Codesmith

After Codesmith, I increased my starting salary by 25% and I landed my dream job; Here's how I did it.

First, I think Codesmith is a unique opportunity that, if you can get in, will give you the leverage and skills that you can use to dramatically increase your starting salary and land your dream job. With that being said, there is no hand holding, although you can ask engineering fellows to assist you if you hit a block. To get the most out of the experience, you have to put in the time to work on your coding skills and focus on translating their lessons into real-world, working web applications. It's a challenge but hey, if it was easy, then it probably wouldn't be worth your while.

Before Codesmith, I had a grasp of some web technologies but lacked the computer science backbone and interviewing skills necessary to land a mid to senior level role. Codesmith helped me round out my skills and taught me all of the major modern technologies that companies ask for on their job listings. I learned through building challenging yet interesting projects and technologies that employers would *actually* be impressed by. To do this, the Codesmith staff pushes you to do more than you thought was possible and by the end of the course, you are in awe of how much you accomplished.

As you approach graduation, you really start to experience the true value of the Codesmith program by seeing the culmination of everything you have learned combined with the invaluable knowledge that the Codesmith team provides you in preparation for your job search. Resume reviews and practice phone screens prepare you for the real world and by the time you receive your final offer, you will feel like a professional interviewer. At least that’s how I felt. I trusted their process and, a few months after graduating, I received an offer from my top choice company.  

I was extremely excited when I received my official offer because it was in my range around the average for mid level engineers in NYC (currently $117,195 on Glassdoor) and it was with a company that I felt was a fantastic fit for me.

I certainly wouldn't have been able to accomplish this without Codesmith. I highly recommend it if you are looking to level up as a software engineer and dominate the job search to find the perfect job for you.

I am posting this to let people know how I got tricked into thinking I can be job ready for the tech industry with only 3 months of classes, which is EXACTLY what Codesmith advertised...

Let me just start by saying that you will learn a good amount of knowledge from this program, I don't want to take away how rigorous this 12 week bootcamp actually is, and I actually learned a lot about programming and made a lot of friends at Codesmith.

That said, I am extremely disappointed in Codesmith, and felt like they scammed me out of 17k in tuition.  I'll just go right ahead and say it:

Codesmith tells you to LIE when looking for jobs!  They want you to put your so called "production project" in your resume as WORK EXPERIENCE!!!!  They ask you to NOT put Codesmith in your resume, create a website and make it look really really nice so employers can be fooled that your project is a company, and reach out to random developers to "star" your repository to get a lot of stars in an attempt to pass as a legitamte professional project!  They NEVER told us this in the beginning, and I felt duped and unsatisfied after close to a year of trying to follow their "Marketing" and "need-to-know-info" strategy to find jobs!

I knew it was too good to be true, when I first attended their Javascript Hard Parts meetup, the founder, Will, who by the way, was really really "Markety", claimed that Codesmith had the best hiriing rates than other bootcamps(by the way, they have NO outcomes reports whatsoever, to this day).  Someone else that worked at Codesmith told us that, upon graduation, it takes less than a month to find a job...boy how I took the bait.  I saw the culture there and lucrative promises that I eventually joined their July '17 cohort.

I graduated in October, and to this day, I am still struggling to even get phone interviews, I did have several interviews, but I had several recruiters and HR managers tell me that I'm trying to dupe them in my resume...I don't blame them, I mean, it LITERALLY is lying, we WERE trying to trick them into thinking we had PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE, what Codesmith told us to do, it is so shady and wrong!!!  I didn't have the guts to come out and say it earlier, partly because I didn't want to believe that I paid 17k to get scammed, I wanted to believe that I chose the right program, so do some other students in my cohort as well as the cohort before us, but we're in so deep in commitment and money that we were in denial of the obvious.

For those of you wanting to change career, stick to a 4 year college!  For those that are considering bootcamps, stick to the well known, proven bootcamps, like App Academy, Hack Reactor, or Full Stack Acad, those that acutally publish job outcomes and will not asking you to sell your soul and trick your interviewers, even if you do consider ANY bootcamp, ask them outcomes questions, the job search process, ASK them for outcomes numbers, ASK them a lot of questions, if they're being standoffish, it's usually a big telltale sign.  If it's too good to be true, it often is!

I will still try to find a software engineer job, but I am going back to the drawing board and learn more on my own, for free, there are many resources online for anyone to teach themselves how to code. the program did teach me a lot, but not enough to be job ready, I mean, its so laughable that Codesmith will tell you to market yourself as a react engineer witthout even teach you REDUX.

I felt scammed, I felt duped, and I felt that I HAD to say something so other people looking for bootcamps or potential attendees won't fall into the same predictament that I did.

Everything you've probably read about Codesmith is true. Its a tough worthwhile grind where you'll be thinking about code every waking/sleeping moment, (albeit maybe not while you're playing ping pong)

This program is definitely not for the faint of heart, but those that are looking to be stretched in what they know technically and then more. It's very much get out what you put in. There will be lows, where you'll be challenged to problem solve and debug with your pair programming partner, exuberant highs where you'll feel the happiness that comes with understand a complicated topic, and everything in-between. Its in my firm belief that there is no other program that competes with Codesmith and I would make the same decision again in a heartbeat.

Before joining Codesmith, I have been coding for a few years on and off.  I was building projects, but was always left with a feeling that I was hacking pieces together that I did not truly understand.

I started attending the Codesmith run meetups, JS The Hard Parts, and was surprised by how thorough the topics were explained.  Going under the hood and really understanding what is going on. Plus, the community was very helpful and I found myself surrounded by people who were also eager to learn and share their knowledge.

The program itself is very challenging, be prepared to put in the time and effort to learn and practice all the covered topics and build (exciting and challenging) projects to solidify your knowledge.  Staff and cohort-mates were there every step of the journey.

Easily the most exhausting, but rewarding, 3-months of my life.  All the hard work does not end after the program as job searching is a full-time commitment in itself.  It was all worth it and I have since found a job as a Software Engineer at a great company.

Without being hyperbolic, Codesmith genuinely changed my life. I came into the program with a background in teaching math, already knowing that I loved problem-solving and buildling things. I wasn't sure, however, whether the hype about Codesmith was real, or whether I'd really be able to learn enough in 3 months to position myself for a real career in software engineering.

If you are relatively prepared with Javascript fundamentals and have a genuine passion for programming and engineering, Codesmith is a phenomenal program. The curriculum is almost entirely problem and project-based, meaning that you'll learn by doing, rather than by watching others. This means many many hours spent on your own or with a partner poring over documentation, writing things from scratch, and debugging code. It's important to note that the program is very self-driven. You definitely have access to mentors and instructors, and they've designed a great curriculum that ensures that you hit all of the important points/skills you need if you stay on track, but ultimately it is up to the student to figure almost everything out, with the help of his or her peers. I loved this environment and found that it really let me thrive and push myself to the best of my abilities. I built a production project here that I am genuinely proud of, and that has gotten recognition by engineers at companies like Netflix and Amazon.

The hiring support at Codesmith is really invaluable. It doesn't come until the last couple of weeks of the program, so I found myself worrying quite a bit during the first couple of months. They really give you targeted and specific guidance and feedback on resume writing, presenting yourself online, reaching out to companies, interviewing, and closing an offer. Obviously, you will have to be the one to follow through on all of their advice, but if you are persistent and have done your preparation, you'll be positioned to land a pretty great job. I received two awesome offers from companies this week, and the staff at Codesmith gave me advice for negotiating and signing on with the company I was most excited about.

The community at Codesmith is incredibly supportive. People are fun, positive, driven, and unafraid of failing. If you are driven by problem-solving and self-motivated to succeed, I think it's an ideal environment in which to level up and make a huge impact on your life.

Graduated from Cohort 2 in NYC this week. The last 13 weeks have been an amazing ride. 

My background was in finance with some programming work. I quit a fairly well paying position in December to pursue further developing my programming skills, being able to make applications and tools in your freetime is an amazing skill.

All of the accepted residents have varying degrees of prior programming experience, in my cohort this ranged from a few months to over 10 years. One day before the program started, I messaged the Codesmith team and asked them if I should defer entrance, I did not feel ready. They told me many accepted residents often feel that way from the pre-course work and that I should stick it out for the first week to feel out my readiness. I'm glad I did, three days from graduation I accepted an offer from my dream job that I've wanted for the last 4 years. 

Programming background depending, the curriculum is likely going to be challenging. The first 6 weeks (junior phase), you go through 2 day units that cover differently topics across the stack. Ideation week for your senior production project lasts 1 week, you then spend another 4 weeks (senior phase) working on a open source production project before spending the final 2 weeks preparing for post program. All together, I spent around 10-14 hours each day at the program from Monday-Saturday and also put in a few hours on Sunday. 

Our production project was focused on improving the local development experience of a Kubernetes cluster. I had two amazing partners working on the project with me and we launched the project (see Watchpod on Github) to very positive feedback from members of the Kubernetes developer community.  

Lastly, I want to dedicate a paragraph to the Codesmith team. One of the main reasons why I joined Codesmith over competing programs is because of the community. From Thursday night drinks to nerf wars, Codesmith does an amazing job fostering a caring and colloquial community. The staff puts in 110% to ensure the resident experience is as positive as possible. For the long hours they put into both emotional and intellectual support across the entire program, they deserve a tremendous applause. Kudos to the entire team, with special shoutouts to Victoria for always caring about the resident experience, Eric for the wonderful job search support, Brandon for convincing me to take part in this wonderful program, and lastly Will for building something amazing over the last 2 years. You guys have built something special, keep up the wonderful work. I'm excited to see the future of Codesmith with each cohort improving upon the last! 

I was working as a home automation systems programmer for 10 years and I could see that the market was changing, customers were leaning more and more on internet connected devices and I realized my career needed a course correction. I started to teach myself web development, I was going down the typical self-learning path and it was very frustrating. I'd get to spend maybe an hour or two per day going through tutorials and I would often end up stuck down a rabbit hole researching something tangentially related to what I was trying to learn. I had been spending some evenings attending the meetups that were put on by local bootcamps just to try to steer my self study. One evening I attended Codesmith's weekly JavaScript the Hard Parts meetup and I was very impressed both by the fact that Will the CEO was actually giving the lesson and that the atmosphere around the meetup was so friendly and invigorating. After a few months of careful research and deliberation I decided to attend Codesmith. I can say that my decision has paid off so far, I learned so much during the 12 weeks, most importantly I learned how to pick up a new technology quickly and how to work through blocks in development. Additionally I am now part of an awesome community of Codemith staff, students and alumni who are most intelligent, positive group I've ever met. All in all Codesmith was the right move for me.

I'm fresh out of the November-February program. I've never before learned so much in so little time. I came in with only a smidgen of JavaScript knowledge, having completed the Codecademy JS course and gone to Codesmith's weekly LA meetup (JS: the Hard Parts) a few times. My background is completely non-technical, and I had no prior coding experience. Codesmith took me from there to creating a developer library that uses a Webpack loader to bundle files as Web Workers that can be used in a pool structure in 12 weeks! I don't think I would've even understood that sentence before starting.

Here are some of the things that set Codesmith apart:

• It's really demanding. At a minimum you'll be onsite 62 hours/week, and you should expect to be there a lot more.
• Learning is accomplished by doing. There are lectures, but they are not the focus. The first four weeks are spent on JS units, and thereafter you work in teams on projects.
• Technical communication skills are paramount. There is only one solo project, which lasts 2 days, in the whole curriculum. Everything else is pair programming or group projects.
• The production project, which lasts 4 weeks, is the main focus. For a project to be approved, it has to require deep knowledge of an area of JS that will impress seasoned developers.
• The staff is very supportive, and they do a lot of work from the admission process through the project phase to ensure that every cohort maintains a positive culture.

Codesmith is a big investment of time and money, but it's worth it. Having completed the program, I would not hesitate to recommend it to anyone with a passion for JS and a desire to take their skills to a whole new level. If you're in LA or NYC and thinking about doing a fast-track coding school, check out Codesmith's weekly JavaScript: the Hard Parts meetup.

I’ve made multiple attempts into getting into Software Engineering in my life, and credit my weekly attendance of Codesmith’s JavaScript – The Hard Parts workshops as the reason this attempt is succeeding. Will spares no effort to hammer in the importance of technical communication, step-by-step interpretation of the code, and understanding what's going on "under the hood” in Javascript. It helped me develop the fundamentals that were invaluable in passing the interviews for the programs I was looking into, including Hack Reactor and Codesmith itself.

No less importantly, Hard Parts brought me into contact with others taking their first steps toward becoming software engineers. I learned a lot working with them, but more than that, I was inspired by them. Seeing so many of my peers working so passionately towards the same goal as me helped me remained focused on my aspiration. Learning about their backgrounds and listening to their experiences provided perspective and reassurance. And when I was waiting in the reception area for my final chance at getting into the Codesmith program, their encouragement kept me from running for the door and rescheduling my interview another six months down the line.

I look forward to entering this program in two weeks and continuing my journey with this incredible team.

I began looking into software immersion programs in the winter of 2016. In searching for pair program partner to study with for technical interviews, I came across a person on Reddit, who was at the time a Codesmith student, who offered to help me study. Only at the end of our studies did he ask what program I was shooting for. I told him Hack Reactor, since it had a solid rep, and I was already living in the Bay Area. He pushed me to look into Codesmith, telling me he too had looked into HR. He moved all the way from Florida to LA to attend.

I applied to both, and got into both. I chose Codesmith, because my Reddit buddy praised the school so highly, and believed in the program so strongly. Since graduating, I firmly share his beliefs, and know I made the correct choice. There are three major factors that make Codesmith such a standout; an especially capable and talented student body, an emphasis on technical communication, and the strong sense of community the program fosters.

The student body at Codesmith is carefully selected . The standards for admission are tough. The technical interview was harder than HR by a long shot - it took me a couple of tries to get in. This was frustrating at the time, but this system results in a cohort with stronger technical abilities, so the material and the rate at which they teach it can be upped. There’s a cultural interview too. It’s not enough just to be really smart. Empathetic, team-focused, communicative, and social personalities are sought from applicants. The curriculum revolves around pair programming and project teams, so people who fill this criteria are strong fits for the program. This combination of technical abilities and conducive personalities results in learning environment where you can maximize your growth.

The most powerful skill set I was able to develop at Codesmith wasn’t learning JavaScript really well (though I did that, too), but technical communication. I can’t stress how important this ability is. When you’re interviewing for mid and senior level developer positions, being well-spoken and concise is sooo important. After all, asides from a coding challenge or two, the only way these interviewers can judge you is by the words you share with them. Being able to answer questions in an elegant, precise, and confident way is the best way to shine. But the perks of a strong technical communication ability don’t end there. After you’re hired, you’ll have to communicate with your team, both technical and non-technical members, in an efficient and approachable way. This’ll make you an especially valuable asset to your team.

The most enjoyable part of the program is the community and culture the Codesmith team has created. Graduates consistently maintain relations with Codesmith. Whether it’s coming back to for mock interviews of current students, host an open forum that details their job search story and their current roles, or just dropping by to hang out, alumni are a big part of the culture and are always looking to give back. Thursday nights are special night each week where students, staff, alumni, and friends put aside their work a little earlier than usual, and have a few drinks with each other. Very often the karaoke machine gets busted out. You haven’t seen anything until you’ve watched half a dozen engineers singing along to some N’Sync. There are beach days, bonfires, family-style dinners, kickball. And all of this fun happens alongside some of the most intense and rapid-paced learning you’ll ever have.

I really can’t say enough good things about Codesmith. I’m not trying to be dramatic, but it has been a bit of a life-changing experience. I’ve gained a large group of friends I’ve bonded very strongly to, an amazing job I feel proud of, and a new perspective on communication, problem solving, and life in general.