Devmountain

Sometimes it is hard to trust reviews, but I came to this site before I went to DevMountain and I honestly think the good reviews about DevMountain on here are true.

I went through the DevMountain web dev program and it was by far the best educational experience I have ever had. Everyone I went through the program with along with all of the instructors and staff members went above and beyond to make the program the best. Highly reccommend it. 

It was a rigorous 12 weeks and took a good deal of preparation leading up to it but overall it was definitely worth it. 

I would suggest counting on putting in a ton of hard work, because you get what you put in. I am now working at an awesome startup company and I owe it all to DevMountain.

DevMountain Dallas really put me in my place because I thought I knew everything there was to know about web development. 1 week into it, little did I know anything about the skills they taught. They definitely humbled me. They gave me skills that I didn’t know about or existed. I have to admit that I’ve code at more DevMountain than my university or learning on my own. They prepare me for the real world experience and the future. I don’t regret anything and feel like a different person than I did 3 months ago. I met a bunch of people that have the same passion as I do. I’ve learn so much from them. One thing I wish I could have done different was take advantage of the free housing. Its easy to wake up and come down stairs to code. Best decision I made for my career. #DM6 Rules!

I graduated from DevMountain and found a web developer job within 3 weeks.

A little background- the last few years I've worked in a few customer service positions, because with a Bachelor's in Communication, what else could I do?  I was naive in college, I thought getting any Bachelor's degree would land me a good paying job eventually- but it took me a few years to realize I wasn't going to make more than 30k a year.

Twenty-sex years old and I still lived with my parents.  I was depressed and I felt trapped.  I wasn't skilled at anything that made me money.  The things I loved were music, writing, vlogging- all fine things for hobbies.  None of that was going to make me money.  

I realized I needed a skill in order to make money, and I got to a point where I didn't care what it was.  I met with several advisors from several different schools regarding a range of potential occupations: radiology, psychology, arboriculture, speech pathology, and so on.  But every single potential occupation was going to take a number of years to complete, and I wasn't sure I wanted to do any of them.

I eventually stumbled onto FreeCodeCamp.com.  I started it a little pessimistically- I was expecting to eventually not enjoy it.  But that moment never happened.  Within a couple of months, I was losing track of time trying to figure out a Javascript algorithm, and then I'd be working on it during my lunch break the next day at work.

I then found out about coding bootcamps, and I chose DevMountain based off a YouTuber's (TheEngineeredTruth) rave reviews of it.  And the whole time, I was looking for a catch.  How could 3 months be long enough? How can 10k cover everything including the housing?  There has to be a catch.

There is none.

The course here is hard. Of course.  But it's also fun for the right people.  Make sure you love doing this.  If you can make it to the Advanced Javascript Algorithms section of FreeCodeCamp.com and you're loving what you're doing- sign up for DevMountain.

If you're hesitant because it's only 3 months, so was I.  If you're hesitant because of it's low cost, so was I.  But does this program work? Refer to the first sentence of this post.

My experience with DevMountain was remarkable. During the application process they were so responsive and answered every one of my questions. Much better than any other Bootcamp I spoke with.

During class I felt like their whole team from instructors, to counselors, to mentors, to interns cared and helped in every aspect. Their job and success staff gave tremendous assistance. I can not thank my mentors and instructors enough.

A bootcamp is no easy task. In fact, it was very difficult but everyone at DevMountain was so reassuring. From the first day of learning git up til the last day during group and personal projects, I felt super comfortable learning there.

I did a ton of research before choosing a bootcamp, and even fact-checked some of the things DevMountain was saying. I was pretty impressed through out the whole process and highly recommend the school!

I went through the program at the same time as another family member, and we both found it very rewarding. I was nervous to start a program that required me to quit my job and drop everything for 3 months straight, especially since I didn't personally know anyone that had gone through the course.

Now, having been through, if I had to go back and make the decision again, I would go back through again, 100%. $11,000 is a lot of money, but the financing was super easy. I applied for a loan and got approved in like an hour. Not working for three months was hard, but we just lived on our savings. It more than makes up for it when you get a job. Coming out of the boot camp you can expect a starting salary of around $45,000 - $55,000, with raises every few months. That's just the way the industry is right now.

DevMountain more than prepared me for the workplace. Within two weeks of graduating, I had over 10 interviews, and 2 job offers. There is still a lot to learn after graduating, you won't come out as an expert, but you WILL come out with some great portfolio pieces, and with the skills to build some incredible websites! 

Not everything was perfect, some of the coursework is hard to follow at times, and the concepts are definitely complex. I went in with a little bit of programming experience, and found the course wasn't too difficult at all. Some of my friends that have gone through went in with NO previous experience, and found the course more challenging, but still made it through just fine, graduated just fine, and have seen success. 

The real story is - the course gives you whatever you put into it. If you goof off the whole time, you won't learn much. If you invest your time and effort, you will learn a TON. Learning at DevMountain was great because you are surrounded by talented people who know what they're doing. Questions are easy to find answers to, because someone around you usually has experience with whatever obstacle you have come across.  

If you like problem solving, and are ok putting in time and effort to work through difficult concepts, I would recommend this course to you 100%. If problem solving frustrates you, or putting in a lot of time and effort to learning new things is hard for you, I would probably say don't go to DevMountain. Or any boot camp for that matter. 

Last thoughts - The last few weeks of the course, DevMountain also helps you with job prep. They teach you how to structure your resume and portfolio, they teach you great tools for interviewing, and they have an actual method you will learn for applying to jobs and reaching out to employers in a successful manner. I am very appreciative for all of the time and effort they put into helping ME find a job. 

Attending DevMountain was such a great experience. The instructors were super helpful and the atomosphere had such a great vibe. You literally eat, sleep and breathe code. I loved how I had 24/7 access to the campus. So on nights when I couldn't sleep (which was many) it was nice being able to head over to the campus and get to work. The teaching style at DevMountain is super hands-on and always having a mentor around was awesome because I had A LOT of questions! All in all, my only regret was that I didn't sign up sooner. I sat on this decision way too long and now realize how much time I've lost!

After my second year of college, I decided it wasn't write for me. For quite some time before that, I had been looking into many different bootcamps in my area. I knew that I wanted to be a developer and didn't want to keep spending a fortune on college. After months of research, I decided to pull the trigger on DevMountain. I attended their Provo campus and was amazed at how fun learning could be. Everybody around me was working super hard, but at the same time having a lot of fun while doing it. I had a better social experience in my 3 months at DevMountain than my 2 years at college.

Fast forward to 2 months later, I just landed my first job as a Junior Developer making a great income and absolutely loving my job. Jeremy (the lead teacher) was such an awesome instuctor and mentor to me, I couldn't be more happy with my expierience at DevMountain. 5 stars!

Like many students looking into development bootcamps, I was interested in coding, wanted to pursue a new career but didn't want to go back to college to get an engineering degree. 

I graduated from Dev Mountain in 2016.

If you're attending with the goal of getting a job immediately afterwards or have anyone other than yourself to support, this is important to know. 

Pros

- the classmates I had and the mentors were genuinely nice people. I couldn't think of a nicer group of people to be around. 

- you will learn to code (but no more than if you took a udemy or devslopes course for much cheaper). If you don't understand a week of material, they let your repeat (within reason) until you do.

- free snacks and 24/7 access to code at Dev Mtn. campus alongside other developers

Cons

Long term unemployment

 - Save up for 6 months at least. You are taking at least 3-4 months to attend the program. Add 3-4 more months looking for a job on top of that, if you're even able to find an iOS job. Only one of the people in my cohort was able to find a full time position right away as an iOS developer and he had an engineering background. One or two found internships after three months of being unemployed. The rest are still looking or took non-development jobs to support themselves. Most employers do not want to hire someone who has only been coding for 3-4 months and coding bootcamps still do not have the legitimacy of a Computer Science degree and you are competing for jobs with CS majors who have taught themselves iOS. Also, most iOS jobs posted online are from recruiters who will not give you the time of day if you don't have experience. 

- You will not learn everything you need to get an iOS job

- Because the program is so short, they will only teach you the Swift programming language in the iOS course but Swift is only 2 years old and most apps and code bases have been written in Objective C. They only spend a week on Objective C which means you will need to teach the language yourself. Additionally, the first 6 weeks you wlll be taught. The next 6 weeks, you work on projects. 

- Understanding basic computer science principles (that stuff they teach in a CS degree) is important and something that is going to be tested in job interviews. These are not covered in any depth. There are stretch problems for 1 hr each day that attempt to teach them but this not enough. 

- To land a job in iOS, you need a portfolio of apps you have developed on your own. Much of the curriculum is spent building basic apps like your Notes app on your iphone or an Instagram clone. You have 1 personal project which you work on for 3 weeks and another group project which you work on for an additional 3 weeks. Again, not enough. I know many in my cohort who spent the next few months post-graduation developing more apps for their portfolio and they still do not have jobs. 

Instructors

- You are paying 10K to be taught by other students. The mentors I had were wonderful but they are usually students from prior semesters who just learned the material themselves a year prior. Once a week, you will be taught by a consummate professional in the industry and occasionally you will have guest lecturers.

Lack of real world/on the job experience

Again, there is only so much that can be covered in 6 weeks of teaching...

- Programming methodologies like scrum, agile, kanban were not practiced. 

- Using git (the way multiple developers can work on a single project at the same time) was covered for one day, and it is really important when you're actually working. 

I felt compelled to write this review because before I went to Dev Mountain I came on this site. The high ranking convinced me there was nothing to worry about. I see a ton of positive reviews on here from people who attended the web development program which appears to be a more succesful program than iOS (hopefully these individuals have landed jobs). Half of my cohort was from Utah, the rest including myself were from out of state where Dev Mountain is not well known. Both groups have had a difficult time landing full time paid jobs. I'm not sure how the school reports job placement statistics but perhaps they lump web dev and iOS together to support their placement rates? The good news is that this school is now reporting to the Council on Integrity in Results Reporting (cirr.org). Unfortunately, we did not reap the benefits of this report but future prospective students will. Make sure to go on cirr.org and check placement rates before you apply. 

Moral of the story- This bootcamp is an intro to iOS development. If you need a job shortly after graduation, save your $10K, keep your day job, buy the $20 course on Udemy/Devslopes, take advantage of courses on iTunes U, build up a portfolio of mobile apps, study up on your own, and then apply for jobs. 

My story is one that many may relate to. For the past 15 years, I had been working in a career not related to UX design. To boot, I had been with the exact same company for those 15 years. While I had dabbled in my career with many elements of user experience, I didn't even know the industry existed.

Last year, around November of 2016, I began to explore options to better my career and my family situation. A friend in my neighborhood recommended the web development course at DevMountain. His employer sent him through the after-hours program and he loved it. I thought to myself, "I could never learn Javascript!" I started doing some research on it, figured that I could at least look into it. My friend gave me his Javascript book and I began reading. Around the same time, DevMountain posted an open-house meetup at their Salt Lake location. I signed up and went to the meetup to learn more. I still wasn't sure, but I knew I wanted a change.

When I showed up for the meetup at DevMountain, to my surprise, it was not a web developer meetup, it was to introduce their UX Immersive Design course. "What in the world is UX", I thought. As I listened, I was completely sold. This is what I had been doing, at least in some small part, for the past 15 years... but I never had a way to define it! I went home, told the wife about it, and signed up for the course. This is where I began my, "leap of faith".

The immersive UX course started January 1st of 2017, so this meant I had to quit my job. I'm married and have two kids, so this was a nerve-racking decision to make. There was some pre-course work to do, which involved basic elements of UX, but it was nothing I couldn't handle. I was accepted into the program, left my job, and started out on my adventure.

What an absolutely incredible experience it was. Props must be given here to the instructor, Brandon. If it wasn't for him, there's no way I would have had the desire, ambition, or drive to push myself in this course. Brandon has so many acquaintances in the UX community that it felt like everyone in Salt Lake knew him... or of him. This is a huge plus to have in a teacher, especially when it comes to networking and job hunting.

The course material was definitely packed in there, but it had to be to fit into a three-month course. We covered UX principles, wireframing, sketching, research, interviews, prototyping, storyboarding, user flows, UX-related software, color theory, design principles, did creative exercises daily, did team projects and solo projects, and a host of other activities in my time there. I came out of the course with an online portfolio (personal website), a Linkedin profile, a resume, and three case studies to showcase to potential employers.

Another thing that helped tremendously was how our instructor brought in guest speakers continuously throughout the course. These speakers were working in industry, doing the exact same thing we'd be doing out there in the workplace. They shared their stories with us, taught us software tools, and left us with a strong impression of the passion they had working in user experience. This was crucial to me later on when DevMountain ended. I reached out to several of these guest speakers and asked them if I could job shadow them for a day. Every one of them was cordial and accepting and I was able to see firsthand how they work in their element.

After the course ended, I took a couple of weeks to be with my family and move houses, so it took me a bit to get going on the job search. When I did though, DevMountain was helpful in sending me job recommendations and introducing me to potential employers. It took me about three weeks to find a job, but the work I had done at DevMountain impressed employers during the interviews. I am now working at a very successful company here in Salt Lake City as a UX designer, primarily focused on their mobile iOS and Android offering. I absolutely love it and never would have imagined I'd be in this position a year ago. But, thanks to DevMountain, and a lot of hard work on my part, I'm a UX Designer!

I must interject here though that it does all come down to the work you put in during and after the course. If you don't treat finding a job like a full-time job, the job hunt can be that much harder and you'll get frustrated for sure.

The staff at DevMountain is amazing as well. Everyone I reached to was friendly and professional to me, whether in person or via email. I have met quite a few people now in my network of friends that have done DevMountain as well or are interested. I always recommend them to the school if they're on the fence about a bootcamp.

Now that I'm alumni, I'm looking forward to going back and doing the after-hours web dev course towards the end of this year! Wish me luck learning Javascript! If it's anything like the UX immersive course, I know I'll be successful.

Thanks DevMountain!

Come ready to work.  DevMountain is for people who are proactive and WANT to learn to code and to learn how to teach themselves.  Yes, the instructors are fantastic--they are almost always great teachers and explainers--but your success will be equivalent to the effort that you make to understand the concepts on your terms.  I've had awesome experiences with the instructors, they always seem to have time for questions and advice.  If you take the time to reach out to them and ask good questions they will help make your experience more than worth it.  The mentors that are assigned to each class are awesome as well, super helpful and they know their stuff.  It's a great environment.  The people at DevMountain want to be there and almost all of them were commited to putting in the time and effort to succeed.  Overall I had a fantastic, even life-changing experience.  The material is super relevant--I feel like I got a lot of marketable skills that match up pretty well with a lot of job postings.  Be ready to work just as hard and learn new skills after you graduate though, the camp is just the very start of becoming a developer or engineer.  I give 5 stars without hesitation.  I was pushed, encouraged (there is an awesome support system, just reach out!) and I'd do it again in a heart beat.

Now that I have graduated the support is still there and instructors and mentors are still awesome about answering questions, doing mock interviews and helping me with looking for a job.

 Again, come ready to be proactive, TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR OWN SUCCESS, work hard and use all the resources they give you and you wont be dissapointed.