Coding Dojo

After realizing I wanted to grow my technical knowledge in coding I decided to enroll in Coding Dojo. I have had little experience here and there and wanted to boost my skills to further my passion in to web development. Being at the Dojo for three months taught me a lot about fundamentals and multiple stacks where I feel it would have taken longer had I done it myself with out the resources and support they provide. The instructors have been great motivators and support through my whole process here. And the platform is always improving, providing more detailed instructions and descriptions to follow. Personally, I have had some struggles and there were times where I really wanted to give up, but being able to talk to classmates and teachers really kept me on track. I also really like the fact that the Dojo is open 24 hours allowing me to spend extra time on holidays and weekends. Since there is so much to learn I often found myself spending over 10-12 hours a day including weekends. I really enjoyed the algorithms as well, doing them in the morning provided daily exercises to start your brain up in the morning.

While I was there I learned incredible amounts, had more than enough networking opportunities and was able to land my first dev job after leaving the Dojo at a company that is doing a lot of good for the community. Not only that, but what I learned while at the Dojo transcends the content itself as I learned how to truly learn. My first job is using a framework that I had never heard of before and in a language I had never used. Since I was able to go through the 3 full stacks, I got a big picture view of a typical full stack and was able to apply that to learning the things I needed to. I've had a lot of positive feedback at work with how quickly I'm moving and the quality of my code for a Junior Developer. I feel confident that I got all of the skills I needed at the Dojo.

Other opportunities developed out of my time at the Dojo which have had a positive impact on my development and the community. First Hack Dallas was started as a collaborative effort by 6 other Coding Dojo Alumni and myself as a way to help new developers get more comfortable with the tech scene, have something to add to their portfolio, and as a way to serve a local organization serving the local community. www.firsthackdallas.com

As a former teacher, I didn't have the means to pay for this without a loan.  My investment was well worth it, though and will be paid for within about 6 months of employment. Thanks Coding Dojo Dallas!

In 3 and a half months I learned HTML, CSS, JQuery, BootStrap, Pythong (Flask and Django), Mean stack, and Ruby on Rails.  You not only learn a lot by coding 10-12 hours a day you also learn how to read documentation and use stack overflow to help solve coding problems.  Today I am starting a job an a contractor for Microsoft using the mean stack.  I found a job in less than a month and a half after finishing the program

When I started look at the different boot camps Coding Dojo was the best fit for me. I was looking for the fastest way to pick up new technologies I was not familiar with. And I loved their approach of teaching - "Strength trough strangle" and they bought my attention with doing algorithms every day.

I remember my first day at the Dojo. I was so frustrated, a lot of going on, so much material to learn, new people around, do this and then that and so on. I realize that I have to adopt really fast. And I did.

The things to remember going through the program are have enough of rest, eat on time, do your best to understand the material, look at your classmates code, see different approaches to the problem, work in groups and remember why you are doing this, remember your goals so you can keep going!

I have learned a lot during the last three months. A lot of new technologies, how to use them. But the best things that happened to me during this time is meeting so many great people and getting to know them.

I would totally recommend having this experience to everyone, remember to value people around you, remember why you are doing this and love coding!!!

NO Turning Back!

The healthcare profession has always been my ultimate dream and success means nothing more than landing on a stable job in one of the best hospitals in the country, well paid. However 10 years in this field made me realize that there’s more to success and life than living one’s dream. What compelled me to reinvent my career and venture into the Tech Industry is the thirst for personal growth and professional advancement to meet the growing demands of the constantly changing and advancing times. No doubt technology is taking over the world and to ensure survival and security, one must try to fit into this modernization. Thus, my decision to get into coding!

Being a newbie in the field both entailed courage and determination. It took me so much bravery to risk my stable job for something promising but completely unknown to my intellectual being and skills. I had to be determined to get out of my comfort zone and try something challenging and different. But what made it hard for me to shift career is finding a place where such opportunity is worth taking. I’ve looked into various bootcamps, read good and bad reviews about them, visited their websites but could not see myself into any of them until I came to know about Coding Dojo from a friend. She’s a career shifter like me and seemed to be satisfied, happy and changed with her decision. I was encouraged to try the “3 stack in 14 week immersive onsite program” and experience for myself what my friend had. The negative feedback posted in bootcamp sites didn’t stop me from enrolling as  this is expected in any field, even med schools and hospitals do get bad remarks from their students, patients and clients. Nothing is perfect in this world and it all depends on us as to how we perceive, embrace and deal with imperfections. Oh well, those criticisms somehow made me skeptic and a bit critical on my first day at the Seattle campus. But I was relieved by the warmth of the Instructor who approached me as I was quite timid that time and he helped me set up on the first day. The orientation and first class clearly intimidated me as it gave me the impression that this program is serious and demanding (not that I didn’t anticipate it as my pre-course email already gave me the idea). It requires more than just my time and money but my commitment, diligence, patience, sense of responsibility, discipline and motivation. It seems to me that this bootcamp is a “you get what you put into it” program. I wanted to quit the moment the expectations were set but I gave myself a chance. I thought I need to give my best at least for a week and see where it will take me. I took the initiative to introduce myself better to my Instructors, made friends with my cohort-mates, participated in the activities and acquainted myself with the platform which is equipped with awesome features, very organized and complete with the tools and stacks I need for the class. Of course I exerted effort to understand algo and finish the pre-course track prior to attending so my basic will be strengthened as advised by the Admissions and the staff over the phone who are all very friendly and swift in responding. It sure made it easier for me to cope than coming into class a complete idiot. I survived my first week and so I decided to push through the second… the third, to a  month, then two until I graduated without even realizing how much insight I gained, how my confidence in the stacks I learned was boosted to a 100% and 1, and how my character was modified, my perception cleared - I was a totally different person but a fulfilled, competent and confident programmer! Surely it wasn’t all smooth sailing, I had those times when  I get frustrated with just not getting it but the instructors always have a hand to help and to encourage, there are times when I get depressed because I had to compromise “me” times of rest, leisure and sleep to finish my assignments and to research but after completing the activities, I’ve never felt this much accomplished. And since the tuition is over $12k, I had other expenses and no other source of income other than my savings and a little family help, it was a bit embarrassing for me to have my overdue at the Dojo but they were very considerate that they extended my payment without taking it against me saying that the student’s goals have always been at the top of their interest and they don’t mind bending the rule a little bit just so I won’t get distracted and discouraged by financial incapacity in pursuing my goal. I was moved and energized to keep going, I felt like my goal was a priority to them and they put value in it as much as I do. Some bootcamps just wanted to get paid and the students welfare and concern are irrelevant. Not to mention, even as an Alumni they offer free career services to help me find a job. I am taking advantage of this right now together with my free extended 6 month access to the platform while I’m seeking for a job. The Dojo made me feel that I and my goals are important even when I’m not in the campus anymore; They played a big part in my growth as a person, in my advancement in my new chosen profession and they are taking part in my success (though I feel successful at this point in time).

To my fellow career-shifters who are curious and have been wanting to give coding a try, I highly recommend Coding Dojo - it sure is the place to be! It changed my life and there’s no turning back! Why not see for yourself, (I’m a living proof) it’s worth every penny but please be advised that you have to earn the prize in the end. There’s no easy way and shortcut to success and the greatest success you will ever achieve in your life is the one that you have invested and sacrificed yourself into. Go for and after it!

My experience with Coding Dojo has been a great one! Solid curriculum. Solid platform. More affordable than the other bootcamps out there.

I had a lot of fun doing the HTML,CSS courses and especially jQuery. It was a lot of work but I learned a lot. I learned a lot about web technologies that I never knew about and never had a chance to learn on my own. The environment is casual, comfortable and collaborative, and the Coding Dojo team is always friendly and helpful. I also enjoy the design and layout of the platform that allows me to learn relatively well on my own at my own pace.

Overall, I feel like the experienced I gained were perfectly great. Coding Dojo helped me a lot in enhancing my programming skills. It served as my guiding star in learning different web programming languages. It helped me in pursuing my dream as an aspiring software developer.

It is an amazing opportunity to become part of this amazing and solid bootcamp.

Coding Dojo helped me hone my coding skills to a higher notch. I was a self-taught coder in my earlier years but only learned fundamental HTML, CSS, and a little jQuery. The bootcamp helped me understand the importance of vanilla Javascript as well as using advanced JS plugins that I can utilize in future projects.

Within 14 weeks, I was able to improve from the basics to learning three stacks of software development. This made me confident to find a stable job as a web developer, too.

Would definitely recommend Coding Dojo for entry-level software devs and non-coders alike.

My Coding Dojo experience is very good. The structure and flow of the courses are good, and the learning is accessible even if a student has done very little previous work with web development.

I really like how attentive and helpful both the staff and other peers are. Coding Dojo does a great job of fostering such an environment. Instructors are always available and willing to lend a hand or answer questions. The Instructor's willingness to help is probably my favorite part of the entire program and the resources provided on the learning platform are valuable and very helpful. The same can be said for remote instructors as well. And finally the price is one of the best.

Overall I am very happy with Coding Dojo.

Being stuck on a profession that seems to be a routine is tiring and depressing. It is known that one of the most in-demand job right now is to be a software engineer and that is why I decided to take a risk and apply for a bootcamp accelerator in Coding Dojo. I didn’t have any coding/programming experience but Coding Dojo taught me that anyone can learn how to be a programmer. During the bootcamp, some of my cohort mates were people with programming background and some didn’t have just like me. This motivated me knowing that I wasn’t alone.

All of us were taught equally by the instructors and guided us throughout our bootcamp. The challenge was hard but they equipped us proper motivation and guidance. Their platform is well designed and is easily understandable even for people who are new on programming like me. Being in the environment that Coding Dojo has offered changed a lot in my way of thinking. I became more independent and confident on things that I can do. Being surrounded with people with the same drive and goal helped me to push harder on things that I want in life.

I learned three stacks in 14 weeks and now have a software engineer position in an IT company. The only thing that I regret is that I didn’t take the risk earlier. If only I had known Coding Dojo earlier, my time wouldn’t be wasted on my past job.

I will really recommend Coding Dojo to people who wants to remake their career and have a better profession.

I can't say enough about Coding Dojo bootcamp. The overall experience there was amazing!

Coding Dojo is designed for beginners. In fact, they even strongly believe that anyone can code and be good at coding as long as you have these 3 requirements:

1. time
2. patience
3. and the love and passion to solve complex problems

Except patience, I already have the other two key requirements. But still, I was able to survive, and was able to learn all the concepts and best practices the dojo has to offer.

The instructors are amazing because they are always there to provide hands-on support. I did great with MVC but got really stuck with Ajax, but thanks to hours of pair programming and extended support both from instructors and from the remote Instructors, I was able to push through with the whole LAMP stack course just as scheduled.

The curriculum is very well designed as well because as you learn a new concept, you will then have the chance to understand and experience how these little concepts work and interact with one another through assignments. Almost feels like solving a puzzle where every piece is for every concept learned!

I highly recommend Coding Dojo to students who can commit 80+ hours per week to learn because the bootcamp is going to be intense!

I could not imagine learning technologies in few weeks without Coding Dojo's program. On my previous job, our trainer got frustrated because we were not able to understand MySQL even after weeks of lectures and exercises. With Coding Dojo, I learned it in 2-3 days.

I was envious of those people who could easily learn web programming and could easily understand how a language works. My brain was not wired that way. Coding Dojo taught me how to adjust and learn new languages while helping me believe in my potential.

Things I appreciate about the program and curriculum:

• Platform has continuously been evolving. I appreciate that they are open to feedback and are making the necessary adjustments.
• The curriculum/teaching is adjusting to the level of the students.
• Challenging the students to be self-sufficient while assuring that help will always be available.

My three months at Coding Dojo was so worth it. I was able to learn three stacks! They taught me the fundamentals of coding, the good practices, and advanced concepts that will be helpful in the real world. The assignments and projects we made not only test our ability and understanding of each track but are also helpful when finding a job as they serve as sample works for our portfolio.

I believe Coding Dojo is perfect whether you already have a background in programming or new to it because they teach you the basics first and then guide you as the course progresses to more complex contents/materials.

After taking Coding Dojo bootcamp, I was able to learn other web technologies easily. More than programming, Coding Dojo also taught me how to learn. The bootcamp is not perfect but far better from learning alone and arguably one of the best coding school in the industry. I consider my stay in Coding Dojo as one of the best decisions and adventures of my life (I met new friends too).  

In the Dojo, you reap what you sow. Building solid foundation on the fundamentals has been extremely helpful in learning the advanced topics. The way courses are structured is perfect for beginners, it begins with lessons followed by demos and quizzes, then an activity that will really test your ability with the recently discussed topic.

Instructors are great! There are times that I fall behind the lessons but I was able to catch up by putting more time at night. The instructors and TAs are very helpful as well, but trying to solve the problem on my own first has really helped me a lot in solving the advance assignments. If you are planning to switch career and get into becoming a software engineer or developer, then, you should really consider enrolling to Coding Dojo. If you are teachable and can work under pressure then this is the perfect bootcamp for you.

I can’t imagine how I was able to learn 3 stacks in the span of 3 and a half months. It’s crazy! Coding Dojo onsite program is really worth it. You will get more than what you pay for! I am glad that I did not waste my 4 years in college. With Coding Dojo I was able to change my life in less than 90 days, and here is the catch, there are other Coding Bootcamps out there but you will just learn 1 web stack in 3 months which is not a good investment. I am now employed on a startup and knowing 3 web development stacks is really an advantage. I am now training my co-workers on how to use other web languages. I wrote this review because I am really overwhelmed with the technologies I have learned in a short period of time, it’s crazy!

I enrolled the online course thinking for a new career shift. With great aspirations enrolled for coding dojo online course and paid $1000 as admission fee. One first 2-3 lectures, the instructor was not clear in delivery method, was wandering on topics around and was not designed to consider a first timer to coding like me. Either they should have made the expectations clear that this course is not for beginners or hire some instructors who has either interest or passion for teaching others. i am still following up with admissions team (to which they dont ever respond) for my refund but in vain. This is the worst experience for an online course i had.

Intro: You know, I think I'll start this out with what a lot of people are really concerned about-- employment outcomes. The 92% employment rate I've seen thrown around hasn't been updated in over a year and always struck me as kind of shady, considering their lack of transparency about the data. (They did, however, address that and tell us they were working on collecting data to update it.) Anyway, anecdotally, everyone in my cohort who wasn't still in college and actually put an honest effort into their job search was employed within 3 months of graduating. Some actually started their search while going through the program and had job offers before they'd even graduated. This isn't necessarily representative of the program's success rate as a whole, but I just thought I'd give you some actual real-life outcomes to consider. This includes students who'd struggled and often lagged behind throughout the program, which you're allowed to do because Coding Dojo doesn't kick people out for lagging behind. This was because, what some students lacked in talent, they made up for in sheer effort and determination. To get the most out of this program, you need to be there from sun-up to sun-down. You need to be constantly learning, writing code, practicing algorithms, asking questions, and mentoring others if you can (while still taking occasional breaks to play ping-pong or go out to lunch with you cohortmates/new friends).

Do all that and, for 98% of people, you will get a job. It might be challenging and take a while, and you may have to start out in a less-than-ideal position, but you'll get a job. That's pretty much true of any coding bootcamp out there. So onto my review about this one.

My main review:

Coding Dojo essentially provides a good primer on 3 different stacks. You don't go into the depth you would at a bootcamp that focuses entirely on one stack, but I'd say they succeed in their mission of making you a versatile coder. They show you the common  patterns between different technologies and frameworks, which makes it easier to learn new things down the line.

I call it a "primer" because even more popular bootcamps are criticized for not providing adequate depth for more than a junior-level position. Though CD only spends about a month on each stack, they do still get through a lot. Really, I think one of the main differences in curriculum between CD and other bootcamps is that CD doesn't fit in much time for projects, which is where a lot of the real learning happens. It's one thing to attend lectures and toy with sample code, it's another thing entirely to try to get an entire application up and running by yourself (or with a group).

When I went through the program, each month we spent about the first 3 weeks learning a new stack, which culminated in a "Belt Exam" (to go with the dojo theme) where you were tested on the material you learned via a challenge to build an application with certain features. Those 3 weeks and the subsequent exam seem really challenging when you're going through them, but in retrospect, they really only cover the bare minimum of building an app in that stack. The 4th week, project week, is where you actually go beyond basic things like login/registration and page rendering, and start working on integrating APIs and making an app like you'd see in real life. Luckily, you generally work with a group to do this. Figuring out Git/GitHub is about half the battle, particularly early on.

Personally, my main issue looking back is that, for all that we learned in the bootcamp, I probably (or most definitely) have found the same information in articles, tutorials, books, and (much, much) cheaper online lessons, such as on Udemy or Udacity. Of course, the reason I wanted to go to a bootcamp in the first place was that I had trouble self-teaching and wanted an experience with more guidance (and the credibility from attending some semblance of a school, the value of which might vary between employers). At that, the bootcamp was an excellent experience. It's just sort of rough knowing now that I could have found all the same (or more in-depth) material online for a small fraction of the price, but without the environment, support, and mentorship that comes from attending a bootcamp in person. It's also incredibly more helpful to be surrounded by other students who are struggling with the same things and can help and motivate you.

Case in point, a couple weeks in, we were joined by another student who was in Coding Dojo's "hybrid bootcamp", meaning that he went through part of the program remotely before coming on-site to complete the rest. He'd been at it for I believe 6 weeks already, but when he joined, he was at about the same place in the curriculum that we were. He'd made the same progress in 6 weeks that we'd made in 2.

So basically it's an expensive program, but if you're seeking a classroom environment and instructors/classmates to help motivate you, Coding Dojo is a good place.

I had trouble at coding dojo and struggled a lot, but also learned a lot through the process and would recommend coding dojo to anyone looking to get into the field of web development if they like a challenge, and enjoy working at a computer for most of the day.

Previously I had a college degree in Computer Information Systems, but did not feel like I was prepared for the real world at all. I liked how we had daily algorithms to help us become more critical thinkers, and all the assignments were geared towards becoming self-sufficient and becoming job-ready. I also had a lot of fun at coding dojo even though it was a challenge.

I met a lot of cool people, and the whole process is one I'll never forget. I love how accepting coding dojo is of students and will go out of their way to help you no matter what. It's different than college in that what you put in is what you get out of it. This is true for anything in life, if you are truly passionate enough about what you believe in and want to achieve, you can do anything.

It was a huge challenge but it would've been more a challenge to learn all I did without Coding Dojo's help. Having a fun and considerate cohort made it a lot easier for me. I guess I got lucky with that one. The TA's and instructors also helped a lot in overcoming many of the topics and concepts I used to consider extremely intimidating. Angular was a scary monster lurking in the shadows until the platform exposed angular for the beautiful, majestic framework that it is. There was a lot I had trouble with but I learned the hard way that any concept can be understood if you stick to it and always remind yourself to never, ever, give up. There were many times I wanted to give up. There were many times I got mad. But all the anger in the world can't get me closer to my goals and thanks to Coding Dojo, I learned a lot more than the goals I set out for. I surprised myself with the knowledge I've learned up till now and the amazing part is, Coding Dojo also taught me even after these three months are over, this is only the beginning of the journey.