Covalence

I took the Front End After-Hours class this past fall. I had coded previously while I was in college and had a good basic knowledge, but there were definitely holes in my foundation. I knew that I wanted a career change and looked to Depot/U to gain confidence in my abilities and re-strengthen my foundation. 

I felt that I was able to relearn the basics during the class. I have noticed they have since shortened this class to a single week and would agree with that change. 

My main goal and the main goal of all of the others in my class was to eventually change careers and I did not feel that this class assisted with that. While in the class I applied for jobs, I got an interview for a QA position. I was really excited because the company I was applying for had a clear goal for career development and it was outlined for me from the beginning of my interview process. I also didn't feel that I was ready to begin work as a software developer coming out of the class. Unfortunately, my excitement was diminished when my teacher called QA a "click monkey position." I have since begun work at the company I interviewed with, in the QA position, and every day I have the opportunity to work towards my goal of development. I believe that those going through the class should be encouraged to join the Tech community in the best way that suits them, everybody needs to start somewhere. 

After an interview, I identified a clear void of job interview prep and asked the instructors to assist with this. Unfortunately, nothing came of it and we were unable to work it into the time we had. 

If Covalence decides to run the After Hours course again, I would really encourage them to find somebody able to just teach that class. By the end of our work days, the students were exhausted and we really needed somebody in front of us that was fresh and ready to go. Our teacher worked a full time job and our TA was taking the all day full stack class. Both of them had been working 8+ hours by the time they even got to us. At times this class felt overlooked and I felt that I missed out on some of the opportunities afforded to others despite paying the same amount. 

In the end, I got what I needed to out of the class and was able to translate that into a successful career change. I am very happy with my decision to take the class, but hope they will take this feedback and make positive changes for the future. 

Coding/programming was something that was always intriguing to me. In college, I didn't want to attempt learning how to code due to a little bit of intimidation. It just seemed scary and like something I'd never be able to do. After working in an ad agency for almost a year, I quickly discovered what I was doing was not what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I wanted to learn a skill that made me feel more valuable as an employee.

I began to research programming and found that front-end web development was where I belonged. It was the blend of coding and design that really caught my eye. After a couple months of trying to teach myself through online resources, I decided I needed to take an extra step if I really wanted to learn front-end web development quickly and efficiently. That's where the Depot/U comes in.

I saw a post about the Depot/U on LinkedIn and I knew immediately that the course was my most probable chance at a career change. The Depot/U was close (the only code bootcamp in Alabama) and affordable. After nervously completing the pre-work, I was ecstatic to learn I was accepted.

The 10 weeks spent at the Depot/U were demanding, challenging. and sometimes frustrating. But I never thought to myself "this isn't for me". If it was easy, everyone would do it. I had a strong motivation to learn everything I possibly could. Depot/U had the resources and teachers to provide me with all the knowledge I needed to know to become a front-end web developer. It was a fun and trying experience. The labs and projects they assign you are extemely helpful and rewarding. The instructors are excellent. Not only are they knowledgable developers, they are great overall people.

I was able to land two internships out of the class and I'm very grateful for those opportunities. My second internship lead to a full-time position. All because of the Depot/U. I have loved technology since I was very young, and working with it everyday is pretty much a dream come true. All in all, if you are willing to take the risk and WORK HARD at becoming a developer, the Depot/U is the place for you. Enrolling in the Depot/U was one of the best decisions I've made and I'll never forget the opportunity.

Coming into Depot/U I had no coding experience. I didn't even know what a front or a back end was. Getting started was a struggle. I absolutely love technology and computers, so I thought I would pick everything up super quickly. Some days it seemed like I wouldn't ever get the hang of it. The instructor(s) were extremely helpful and helped me realize that it was going to be that way for a while, and to really learn and understand these new things, I needed to struggle and force myself to learn. That's what the course really offers you that the ads/website don't mention. Not only do you learn all these excellent web skills and technologies, but you learn how to LEARN! Fast! Once I felt like I was getting the hang of things, the rest of the course was a blast. I became more comfortable with my skills on the computer as well as a more social student in the class. I began socializing with the people around me who also just so happened to be experiencing that "Ah ha!" moment, where as before I was too shy to talk to anyone! Throughout the course, there will be multiple companies that come in and talk with the students and explain what they look for when hiring new developers. This was super intimidating for me because they were using technological words that most of us had never heard before. But thanks to Depot/U bringing in those companies, I've had 2 PAID internships straight out of the program. I actually just found out today that I am being hired by the company that gave me my most recent internship! So the opportunities are certainly there. Do your best to take advantage of everything the course has to offer. Finally, a random tip I think anyone looking to take the course should know... Don't be afraid to treat the instructors and staff like your friends. They know a TON! And not only are they extremely nice and helpful with the course work, they are great people to just have a normal conversation with.

I credit Depot/U with exposing me to programming concepts that allowed me to become a software engineer. While the course focused heavily on the front end, we were also exposed to back end and general programming concepts that could be applied across a variety of coding languages and platforms.

The coursework is demanding, especially if you're new to coding; I went in with no experience prior to completing the pre-course work, and the first few weeks in particular were very intense. However, those weeks were essential in my early formation as a coder. Without spending that time in a code-heavy environment with professional developers to assist me, I wouldn't have been prepared for the workplace in nearly as short a time.

Depot/U is an excellent investment for those looking for a career as a developer. Its focus on JavaScript as the primary programming language is apt, as JavaScript is everywhere now, and the focus on front end ensures a shorter amount of time before students are up and coding. The curriculum is still a bit raw--it's barely a year old--but has been refined, and will only get stronger as the program matures.

Also of great benefit to students is exposure to Innovation Depot, Birmingham's startup incubator. Depot/U does a good job of giving students access to several startup CEOs as well as representatives from other companies during the last few weeks of class. These professionals offer different perspectives on life as a developer, and several provide job opportunities.

As with any coding bootcamp, the benefits of Depot/U need to be weighed against the financial cost (reasonable compared to other bootcamps, though you are required to have a Mac), learning style of the potential student, and desire to spend an intensive amount of time immersed in code, both during and after the course. Depot/U teaches the basics of development very well, but the prospective student should also realize that additional time is needed after the course to specialize and master a particular language and platform, though s/he will be well prepared to enter the workplace upon graduation.

My own path through Depot/U was a successful one. This bootcamp gave me the tools to learn a new craft, and helped me discover a career that I love. If you decide to pursue a coding bootcamp, then I would give Depot/U my highest recommendation.

I completed the Front End Development course during Summer 2016.  Everything related to the course was as advertised.  It was a very demanding, fast paced experience that allowed me to build my knowledge base and skillset at a much more accelerated pace, in a much more organized manner, and with a much more sound foundation than I could have pulled off learning on my own.

The instructor was extremely helpful throughout the process and always available to assist whenever needed. At the end of the class, Depot/U invited a number of potential employers to attend our final presentations.  After we presented, I was contacted by one of the CEOs at a software development company who had attended and ended up landing an internship with his company, which was exactly the kind of gig I was looking for when I enrolled in the program.

It took a lot of hard work, but if you are looking to make a change and get your foot in the door in tech, I would fully recommend Depot/U.  If you fully commit to the process and fully immerse yourself in the experience - completing with the required prework, showing up to class each day, staying up late night after night by yourself working on assignments, listening to the instructors and guest lecturers, etc. - the process works.

I graduated with the first class of Depot/U and would highly recommend anyone that is interested in the developer world to give it a try. The agency that I work for found out about Depot/U and realized immediately that it is a great tool to have in any city. I was working in a different department when my agency offered me a chance to take the course and move over to the interactive department. I immediately jumped on the opportunity as I had been practicing front end development on my own for a couple years with no huge improvement. In just 10 weeks, I was able to learn everything I needed to jump directly into the intereactive department and hit the ground running. I recommend doing all the pre-work plus some and you should have a good grasp of the work in class, even though it might take a week or two to click.

I was able to make many connections that help my career progress and I could never say enough about the friends that I have made by taking the course.

I was a student of the first Depot/U developer's boot camp class and highly recommend the course to anyone interested. The instructors were very knowledgeable, approachable, and were always willing to help one-on-one when needed. I learned a lot of new skills at an extremely quick pace during the course. The only warning I would give is about the pace. It is very fast and you might feel lost at first. This is normal. If you are prepared to focus, spend many hours per day coding, and if you enjoy hands-on learning, you will excel in this class. I'd recommend checking out the pre-course work assignments to get a feel for some of the course material.

I consider myself lucky to have participated in the first class for this program. I landed a significantly better job than I previously had, made lots of professional connections, and made lots of great friends that I still keep in touch with.

I'm very happy with what I've gained from the Covalence so far. My hope was to go through a curriculum that would logically guide me through the concepts and skills relevant to building modern end-to-end applications. This curriculum definitely does that. However, as an atomic student, I've missed a lot that would easily come with direct help from instructors. I've supplemented the curriculum at times with paid courses by Mosh Hamedani. Between Covalence and Mosh, I'm well on my way.

The course has given me the confidence to continue teaching myself more technical business analysis concepts, which has helped me land a great job. I'm excited to continue learning about modern web/application development and eventually move into a product management role.

The material in this program is very good. They go over it with an online video everyday during the lecture part of the day and you are given an assignment in the afternoon for a “lab”. That is the basic structure of the class. You are pretty much left to struggle through it unless you ask the TA or instructor for help. Everyone seems to go at a different pace. Some people get it easier than others of course, and once someone gets behind some people seem to stay that way. It is EXTREMELY fast paced. The week before our projects were due, our instructor missed the entire week and no-one knew why. Once he returned he explained why he was out, but also said that the students should not need an instructor this late in the course, that students have to build the app on their own. I disagree with this for the simple fact that students are PAYING for an instructor to be there in person, to a point when you all are coming to the same road block you need someone to guide you in a different direction. I understand to a point that the situation that occurred could not be helped. But there was poor communication all around on the part of the instructor and Covalence regarding this issue. That to me is poor business practice. I would take the course again, I learned a lot and enjoyed the material, but there probably needs to be some kind of policy implemented in case an instructor is going to miss a consecutive amount of time.

I started the course a few weeks ago, and I'm pleasantly surprised. I've been through a bunch of different online options, and I learned some concepts. They were good teachers, but the structure of this online course makes you learn the material at a deeper level. You get labs that you have to complete before moving on, and they aren't guided. You actually create projects locally and push them to GitHub which I like since it builds my portfolio.

Also, the community is great. You are put in a channel with the other classes that are in person as well. There are several hundred people active and the conversations range from coding to cats.

I'm still going through the course, but it is working for me. I am learning at a level I never have before, and I highly recommend it.

I did the Molecular plan so that I get 1:1 support and career services.

The lectures and instructors were great and helpful! There was a clear path of what all we were learning and what was expected of us. It was definitely hard work and extremely confusing at times, but they do that on purpose in order for it to really sink into your mind. One major downside, however, of my particular cohort was the size of the class. With 30 students and only 2 instructors there to help, it sometimes felt like we were all fighting over time with them and I know I definitely missed out on getting help sometimes. Some students had complaints throughout the course, and it really seemed like the Covalence team had a hard time accepting negative feedback. There was even a (very inappropriate) speech from the CEO delivered in front of our friends and family at graduation blaming the students for their problems with the course. 

However, I can't deny that Covalence jump started my career and allowed me to learn more than I could ever imagine in such a short time. I definitely have them to thank for my current and future success. I'd reccomend the course to anyone trying to break into the development field.