codesmith
About
About
Codesmith offers full-time (12-week) and part-time (38-week) immersive software engineering bootcamps in Los Angeles, New York City, and online. Codesmith is a selective, need-blind program focusing largely on computer science and full-stack JavaScript, with an emphasis on technologies like React, Redux, Node, build tools, Dev Ops and machine learning. This program enables Codesmith students (known as Residents) to build open-source projects, with the aim of moving into positions as skilled software engineers. Codesmith Residents become engineers, not technicians, through a deep understanding of advanced JavaScript practices, fundamental computer science concepts (such as algorithms and data structures), and object-oriented and functional programming. Codesmith helps residents develop strong problem-solving abilities and technical communication skills – valued capacities in a software engineer.
The Codesmith admissions process involves a written application with optional coding questions, a nontechnical interview, and a technical interview. Codesmith offers a number of free resources for preparing for the admissions process including in-person and online coding workshops, a 2-week online prep course (CS Prep), and an online JavaScript learning platform (CSX).
Codesmith offers an extensive hiring support program that guides Residents through whiteboarding, advanced technical interview practice, resume and profile development, and interview and networking strategies. Support continues upon graduation with bi-weekly check-ins and, after offers, negotiation support. Overall, 25% of graduates receive offers for Senior Engineer positions and above, and about 70% receive offers for Mid-level Engineer roles.
Recent Codesmith Reviews: Rating 4.9
Recent Codesmith News
- What is a Coding Bootcamp Like?
- Meet Our Review Sweepstakes Winner: Jordan of Codesmith
- Live Q&A: How 6 Bootcamp Alumni Got Tech Jobs During COVID-19
Courses
Courses
CS Prep
ApplyStart Date March 28, 2022 Cost $875 Class size N/A Location Online CS Prep is a structured program that teaches core JavaScript concepts and engineering best practices. CS Prep will help you develop a deep, yet intuitive understanding of JavaScript and prepare you for your Codesmith technical interview or for interviews for other software engineering roles. CS Prep is a 2-week remote course that includes live online instruction, daily problem-solving workshops, office hours with engineering mentors, and extensive technical interview practice. CS Prep operates on an alternating schedule between PST-based and EST-based cohorts. See below the approximate daily schedule breakdown.Financing
Deposit No deposit Financing We offer tuition payment plans and many scholarships for the course. The tuition you pay for CS Prep will roll over to the Software Engineering Immersive tuition.Tuition Plans We offer case by case payment plans, please reach out to csprep@codesmith.io with questions! Refund / Guarantee If you pass the CS Prep assessment you are guaranteed a technical interview with our full time Codesmith Program. Refunds for the course are available and distributed on a case by case basis. Scholarship We offer multiple scholarships to CS Prep, with many students paying no tuition at all. You can apply for the women in software engineering scholarship, Dean's scholarship, or minorities in tech scholarship. Getting in
Minimum Skill Level Suitable for beginners who are ready to level up to intermediate and advanced material. Prep Work We recommend some familiarity with the content in the Precourse Unit on CSX - our free online learning platform - https://csx.codesmith.io/. Placement Test No Interview Yes More Start Dates
March 28, 2022 - Online Apply by March 16, 2022April 11, 2022 - Online Apply by March 30, 2022April 25, 2022 - Online Apply by April 13, 2022
Full-time Remote Software Engineering Immersive - Conducted in Central Time
ApplyAlgorithms, AngularJS, CSS, Data Structures, DevOps, Express.js, Front End, HTML, JavaScript, jQuery, Linux, Machine Learning, Mobile Security, MongoDB, MySQL, Node.js, Python, React.js, Scrum, SQL
OnlineFull Time60 Hours/week12 WeeksStart Date May 09, 2022 Cost $19,950 Class size N/A Location Online Full-time Remote Software Engineering Immersive brings Codesmith's first-rate curriculum to a completely remote setting allowing for the driven engineers not located in Los Angeles or New York City to advance their careers in three months. Conducted in Central Tim, the program teaches fullstack JavaScript and computer science to prepare you for mid and senior-level software engineering roles. The expertly designed curriculum and supportive community immerses you in modern web technologies, such as React and Node.js, and encourages you to tackle unique and unfamiliar problems to prepare you for the ever-changing tech landscape. Codesmith offers an extensive hiring support program that guides students through the hiring process, including interview strategies, portfolio development, and post-graduation check-ins. By the end of the 12-week program, you will be an autonomous engineer, ready to make an impact on innovative tech companies worldwide.Financing
Deposit N/A Financing Codesmith has a range of options to help you finance your education, including scholarships, payment plans, and loan partnerships. Please email hello@codesmith.io with questions.Tuition Plans Codesmith offers a payment plan that breaks down tuition into monthly payments. A deposit is required to secure your spot once you’ve been accepted, a down payment before the 1st day of the cohort and then three equal monthly payments for the remainder. Refund / Guarantee Refunds are distributed on a case by case basis but are available. Scholarship Codesmith offers 4 types of scholarships -those to students underrepresented in the technology community, women in software engineering scholarship, Dean's scholarships, as well as scholarships to prior bootcamp grads. Getting in
Minimum Skill Level Prior computer science and programming skills necessary - many applicants are self-taught through our free weekly JS workshops/online prep course. Prep Work 4 weeks Placement Test No Interview Yes More Start Dates
May 09, 2022 - Online Apply by March 25, 2022June 27, 2022 - Online Apply by May 13, 2022
JavaScript for Beginners
ApplyStart Date March 26, 2022 Cost $325 Class size N/A Location Online JavaScript for Beginners is a 12-hour, remote program consisting of two consecutive Saturday sessions. The program is designed for those with no previous coding experience and will teach JavaScript fundamentals and how coding works. The program offers students a launching point to continue their JavaScript studies, prepare for our more advanced programs, and build a future in software engineering.Financing
Deposit No Deposit Financing This course has scholarships available, and the tuition you pay for JavaScript for Beginners rolls over and can be applied towards the tuition of our more advanced programs.Tuition Plans We offer case-by-case payment plans, please reach out to jsforbeginners@codesmith.io with questions! Refund / Guarantee Refunds for the course are available and distributed on a case-by-case basis. Scholarship We offer multiple scholarships to JavaScript for Beginners, with many students paying no tuition at all. You can apply for the women in software engineering scholarship, Dean's scholarship, or minorities in tech scholarship. Getting in
Minimum Skill Level This course is designed for those with no coding experience! Prep Work We recommend completing Part 1 of the Precourse on CSX, our free online learning platform, before you start the course: https://csx.codesmith.io/units/precourse Placement Test No Interview No More Start Dates
March 26, 2022 - Online Apply by March 22, 2022April 09, 2022 - Online Apply by April 05, 2022
Part-time Remote Software Engineering Immersive
ApplyAlgorithms, AngularJS, CSS, Data Structures, DevOps, Express.js, Front End, Git, HTML, JavaScript, jQuery, Linux, Machine Learning, Mobile Security, MongoDB, MySQL, Node.js, Python, React.js, Scrum, SQL, GitHub
OnlinePart Time18 Hours/week38 WeeksStart Date June 11, 2022 Cost $19,950 Class size N/A Location Online The Part-Time Remote Software Engineering Immersive Program teaches fullstack JavaScript and computer science to prepare students for mid and senior level software engineering roles. The expertly designed curriculum and supportive community immerses students in modern web technologies, such as React and Node.js, and encourages them to tackle unique and unfamiliar problems to prepare them for the ever-changing tech landscape. Codesmith offers an extensive hiring support program that guides students through the hiring process, including interview strategies, portfolio development, and post-graduation check-ins. By the end of the program, students become autonomous engineers, ready to make an impact at innovative tech companies worldwide. Please email hello@codesmith.io with questions.Financing
Deposit N/A Financing Codesmith has a range of options to help you finance your education, including scholarships, payment plans, loan partnerships, and full tuition available from SkillsFund. Please email hello@codesmith.io with questions.Tuition Plans Codesmith offers a payment plan that breaks down tuition into monthly payments. A deposit is required to secure your spot once you’ve been accepted, a down payment before the 1st day of the cohort and then three equal monthly payments for the remainder. Refund / Guarantee Refunds are distributed on a case by case basis but are available. Scholarship Codesmith offers 4 types of scholarships -those to students underrepresented in the technology community, women in software engineering scholarship, Dean's scholarships, as well as scholarships to prior bootcamp grads. Getting in
Minimum Skill Level Prior computer science and programming skills necessary - many applicants are self-taught through our free weekly JS workshops/online prep course. Prep Work 4 weeks Placement Test No Interview Yes More Start Dates
June 11, 2022 - Online Apply by April 27, 2022
Software Engineering Immersive Program
ApplyAngularJS, CSS, Express.js, Front End, HTML, JavaScript, jQuery, Machine Learning, MySQL, Node.js, React.js, SQL, Algorithms, Data Structures, Git, Linux, Mobile Security, MongoDB, Python, DevOps, Scrum, GitHub
In PersonFull Time60 Hours/week12 WeeksStart Date April 25, 2022 Cost $19,950 Class size N/A Location New York City, Los Angeles, Online Due to COVID-19, Los Angeles cohorts (conducted in Pacific Time) and New York cohorts (conducted in Eastern Time) are currently remote (online) for the entirety of the program. The Codesmith program teaches computer science, full-stack JavaScript (notably React and Node), software architecture, Dev Ops, and machine learning, preparing graduates for mid to senior engineering positions. The course also features preparatory material, extensive hiring preparation, and ongoing support with students’ job searches.Financing
Deposit N/A Financing Codesmith has a range of options to help you finance your education, including scholarships, payment plans, loan partnerships, and full tuition available from SkillsFund. Please email hello@codesmith.io with questions.Tuition Plans Codesmith offers a payment plan that breaks down tuition into monthly payments. A deposit is required to secure your spot once you’ve been accepted, a down payment before the 1st day of the cohort and then three equal monthly payments for the remainder. Refund / Guarantee Refunds are distributed on a case by case basis but are available. Scholarship Codesmith offers 4 types of scholarships -those to students underrepresented in the technology community, women in software engineering scholarship, Dean's scholarships, as well as scholarships to prior bootcamp grads. Getting in
Minimum Skill Level Prior computer science and programming skills necessary - many applicants are self taught through our free weekly JS workshops/online prep course. Prep Work 4 weeks Placement Test No Interview Yes More Start Dates
April 25, 2022 - New York City Apply by March 11, 2022June 13, 2022 - New York City Apply by April 29, 2022August 01, 2022 - New York City Apply by June 17, 2022May 23, 2022 - Los Angeles Apply by April 08, 2022July 11, 2022 - Los Angeles Apply by May 27, 2022
Reviews
Codesmith Reviews
- Codesmith is Awesome- 3/6/2021Anonymous • Senior Software Engineer • Graduate • Course: Software Engineering Immersive Program • Campus: Los AngelesI attended Codesmith a couple years ago, graduated in Jan 2019. Prior software experience before attending Codesmith - part-time JS / CSS / HTML / bash self-study for about 6 months => some JS The Hard Parts sessions => CS Prep. Upon graduating, I landed a role as a Senior Full Stack Engineer at a large company that has been a great experience for me over the past couple years.I felt compelled to write this review because I wanted to bring some attention to the excellent continued career services support that Codesmith provides (s/o Eric 🤙). Even a couple years after graduating, when it came time to negotiate a salary increase/promotion to tech lead in my current company, Eric was there to provide top notch feedback on how to negotiate effectively. (He also helped me negotiate a $130k base offer with $10k signing bonus back when I first started in the role).The program is challenging (in a good way), and well-worth the time and effort. After working as a sr. dev for the past couple years, I can say that Codesmith does a great job of getting you in the mindset of what it's like working as an engineer, being faced with new challenges every day, and figuring out how to solve them, step-by-step.Big shouts to the Codesmith community, would highly recommend 🚀
- Incredible Program that delivers on its promises- 2/17/2021Anonymous • Senior Software Engineer • Graduate • Course: Software Engineering Immersive Program • Campus: OnlineCodesmith is an incredible program that delivers on its promises. The below points are in no particular order but all incredibly valid.
1) The hours are long. You are truly immersed in code.
2) They want you to fail (but they will help you overcome those failures). The point is to learn by doing and understanding the process and then overcoming the frustrations.
3) They emphasize an empathetic engineer. The goal is to be not only a knowledgeable engineer but also one that knows how to communicate about the code. That helps in life - but also in interviews after the program.
4) As others have said, I did not believe the CIRR reports when I joined. But after hearing the results of some of my peers, I am surprised that the results are not higher even.
5) They don't create a cookie cutter bootcamp graduate. They teach you to be a 'T' shaped developer that excels in a category that you focus on for your production project. The beauty of that is each person has a different strength from everyone else by the program's end.
6) The hiring portion is top-notch. They teach you how to sell yourself - and that is worth the price of admission alone.
7) The post-codesmith job search is tough - particularly mentally. They do prepare you for that, but just going to codesmith alone doesnt get you the jobs. You really have to put in the work.
8) I graduated in December 2020 and it took me 2.5 months to find a job.
- Full Stack Immersive Program- 2/12/2021Anonymous • Student • Course: Software Engineering Immersive Program • Campus: New York CityCodesmith is a great program for those who are ready to put in the work to become a software engineer. Codesmith's way of instruction can feel rough at times, but because they push their students out of their comfort zone, that's why Codesmith is so successful. Their approach to the job hunt is amazing and I encourage you to go through the program and see it for yourself.
A lot of what you're paying for at codesmith is invaluable. Personally, I loved that they put me in a mindset to succeed and to go after what I deserve and nothing less.
- Incredible Growth Experience- 2/3/2021Anonymous • Graduate • Course: Software Engineering Immersive Program • Campus: Los AngelesCodesmith teaches its residents how to take on any new software technologies quickly and efficiently - not through memorizing syntax, but understanding the logic and how the code works under the hood. Its curriculum facilitates deep dives into central techs, eloquent communication, empathy, and engineering mature products. Its emphasis on collaborative workflows allows residents to work effectively as teammates, ideate exciting, marketable applications, iterate on features, bridge different engineering approaches, and troubleshoot through code reviews. The staff and support community is superb from teaching to hiring. A life-altering growth experience.
- Not Perfect, But Worth It- 1/31/2021Anonymous • Graduate • Course: Software Engineering Immersive Program • Campus: Los AngelesAt the beginning of 2020, I had never written a line of code in my life and could not tell you the difference between Java and Javascript. A little under a year later, I'm at $170k annual base comp for my first software engineering job.
Long story short, I was let go from my non-programming job at the beginning of COVID and started looking into a career pivot into software engineering. From dipping my toes into the space and attempting to self-teach, I quickly realized what a great resource CSX (which introduces you to the "hard learning" philosophy that others have spoken so much about in other reviews; e.g. for most of the problems, they do not spoon-feed you the answers a la FreeCodeCamp) was and was quickly introduced to the broader Codesmith community.
Anyway, I went through CSX and enjoyed it enough to sign up for CSPrep. If I were to be brutally honest, I did not find CSPrep worth it. You'll get just as much value from going through CSX, deeply understanding all the exercises there at a fundamental level, and attending the free Hard Parts lectures. I found nothing new in the CSPrep curriculum. However, it was helpful that the tuition rolled over to the immersive program though, so I can't complain too much.
The immersive itself was a blast to go through. While I would say that the curriculum is again nothing special - you spend a lot of time being taught by fellows (aka former students who literally just graduated from the program) and they can be hit or miss. Unfortunately, there's no way for prospective students to really screen who the fellows will be in their cohort (as half of your fellows will literally be hired a week or two before your cohort's start date); you can at least vet the lead instructors through their Hard Parts lectures (they are overall very solid). It's just that you won't necessarily be any better off at Codesmith vs. if you just rely on the abundance of free or cheaper resources online to learn the core technologies that are taught.
That being said, the real value of the program comes from the project portion and the focused multi-week job hunt strategy curriculum. The smaller projects are mostly your standard CRUD apps that any bootcamp will have you make; you are encouraged and should explore new technologies / libraries with these projects - e.g. GraphQL, OAuth, D3, Typescript etc. The highest profile project you'll create is the production project (which Codesmith itself markets quite heavily). You'll be granted the choice of either iterating on an existing project from a previous cohort or creating a new project from scratch - from my experience, most choose the former. Granted, most projects, especially if you are starting from scratch are of dubious usability / quality but the real value comes from diving deep into a particular technology and tackling tough challenges that comes with building a developer tool to help fellow devs overcome their tough challenges. When on the job hunt, I was able to consistently pass non-coding screens with recruiters or hiring managers by being able to talk shop about my chosen technology's pros, cons / tradeoffs as well as having pointed examples about interesting technical challenges I had faced (I got this question on almost all my interviews), all gained from working on the production project.
The point is that it'll always be a tougher job market for bootcamp grads, but Codesmith solves for this by providing you the tools to job hunt effectively and craft a cohesive and credible (sounding) narrative around the skills that you have hopefully picked up from attending the program. And that's where most if not all of the value from the almost $20k tuition comes in. Again - the curriculum is nothing special, but you can't really enter the job market at the salaries that Codesmith grads do without a robust portfolio of projects that you have been forced to create, a well-written resume (Codesmith is very strict about how they want grads to craft their resumes and will force a few rounds of edits until students get it right), and the technical communication skills to back all that up.
Special shoutout to Eric, who is the resident salary negotiation expert. He's a great hypeman but more importantly, provides a solid framework and strategy for students to lean on during negotiations, which are often really damn awkward. He's available on-call post-grad as a resource once you're able to secure an offer. Using his script, I was able to confidently and successfully negotiate a material bump to my total package.
- It pays back your hard work.- 1/19/2021Anonymous • Fullstack Engineer • GraduateA little about my background:
- Unfinished BS degree
- I moved to the US and worked in an unrelated field for 5 years
- 0 prior coding experience, I simply watched a YouTube video about bootcamps and decided to give it a shot.
Fast forward to one month after the graduation: Mid-level role at an amazing company, with the salary higher than Codesmith' advertised average. It took exactly one year from my first line of code(to see if I even like it) following some silly tutorial to accepting the offer. (I spent 6 months at Codesmith, stayed as an engineering fellow for 3 months after the program).
Curriculum:
It covers all the topics you need to know to get hired, provides you with a very solid foundation, but also relies on you diving deeper and learning a lot of things by yourself. And don't get me wrong, I'm not saying Codesmith doesn't teach you everything. It encourages you to dive into the weeds and figure out things an average "newbie" would never worry about and those cannot be taught.
The "vibe":
I was the first fully remote cohort and oh boy did I consider not going. To those worried about the "spirit" and "fun" and "emotional attachment" to people - its all there! Happy hours, talent shows, casual drinks, late-night study sessions, random chats. You are literally never alone, you're either working in pair or in a group. You become good friends with your teammates and make a lot of great memories!
Hiring portion:
One of the lead instructors at CS said "our hiring program is already worth the price", and I think he is damn right. You will have a group of people whose job is to get you a job, you will have a network of hundreds of grads sharing their experience and practicing algos/interviews. It's still on your shoulders to practice and apply daily, looking for a job is a job after all, but at least you are well supported during this process! (Though I have to admit it was still stressful af)
VERY IMPORTANT thing to remember:
There is no magic. You wont go in and suddenly become an engineer. You wont "do your time" and then end up knowing React/JS/Node. You want 100k+? You will have to work your a** off for it. You will probably have to stay after hours to finish up something and read/research more. Its 1000 hours in 90 days.
A lot of instructors say "Trust the process" when you are feeling like you are falling behind. Dont let that fool you into "I should blindly trust it". Slight modification: "Trust the process, but remember that process involves hard work and dedication".
10/10 would recommend:)
- Life Changing- 12/17/2020Anonymous • Student • Course: Software Engineering Immersive Program • Campus: New York CitySummary: its most likely going to be the hardest thing you've done in your life. None of it is easy. Getting in to Codesmith is hard, graduating Codesmith is hard (the 75+ hour weeks are no joke). Getting HIRED after Codesmith is going to be even HARDER. Seriously, getting a mid-level engineering role is hard. Don't expect to graduate and easily get hired. That said, I did get hired 10 weeks after graduation with a mid-level engineering role (but that was 10 weeks of 100% effort). If you're serious about moving into engineering, Codesmith should be your top choice. It will be much harder than you're imagining, but it can be done (even in a pandemic..!).Outcome: 10 weeks after graduation, a base salary very close to Codesmith median + equity.My Background: Non-technical major from top 50 public college. 'Prestigious', but non-technical work experience before Codesmith, so I just left it off resume. If youre making a switch to engineering, pretty much nothing you did previously really matters. Don't expect it to help you, it may actually hurt you if its on resume. I had written a little code before prepping to interview at Codesmith, but not much. Took 3 months of prep and 2 interviews to get in. Then had 1 month to prep before immersive. So 4 months pre-Codesmith, 3 months at Codesmith, 2 month job hunt, turns me from zero (pretty much) to mid-level engineer in 9 months. Granted thats prop an average of 45-55hr weeks working towards it.
- A smart investment- 12/15/2020Anonymous • Front End Engineer • Graduate • Course: Software Engineering Immersive Program • Campus: New York CityQuick summary: I have no technical background, I studied about 500 hours before being accepted into Codesmith, and 4 months after graduating I landed a full time role with a great company, with a 150% higher salary than my previous job, and high career satisfaction.
Fiscally speaking, investing in Codesmith's immersive engineering program is worthwhile just for the guidance on salary negotiation, but it's a lot more than that.
The immersive program environment reflects the actual workplace for engineers, establishing professional expectations and building teamwork skills and confidence in technical communication. I knew that I wanted to apply to Codesmith after attending a Hard Parts workshop in NYC, where attendees are expected to technically communicate in a group. It gave me instant confidence in what I had been previously studying entirely on my own with minor interest in participating in any kind of bootcamp situation.
I spent at least 90% of my time at Codesmith working collaboratively with others. These team activities included: reporting regularly to stand-ups, preforming code reviews, mentoring newer engineers as well as receiving mentorship, using git collaboratively, preparing tech talks, and pairing - so I felt completely prepared to step into the professional engineering work environment.
Codesmith's curriculum is progressive and up-to-date. If you're like me and have no technical background, you may have to put in a lot of extra effort before, during, and after the program. I don't think I would have landed a job by doing the bare minimum. However, if you're ready to work hard and keep pushing to learn more and more, this is the best program to support you in your journey to professional Software Engineer.
- Front end developer- 12/9/2020Anonymous • Graduate • Course: Software Engineering Immersive Program • Campus: New York CityIt's what you make it. I only went to Codesmith, so I don't have any other bootcamps to compare it to. But I had no technical background and I started coding in January 2020, did the bootcamp June - August 2020, and had a job by the end of the year. If you do what they say (which isn't easy because it's hard work) the experience and outcome that I had should be achievable.
- Great- 11/7/2020Anonymous • Software engineer • Graduate • Course: Software Engineering Immersive Program • Campus: OnlineCodesmith was great. I graduated in August and accepted a job offer for well above the advertised average salary in October.
- Software Engineer- 10/30/2020Anonymous • Graduate • Course: Software Engineering Immersive Program • Campus: Los AngelesComing from a non-technical background, I did my fair share of research of what bootcamps were out there before finally selecting Codesmith. I had heard great things about its community and how they really emphasize empathetic engineering as a culture and this couldn't have been more true. I truly felt welcomed and never once did I feel judged if I started to feel like I was falling behind. Another great thing about Codesmith is their hiring program. They don't just teach you the skills and knowledge to become a developer but how to become a developer, aka the hiring process after you graduate. It's really detailed and they even have someone that helps you negotiate your offer when it/they come in. It's definitely an all-encompassing program and I'm so grateful I got to experience it!
- CSPrep- 10/27/2020Anonymous • Student • Course: JavaScript - The Hard Parts: Codesmith Prep • Campus: Los AngelesA preparatory program for the main boot camp that Codesmith offers; mainly to help those attending to pass the technical interview portion of the application process for the main boot camp (passing the technical interview is not guaranteed).
Outcomes
Codesmith Outcomes
95%
On-Time Graduation Rate
On-Time Graduation Rate
83%
In-Field Employed
In-Field Employed
$116,500
Median Salary
Median Salary
100% of students intended to seek in-field employment within 180 days of graduating. 0% of students did not intend to seek in-field employment.Below is the 180 Day Employment Breakdown for 92 graduates included in report:
180 Day Employment Breakdown:
Employed in-field
83.1%
Full-time employee
82.0%
Full-time apprenticeship, internship or contract position
0.0%
Short-term contract, part-time, or freelance
1.1%
Started a new company or venture after graduation
0.0%
Not seeking in-field employment
0.0%
Employed out-of-field
0.0%
Continuing to higher education
%
Not seeking a job for health, family, or personal reasons
%
Still seeking job in-field
16.9%
Could not contact
0.0%
Salary Breakdown:
91% of job obtainers reported salaries. 2% of job obtainers were hired by the school itself.
