Coding Temple

Those are the words that I would use to describe the experience that I had as a Full-time .NET student at Coding Temple. I can't emphasize enough how disappointed I am and was during my time as at this "school". 

The Layout of the School
 I don't really know where to begin with my dissatisfaction with Coding Temple. I will start with the bizarre physical set-up of the school itself: it's very similar to a college frat pad, but within the pad, there are two classrooms, both are poorly insulated from sound, but the .NET classroom is especially so. You can hear literally everything from the surrounding rooms, almost down to a whisper. Outside of the classrooms, there's a living room, with a fooseball table, two couches facing a big screen TV, some video game consoles, a bar-style kitchen, and an area to play darts. While this set-up may be appealing to some people, it wasn't for me, at all. You can hear literally everything that goes on in the living room, from the classroom: you can hear other students cheering as they play fooseball, loudly speaking to each other, and the TV blaring all-day. Since the classroom is also separated by a glass window, without blinds or shades, you can also see everything, too. There were so many daily (hourly, really) instances during the lesson that one of the  students from the adjoining class, came out and made a ridiculous amount of noise. The isntructor, and the Coding Temple staff pay no attention to the fact that people are trying to learn (and mind you, paying quite a bit to do so)in the classroom, literally five feet away from them. Bottom line: if you are easily distracted (or, not even easily... absolutely anyone should expect to be distracted), this set-up will likely cripple your ability to learn.

The Students
I came into the program, with absolutely no experience, but I was clearly in the minority. Almost all of my classmates had some or considerably heavy exposure to computer programming. Because of the speed of the course, the depth of the subject and the careless assumption of the staff, there is essentially no learning curve: you jump right in, with very little introduction, and just do it. The program seems to clearly not be intended for students with no experience, so if you're like me, and come with no experience, you will likely sink very quickly, and have no concept of what you are doing, or how to even begin to get started. What you don't know, you may as well teach yourself, because the level of support provided is completely rushed, unsatisfactory and unuseful. 
The issue was not only felt by me, but by a couple of others who also dropped-out of the cohort. The class started out with eight students, and after a week, there were seven, after two weeks, six, and after the third, five. The rigorous framework is not the issue, it's how it's delivered, and more realistically how absurdly disorganized the lessons are. 

For the students that did have experience, prior to enrolling, they seemed to understand what was going on, or could grasp what was being introduced, but there seemed to be quite a few murmurs about lack of clarity, even from them. 

Staff
The instructor for the course is really quite intelligent, and knows the industry, inside and out. He is patient if you have a *specific* issue, but for me, he was extremely technical in his delivery, often using jargon that I had never heard, with little to no explanation, which is okay for some subjects, but for computer programming, it can be incredibly frustrating to follow or connect the dots when a teacher is unable to convert that jargon into something more user friendly for novices or early learners. Oftentimes, his lectures left a lot to the imagination; there was a lot of skipping around, random, poorly placed visual components, and complete ommission of important topics. 

The speed was, as to be expected for a bootcamp, break-neck. We were expected to "learn" JavaScript in 2.5 days, and by learn... I mean, master. It may work for some people, but those sorts of expectations are completely unreasonable. If you can't keep up, you had better grab an energy drink, and prepare to teach yourself, at home, on your own, using a different resources (not Coding Temple's), to battle through a way to catch-up. Even then, the next day, there's something new, and if you didn't get the prior lesson before the new one, have fun putting the pieces together. The Coding Temple staff won't help you with that, either.

The staff is, for the most part, generally pleasant, but nobody goes out of their way to be especially helpful. The teacher assistant that spent time in my course was an interesting guy: he had no interest in the subject that was being addressed, slept on his laptop during one of the days, and was not actually "present". Aside from him, once class is over, the staff goes into the living room, and hangs out, plays video games or watches TV.  So, if you need something, you have to interrupt whatever is going on, and ask for help... It feels very juvenile, uncomfortable, and unnecessary. 

The Format
The course is 10-weeks long, so there's definitely an element of urgency to mastering the subjects presented to you, in that short amount of time. The pace may be an issue, and could be the reason so much was omitted from the lessons. So, filling those gaps that weren't taught can be an overwhelming challenge. Most of the gaps that need be filled in should be done, outside of class, on your own. Having to fill those gaps, while also catching-up with the pace of the course, is essentially the most frustrating part of the experience. The course does an incredibly poor job covering the basics of really, anything. The instructor speaks to you, as if you already know the jargon (even if you don't), and provides nothing in the way of crash-coursing any concepts. Again, you hit the ground running, and if you want to succeed (and more importantly, get a job), and you're a beginner with no experience, this should serve as a warning to look elsewhere for a more learner-friendly bootcamp. 

The Tuition
The tuition is $10,000 for a full-time course, which is pretty high, but not as high as some other bootcamps. With a price tag that reaches 5-figures, you are making a sizeable investment. With an investment like that, you can only hope for a return. In my case (and possibly your case), this was just wasn't true. You are better off taking your hard-earned money and either investing it into a more reputable, stable and well-established school, or saving it and studying on your own. Coding Temple is nowhere near worth the cost of tuition. The amount of time that you put into self-teaching, while in the course, and the constant head-scratching while listening to the instructor, and of course... the endlessly loud environment, makes your investment worth nothing. Here's what you pay for: a seat in a shabby classroom, lectures that are disorganized and lacking direction or clarity, free granola bars, a place to hang-out, and resources to help you find a job (if you get that far). That's it. It doesn't seem like you are paying for an education,  you are paying for Coding Temple to provide you with networking opportunities. For some people that may be okay, but not for me... Not for $10,000. That's what networking events and LinkedIn are for.

Take Away
Do I regret my decision to enroll at Coding Temple? Absolutely. I can definitively say, this was one of the worst decisions I've made in my life, and I am sorely, financially regretting it. Was it worth it? To me, not at all. I really, truly, learned nothing. The one lesson that can be taken away from my time at Coding Temple is this: if something sounds too good to be true, it most likely is. In the case of Coding Temple, everything sounded great *before* enrolling, and then came crashing down once in the program. 

Bottom line: if you would like to learn how to code, consider applying to a different bootcamp. There are many others in Chicago that are much more respected and esteemed. Coding Temple may work for people who already know how to code, and just want a place to hang out for ten-weeks and then get a job, but if you actually want to learn, and want to see true value in your investment, you may be incredibly disappointed. 

Six Months ago, I found myself on this very site reading about Coding Temple as well as other bootcamps hoping to learn more about this interesting new avenue. I had dabbled in HTML/CSS, but had nearly zero experience when it came to actual programming. I decided I wanted to change that. Before long, I was booking a visit to head down to Coding Temple's office in downtown Chicago to check it out and learn more about the programs available. 

Right around Christmas I made the decision to go for it and signed up for the inaugural Python Full Stack course. It was a scary decision to say the least but I would do it all over again if asked. The Python course was awesome, Joel (the instructor) was knowledgable, kind, and most importantly went to great lengths to make sure all students in the class were able to comprehend the material. 

I can't say enough great things about Joel, Coding Temple, or the Python course itself. Going into my final week, I accepted a job as a Software Developer at a very large IT consulting firm and am also comfortably handling a couple of my own projects thanks to what I learned at Coding Temple. 

In addition, I spent a lot of time talking with Joe (the C#/.NET instructor) and sat in on a class of his as well. He is a veteran of tech through and through yet plenty amicable and comprehensive in his approach in his own right. 

If you're like I was six months ago hoping that this might be something that could change your life for the better, give it a shot. I don't think you'll regret it.

While researching coding bootcamps in Chicago, Coding Temple stood out to me because of the focus on the Microsoft .NET stack, small class sizes, and positive Course Report reviews.  I signed up for the Winter cohort after attending a Meetup, where I was able to connect with several alumni and the course instructor to get my questions answered, and it was one of the best decisions I've ever made.  As someone whose only prior experience with coding was some HTML/CSS and a single Ruby on Rails tutorial, I felt the course was really well-paced and there was a lot of individual assistance throughout.  Joe, the instructor, is incredibly knowledgeable and has a strong professional background that informs the content of the curriculum, ensuring you learn how the theory and technologies are applied in a real-life work environment.  I was very happy with the portfolio of work I put together over the session, and there were several opportunities to present projects to recruiters and practice for technical interviews.  Ripal, the business development manager, was a great resource throughout my job search, and was excellent at connecting us with contacts and positions that suited our interests.  A few weeks after graduating, I received two job offers in the industry, and I'm grateful to everyone at Coding Temple for providing an effective experience in a positive, friendly environment. 

I was part of the full time/full stack .net course. Since the beginning it was a challenging course but the instructors are there to answer any question you may have; the classes are small so you can get the most out of it. The thing that I loved about the course is the hands-on experience, the chance to create your own projects, so you can see what you really know and what you need to study a bit more. It was really well taught; to the point that someone who never had contact with coding could learn and comprehend it. Super friendly environment, the staff are all great people that will help you at any way they can. It was a great experience overall; definitely one the best choice I've made.

I took the Javascript Part-Time course in the fall, and I have to say that it was one of the best decisions. I feel like I learned more real skills that I would use working in the 10 weeks than I did in my 4 years of undergrad. Coding Temple is very focused on hands-on experience which I think was the key in learning so quickly and in-depth. They are also very good about helping find a job after you graduate which I think makes them stand out from other bootcamps. Great school and also great people that run it. 

I found Coding Temple during my search for a career change. Programming is something I have always wanted to do, so I decided to give it a shot. Overall I had a great exerience at the Coding Temple. There is a great environment and the small class size really allows the instructor to be available whenver you need him. Joe was extremely knowledgable and professional. Ripal was very helpful with job placement. Several recruting companies came in to meet the class. I was actually able to find a job the following week of Coding Temple. I would recommend it to anyone looking to get into coding!

I took the full time/full stack .net course which is a 10 week class.  From start to finish I found the course extremely challenging but also rewarding, and importantly each class assignment turns into a project for your portfolio.  Most importantly though not only did I feel ready to take on the technical aspects of a job as a developer, Coding Temple leverages their resources with the tech recruiting community to help find your first position.  I graduated the course on Thursday and reported to my first full time paid developer position on Monday just 4 days later. The skills, portfolio, and recruiting prep you receive at Coding Temple I believe sets them above other competitors.  

Overrral the Coding Temple Bootcamp Experience was great. Joe is a great instructor to have because he helps you a lot during class and after class with your assignments/projects if help is needed. The job help is extraordinary, they get you fitted into the right job field you wish to desire as best as possible. Everything they teach at Coding Temple is in depth. There's alot of group assignments and alot of indivudual asssignments. A very friendly environment and a great place to be, I'm glad I made the decision to apply for Coding Temple and you should apply as well! You wont regret it.

Coding Temple was a truly amazing opportunity. The focus on .Net and the smaller class size really sets it apart. The curriculum is in-depth,  well taught, and really practical. They're also great about connecting their students with recruiters and advocating for them. I booked a coding job less than a day after I finished. Also, they make themselves available to you post graduation as you progress in your career. This can be an invaluable asset if you want to brush up on a technology, prepare for an interview, or are just looking for advice from a senior developer. One of the best choices I've ever made.