Codesmith

Before Codesmith I couldn't land an 80k salary junior level job, after finishing I was turning down multiple job offers to work for my dream job at Google. My offers’ base salaries were all 125k-150k, not to mention generous stocks and signing bonuses.

 

Codesmith stands apart from other programs - it uniquely is the only program out there that trains students to become mid-senior level engineers, not junior level engineers. I have chatted with many grads from other bootcamps at coffee shops, libraries, meetups, linkedin... and they struggle to land interviews for junior level positions and get next to no messages from recruiters. Contrast that to Codesmith students who land many interviews and get flooded by recruiters - for mid-senior level positions at that with (at the time of writing) median 117k salary.

 

I had no software job prior to Codesmith and no Computer Science degree - the vast majority of students in the program did not either. And for the students that did in fact have software job experience - let's just say they landed some pretty amazing positions ;) I feel extremely fortunate and lucky to have found Codesmith and it completely changed my career prospects. Not only is the program content brilliant, but the community and friends I have found through working hard 12 hour days and fixing bugs late at night has been life-changing. The staff, instructors, and fellows are some of the warmest and most diverse and memorable set of people you'll meet.

 

It takes courage and care for a program to train students with no prior software job with the goal of becoming a mid-senior level engineer rather than a junior level engineer. And this is in the same amount of time as other programs, that is, 3 months. The program is much better crafted than what I have learned other programs do. The projects you do at Codesmith that you showcase to future employers are better - you make developer tools solving original problems in web development performance, frameworks, scalability, and tooling. The resumes you make at Codesmith are better - the guidance is more complete and more nuanced. I have checked the linkedin profiles/resumes of some students of other bootcamps, and they are far weaker. The general knowledge you gain at Codesmith is better, and the students are more passionate too. They simply know more.

 

The outcomes I've seen at Codesmith are of course wonderful - everyone would like to start their software engineering career with a more stimulating job with greater responsibility and greater compensation, but how is it possible to land a mid-senior position straight out of a bootcamp? After all, most bootcamp grads struggle to find junior level positions, and online you can read many articles and watch many youtube videos where people talk about their post-bootcamp job struggles. I would suggest you do your research and look them up. You might think that sure, Codesmith might have a better curriculum, a better set of projects, and stronger post-program guidance, but it seems unlikely that merely some better things here and there would catapult students to confidently landing mid-senior positions. What is the secret sauce that makes this happen?

 

The answer is - paradoxically, it is easier to land a mid-senior role over a junior role!

 

Basically, it's tough to enter the job market as a junior developer because those positions are insanely oversaturated with applicants. Not only are you competing against recent grads in the U.S., you're competing with developers overseas who'd happily take a relatively low U.S. salary because they are earning much less. Junior jobs tend to provide you with much less responsibility and challenge, and potential for upward mobility.

 

Because Codesmith prepares you for a mid-senior level position, you are able to skip the hell of the junior dev job market. And for me, skipping that junior dev job market was a godsend. But to actually make it past recruiters and hiring managers and convince people that you are ready for a mid-senior level position, you need a dedicated set of projects (and the right projects, not weak versions of social media or dating apps as in most coding bootcamps), resume bullet points, a good prepared and rehearsed narrative/life story, and strong domain experience (knowledge of React and Node at a deep level informed through experience making apps). Because recruiters and hiring managers will look at your numerical number of years of experience and already be biased against you, you need everything you can get to overcome them perceiving you as inexperienced. Codesmith is excellent for preparing you for overcoming this hurdle.

 

You may very well save around 3 years of your life in your career progression by bypassing the junior level job market and entering a mid-senior position straight away.

 

However, it takes a lot to succeed in this program, and not everyone in this program succeeds. When most people I talk to ask me whether they would be capable enough to succeed in the program, they often ask whether they would be “smart” enough for the program. They are concerned that they don’t have the fast-thinking clever-manipulating genius-hacking brain speed to manage what’s going on. And this is a mistake. Everyone who passes the technical interview to get into the program has the raw smarts.

 

More important is your willingness to work hard and not check out at any stage of the program. You can’t check out during the first month of the program learning the precise fundamentals of JavaScript, React, Node, and full-stack web development. You have to bravely dive in when the going gets tough and tackle the above with enthusiasm and develop a genuine passion for how e.g. promises work and offer expressive power over traditional callbacks, or what’s the best way to structure a React-Redux application. You can’t check out when you are making the group projects - these are what you bring to prospective employers. You can’t check out when you are crafting your resume and practicing mock interviews, and you have to learn to present yourself confidently. You can’t check out when the program is over - apply to as many jobs as possible, go on interviews and confidently shake the interviewer’s hand, and study to fill in as much of your knowledge holes and gaps as you can (provided that study is not an excuse to not apply to jobs - you can’t just study before you apply). I sometimes feel that people use the “not smart” thing as an excuse to check out - you simply cannot check out.

 

Equally important is your resourcefulness. This is your ability and eagerness to look up information. When you get stuck, you need to be able to find a way through. You have to be good at looking up documentation online. You have to be good at reading Stack Overflow and understanding the core idea of the question/answer without mindlessly copy-pasting or hastily dismissing the content as irrelevant. You have to have the social courage to ask your classmates for help. You can’t afford to be afraid of “bothering them” and looking stupid. Often I have saved many precious hours by asking the right person a question that I would not have been able to figure out on my own. And yet conversely, you can’t be overly dependent on asking people for help. You need to be able to figure out the core of your day-to-day work on your own through your own problem-solving and resourcefulness. A good software engineer knows when to ask for help, and when to buckle down and carefully think through and research things.

 

The support for students is phenomenal. The staff offers so much personalized help during the program, and has a post-program job search support program. They directly email students one-on-one to schedule meetings to practice interviews and polish resumes. Your lead instructors will directly work with teams to decide on the best and most compelling senior project. Fellows do one-on-one tutoring sessions for students struggling with assessments, and give high-level guidance on senior projects. The staff is so passionate and puts so much time in. They genuinely care and love what they do.

 

At Codesmith, people regularly get offers from household name companies: Google, Amazon, Netflix,Ticketmaster, IBM, Hulu, Paypal, LInkedin, Snap, and others, not to mention a wide swath of early and late stage startups. I feel confident at my job at Google and am working at a great pace, and have come so far from being unable to land even a junior level position. Codesmith has made me more than prepared for a fulfilling software engineering career, and it wouldn’t be without the brilliant design of the program, the ingenious insight that it’s better to shoot for a mid-senior level position, and the dedication of the staff to helping students reach their goals.

 

In short, Codesmith will change your career and life. They have extraordinarily high-quality teaching, a curriculum that pushes you to truly become an engineer (and get hired as one!), and an incredibly warm and supportive culture.   Personally, I came to Codesmith NY in the summer of 2019. I’m a technology entrepreneur, but I had long since forgotten the web development I learned in college, so I decided to double-down with a bootcamp. After 3 months with Codesmith, I’m confident that I can build my first version of my next product, and that I have a strong foundation from which I can learn anything moving forward. Stepping back, here are just a few of the stellar things about Codesmith that stand out:   1) Extraordinary teachers. From the first time I stepped into Javascript: The Hard Parts, I was blown away by Codesmith’s teachers. They have an amazing ability to break down complex concepts and make them simple and easy to understand. Even more importantly, they are incredibly encouraging and teach you how to approach a problem, which empowers you with the skills to figure things out yourself.   2) Very thoughtful curriculum. Codesmith has done an amazing job of putting together lectures, exercises, projects, and hiring support (e.g., coaching, resume reviews, follow-ups) to push you at every step of the way. They certainly aren’t holding your hand, but that’s deliberate – you struggle and push through to improve your own learning, and there’s always support around the corner. I loved the challenge and variety.   3) Culture! I think Codesmith has the most positive, inclusive culture that I’ve ever experienced in my life. They really build an amazing community where everyone is insanely supportive of each other and you can really lean on and have fun with everyone. The community really makes it possible to have a blast while you’re working hard every day.   If you’re considering Codesmith, go for it! Codesmith has been a formative experience for me, and I can’t recommend it more highly. 

Statistics show that people are more likely to leave a review if the review is negative. This is not one of those cases. I recently graduated from Codesmith’s software engineering immersive program in NY. I can confidently say, it was one of the best experiences of my life. You get an unmatched curriculum and brilliant instructors.

What sets Codesmith apart from other coding schools is the community. It is uncommon to see people leave at 8:00 PM.  People stick around to work on algorithms, improve a project, pick up a new skill or just hang out and exchange jargon on new technologies.

Your job outcome is only the amount of effort you put in. My peers at Codesmith were hardworking people. They put in the hours (long hours) and helped one another in projects, interview prep and the job search. They are landing high $100k+ job offers because of their hard work and the supportive community.

If you would like to know if Codesmith is right for you, attend Javascript The Hard Parts sessions hosted by Codesmith online or in person. It’ll give you an idea of their teaching style and what the community is all about.

 

Codesmith is an exemplary program for a number of reasons - its curriculum is current and constantly refreshed, for instance, and its instructors are stellar. However the two things that I think really set this program apart for me are its community and its hiring program. Codesmith is one of the strongest, most supportive communities I've ever been a part of, and the staff go to every effort to make sure that those admitted to the program are going to contribute positively to that community. They are fiercely protective of it, and their efforts ensure that you don't mind that you're there 12+ hours per day working with the same people, because you're enjoying the company of those around you as much as the work itself. I would go home at the end of a long day, exhausted but excited to go back and do it again tomorrow. They always welcome alumni and provided a space for me to work when applying to jobs. That brings me to the hiring program, which is exhaustive and well thought out. I had no idea what the hiring process was going to be like, and it seemed daunting, but Codesmith broke it down and made it manageable. Their approach to applying for jobs is different than anything I'd encountered in the past, even at times it was counter-intuitive, but it works. Within a few weeks, I had two six figure offers, and there were others in my cohort with more than that. I'm very grateful to this program, its founders, instructors and staff for enabling me to change my life. 

If you're looking at bootcamps, I highly recommend checking out Codesmith. You can experience the teaching style and the community by going on Thursday nights to their Javascript the Hard Parts lectures. It's free and gives you a good tase of what to expect.    If there's any room for improvement, it's only that they're growing a little too quickly. The space they're in is beautiful, but they've expanded so fast that it's a tight fit. 

I had an unblievable experience at this software engineering immersive. The staff, the people, and the community are what really separates codesmith from other traditional bootcamps. I would recommend being pretty solid on CS fundamentals before joining, as the curriculum is challenging and fast-paced. The first half of the program is geared towards the core technologies/curriculum while the second half is mainly project building and hiring workshop. Absolutely would recommend this to anybody looking to turn their lives around and get into SWE as a career! 

I attended the Bootcamp in 2019 and I cannot speak highly enough of my experience. The training I received was high quality and approachable. If I ever struggled with a subject my mentors or peers were always there to help me out. The projects you work on successfully enforce the core tech stack taught by Codesmith. Additionally, Codesmith's blend of projects and pair programming seamlessly work together to not only teach you the technology, but also teach you how to solve problems for your self. This bootbcamp does not spoon-feed you solutions. It forces you to struggle and meet your breaking point day in and day out. Beyond the technical instruction, the support staff are top-notch professionals. They make the sacrifice you make for enrolling in a bootcamp worth it. They are always there to answer any questions regarding tuition, scheduling, etc. But they also are instrumental in organizing the networking days, which were vital in my job-search process. I cannot speak highly enough of them. Finally, the best thing about Codesmith is the community. They work hard to make sure their students fit the culture of the program, which makes working with the people wonderful. I made life-long friends during this program and always looked forward to coming in every day.  At the end of the day, the Codesmith program works. It gets results. Codesmith's unique blend of community, technical training, and hiring support make it far superior to any other boot camp.  

Codesmith is one of the pivotal moments of my life.

Prior to attending, I was struggling to find meaningful work. I knew I wanted to get into software engineering, but I didn't have the knowledge nor background, but I had immense desire to break into the field. I heard about bootcamps when they first popped up 7 years ago and always thought about attending. 

I decided to take the leap after realizing this was the most direct route to an engineering job. 

I wanted the most rigorous and intense program and narrowed down the choices amongst Fullstack Academy, Hack Reactor SF, and Codesmith. These were all schools with classes Mon-Sat 9am-7pm+. I chose Codesmith after attending their Javascript the Hard Parts and speaking with multiple alumni about their experience. For many of them, it was a transformational experience that launched them into a dream career, granted they put in an enormous amount of work.  I could relate to them and felt that I too could make the transition. 

The experience itself is one the best periods of my life. It was a totally immersive and I got very close with my cohort. I slept in my car, was in the classroom from 9am to 1am+, and made life-long friends. I'm very thankful that such intensity was not only encouraged but cultivated as there were a couple others that would stay up and grind well into the night. And frankly I wouldn't have it any other way.

I learned a ton from my peers and worked on projects that interviewers were intrigued and impressed with. My classmates were outstanding and many of us went on to earn offers $100,000+. The promise is real, but you have to earn it. Many of us went to top schools yet some didn't even go to college at all. One of my classmates came from an animation background with no college degree and struggled to grasp many of the concepts, yet he never gave up and hustled harder than anyone and nabbed a 6 figure offer after applying to hundreds of positions and going through nearly a hundred phone interviews. You meet hardcore committed people here, people that will inspire you to elevate yourself and get to the next level.

Job support is great. There are alumni that hang around and will help you out and the staff are committed. I called a year after graduating to negotiate an offer and a 5-minute call with Uncle Eric, who advises on neogtiations, helped me get an additional $15k in salary and $5k in bonus. I followed his instructions and everything happened exactly as he described. The people here are real Pros, they know what they're doing, and they're not messing around. 

Shoutout to Will, Schno, Shanda, the fellows, and staff for making such a fun and intense atmosphere. It really is one of the best experiences of my life and I'm very grateful for having gone through the program. I too got that 6 figure offer, and I'm working at a job that not only is using the exact stack that was taught (React, Node, Mongo) but is also very fun! I continue to work hard and the future is very bright.

I had a phenomenal three months at Codesmith. The amount of support I received by all my peers and the staff was outstanding. I had a much different experience studying Computer Science in college. While I was in college, I was not passionate about a majority of the subjects I was studying and I received very little support heading into the job search. One of the aspects that I really enjoyed about Codesmith was the modern curriculum. At Codesmith you learn React, Redux, Node, and many in-demand skills. Another great aspecet of Codesmith is the amazing hiring program. The staff will work with you on your resume, cover letter, and many other key components of the job search. Many of my cohort mates have already had several interviews before graduating simply by following the tips given during the hiring portion of the program. Codesmith was definitely a life-changing experience. 

Deciding on a bootcamp wasn't easy, going through the application process was one of the first signs Codesmith was for me. Coming to Codesmith, you are expected to be at a higher level than all other bootcamps, this ensures you get the most out of the 3 month process and aren't paying a premium to learn the basics.

The dev tool I created with my team at Codesmith is an asset that will set me apart from other bootcamp grads (no crud apps or games for final projects), and diving deep into a technology while building this product certainly helps with the non junior/entry level narative all bootcamp grads will face. 

Aside from the technical excellence the culture at Codesmith is incredible. They go above and beyond to ensure that people who join are not only a technical fit, but also a cultural one. This makes those 80+ hours weeks managable, working with a great group of cohort mates, instructors, and fellows who are all there to help you reach your goals. 

Overal I'm incredibly lucky to have wound up at Codemsith and couldn't imagine having attended another program.

P.S check out their free programs on tuesday and thursday to get a taste of what curriculum is like

Codesmith was a life-changing experience that exceeded my expectations in every way. While there are numerous things I appreciate about Codesmith, I would like to elaborate upon four. 

First, the Codesmith staff is incredible. Schno, the Head of Curriculum at Codesmith, and Augustine, the Lead Technical Mentor, are two of the best teachers I have ever had. They are dedicated, considerate, and extremely knowledgeable. Specifically, I appreciate Schno's ability to break complicated concepts down into their component parts. This greatly aided in the on-boarding process. I also appreciate the dedication of Augustine, who would stay at Codesmith as late as he needed to help his students. Sometimes, this even meant staying at Codesmith until 4:00 AM, just to show up bright and early the next morning.

Second, the Codesmith culture is extraordinary. I have never seen a place (except for the home) where there is so much support and kindness. From the "Family Dinners" on Mondays to the kickball tournaments during lunch, Codesmith's culture is truly remarkable. 

Third, the founder and CEO, Will Sentance, is an exceptional person who is active in the daily works. I find it remarkable how Will focuses on each student. He makes a concerted effort to know each student, their background, and their interests.

Fourth, the curriculum is continuously improving. No cohort has the experience because the curriculum continually evolves. 

To any who might be reading, I encourage you to attend Codesmith. Gaining admittance is challenging, but worth it in every regard.

I'm a LA Cohort 30 graduate. Prior to Codesmith, I graduated UCLA with a degree in physics. I didn't have much programming experience but had a lot of experience grinding. That's what codesmith is; a hardcore grind. We learn everything from vanillaJS, to React/Redux in the frontend, NodeJS/Express in the backend, MongoDB/Postgres for DB, and your very own niche topic that you'll spend 4 weeks on. Honestly, what other boot camp helps you make your own developer tool. The hiring process itself (how codesmith approaches finding interviews/etc) is worth the 18k honestly. I'm blown away at how strong the hiring process is and how they go about reaching out to companies. You will not regret your experience at codesmith. Cohort 30 best cohort :)