DigitalCrafts

When I found DigitalCrafts my career was going nowhere, if not backward. After being starved out of full commission sales as a financial advisor in 2011, I spun my wheels working hourly for much less than I deserved with my bachelor’s degree. I didn't know where to turn. I had some technical background and an MIS degree, but my skills were dated. I couldn't seem to get back into IT. I found DigitalCrafts through their meetup group, and scheduled a meeting with Jake, a founder. Within a couple of weeks, I was signed up. I wouldn't say I was ready to go, because the pace of the course was staggering. I really had to get disciplined about working hard. By working hard I mean studying before and after class and on weekends. I would say my work week was 70 - 80 hours. We had an instructor with a Masters in CS from Georgia Tech. The DC team is still really small, and the founders, Jake and Max, are right there taking care of you. The Atlanta Tech Village is an awesome place to learn too. It took me a few months after my cohort to get a job, but I kept working hard. It finally paid off. I'm now a full-time software engineer at Home Depot in Atlanta. I am so happy to get my career jump-started again! I would recommend DigitalCrafts to everyone!

I just completed the 16-week immersive program at DigitalCrafts and it exceeded my expectations in every way possible. The instruction is extraordinary, the class size is perfect, the curriculum is rigorous and challenging (but doable as long as a student is committed), the professional/career support is extremely helpful, and the administration truly cares about the ongoing progress and success of every student.

I'd recommend DigitalCrafts to any prospective student as long as they are ready for a challenge and are willing to put in the effort and time necessary to be successful.

Attending DigitalCrafts has been a great experience. I decided to go to DigitalCrafts because I saw Max's answer on Quora comparing DC to other coding bootcamps in Atlanta, plus detailed student reviews from various platforms. DC has a more comprehensive curriculum and the length of the course is longer. After 16-weeks (probably much earlier than that), I'm pretty sure that I made the right decision.

Here are some aspects that I really like about it:

1. Instructor:

a. Our instructor Toby is very knowledgable, organized and fun. He is able to and is willing to drill down to every aspect of the topics and explore an variety of topics - in an highly structured way. He makes detailed slides for each topic and thinks carefully about what approach is the best for teaching the specific topic. When one approach doesn't work as well as he expects, he try other ones.

b. Students with different skill levels all get abundant and proper attention. Being a teacher for 5 years, I know how hard it is. Toby is worried about the slower students all the time, and he spends a lot of time and efforts to make them catch up. For the more advanced students, he also makes sure they don't get bored. He gives extra tasks that are one level up (or slightly above the students' level) to enhance their skills.

2. Curriculum:

a. The curriculum is designed to the cognitive curve of most learners. It starts with the most basic (and most important) things like data structures (strings, arrays, objects...) and algorithm. Two mainstream programming approaches - object-oriented programming and functional programming - are emphasized from the beginning.

b. Along with the fundamentals, we also learned technologies that are "cutting edge" and highly valued on the market (such as React and Redux), which is one of the most important reasons for employers to choose a boot-camp graduate over a college graduate with a CS degree.

c. Students have opportunities doing many projects with those technologies, including individual and group projects. Being able to do a group project (or more) is very valuable experience, since you would have to work with people in a real-world developer position. We don't always follow instructions and steps, instead, we get to create something from scratch. DigitalCrafts offers plenty of help and a very good environment.

3. Administration and career support:

Everybody in administration is nice and helpful. Students get a lot of career support such as how to create a portfolio, a resume, cover letters and opportunities for mock interview. If you learn coding by yourself, it would definitely be harder to seamlessly transfer from a amateur learner to a professional developer. DigitalCrafts has a network of employers that they connect you to. However, looking for a job takes a lot of efforts and networking. You have to work hard on it yourself as well.

I didn't come from a background of science and engineering, but I got an offer before graduation. I'm very happy about it. Plus, I find coding is beautiful and enjoyable. I'm glad that DigitalCrafts helps me to take the initial steps of the career change and a journey of learning a lot of interesting things.

My experience at DigitalCrafts was absolutely amazing. Before starting the program I’d been working in Government / Politics for about 8 years and had absolutely no exposure to coding.  About a year before I actually enrolled in DigitalCrafts I started teaching myself online but I quickly realized I needed a more formal education in order to break into the field. DigitalCrafts was exactly what I was looking for. Here are some of my take always from the program:

1. Length of the program – it’s about 4 weeks longer than most other programs. I think this is crucial. I ended up with a very solid portfolio and understanding of the topics covered that was easy to show off to potential employers.
2. Solid Foundation - I think DigitalCrafts places a bigger emphasis on fundamentals than other bootcamps. I feel like part of those extra weeks are spent on making sure students understand the fundamentals of programming before moving on to the more advanced and specialized topics like React and Redux. If you don’t really understand how functions and loops work you’re going to be lost when things get harder.
3. Support – the support of the founders (Max and Jake) and the instructors is phenomenal. I felt like each one of them was personally invested in me doing well and reaching my goals. It’s that kind of personal attention that I don’t think other bootcamps that are run more like a big corporation are doing.
4. Great industry – Bottom line is this is an amazing industry to be in. I never thought I’d be in a position where I’d be so sought after by employers. I actually didn’t apply to a single job but I had several companies and recruiters reaching out to me asking me to interview and ended up getting 2 offers before the class was over. That never would have happened without the instruction and guidance DigitalCrafts gave me.  

Note: This review is in reference to the first Houston cohort from November 2016 - March 2017, also with general thoughts regarding the program.

The Digital Crafts program in retrospect was a great decision and overall I couldn't be happier with that choice.  Initially, I was certainly a bit nervous about being the first cohort since that could possibly include many growing pains as Digital Crafts tries to get a foothold in the Houston market.  But those first few weeks definitely alleviated those concerns.  Be it a bootcamp or even traditional school, the most paramount part of the experience is the instructor.  I can’t even begin to describe how incredible Damian was in not only teaching us the material but understanding how to conduct a classroom with individuals at all different levels, temperament and managing to keep everyone engaged and challenged simultaneously.  We lucked out as a class to have him teach this cohort.  On top of that, he cultivated an environment where we all became closer and actually had fun, which I believe is a necessity in this environment.  A bootcamp by its very nature is intense, difficult, it can be draining and you have to understand knowing when to push or when to back off.  Damian understood this and paced the class perfectly.  I was constantly learning but never felt too overwhelmed.  Again that isn’t to say the material is not difficult but he just intuitively knew how to present it to us and how to push us to work harder when we needed it and how to relax things as necessary.  Damian was just amazing!  I can’t thank him enough for everything.

I will say this, much of what you get as with most things in life, is truly based on what you are willing to put in.  This couldn’t be any more accurate then for a bootcamp.  You have to understand going in that you’re going to sacrifice the next four months of your life to build a new career and that time commitment is non-negotiable if you want to achieve success.  Damian or any other instructor can only present the material and get you off on the right path but it is incumbent upon you to be willing to work hard and go the extra mile to truly find success.  The hours may say 9am-4/5pm but be prepared to work well beyond that and weekend if need be.  If you’re willing to take that sacrifice, Jake, Max and the Digital Crafts team will get you where you want to be.  The same applies for the career services aspect of the bootcamp.  You will not be handed a job coming out and it’s gonna be full time work to find one.  Digital Crafts will try and send out leads but it’s incumbent on you to make it happen.  Being new in Houston there isn’t much of a built in employee network.  I’m hopeful that will change for future cohorts but right now the onus is on the individual to look.  Jake has been incredibly helpful and will go above and beyond to make it happen but you’ve got to be prepared to work hard to land a developer job.  Overall, I was really pleased with the experience I had, I became really close with the cohorts in my class and ended up landing a job in a field that I’m excited about.  It’s a lot of work but it’s well worth it!

I started looking for a change of career early in 2016. By Spring I knew I wanted to get back into Web Design and Development and by July I had narrowed down that I wanted to attend an in-person boot camp.

Digital Crafts was just coming into Houston and they were offering something other code camps weren’t – Full Stack Development.  After the reviews online, speaking with Max and the campus director Jason and checking out other local competitors, I decided that Digital Crafts was the best option for me. It was the best decision I have ever made.

Being the first cohort in Houston I expressed my concerns to them about the instructor – Rob in Atlanta was getting great reviews and I had read other places (some right in Houston) where the instructor just wasn’t right and it ruins the experience. They assured me they are very thorough and selective– they make sure they find someone who fits their culture. And they didn’t disappoint. 

Damian, our instructor, made our cohort what it was. He was very methodical with his code but would explain everything in a way that the entire class would understand. If you didn’t understand something, he would make sure to give other examples or even talk one on one until you understood the topic.  I can’t speak more highly of Damian and the level of professionalism he brought to our class. He would teach us but also do the exercises himself. We would go over the answers and he would show us his thought process and how he would attack each problem. It was awesome to see him work and to be able to base it into the real world – not just the classroom.

Don’t think this is a class you can sit in on and just “get it”. You need to put forth the effort in order to get the most of your experience.  It’s stressful and at times you will feel overwhelmed. But the amount skills you will learn in the 16 weeks will make everything worthwhile.

I will stay though, the Houston cohort is still new, so naturally there are some things they are working out. But between the curriculum, the overall D.C structure and the level of passion the owners, Jake and Max have – it’s an amazing course and I would recommend it to someone that is looking to attend a boot camp.

DigitalCrafts was definitely worth my time and my money. To learn full stack development within 4 months is an incredible and challenging experience that I would definitely do again. DigitalCrafts is located in the Atlanta Tech Village, Atlanta's startup hub. There were ample opportunities to meet and network with those who work in the building.

After talking to a friend who attended another bootcamp, it became apparent that there are no others like DigitalCrafts. I joined DigitalCrafts shortly after receiving a psychology degree without any tech experience, and the curriculum at DigitalCrafts allowed me to entertain both front-end jobs and back-end jobs. They taught everything I know about coding and I'm happy to have received an offer as a software engineer one month after graduation.

Having just accepted my first job as a Software Engineer at a start-up in Atlanta exactly one month after the end of my cohort I feel ready to review DigitalCrafts! This bootcamp is fantastic. I chose it over the other ATL options for three main reasons:

1. Length - 16 weeks felt like nothing. I can't even imagine completing a bootcamp in less time. I feel I absolutely needed that extra month compared to other bootcamps to really solidify my knowledge and contextualize all the different technologies. This give you time to review, retain, and continue to deepen all you've learned in a supportive environment. That extra month goes a long way in developing relationships with the instructors, your classmates, and the program staff, which makes DigitalCrafts feel very personal and invested. 

2. Personal Touch - Digital Crafts from the start was in constant communication with me and took the time to seriously consider my personal goals - an amazing aspect which I didn't get from any other bootcamp I looked into. Having moved to ATL just before my cohort began, many students, developer-in-residences, and even the staff themselves, spent their time answering all my questions and even allowing me to sit in and observe a class one afternoon after a current group of students had lunch with me, told me all about their experiences, and answered all my questions - unplanned and just because DC attracts wonderful people. During my cohort, many other potential students can to tour the classrooms and we'd often hear Rob, our instructor chatting to them, telling them it definitely IS possible to teach yourself and it totally depends on what style of learning is best for you - very refreshing to hear! It's very obvious that Rob, Jake, and Max don't take your concerns lightly and they absolutely do not try to sell you on this bootcamp - they want you to be successful in your own way. 

3. Full-Stack Curriculum - You're learning how websites are made from top to bottom. I feel a front-end or back-end only curriculum doesn't allow contextualization of what you've learned. If you are thinking about investing so much time/money/energy to learn how websites are built, wouldn't you want to FULLY understand it and not just one-half of the equation? I think for me, as a beginner into the tech world, without understanding BOTH client and server side programming, I wouldn't have a satisfactory grasp of how development actually works. We learn how to host websites on Amazon Web Services (AWS), build the back-end with python and node, and use javascript (react and jquery too) on the front-end. From what I experienced in my interviews after the program, if you want to compete with CS-degree holders, this is VERY requisite, important knowledge. 

Of course there are many other good things I could say about the bootcamp. To have a community of peers while you immerse yourself in something so new and challenging is so important and I think DC does a great job of attracting wonderful people. There was definitely room for improvements including more structure in the back-end part of the curriculum and a more holistic lesson on web development with Python versus just programming games. Our final project was 3-weeks in duration. Personally I would have preferred 2 and used the extra week to continue learning Python or even just repeating/reviewing important concepts such as callbacks, promises, or higher-order functions. I do feel some of the more advanced students were given more personal attention to their questions than those struggling, which ended up somewhat isolating those who learned to withhold their questions or ended up turning to peers instead, for help.

Do not expect this or any other bootcamp to suddenly make you a rockstar. Expect to struggle and feel frustration constantly - that's what learning feels like. Expect to stay late and come in early. Let DC give you a structured learning environment but know that to be successful you can't rely on it to give you ALL the knowledge. Learning about topics not covered in the curriculum. Buy a udemy course and learn from that simultaneous. Expect that there is a world outside of DC with which to complement your bootcamp education immensly. Go to meet-ups, send out 5 cold-call emails a week to people at companies you find interesting, talk to former students, be humble and show that you want to learn. I was able to negotiate a 8% increase in my starting salary with ZERO job experience because I proved I was committed to the extra-curricular side projects and networks I've involved myself with outside of my bootcamp education in order to keep learning. 

DigitalCrafts was a fantastic experience and I'm happy to have achieved all the goals I had set when deciding to attend. 

I had some coding experience before starting DigitalCrafts. I was in software QA for 5 years and during that time I was able to write a few "one-off" scripts and programs to automate tasks or help developers fine-tune their feature improvements. I was always excited to code, and took every opportunity to learn. But my job didn't require me to code. It required me to manual test day in and day out. After time, I realized that I wasn't able to code enough to preserve or build on my skills. I wanted to code full-time so I began researching and applying to bootcamps.

I applied to a few, but ultimately decided on DigitalCrafts for these reasons: 1) Curriculum, 2) employees, and 3) location.

Curriculum. I learned from the web team at my previous job that the more javascript you know the better. Thus, I had the idea that attending a bootcamp that taught Node would be better than a Rails shop because I would get that much more javascript experience. This extra exposure to javascript has served me well. Also, DigitalCrafts teaches React with Redux! It is such a pleasure to build UIs with React/Redux! It's no wonder why more and more companies are embracing this platform.

Employees. I thoroughly enjoyed the administrators and instructors during my time here. Rob, my instructor, had 13 years of experience as a web developer. He has a strong grasp of what it takes to be a developer in today's market, but what sets him apart is his ability to teach. He can hold an audience so well. He's very good. The administrators are very friendly and caring as well. Jake, Max and Natalie constantly work to ensure students have all the tools to be prepared for the market after graduation.

Location. Buckhead. A booming tech spot in a booming tech city. The building itself makes for great learning environment. You don't have to worry about snacks and coffee for instance, they are provided. Just keep yourself feed and concentrate on learning. This actually went a long way with me in my decision to attend DigitalCrafts. I didn't have to spend a lot of time planning for food, just my lunch and dinner. The building also houses a lot of startups, some of which even employ alumni.

I had a great time spending 4 intense months with these people and would do it again if I could! DigitalCrafts took me from someone who wanted to could but didn't really know what to code, to someone who can confidently build complex and beautiful full-stack web applications.