I firmly believe it's the best program you can go to, but obviously I haven't been to any other immersive programs. However, there are a few things I can say for certain (with as much objectivity as possible):
1) The campus is great. The space is open, and the amount of smart, driven (yet kind) people walking around and working together elevates your own abilities. If you have a chance to attend a Thursday, JavaScript The Hard Parts session, I highly recommend you do so to catch the vibe.
2) The quality of the production (final) projects are better than any I've seen out of other programs. This is important, because if you are career-changer like me, this will be your most prominent item on your resume. My team's production project web-dsp was demo'd on the mainstage at the Google I/O developer conference (and they found us, we didn't contact anyone). Another team's project, Reactide, was a #1 trending Github repository for weeks.
3) They care about your outcome. The job search process is no fun for anyone, especially if rejection stings. There's support along the way even after the program is done, and the final weeks of the program are really geared towards making sure you have the tools you need to succeed.
On a subjective level, I feel like I've made lifelong friends with people from the process, which is obviously invaluable. And I had a good bit of fun while really expanding my scope of knowledge and ability each day of the program. If you're able to get in to Codesmith, just do it!
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Barindra Narinesingh Verified via GitHubFill in the gaps of your coding knowledge
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You can learn coding from anywhere, from online to books to in the classroom, but what differentiates Codesmith from the others is its people. When you go to a Codesmith class, you are given individual attention, when you ask a question, no question is too stupid, no age is an issue and no experience is an issue.
Every class I have attended the instructors spent at least 15 minutes helping students understand concepts that were being reviewed, and not just asking “does everyone understand,” but rather asking confused looking people to explain what they don’t understand then clarifying. Even technologies the instructors unfamiliar with, they would say, “Let’s look this up” and then looked up the technologies for the class and their own knowledge, showing that they are always learning too. The focus on understanding more and filling in gaps of knowledge rather than just memorization and getting though the material was what stood out for me.
The instructors at Codesmith earnestly care about you learning and you see that when you go to one of the classes or workshops, I know from experience because I took part in JavaScript the Hard Parts: Codesmith Prep, and absolutely loved it. The classes are never boring as the format goes:
Interactive > Power point > Interactive > Power point > Research > Interactive > Short Power Point > Interactive
Where Interactive can be anything from a problem to a presentation to a pop quiz to a quest speaker to a Q&A. Also questions can be asked by the instructors at any time so the classes keeps you on your toes.
In total, JavaScript is intimidating even if you already know how to program as I did, but with the help of instructors who know what they are doing, and a fun curriculum, it makes all the difference in your learning.
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Jimmy Verified via Linkedin
JS: The Hard Parts!
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Having experienced JSHP several times before, during, and after my Codesmith experience, I know that it can be extremely valuable for coders at every level from novice to advance. I would say that JSHP is the most valuable for the intermediate to advance developer who has had a lot of experience using javascript for algorithms or practical applications like dynamic websites or small apps. For many, JSHP will be the first deep dive under the hood of how javascript works, exploring higher order functions, callbacks, and clojures. I believe OOP will be offered soon as well if it hasn't been already. The workshops are mostly lead by Will Sentance, Codesmith's CEO who leads much of the Codesmith core curriculum along side other experiened engineers. JSHP is definitely a jewel in the LA tech scene. For the price of $0, you get access to a pretty awesome community, free education, and usually a few beers if you like. I can't reccommend it enough, you have to check it out!
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Trung Verified via GitHubYour life will change forever!
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One of the best decisions I ever made in my life is going to Codesmith. Back in 2016, I actually got accepted into all the top 3 boot camps in CA: Hack Reactor at SF, App Academy and Codesmith. I didn't even consider others because all the other boot camps including Hack Reactor at LA (but in reality MarketSquare) are nowhere near those top boot camps.
App Academy could be as cheap as $5k if you don’t get a job. For me, not getting a job was never an option anyway.
Did I choose Codesmith because I think I would fail at Hack Reactor or App Academy? No, definitely not. Becoming a software engineer is a choice that I made and I knew that if I worked hard enough then no matter where I started from, I would become successful.
I knew at Codesmith I would have to work hard. But if you want to become a software engineer and don't want to work hard, that is impossible. Everyone at Codesmith, even the brightest (ESPECIALLY the brightest) worked super hard every night. To me and my cohort mate, 11 pm was too early to go home. (Definitely not for the parking police).
However, if you want your job search to be a much nicer experience, Codesmith has a strong support team who will go all the way just to make sure that all of your correspondences are written beautifully. Thank Haley, Hira and all the staff who have been making my job search process much easier.
Why did I choose Codesmith?
1. A graduate from Codesmith LA with an average of 100k compared to a 100k in San Francisco is very different. San Francisco has a higher cost of living.
2. Codesmith costs less than other two.
3. Codesmith projects have reached new height. Check out Reactide with 7k stars on GitHub or webDSP. Guess where those projects were made.
4. Codesmith class sizes are much smaller than the other two. Look at Hack Reactor's video and see if every student has a seat. On top of that, there isn’t enough support from the staff after graduation.
5. Codesmith really cares more about student success than other programs, and will do whatever they can to help you. I was an out-of-state student who wanted to change my life. Codesmithhelped me and continues to help me so much that I truly believe that there is no other program who would even consider doing the same thing.
6. You can figure this one out yourself after coming to CodesmithThursday night for JavaScript: The Hard Parts. Seriously, talk to Victoria or Will or anyone of us who came out of Codesmith. I do believe it will change your life forever. -
Dhani Mayfield Verified via GitHubA Program of Growth
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Let's talk about transforming yourself. You very well may be at the initial steps I was only a few short months ago. What's in consideration is an arena of challenge, unfamiliarity, and creativity.
I wince from the urge to say the word 'given' when referring to Codesmith. It isn't a word that is necessarily bad. Yet it draws unnecessary focus and doesn't reflect what you ultimately gain from such an experience. Nonetheless I will start with what Codesmith does in fact "provide".
1) An intensive multidimensional curriculum
2) Exceptional professional advice
3) Career support and networking
The underlying brilliance of Codesmith however is missed in this simple list. Codesmith more so than any other verb cultivates marvelous things in the individuals who attend the program. This is of course because the Codesmith environment and community is ingrained with an altruistic spirit to propel others.
If you were in search of a big reveal in to why Codesmith is a superb choice - this is it. In the field of accelerated learning Codesmith reaches the greatest of heights by living the words "We are all excellent, and we will grow to be more excellent." It is a beautiful thing.
Codesmith brings its residents in as family. This is an enormous backbone of support you may never see outside of your very own family. As it must, the program unleashes the gamut of web and software development obstacles. This is never an exciting part when I am talking about Codesmith. I am of the believe that the spoken material can be learned quite isolated with only the right handful of books. Torturous yet possible. What develops as you grind unit by unit is ability of course. As you take in your surroundings you realize the community is at your finger tips. When you stumble then stumble and your ready to not take another thrust up you are brought up by your cohort mates. Finally, when you have seen so much of the process that looking back you see the pattern of challenge, resilience, and accomplishment you realize a tremendous confidence.
Codesmith is a great whirlwind. I have probably not given justice to what I truly believe it is. Though what I know it is not is a magic door to success. Be prepared to join something that deserves your all if you attend Codesmith. It is a place that you should make the most of and that will be so many levels past the industry curriculum.
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Brandon Yuan Verified via GitHubMy Experience at Codesmith
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Two things really stuck with after graduating from Codesmith – 1) the process is sometimes much more important than the end result, and 2) having a caring community makes any challenge seem possible.
Codesmith chooses to teach through doing rather than through lecture – which may seem frustrating at first, especially if you’re more used to the academic life, but yields amazing results as long as you stick with it. By being forced to dig through the documentation and online resources (you basically become a Google master) to find what you’re looking for, you end up having a deeper understanding of the material than if you had just listened to a lecture. You also pick up a lot of other information along the way. What might’ve been an assignment on React might somehow lead to learning how to utilize a browser’s local cache. The beauty in it is that it all is somehow connected, so every bit you pick up might be useful in the future.
But, just because Codesmith teaches by doing, doesn’t mean that you’re on your own. Throughout most of the program, you’ll be paired up with another cohort mate as the two of you work your way through each unit. There are also Fellows (former graduates) who will help guide you when you’re truly stuck. At first I was a little skeptical of being guided by those who just finished the program a few weeks ago, but I quickly grew to appreciate them, not only because of the vast knowledge they provided, but also because of the empathy they were able to provide, having gone through the program themselves. Which brings me to my second point – the community.
The community here is why I chose Codesmith over all the other programs of similar nature. I remember going to one of the Javascript the Hard Parts meetup (which you should definitely check out) and having some members of the current cohort at that time guide us through the problem sets we were doing. Not only did they take time out of their busy schedule to walk us through the fundamentals, they were never demeaning or short tempered with us when we needed more than one explanation. It was then that I thought to myself, these are the kind of people that Codesmith admits, and that’s the kind of learning environment that fosters healthy growth. My feelings towards that only got stronger as I went through the program with my own cohort mates. Never would I have imagined that I would get along with such a diverse group of people. We struggled together, we succeeded together, we cried together, we grew together. During this process, you’ll find out that sometimes the best way to learn something and grow as a person is not to charge ahead and consume as much knowledge as you can, but instead to slow down and help those around you understand. I’ll be honest, there were times where I was on the brink of tears because the material was just not making sense. If I were by myself, I would have probably called it quits a long time ago. But, the best part about being at Codesmith is that your cohorts mates, along with the staff there, won’t let you do that. They won’t let you fall into a slump of self-defeat and depression. They’ll stay with you – after hours and on weekends – trying all kind of methods until you can grasp the material. Because they all know what it feels like to not understand and to feel like you’re the only one who doesn’t seem to get it. That’s why I chose Codesmith over all the others.
TL;DR – you’ll struggle, you’ll think you aren’t smart enough, you’ll get angry and frustrated. But stick it through, and remember that your cohort mates and the Codesmith staff are always there for you. In a blink of an eye, you’ll find yourself helping someone else with something that you struggled with just a few weeks ago, and you’ll see the fear lift from their eyes. And that…that is a great feeling.
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Scott Verified via GitHubFrom coding to culture this is how to teach and learn
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From the moment you think about applying to Codesmith you are welcomed with open arms into the community through the opportunity to attend many of their free weekly meetups. These provide a chance to extend your solo learning by diving into how Javascript actually works and beginning to code with others.
The Codesmith process is not for everyone - which is why it has longer hours than other programs but offers a more extensive curriculum, a final project phase where some student projects have received 4000+ stars on Github, and a culture that fosters teamwork and a striving for excellence.
From day one you are thrown into a world of problem solving. Guided by top teachers you are introduced to new concepts and then work through a well thought out curriculum in 2 day sprints. The sprints always seemed to hit the middle ground of difficulty with most students having just enough time to refactor their code and walk through it with fellow students. At any point in time (even staying past their work hours till 11pm most nights) Codesmith staff is available to guide you to the solution through the Socratic method. Instead of just giving you an answer the staff engages you in a back and forth conversation until you feel the slight warmth of a lightbulb above your head.
You'll do these sprints by pair programming with another student in your class and this is where you learn the soft skills that will allow you to excel in the workplace. Former bartenders work with ex investment bankers, students fresh out of college with an engineering degree code alongside former salespeople - this is how you grow your empathy, technical and personal communication skills and openness to others' ways of thinking.
All bootcamps will promise you the world, Codesmith included. It's up to you as an individual to take advantage of what is being offered to you. After careful consideration I decided Codesmith had the most to offer me. As a result I went from beginning to learn how to code on my own in September, joining the November cohort and receiving a job offer three weeks after graduation.
If you had asked me if I thought I would have been programming professional a year ago the answer would be no. Yet here I am thanks to the Codesmith ethos and the people it brings together. When looking to join a bootcamp understand that who you will be going to class with every day is just as important as the class itself. If you talk to anyone at Codesmith you'll immediately understand why the application process is more rigorous than other schools. As they tell you about the long nights they spent building developer tools or learning about data structures you'll see the grin on their face as they reminisce about the experience.
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Kevin Verified via GitHubTake Control of Your Future
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About Me
I found my love for programming while studying at UCLA. I had taken a few classes in C++ but I kept telling myself that it was too late to change my major. During my senior year, I was fortunate to be given the opportunity to deploy a website that is still hosted by UCLA, but I still kept telling myself that it was too late. I tried searching for an entry-level programming job coming out of college, but without a CS degree, it seemed nearly impossible. And so, I decided to chase my other dream and become a sushi chef. Fast forward a year later and I find myself itching to code.
My Realization
I attended Javascript The Hard Parts for the first time in December 2016 and little did I know, it would leave such a lasting impact on me. The first lesson I attended was on Javascript Closures. Will Sentance, the CEO of Codesmith blew me away with his passion and desire to share his knowledge. I knew that at that moment, I had to get into Codesmith. I really wanted to be part of this engineering community.
The 13-Week Immersive
Codesmith was a tough 13 weeks but if you have the grit and determination to push through it, you're gonna have one hell of a good time. Not only does Codesmith build a strong HTML, CSS, and Javascript foundation, but the program also offers popular frameworks such as Angular and React. You get to dive into building SQL and NoSQL databases and you learn the power of single-threaded Node Servers. But most important of all, you meet some really great people. The Codesmith staff is super supportive, even after you graduate! And your chortmates will keep you motivated.
Life after Codesmith
Finding a job is never easy. But two weeks out of the program and I am now employed at a company that I'm super excited to be at. People may tell you that it's impossible to come out of a bootcamp and get hired as a software engineer making 6 figures... well they're right. But Codesmith is NOT a bootcamp. Codesmith is an engineering residency. It's a place where aspiring engineers can grow into seasoned software developers.
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Jimmy Verified via GitHubRevolutionary. The New Model of Education Done Right.
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If you're considering a bootcamp, do yourself a favor and don't mistake Codesmith for one. For the money, good bootcamps take in new comers, hobbyists, and amateurs and do wonders in preparing them for entry level junior roles. By contrast, Codesmith does this for free. If you want a junior role, start coming to Codesmith where they've cultivated a community created by and for engineers. Regular discussions and workshops expounding on topics from fundamentals to advanced software engineering topics are offered free of charge on a weekly basis. Free of charge. Several times a week. Every week. For free. Meet other like-minded people passionate about engineering. Learn from them and you can teach yourself how to code and probably get a job if you're keen.
If you want to take the next step in your career as a software engineer, as I did, prepare rigorously for the Codesmith admission process and submit an application. Prepare to fail the interview, study, and apply again. Even through failure, you've improved yourself ten-fold. But if you've truly dedicated yourself and committed to becoming the type of engineer who can solve any problem, you might get a chance of a life time.
The Codesmith approach borrows from a pedagogical model practiced by the world's best institutions, reconfiguring that model to meet modern educational needs. It takes a fraction of the time a traditional computer science program needs to prepare you. Although it's also not an equivalent, the approach awards you valuable, hands-on knowledge in place of theory. Part of the program is dedicated to bringing you up to speed with the most current technologies in the javascript ecosystem. We're talking MVC/MVVC, TDD, and RESTful architectures in addition to modern frontend frameworks like React (check out the website for more details) . Don't expect a lot of hand holding here. By design, you are meant to grow by hitting blocks in knowledge, which tests your ability to grow as an engineer. All the while, the instructors keep a close watch, taking care to intervene only when necessary.
The majority of the time at Codesmith is dedicated to building. Developer tools, client-facing applications, javascript libraries---take your pick. You take the knowledge you've gained up untill that point and create something for the community. The open-source projects built at Codesmith are regularly featured on hacker news and the like. In fact, a recent cohort's project was featured on the main stage at Google I/O (check out WebDSP). What 'bootcamp' can say that? The answer is none. Only a program like Codesmith can put out projects of this level of quality.
To offer my own experience, which is shared by many, I was a self-taught programmer with a non-technical background (accounting and non-profit administration). In terms of academic performance, I was about average, something I take pride in given the level of ability among my peers, which included experienced engineers, recent cs graduates, and some 'non-technical' folks like me. In terms of projects, my team developed an application commissioned by a real company for its userbase. Afterward, I was lucky enough to earn a fellowship, where I had the opportunity to contribute as an engineer and mentor others. When my fellowship ended, I prepared myself to begin a full-fledged job search which I thought would last up to an additional three months. But instead, I received my first offer from a Codesmith hiring partner exactly one day after and I'm now happily employed as a full stack engineer earning a competitive salary.
Simply put, the program works and I changed my life by deciding to come here. Just do yourself a favor and check it out for yourself. See you there.
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Patrick Divine Verified via LinkedIn
Codesmith is about people. People and code.
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Codesmith is about people. People and code.
Before Joining Codesmith
In mid-2016, I found myself in the middle of coding hell. I was a junior-level dev working or projects that went live before they should have, in an environment that lacked engineering best practices, without the skills I needed to keep up or even understand fully what was going on. In short, I needed a change.
That change came about serendipitously, when I learned about Codesmith, a coding immersive program, from a an acquaintance at a mutual friend’s party. He was starting Codesmith just that next week and everything he said about it sounded exactly like what I was thirsting for. Full stack, Mongo, Postgres, Angular, ReactJs, Node, Fundamentals, Fundamentals, Fundamentals. Not only that, but the school was in Playa Vista, literally 15 minutes from where I worked in Culver City.
My now friend told me there was a weekly meeting called “Javascript The Hard Parts” on Thursdays and that I should go. That Thursday I was there.
The double doors of the elevator opened up and I had an immediate “yes” feeling when I stepped onto the top floor. I signed in after a warm welcome and joined my fellow meetupers in the main lecture room.
The rest of the night was a series of “yeses.” Will Sentence, the CEO — “yes.” The community of developers — “yes.” The electricity of those in the program, and the knowledge they had — “yes.” But most importantly, I left that night with fundamentals — insights into programming — that I never had before. “Callbacks”, “Higher-order functions,” the “Closure (the closed over variable environment),” variable environment, the call-stack, hoisting, execution context, thread of execution, …, it goes on.
As I left, exhausted, I reflected on my wobbly coding ability and thought, “How can I con my way into Codesmith?” It felt like a matter of survival. I NEEDED this.
I didn’t make it into Codesmith after my first interview. I made it after the second one, after postponing it an additional week for some additional intense studying on the feedback I received from the first.
After waiting nervously by the phone one Thursday afternoon, my phone rang. It was Will Sentence. I was in.
The Codesmith Experience
If you want to truly learn a foreign language what do you do? You immerse yourself in it. You go to a country that speaks the language and you stay there until you know it — until it becomes so much apart of you that you think in it.
Codesmith is a software immersive program that turns junior devs into mid-level devs and mid-level devs into senior. It demands a level of intensity that only those passionate about problem solving in code are able to sustain. The average week was Monday through Friday, 9 am sharp to 10pm, and Saturday, 9am to 5pm.
The People
Codesmith is the most selective coding program in the country. This means that your peers are not only scary smart, but also some of the best community-focused, supportive people you’ll meet in your life. This is a necessary part of the program. Just as if you are to learn a foreign language, you have to be able to “talk” code, internalize it. I only understood some of the nuances of coding because of the in-depth conversations I had with my peers. Everyone had an insight and a different way of explaining every concept. To learn to code you have to “boil the ocean,” but if a partner already boiled a concept, you’ll just need to boil a pond. These conversations are invaluable.
The Instruction
Codesmith hires seasoned battle-tested engineers as instructors. Our instructor was Dan Carr, a brilliant seasoned engineer with years of experience and relationships with some of the most prestigious companies on the planet. Not only did he have a vast coding instinct, but a “gut” ability to communicate his understanding in every lecture. On top of his innate teaching ability, he is truly one of the coolest, approachable dudes you will ever meet. He puts his students first and is always open to dialogue, even (maybe even especially) post-graduation.
In our feedback to Codesmith, our was response about Dan was always, “give him a raise.” He is truly one of the highlights of my experience at Codesmith.
The Projects
Each lecture, as can be expected, is followed by a project to apply the concepts learned in a concrete way. This is where the “sweat and blood” goes. These projects are NOT easy.
It’s been said about Codesmith that not only does it teaches you to code, it teaches you to learn. It is here that concepts move beyond ideas and become emotions. If you and your partner spend 45 minutes of frustration on a problem and finally succeed, you will both remember the story of that problem. It will no longer be a transient concept, like one of those you memorized to pass a test, but an ingrained part of yourself that you “feel” in your gut. Each lecture is followed by a challenge that will make you an independent problem solver. This “sweat equity” turns knowledge into understanding.
The Final Project
The course ends with a final project. You are broken off into groups and together you come up with ideas to present to the staff and your peers. The criteria for an acceptable final project can be summed up as, “Is it impossible?” If the answer is yes, then you’ll be allowed to proceed. There is no such thing as a CRUD (a simple web app) app being allowed as a final project. To be an engineer is to approach problems that do not currently have a solution. These projects are of senior engineer level, and are tools that provide solutions to problems that engineers face out in the field.
My team’s project, for example, was deploying a library for developers to easily create a database on the distributed blockchain technology, Ethereum.
It was here that our knowledge was solidified and we became surgeons with code as our scalpel.
Post Graduation
I entered Codesmith as a junior-level dev, having minor on-the-job experience in coding, and after three months (~1,000 hours later) was able to secure a mid-level (100K+) position shortly (about 3 weeks) after graduation.
Part of the job search was networking via meetups and speaking to graduates from other coding programs. I was politely silent as I listened to them vent about their “horrible, competitive, non-supportive peers” and how “we’re junior devs, there’s nothing we can do.”
Codesmith was genuinely a life changer for me. It helped me make one of the toughest transitions in my life. I went into Codesmith as a junior dev and came out a mid-level dev, as promised. I know for a fact, instinctually, that Codesmith was the best choice I could have made in a school. The other schools’ curriculums are either too soft or the culture is too cold.
Codesmith is about pain. To succeed, you have to be sincere about your intention to make a certain but drastic change in your life.
A few months after graduation, I find myself reflecting, “How do I measure up to my co-workers who may have a more traditional path to engineering? Am I on par with these other mid-level engineers that I work with.” The answer is a resounding “yes.” I am able to contribute to the team at the same or, often, better level than they can. Codesmith instilled an intuition in me that other developers may not have.
There are a lot of factors in success. If I could boil them down, I would name attitude, focus, and education. Codesmith provides the education element. The rest is up to you.
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Will Barnes Verified via LinkedIn
Best Decision I Have Made
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TL;DR Codesmith is dificult from start to finish. It is not easy, but for every hour you spend it will reward you 10 fold. It will take serious time, determination, and motivation, but it is worth it in the long run.
Codesmith was without a doubt the best decision I have made in a very long time. It was not an easy process or stress free. This program is not for the feint of heart. It is a fight to get admitted. Then it is an even bigger fight to make it through. But this is what makes Codesmith the amazing place that it is.
First getting in requires lots of time and dedication. I was previously a juniorish or lower front end developer. Just to get in, I was working 30 hours a week studying and teaching myself. Trying to make sure I hit the bar. When it happened I was ecstatic. I was through the roof happy. I got through the precourse work and then it was time to start.
I got there and day 1 the work started. Every person in the room was there because they were highly motivated, wanted to better themselves and equally cared about every other person in the room. I don't think any one person in my cohort could have gotten through if it wasn't for the community that Codesmith fights to cultivate. Every single person is not there just for themselves, we were there for eachother. We were a team. We didn't compete with eachother. We helped eachother. Any time that one of us struggled, before we could ask for help someone that was excelling in the current days sprint would be over to help out. The program runs from 9 am to 8 pm Monday through Friday and on Saturday from 9 am to 4:30 pm. But I think I showed up around 8:15 every day and there were always at least a few other people that were already there. And leaving at 8, it never happened. We weren't required to stay, but we became a family. After 8, we would still code, but it was social. We would play ping pong, relax, code more, hang out, just talk about life. It was a common occurence that no one would leave before 10. And it was just because we all wanted to spend time together. Six months later, I still talk to just about everyone in my cohort weekly. We grew a bond in three months that I didn't know was possible.
After Codesmith, I became an engineer in residence for three months and then did some independent contract development work for them for 6 weeks after that. I'm not going to talk much about the fellowship other than to say it was an amazing experience. And if you do end up choosing Codesmith, I highly recommend applying for the position.
Now onto my job search, it started a little rough but the with help of Eric and Hira things quickly picked up. I ended up getting several offers over 100k. But ended up taking a much lower offer as a senior fullstack rails/swift developer. I had barely worked with Rails before and had never touched swift. The offer was lower, but I knew the financials of the startup and the offer was what they could financially muster. I also loved the team and the product. Now, how I got a senior position writing two languages I was unfamiliar with. I had talked with the VP of Product before my final technical interview, and he knew I was a senior Fullstack Javascript developer. But he threw me right into both languages I didn't know in the interview. When I got the offer, he told me the exact reason they wanted to hire me and would rather have me then someone that was well versed in Rails and Swift. The process that Codesmith had instilled in me. I might not have known how to setup a Single View application in swift or how to build an API in rails, but I had learned at Codesmith how to learn how to do these things on the fly. I was not just a Javascript developer in their eyes. I proved I was a software developer. I had learned to love to test my code. And to write tests even before I started coding. I might not have done things neccesarily the rails way or the swift way, but in a few hours I was able to show my process of learning a new language and getting into a new language. I was able to show that a new language to me is just another tool, not a foreign language that I just didn't know. Codesmith taught me how to do this.
Final thoughts, Codesmith is not easy. It is a lot of long and stressful days. But the education, team, and community are bar none of the highest possible quality.
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Andres Verified via GitHubCodesmith was a great experience
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This is gonna be short and honest-
Codesmith is a great school that I would highly recommend to anyone trying to break into the industry. Curriculum is up-to-date and taught well. I learned a ton and received all the assistance I wanted in my job search.
That being said, I don't agree with everyone who gives Codesmith a straight five stars. I think they do that because they know how competitive the coding bootcamp space is, but I doubt there is a program out there that is perfect and deserves perfect scores.
The head instuctor is the best, but I think my cohort that graduated in January was the biggest they had ever had, and because of this we had to rely on each other for help more so than instructors or fellows (probably true even for small cohorts). To be honest, beyond the first half of the program the fellows weren't really helpful.
There are a couple of other small gripes I have with Codesmith but they aren't worth mentioning. The positives outweigh the negatives and I think if you are the right type of candidate you can gain a lot from the program.
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Thai-Duong Nguyen Verified via GitHubBeyond Measurement
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TL;DR - There's no TL;DR version of my review. Those who have what it takes to get into Codesmith are hungry for information, and are not put off by reading to gain insight.
Before you begin with my review, you deserve to know that my review will be of a different perspective than most reviews you'll read, as upon graduation I did not follow through with my original plan of searching for a software engineering position at various companies that I originally had my eye on. I instead found that my fondness and infatuation with Codesmith's community had grown to a fully-blossomed love-affair that prompted me to apply to the fellowship. Being fortunate enough to be chosen not only as fellow but later on as Technical Lead, I am now still at Codesmith holding the latter position. I impart upon you the perspective of a former student and current staff member.
In every metric by which it can be judged, the engineering hub known as Codesmith performs with outstanding results. I hold this as a fact, after receiving feedback from various alumni--including my cohort-mates, who have embarked on career-paths that most of them did not think were possible only a few months ago. But metrics can be easily obtained from other sources, so I'll assume that the circumstances that led to your eyes absorbing my review involve a desire to gain a sense of the immeasurable. Thus, I will omit the statistics and contents of the curriculum, in favor of conveying the intangible aspects of my journey that began more than six months ago.
On a summer Thursday when the elevator doors opened up to Codesmith's JavaScript: The Hard Parts Meetup for the first time, I was not able to measure nor appreciate the importance of some of the individuals I would meet that night. One would become my first friend within the cohort I would eventually join. Another would become a fellow at Codesmith, and thus my coworker for a period of time (and friend for all the time after that). A third would become my production project partner during the second half of my time as a student.
Throughout more Meetup events at the residency, I would eventually meet even more faces that would become part of my cohort, and thus part of a group of friends that I cannot see as anything less than life-long. After a second Hard Parts attendance and applying to the program (with encouragement from a then-junior during drinks after the Meetup), I gained acceptance to the September 2016 cohort. There was still more than a month before our start date, and I planned on taking advantage of the time to prepare myself for the upcoming immersive experience.
During this month prior to the first day, I invited four others who were part of my cohort to sleep over at my place to watch an 8-hour Kyle Simpson live broadcast that began at 7am the next day. I did not anticipate the readiness with which they accepted the offer. They were as dedicated to learn as anyone I had met my entire life, and I had already been through college with people who fell asleep with their heads on keyboards and books.
As atypical as this dedication to growth is among most people, it was strikingly commonplace among the characters I would meet once school began at Codesmith. In fact, not a single person lacked this trait. Throughout the many unit modules and projects of the curriculum, it had become clear that the interview process was marked with such selectiveness that no one was accepted unless they exhibited the grit and commitment that would often persist well beyond the daily schedule, and into the late hours of the night.
Past mid-December, when the applications for the fellowship were released, the staff announced that there were two positions open. There were twenty-five members of my cohort, and many of us applied to take on the position of the individuals who had chosen to dedicate themselves to helping students instead of immediately searching for six-figure salaries. Knowing how many well-qualified applicants there were, I was humbled to be one of the two chosen fellows.
In the ensuing three months, I came to grow much more than I had anticipated, like the previous three months. Being charged with many duties relating to the growth of the engineering hub and of the pupils, I came to gain a higher understanding of my thinking process through introspection. This enabled me to describe my problem-solving strategy to the student body much more effectively. I had not experienced such a literal and real incarnation of the phrase "Learn through teaching."
After becoming part of the staff, I now see how real the dedication to every student really is. I had caught of a glimpse of it when I applied to the program and subsequently heard (during the acceptance call) my own quotes that helped the staff know how I would fit into the community. I first thought it must have taken a lot of effort to keep up with the mental, emotional, and academic well-being of every student. But now as a mentor, I believe it would take a lot of effort not to watch over every student carefully, as they are all part of a community that I help shape and foster.
Throughout all of my years on this Earth, I have never seen such a marriage of dedication and community like that which has been exemplified in all of my previous six months, having been a student and a fellow at Codesmith. Having been graced with the opportunity to become Technical Lead, ending this review seems oddly inappropriate, as my time at Codesmith has not ended. But delaying the submission of this review would be just as inappropriate, as one of the many things that my experience with the Codesmith community has taught me is that there is no reason for delay.
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Schno Mozingo Verified via GitHubLife Choices
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So many life choices in the course of my forty-five years... some brilliant, others... not so brilliant.
Circumstances led to one not-so-brilliant move as I dropped out of school after the tenth grade. I then spent a couple of years living on and off the street (and the 'off' wasn't so very removed). From a little town in Alabama to Atlanta to New Orleans, I made my way on the kindness of strangers and by plying my questionable needle-and-thread tattooing expertise.
I remember listening to Pink Floyd a lot back then. There's a lovely song on 'Dark Side of the Moon' called Time. I'm sure you've heard it. There's a few lines from that song that haunted me as a young street urchin:
You are young and life is long / And there is time to kill today
And then one day you find / Ten years have got behind you
No one told you when to run / You missed the starting gun
I certainly didn't want to miss the starting gun, but it felt like I'd just been dealt a bad hand in life. And then, a wise friend that I met during that time gave me some valuable advice. "Schno", he said, "there's two types of people in the world: those that are controlled by their environment and those that control their environment. It's your choice which of those you will be. All you have to do is make that choice and take action on it."
Such a simple thing to say. It worked. I decided to change my environment. This led to many adventures over many years that spanned the globe. I joined the Navy, then worked in movies, which brought me to LA. Then in 1996 I pivoted sharp to begin my career as a developer, first at NASDAQ, and then in the phone sex industry (of all things). An unfortunate lay-off in 2014 had me turning to acting, (and then quickly on to) VoIP, and finally... I came to CodeSmith.
I know that's what you've come here to read about. Before I leave my review, I just want to reiterate that profound and simple message to you, dear reader. If it feels like you've been dealt a bad hand and you're not sure what path to take to move forward: All you have to do is make that choice and take action on it.
I'm pleased to say that CodeSmith was one of my more brilliant life choices. I found my way to one of their free, weekly 'JavaScript: The Hard Parts' classes and I knew that this was where I was going to rediscover my love for building things with code.
I had always thought of coding as wizardry… you could take a thought, a concept, and then by applying an arcane language, you could manifest all manner of wondrous things that made people's lives better. Over the years I'd lost a bit of that perspective. Codesmith has re-ignited my intellectual curiosity and the passion to explore it.
The course is very challenging. They foster a very real standard for excellence and that resonates through each student. This isn't the kind of place to 'get by'. It's the kind of place that changes your life.
For a detailed accounting of my time there, please check out the weekly blog I kept while I was a student.
And if you find yourself in Los Angeles with a free Thursday night, do yourself a favor. It may just be the first step on a grand, new adventure.
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Mark M Verified via GitHubNot For Everybody... Just the Brightest and the Best
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TLDR;
- Incredibly high standards for quality of achievement, work ethic, technical and non-technical communication as practiced by both their graduates and staff
- 3-4% acceptance rate
- A focus on advanced developer tools, open-source, and cutting-edge technologies (JavaScript focused curriculum but projects built in C++, Python, etc.)
- Not scaled or franchised = total dedication to each student
- Recent grads are having the highest student outcomes for salary offers in the nation
- Cool workspace centered in "Silicon Beach" (just call it Playa Vista)
Compared to other programs
I was looking for the best program in terms of academic quality and hiring support. I open to move, but being a father, I also had a limited amount of time so a two-year masters program was not an option.
I narrowed down my search to App Academy, Hack Reactor, and Codesmith. Codesmith stood out for having the most modern stack of technologies covered, the enthusiasm their graduates had for the program, and the student production projects were far more advanced than any program including the universities including projects that have revieved media coverage and recognized by leaders in technology.
The application and interviewing process
The interview process is less about judging what you know and more about demonstrating your ability to communicate through tough challenges and your passion to push through. I was able to learn which areas I needed to work on in case I needed to try again. They always welcome retrying.
Work, life, culture
There were real sacrifices including a pause on work and social life and very limited time with my family. On the other hand, I could see no other way to have a career transformation than this. Also, it was all temporary and the internal support from Codesmith was always there for me.
Going through this journey with a community of like-minded individuals was beyond fun. You get the opportunity to work with talented, driven people who are on your same path and equally dedicated to reaching success. Everyday was filled with team wins and high-fives that kept us pushing forward to bigger challenges.
The regular ping-pong breaks and walks to nearby restaurants and bars in the tech-savvy Playa Vista area was also pretty vital in keeping us sane, too.
Curriculum
Codesmith focuses on full stack development with technologies that are the most in demand today but also for the next few years. It focuses on JavaScript because of its ability be used in so many technical specialties, but also for it’s ability to help learn other software languages. It’s not uncommon for production projects to include C++, WebAssembly, Python, machine learning, etc. The curriculum focuses of advanced problem solving strategies that build students' abilities to learn in an accelerated manor throughout their careers in a constantly changing industry.
Hiring Support
In addition to a highly selective hiring day, Codesmith has an entire team of entrepreneurs and hiring support staff that are a phone call away that help alumni with networking, negotiations, and interviews. Alumni also have access to office space and interview prep after graduating.
Recent graduates are finding themselves in senior level engineering positions at Microsoft, Amazon, LinkedIn, Nike, WalmartLabs, TBWA Chiat Day, NFL, etc. with salary offers well over six figures. When adjusting to costs-of-living, Codesmith’s recent grads boast the most successful salary offers in the nation.
Conclusion
This program is not for everyone. With a 3-4% acceptance rate, Codesmith diligently picks only the most passionate, driven, and valuable team-focused individuals who are willing to work towards aspirations beyond any other program. There was a lot of lost sleep, and even sometimes tears, but ultimately I feel truly honored to be a part of a industry leading community who I always plan on always contributing to. Though only two-years old, I’m looking forward to see them progress as they produce the future leaders of software engineering.
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Matt Verified via GitHubFantastic experience
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In retrospective, choosing to come to Codesmith was the best decision I could have made. The curriculum and hiring preparation are as rigorous as anything I've seen, which can probably be expected. The focus that they put on community and supporting each other makes for an incredibly positive experience. Everybody at Codesmith (students and staff) supports each other far more than what I have experienced at other jobs or educational institutions.
But make no mistake, this is a very productive work environment and they expect a lot from you during the 12 weeks. The quality and scope of the production projects are substantial, and in addition to the fantastic experience, I have something to show that I am very excited to talk to future employers and other people about.
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Daniel Verified via GitHubTruly Exceptional.
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TL;DR: Codesmith is an amazing program that will help you to make the transition into being a leading software engineer. The curriculum is excellent, the staff is top-notch, and the community and culture are second to none.
With that out of the way, let's talk specifics about the curriculum, instruction, community, and hiring support.
Curriculum
The Codesmith curriculum was designed with the current state of the software industry in mind. As such, modern tools such as React, Redux, Webpack, and ES2015 are emphasized throughout. That being said, the curriculum's main focus is building students' skills at engineering thinking, technical problem solving, and communication, so that graduates of the program can be flexible engineers and not tied to any particular technologies. To achieve this goal, the curriculum also contains lessons on algorithms, data structures, deep Javascript fundamentals, build tools, and testing.
Instruction
Before I made this transition into Software Engineering, I spent 6 years as a high school teacher teaching math, physics, principles of engineering, and computer science principles, and I have been consistently amazed by how much Codesmith gets right, pedagogically speaking.
One of the most important things that I learned during my time as a high school teacher is: The one who is thinking is the one who is learning. In a typical lecture, the teacher is the one who is thinking, but when students learn by doing, it is the students who are thinking. Codesmith students spend the bulk of the time during the first four weeks pair-programming on code challenges, which range from algorithm and data-structure challenges, to browser-based games, to REST-ful API development. Although a help-desk is available, they do not hold your hand at all, and a significant emphasis is placed on students being self-sufficient by seeking out advice from their peers, Google, Stack Overflow, and other resources. This can be frustrating at times, but it is important to understand that time spent struggling through confusion is not wasted. In fact, that is when you are learning the most, and you will get through it with the help of the supportive, caring community that they build. Which brings me to...
Community
One of the things that really stood out to me about Codesmith when I was first looking in to coding bootcamps is how hard they work to build an inclusive, inviting, and supportive community between current students, professional engineers, and amateur programming enthusiasts. When selecting who will be admitted into the program, they focus not just on the person's technical skill, but on their communication skills, empathy, and culture fit as well. The 12 week program is very demanding, and the level of support that I felt from the staff and my fellow students was what allowed me to grow as much as I did in the program.
Hiring Support
A lot of time is spent on hiring preparation and support during the last 6 weeks of the program. However, what really stood out to me about the hiring support was what happened after the program was over. I reached out to Will, Eric, and Hira frequently to ask them for advice specific to my situation, and they were always very responsive and willing to put the time into helping me personally. I also found that Codesmith alumni were always very excited to talk to people just coming out of the program and to share what their experience was like getting their first software engineering positions. If you take the time to reach out to the staff and alumni, they will be more than happy to give you candid, helpful advice about your particular situation.
The 12 week program was extremely challenging. However, it has helped me to make a major change in my life in just a few short months, and the amount of support that I felt from the community was incredible. It was a huge risk, and I'm extremely glad that I did it!
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Ryan Verified via GitHubHappy with my decision
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I graduated in January from Codesmith. It was hard, and frustrating at times but the community that Codesmith has built makes the experience worth it. I accepted a position in a different state near family within 2 months of graduating. Their curriculum is fantastic, job assitance aka Eric and Hira was there every step when I had questions or needed help. Dan is an absolutely fantastic instructor, tons of experience and a pleasure to talk to all the time and run ideas by. Overall I met tons of great people that still talk in slack every day. Most of us i'd say are hired already or are getting interviews. I feel confident I can join an engineering team and make an impact.