Coding Dojo

I enrolled in Coding Dojo after graduating with a Computer Science degree but feelling like I lacked some practical experience. I definitely noticed that in college a lot of the coding was done in a vacuum: the professor would setup a nice space in the code and tell you to fill it in with code relevant to the class curriculum. While the algorithms and fundamentals I picked up are definitely still relevant, coding isn't that clean cut as apply x algorithm we learned in class today, there's always going to be open ended questions on how to solve a particular problem and definitely documentation reading.

Different coding boot camps or schools will promote things like how they're teaching the latest and greatest framework, but it's rarely the important part. The most important thing is that they build students that can problem solve without hand holding and build strong fundamentals; there's always going to be another new shiny framework.

In that sense, I think Coding Dojo did some parts right while I was there: they started each day with algorithms and white boards, first thing in the morning. Not only are these similar to the style of questions you'd get in a job interview, but they sharpen how you think when coding in general, which is what the job interview is trying to assess. Some students started skipping algorithms in the morning, but this is the perfect environment to take advantage of: solving agorithms in groups and being able to see other ways of thinking.

In a sense that choice of skipping or not is the answer to whether your experience at Coding Dojo will be worth it or not. Coding Dojo provides the student with the tools and environment to succeed: Instructors willing to help, peers to bounce ideas off of, and training of fundamentals. It's up to the student to put in the effort to make the experience.

I was in a position that you, the reader, are likely in right now. The details obviously may differ, but a career transition/change is no simple feat. I'll give some short backstory then describe my experience at Coding Dojo. 

I worked as a consultant for the pharmaceutical industry for a year and a half. I couldn't stand that job and my girlfriend was already traveling/living in Australia, so I left to travel/serve tables/volunteer for almost a year and a half. Upon returning, I realized I had not-so-subtly choked my career trajectory within a few inches of its life. I'd had a very brief (one intro course) experience with coding in school (I studied an engineering discipline), and had always known that software development was a great path to pursue. I decided to look into bootcamps. 

For me, the bootcamp I wanted to enroll in needed to meet two criteria. 1: It had to be reputable, and 2: It had to be a short distance from my apartment. Coding Dojo met both, and its approach was interesting–teach three full technology stacks, where most bootcamps teach one. I figured the breadth of knowledge might put me at an advantage over other candidates come the job hunt. I started in March of 2018. 

A bit about my experience: The Coding Dojo curriculum moves extremely quickly. It's not easy. If you take it seriously and put in the work to keep up, you will finish the program surprised with your capabilities. I left the bootcamp feeling two things. 1: Initimidated by the world I had thrown myself into, yet, 2: Strangely confident in my ability to learn. The instructors are helpful without handing you answers, and there's a ping pong table. Pluses all around. 

Two months after finishing the program, I was hired as a software engineer. My company specializes in Internet of Things/Alexa business solutions via the AWS (Amazon Web Services) platform. We also do a good amount of machine learning/edge computing. Day to day, I'm a backend engineer. I use Python and Node (both taught at the Dojo) and discuss high level architecture for projects, which was also stressed during my time at the bootcamp. 

There are definitely many great choices when it comes to bootcamps. In my experience, Coding Dojo is one of them. 

This bootcamp provides you the tools you need to do to develop yourself into a junior level developer.

It is up to you to grab those knowledge and build impressve projects to attract the company HR's attention.

Bootcamp will work for you if you try your best.

If you are looking to do a bootcamp, you are trying to do a career change or further your knowledge in programming in current technology and Coding Dojo will provide you that.

I did an onsite Coding Dojo program about a year ago and got a job offer a week after graduation. It was a very intense three months where I was putting in 14-16 hours of studying 7 days a week. I was able to complete a couple of projects before graduation which made me stand out to employers. 

At Coding Dojo they prepare you to be a self-sufficient developer, so you do not need someone's constant attention (important once you get hired). The material is really curated and encourages students to do the research and find answers to their questions online (which is what you will be mainly doing when have some questions on the job) They go over the best ways to search for answers online and troubleshoot the issues. Coding Dojo also practices the "20-minute rule" where you do your own research for 20 minutes and if can't find an answer, only then ask the instructor for help.

I encourage you to do thorough job market research before going into any coding school to see if the stacks offered at that school align with those in demand in your market. The beauty of Coding Dojo is that they cover three most in-demand stacks, which drastically improves the chances of getting a job. 

Also, when it comes to coding- you must think of it more than just a job, in my opinion, in order to be a successful software developer, coding also has to be your hobby. 

Last but not least, perk of Coding Dojo is that you get the lifetime career services support. So when you are looking to move companies or just need some career advice, Career Services Manager is always there for you.

I would again emphasize the time commitment for the duration of the program. Coding Dojo has all of the necessary tools for you to become a successful full-stack developer, and you are encouraged to use them, BUT if you just expect to put in less than 8-10 hours a day it will be much harder for you to land an offer you will be (or should be) happy with.

Before attending courses with Coding Dojo, I was in office management for 25+ years and the only coding background I had was HTML and CSS. For years, I had been interested in becoming a developer, but didn't know which route to take so I called a friend who manages a software engineering team in San Jose, CA. He gave me the contact info for Coding Dojo and told me he had heard really good reviews about them from his colleagues.   All of the instructors I had were fantastic and the courses were well laid out. The web fundamentals class was a breeze because of my previous knowledge of front end languages, but I really struggled with the back end stuff. I would recommend having some sort of basic foundation/understanding of Python and/or Javascript beforehand. If I had at least that much, I believe the experience would've been less stressful for me.   I am still working in an office managemenet role. However, because of dual knowledge of office management and coding, I was hired by a tech company to work remotely handling all of the back office administration, as well as helping some of the dev work. After my first year, I was offered a position as a full-time developer.   P.S. My company has hired two other Coding Dojo alumni over the past two years ;)

While Coding Dojo doesn’t teach every aspect, it gives you a good solid foundation  in web development AND the ability to be a efficient developer that gives you the ability to learn outside of the platform. Other words more advance depth concepts can be obtain from docs with easy understanding. The technology is always changing so rapidly that it’s a must to learn the foundations and to have the ability to know how to keep up with the changes. So don’t expect to come to the boot camp and complete it and that’s the end of the road for training. You still need to keep learning after you complete the boot camp which gives you the knowledge to do so! The only pitfall I found was there are some technology stacks / topics not really covered. Such as docker. AWS in depth. Firebase. Severless approach, graphql and some others. While the topics aren’t a must. It’s something that you will most likely run into one way or another. 

I joined the dojo at 18 and I went to college for a year... Not for me. I wanted to learn to code for the longest time and I just really didn't know where to start because I didn't have any peers that could tell me where to start. I went to the one in burbank and was early every single day for the first month which is how they spilt up the languages they teach you by months. After a very short first week of front end dev I learned python as my first language with Django. I didn't get to make a project in any stack as the school finds passing your test more important then creating a project yourself. If I could go back I would have not done the test at all and just focused on personal projects during that time. My next 2 language were ruby on rails (ruby) and mean (JavaScript). My experience with ruby was plesent even though I didn't really care for the language and still don't but the teacher was very smart and wrote the online ruby part of the platform which was nice (thank eduardo 🥚). My Mean experience was not good and I would like to give the teacher a little credit he tried but boy is it a lot to learn in 1 month, I believe it was the fault of the curriculum, as M. E. A. N stand for mongo(your nosql database), Express(request handling library) , Angular(A front-end extremely heavy framework) , and Node(JavaScript on the server). I believe one person passed the test for mean out of the 30 in my cohort... Honestly it was disappointing especially since we did algorithms every morning before coding with would be actually really helpful but then you'd have a 10 min break and then go into an hour long lecture. If the lecture was first and then algorithms back to back so people would have more time to code I think that would be better. But back to mean, after I left the dojo with my strength in python I felt like I had to learn JavaScript so I decided to learn react which would have been 10000% easier to learn if they taught it at the dojo instead of angular. But I had to learn react on my own. You won't get to learn Java or any language unless the teachers currently working there teach it. I still haven't gotten a job yet after a year but that's because I want one in js react or python. The best thing that you will learn from the dojo is how to be self motivated and sufficient. The most important thing to me was the exposure to this world that I had always wanted to dive into but never had the know how where to start. I don't know how some of the people around me made it as long as they did, some of them were over 30 and had like families because if you want to learn and get your work don't I was there from 7am to 8pm or later every day.

I worked in the architecture field for 3 years before realizing it was not for me. After doing some research online about the different programs in my area, I ultimately decided on Coding Dojo due to the distance to my home and the variance of languages provided. 

I got what I put into the program. You must be willing to put in extra hours and time on top of the curriculum. Learning 3 different languages is very good to have a wide variety of skillsets, but that also means that you may not have the depth that single language bootcamp grads will have. Putting in extra work after hours and learning the language you want to focus in deeper was something that is absolutely needed to get a job in this field. The instructors were very helpful in these steps and helped explain concepts and was always ready to help research questions with you. 

I started a backend engineer job working in Node.js about a month and half ago and its a great start as I have joined a supportive team.

I came from an administrative background, ready for a change.  I wasn't feeling challenged and knew that entering the technology industry was going to set me up for a good career path, since technology is only continuing to grow!

What I learned at Coding Dojo was, first and foremost, I am capable of accomplishing even more than I expected. I think a huge part of the decision needs to come from an understanding of yourself. I know that I am the type of person who can read and learn, while taking extensive notes, but I also need to be able to talk through some problems with other people. Often, I understand the concept, but need to process how I understand it, only to find maybe I have a small disconnect or lack of knowledge about syntax or something. All that to say that this was the basis of my decision to participate in the immersive program vs. the self-paced online program. 

I also really enjoyed the variety that Coding Dojo offered. Several bootcamps only learn one stack or one side of development, and I wanted to learn the bigger picture. While I don't believe that we were able to go as deep into some of the concepts, such as scalability and how that relates to enterprise-size applications we would work with at a company, I do believe that I had a very valuable experience that set me up to be able to take on new roles and succeed. They talk about this day one, and I would encourage anyone to take it to heart. Don't be afraid to ask questions. You are only hurting yourself if you decide to be prideful and 'tough it out'. Also, in the real world, time means money and if you're wasting time on something that could easily be resolved by pair-programming or asking a peer, then you're simply being selfish.

Now, I work for a large oil & gas company who also has divisions in minerals globally. They are undergoing a digitial transformation, so my role was created as a hybrid to not only be involved in writing code for applications, but really help to bring the Agile and Scrum mindsets to the organization and help manage how that affects and enhances Operations overall. It's been challenging and there is a LOT to learn, but as someone who wanted to have a versatile role, I am happy. It all started with overcoming the fear of failure and taking the risk to do the bootcamp in the first place.

I recently completed the online program through Coding Dojo. Prior to that, I was 3 years out of college, working as a Construction Manager in the DC Metro area. I enrolled in the program because I wanted to find a more flexible job and also I believed coding would be a more fulfilling career for me. I couldn't afford going back to college full time and wanted to make a career transition as soon as possible, so I decided an online bootcamp would be the best fit for me. I selected Coding Dojo over other options because of their presence in the DC area and name recognition with tech companies here. I also thought the course material was up-to-date and the cost was much more affordable than other programs.  

The first 3 months of Coding Dojo's online program, I kept my full time job. I worked during the day and learned to code by nights and weekends. It was extremely difficult! You must be ready to dedicate a LOT of time to learning and mastering these subjects. For the second half of the online program, I quit my job to be able to spend more time on the program. After completing the program, it took me 3 months and applying to nearly 100 jobs, but I finally found my perfect dream job. I'm currently working as a Junior Developer for a government agency. My commute is shorter, my pay is higher, and I also have greater job flexibility. Coding Dojo's career assistance was excellent and I felt incredibly prepared to apply and interview for technical positions.

My biggest advice to anyone considering any coding bootcamp... If you treat the courses and assignments as a hobby, you will not succeed in technical interviews. Bootcamps can not force you to learn the material or force companies to hire their grads. You need to be excited about coding and self-motivated to constantly continue learning. That being said, Coding Dojo's curriculum was excellent and I felt extremely prepared to enter the workforce. 

Before I joined the program, I knew very little about pogramming but I knew the basic of creating static website using HTML, CSS. Then, I learned Coding Dojo provides onsite web programming bootcamp. At the time I joined, Python stack, MEAN stack, and Java Spring stack offered in my area. The program was very intense and comprised only 14 weeks. The students are expected to be all out since day one. I and my fellow cohorts spent 10-12 hours in the class plus extra an hour or two at home to read materials for tomorrow class. Every day we started from 9.00am with whiteboard algorithm challenge. Each students were challenged to solve the algorithm problems. I learned alot at this module, although only 1-2 hour a day. Then before lunch, instructor will give us a guide line for goal of the day including the assignments. We, then; had to complete and submit the assignments by the end of the day. We just followed the guideline provided on the website. All reading materials, video courses and assignments are online. Onsite instructors are very little in helping the students, because the program are designed to push students to be able to solve their own problem with very little help from instructors. Students are encouraged to solve the problems by searching simillar situation on google. It's normal we left the class by 9 pm everyday, sometimes I and my fellow students had to finish the assignments on weekend as well.

The stack courses are the foundation to create web app, so I had to enhance my knowledge by reading more articles on google and wathcing the related lectures on youtube or udemy. The step by step module in learning web framework programming are very clear and very good in adopting MVC practice. Overall experience, I am very satisfied with the program.

 

Long story short, I had almost ZERO background on computer coding. I had no idea on terms used, the way it all worked, how to approach it, and what it would mean for my future if I were to pursue it. I had been recommended to check the school out from a friend of mine who spoke very highly of it. I ended up commiting to the online program, and now, MANY moons later, I am completed with the online courses, and am extremely excited about my future. I learned a lot about myself, the computer coding industry, and how absolutely wonderful the world of computer engineering can be. The options and powers of it are almost limitless, and knowing that I can take what I have learned and apply it to the world we live in in a very healthy and positive manner is all I could ever want AND more. I highly recommend this course to anyone who is new to the field (as I was prior to joining), or to any seasoned engineers who are looking to round themselves out on the other subjects. The instructors were all wonderful and very helpful. The courses made sense and pushed you to challenge yourself. The end result of it was inspirational.

I was a service technician at Fry's Electronics before, newly graduated CS/IT student from the Philippines.

I decided to go to Coding Dojo because a job hunt for a software developer here in the Bay Area is hard and I hardly know the stacks that are popular here, that being said Coding Dojo provided all of this.

I decided to join Coding Dojo because it'll give me good lessons on whats popular here, the algorithms/data structures that weren't thought where I came from and the good discipline to be a successful software dev.

I got out all the basics I need in the stacks I've chose, and specially improved my algorithms and data structure knowledge to the point that I am confident that I am qualified for a job here at Bay area.

I am now a Software Engineer at Facebook.

I attended the Coding Dojo location in San Jose, CA in late 2016. Before I joined, I was working in biomedical research, but was finding it hard to get a job in my field in the Bay Area. A lot of the jobs I was applying for required programming skills, so I decided to start trying to teach myself. After a few months of Javascript and Python, I was really enjoying learning and decided to take a leap, and enroll in a bootcamp to learn how to code properly and actually build apps.

I looked around at a few different bootcamps in my area, and finally settled on Coding Dojo. It sounded like it had the most varied program, and also taught you important skills like algorithms that some other bootcamps seemed to skip. They also seemed to offer the most value for money, as the fees were slightly lower than some of the other bootcamps (especially ones up in San Francisco), and they offered scholarships that contributed towards the cost of tuition which was a big bonus.

Coding Dojo proved to be an invaluable 4 months of programming tuition for me. I met some great people there; got to work with other junior programmers, gaining experience of working as part of a team; took part in hackathons and learned multiple languages and frameworks, which ultimately sparked my passion for Javascript and front-end development. Even 9am algorithms every morning, which seemed like torture, have helped me a huge amount! Not just in job interviews and phone screens, but also for figuring out how to implement logic in my code.

Not only that, but the staff and TAs there are also super supportive. They're friendly and approachable, and there's always someone around to chat to if you need advice. They always encourage you to think around a problem in different ways, help you to work through your code when you're stuck or debugging, and continue to provide job support and resources well after graduating the bootcamp. 

The only small criticism I have is that (at the time I was there) they didn't teach React as part of the Javascript course, despite its huge popularity right now. However, it was offered as a supplemental course that you could learn in your own time, but maybe teaching it alongside or even instead of Angular would be more useful for people hoping to go into front-end work! The React course that they did provide was useful for me as a starting point to teach myself React though, so definitely don't let that put you off.

I've now been in a programming job at a startup for 18 months, working in React (Javascript) and web design. I know without a doubt that I never would have got here teaching myself, and that Coding Dojo was invaluable in that regard. They figure out different ways to teach you that help to make the lessons stick, and I'm a better programmer now for having attended this bootcamp.

Background in finances and slowly picked up skills and tools in more technical roles. Picked up various skills and interests as I started leveraging scripting languages to process data, visualizing data with reports. After working with financial data exclusively, finally decided to take time off to attend a coding bootcamp to learn the basics of programming and development. Overall, awesome experience learning how a technical person thinks and solve problems in an ever changing technology landscape.

Pros: 
- Friendly staff
- Algorithms every morning, good practice to prepare for technical interviews
- Learning multiple technology stacks (Python, Java, MEAN)

Cons: 
- The "self sufficient developer" aspect of the curriculum can be improved upon
- Lots of "games" based projects

I have to thank Coding Dojo for helping me get to where I am now. I left UCLA with a degree in Psychobiology and uncertainty of where I was going. Eventually I wanted to try programming and found Coding Dojo. I learned so much in my 6 month bootcamp and was able to get a ton of career guidance! I have never received a brush off even after graduating from the program and am proud to say they helped me land my first Software Engineering position with their guidance and patience. I highly recommend this bootcamp!

Coding bootcamps in general are a fantastic opportunity for anyone who wants to learn how to code quickly. But that is exactly what they are, an opportunity. If you decide to invest the money then you must invest the time, the good news is that if you do invest the time, the cost of the bootcamp is very much worth it. Knowing what I know now, I would have paid double what I paid to attend the Dojo. It is normal for bootcamps to tell you that for the duration of the boot camp, usually in the 12-14 week timespan, you need to put your personal life on hold, and after having attended Coding Dojo I can tell you it is a must. I spent over 80 hours a week for 14 weeks and I got a ton out of it. Your success is very much predicated on the idea of 'full immersion'. Just like with learning a foreign language, the best way to do it is to speak only that language for a few months and all of a sudden, after a few months, you will find yourself thinking in that language, saying things and expressing ideas you didn't know you were able to. It is the same with coding. I had zero coding ability before attending the bootcamp, and for the first 10+ weeks I felt like it wasn’t ‘clicking’ and I was worried I had made a huge mistake, but all of sudden everything fell into place. That doesn’t mean that everything became easy, but I was no longer afraid of not getting it, I knew that I had the experience and tools to learn what I needed to learn with or without the help of the Coding Dojo platform.

Much of this can be done at any bootcamp, as long as you put in the effort. But with Coding Dojo there are some key differences that I was not aware of their value until after I completed the course and was working in the industry. Far and away the thing that has helped me the most is learning multiple tech stacks during the 14 weeks. During the course I started to see the value when I was able to compare and contrast between languages, frameworks etc. and it helped to solidify some of the principles and ideas which was great. Where the multiple stacks really helped was in my first job after the bootcamp. Very quickly I was able to take on tasks and learn things for my project because I had experience with it from the Dojo, and I was not intimidated because I knew that everything I had taken on up to that point I had been able to learn and implement. If I had only learned one language or framework at a bootcamp it would have been far more intimidating to me to take on aspects of the project I didn't already have experience with.

I don’t know how common it is for bootcamps to teach algorithms but I know that some do not and at the Dojo we did morning algorithms every day. It was absolutely invaluable for several reasons. For one, it teaches you general concepts that are applicable any time you are writing code and really helps to get you in the mindset for the days learning as well as continually training your brain to think a different way. Secondly, they are done in groups and that is a very under appreciated part of algos and the day to day work; learning to communicate your ideas to others as well as being able to absorb concepts from your peers. There is a stereotype of coders who sit in a dark room and get everything done by themselves… That is not likely to be you or anyone you know because is almost doesn’t exist in a professional setting. Most of my job is communicating whether it’s implementation details, reporting on errors/bugs, stand ups etc.

Another thing that the Dojo does well is to train their instructors the right way. They are there as patient (VERY patient) guides to exposed you to the material through the platform via the algorithm book, and the coding principles and assignments you do every day. Bar none, the absolute most valuable aspect of their instruction is that they allow you to fail. Coding, just like anything else, is learned mostly through failure. Sometimes you will think they are being unhelpful, but when I look back at the times I was struggling and frustrated and they wouldn’t give me more information, it was because they knew I had the pieces to solve the problem and that if I didn’t solve it on my own I wouldn’t grasp the concept. You must remember, the instructors are there for support, not to give you answers. More often than not it is far better for you to work with a peer to solve the problem, both you and your peer will learn more from this method, it oftentimes won’t feel like it in the moment, but I promise it is the best way to learn the material. Lastly, the instructors will try to help you to keep a positive attitude, but at the end of the day it is your responsibility, nothing will be a more help to you than doing whatever you need to do to stay positive especially when you are the most frustrated. Take a nap, drink some coffee, eat a snack, go for a walk… just do whatever you need to do to keep spirits high.

From day one Coding Dojo makes it clear they will not get you a job. That is your responsibility. But the career services team does well with getting you exposure to companies, getting your resume and linkedin looking great, and teaching you how to network effectively. There is a ‘career week’ at the end that is very helpful in getting you into interview mode. Also, your career services advisor is available the entire time you are at the Dojo. It is hard not to focus on the getting a job after, but while you are there you should put your head down and work on only the material and worry about getting a job after.

Lastly, life after the Dojo. Both the career services team and community managers do a great job of putting on events consistently to catch up with other alumni, network with companies and keep in touch with the community. I haven’t been able to attend as many of the events as I would like, but I get to everyone I can. I also went back to talk to the current students as an Alumni, they do this often throughout the course so that you can meet Alumni and hear their story, which is very helpful for seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and keeping your spirits high while you grind through and learn as much as you can.

A quick note to those worried about what language/framework is “best” to learn at a coding boot camp: It. Does. Not. Matter. If you just want to learn to code, attend the Dojo. I learned Python, Javascript and Ruby along with several frameworks. After I left, they replace Ruby with Java which I think was a great move. But what matters is that you learn how to learn, you realize that you can start working with any language or framework very quickly and if you find one you prefer you can do a deep dive and spend years learning the specifics of one tech stack. Coding Dojo will teach you everything you need to know to have to ability to start learning any technology you want to

As a recent college graduate in Mathematics, I knew I wanted a job in tech but didn't have the experience or know how to get a job so I joined Coding Dojo. I feel the curriculum really prepared me for a job as a developer. I was hired by a consulting company after the Bootcamp and during the training, I found that I knew as much if not more than most of the people there with CS degrees. Coding Dojo is a great resource and the best priced compared to other online coding bootcamps. I highly recommend this program for people with a degree that are trying to break into tech

I'm extremely skeptical when I see 5 star reviews. 

That said, I really can't give Coding Dojo anything but a 5 star review. I mean, I went in with no real knowledge of web technologies and came out of it with a job as a developer!

The curriculum (Web Fundamentals -> Python -> MEAN -> Java) was fast paced, but there are copious exercises, explanations, and videos on the online platform to refer to for extra practice or clarification.

That said, if you're onsite, you should really make the most of the amazing instructors there as well. They were always extremely helpful, stayed late, had great insight, and could effectively adjust their explanation styles to meet different students' needs. 

After finishing, Herman (the career advisor) provided a career readiness week which involved resume prep, interview exercises, LinkedIn, and more. Like the other instructors, he was available for further talking as well and had tons of great insight. (Not to mention he constantly handpicks jobs to email students about, sets up company and alumni events, and more.)

With all of that said, here's what you really need to know before starting: 

1. You get out what you put in. It's really that simple. Coding Dojo has tons of tools, but if you don't do anything with them or you do the bare minimum, then you're doing yourself a disservice, really.

2. You don't need any prior coding experience to succeed - it helps, but I know a number of students from my own cohort who didn't know anything about coding and landed developer positions shortly after the bootcamp ended. You may have to put in more effort to achieve the same results as others, but honestly, if you aren't willing to put your all into this, then maybe an intensive bootcamp isn't the best idea anyway.

3. It's an intensive bootcamp. It doesn't beat around the bush and try to make you think otherwise - if you want the best results, you will probably be spending 8-12 hours a day working on code. I (like many others) advise against trying to juggle too many other responsibilities while being at the dojo.

4. Just because you're there all day doesn't mean it has to be a slog. Your classmates are in the same boat as you, and even if you're of different skill levels, you should try to get to know them and be friends. Not only will this help grow your professional connections for once you leave the dojo, but it just makes the whole experience much more pleasant. 

5. Don't slack off during project week. I don't know how many people I saw do this. Don't be one of them. In some ways, coding is closer to painting than it is to math. Here, the instructors teach you different brush strokes and may have you paint a flower as a "belt exam" test. You now know some general techniques of painting, and during the entire week they give you to work on a personal project, you should try and see how you can apply these techniques. Maybe create a full garden of different flowers, or try and paint something entirely different! It's up to you, but just do something. I'd argue that applying your knowledge during project weeks is the most important part. 

 

So... should you choose Coding Dojo? 

If you don't have the time or can't make the commitment, then I would say no, no you should not. You will have a miserable time and won't learn much. 

BUT!

If you have the time to fully devote yourself to a coding bootcamp and want to learn real, practical skills and create actual projects, then yes, yes you should. If you have the drive, you'll get so much out of Coding Dojo.

 

The teachers are extremely knowledgeable and helpful, and I was impressed with the curriculum. Being able to completely focus on learning to code and not have my time divided with work and different classes was a game changer for me. I felt so productive at the dojo and it was amazing to have the help of my cohort when I got stuck. The 12 hours a day I spent there flew by because I was enjoying what I did so much. It’s a lot of work, but extremely rewarding if you’re able to put in the hours needed. I had taken a few classes previously, and that helped not feel as overwhelmed. I recommend doing as much coding and learning before you arrive as possible so it’s not as overwhelming and so you can better know if coding is for you. However, don’t put a boot camp off too long if you know it’s the right path for you because you can’t find the time to code and learn, which is what I did. Best decision I’ve ever made was to go to Coding Dojo.

I am a Coding Dojo student graduate. I am orginally from New Orleans, Louisiana. I am also an Army Verteran with 13 almost 14 years of service time.

I loved my experience at Coding Dojo being very green to coding. The atmosphere was awesome the instructors were awesome. I can genuinely say it was the best course or school I have been to. The conetent was great.I truly reccomend Coding Dojo for anyone wanting to improve of leran from the begining. 

 

 

I worked in marketing for almost seven years before I attended Coding Dojo, and, having recently graduated, I am excited for my future. Looking back to before I started the bootcamp, I can't believe how much I have learned in such a short period of time. I now have the skills to build a website with amazing functionality, unlike anything I was ever able to do before. The language stacks I've learned include Java/Spring, Python and MEAN (although I would have liked to learn React instead of Angular).

It's only been a couple of weeks since I graduated, and I'm keeping my head up about job prospects. I'm attending a lot of networking events and working my contacts to try to find quality jobs to apply to (instead of apllying to job boards in mass quantity).

Before I get into the review, I think it’s important that I state I had no prior programming experience before coming to Coding Dojo. I had a background in education and taught in the public-school system for 7 years before deciding to make the career switch.

I had a really good experience at Coding Dojo. It is true, you really do get what you put into it. They offer three full stacks and I feel like they really deliver on their end to teach you those technologies and provided resources but that’s only half of the equation.

So much of a person’s success is dependent on how willing they are to push themselves, make mistakes, and become comfortable with being uncomfortable. Making mistakes is HUGE, btw. If you come in with that mindset, there is no limit to what you can learn here at the Dojo and also life after graduating.

Back to the review! A typical day in the life of a boot camp student at Coding Dojo looks like this:

• 7:30-8:00am - Review assignments from yesterday and read up on today’s assignments.
• 9:00am – Algorithms/whiteboarding
• 10:00am – Group discussion over algo solutions
• 10:30am – Morning lecture followed by time to work on assignments
• 12:00pm – Lunch followed by more time to work on assignments
• 2:30pm – Afternoon lecture/Demonstration (Great chance to ask questions from the morning)
• 5:00pm – Technically the “end” of the day but most stay until 7:00 or 8:00pm to work together on assignments/projects.

There would be some days where the schedule was altered to better fit the needs of the cohort, but this was typically the structure for the day.

The instructors are FANTASTIC and were a huge resource for me while at the Dojo. They were always willing to offer assistance or provide more insight into other programming technologies. On top of that, they are good people that really have a passion for technology and sharing it with others.

The curriculum, the online platform specifically, is good. It’s nowhere near perfect and there were times I felt that new topics could have been introduced in a more logical order, but it does provide a good foundation for you to build from. Fortunately, they are frequently updating it and making changes.

To summarize, I don’t think I would have been able to learn as much as I did on my own in 14 weeks. Having other people to bounce ideas off of and collaborate with has proven invaluable and I feel has really set me up to be successful in my new profession.

 

 

 

 

The Coding Dojo is a bootcamp that truly believes in making a positive impact in the lives of its students. Coding Dojo is one of the few boot camps that have decided to teach its on-site students three full stacks. While some people may believe that this causes a too broad overview and does not have enough content have not gone trhough the program. During my time there I learned all that I could about the three stacks and have a deep understanding and can appreciate the subtle differences between the stacks. Each of the stacks that are covered have well over 40 individual assignments to be completed and then at the end of three weeks you have an exam that cover all of the information that you have learned. That final week of each stack is devoted to students creating a project in that stack that they just learned. This is done so that students can walk out of the course not only with knowledge but also three projects that the can then showcase to potential employers. Before coming to the Dojo I went through a university program and got a BS in computer science but was left with a feeling of what next because they only covered the basics and did not go far enough to make their students employable. Coding Dojo is very much different in that respect in that you can walk out of the program and be market ready. I will not lie its a difficult program from the time commitment to the concepts but if you put the effort forward you will great benefits from the program.

One of the most important aspects of a good bootcamp is to have quality teachers. I can honestly say that Coding Dojo has some of the best teachers that I have come across in a long time. Not only are they knowledgable in the different stacks but they actually care and want to see each of the students succeed. Its this caring attitude and commitment to the students that really put them above many others. Another "teacher" of sorts is the career services individual for the boot camp. Her job is to make sure that each student after they have completed the stacks is them ready and prepared to take their new skills to market. She makes sure that students understand and can produce resumes, cover letters, introduction letters, negotiation tactics, a stellar linkedin and other such important things. This was one of the first times that I have gone through something like this and it really does put your mind at ease and give you a direction that you need to follow in order to land that first job.

I really can not say enough good things about the program and I look forward to poutting my new skills to work doing something that I love.

To start, I will say that no matter which coding bootcamp you take, it will not be easy finding a job (unless the boot camp offers placement post grad). When I was looking at coding boot camps, it seemed like it would be "easier" to get a job because you will have a lot more projects than a regular grad student. This is not true. Yes, it will be nice to have projects but that does not give you an upper hand. However, even though it will be difficult and a struggle, it is not impossible. Additionally, for your first job, it will most likely not be the high salary job you're expecting, unless you have prior experience. In search for my first job I applied to everything including non paying internships just so I can get the experience. 

What makes Coding Dojo different from other places is that they teach 3 full stacks where most boot camps only teach JavaScript. This can either work in your favor or against you. In my opinion, I would look at the languages all boot camps offer, research the kind of jobs you want and then choose what is the best option for you. During the boot camp, I would feel like I'm at a good place with one stack but then the other stack would start and I would be back in the beginning. Because you're doing the same type of applications in each stack, it gets very easy to feel unmotivated by the last stack. I personally was VERY burnt out by the end of my third stack. If I were to do it over, I still don't know if I would choose to learn 3 stacks (a little of each) or go to a boot camp that teaches one stack (possibly learn a lot about the one).

The curriculum in general is decent, there are endless things to know about developing but they do a pretty good job of covering enough that you will at least be familiar with most basic topics. If you really work hard and stay focused, you will learn a lot by the end of the boot camp. You will be able to create things you never knew you could and it will feel great. One suggestion I would make is to really pay attention to how and why things work. I focused so much on making things work that I wasn't very good at explaining it at the end. 

As far as the job assistance goes, I don't have the best experience because when I started the person in that role quit and I didn't get the full benefit of what they could offer. Someone started right after I finished just in time for my career services week and was it was helpful, but there is only one person for many students, so its still not as involved as you may want. Their career service is good for advice on your resume, salary negotiation, and general advice for looking for a job. Just like anything else, you get more use out of it if you continue to reach out and keep in touch. 

Another good thing about Coding Dojo is that they continue to support you as much as possible after you're done. If you need help and they have some free time, the instructors seem to be very open to helping you. I personally have received help from instructors months after I graduated and I really appreciated it. Not sure if other boot camps are like this but its definitely a pro.

Most importantly... do not do this if you're not going to give it 110%. I took a big risk in my life to make this career change and I made sure I didn't slack off. There were a few people who didn't take the extra time to work and study and it showed. A lot of students in my cohort dropped out because they got so behind. Don't waste your time/money if you're not going to give it everything you got.    Additionally - you HAVE to be self-sufficient. A con about Coding Dojo is that they now have large groups for one teacher. It got a little better by the time I was in my third stack but in the beginning it was tough to get help when there were so many students for one instructor. 

Want to be a developer? Want to code? Love learning and challenges?  Not sure about algorithms? What if you have kids, job(s), outside commitments? How do you do a full bootcamp at 70 hours a week in-person?  I don't know!  I do know that Coding Dojo Online Bootcamp has supported this mom, to three young special needs kids, while living abroad, like family, to meet my goals of learning (how to write code, algorithms, Python, MEAN) and I've seen them support and challenge and work with so many other students with a wide background of education.  They all truly believe you can code and YOU can!  YOU will!  All the staff, instructors, career services, fellow students, and teaching assistants are super sharp people with a heart of wanting to see their student be successful. 

Coding Dojo has a FREE platform to do algorithms, critical to development, to support new folks... get passionate, get on and do them before you get into a program (http://algorithm.codingdojo.com/).  When you finish this, sign up for the new FREE algorithms class online (http://www.codingdojo.com/academy/algorithms-i) and meet and learn from teachers and current and past students.  I don't know any other program that offers so much free support. Whatever time and energy you have to pour into learning... it will be matched by other students, teachers, TA's.  

Maybe you're wondering...

• how do I manage my time - I spend every morning and evening online coding or doing algo's... I use the messaging system they have to get questions answered most hours or collorbarate with students and share code and algorithms.
• how much time do I have to put in to be successful? - This will depend on how much "distraction free" time you get.  If I were you, I would get started on algo's ASAP and then ask all the time for help when you get really stuck.  Get ahead by looking at the previous sessions video's to know what you're going to be taught for the upcoming lecture. Doing this allowed me to ask in live lecture about concepts being taught that were unclear to me during the previous sessions recorded lectures.  I also spend a lot of time on algorithms.
• but aren't algorithms optional? NO.  Yes, but no. I used to hate algorithms and fear them but no more. Dive in and you'll be met with really passionate teachers and TAs who will help you master these and rock your interviews!
• Career Services has options for folks in the online bootcamps through Zoom and I've gotten to hear from other graduates in industry and do a resume writing workshop.  I have chatted several times with career services, they're great and send out jobs frequently to graduates to consider.
• Not getting the help you need.  Email your teacher or admin and tell them what you need.  I have no doubt you'll be met with compassion and your team will work with you.

If you're deciding on whether or not to attend Coding Dojo, I would ask myself these questions.

How long have you prepared for this?

Will you be able to show up everyday, no exceptions?

Do you have realistic expectations?

 

How long have you prepared for this: If you want to achieve your highest potential for success, do not decide you want to learn how to code, and then sign up for a bootcamp 2-3 weeks later. You need to prepare. You need to utilize as much online learning as you can, until you feel confident enough in your skills. Coding Dojo is an intense program, and falling behind typically leaves you behind the entire course. That's a place you don't want to be. Prepare for atleast 6 months before you sign up, that way when you get there, you can work from ahead and even complete the optional assignments. This will give you the most bang for your buck because already understanding the fundamentals allows you to better comprehend the coursework, as well as learn more advanced topics that other in your cohort won't have time for!

 

Will you be able to show up everyday, no exceptions: If you're unprepared and you miss class you've wasted your money. Even if you limp all the way through the program, you won't have gained enough of an understanding of the material to be competitive in the job market. 

 

Do you have realistic expectations: Bootcamps do a good job at advertising. 14 weeks gets your 70k with a 99% job guarantee, except for that fact that they don't get you a job, lol. You have to do that yourself, and honestly right now bootcamps don't have that great of a reputation in the job market. Put yourself up against graduates with CS Master degrees, and Bachelors degrees which will be most of your competition. Your foundational knowledge that you gained at the bootcamp usually won't match up. I'm not saying don't look for a job, and i'm not saying you can't find one. Some people from my cohort already have jobs and we've been out about 3 weeks. I'm saying your expectations should be to learn, to learn how to keep learning, and to build. And if after all of that a job happens, take it as a bonus. 

 

 

Coding Dojo has been the best decision i've made in life to this point. It's not perfect. There are things that can be a lot better. They need more instructors. Some of the learning platform can be confusing. I wish they taught Java or PHP instead of Ruby. It definitely is a cash grab, but that's not to say that it's not worth it. If you ask yourself those three questions above, and then make the right action according to each one, you'll come out of the Dojo with a good understanding of how to code, some cool projects under your belt, the ability to keep learning(they even open up extra platforms when you graduate), a certification from the state that says you know what you're doing, a guide on how to jump into the job market(career week), and a real sense of accomplishment. I haven't looked for a job but I have already made money working on contracts. It's a skill that you'll start off not having and end up having. Take it serious, and it will benefit you. Highly recommend the Dojo. What up Matt! 

I stepped foot into the Dojo with several years of non-tech working experience, some very basic understanding of HTML/CSS.  I stepped out of the Dojo 14 weeks later with a solid understanding of Python, Ruby on Rails, Python, and much more (frameworks, libraries, servers, working within a terminal, etc),  but most importantly, I left the Dojo with the ability to pick up just about any language or framework tossed at me if given the opportunity.

I can honestly say I would have not been able pick up on the technologies I have mentioned above, within a 14 week span if it was not for Coding Dojo. Period.  With that being said, I will reiterate what some of the folks here have already mentioned...

This is absolutely, 100%, a program that you get out what you put in.  If you want to exit the Dojo with any type of traction in regards to landing a job as a developer within the first few months after graduation, you will have to work hard/long hours, weekends, and whatever else it takes for you to understand the concepts that are being taught.  It will be challenging, you will get frustrated, you will contemplate why you signed up for this; but I can assure you you will meet some like minded folks that will be there right there by your side, you will share aha! moments, you will learn from prior mistakes, you will become better by the day, and ultimately you will become a self sufficient developer.

Along with the above I will leave you with this.  The program is not perfect, nor should anyone expect it to be.  There is always room for improvement, and I have personally witnessed the continuous improvement over the months.  Whether it be additional content on the learning platform, layout of the facility, implementing career service activities throughout the course of your boot camp, etc. This will only get better and I am actually kind of jealous now that I think about it.

I would definitely recommend Coding Dojo.  I am grateful for the program, the instructors, and the cohort members that took the journey alongside me.  

I came into coding dojo with no programming experience. I was a university student who just wanted to learn how to code in python, and I didn't even know if I would like coding. However, Coding Dojo made me fall in love completely with programming and the skills I learned have opened me up to opportunities that most university students are unable to participate in. Coding Dojo is not easy. It will require long days (like 12-16 hour days) and a lot of effort to learn everything. They also intentionally leave some things out of the instruction to force you to learn how to learn on your own (like you will in the real world), they say that they don't just train you to become a programmer, they train you to be self sufficient. So basically, you'll get what you put in. 

The instructors are phenomenal and relatable, probably because some of them are previous students and have been through the rigourous course. While no one is forcing you to come into the dojo, watching my cohort push through tough assignments and working together really motivated me to perform at my best.One of the best features about attending a onsite bootcamp is the help and support you get from your cohort. You push and pull each other all the way through. Which I loved and was used to from my prior military service, it was almost like having a battle buddy. They are basically the only reputable coding school that takes the GI Bill, and they know how to migrate through  VA benefits, which means less stress on you.

 You really get exposed to a good cross section of web development however, I cannot understate the time commitment that is expected. The pace was grueling, but I somehow found myself waking up every morning re-energized and excited to learn new things and interact with my classmates and the instructors who are genuine and actually fun to be around. Soon, I will be graduating and will have learned three full stacks, developed the ability to self-learn new languages, and made life-long friends.

I defenitly would reccomend Coding Dojo to anyone that would like to dive into the programming world, it might be rough getting used to the different learning structure but it is defenitly worth it.

It's difficult to write a review Coding Dojo without also reviewing Coding Bootcamps in general. So I will try include both my "review" of Bootcamps in general and then also my review of Coding Dojo relative to other Bootcamp options.

Bootcamps in general:

One piece of advice I feel morally obligated to include as a warning to anyone looking at Bootcamps: do not assume that once you finish the Bootcamp employers will lining up begging to hire you. In fact, expect the exact opposite. Once you complete the Bootcamp you are going to have to scratch, claw, and fight your way to an entry level position. So as I write this review, I just want anyone considering Coding Dojo or Bootcamps in general to be completely sober and realistic about what this is going to be. Throughout the Bootcamp you are going to work harder then you’ve ever worked before. Your brain is going to absorbing and learning enormous amounts of new information. You will be frustrated at times as you spend long long hours looking in front of a glowing computer screen. Then once you finish you will have at the incredibly sense of accomplishment, but at the same time that sense of accomplishment will be mixed with a feeling of: “oh crap now I actually gotta convince someone to hire me.” And it will be DIFFICULT for every 100 resumes you send out you’ll get like maybe 1 response. My advice is that you are going to have to aim LOW. Junior level, intern, total entry level, hell you might have to consider unpaid internship because I’m telling you it is not easy to get someone to hire you a brand as new Bootcamp grad with no formal professional experience. That first job is going to be HARD to get, but the major value in the first job won’t be the pay it will be experience that your gaining.

Still interested? If so, here’s pros and cons of Coding Dojo specifically:

I think one of the main benefits that Coding Dojo offers is that it is one of the cheaper options out there (no small thing). I know a lot of other Bootcamps that were much more expensive. Other than price, one of the unique things about Coding Dojo is that they take you through 3 stacks. By far, this is one of the most distinctive characteristics of Coding Dojo compared to other Bootcamps. And there are benefits and drawbacks to this. The benefits are that you have a wider range of skills. This makes you eligible for a wider range of jobs. You don’t have to limit your search to purely one stack. The drawback is that while you have a wider range of stacks to draw from you haven’t had as much time in each one. In some ways you might feel like your just starting to get the hang of something (say Angular) and then boom time to move on to the next stack! So your skills will be wider, but that might mean that they’ll be a little more shallow as well. Towards the end you may want to start specializing and focuzing on getting good at that one thig, The other benefit about the Dojo is that they don’t kick you out the door the minute your done. They have solid career services and let you do a Residency program after your done. This can be helpful. Other than that, Dojo is as good as any program it's really about what you put into it. What you put in is what your get out.  

I had a college degree and 2 years of work experience in technical sales before going to Coding Dojo to make a career change. 

I was extremely impressed with Coding Dojo. They had a good online learning suite as well as good instructors. I was also very impressed with my classmates, as they were all dedicated and wanted to work hard and learn. 

Coding Dojo is not easy. It will require long days and a lot of effort to learn everything in so short a time. They also intentionally leave some things out of the instruction to force you to learn how to learn on your own (like you will in the real world). 

You'll get out of it what you put in. There is a career advisor that helps you with your resume, interviewing, etc, but a job isn't going to just land in your lap. There were some companies that came to codign dojo specifically looking for people to hire, but not so many that everyone gets hired by them. I didn't have too hard a time finding interviews since a lot of recruiters reached out to me on linkedin, but I did have to do a lot of work on my own to prepare for interviews and get my resume and linkedin profiles to look good. They are there to help you, but you need to be proactive about it. Overall they did a good job and I did end up with a job that I'm really happy with. I would definitely recommend coding dojo. 

Coding Dojo provides you with the tools to go from 0 to qualified Full Stack Developer; PERIOD. I am not going to bore you with the details as many here have gone into details about their own experience. Yes, I invested 60+ hours per week. Yes, the material was highly challenging. Click here if you want that story. Two important points to highlight that blew me away:

1. At the conclusion of the program, I was able to attend the career readiness week at the DC location, which was within a reasonable drive for me. This comprehensive program prepared me for the rigors of the actual job hunt. It made a huge difference in confidently approaching the job marketplace.
2. When I logged into the platform a few months after completing the program a decent amount of material was completely different. I cannot emphasize how important this is as they are updating the content to ensure bootcampers are learning skills and tools that are being used professionally. Compare that to some CS programs at colleges that haven’t changed their curriculum in more than 5 years and you see why that is a big deal. Many employers are seeing the value and versatility of hiring people that attended a solid coding bootcamp such as Coding Dojo.

Please keep in mind that you will not know everything when you complete the bootcamp AND THAT IS OKAY. Coding Dojo gets you to the front door of the job marketplace and prepares you to be an effective Junior Full Stack Developer. Employers are looking for (and hiring) Coding Dojo graduates. I had my first offer within 3 weeks of completing the bootcamp. My experience is not abnormal for those that put in the work. You 100% get out of it what you put into it. I would recommend investing time learning some programming basics before coming to Coding Dojo. No need to spend thousands of dollars to find out that you hate it. If you truly want to get a solid foundation and start a new career as a full stack developer then invest in yourself and attend Coding Dojo.

Joining Coding Dojo was one of the best decisions of my life. I can't say enough great things about it.

I walked into the onsite boot camp with no more than vague recollections of an "Introduction to Computer Science" course I took in high school over 20 years ago, and I have now been working as a full-stack developer for 6 months...and I LOVE it!

Shameless promotion of my alma mater, aside, here's the stuff you're probably looking for if you're reading these reviews:

Q: Is a boot camp right for you?
A: That really depends on you. I found it extremely helpful to be a semi-structured learning environment that kept me focused on the task at hand. Could I have learned the basics of three stacks on my own? Probably, but it would have taken me a lot longer than 14 weeks.

Q: Here's a question that I get often: Can I get anything out of it if I attend 40 hours a week?
A: My short answer is: probably not. I took it to the extreme and easily spent at least 80+ hours a week there (sometimes 100+) and I loved every minute of it. Remember, (for most of you) you're trying to pick up skills that will launch you into a career as a software developer...in 14 weeks. That's not a lot of time, folks. 3.5 months is over before you know it and, trust me, the more you put into it during your time at the Dojo, the gladder you will be when it comes time to start looking for your first position in your new career.

Q: Which segues nicely into the next question: Does Coding Dojo help you get a job after you graduate?
A: Coding Dojo does have advisors dedicated to helping you launch your new career as a developer. They help you build your resume and online presence, counsel and prepare you mentally for the job search process (Imposter Syndrome can be a big one) and put you in touch with prospective employers. They do so much more than that, and if you're really interested, I recommend getting in touch with your local branch and scheduling a tour. In the end, though, it all comes down to how much work you put into it during the program and how much you work you put into it during the job search. (Seeing a trend yet?)

Q: Okay, I'm sold. I want to join a boot camp, but why should I choose Coding Dojo over the other ones?
A: I can't speak to any of the other boot camps from personal experience, but I visited another boot camp in the area and spoken to some of their graduates and I am rather confident I made the right choice. If you're looking for a practical, hands-on way to learn how to program, I found Coding Dojo to be very effective. It's not a substitute for a Computer Science degree, but in 14 short weeks (and trust me, it's over before you know it), it can be a pathway to get your foot in the door of one of the most exciting and lucrative industries for the foreseeable future. The instructors are knowledgeable, friendly and helpful. The platform is designed to give you lots of hands-on experience, gradually introducing new concepts as you build on your foundations. The course is designed in such a way for you to become a self-reliant developer, able to solve problems on your own, but the instructors are there to provide assistance if you truly get stuck. Finally, I hadn't realized it at the time, but the algorithms that Coding Dojo builds into their morning routine can be a game changer both during and after the course. Not a lot of boot camps focus on them as much which can be a hindrance during the interview process.

Bottomline: If you're willing to put the work into it, Coding Dojo's onsite boot camp is an amazing program that will provide you with the tools you need to create an opportunity for yourself to work in software development. But learning how to program isn't easy and you have to really want it. Or better still, if you're really lucky, love it.

I came into coding dojo with no programming experience. I am a current university student who just wanted to learn how to code in python, and I didn't even know if I would like coding. However, Coding Dojo made me fall in love completely with programming and the skills I learned have opened me up to opportunities that most university students are unable to participate in.

The instructors are phenomenal and the experience is really yours to create. While no one is forcing you to come into the dojo, watching my cohort push through tough assignments and working together really motivated me to perform at my best. The onsite bootcamp is fantastic for getting help and being taught from experienced coders and for using your cohort as a support group.

I came out of coding dojo confident in my coding skills and more marketable when looking for summer internships in a wide variety of industries -- not just tech!

I highly recommend coding dojo to anyone who wants to learn how to code and is hungry for knowledge. The environment and the people make it the incredible program that it is.

Everyone says it and that's because it is so true; you get out of Coding Dojo what you put into it. I began the program with little coding background but decided I wanted to make a major change. I'm use to school coming fairly easily to me but that was not the case at the Dojo. Long hours and hard work are required. Daily algorithms and challenges check for understanding and the pace is very fast. There were several times when I really considered throwing in the towel but fortunately my cohort, instructors, and career advisor were incredibly supportive and convinced me to continue. I learned a ton during my time at the Dojo and got support when I needed it. I received a job offer prior to graduating so I did not have the chance to go through Career Week but have heard it was fantastic from my classmates. The platform did have some areas that needed attention but this is something that was being worked on. If you are serious about wanting to learn computer programming and willing to put in the time, I would definitely recommend Coding Dojo.  

Out of all the bootcamps in the area, I decided to go with Coding Dojo and I definitely made the right desicion. Unlike most, the curriculum trained you on 3 stacks and (if you put in the due dilligence) you come out with a portfolio in hand. The project-oriented coursework helped accelerate my learning and all the instructors were both helpful and know the materials by heart.

If you are looking for a bootcamp with a great value, network, and personnels - Coding Dojo is it.

My stacks(Frameworks): Python(Django/Flask) / MEAN (Angular 2+) / Java (Spring Boot)

To me, the most important thing to know about Coding Dojo, and perhaps any bootcamp or training program out there, is that you're only going to get out as much as you put in. Coding Dojo places a large emphasis on not just training people who can code, but people who can learn to code in any language they desire. They like to say that they don't train just programmers, they train self sufficient programmers. 

A big tennant of the program is the idea of "Strength through struggle" - meaning that often times, if you're stuck on something, they want you to spend 20 minutes trying to find a solution online, then 20 mintues working with your fellow students before going to your instructor. That doesn't mean they won't help, I've seen the instructors sit down for half an hour or more to help solve especially difficult or uncommon problems. They care, and they will help you whenever you need it, but they are also trying to prepare you for the day that you're on your own, a deadline looming, and for some reason your AWS instance keeps coming up 404 when you try to deploy the site you've been developing for the last month. 

They also place a large emphasis on learning the foundations of programming. This is why they take you through three full tech stacks over the course of three months. Not because you can actually become an expert in three stacks in three months, but becauseby learning three stacks from top to bottom in three months, you walk away with an understanding of programming concepts that range from simple conditionals and iteratives, to Object Oriented Programming and Database Management (SQL and NOSQL). 

Additionally, they run you through a 14 week Algorithm program to teach the basics of Computer Science and data structures. This also served as a great time to work with your cohort-mates and build relationships that will last beyond the dojo, when you're all graduated and you find support in the people you went through the program with.

At the end of my program, I participated in the month long residency designed to help make the transition from student to job-hunting developer. It's been great for helping me re-tool my resume, get a sense of what employers look for in cover letters, and how to best take advantage of my personal network, and how to effectively utilize online sites like Linkedin and AngelList. The only drawback was that the career counselor who was there for most of my time, left after the first week of residency to begin her new job. Obviously not ideal, but the majority of my residency was spent finalizing projects and getting them into my portfolio, so aside from the week dedicated to job hunting, I don't know how much of a difference it makes that our career counselor left before it was over.

I want to re-iterate what I said at the beginning, that you will get out of this what you put in. I put in something like 70 hours a week combined between time at the dojo and time coding at home. Most of my weekends were spent coding. I walked away with confidence in my ability to learn any programming language or related skill that will be asked of me in the future, a solid sense of Computer Science fundamentals, and a belief that I can find a successful career in this field.