Codeworks

I started the Codeworks bootcamp in April 2018 and graduated in August 2018, here’s my background, bootcamp experience, and outcome:

BACKGROUND 
- 34 years old. 
- Bachelor’s degree in journalism. 
- Got into coding over two years ago. 
- Wanted to choose the most demanding, hardest bootcamp I could find. 
- Wanted to switch careers and become a front-end developer.

BOOTCAMP EXPERIENCE 
- The pre-course will feel hard an give you a good grasp of the hard-parts of JavaScript. 
- Your batch will be formed by people from a myriad of countries and backgrounds. 
- Codeworks people are flexible with misfortune (and great people too): I had a bike accident and broke my collarbone one week into the program and needed surgery two weeks later. Had to restart the whole thing on the next batch and there was no problem doing so. 
- Codeworks is very demanding, but you will get what you put in it: Time will fly, and you will be incredibly busy, so invest 100% of your time, effort and your interest and you’ll get a proportional return. If eventually you realize this is not for you, you’ll still learn plenty of stuff, make great friends and know more about yourself, but don’t get too lazy or you’ll meet my next point: 
- Codeworks people is pretty inflexible with laziness: Become a drag to your batch because of your lack of interest, poor attitude or consistently not showing on time for no reason and you’ll promptly see yourself out of the program. I’ve seen this happen. 
- Arol, Alessandro (the founders) and all the TA’s from the bootcamp have great sets of skills, learn from them as much as you can, ask all the questions, and leave no stone unturned because that’s your chance to absorb years of seasoned skills in three months. Moreover, once you graduate you will always have them as a safety net for advice or particular questions you might have. 
- My advice: At some point, you’ll lean towards a particular technology or side to development (be it front-end, back-end or whatever). Stick to it. Choose a path and follow it. Our field needs a lot of specialization. A Barcelona startup CEO once defined the development scene as ‘broad but shallow’, so help deepen it and your skills will be in demand!

OUTCOME 
- I graduated at the end of August, the week after demoing our thesis project I started looking for a job. I got my first call the very same day I started searching and my first offer within three days. The offer was economically within the average for a junior developer in Barcelona but I rejected it because I wanted to see more. 
- I got some coding challenges from potential employers: After what I had learned in the bootcamp, none of them felt particularly hard. 
- I got a good idea of what I wanted, how much I wanted to be paid and what technologies I was willing to work with or not. That helped a great deal to have successful interviews. 
- Marc is a wizard when it comes to providing great support getting you in touch with potential employers and helping you with negotiations. So listen to his advice and apply it. I didn’t do this once and now I regret it so LISTEN.TO.MARC. 
- Every time I made it to the on-site interview I ended getting the offer. 
- Don’t rush your decision, companies need developers and you can provide what they’re looking for. Marc will tell you so when you feel the impulse to accept the first offer you get, so, again, it’s probably a good idea to listen to Marc. 
- All my peers that wanted to get a job where employed as developers before two months after graduation. 
- For some weeks, I took a free-lance job offer to develop a small app for a startup. I always felt like I had the proper skills to be working on my own, which greatly boosted my confidence as a front-end developer. 
- In the end, I accepted a front-end developer offer from a Fortune 500 company who offered above average salary and benefits. 
- Some months into the job, I can tell you that I don’t feel like I am lacking any coding skills compared to my peers.

All in all, if you’re reading this, you’re probably wondering if it’s a good idea to enroll. I can tell you it is, but be willing to trust these guys, their method and be sure that you can put the effort it demands. It will be great to see you become a member of the family of Codeworks graduates.

I just completed my course a month ago and I wish I never left for so many reasons. 
Barcelona is a lovely city - but don't get too excited about it, you'll just see some parts of it going to the Codeworks facilities. Because classes are Monday to Saturday 9am sharp till at least 9 o'clock in the evening. And after that I was learning on my own to keep up with topics I did not understand. Most of the time I also spent my Sundays at Codeworks. That made 80-85 hours of coding and learning a week. 
The facilities are great! A 5 minute walk to the ocean, restaurants and a supermarket nearby and you'll find cheap rooms to stay in Poblenou.

I wanted to learned Full Stack Javascript and was not disappointed. The staff is amazing and can break down complex things into easy steps - especially Arols live coding sessions are worth the money!

The most important thing about this bootcamp is not that they teach you how to code (and they do it pretty well), it is that they show you how to find solutions to your problems by reading documentations. For me it turned out to be the most valuable skill after leaving the bootcamp.

The athmosphere is amazing. There are great students, great staff, and amazing teachers and TAs. I had never the feeling of being uncomfortable. 
At the end of the course there is a hiring week where they invite companies that are interested in developers.

I can't recommend this course enough - go there and start an exiting carreer!

If you're reading this, chances are that you are thinking about attending Codeworks and want to read about the experience from previous students. I did the same exact thing before I applied to the bootcamp and I was grateful that others took the time to write about their journey, so I think it's only fair to do the same thing for those who come after me.   Before I continue, let me give you some context... I've always loved logic and I learned how to program at an early age. Having said that, I was looking for guidance to get a clear picture of all the elements involved in software development (building, testing, deployment, etc). That's why I applied to Codeworks.   I was looking for something that forced me to step out of my comfort zone and Codeworks certainly did that. I knew the experience was going to be quite intense (12 hours a day, 6 days a week for 3 months) but I have to say that I enjoyed every moment of it and I've made some great friends along the way.   You might be wondering if having a background in programming is necessary to attend the bootcamp. I don't believe that's the case. Many students came from other disciplines but had a genuine interest in coding. I have nothing but admiration for them. It was really cool seeing those students pick up new technologies and solve really challenging problems.   Even though the bootcamp focuses mainly on JavaScript, it prepares you for the unknown. Technology changes at fast pace and they acknowledge that. It is for this reason that they focus on the foundations over which technologies are built instead of teaching you a given implementation. By doing so, you can pick up new technologies and frameworks in no time - A skill that you surely require in the industry.   The instructors are really knowledgeable and they always come up with interesting and challenging problems to solve. In addition to that, you have Teaching Assistants (TAs) who are always willing to answer any questions you might have and engage in conversations about the best way of approaching a given problem.   I personally think that programming is not something you learn by just listening to theory. You need to practice. A hell of a lot! That's why I was glad to see that Codeworks is a hands-on bootcamp in which you do a lot of practical exercises. It also forces you to think outside the box with a daily challenge. After each theory session, you'll get to do pair programming with one of your fellow students.   On the second part of the bootcamp, you get to develop 3 projects which allow you to apply all the things you've been learning. The goal is to create applications from start to finish and present them in front of the other students and instructors.   Another great thing is that the bootcamp organizes regular public events which are really inspiring and allow the students to network with people from the industry.   The last week on campus is dedicated to do training for job interviews, prepare an attractive portfolio and meet with companies that are currently hiring.   Last but not least, they have a team devoted to give career advice to students and alumni. I have to admit that I was a bit skeptical at first, but the careers team was really helpful and their advice was key to finding the best job opportunities. Heck! I ended up accepting a nice offer and I'm working as a Frontend Developer now!   All in all, I have to say it was a really good experience and I would recommend it to anyone who's interested in coding as a career.   Best of luck!

Should you attend Codeworks?

If you are reading this, the answer is most likely yes.

I started programming during my childhood and have been studying web development for about two years before I entered Codeworks. Naturally I had a lot of doubts whether a coding bootcamp would be the right choice for me. The answer as I soon found out, is a resounding YES.

The way the program is structured gives you a lot of freedom to develop your skills at your own pace. Codeworks provides you with the best possible environment for deliberate practice, always making sure you are not getting stuck.

The curriculum is being improved and updated in every iteration and solves one of the biggest issues during self-study: What should I focus on?

This is something I see many people struggle with in the beginning. Watching a video about framework X here, reading a chapter from a book on JavaScript there does not give you the best results when your goal is to be able to be able to build large scale web applications.

The experienced instructors at Codworks have seen many students through this journey and have optimized the timing and depth of the content to give you all the tools you need to create amazing things on you own and in a team.

You will also learn highly sought after skills like software testing, advanced version control mechanisms and Github flow. This might not get you excited, but these are skills you need from day one in your new job.

And if you are worried that you don’t learn technology X in this course, don’t worry. After this course, you will be able to pick it up in a couple of days.

Believe me it doesn’t matter. When you start at your new job, you will probably find out that you have to work with Elm, Java, .Net, Elixir or whatever tech stack they are currently using.

What matters is your speed of learning.

In addition to the technical skills, Codeworks puts a strong focus on developing the soft skills necessary to accelerate your developer career.

Wait, are you serious “soft skills”? Yes, I am totally serious.

Being a developer entails project management, pitching projects, explaining your solutions to coworkers and giving presentations at your company. Not only will you be able to train these skills in a supportive environment of friends, you will also get constructive feedback on it. I saw every single person in my cohort become better in these areas over the 3 month period.

Recruiters will also be very happy when you tell them that you have experience with Scrum and other project management techniques.

The job support is great. You will spend the last week writing up your resume, polishing your online profiles and receiving coaching on how to approach companies and negotiate salaries. And don’t worry, the support is not going to end after one week. There is also a hiring day, putting you in touch with exciting local companies. Two of my cohort (myself included) found their perfect match during the hiring day and we couldn’t be happier with our choice.

As for everything else, it is hard for me to describe how great of an experience this was for me. The people I have met, the people I will meet in the future thanks to Codeworks, it is an experience I will relish my whole life.

If you have doubts about whether the program is right for you, my best advice for you is: Talk to them!

Just get in touch and ask them whatever you feel unsure about. If you want, they will also put you in touch with some graduates, so you can get an unfiltered opinion.

Best luck on your journey 👋

I have very sunny memories of my time at CodeWorks Barcelona from July to October this year. CodeWorks is located near the beach in a beautiful, light building with high ceilings. The teachers are not only technically skilled but also a lot of fun to hang around with, the weather was great and on top of all of this I even managed to learn heaps and stacks!

-The founders of the school are nice people with a positive outlook on life. They, like the rest of the staff, are really dedicated to provide you with all the opportunities to make your 3 month stay as rewarding as possible and this shows in the attention to detail they have. In our first week we all came together in the patio and were taught how to do various back exercises and how to create an optimal work environment as to avoid injuries. It's these kind of small gestures that showed me that CW is for real in doing everything it can to provide its students with an optimal learning experience and preparation for the professional development world.

-CW does a good job selecting its students so I learned a lot not just from the teachers and T.A.'s but also  from my fellow students, some of whom were quite proficient coders on entering the course. 

-One word of caution that I read in other reviews but nonetheless would like to repeat: 

YOU need to put in all the work. - This is a good and well thought out curriculum but the ultimate responsibility of what you'll get out of this course lies with YOU.

To cut a long story short, I had a great time at CodeWorks Barcelona! Coding really IS better in the sun!

Long story short: Codeworks was an amazing experience and I would definitely recommend it.

I'm pretty sure that if you're reading this, you have doubts about coding bootcamps and/or Codeworks. I was the same. I am a skeptical person. Before attending, I was afraid this would be a scam, even though it had all of these positive reviews. The concept of a coding bootcamp and of changing career in so little time felt alien. Attending would involve leaving my job, spending a lot of money and moving to another country. And while I knew I liked coding, I wasn't sure I'd like web development.

I went through the application process anyway, which I thought at first was quite easy. I visited the Codeworks campus while on vacation and I felt it was worth going ahead. So I got accepted in the program, contracted the necessary loan, and moved to Barcelona to do it.

Now I couldn't be happier with my decision to attend. It was an incredible experience. It lasts only three months but the personal growth makes it feel like it lasted much longer. The course ended three weeks ago and I already have an interesting job (which I can start as soon as I have the paperwork done).

Overall it was a lot of fun, it is pretty amazing what they create there in only three months! I think that Codeworks is one of the (or simple the) best coding bootcamp in Europe (can't be sure about other parts of the world as I didn't research it). Here are the reasons that prompt me to think so:

0. It is by far the most intensive. So you can immerse yourself in learning and concentrate in only doing that. This is something that was important to me and I feel it lived up to my expectations.
1. It doesn't teach you just one stack, so you get the full picture of how things are working and you're not stuck in only one way of doing things.
2. It makes you work on three projects that you choose. This is one thing that I was looking for: not just working on making a random clone of Airbnb or something else but actually working on stuff that I found really interesting and challenging. There is a lot of diversity in the projects and I think that's one of the strongest point of the course. It is also extremely helpful while looking for a job. The employers almost all went through my Github profiles and talked about my projects during interviews. (Check out my project Scenic Routes at scenicroutes.io)
3. The teachers are incredible. They knew their stuff (and somehow when Arol explains something it just sticks). The course is also well structured and you continuously built on top of what you already learned. It's also constantly improved and updated with new technologies. Best practices are taught and that's a really important thing too. I also liked that it was mainly taught by doing/example. It makes you learn things fast and build a good foundation to learn more theory after the course ends.
4. The students are incredible. They say it's because it is highly selective with around 2% acceptance rate and I tend to agree.
5. The environment is incredible. Like, the space is perfect for doing something like this. There is a huge terrace to relax. Everything you need is on campus (including oranges to press your own orange juice!)
6. The staff is incredible. Everyone was very welcoming and competent and they all obviously enjoy what they do. The staff is dedicated and every day-to-day problem is dealt with quickly so you don't have to worry about it.
7. It is a small structure and that's good because that's where the strongest connections are made.
8. The network you gain is also valuable. I think there are a bit over 100 alumni now and all of those I talked to were more than happy to give advice and recommendations.
9. The support in the job search was really good too (see some more on that below).

Now, just a couple of points that may be important for future students:

Pre-course
The pre-course is important: don't skip it and do it seriously. It provides you with the basis for understanding everything that follows. There is a noticeable difference of skill achieved between the people who did and those who didn't.

Commitment
Another thing I'd like to stress: while CW provide you with an amazing learning environment, it can't do the learning for you. How much you will get out of the course is directly proportional to your commitment to it. Whatever my classmates starting level was, the ones who improved most were consistently those who worked hard and put the hours in.

Job guarantee
There is no job guarantee per se, and I remember thinking that was a bad point before attending. However now it feels superfluous as graduates definitely have the capacity of finding a (coding) job.
I applied to three companies, which were presented to me by Codeworks on the last week of the course. I received two offers, refused one because I didn't liked the company and accepted the other (after they raised their offer to a very fair starting salary for the city). As for the last company, I think we both understood that the role proposed wasn't what I was looking and that I wouldn't be the right fit. So no regrets here.
I also received good support while job hunting. There is a dedicated CW employee for job placement who was available even after hours if the situation required it and gave me great advice (cheers Marc!)

10/10 would attend again.
If needed you can reach out to me on LinkedIn.

I've recently finished Codeworks - it was a great experience and one of the best decisions in my life.

I learnt a lot about web development, had hands on experience  developing apps and just had so much fun.

The program is very intense, but it's very well structured so you don't get too overwhelmed. They teach you good practices, put focus on clean code and knowledge of basics.

All the staff are incredible: nice, helpful. Teachers are very knowledgable and are always happy to guide you. And then you also meet incredible people as your classmates and have great time together.

I got out of Codeworks much more than I expected. Attention to detail is impressive: they thought about everything and constantly strive to get even better.

What impressed me as well is the assistance in getting a job: they share they extensive experience and really prepare you for everything that might come up in the application/hiring process.

I loved the 3 months I spent at Codeworks and would recommend it as the bootcamp to go to :)

I joined the January batch in 2018 and immediately realized that it was going to be such an AMAZING experience. This by far the best bootcamp in Europe.

Here my considerations:
- ENVIRONMENT: there are two big areas inside and a kitchen. Outside a wide garden shared with other companies where you can relax and meet other people.
- THE PROGRAM: it keeps the pace going in depth into the last technologies. People claim the course takes place from 9am to 9pm. Actually it's not true, because sometime you will leave at 10pm and later! And you know what? When you go back home you don't wanna falling asleep, you can't wait to keep studying! I didn't think I could put such a huge amount of information in my mind in a short time and in a constructive way.
- INSTRUCTORS/STAFF: strongly qualified, they definitely know what they are doing. They will take you out of your comfort zone, you will suffer for it and won't totally understand the huge benefits until you complete the course. I'd like give you a piece of advice: completely trust them!
- CLASSMATES: their website announce the acceptance is highly selective. I thought: "it's just marketing". I admit I was definitely wrong. I met brilliant minds coming from Europe, USA, Brazil, Thailand, anyone with their own background, often significantly different from each other. That's why the environment is incredibly lively, challenging, inspirational, exciting, so much I had to learn how to manage my adrenaline during the first weeks. It was such a nice feeling, but.....I couldn't sleep! :)
It was hard to say goodbye to each one as the relationship has grown to more than classmates, especially with someone of them. We preferred to say "see you later"!
- JOB: you will implement three projects even useful to improve your CV. During the last week you will be prepared for the hiring day getting important tips about how to manage your job hunting after CW. Once you leave Codeworks you won't be alone: you will join the Codeworks X slack community with a job-hunting channel, then you keep in touch with a person from their staff until you will find a job. 100% of Codeworks alumni found a job: again, it's not marketing, it's true!

Personally I even found Codeworks really useful for improving my English (I came from good B2/poor C1 level), as everybody speaks very good and fluently.
Lastly I would like to address over 30 people scared about applying Codeworks because of their age: I'm 44 and have a family, for sure companies don't select employees by age......be confident, your effort will definitely pay off and change your life.....at least......it literally changed mine for sure! Good luck!

After only three months (4 if you count the precourse (which is very well done and didactic)) I feel very prepared to start work as a web developer. The course covers many of the theory one might learn in a CS curriculum and offers exposure to modern JS  frameworks and tools like React/Redux, Angular, Node, Express, Koa, Mongo, Mongoose, Monk, SQL, Webpack, and Git. There are others but these were the main ones. There was a surprisingly thorough emphasis on common (not exclusive to JS) programing patterns and idioms, which I appreciated. The course is lead by the two founders Arol and Alex who are both great people and good, knowledgeable instructors. While working on assignments and projects there were two to three former teaching assistants who were all former students. The TA's were generally very helpful as well.

The downsides for me were just that there were not more complete code reviews throughout the course. There were two. However I understand to do that would have required hiring another instructor.

The school is a nice open space with lots of light and super nice terrace for relaxing and having lunch. There was a relaxed, but focused atmosphere and my classmates were all bright people who were as motivated to learn as I was. 

 In summary I will say that I had hoped for an experience like this, but was pleasantly surprised to have found it with Codeworks.

I found out about Codeworks via the relations with my University. Coming here was the best thing I could ever do. I completed my knowledge about coding and now, just after 3 months, I'm able to create Wonderfull projects (some are deployed already!), and I feel ready to hit the job's world. The environment here is amazing, everybody is so motivated that push you so hard. I suggest Codeworks to everybody that really wants to start coding and have a career in this field.

P.S. Barcelona is the right place where to do this.