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Codesmith is a coding school redefining the way software engineering is taught. Codesmith offers full-time (13-week) and part-time (38-week) remote software engineering immersive programs as well as a full-time NYC Onsite program. Codesmith focuses on concepts and technologies such as full-stack JavaScript, computer science, machine learning, Dev Ops, React, and more. The immersives are advanced residencies designed to help individuals launch meaningful, high-level careers in software engineering.
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 extensive career support that guides residents through resume development, interview strategies, salary negotiation, and more. Residents receive career support for life whether they are on their first job search, second job search, or beyond. Plus, the supportive Codesmith community encourages learners to tackle unique and unfamiliar problems, important when preparing for the ever-changing tech landscape. As shared in the most recent CIRR outcomes reports (Jan-June, 2022), more than 80% of Codesmith graduates were employed in the field within 6 months of graduating. Across all full-time immersive programs during this period the median salary for Codesmith graduates was $127,500. The median salary for part-time remote immersive graduates was $137,000.
When it comes to tuition, Codesmith payment options include upfront payments, monthly installments, and financing through Ascent Funding, Codesmith’s loan partner. In addition, eligible students can apply for several different scholarship options at Codesmith.
Codesmith also offers a two-day JavaScript for Beginners online course, as well as CS Prep, a 2-week program offered online and designed to prepare you for Codesmith’s Software Engineering Immersives. Further, you can join their free CSX learning platform and attend any of Codesmith’s free weekly workshops to learn more about its programs and build software engineering fundamentals.
Codesmith is a program for experienced developers in Playa Del Rey, Los Angeles. It is NOT for folks new to the software engineering space. If you have no background with programming, this school will NOT hold your hand and help you through the basics. On their website, they used to advertise that they were a school for 'experienced programmers' now they refrain from mentioning the type of student they accept instead focusing on what you'll get out of the program. This is left ambiguous fo...
Codesmith is a program for experienced developers in Playa Del Rey, Los Angeles. It is NOT for folks new to the software engineering space. If you have no background with programming, this school will NOT hold your hand and help you through the basics. On their website, they used to advertise that they were a school for 'experienced programmers' now they refrain from mentioning the type of student they accept instead focusing on what you'll get out of the program. This is left ambiguous for a reason. While there are plenty of programmers out there wanting more experience in web techologies like javascript, there are many more folks who are trying to make a career change and become software engineers. They are trying to appeal to both at the risk of the latter group of which I was a part when joining.
I first discovered Codesmith attending their JavaScript the Hard Parts events on Thursday nights. These are free, insightful meetups where you dive deeper into the basics of JavaScript and start getting a sense of how things you'll use everyday function 'under the hood'. These are very good sessions and I recommend folks attend especially since they are free.
I had no intention of joining but I was on the market for a code school and once I mentioned that, I was targeted via email by the CEO of the program who also teaches the Thursday night courses. I was convinced that even though it was billed for experienced engineers, I would do well in the program as I learned quickly and was a great culture fit.
I joined and am very unhappy with the results. Here's why.
1) Teaching Style - The program claims to abide by the "Oxford University" style of teaching. This seems to be code for 'very little teaching with problem sets for you to figure concepts out on your own.' You work through problem sets and follow the instructions which include reading documentation for a product you've never heard of and figure out it's purpose and how to use it. To an experienced programmer, this is somehwat normal. You are introduced to new technologies all the time, and therefore, for experienced programmers, this style of teaching makes sense. But for people brand new to the space, this is not only frustrating but time consuming - a luxury which one simply does not have in this 3 month intense environment.
Every 2 days you focus on a new aspect of programming with javascript and it leaves you very little time to fully grasp what you're learning.
Daily Schedule:
- Come in and code for an hour (practice algorithm problems that are common for job interviews)
- After that, you either go to a 30-45 min lecture OR you jump into the work for the day for about 2 hours
- If you started with lecture, you work on the work for the day. If you started with work on a new subject, you go to a 30-45 min lecture. You spend the first 10 minutes talking about how difficult it was and the rest of the time rushing through what the heck you just did and a high level overview of how it works.
- back to work until lunch
- lunch break
- another 30-45 min lecture OR you continue working on what you did that morning
- Stay until at least 11pm, but usually closer to 1am trying to figure things out on your own or with some friends in your cohort
2) Trust the Process Mentality - When things weren't going well, I made it a point to request feedback on my work and find out where I stood because there was no formal feedback along the way. When I expressed my doubts about my fit for the program, I was brought into a room to speak with the COO and a teacher. They gave me two options, defer to a later cohort or stick it out because I was "doing just fine" I just needed to 'trust the process'. The idea of letting me leave beacuse this was not the place for me was something I had to bring up and the conversation was diverted away from that. I have training in sales and this is a classic sales mentality which, looking back, is really sad. I genuinely believed my best interest was in mind at the time, but I am very skeptical now. In terms of my learning, I was not doing well at all - they just had no accurate way of scoring or measuring my progress.
I went through this side discusison, 'trust the process' loop 3 times throughout my time there (the latter 2 meetings included the CEO) and I never felt good about the outcome. I should have left early on but there really is a serious level of coersion, intimidation and manipulation that goes on in these meetings.
3) Senior Project - During the latter 6 weeks of the course you work on an open source developer tool. You're assigned to a group of your peers (usually 3-4 people), you all ideate on something that will be impactful and relevant for developers to use, you pitch your ideas to the CEO. If you're interested in VR, your project likely will not be accepted - they don't like VR projects. Very few have gotten through but they believe the technology isn't impressive enough right now. It's all about how your project will look to potential employers -- and potential partners of Codesmith. This process is about you but it's also very much about the school.
My group of 3 had a slew of issues but the biggest was that we were of vastly differing skill levels and some other members did not feel it was their job to teach me things - which I can agree with. They paid just as much as I did and did not deserve to have to spend hours every day teaching me things I should've learned in the weeks prior. The staff was not very helpful, in fact, my partners were more knowledgeable than most of them. This made asking for help seem futile and no project group really worked very closely with their assigned staff mentors.
4) What I have to offer now - I left Codesmith feeling really bad about the investment but willing to work on my own to get my skills to a point where I could get hired. Unfortunately, I've found that not only am I extremely stressed but I also just don't have much to show for the massive amount of time and money I spent on this.
I'm considering legal action due to the misrepresentation of the product and the manipulation involved during my time there.
TL;DR:
Pros:
- The culture is fun, they like to party and play ping pong
- The staff are generally very nice people
- They tend to find really nice, smart and driven students. If I left with anything, it's a solid group of friends. I only saw one person asked to leave and it was definitely warranted. Strange situation.
- Solid program for current engineers looking to add something interesting to their portfolio and take a deeper dive into Javascript and a few other web technologies
Cons:
- Teaching style is poor. It's barely teaching.
Ex. The machine learning/python section basically did not happen. The teacher literally rambled and sped through slideshows of both basic and complex machine learning concepts, asking every 3rd slide "got it?" to which we all just remained silent because we were so lost, we couldn't formulate relevant questions other than "no. don't got it. what are you talking about?".
- Misleading/Manipulating - The CEO is a great guy but comes off as super salesy. You can't help but feel like you're being conned, and, like any good con artist, you also feel bad about questioning the transaction. This is standard manipulation and it's being practiced at a large scale here. Be careful.
There are quite a few students who had a negative experience and the common denominator among them is that they had 0 or very little programming experience prior to joining.
Will Sentance of Codesmith
CEO
Sep 10, 2018
Employed in-field | 80.1% |
Full-time employee | 77.4% |
Full-time apprenticeship, internship or contract position | 0.7% |
Short-term contract, part-time, or freelance | 1.7% |
Started a new company or venture after graduation | 0.3% |
Not seeking in-field employment | 0.3% |
Employed out-of-field | 0.3% |
Continuing to higher education | 0.0% |
Not seeking a job for health, family, or personal reasons | 0.0% |
Still seeking job in-field | 19.6% |
Could not contact | 0.0% |
How much does Codesmith cost?
Codesmith costs around $20,925. On the lower end, some Codesmith courses like JavaScript for Beginners cost $350.
What courses does Codesmith teach?
Codesmith offers courses like CS Prep , Full-Time Remote Software Engineering Immersive, Global Part-Time Remote Software Engineering Immersive, JavaScript for Beginners and 1 more.
Where does Codesmith have campuses?
Codesmith has in-person campuses in New York City. Codesmith also has a remote classroom so students can learn online.
Is Codesmith worth it?
The data says yes! Codesmith reports a median salary of $133,281 and 82% of Codesmith alumni are employed. Codesmith hasn't shared alumni outcomes yet, but one way to determine if a bootcamp is worth it is by reading alumni reviews. 546 Codesmith alumni, students, and applicants have reviewed Codesmith on Course Report - you should start there!
Is Codesmith legit?
We let alumni answer that question. 546 Codesmith alumni, students, and applicants have reviewed Codesmith and rate their overall experience a 4.89 out of 5.
Does Codesmith offer scholarships or accept the GI Bill?
Right now, it doesn't look like Codesmith offers scholarships or accepts the GI Bill. We're always adding to the list of schools that do offer Exclusive Course Report Scholarships and a list of the bootcamps that accept the GI Bill.
Can I read Codesmith reviews?
You can read 546 reviews of Codesmith on Course Report! Codesmith alumni, students, and applicants have reviewed Codesmith and rate their overall experience a 4.89 out of 5.
Is Codesmith accredited?
Codesmith is approved to operate by the California Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education. For more information visit: https://codesmith.io/regulatory-information
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