Thomas Zimmerman Web Developer • Graduate • Web Development (Full-time, Online or Atlanta Campus) • Online
Feb 28, 2023
I am a graduate from Digital Crafts. I attended the full time web development bootcamp online for four months starting in July of 2022, and have since then got my first job in software development / web development with the experience and knowledge I attained from attending Digital Crafts. There is no doubt in my mind that without the leg up I attained from a curriculum in web development as well as my fantastic instructor Veronica, that I would not have been able to land my first job in...
I am a graduate from Digital Crafts. I attended the full time web development bootcamp online for four months starting in July of 2022, and have since then got my first job in software development / web development with the experience and knowledge I attained from attending Digital Crafts. There is no doubt in my mind that without the leg up I attained from a curriculum in web development as well as my fantastic instructor Veronica, that I would not have been able to land my first job in the field. Despite the fantastic experience I had with DC, there is a few things I would like to make any prospective boot camp students aware of before paying the price of admission.
1. You get out what you put into it.
If you are thinking that you will be able to coast through this course like a college or highschool course, get a certificate, then get a web development job, you may, but you probably won't. More than anything else the experience and skills you gain from attending all the classes, getting a grasp on all the material offered, and being able to demonstrate your aptitude is what's going to get you a job. Having a credential/ certificate is nice, but with no experience you have to have the knowledge and projects to back you up when going on interviews.
2. It's possible to go into this with no prior coding experience and succeed, but you really should not!
Going into any boot camp you will hear and read "No prior knowledge of coding necessary!". This is true, but this is not what I did, and I believe going in with a basic understanding of OOP helped me learn more and learn faster than my classmates who were completely fresh to every single topic. It's not impossible to catch up, but during your time attending DC you will have to run twice as fast to learn half as much, and as I said earlier, the more you can perform the better off you will be when you finish. I would highly recommend going through some basic programming material for a couple months before making the commitment, it will help a ton in my estimation.
3. Job assistance...
As you may have read from other reviews there is not guarantee that DC will do anything to get you a job after graduation. Despite some saying they do nothing, I think that is bogus, as there are networking opportunities, seminars, and the door is always open with staff members who work in career services who will give you specific detailed advice and guidance on what you need to do and how you need to do it to get your first job. It is also true that there's a good chance you can be hired as a TA ( teachers assistant ) by DC after you completed the course which will give you the experience you need to go somewhere else. It's not the best Job assistance in the world, as they will not hold your hand to your next position they picked out for you, but DC will give you what you need to move in the right direction.
4. I've heard some things...
During my time at DC I have heard some things that I would be remiss not to disclose here. I heard from one of my classmates who knew somebody that was taking the same course with a different instructor in part-time web development that there was a lot of funny business going on. It seemed that the quality of the classes/ assistance from the instructor was lackluster and something I definitely would not be happy about had I experienced myself. That being said this is word of mouth, I don't really know, but I would highly recommend if you want to attend, you do the full-time any way as I think it is a much better structure to begin with.
5. The Curriculum itself.
The curriculum itself is pretty good. It covers full-stack web development pretty deeply for the amount of time you actually spend learning and practicing material. That being said, In hindsight I wish the course had a larger focus in back-end web development with a server side language. No matter what part of web development you strive with, you may need to allocate serious time keep learning more languages/frameworks after the fact to fill in some missing skills from your resume before you get your first position.
That is pretty much all I have to report about the bootcamp. If I could go back in time I would chose to attend this bootcamp every single time. The people that I met there were all absolutely fantastic, and the fact that it accomplished for me what it was supposed to accomplish means I really have nothing to complain about. Despite that, I believe that coding bootcamps are not for everyone, and you really have to consider what you are capable of before you sign up and pay for any bootcamp.
Jake H of DigitalCrafts
Co-Founder, VP
Mar 13, 2023
Thomas - Congratulations on your job as a Full Stack Web Developer at Webever Technologies! First off, I appreciate you taking the time to write your review. While it means a lot to our team, reviews really benefit future students when they are deciding which program to choose. For that, I want to thank you. Second, thanks for providing helpful feedback in several key areas of our program based on your experience. We are always striving to improve, and we couldn’t do that without feedback from our graduates. Congratulations and we hope to see you around as an alumni!