Elevation

I was a student in the Cohort 6 of the Coding Bootcamp. It was a good experience where I learn a lot about coding and about myself.

1) There were 3 teachers for 15 students, which is essential to learn well and get good help. When I was looking for bootcamps, it was the only one with that kind of service (in the others there were only 1 or 2 teachers). 

After the day of work, a lot of students were staying in class to review the lesson of the day and do the exercises.The teachers were staying an hour or two with us after the day, to help us understand, which was essential to me.

2) The 3 hackathons were the best things to learn how to code by myself, and in a group. Leaving you alone, in a group, for 3 days, with just little help, is the best thing to progress.

3) All the lessons and exercises are uploaded on the Elevation Academy platform. This platform is really good to catch up and work on your own. And even after the boocamp you still have access to this platform. The projects and exercises they gave us were really good and made me progress. 

4) The mood was really good ! I had a lot of fun with the other students and the teachers. Everyone comes from a different background, so you can help each other with what you know and understand.

5) The teachers were nice. Each one had his own specialty, so you know who you need to call, depending on the question you have. Brandon is a really good teacher, I was often calling him for help, knowing that I was a complete beginner. He was patient and found the good words for the lessons to be clear. Unfortunately there was a line to get help from him. The other teachers were good coders but were having a hard time putting themselves in the shoes of complete beginners.

6) Elevation Academy asks you for reviews every week during the bootcamp, which is a very good initiative. Unfortunately they weren't read, so the complains weren't solved and lead sometimes to frustration. 

7) During the bootcamp I didn't really get help to build my CV. 
The one that helped me a lot when I had questions about jobs or to build a CV was my mentor. Mentors are people from the coding industry that help the students during the boocamp. 
The R&D team back then wasn't great and didn't help me find a job. But now it is much better thanks to Rony and Adi, who were there after the boocamp to help me build a good CV and send it to a few companies. 

8) We learn a lot of languages, which is amazing. I now have a range of new skills!

1. The teachers - was not profesional and didn't have patience for our questions. 

One of them was with his headphones all the time and yell at students who asked him questions, Other one flew a month before the course end and did'nt return back. And other teacher have 0 tutoring skills. 

Only Omer had legitimate teaching skill and had patience to help us when we needed to. He is  the only that cared about us.

2.  It doesn’t help in job search- They are telling you they sent your resume but I actually i received just one job offer (and it wasn’t even full stack job offer)

Every time we tried to talk with the manager of Elevation Academy- nothing changed.

Although I got a scholarship, it wasn’t worth it

if you are not coming to the bootcamp with background in coding- don't do it!

I was trying to write a nerdy detailed feedback on Coding Bootcamp but soon realized that I actually don't want to. I simply adore this experience - too much for being just objective! That's why the first thing I say: Coding Bootcamp at Elevation Academy is one of the most challenging, daring and rewarding adventures in my life - probably, for the following reasons.
- Intensive program with very - really very good "written lessons". Simple language, essential notions, lots of practical exercises. Other feedbacks say that new topics are covered by other authors and yield the older ones - this is true, but most are still preciously great.
- Lots of projects and teamwork. At the very beginning you don't have to get lost in lengthy documentation or for hours listen to theoretic lectures - you're provided with basic info, detailed but simple examples, and here you are - most of the time you really create stuff, guided by instructions split into small steps. A bunch of tiny visible results every day gives you the sense of achievement and supports during struggle with harder parts.
- Thursdays devoted to catch-ups in mini-groups, code reviews and cahoot. Also, your code is accurately explored all the time even in small exercises and you'll get feedback and advice at any stage.
- Hackathons. A great experience to build something in a team and maybe even use in your CV later.
- Teachers. They are smart, experienced and willing to help you. It's always tempting to blame the teacher for every time you struggle to grasp an idea, and the fact is that universal gurus are rare species. I was lucky to generally fit the approach. I appreciate moments when I was upset with not getting something and teachers reached for me by themselves offering to discuss the topic again and again until I heard the very words I missed for the full puzzle. I have some warm words to every teacher but Hadas is definitely the queen, learning from her is a special luck.
- English. Maybe not that relevant for most Israelis but crucial for me - I would never be able to absorb all that info in Hebrew.
- HRs. Start talking to you and work on your CV from the very beginning. And their advocacy in negotiating with mentors and companies is probably your only chance to push your way further after the end of the course.
- Very friendly, supportive environment. Special thank you for our 20-minute yoga breaks and planks, masteminds, happy hours and New Year champaign. Seems to me that Omer is behind of many cute inspiring things...
- We were an amazing group - try to compete if you dare!

I took two courses at Elevation Academy. 
The first was Coding Bootcamp. I had absolutely no technical background prior to the course and It definitely gave me the basics and necessary tools to understand the "coding world". Yeah, it was tough. But if i didn't sign up, I think it would be impossible to get the same knowledge on your own. (Probably would take much more time and frustration). 

After the course, thanks to Adi that really helped all of us find some kind of job placement or internship, I got an internship at a startup. Some of my classmates found really great jobs in the field. Long story short, fast forward time, I decided to try yet something different and took a Digital Marketing course that I absolutely loved because Romina is the best teacher. Not only knowledgeable but sweet and super helpful :)

Again, having no marketing background prior to the course ultimately led me to my first marketing position in an awesome company.

So in summary,

Thanks to the school I was able to go thru a career change and "start my life" in Israel in a completely different field than I studied back home. They gave me the tools I needed to make a change. The rest really depends on you. How much time and effort you put into your studies and your attitude. You can't expect to take a course and know it all and get hired by any company but they definitely help you make the right transition.

On that note, make a decision and give your best :) 

I learned about Elevation Academy because I was about to begin my professional career working with digital products, and I wanted to learn to code in a fun and effective environment. It was fun to come to class every day, and it felt like I was coming to a class to learn and code with a group of fun people. The teachers were infinitely patient which I appreciated as someone with little to no background with code. I would highly recommend Elevation Academy for anyone who wants to write code, or if you want to supplement your existing skills, which is what I did. Elevation also helped me with non-code issues like fixing up my CV and with interview tips.