Codify Academy Reviews
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Anonymous
$5000 for bad resources
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I chose this school because I found it on facebook, attracting me into their "course" the first week it was cool.
After the 2-4 week I noticed I am learning through "codecademy.com" it is a free resource..
Codify Academy is a course where they teach online materials that are from free open sourced.
So what im trying to say is.. whatever you find online that is free... Codify Academy will "teach those free courses to you".
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Kristina Traeger
Codify is all i wanted in a coding camp
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If you're looking for a coding bootcamp where teachers and group projects force you to be present and working for 90+ hours/week and/or if your motivation to learn and grow derives from external pressure then this might not be right experience for you.
Codify is all about what you make it. I personally spent every free minute eating, breathing and sleeping code and i got what i wanted: a job as a software engineer, with no prior coding experience.
The mentors are incredibly nice and cool dudes that really, really care about your future, what your goals are and even help you with extra projects you wanna work on. You're not just another student in a big batch of people with a strict learning agenda. Every week they check in with you 1:1, try new things during class like getting us food and fruits while working and make sure you as a stundent are able to achieve anyting you want.
"The best teachers are those who show you where to look, but don't tell you what to see." —If you have a clear goal, are ready to do whatever it takes and -- most importantly --believe you can do it, then there is no better coding bootcamp than this one. Promise. :)
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DANIEL LOPEZ
Finally
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This review will have three sections: 1) life before codify, 2) life during codify and 3) life after codify
Life Before
I started my educational journey(college) at the University of California at Santa Cruz majoring in Sociology or as I like to call it "wizadry." Late in my program I discovered programming, however I did not know at that time I wanted to pursue this passion as a career until later on. I spent years(approximately 4) trying to learn on my own, spent not wasted, however I found Codify a few months ago and it changed my life.
Life During
Sept. 2015 I quit my job as a Software Salesman and joined Codify Academy and started driving Uber on the side as a part time gig to pay the bills. I have learned more in this stretch of time than any other point in my programming career. Codify taught me two very big lessons:
- always value my work
- where theres a will, theres a way
I don't think I would have the job I do today if it weren't for these guys!
Life After
Mar. 2016 I am gainfully employed at a Software Company called Blue Rocket and am as happy as can be. I am a full stack developer utilizing Nodejs/Angular amongst a plethora of other wonderful tools. Codify Academy is like a gang, you can't quit haha. Its more like a family. I still visit once in a while and come to help a lot of the students out with current projects as well as give them some insight as to what they should expect walking into their first development job. I am planning on co-teaching a little later on to help expose future students to certain frameworks and testing tools.
Love you guys!
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Ben
Good Job Codify
Thanks to Codify Academy, I was able to learn how to code in HTML, CSS and use jQuery. After graduating, they helped me find a job in web development by critiquing and helping to edit my online portfolio, resume and cover letters. The workshops to improve those 3 were very helpful in landing my first job as developer.
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Bernie Martinez
5 STARS ALL THE WAY!!
THESE GUYS ROCK! Matt is a very thorough mentor helped me for any question I had and challenged me as well. He made me see a vision in my career I have never seen before. I am no contracting at Uber and enjoying where I am in my life and career as well. I absolutley reccomend coming here as a student that wants to learn about the software industry.
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Nate Hargitt
Codify Academy rocks
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This course was great. The delivered what they promised and much more. When I started I had been trying to teach my self coding for about 2 months. I learned more in the first week than I did the entire 2 months of trying to teach myself. Now I can make full websites from scratch. In terms of the job search they were super helpful. They consulted me after every interview, phone or in person. They critiqued my resume several times, and helped me find all the best avenues to apply on. I now have an awesome job, and am making a pretty penny too. I would highly recommend it to anyone who wants to learn front end development.
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Anonymous
Did not deliver
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There are a couple issues I have with what they promise, and what they actually deliver.
1. They advertise this bootcamp as a 16 week course. It's actually a 12 week course, and 4 weeks of applying to jobs (basically by yourself).
2. They said they would teach us HTML5, CSS3, Javascript, jQuery, Twitter Bootstrap, AngularJs, AJAX, and API's. They did not cover Angular Js or AJAX. The API's we went over briefly one time, and I have no idea how to use them.
3. They also said they had a pool of recruiters and individual companies they work with to get us hired. This is not true. They didn't have a single recruiter.
I indeed learned a lot, but I feel like I deserve a partial refund. If the course lasted another 4 weeks there would've been enough time to actually learn Angular, AJAX and API's.
With all that said my instructor was really nice, and it is possible to get hired if you have enough self drive.
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Doug DeRienzo
I Landed a Great Job Thanks to this Course
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The class atmosphere is great. They make it fun while challenging you to rapidly advance your skills. What I found especially helpful is they provide in depth insight on how to investigate design or code issues and resolve the problem. With repetition you really understand how to solve challenges more and more on your own. Also I really like how they push you to develop your own online portfolio. Now with my portfolio and skills sharpened I have a great job and I am in high demand with recruiter calling and opportunities coming to me literally everyday. I would not be where I am now without this course and the way they approach learning. Thanks Codify Academy!
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B
It only works if you work
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I've had two interviews so far and a recruiter contacted me to apply for a position... crazy!
Now, keep in mind I do not have a background in tech whatsoever. I wasn't even that great at Excel. This course will not make you love coding or even make you hire-able unless you put in the time and effort... lots of it!
For whatever reason, I keep reading people's complaints that you can learn all this information online... well, yes, you can, kinda like you can learn how to speak French from youtube videos if you try really hard.... I guess. What CA does is give you clear, achievable goals, projects and reading material concentrated in areas you need to learn. Also he helped us navigate through the application process which led me to my first interview. PRO-TIP: Apply alot!
If you do every project, some side projects and are proactive outside class (going to meetups, updating linkedIn, applying alot, meeting with other people, making a twitter, a github a codepen, etc.) kinda like any other developer in SF, then I'm sure you will be satisfied with this course and it should lead to gainful employment.
If you sit back, expect to be spoonfed and do not particularly like coding but are looking for "get-rich-quick" type of environment, then this will sorely disappoint. Good luck!
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Anonymous
Becoming a developer in 16 weeks
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There are a few things I would like to review and talk about regarding this school
First who this is probably best suited for.
I work fulltime and live in the east bay, as interesting as it would be to have done a full time course, I still have car payments and rent. The weekend sessions and open office hours allowed me to mold my school schedule to my work schedule which was exactly what I was looking for.
The age of the students seems to be between mid twenties and mid thirties, as I am 29 I felt much more comfortable with this then with 22 year old prodigies that have no idea what TRL is.
There were one or two students that had a computer background, but most were coming from other fields. (I am/was in marketing)
Our day to day:
When you sign up for the class you are assigned pre-work, about 3-4 hours of work that gets you caught up enough to as my mentor said “hit the ground running” on the first day of class. You get access to the program that lists exactly what you do each week (reading, videos, projects ect) and go to work. Once per week we go into 3 hour sessions where we work together as a group on our projects. In the sessions you have your team, your mentor and 2 other TA’s that have completed the course helping everyone. So In comparison to what I went through in college I feel like this is a huge plus. They have open times during the week where you can come in after work to code as well.
During the week I spent about 90% of my time working from home, but noticed that certain students were pulling ahead of me, There was a study group using their open office hours where you can go in and program with other students after work that I was not aware of. I starting doing that and caught up pretty quickly. You can come in anytime from 10am to 9pm, but I think it worked better when I planned ahead with other students so we could pair code together.
During home study I made use of google hangouts very often with my mentor but that wound down a little with the study group time and as I became more comfortable in my coding skin.
The projects seem gargantuan when you start, I mean the whole coding thing seems like magic before you understand everything. I think my biggest mistake was not taking advantage of the study groups and waiting a bit too long to get ahold of my mentor when I ran into problems.
By the end of week 10 we had enough basics covered where I felt very comfortable actually building projects from scratch and then using git as my repository.
That covered the basic day to day of the first 10 weeks. The last 5 weeks were a little unorthodox but in the end I think what helped me get employed after the class ended.
Starting week 11 the program becomes very open. The two lead mentors sat down with me and we started reviewing the job options I would have depending on what type of programming I decided to go into. This is a fairly broad industry, there are a few blogs you should probably read before hand to get a better handle on what is available, angellist is a good one so you can view jobs and smashing magazine gives a nice overview of new technologies it makes sense to keep up with. I chose to focus on API’s, so we brainstormed projects in Google Calendar and Twilio. In the last 5 weeks there is a shift of focus, I was coming in regularly to study with other students so I chose to use my 3 hours a week in group to work in my interview skills and finish building out my API app.
My interviews were nerve racking, but in the end I was hired fairly quickly after class ended (I did start applying before class was done, which I 100% suggest to everyone). I went on 15 interviews total.
Advice for people thinking about this
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Work on your portfolio, I made the mistake of waiting a bit long and I had to play catch up….they have lots of projects, complete as many as you can.
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Join a study group, I know this sounds basic but it made a huge difference. I joined a women’s study group and am still friends with a few of my cohort.
- I went on a few interviews with companies I did not care about in terms of employment, the practice calmed my nerves before I went on the important ones.
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Current Student in SF, 5 out of 5 so far
Current Student in SF, 5 out of 5 so far
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This will be my first review, followed by my final review after I graduate and hopefully, get hired right away.
I've been in the course for a while now, and have learned so much. The speed is a bit intense, but well worth the effort. I spent some time learning on my own, but I was moving like a snail compared to now.
The personal attention is exactly what I need, hope it keeps up. They told us that the course doesn't end until we're hired, and this has been true for the graduates I met during their weekday hours.
The content so far has been in an order that makes a lot more sense than what I was doing before, so I applaud them for that. Hoping to see more of Matt's videos as the course goes on, I really prefer those over the reading.
I've read a couple of posts that complain all their material is online. Newsflash, this is a web development course. Everything is online. If you don't use all of these free materials that other developers publish, you're not going to be learning from the best. Additionally, these guys don't hide their material, it's all online for anyone to see, even if you're not a student. It's a big part of the web development culture that they've introduced me to. Take advantage of it.
Overall, definitely 5 out of 5.
Keep up the good work gentlemen!
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Paul
Changed My Life
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I finished the course last month, and can't say enough good things about these guys, specifically Matt and Sam. It was a wild ride that has improved my life in so many ways.
I used to work at the Gap making a little over minimum wage. After this course, my salary has tripled. I'm only a month into my job, but the course has already almost paid for itself.
What to expect: you need to put in at least 10-20 hours of work a week on your own. They're there as guides that lead you to the water, you need to drink it yourself.
Tips: Listen to everything tha they say. Those of us who did learned faster and were hired during or immediately after the course. And call your mentor as much as possible. Matt was available almost 24/7, I seriously think he doesn't sleep. But was always professional and answered my questions quickly and thoroughly.
Guys, I just want to say thank you again! I'm telling all of my friends about you constantly, so get ready for a rush of new students :)
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Michael Ibe
Started from the bottom, now I'm here!
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I was in restaurant management and development for the past 8 years. I knew nothing about the tech industry and absolutely ZERO about coding. First time I heard about HTML and CSS was day 1 of the course. Fast forward 7 months later got my first independent contract position (that may lead to full time employee) to help redesign the website for an actual company!
I've read some of the bad reviews on Codify and I can understand why some people are upset. Yes the Craigslist add promised you'd be a developer in 16 weeks and that you'd making 87,000k/year. But if you really thought it was just going to be spoon fed to you, come on now. And to be honest $5000 might be a high investment but I know people that owe 50k in student loans and are still looking to land their first job in their selected field.
Bottom line, the course goes by fast. There's a lot of work every week. You get out what you put in. So study and work hard. And once you feel confident enough in your skills go out and apply. And I don't mean send a couple of resumes with the same cover letter. You have to aggressively push to get that interview.
The best part- mah man Matt. He's more than just a mentor. The course has been over since May and I'm still able to come in and sit in on lessons. Matt has taking time to prep me for interviews, walk me thru scenarios and just gave me that extra reassurance you need sometimes.
I would recommend Codify to anyone that wants to jumpstart their career but is also willing to hustle at it
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Preston Garcia
Screw you service industry Im a developer now!!!!
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The only thing I think I can kick this school over is that my admissions mentor didnt convince me to do this sooner, not that I didnt love serving people food, I mean hey, who cant say being a waiter is a calling.
I found out about this school on facebook, I did shift work so was too broke and had too much of an uneven schedule to go back to a four year school. The thought of part time made alot of sense and front end seemed more suited to a begginer then Java. sam convinced me to do this “two feet first” :) and I took the leap. Do not let part time fool you, this class is a ridiculouse amount of work, you will code your butt off, but after trying and failing at codeschool, team treehouse and codecademy I feel like have someone standing behind me and keeping me honest was what I needed.
You will freak out when your go to your first interviews, call your mentor, they are litterally there for when you freak out, I was on the phone breathing into a paper bag right up the point of my interview. But I got the job!!!!!!!! I can now safely say my destiny is not tied to the phrase “would you like to hear our specials this evening”
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Nicole Lewis
I just got hired!!!
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If you told me 6 months ago that I'd be working in tech, I'd probably laugh. But I just got hired and it's all thanks to Codify Academy!
The mentoring, 1 on 1 time, class lessons, and my classmates we're all wonderful. I wish all schools were like this.
Anyway, I'm working now as front end engineer, and still can't believe it. I've been a temp for a while, and my salary just tripled.
It's true what they say, anyone can do this. Believe me, if I can, then you can too.
I would definitely recommend taking the course, it'll change your life.
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Anonymous
tisk-tisk
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$5,000 for the same exact service I received for less than half that? Now you're just getting greedy guys.
I understand the concept of supply-and-demand but honestly how could the price inflate more than 100% since the time I was there (2015) ?One of two things has happened; either codify has gotten better at teaching and getting jobs for their students or they're getting better at finding gullible idiots to swindle.
If you think u need to pay this ridiculous amount of money to learn only front-end development, you don't!
The good thing about learning how the web works is using the web to learn to do so.
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Anonymous
Lacking in all areas
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The overall experience was good and thats just because it got me aquainted with the tech environment. However, there are more negatives than positives about this course. The instructor is a great guy and easy to talk to. In fact I only give him two stars because he really didn't help me as much as the course had promised (24/7 mentor - one on one).
A regular day on site was as follows: (Once a week for 3 hours)
- Show up to a meeting room with couple other students.
- Instructor would tell us what we we would be working on today with a brief and I mean brief instruction on some of the technologies.
- We would then work on some projects that would remind you codeacademy.com or code.com. Step by step code just like web sites you can use for FREE. Anytime you needed help I was told to just "google it" because thats what most people do in the industry and we have to learn to figure out things on our own. I am okay with that approach here and there but again I can do this at home for FREE. What is the point of the instructor if I cant retrieve the answer on spot super fast? I had many questions that I had to figure out myself. Thats great but I paid for the course to get help fast and to understand the code from someone who works in the industry.
- After 3 hours of working on a project and "googling" class was over. They had another class coming in so it was time to leave. The instructor would then give us something to work on for next class - another project.
- This process would repeat itself for the remiander of the class.
Whats crazy about this cycle is that even if you didn't finish the projects we would move on. You have to remember the class is full of novice programmers and to just move on without completion of projects does not set you up for success.
I forgot to mention that once a week the instructor would set up a 30 minute phone call to see how you were doing. Now, I am assuming this was the one on one they talked about in the description of the course. Every week we had a specific time set up for this and everytime we talked it was just about what we were going to do next week. The 30 minutes should have been a screen sharing time that solved problems pertaining to my project. 30 minutes you can see is not going to be enough time - trust me. Also, most of the time there are people he has to contact in your class right after your phone call so there is no time to go over the 30 minutes.
My problems with the class description posted to craigslist which is as follows: ( which can be seen at this link --> http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/web/5057015085.html )
By learning to code, you could be in-line for an impressive $87,000 per year! Because, in San Francisco, that's just the average entry-level pay for a front-end web developer, and -- thanks to increasing demand -- it's a figure that's rapidly on the rise.
In just sixteen weeks, by embarking on one of Codify Academy's San Francisco bootcamps, you will learn all you need to apply for such a role -- from essential programming skills right through to the ideal interview approach. Before you even complete your training, Codify Academy will introduce you to recruitment agents, kit you out with a cut-thru portfolio, ensure you have relevant references and give you insider tips on how to wow the recruiters.
If you want to succeed, with a super-hot job, you can trust that we're right behind you: our courses are even designed to fit around your commitments, so you can keep your current career whilst you prepare for the big switch.
We're taking new applicants now, so, what are you waiting for?!
To apply, go to codifyacademy dot com and fill out our application.------------------------------------------------
Okay a few things. I have completed the course and still am trying to find a job. Don't get all caught up in making $87,000 a year because for a novice thats not going to happen. From what I've seen for starters its around $50k if your lucky. If you are a code ninja then you could probably see around 60-70k beginning. Not exactly sure where that figure comes from. After completion of the course there was no talk of the "interview approach." I still don't know how to approach an interview in the web design field. Maybe they just forgot to talk about this - I am not sure. Recruitment agents? Still haven't been introduced to any recruitment agents and at this point won't hold my breath. Its better to just find a recruiter online by yourself that will help you land a job. Again, this can be done for FREE.
My biggest problem of all - Code Academy is always assembling new classes. So during your class the instructor instead of focusing on your group is focusing more on recruiting new applicants for the new class that will take place right after your term comes to a close or for the new class that will start literally right after you leave on that specific day. You might be thinking well whats wrong with that? Couple things. First you don't recieve all of the attention that you need because they are to busy setting up interviews for new applicants. The other problem is that once you complete the course you are totally forgotten. With so many people coming through this course so rapidly and only one mentor you could imagine how this could happen. If you keep in contact you will always be told to come and hang out in the building with other people who have completed the course. Couple problems with that - is it the right thing to do to have a bunch of people that really don't know what they are doing showing up in a room together with no mentor or instructor. I could do this in my own home or the local library instead of wasting time and money to travel and park. I love the fact that they give us the option to hang out and code with other people from other classes but to me this is not going to help me achieve my goals.
I believe you can get the same results by watching youtube videos or using the many online tools for FREE.
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Anonymous
Be aware
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Codify Academy is obviously a business; a business that would suffer if it didn't live up to its claims.
Be aware of the fact that most reviews here might be written by the same people who stand to lose if business falls.
For those who have the disposable income to pay for CodifyAcademy, go for it.
For those who are seeking a way out of the hamster-wheel of low-wage jobs, and living paycheck-to-paycheck, go to the library, find some books on programming, or better yet download free ebooks on programming launguages and frameworks, use reference sites (like w3schools.com), API's, codecademy.com, and youtube videos.
I gurantee you, you'll learn the exact same thing, but without having to shell out $5,000.
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Holly
Coding made fun
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Intro to HTML/CSS- With infinite coding training materials online - what value could a course offer? In the case of this course - lots. The human element of an actual person, pushing you through the materials, pausing to ensure you're moving forward with a full understanding, and simply standing as a reminder that coders are first and foremost people - I saw all of this in my course. Sam and his team were professional yet relaxed, and clearly loved what they did. This ensures you will too.
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Maddie
Great for Beginners
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I just took a 5-hour beginners HTML/CSS class and it was fabulous. As a Social Media Manager with a Journalism background, the idea of learning how to code has always scared the sh*t out of me. Until today. The instructors were super friendly and very enthusiastic. The class size was small, ~10 people, and it was a great workspace. HIGHLY RECOMMMEND for all, but especially for anyone not confident or super advanced in their coding skills.
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Gerardo Morillo
Jerry - GOT HIRED!!!
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From the start of 2014, I was still in a confusing path and not knowing which steps to take.I was unsure if, Codify Academy were the right choice or not
But, I am glad I took the leap of faith because Codify Academy's material are powerful knowledge.
Little by little my confidence in learning how to grow was growing.
I originally started with slow and inconssitent freelance jobs that kept me on edge due to the lack of reliable income coming in.
If you are like me and can see great opportunities from a mile a way then you will see how Codify Academy can improve search for a job or even just make some extra money on the side.I would like to give a thanks to the Brody brothers for presenting this opportunity kickstart my career and skyrocket my growth. My man Chris, was not just a mentor,but a true bro.
I felt relaxed and comfortable and appreciate his genuine desire to want more from life as well as share that with those around him.After the program I aggressively applied for jobs. Which I got interviewed and the very following day I heard this "I got some good news for you - YOU GOT THE JOB!!!"
Feeling of rejoyce sprung to my satisfaction.
Thank you Chris and to the CODIFY ACADEMY.Live long and prosper,
Gerardo Morillo
to be continued...
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Anonymous
Review Of Course
Hopefully everything I learned pays off.
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Anonymous
The go-to place for Front-End Development
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Before Codify Academy I had a decent background in front-end development, but I did not feel confident in my skills when looking for a job. I decided to look into coding bootcamps and chose Codify Academy because it was part-time and I thought Matt was a really cool person to talk to during the interview.
For the course itself most of the material you will read can be found online but the assigned projects will test your mastery of the material. If you are struggling with a concept or your project did not turn out the way you wanted it to, Matt is happy to help and take you step-by-step through your dilemma. Eventually you will get to create your own projects and that is when it gets really fun! Every assignment has a purpose to it and each one goes into building your portfolio. By the end of the course you have a solid portfolio and a good grasp of front-end development.
At the end of the course I have an awesome portfolio, a mentor I can always go to, and a group of developers I can call my friends.
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Anonymous
My Codify
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I found codify on the net and instantly got excited. I have a design and old school web background so I saw this as an opportunity to see an update on my skills and get back into the work feild.
so far the class is great. Matt is super nice and egger to help whenever. i like that they give you a structure and get you going but also make you look for answers yourself first. thats exactly how the work environment is. if you dont know something you need to know how and where to look for the answer.
im not done with my classes so i cant attest to the rest of the course or the job placement help but so far i feel they are very helpful and i am confident i will find a job before class is over.
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Efren Barragan
I can keep my full time job and learn how to code!
This program is awesome. The biggest factor in my decision to choose this school was because it is a part time program. It is perfect for those who do not want to quit their current jobs to go into a full time school. Most other schools offer stull stack development courses for more than double the price of this one. This academy will teach you the necessary skills to get your foot in the door.
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Anonymous
Codify is amazing
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I'm a single father working full time and my work hours are 12 to 8pm 5 days a week with 7 out of 14 days with my toddler daughter. I'm in this to provide a better life for my child. I get help when I ask. If I get behind, I get a week off in week five to catch up. That really means a lot to me because it takes adjusting to get a schedule down as a full time employee and half time dad to find the time to get everything done. Best of all, unlike they other boot camps, I'm not being charged two arms and a leg and I'm being educated one day a week with plenty of support for all of my questions. I'm new to all this. Without the Codify Academy option, I'd probably not be able to get trained for a new career while reading water in my old career and fighting to make ends meet. -
Bernie M
Best School to learn Coding for full time employees
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I have a full time job as a support engineer. I had problems looking for schools that would do part time teachings to learn coding. When I came across Codify Academy I was shocked with their criteria and excited to do the part time learning. I applied right away, I never thought it would be this fun with these guys and so supportive. They really opened my mind about the software engineer world. I'm glad I joined and worth every penny. I definetely enjoy coding and going through the courses and feels great to be a developer now. Thanks to Codify Academy. I 5 star rate this school and recommend it to anyone.
Shout out to Matt Brody!!! lol
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Anonymous
Bens review of codify academy
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I had some background experience in am older version of html. The first part of the curriculum was a good refresher as well as learning new things. The way the class was laid out helped me to learn the new parts quickly. Being stuck trying to get into nursing school was a bit of a slump for me but when I had the opportunity to try again I programming it was a very fortunate turn of events that I jumped on. -
Erick Funes
You can't get any better than this
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Codify Academy has been an amazing experience for me. A little about myself when I started the course I was 21 years old working dead end jobs that required little skill. I felt I was doomed to stay at these jobs until I complete my bachelors in business administration which will still take me 5 years from now. I was feeling the need to learn a new skill that will give me a high pay & find somthing that will challenge me instead of repetitivness. My search ended when I ran into Codify.
I came to the SF office where the course was going to be taught to meet the instructor & get a general sense of the course & concepts I would be learning. They asked me if I'm up to the task & put in the time to learn what it takes to be a front end web developer. I said "I was ready to grab the bull by the horns & do this!".
They recommended me to read Head First: HTML & CSS, to get a general sense of what I was going to start learning. I grabbed the book & read it before the course because I believe if your going into a course for a short period to learn something you better give it your ALL. if not you will not recieve the full benefits they have to offer. Make learning these concepts & the curriculum a priority if you want to move ahead if not your just wasting your time. On top of that before signing up make sure coding is somthing you can see yourself doing. Check Khan Academy, Code Academy, & other free online courses to see if coding actually interests you & something you can see yourself doing.
Now I'm so glad I took the course & I'm never looking back. I'm going to graduate in a month & I'm already apply to jobs, receiving interviews, & was offered a job as a mentor here. My eyes have been open to a new world that I would have never imagined being even remotely involved with in this field but now I'm hooked. Trust me you GET what you GIVE & I'm living proof including my classmates who speak of jobs they are working their way into here in SF. My classmates & I come from all kinds of different backgrounds, goals, & places in life. What brought us all together & made us into better selfs was this motivation to learn how to code & make somthing of ourselves. I highly suggest checking them out & just see what happens from there it might just suprise you.
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Anonymous
Personal review.
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Codify academy is a front-end web development bootcamp in lower Manhattan.
Its founders are brothers who come from upstate New York.One of codify academy's selling points was the fact that you'd have a mentor who would be able to guide you throughgout the process. In theory, the mentor was available 24/7 to answer your questions, motivate you, keep you on track. And while I did genuinely enjoy my time there, overall I feel that there was much left to be desired in the actual program.
I'll start with the curriculum. It was, in fact, a bunch of free resources you could easily find on the web. They utilized codecademy.com a lot and sites like egghead.io, JShint.com, web development blogs, etc. Not only that but most research and/or problems were solved by just "googling" it. I could tell they took their time structuring the curriculum, but again, it was all free, just nicely presented. Its structured in a way that requires two hours of hand-coding a day, a feat that may be reasonably accomplished if, you know, you had absolutely nothing else to worry about in your life. Also the curriculum, as plentiful as the resources were, lacked a foundation from which to build further knowledge on. We were expected to dive right in, it was comparable to a "get on the bull and hold tight" scenario.
Now, I'll go over the general atmosphere of the classes. I had already paid the down payment, when the mentor revealed the classes would meet only one day a week. My first reaction was to cringe and think to myself "how are we to learn anything if we only meet once a week?", but coming fresh off a semester of college and remembering that classes only met twice a week, I calmed myself and so gave them the benefit of the doubt, a wait-and-see approach.
Throughout the continuing (two) months of classes I found myself enjoying my time there not because I felt like I was getting anything done but because the location the classes were held in was very modern & hip; beer was on tap, there was a ping-pong table, cool little nick-nacks strewn about the area, tv rooms. When going to class it felt more like I was just hanging out with "bros" rather than attening class. Don't misinterpret the last sentence, we did get work done, but it was often just review of the week's homework puncuated by a lot of digressions, surfing the web to find inspiration, a few "show-and-tells" here and there but nothing like a college class, interesting college class, which I think stems from the mentor's lack of experience.
Which brings me to the mentor. Personally I'd say he is a very pleasant guy to work, even chat with. Extremely patient & consistently helpful, which I consider to be his biggest assets, however his lack of formal training in any sort of education comes off as amateurish and unempathetic. He can only help you if you give him a specific piece of code you don't know, but more often than not just ends up with him typing it himself or "googling". And when I say unempathetic, I don't mean he's an asshole, rather it is just the ignorance that stems from their cultural-background: middle-class, suburban white.
I don't want you to get the wrong idea here. I do not feel in anyway vengeful, or feel swindled, I do regret a little about spending that amount of money, and had I known then what I know now, definately wouldn't have signed up. But, it should be clearly stated (if not on their website then here) that their program is best for people who already know quite a bit of front end development, and have the time and competence to accomplish such an "autonomous" style of learning. Their program is also ideal for those people who are desperate to change their career and make $$$ as soon as possible. I fall into neither. I am at a point in my life where, sure I have debts to pay, but I'm in no rush to pay them hence in no rush to get a job. I also learn by studying, collaboration and debate, things you can't really get in a two-month long, weekly-session program.
The job placement assistance was helpful, but overall fruitless. And after long deliberation realized that front-end web development isn't necessarily a viable career choice for me simply because i find it rather banal & mediocre. Sure, you make websites look nice, develop some neat applications, learn new web technologies, but overall it is just another highly specialized job, with a required skill set, and predictable expectations. I will say this though, this program has made me realize how interested I am in the overall function of the internet, programming, networks and even computer science as an academic subject, but for less self-interested reasons.
Summarily, if you have studied on your own for a bit, and like to keep it that way but also have the chance to work in a busy, hip, communal workspace and have access to beer as well as people who consider themselves entrepeneurs then by all means go for it, and hurry before they raise the price 100% again. But I ahve to say that you can also get the same things for free...jus sayin'.
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Anonymous
Depends on whether or not you get a good instructor!
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Codify Academy is runned by three brothers - really nice guys who are trying to grow their business in the Bay Area. They face stiff competition from many other boot-camps, and in my opinion, they really need to get more experienced instructors to teach their students. There are three instructors who seem to have more experience teaching students - wished I could have switched over to one of their classes instead! Unfortunately, I was stuck with a very inexperienced instructor. He was knowledgeable, but did not know HOW to teach people! My instructor would waste time, "hanging out and shooting the breeze" with other mentors or students....hey, I am not paying for you to "hang out" with your buddies! I complained several times to Codify about the matter before finally did something about it; but the instructor just doesn't have enough experience teaching - most students leave the class confused and frustrated.
Also, I spoke with several Codify alums who are still searching for work after 4-6 months. They basically get a few "power sessions" with Codfiy on how to format their resume or Linkedin accounts, plus some help with interview questions - that's it....nada, you get nothing else. Granted, the job search is primarlily the students responsibility, but don't advertise that you help students get $87,000 a year jobs - that's just false advertising! You are misleading people and really need to STOP fraudualently selling the program as "16-weeks to a new career".
Anyone considering Codify Academy, should re-evaluate if this program is really worth $6K. There are so many boot-camps in the Bay Area to choose from - you can get better value for your money.
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Anonymous
Not a proffesional enviroment
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Be Careful.
You start learning a course from a free online course and they "teach" you based on that. What is the purpose of paying for something that online is free?
My experience:
I started the course without an email specifying what I had to bring. At the first class all students were lost. I even didnt know I had to bring a computer since the pictures online shows that people are working with computers in class so I thought that the class had computer for students. They did not give us online aceess to register in their website until 3 days after. Total fail. Emails from them company are very "cheap" and not professional. The emails dont even have the logo of the company which make it not credible.
There is a catch:
They dont mention this to you... If you cancel even the next day after paying 6K they retain $300 dollars. So if you had to take a loan to pay them, you better be careful. They dont offer you a trial. My understanding was that you had 7 days to have your money back. Well you get you money back less $300 that they basically steal from you so you dont get your money back.
Not professional Company:
There is a lot of lack communication with the recruter and the students. He doesnt answer you and you have to text the mentor to communicate to him because he is not enough professional to even acknoledge your messages.
Note:
You are not important for them. They only want your money. What they "teach" you paying 6K, you can find it in CodeCademy for 20 dollars a month with mentors.
This is my experience. I understand not all people have experienced the same and thats good, but my advise is before you pay them, read all the TERMS in the contract and make sure they explain it to you.
My advise: Just be careful. -
Anonymous
Review
The instructors were nice and easy to work with.
Less expensive than most onsite boot camps in San Francisco.
Good classroom.
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Anonymous
Codify Front End Course
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Pros:
- Codify is run by three brothers who started out as programmers themselves, so they have great hands-on experience.
- Price-point for course is relatively inexpensive compared to other bootcamps- All textbooks are included in the price, as well as your first domain/hosting service for a year (where you will showcase your portfolio of sites/apps you build)
- They hold weekday evening workshops every once in a while and will often provide a meal then, as well as snacks (fresh fruit) during regular weekly meetings
Cons:
- I would really like to give these guys a few more stars but I really can't . To start off, Codify is misleading and tells potential students that they are "ready to be hired" at the end of the 16 weeks. In reality, when applying for positions and talking to people actually working in the industry, they're feedback has often been that there were quite a few things missing in terms of experience and projects to get hired at an entry-level position.- In a class of 10-12 students that graduated in June (6 months later), there is currently 1 person I know of who has gotten a developer job, post-course completion. Many more folks, from my group and others who have actually gone on to take on other types of jobs because they couldn't break into the developer field with their Codify training.
- Codify instructors may know how to code but they DO NOT have a background in teaching or facilitation. There are often gaps in the progress of topics and in their priorities. E.g.: They spend about half of the course on HTML & CSS, a good amount of time on JavaScript and very little time on things like AngularJS or API's, even though knowing and working with these in front-end development are essential for getting jobs in the field.
- They sometimes teach different things to different classes, so you don't know if you're getting everything you need.- They often say "please let me know if you have any questions" but it will often take them a week or longer to answer emails/questions (and some go unanswered all together). I was sometimes "ping-ponged" back and forth between one instructor and another before someone actually answered a question, and at times when they did so, they could be rude and passive-aggressive about it, instead of being encouraging and helping me learn. Not cool.
- When I signed up for the course, I opted to work with one of their suggested partners WeFinance (a startup that does crowd funding campaigns by having the campaign owner ask for loans that will be repaid on an agreed-upon schedule). When I initially got in contact with Codify Academy, I was told the course would last 12 weeks. I signed up with WeFinance and determined a pay-back schedule keeping this in mind, as well as how long they said a student usually takes to get a job (2-6 months).As it turns out, when I thought I was in my last week, the instructor informed me, laughing non-chalantly that there was actually another month left in the course. Of course, this wreaked havoc with my crowd-funding campaign. Did not receive any acknowledgment, apology or help with this, either.
- Their "job prep" is a workshop where students go through a checklist for technical questions and then they mock-interview each other. They also give anecdotes of previous students who have been successful at presenting "value" to companies they want to work for. All things you can learn on your own, online.
Conclusion: I absolutely learned some front end code while at Codify, but that's also because I have had the experience of teaching and facilitating; so I have a pretty good idea of how/where to fill in the gaps of their teaching style for myself.
If you already have some experience with coding and/or you feel very confident about your ability to teach yourself when needed and find a job, you'll be ok with Codify. However, for the majority of folks, especially those with no programming background, it's well-worth it to spend a bit more and get a better education, elsewhere.