Codesmith

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. 

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.

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.

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. 

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. 

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!

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.

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!

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. 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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. 

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.

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.

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.