Codesmith

Who are you?

I’m an EMT, Berkeley grad, and returned Peace Corps volunteer that joined the Codesmith program at the end of my 2-year service in the highlands of Guatemala.

 

Did it work?

I’ll be starting as a front-end web developer with a Codesmith hiring partner in Santa Barbara next week. I received two other offers some time after I accepted my current position.

 

Why Codesmith?

There are a number of reasons, but a lot of them are already covered in previous reviews. Rather than echo, I’ll pull a Steve Jobs, get obsessive and detail-oriented, and try to cover topics that are smaller in scope but provide insight to someone who hasn’t necessarily attended the school.

 

LEADERSHIP

There are benefits to having a CEO that is a strong and constant presence. Besides frequently handling business at the school:

• Will was there to set the cultural tone of our class on day 1 -- as a cohort, we succeed together or not at all.

• He gave a variety of different lectures on topics like object-oriented programming, technical blogging, and interviewing expectations throughout the weeks.

• Will was with us to give a kick-off presentation for our first hackathon together.

• He was there halfway through the program for one-on-one sessions.

• He was there on our Hiring Day to open the floor for our thesis project presentations.

• Two weeks after the program concluded, Will was there personally answering questions when the school brought our cohort in for job hunt updates.

Granted he’s not there every single day, he is available to you. Will might be encouraging a tech firm to attend hiring day or interviewing with journalists to discuss Codesmith’s philosophies, but I won’t hesitate to say that if I were to email him now as a graduate 3 months out, he would respond within a day.

 

CULTURE & COMMUNITY

It’s that moment when the fellows have been gone for hours. It’s 1:30 AM. You’re hammering away at a chrome extension with a partner and neither of you know how to proceed. Or maybe, you’ve invested an hour and your map method still isn’t working in Cheerio (protip: read docs and check the parameters). You know everyone’s exhausted and short on time, but you need the help, and you have to ask for it. These stressful situations are when culture really comes into play.

The community is focused on unconditional support. Expect to have it here, and expect to give it here. Let me give you a few examples.

I was working on a module with the avid surfer / Boeing engineer of our group, and we nail another exercise together. It’s looking like we might be on track to finish early. Get home. Break from the 80ish hour weeks. The first thing he asks is, “How do you feel about checking up on everyone else and seeing if they need a hand? It won’t take long.”

For a hackathon, we’re given about 6 hours (including lunch) to ad-hoc something functional. An experienced software engineer in our cohort has his eureka moment, bypasses problems with CORS and network requests with some proxy workaround, and has an hour and a half to make his project work. He then gets peppered with questions by cohort-mates. “Hey, how’d you get that proxy to work?” “Could you give me a hand with flexbox?” He carves out even more of his time to help. So much so that he presents an unfinished project (which I know for a fact he could’ve completed).

Even Will would put his money where his mouth was. Every. Week. He would lead meetups to teach the LA community about javascript callbacks, execution contexts, and closures. No costs or fees. No self-promotion of the school. Unconditional.

I could go on and on about the small details that made the culture so magical, but it really is a matter of seeing it in action for yourself. Visit the campus. Have a conversation with a few current students. You’ll understand.

 

FEEDBACK ON FEEDBACK ON FEEDBACK

If you bring up a concern, it will be considered. During the first 6 weeks, feedback is given to Victoria, director of operations. Every two days as a group, you’ll review the recently completed core modules and lectures. “Please split the testing and build tools module into two separate days.” Lo and behold, the next cohort has two days for the two modules. “Can we get more cheez-its in the kitchen?” And like magic, it appears. “Reviewing our React module with ES6 syntax when we learned with ES5 syntax? BAD.” You get the idea.

The feedback doesn’t end when sessions end either. After graduating, when I saw staff at a tech fair, I started chatting with Victoria. We were talking about the implications of increasing class sizes, and she said, “It’s great that you care. What do you think we should do?” She and her coworkers are open to criticism and change not because their job tells them it’s important for company development from 9-5. They sincerely want what’s best for students.

With all of that in mind, obviously not all suggestions will be implemented (there are still parts of the curriculum in ES5 and parts in ES6, there still might be grammatical errors in exercises, etc.), but it will be for a combination of reasons -- other low-hanging fruit to take care of, impact of changes, etc.

 

JOB SUPPORT

It’s interesting that the website doesn’t immediately mention this, but there is a support network when the program finishes.

• A week after graduation, the entire cohort is brought back to campus for school updates, discussions about job-search apprehensions, and personal meetings with Hira.

• There are check-in calls with Hira every two weeks after the on-campus meeting. She reaches out to track your progress, mental well-being, and again, answer any lingering questions. And the best part? She always follows through. “You’ve got an offer? I’ll get you in touch with Eric.” And the day after, I’m having a conversation with Eric. “Ah! AngelList messages can be tricky. Send over some of your examples and I’ll check them out.” A day after I send them, she replies. Here’s part of the email.

No problem Jeremy, that's what I'm here for!

Some notes on your messages:

1. The personal touch is great. You're really highlighting your passion for what the company is doing, I wouldn't change anything there.

2. Ultimately, the company wants to know what YOU can do for THEM. It's great that you have a learning mindset, and seek first to understand, but try to throw in a phrase about why you're qualified. Is there a particular stack they're working in that you're a boss at? Did you work on a technical project that is somewhat similar to what they're focused on?”

You aren’t the product of some easy-bake oven. Codesmith doesn’t “set it and forget it.” The job hunt was one of the more difficult parts of the journey, and it's genuinely nice to be able to rely on staff for solid guidance.

Bro. Now I have even more questions.
Feel free to get in touch!
jeremy.yip7@gmail.com

I'm a recent graduate of Codesmith, became a Codesmith engineering fellow, and am now getting ready to start a full-stack position with a wonderful company. I can say without a doubt that Codesmith is a transformative experience. I have honestly never worked harder in my life and it absolutely paid off.

The program is rigorous and designed to not only teach you core concepts, but also how to learn, find an answer, and problem solve. As a result, I felt prepared to enter the job market having learned in-demand skills while also feeling confident in my ability to continue learning and adapting throughout my career.

The projects you work on and community support are what really drew me to Codesmith - and I was not disappointed. The projects you build are technically challenging and are often directly addressing an issue in the developer community. I learned so much during the project period - not only about web development but also how to approach problems, debug, and coordinate with a team of engineers. 

I also became extremely close with my cohort. These students were successful  prior to Codesmith while also being caring and supportive, who I genuinely enjoyed spending time with (for 14 hours/day). The staff is also approachable and truly invested in your success - going out of their way to help however they can. They offer advice without hand holding through topics - forcing you think about concepts more deeply and giving you a personal sense of accomplish it when you figure it out.

I wouldn't be where I am today without Codesmith. It was a truly incredible experience.

A little less than a year ago I wrote my first line of Javascript and now I am employed by a wonderful company.   I build amazing software and earn more than enough money to payback the debt I took on to attend Codesmith.  On a daily basis I see a difficult task in front me and think "I have no idea how to do this." My very next thought is "this is going to be so much fun."  The brilliance of Codesmith is how the instructors to teach you to problem solve.  The curriculum is structured to teach you everything you need to know to land a job, but there is zero hand holding.  You learn how to google, use stack overflow, and read docs so that for the rest of your coding career you not only welcome unfamiliar problems you celebrate them.  Since Codesmith I have learned several new frameworks and a new programming language.  

In addition to the instruction the job placement was such a huge help.  Within a month of finishing the program I had two job offers, one of which was through Codesmith's job fair.  Although coders are high in demand right now, it always takes a lot of work to get a new job, and the job support from Codesmith (interview prep, resume iteration, job fair, weekly check-ins) made the process so much less difficult. 

All that being said, if you are seriously considering attending Codesmith you need to be ready to bring it.  I was no stranger to hard work and long hours before I attended but those were 12 of the most challenging weeks of my life.  Getting through the program, and landing a job on the other side, takes a lof of grit, determination, and most importanly you have to love to code.  Attending Codesmith, and being employed as a software engineer, is really hard work.  The high saleries won't be enough to get you through the day.  You must also have a passion for it.  

If you do have that passion Codesmith will provide everything else you need.  

Codesmith is the type of program where every student leaves as a transformed version of the person he/she came in as.  The most obvious transformation is one’s exponentially expanded software engineering knowledge and experience, but students also leave with a radically broader grasp on empathy, the kind of empathy you gain from intense pair programming sessions and grinding through 12+ hour days with your Cohort-mates. 

 

The curriculum is always evolving and is updated as a result of student feedback and/or the ever continuous momentum of the industry.  Over my 12 weeks (13 including a prep/gap week between cohorts) Codesmith presented daily opportunities for ‘aggressive expansion’ of my engineering and problem solving skills (for anyone thinking of the scene from The Dark Knight, there is never any battling J, though Ping Pong games can get intense).   You go deep in JavaScript, by the end you can truly develop a web application that includes a database, RESTful API based server, and powerful front-end (using Vanilla JS, React, Angular, or whatever you desire because you have to mental tools to learn anything new). 

 

You learn about more than just JavaScript at Codesmith though. Daily, you will experience the exciting challenge of a new algorithm problem, you learn data structures, engineering best practices, and possibly most important of all you will grow tremendously in your technical communication.  Anyone who has tried to solve a highly technical problem in a team setting will relate to how important technical communication is for the project’s success.  At every point throughout the program you will either be asked to communicate to your pair-programming partner when you are not actively typing, or with the Engineering Fellows during code review, and ultimately all of these experiences result in a deeper understanding of the material and an ability to explain your code that is highly valuable to teammates and employers.

 

Attending a coding bootcamp is a major life decision, and I have not once regretted choosing Codesmith over any of the other options in LA or elsewhere.  You receive full devotion during and after graduation and I wholeheartedly believe there is nowhere better to begin the next chapter of one’s life.

Hired:  Yes (In Los Angeles)

Cohort: 6

Salary: 100k+ and Equity

Graduated: June, 2016

_____________________________

I was hired by a company that Codesmith brought to hiring day.  I make a salary equivalent to a mid-level developer in San Francisco because that's the kind of quality engineers that Codesmith makes.  Prior to this I dropped out of graduate school for Landscape Architecture, and I worked in construction before that.

Review:

Codesmith teaches you the fundamentals in data structures, algorithms, and web technologies. You will learn the "whys" of how things work, which will make you a better engineer.  Every day you're challenged with an algorithm(which is important because companies will test your problem solving abilities).  You learn the current trending technologies that will assist you in getting a job. (I currently work with a front-end framework called React).  Then you build a project that proves you are a capable engineer, and people will be like "Ooo" and "Ahhh"(that means they'yre impressed).  Then they assist you in finding a job by throwing a huge party(well both an actual dinner party, but also a hirng event, which is pretty sweet).  After graduation, you will have weekly meetings that checks your current progress on your hiring status.

Opinion:

It all sounds shiny, but it will take a lot of work to get you from an unemployable world of warcraft player into an employable professional software engineer.  However it's a lot of fun, and Codesmith creates the culture and curriculum that gets you to that point. I'm glad I decided to go to Codesmith, now I can be an employed world of warcraft player(I kid, I work pretty hard at my job).  On a serious note, Codesmith's curriculum and staff is top notch.  I enjoyed my time there and I hope you do too.

Best of luck to anyone who's read this review, and you can do it!

Codesmith provides an excellent foundation in computer science and JavaScript.  The program positioned me incredibly well to transition from a career in finance to software development.

I graduated from Codesmith in April 2016 (cohort 5). I had three job offers in two weeks and started my new career within a month. I wouldn't have been able to make this transition without the program and the support of the Codesmith staff.  More importantly, despite using almost no JavaScript at my new job, Codesmith's curriculum taught me how to quickly pick up any topic and I've been able to add value from day 1.

Highly recommended.

I am a former student, former engineering fellow, and current employee (Software Engineer) at one of Codesmith's hiring partner companies. 

Previous Background 

I worked in tech for a few years in marketing and client success before deciding to take the leap into software development. I started learning Python about a year before joining the program and devoted three months (while working a full-time job) to learning JavaScript before applying. 

Application Experience

The staff at Codesmith was quick to respond to inquiries and setting up appointments for both the cultural and technical interviews was a breeze. There was a good amount of emphasis placed on learning JS fundamentals on your own before applying, and as a hard worker, I appreciated knowing that I would be surrounded by other hard workers if I got into the program. 

Something that really stood out to me during the application and interview process was how passionate the Codemsith community was about cultivating a positive engineering environment. I was deciding between Codesmith and another prominent bootcamp in LA that I was also accepted at, but the culture at Codesmith is really what solidfied my decision to go there. 

Student Experience

The program seemed to be academically challenging for all students despite people's varying levels of technical experience and background. It was well-paced, and although I was constantly challenged, I never felt like I couldn't handle the amount of work, and I certainly never felt bored. 

As a working software engineer now, I realize how relevant almost everything we learned in the program was. My employer seems to always be surprised by the amount I already know despite this being my first engineering job. 

Also, I'd like to add that getting into the program was a competitive process, but once you're in, you really develop a strong rapport with your cohort. I still keep in touch with my cohort mates and it's inspiring to see how much we've all grown and accomplished since the program ended.

Fellowship Experience

I applied and was selected to stay on as an engineering fellow after my session ended. I stayed on for an extra six weeks (though it's typically twelve) to assist with solution and approach lectures, guide students as they learn new concepts, and help debug students' code.

I was really able to solidify the material I learned as a student in the program having to explain it to new students and answer their unexpected questions during the fellowship. Being able to explain technical concepts in great depth really set me apart from other applicants when I started interviewing. 

Job Placement Experience 

I met my current employer at Codesmith's Hiring Day around six weeks into my fellowship. They noted that they were impressed with my communication skills and dedication to technical excellence, which wasn't surprising since both qualities are constantly emphasized at Codesmith. 

Even after getting traction in the interview process with a few different companies, the Codesmith team stayed involved and were always checking in to make sure I had the support I needed to be sucessful as I was getting close to landing my first software engineering job. I couldn't appreciate them more for having helped me get to where I am now. 

TL;DR

Before I joined Codesmith, I thought it would be near impossible to become a software engineer without a major in computer science. Codesmith not only gave me the training, but also the confidence and network that allowed me to become a working software engineer today. 10/10, would do it again. 

Two things set Codesmith apart in my opinion.

1. The people: There are hundreds of coding bootcamps out there and it was difficult to figure out which one was the best for me. I visited as many as I could, and tried to figure out what was differnent about each one, and what schools existed to just take my money. I attended JS The Hard Parts at Codesmith's headquarters in LA, and was blown away by everyone's willingness to help me learn. That continued after I started as a student. Everyone at Codesmith, from the instructors, to the fellows, and even the students was willing to stay late and help me become a better developer. On top of that, the students at Codesmith are exceptionally gifted and talented people who previously have gone to the worlds best universities and have been very successful in other careers. You can't help but learn faster when you are surrounded by such talented people all day.

2. Focus on personal growth: Throughout the program, but especially during the project period, students are pushed to step outside their comfort zones to become better thinkers, programmers, and people. People at Codesmith are always encouraged to pursue new technologies and learn new programming paradigms. Codesmith understands that the industry is always changing and while the curriculum is in JavaScript, the purpose of Codesmith is to teach you how to think as a professional developer. At Codesmith, you are always pushed to strive for more. The culture of creating autnomous problem solvers is really what makes Codesmith different.

 

I'm a husband, dad, and former Product Manager, making the move into Engineering. I actually started as a full-stack ASP developer (despite my complete lack of CS knowledge!) during the dot-com days, and then moved into Product Management. Over the last few years, I've realized I missed development, and wanted to move back; but my 15-year-old skillz weren't going to do it.     My last job was as a Product Manager at a start-up, managing multiple technology systems. I found myself doing front- and back-end development about 1/3 of the time, and enjoying it much more than I enjoyed Product Management.    One of the nice things about doing all of that development work was that I knew for sure that I'd have fun at it, and that I could do it every day, all day long. It was just a matter of operationalizing that desire.

I had self-educated in ASP the first time around, and knew that I wanted to attend a bootcamp that would give me more -- and faster -- than I could just learn myself. I had a sound grasp of fundamentals such as datatypes and basic control flows, but didn't know about time complexity or combinatorics or anything like that, so I needed a program that would start me from that point, not from zero. I'd also been involved in hiring dozens of developers in my Product Management career, and I wanted to choose a program that would turn out a developer I'd have hired. Finally, I'd been frustrated coding in multiple languages across the stack during my former development career, so I wanted to learn full-stack Javascript.   Codesmith delivered on all of this. Their program is academically-challenging, but also structured in a way to help you succed. I was exposed to the techologies and techniques I need to know not just to get a job now, but to stay ahead of the industry going forward. As someone who's worked with developers, I can say that their focus on pair programming and on teamwork, as well as overall source control and testing workflow, is real-world accurate in many settings.   It's not just about code, either: Codesmith ensures that you're a good technical communicator, with presentation and whiteboarding practice throughout the program, as well as the pair programming focus. They definitely build the skills you need to succeed in any workplace, and even go above and beyond to challenge you to be conscious of, and remedy, your weaknesses.    The community they build is amazing; I expect I'll be in touch with many of my classmates for years, and we will help each others' careers throughout that time.   Speaking of careers, hiring day was amazing, with some of LA's top companies hiring for mid-level and senior jobs -- not a junior position there! I'm in negotiations now for the job of my dreams, at a salary higher than I could have reasonably expected.   Codesmith is a bootcamp, in the best sense of that word: they take you in, and build you into someone new, and better, who is part of a community. I'm proud to have graduated from Codesmith!

I am a recent graduate of the Codesmith program (cohort 5). Coming into the program I had a basic grasp of JavaScript and was able to write some code, but did not have an in-depth understanding of the language. However, I now consider myself to be very well versed in the language and am confident in my ability to write web applications, solve algorithms, and learn new languages. These are the abilities that Codesmith helped me to obtain.

 

Within two weeks of graduation I received my first job offer, and it was higher than I expected coming into the program. Codesmith provided me with a solid computer science and coding foundation, and I have had little to no problems with technical interviews.

 

While the Codesmith program is still working out some kinks, it is a startup that iterates quickly and is improving across all facets. Increasingly the program is bringing in stronger students and will soon have a network of unbelievably bright developers over the next several years.  

 

Based on my research, there is no other program in Los Angeles that compares with Codesmith in terms of having a strong focus on both academics and culture. They place a lot of emphasis on communication and pair-programming, which means you will get to know your classmates very well. From my cohort, I have made friends with a good group of people with whom I will stay connected.

 

Additionally, they have a great advisor, Eric Kirsten, who was very helpful in navigating the job search and assisting students with negotiations. Personally, he helped me throughout this process, and I am happy with the results. Moving forward, I am glad that I attended Codesmith, and I would strongly recommend it.

 

Codesmith is providing its students the highest-quality education in cutting edge technologies.

 

Why should you go to this bootcamp instead of another bootcamp?

1. The community: Codesmith has a strong committment to community; they host the LA React meetup that brings in developers from all over. They host Nodeschool LA where people come to learn Node.js for free. Industry professionals from Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Netflix, Yelp and LinkedIn come by for Q&As with students.

2. They help you get jobs: Codesmith has a robust hiring program that brings in top tech companies from LA and San Francisco; they prepare students for technical interviews, and for a career in technology

3. They teach you how to learn: a great bootcamp should arm its students with more than just knowledge of the latest frameworks because new technologies always emerge. Instead Codesmith prepares its students to learn, understand, and solve challenging techical problems.

I am a graduate of Codesmith’s 3rd cohort that ran from Oct 2015 - Jan 2016. I also worked as an engineering fellow after graduation until April 2016. As of May 2016, I’ll be employed with an e-commerce startup in Marina del Rey as a UI Engineer. 

 

Going to a bootcamp was a huge decision for me and one that I spent a lot of time agonizing over. I knew that I wanted an advanced level program like Hack Reactor, but the catch was that I needed to stay in Los Angeles for financial and personal reasons.

 

When I attended my first JS The Hard Parts meetup at Codesmith, I was blown away. I had already made up my mind to attend another awesome full-time bootcamp in LA and was prepping for their interview in a couple weeks - Codesmith put a huge wrench in those plans. For one, 

Will Sentance, the CTO, is an incredible teacher that makes complicated concepts accessible for people that are new to programming. Secondly, every student and person on staff that I spoke to was so down-to-earth and friendly that I immediately felt comfortable in this new environment. 

 

Why did I choose Codesmith?

I was accepted into Codesmith and the other bootcamp in LA that I interviewed with. I received a partial scholarship to attend Codesmith, but I had already made up my mind either way. 

Here were the deciding factors:

Rigorous curriculum and excellent instructors that would put me in the best possible position to get hired after graduation.  I liked their emphasis on learning computer science fundamental and algorithms that not all the other programs were offering, and I knew that Will Sentance would be teaching a lot of these fundamental classes. Andy (aka the Code Whisperer) conducted a great admission interview - he challenged me to optimize my code and when I got stuck, he nudged me in the right direction. The interview itself revealed how challenging the coursework would be (a stark contrast to the other interview that I had). 

Community and support - I felt like Codesmith saw potential in me that I couldn’t even see for myself at times. The staff was incredibly supportive, which revealed what I didn’t realize that I needed in a bootcamp - I wanted to learn in a caring, supportive environment. I could not imagine another bootcamp that could do this as well.

 

Did Codesmith meet my expectations?

Absolutely. I wanted a program that had a rigorous curriculum and I got it - more than what I could process at times (which was a good thing - though it was frustrating in the moment). The community and support that I received was amazing. I don’t know if I could’ve pushed through all the challenging times without it. When I needed someone to talk to, I could always find someone to empathize with my situation and help me move through it. 

 

What can they improve on? 

Communication and Organization - last minute schedule changes were frustrating at times. They did let us know that it was because they were constantly iterating on the program to improve our experience. From a student perspective though, it sometimes led to confusion - i.e. anticipating a lecture, but having it moved to the afternoon. 

 

What exceeded my expectations?

How much they were paying attention to pair programming dynamics - i.e. people steamrolling or students shutting down. Unless you’ve been doing pair programming for more than 3 hours with someone, can you fully understand how important this is. When students consistently had a bad experience with someone during pair programming, they made sure to rectify the situation and help everyone grow and learn in the process. We all came out better communicators and team players because of this. 

How Codesmith taught us how to learn new topics in general and how to solve any problem, not just the ones we were given.  Yes, it’s awesome that we learn Javascript, React and Angular, but as a lot of graduates experienced, a lot of companies were looking for other languages and frameworks. Codesmith prepared us to deal with uncertainty, rapidly pick up new material and have confidence that no matter what challenge we may encounter, we’d be able to push through and solve it. 

Hiring day was spectacular. I would’ve been perfectly happy with about 10 hiring partners given that our class size was on the smaller side, however, I was blown away when we had 25 companies in attendance: Whisper, Disney, Tool of NA, Black Tux… We all got in-person interviews after hiring day, which ultimately led to the full-time position that I’ll be starting soon.

Overall, it was an amazing experience. I could not have been as successful in my career transition without Codesmith. For a little taste of the culture and community, see my goodbye/thank you video to Codesmith. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xy74rtmI64Q