Epicodus Reviews
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Ewa Verified via LinkedIn
Great school if you understand what it is and isn't
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Why Epicodus worked for me:
- great price
- great location and a nice space
- pair programming + group projects (I wanted experience working with others)
- the curriculum gave me direction and motivation i lacked when working on my own
- the cohort (I met and still am in touch with - so many great people)
- the internship (it was great to get some experience working with a tech company)
- job finding assistance (I actually found my current position through an Epicodus job posting)
Why Epicodus might not work for everyone:
- the curriculum is more broad than deep (that means extra studying if you want to go in depth into anything, which doesn't work for everyone.)
- it's better to think of the instructors as TAs (they'll help you when you get stuck, but there's no direct instruction per se)
- the amount you learn is self-driven (because of time constraints and the fact that Epicodus accepts students at all levels of coding knowledge, it is often up to the student to challenge themselves or follow up with the resources that Epicodus provides)
- your job search is also going to be largely self driven (again, Epicodus offers resources, but in the end it is up to you to follow up on them, do the networking etc)
- not all internships are created equal (it is possible that you will get an internship with a company that is very up and coming or not entirely certain what to do with an intern)
Epicodus is very clear about what it is and is not. From the get-go (as in, these are all things that I was told during my intake interview) they want you to understand that the instructors are more TAs than anything else, that your learning is largely self-driven, and that the goal of Epicodus is as much about teaching you HOW to learn how to code as it is teaching you how to code. This last skill is invaluable given the rate that technology is advancing - it is incredibly unlikely that you will never have to learn a new framework/language for a job. As long as you understand those things, are willing to put in a lot of work yourself, and keep working on improving after you have finished the curriculum, Epicodus will work great for you.
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Brod
Outdated and Minimal Effort by Most Staff
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Minimal effort by the online instructor (in-person instructor in Portland was awesome), the Portland campus looks nothing as advertised, the material is very very out of date, and there is no structure.
Often times it would take over 3 weeks for weekly projects to be graded by the online instructor (it took over a month for our capstones to be graded). Though the in-person instructor would have assignments graded with 1-2 days.
If you are expecting instructor led courses, then don't go here. The instructors are there to answer questions, not actually teach. To ask a question you have to fill out a form and then submit the form to a discord bot, which in itself is time consuming and can feel daunting. If you do end up attending this bootcamp, know that you're basically going to be on your own.
The online instructor was only available from 11am-3pm (if you're lucky), so you're on your own if you need help. But the in-person instructor was present almost always.
I could go on and on about all the issues with this program, but that would take pages upon pages.
I wish I could get a refund because this was a joke.
TLDR; Online instructor was only present for short periods of time (In-person instructor was awesome, and present almost always). The material was/is out of date. I don't recommend going here.Rachel of Epicodus
President
Oct 04, 2023
I’m sorry the program wasn't what you were hoping for. I want to clarify a couple of the concerns you raised:For individual code reviews, students are informed whether they passed by the end of the week after they submit them. If a student has not passed a code review within 17 days of the initial submission date, they can't continue attending the program. In cases that delay grading, such as holidays, the deadline to pass the assignment is moved accordingly.Our teaching model is non-traditional, using a "flipped classroom" and students working in teams most of the time. Our “What to Expect” page describes this teaching model as well as the role teachers play in students’ day to day experience. There is always a teacher available to assist students any time class is in session. Students can notify a teacher they need help by putting in a "help ticket". The ticket system used to be handled by a bot but several months ago we switched to a more informal approach in our online chat platform. Teachers take turns answering questions, regardless of which teacher is facilitating the class. In our handbook and during orientation we review how students interact with teachers and get support when they need it, and provide a contact students can reach out to if they feel that is not happening. Regarding our curriculum, we do not usually teach the most recent version of any particular tool, as most companies stay several versions behind the latest releases to prioritize stability and releasing features. We meet with a curriculum advisory board of industry professionals on a regular basis to ensure that the subject matter we’re teaching is in line with what our graduates need to be successful, and our career services team regularly solicits feedback from the companies interviewing and hiring our students to identify exactly what we need to be teaching to make our students as hire-able as possible.I am always happy to chat with students or graduates individually to help resolve concerns. If there is information I’m missing, or if there is something else I can do to be a support, please feel free to reach out to me at rachel@epicodus.com. -
Harold Mesa
Amazing, Agile Developmet, Instructive
I feel my career as a Full-Stack developer started when I enrolled in Epicodus. In the last 33 weeks (including the internship component after 27 weeks of the regular curriculum) I have grown exponentially, and I can say now I am ready to join a developer team as a professional developer. Great job, Epicodus! -
Jesse Callahan
Javascript/React/C#
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Epicodus gave me all the tools to become a successful programmer: how to walk through code, how to think and design with class constructors, components, and the MVC structure, how to pair program and talk about code with others, how to implement best practices and most importantly, how to use a growth mindset. If it wasn't for Epicodus, I wouldn't have a job in the field. My Javascript/React/C# class at Epicodus coincided with a college track where I was taking computer science and math. I'm convinced you get more hands-on experience at Epicodus then you would a four year degree. If you are looking to get into the industry, I would highly recommend the Epicodus full time track with the internship matchmaking process. Although I didn't get a job from my internship, I got one soon after. The internship was truly a stepping stone into my next adventure and taught me about as much as the program itself. I can't say enough good things about Epicodus. The main advice I would give to someone starting out is, you get out what you put into the program. Truly a great experience! -
Dave L.
Ruby on Rails - Web Development
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Positives:
1) The flipped classroom style, and pair-programming aspect really worked well with my learning style. I was able to absorb the material at my own pace, and have the ability to implement what I learned with my partner. It's incredibly helpful and productive to have someone at your skill level learning alongside. However, it did not mean that the material came easy to me.
2) The student advisors help keep you on track towards your end goal. Their mock interviews and resume reviews are essential towards obtaining a job. They also help see you from a humanistic perspective, and not judge you solely on your technical skills. They would also send emails of open positions to students, if they're still job searching. I believe it's the student advisors who set up guest speakers every week or two, which are super awesome to attend to, and allow a chance to broaden your network! They range from past alumni's experience to recruiters with insider's tips & tricks.
3) The student advisors also seek internships for students to work under. I wouldn't have found mine if I didn't go through Epicodus. I imagine it would have taken me three-four times the work to get the same experience.
4) The fact that I got to do this at home, remotely, and learn ended up feeling more productive for me. Sure, it would be pleasant to interact and pair-program in person, but I found the positives of working from home more substantial.
5) Team week projects were fun, and having that same Friday off was a pleasant break to have!
6) Cost is less than other bootcamps I have found. They also have a scholarship program for the underrepresented population.
7) The program's embrace towards DEI showed me that they didn't care only about money, and had an ethical approach towards the tech industry.
Negatives:
1) In all honesty, instructors can be a hit or a miss. They're all very nice people, and I wouldn't mind working with them in the real world alongside as my coworkers. I just had a hard time thinking I could depend on them to explain certain logic, or reasoning behind the code.
2) Discord channel could be messy, and unorganized. Epicodus does their best, but I felt it wasn't the best medium to display information when other cohorts were going on too.
3) The clock-in and clock-out system can be a bit constricting, but there are chances to fix them with the instructors.
4) The React curriculum isn't the best to work from. It's a good reference to go to, but I wouldn't depend on it as my sole guide to understanding React.
For all the negatives I pointed out, it minimally affected my ability to learn how to code and program. Therefore, I give Epicodus 4 stars altogether! -
Tiffany
Good Quality
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Epicodus is much more affordable than other bootcamps I was looking at. I like that it offers C# and I think the pacing of the material was almost perfect. I really appreciated having internships at the end of the program and that the culture is inclusive. I would've liked to have covered more material in the C# portion of the program, I feel as though it was a little slow paced and repetitive, whereas the React portion felt crammed with too much new material on top of Career Services assignments and capstones. Overall though, I feel liked I learned a lot through their curriculum and that Career Services helped better prepare me for job interviews and applications. I would absolute recommend this bootcamp to friends, especially those who have some experience with programming as it will probably benefit them in the long run. -
Mekinsie
10/10 would recommend
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Epicodus taught me the most updated and relevant information on each language and framework. I still find myself going back for information from the curriculum now because there is a lot of really useful information in there! This bootcamp provided me with the structure I needed to sit down and spend time everyday to learn how to code. Pair programming was useful because that it allowed me to work with many different types of people and to learn and grow together. The content is challenging so be sure you are ready to commit. You get out what you put in! Ultimately I highly recommend this bootcamp to anyone who is considering one. It's very thorough and the instructors are awesome! -
Jon
The Quality does not equal the price, and they just raised tuition
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The quality of Epicodus does not meet their current asking price for tuition, nor their updated one. Career services are severely lacking for example. In one instance of our cohort the career services, people were asked about networking and they told us they didn't have any good feedback since they didn't really enjoy it themselves. It was super cringe when it happened. We've also been told by students they've asked to come back and speak that they received no help from them during the job hunt. Basically don't come here expecting career services.
After that, the material feels really beta testy. Spelling and grammar mistakes feel pretty regular. They do fix them fairly quickly when they are reported though so there's that.
We've also had instances of poorly worded projects. In one instance a project told us to write a test with an example that would pass the test with the way that they worded it. Again, not very helpful and confusing. Also, one of the other rubric items was interpreted in different ways because it was described with what I call "weasel words". Phrases are ill-defined when you're working with data. What do they consider a phrase? How many? It was unclear.
We also couldn't get a response from any instructors that day because they were all offline. Which leads to one of my other issues about Instructors being hit or miss.
For example, rather than giving us coding examples in the morning, they were giving us Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion examples. They had difficulty answering questions on DEI on a couple of occasions. We were also denied our pleas to proctor examples early on. I'm actually at the point where I wish I had dropped when I could get a refund, but I'm now stuck with the course or taking on a loan for a course that I don't actually feel fulfill's its advertising of what they offer.
This was also odd compared to what students said in other cohorts where they did get proper walkthroughs. So it really sounds like you get a different experience depending on if you get Cathy or Shawn, who sound wonderful.
There was also recently a presentation from some prior students where one didn't get a proper internship either. They basically were an employee so it would seem that Epicodus might not be properly vetting their internship either.
So let's review: Material can be problematic and unclear, Instructors can be hit or miss, projects can be poorly written, you're held to an attendance standard the instructors themselves don't hold themselves to, career services doesn't have the experience it needs to operate properly, and the internship could land you in a positon where you're really just unpaid labor for someone because they didn't properly vet it. -
Jessica
Novice to Software Engineer in One Year
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I decided to transition to software development at the beginning of 2020 and Epicodus was a critical component of this career change. Enrollment at a coding bootcamp fully immersed me in the field and it was my privilege to learn alongside inspiring, dedicated individuals who share a passion for personal growth. Collaboration is the center of the Epicodus pair-programming format and my cohort became a tight-knit group as we spent months debugging, designing, and testing together.
They handled the transition to remote learning tremendously. The instructors and career services team do a wonderful job of guiding you through the work while also encouraging independent learning. I built projects I'm proud of and came away with so much knowledge.
The internship component was a key reason why I chose Epicodus over several other bootcamps, and having a line of practical experience really helped out my resume. Job hunting was still a rough few months afterwards, but I had the tools, support, and time I needed to succeed. After all that work… I’m officially a software engineer! And I hope you’re able to take the same chance for yourself 💕 -
Salim
Transformational Experience
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I found the part time program very rewarding. Due to onset of Covid our class went from on-site to online midway stage (I preferred the on-site version) but in terms of material and what not the whole experience was very rewarding. Plus the course fee is very affordable compared to what others charge (I don’t think the people who run this program are money minded - they seem to run it like it’s a non profit). I haven’t landed a job yet but the whole course was a transformational experience for me -
Constantine
Very educational
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Sometimes I have found the material very difficult to understand. At first, I thought maybe it’s because English is my second language but after talking to my classmates it seems like I was not the only one. The explanation of certain topics and the tasks were very hard to interpret. Although I chose to believe that it was made purposely and it’s a part of the process. The ultimate task is to learn how to learn, so I'll trust the process, join the full time and do my best to graduate it by googling, watching YouTube tutorials, reading other material, and hiring a tutor if needed. -
Lauralee Green
Part-time Into to Programming
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I had some issues concerning the presentation of information from a complete beginner's standpoint. I used the feedback button and made my opinions known, so I won't repeat my ideas. I really liked the structure of the classes and the ample resources available to us. The instructors were very accessible in the discord channel and it was fun to work with people online. I had problems sharing my screen in the beginning and Cathy told me about hooking directly into the ethernet cable instead of using wifi. That did the trick. It was also very hard to see other people's screens because the print was so tiny. I invested in a 32" smart tv and that solved that problem. By the time I got everything together and was comfortable with everything, the class was over.
I had a problem pairing with someone who kept their mic off in order to read the lesson. I had already read the lesson and didn't know what to do with myself. I should have contacted the teacher, instead I left the room with that person without an explanation and joined another group. I apologized to this person, privately after some thinking. That was my own personal problem and had nothing to do with Epicodus. I have learned so much in such a short amount of time, that I am amazed. I learned about the basics of coding, hooking up hardware, communicating online without visual cues from other classmates, as well as new apps that I have never heard of. When I think about the scope of what was accomplished in the Intro class, I give high marks to Epicodus. Thank you for offering this class for $100. I have a much clearer idea of what is involved for the full time classes. I hope I can finish my code reviews and move on to React. Thank you for this wonderful opportunity. Lauralee Green " -
Colman
Student
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Still fairly new here at Epicodus, but my experience so dar has been awesome. I was reccomended by several friends to go to this bootcamp and a few weeks in I understand why so many friends had a great experience. The coursework is very challenging, encourages working in groups, collaberative coding and hands-on-the-keyboard instructions. I cannot say enough good things about my experience. I think you can find a cheaper option out there, but based on how many friends have gotten jobs so quickly after the bootcamp I am glad I made the choice I did!
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Avery Grey
If it seems too good to be true, it's because it is
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I attended only the intro course, so I don't know about the majority of their material. I do know that what I experienced was somewhere between marginally adequate and a total mess. The content was meandering and confusing. Michael, the director, made the majority of the video courses, where he spent most his time trailing off on tangents, getting tripped up on words, throwing out advances concepts, and writing sloppy code. When I say sloppy code, I mean sloppy. Most of it was all mashed together without any comments or extra spacing. Paragraphs on top of columns on top of classes on top of divs without any forethought into comprehension of code. I spent most of my time just trying to figure out what his code even meant, let alone write my own. On top of that, Michael's videos often contained printed revisions where he made mistakes during his lectures. It was a mess. The content needs major updating. It's quite obvious they are still using the curriculum from when they opened. They're still teaching bootstraps and JQuery, two refrences that are seldom used in today's programming field. The tech world is always changing, and schools NEED to keep up. They spent most of their time teaching how to cheat on a website by using these two methods instead if actually building a website with clean tags and an understanding of CSS beyond cookie cutter styles from a 10 year old playbook. It was at this point that the free trial ended and they wanted me to cough up 12k for a full education. Now I will say I do have a great understanding of css and html now, but it was mostly because i didn't follow their curriculum and instead bought a great book on the subject, and instead just used class time to teach myself something useful. I want to note that their instructors are all recent graduates that, if I had to guess, were only hired because actual programmers don't want to work there (and it beefs up their placement numbers). I will say I really liked my teacher. He was able to answer most my questions (the content was on entry level things) but I could tell he was frustrated at how the content was arranged. Just don't go here. Don't. The influx of code school grads without knowledge of programming is causing companies to blacklist these schools' graduates. Instead do what I did. There is no "fast and easy" way to b a programmer. This is one step ahead of a con. Careers take work and time and effort, programming isn't a get rich quick scheme. Get an associates at PCC in Computer Information Systems. It's a two year course, it's cheaper than any bootcamp, and you will actually learn how to program and most likely get a job. I love my courses at PCC. I learn more each lesson than I did in the 3 months at epicodus. Hope this helps! -
Michael
Epicodus
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Epicodus was a warm and unforgettable experience. The classes were structured in an efficient format and were fast and challenging, and accomodating to students with no prior experience or a lot of experience. Our teacher Tyler was incredibly knowledgable and helpful. My classmates were ambitious and driven, and I’ve developed lasting relationships with them that will continue to be fruitful in the industry. The staff at Epicodus is motivated to help you succeed and will be there with you up until you find a job you that suits your needs.
The internship oppurtunity alone is worth the price of admission. I was placed with a professional and respectful company that ended up hiring me out of the internship.
I would recommend Epicodus to anyone who wants a career change, and I have recommended it to close friends and family.
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Gosia
Best decision!
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Joining Epicodus was the best decision I made while switching my career. At a time I joined them I was 35+ with almost no previous experience in programming. It was hard in the beginning but it was worth it. I met wonderful people there, great teachers and best class mates. I really appreciate all of the friends I made there. We all created together this supportive community with one goal: to be professional programmers one day. And thanks to them, after less than one year from starting this journey, I got my first real job in the industry. I think me working for Microsoft now is the best recommendation for that school.
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Victor Felix
C# and React
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Epicodus is the best investment I've done for my career. I did not have any coding experience before going to Epicodus. It was frustrating at first, but once you start to understand the concepts, it will get easier. Just a few tips I wish someone gave me before I started class. Read up on the basics of coding. Even though they will start from the very basic, its nice to have a head start. Do not be afraid to ask questions. If you do not understand any of the materials, your mentor is there to help. I had John Franti as my mentor and he is an amazing teacher. Very patient and very knowledgeable. Last and not least, do not give up. There will be challenges and frustration throughout the course, but it will be well worth it if you put enough effort.
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Alex Dominguez
Epicodus is a Great Choice to Learn or Start in a Developer Career
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I went to Epicodus for their Introduction to Programming with Kyle Lange this past fall and it was one of the best learning experiences learning how to code. Epicodus is designed even for people like me and anyone who don’t have a tech background but the desire to learn to have the tools necessary to succeed. From how to learn command line, HTML, CSS and Onkected JavaScript with a final project that challenges you to use all the skills learned and use them in your last project, it’s a good beginning for people who don’t have a technical background and can succeed in their full class route wether is React, C# and others. The classes are well paced even for the advanced and for the begginer coders. What highly recommend the most about Epicodus is the class flexibility of the schedule, the professors (like Mr. Lange )who are dedicated and skilled to help you in the most difficult coding bugs in any project and working in teams is the best approach as it mirror s the true environment in a high paced web developer company. These traits and opportunities to also intern at the end of your developer language route is what makes Epicodus great. Please consider Epicodus a choice if you’re in the Portland or Seattle area and want to change your life.
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Anna K
Epicodus was a right choice
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I looked for programming courses and researched few bootcamp schools before I came to Epicodus. The price is more than reasonable for what 27-week program gives you. I almost didn’t have any previous experience except free online course for HTML and JavaScript. There were guys in my cohort who knew much more and it helped me a lot. Pair programming was mostly helpful. We were learning different technologies 8 hours a day, so yes, it was tough. I would suggest all the students to start learning algorithms and data structures during the program to be better prepared for internship interviews and job search.
I was lucky to have good guys in my group, and my 5-week internship was very great! So, Epicodus classes gave me good portfolio full of projects, understanding that I can do programming at least 8 hours a day (50-60 hours per week in my case), and a real experience in a real company. I studied algorithms and data structures later by myself for interviewing and finally got a job.
It was right choice for me.
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Adam Titus
Good for basics.
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Epicodus has a very strong curriculum in basic web development and can be a good starting point for people who have already determined that coding is the right career path for them.
In my time there I went from only basic knowledge of code logic, to being able to write in 4 different languages (C#, JavaScript, CSS, HTML). I learned valuable tools for programming, how to research code questions, and the basic workflow for building projects from the ground up. By the end of the first section I was able to make a Tetris game with 3 other classmates. By the end of the second unit I built a working social network and space shooter game with 3 different classmates. By the end of the third section, I had built a well designed and functional e-commerce website with 3 more classmates. And by the end of the fourth, I had built my own maze solving neural network AI for my independent project. I also put in a lot of time and effort into learning however, and not everyone will find it easy to learn as quickly as Epicodus demands.
While Epicodus does provide good basic knowledge, their curriculum isn't as strong at preparing you for an actual programming job in the real world. It's common to have to learn a new codebase when starting a new position but that isn't an experience Epicodus provides. Also, Epicodus projects rarely go beyond a few static web pages hosted on Github. Exposure to these scenarios can and do teach valuable lessons the first time you encounter them, as they force you to think about problems and questions in new ways. If Epicodus added that to their curriculum it would better prepare future developers for real world experiences.
Some of this is solved, however, by the internships Epicodus provides. These internships vary wildly in quality though because all the companies are different and Epicodus can't really control their actions. While I had a great experience at my internship, I don't think that was a universal occurrence. If you do get a good internship as I did, it can get you amazing connections, recommendations, experience, and mentors for your future career. Epicodus does it's best to match you with a company that would be a good fit, and from my experience I came away for the better from it.
The instructors are competent and are good at teaching the basics of code knowledge. However, they are not always experienced enough in the programming world to fully provide the answers that some students may have.
Epicodus is also helpful in the job search after you complete the course work. They offer resources, and their demo day generated several interviews for me with a variety of companies. But competition in this field is tough, so it still may take many months to find work in the web development field. I was employed as a junior software developer about 4 months after graduating, and I was one of the lucky ones. So use the resources that Epicodus gives you, but know that you have to do a lot of your own work to be successful in the job hunt.
In conclusion, I think Epicodus is a great start for prospective developers, and is a great place to learn and get your foot in the door. Just be aware that finding a job in this field is much tougher than just knowing the basics, and that it's only the starting point.
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Leah
A well-structured web programming class
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Epicodus was exactly what I needed to determine whether I wanted to continuing expanding my web programming knowledge into a career. I chose the Part-time course as a wayfinder, which was affordable and fit with my full time work schedule. The instructor was attentive, helpful, and knowledgeable about industry trends. The pace was challenging but not overwhelming. The classroom space was great with state of the art computers and equipment. The in-person class setting was particularly valuable to me as I really enjoyed partnering with different classmates and learning from each other. Overall it was a good experience for me and a way to push myself to explore new career options. Thank you Epicodus!
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Cheryl
What a wild ride!
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If you're looking for a cheaper, quicker way to get into development or other tech career path, this program is for you. It's intense and a lot of work even outside of the 40-hour weeks in class. Your brain will hurt. You will be tired. You may be one of the students who sleeps on the couches. But it is all worth it!
I mainly chose Epicodus over other programs because it offered a React track and included an internship experience. For me, this was a mid-career change and paying for another traditional degree or graduate program wasn't going to work. And while it's not easy to pair program all day long, my classmates were some of the most supportive and enjoyable parts of this experience. Lunch talks are a great way to network, learn from those actually working in tech and hear about different paths you can take. Epicodus is a growing family in the Pacific Northwest ... graduates are everywhere! During and after school, I have run into Epicodus students at conferences, at my current employer and on the MAX train. If this is something you're considering, I would recommend checking out the Saturday open house or scheduling a visit. -
Jonathan Stein
A good framework for success
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I attended the Seattle Epicodus part time to full time C#, .NET, and JS courses. It was about 6 months total, and I'm overall happy with my experience.
Although the curriculum was a bit rushed at times (our teacher was writing it the night before to keep it up to date, which caused some issues in class), I was still able to get a lot of knowledge out of the programs, specifically the JS/Angular course.
I'm currently working a 6 month contract as a web developer for 23/hr. So much better than my last jobs! I landed the job about 2-3 weeks after my internship ended.
If you are dedicated and able to do the work, engage with the materials on more than surface level, and do extra work outside of class, Epicodus can work for you.
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Nekilof
Perhaps a More Balanced Review: Part Time Experience
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I'm going to say that my experience here has been limited, as I only stayed in their PT evening program for 3 weeks, but here's my thoughts:
The bad:
-Epicodus is only designed for folks whom can afford both in time and money to attend 8-5PM M-F for months & put in extra work on the weekends too. There is a PT Intro class, but there is no other content available on an evening, weekend, or part time schedule. So if you're the "breadwinner" for your home, have children, or any other obligations in your life that prevent you from doing this, then it becomes exceedingly difficult to attend Epicodus.
-You're paired (you work with another student for the duration of the day/night) from the first class onward, and they mention in the orientation materials that sometimes you're "paired up" (meaning the person you're with knows more than you), "paired down", or you're equals. The problem there is that if you're in a "paired up" situation, the person whom knows more than you might not be interested in or good at teaching you...or might simply think they know what they're doing vs. actually knowing what they're doing. You're also placed in a potentially similar position if you're "paired down" as you're now the teacher and that may or may not be your cup of tea. I was never in a pairing that I enjoyed. I felt like the lesson for the day got completely muddled in the dynamic of the person you were to be working with. To give a specific example, one pair partner told me he finished all the classwork for that week at home, so he was going to zip to the next week's lesson. You share a computer, and so then it became a strange power struggle between what he wanted and what I wanted the whole night.
-For me the learning style just didn't work. You're expected to move at a pretty fast speed, and there really isn't room to help someone left behind like I was. Going into IT was a huge shift for me from being a therapist, and I had a lot of questions that were going unanswered...and then I got more and more confused as time went on & felt like there was no time for review, no one there to help and guide me, or the ability to go more in depth with an instructor on a topic I was struggling with to help clear up questions.
The luke warm:
-I was surprised by the complete lack of instruction by the instructors, whom are more like proctors than anything else. You learn by watching online video content, which is free and accessible online at the time I'm posting this: https://www.learnhowtoprogram.com/ There isn't enough time or instructors to provide you with in-depth time to answer your questions. There's a question queue system, and the questions are answered as quickly as possible and frequently the proctors didn't seem to know much about the content.
-If you're in the PT night Intro class, none of the staff outside the proctors are there, so you miss out on the lunch lectures and other experiences that the FT folks get. I asked if the lunch lectures could be taped, and although I was told this was a good idea, it didn't happen during my time there.
-If you're in the PT night class, you're expected to make the transition to the day time full time schedule after the intro class. So that'll involve a lot of planning for most folks to be able to pull off.
The good:
-The PT night class is a more affordable option if you're unsure whether to commit to the full program during the day or not after Intro is over. At the time I attended it was $400 for the PT night class.
-I feel their customer service w/ admissions was fantastic.
So do I feel like Epicodus gives you much more than say, a $25 a month Team Treehouse account? No I don't. You're basically only paying for a place to learn to program vs. getting hands on experiences that you couldn't get from a learn to code site & info from an instructor with experience under their belt. I felt like writing this would help to balance out the super positive reviews with perhaps a more...realistic outcome? Epicodus wasn't for me. -
Michael
Best time and money I've ever spent
I took the evening intro program because I was enrolled full time in college and I wanted a course that would fit my schedule. I also wanted to learn a lot in that short amount of time. After the course my interest in programming increased and I am planning on taking the full-time course once everything settles down. Thank you to Epicodus for all your programs.
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Nicole
Great opportunity!
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I attended Epicodus after working as a project coordinator for 5 years after college. I had some experience of basic HTML and CSS which intrigued me to want to learn more. I had heard great things about the code school from an alum and former coworker. If you want a quick way into the tech industry Epicodus can help you get there, but you definitely need to dedicate yourself and put in a lot of work on your own if you want to be successful.
Teachers are there more so for moral support and to help you learn better. It is up to you to do the heavy lifting, which is what it will be like in the job world. The initial curriculum can be overwhelming for someone with no experience. I would highly recommend trying to code on your own through free online resources to determine if this is something you are truly interested in pursuing before signing up for Epicodus.
Also, Epicodus focuses on pair programming; this is when you work with another person, sharing the keyboard and mouse daily. You can choose your partner. I would suggest trying to work with everyone in your cohort at least once. This will help you learn different work styles. Sometimes you will have a bad day with a partner and you may choose not to work with them in the future. Take that as a learning experience, but also keep in mind you can’t always choose your coworkers so learn to work better with different people, which probably means learn to communicate better.
Job search help is pretty good but again, you need to do most of the heavy lifting. Top three tips: network at meet ups/hackathons/friends/linkedin, work on side projects (not cookie cutter Epicodus projects, keep an open mind (the most important thing is to get your foot in the door.) Also, find code challenges and do them daily and pick up some resources on basic computer science concepts, Epicodus is only going to scratch the surface.
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Isabel
Great experience
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I took the evening intro to programming class and it was a really, really positive experience for me. I loved the pair-programming model; it helped keep me focused and upbeat without having the stress of working in a big group. The teacher was very friendly and helpful, as were all the other students. I learned a lot and feel better prepared to continue my education on my own. I definitely would have moved on to the full time class if I had the time and money.
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Kate
Worked out well for me!
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I had a great time at Epicodus, and I was very lucky in that I had a kickass group of people in my cohort and many of them became good friends of mine. I learned a ton, was definitely challenged by the coursework, and I found a job soon after the program was over (though I was in the minority in my class in that regard--just trying to be honest. And I was nowhere near the most skilled coder in the cohort! Luck, timing, and a good attitude go a long long way).
If you're reading this review, you're probably trying to figure out if this is the right career path for you. One thing that kept putting me off is the snobby elitists who kept saying things like "you'll be a great engineer if, when you were a kid, you loved taking apart radios/toasters/VCRs/insert-random-mechanical-gizmo-here and then putting it back together again! If you didn't show a strange fascination in boring electrical gadgets as a child then surely you can't enjoy coding!"
I am telling you now, I think that's bullshit. I never did that when I was a kid. I hung out with friends, read books and played sports and never ever had the slightest interest in that kind of thing. BUT, I love coding and I love love love love my job as a junior software engineer. Don't let the grumps get you down!
Also, I tried to teach myself coding through codecademy and treehouse prior to starting Epicodus, and I kept getting so frustrated and I thought it would turn out to be a dead-end...but Epicodus was such a different experience. Yes, it was hard. Yes, I learned a ton really really fast. But I also got to talk to people in person, and talk with my pair programming partner every day, and ask questions of other real live humans! It was great. Epicodus was a fantastic experience and literally changed my life.
Epicodus's strength is in their classes, their methods, and how much you learn. Their weakness is in getting you a job. The market seems to be becoming a bit more saturated with bootcamps so finding a job is tough and you have to just kind of luck out, honestly. I had a wonderful experience but doing a bootcamp (any bootcamp) and expecting a job at the end of it is a huge gamble.
Good luck to all of you!! I hope it all goes well! -
Caitlin
Best investment I've ever made
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After spending years in customer service, I finally decided to take the leap and attend a coding bootcamp. I was pretty skeptical that 6 months could lead to a new career. It seemed like all of my other choices were to go back to school for another 2-4 years and tens of thousands of dollars. I did a lot of research before choosing Epicodus and I'm so glad I did. I really believe that Epicodus is the best option.
I attended the C#/.NET track at the Seattle campus earlier this year and it was a fantastic experience. It was hands on learning and the instructors were incredibly kind and helpful. It really felt like they wanted all of us to succeed. They also give you tons of help in finding a job after graduation. The internship was by far one of the most valuable aspects of the program. I didn't get a job with the company I interned with, but I was able to get real world experience and recommendations on my resume that helped me get a great junior web developer job at a local startup.
As for advice before you begin the prorgam, I would say it is very valuable to learn the funadmentals of Javascript before you start. I knew nothing and I made it through just fine, but it would have been so helpful. Most of my class had studied Javascript on their, which made me feel left in the dust in my second week. If you feel like this during your program, just know that it gets better. You will get the hang of it and start working on material that no one has seen yet. Some people say that a coding bootcamp is going to take over your whole life but that wasn't the case for me. I was able to go to class all day and still have a life when I got home. It was exhausting and fun and super rewarding.
Thank you Epicodus! This was the best investment I've ever made and I will always be grateful.
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David
Epicodus, what I needed
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I'd been trying to teach myself C# and failing, due to a lack of motivation. I heard about Epicodus from a grad, and saw they had a C#/.NET track, and I knew that I would be doing that asap. I withdrew my enrollment from PSU (just 2 days before class started), and paid for Epicodus. I had some background with Web based Programming, and video game development, but what I needed was a positive and open space to dive deep into the .NET stack. Having an instructor that knew the curriculum well, and (more importantly) was willing and able to learn with us when we found difficult problems, really went a long way. She was an excellent mirror for our collective excitement. I graduated this past October, and within 3 weeks was hired.
This worked so well for me because the curriculum was challenging but fair, and I loved doing the work. I happily devoted as much time as I could, because I knew that I would reap the rewards after graduation. I highly reccommend this program for anyone looking to delve into Web Development.
Its not a real review without at least one negative comment. The only one I can think of was that there were a few hiccups with the internship process for my cohort. It is a mercurial process, dealing with businesses and students. My cohort was part of a double group, Design and C#, so there were 40+ people to place.
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Eliot
PHP/Drupal Course
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Great course! I had a really good experience with Epicodus in Seattle. The classroom setting was inspiring, coursework was thorough and engaging and instruction was there when you needed it. Ultimately, besides the fundamentals of coding, what I learned was the ability to find answers to problems, troubleshoot, be tenacious and rely on my problem solving skills to figure out lessons. I would definitely recommend if you have the drive and motivation to challenge yourself here.
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Starlynne Start
Fantastic Experience! - Rails 2017
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This was one of the best things I have ever done.
I chose Epicodus after researching a few different fast-paced coding programs- some were shorter (and still cost more), some were longer. I picked Epicodus based on price, location, and the pair programming.
Though I didn't think I would enjoy pair programming, I thought it would be valuable to learn how to collaborate, not just have a role on a team, but actually build something together. It ended up being far more enjoyable than I had thought! It was fantastic to learn from, lean on, teach, and support eachother through our courses. I rarely had any issues with others, and in fact made some very good friends.
The staff is great. The teachers do not hold your hand- they are there to help you learn, not provide you answers. That said, there were times I found such devious ways to baffle myself and them that Loren (my instructor) and I would spend hours learning new things to tackle the issues. They are friendly, capable, and more than willing to help you through the tough spots. The internship/employment staff is also very supportive! When I had opportunities to interview before we had done the in-class prep, they took extra time to help me practice before hand.
The only thing I see wrong in the curriculum was that I wish there was more of it! It IS a short program though, and they can only put so much into everyday. There are many further exploration links and suggestions provided in addition to the daily lessons.
If you are attending Epicodus, a few suggestions:
- Follow up on as many of the extras as possible. Do the optional second assignments on your own time if you don't have time in class.
- Do not make assumptions about your pair until you have worked with them- preferably more than once! Everyone struggles with different parts of the program, and they may lag in one area only to be the expert you need in another.
- If you are struggling- I certainly did- remember that the things that looked hard a week ago seem easy a week later. Keep at it and chances are whatever seems impossible today will seem easy in another week.
- Keep your github clean and your readmes up to date - it will save you a lot of time later!
- Learn all you can about tech interview/algorithm/BigO notation and PRACTICE solving coding challenges/whiteboarding as much as possible. These are essential for the interview process and are not covered except very briefly in the coursework. Codewars.com is a great place to practice.
- Network! Go to events, make yourself talk to strangers. It is how you get most opportunities in this field.
- Don't wait until graduation to start looking/applying to jobs- and don't let a 'failed' interview bother you. (I failed a few!) Many jobs take a while to get back to you, you want a head start, and the interviews are TOUGH- but they are a skill like any other and practice is the only way to get better.
- You can get hired! There were a few of us that had jobs even before our internships ended- some through regular application/interview, some through introductions (networking!!!).
I loved this school, and would do it again in a second. If I could get paid to attend, I would never have left! Highly, highly recommended.
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Neil
Great code school in Portland
Graduated and was lucky that my internship turned into a job. All the staff were super friendly and supportive at Epicodus. Great place to meet likemined people and grow your network. Would highly recommend to anyone wanting a career in tech. The course is challenging; be prepared to work hard especially if you are not familiar with Internet technology.
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Sam P
Epicodus helped me learn how to think like a software developer
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I would not be where I am now if it was not for Epicodus. Prior to Epicodus, I worked as a support developer as a startup and I always felt lost and suffered from imposter syndrome. Epicodus helped me to develop the right mindset to to become a problem solver, and not just a developer who remembers things. I learned to recognize patterns across many technologies which allowed me to familiarize myself with the unfamiliar with confidence and speed. That alone is huge in the world of software development. On top of that Epicodus covers a huge bredth of knowledge. My only complaint would be some of the later Javascript curriculum which covered Ember.js which you just don't encounter that much. I know that Epicodus plans alleviate these minor problems in the future though as they are pushing more Angular and React which are much more prominent in the industry. I now work as a UI Engineer at a large company and though I do not know everything going into this job, I know I can pick it up much more quickly and confidently due to Epicodus. I give Epicodus my full recommendation.
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Reed Lambiér
Epicodus will change your life
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Epicodus changed my life.
I started my professional life out as a Firefighter EMT in Bellingham WA. I couldn't finish college due to a health problem that required a lot of time and a lot of money to fix. So public Service was the best option for me since I couldn't afford to finish my degree without accruing immense amount of debt....or so I thought.
After being injured and not able to fulfill the duties of my current job I latched onto writing code one day and never stopped. Eventually I started researching code schools and I discovered Epicodus. I had a phone interview with Debbie and she a warmly accepted me into the Java/Android March 2016 cohort and I headed to Portland.
My experience at Epicodus was great. The teachers are hard working and busy but most of them are always there to help when needed. However, please make no mistake about how much of a challenge this school is. You will be learning code 50 - 70 hours a week for about 27 weeks. A strong third, if not close to half of my cohort(many of whom became close friends) had to leave the school for various reasons throughout the program. This is nothing short of a "bootcamp" and you should treat it as one. Coming in with the right attitude is everything. Probably one of the biggest pieces of advice I can offer is once you finish the courses you must treat the job hunt just like any other course. Everyday send out as many quality applications and cover letters as you can. If you are like me and don't have any credible certs, degrees or past work experience in the software industry, your hurdle is a little bit higher than everyone else and being persistent is everything.
The good news is that if you are tough, don't make excuses and work hard every single day you can make it through. After about 2.5 months of job hunting and interviewing I landed a position at New Relic working as a Java Support Engineer and I couldn't be happier.
Bottomline, I wouldn't be in the position I am today if it wasn't for this school. You too can find success through Epicodus as long as you work hard and stay focussed.
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Ned Faulhaber
Some good, some bad
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Epicodus is a mixed bag. It delivers on its promise to get you from no coding experience to being a coder. That said, your job prospects and general educational experience really depend a lot on your general aptitude for coding, your experience going in, and the route that you choose to go (front vs back end). Here is some advice that I hope will be helpful to you...
The coding mindset
Make no mistake - you WILL be a coder at the end of this program. Your knowledge will be limited in many ways, but you will indeed have the "coding mindset" that Epicodus focuses on - namely that you will have the aptitude to have an easier time learning new languages and understanding web dev concepts.
Instruction
One would expect to be instructed when one pays to go to a school, right? This is missing at Epicodus. Instructors are largely unavailable - day to day, they are not a presence unless you are having an issue, and you must put a "ticket" in to see them in that case. You get a weekly code review, but it is short, and doesn't make up for the lack of instruction the other 39.5 hours each week. Also, most instructors have no education training at all, and there is a difference between knowing how to do something and knowing how to teach it.
Pair Programming
So who DO you learn from? Pretty much up to you and your daily "pair" student partner, utilizing the online lessons that you follow each day. Pair programming is a cool idea in essence, but has some serious problems. If you can find a partner who is similar in level, approach, speed, learning style, and personality, it can be very useful, as you can really help each other through challenges and problems. The down side is that with the lack of instruction, you are basically learning from your partners, and they are just students like you, and almost nobody has any education background. It would seem that finding a coder better than you would be really helpful in learning, but in reality, those students are the worst teachers. They are either such naturals at it that they can't get on your level when they try to explain, or they are snooty and condescending, and basically annoyed with anyone not on their level.
Curriculum
The quality depends upon the class. The modules for CSS and Design classes were easy to follow, with a good pace, and really great videos and articles. The intro curriculum was awful - the section on JavaScript goes from zero to 100 and can leave a beginner's head reeling. It's like being a beginning swimmer, dipping a toe in the water, and the suddenly you're trying to swim in the middle of the Pacific.
Internship
I found this to be the best part about Epicodus. Getting some professional experience at the end of school was great - I learned a lot about client/coder relations, which greatly affects how you approach a project and what pressure there is (or isn't). Getting the idea of a workflow and how a pro team works was extremely beneficial.
Be careful which path you choose
In speaking with professionals, other Epicodus grads, and in my own experience, I've discovered that if you want a good paying job fairly quickly after graduating, it's a whole lot better to go the back end route. The front end market is super-saturated in Portland, and the farther you align with the design side of things, the harder it is to find entry-level jobs. Nearly all UI/UX design jobs were asking for 5+ years of professional experience, for instance. I'd suggest that if you go the front end track and wanna maximize your chance for a nice-paying gig, concentrate on JavaScript. I really wish that I had known about this before starting at Epicodus.
In the end
I wouldn't have the job (SEO Specialist) that I currently have without Epicodus. A year ago, I would have had no chance whatsoever to get any tech job, and now, that is an option for me, which improves my future career options. I enjoy Sass, and love Sketch, and have fun with my hobby projects. I've been very disappointed by the lack of decent paying jobs for my design-oriented interests, and I felt that I could have learned a lot more if I had some better instruction. But, despite the many issues that I believe Epicodus has, I still have come out with a new job skill, and a new job. I feel that I paid too much for it, but I did get a fast education in how to do web development and design.
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Alex
Epicodus offers so much
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While the curriculum I saw (May-Dec 2016) seems a little dated, there's no real problem with this. The real value of Epicodus is learning to communicate well with other creative thinkers and to solve problems in teams. It is an amazing school for building this skill.
My path through Epicodus started with the Ruby track and then I switched to the Design track. I feel unusually qualified to compare these two series of courses.
- They both teach fundamentals of Github, HTML5, jQuery, Gulp, Angular2, Ember
- Ruby track uses Capybara, not Cucumber, and introduces Sinatra before Rails (which I personally find maddening but your results will vary-- no one I've met beyond dev junkies knows what Sinatra is)
- Design track offers a different curriculum that barely focuses on algorithms, data types, etc and instead teaches InVision to create functional prototypes without code; also teaches Sketch (which is a cleaner, easier-to-learn Adobe Photoshop)
Because of this emphasis on prototyping and improving the user experience, I graduated with a better grasp of the frontend than full stack world. If you want this result, you can definitely learn tons of Sass and Bootstrap and Sketch on your own... the Epicodus curriculum is 100% free online, so purchsae Sketch and subscribe to InVision and you're ready to blast off. The school may still provide a 50% discounts on Sketch, however, so contact Debbie at Epicodus to confirm this and any of what I'm writing here.
The pair programming ethic felt amazing while in the Ruby track, because learning challenging new concepts with a colleague is helpful. Yet once I changed over and was asked to co-Design the frontend projects, it didn't seem as effective, and often felt needlessly frustrating. Again, your results will vary.
Life-changing experience, if you're ready to work for it. The skills I'm starting to build are deeply satisfying and I am very grateful to this program. Also, this seems the best value for an onsite code camp right now. Try their lessons remotely for free, then work through a few with a friend in person, and if you are even slightly engaged then don't hesitate to apply!
Because if you do apply and gradute you won't regret it. I'm in the midst of my first junior dev job hunt, and Epicodus staff check in weekly to provide tips and have already helped me network quite a bit. Everything here is 5-star except the choice of Ember instead of React, but feel free to brag about how you learned a more difficult framework in bootcamp just so that you could teach yourself React faster. ^_~
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Andrew
A great program for an interesting field
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I also posting this same review on Switchup - I had a great time at Epicodus. I was always interested in programming and web development and decided I'd give learning it a shot. My instructor was great - very knowledgeable and supportive, and an all around pleasant guy. I really liked my classmates as well. I spent a lot of time studying, and made sure my time in class was productive and focused. I received a job offer upon completing the program, as well as an offer to be an intern for a company with the idea of becoming permanent after 3 months. As some of the other reviews say, I think if you are ready to put in a good amount of work and study (and be sure to pair with people, even if you don't really want to every day!), you'll get a well-balanced and valuable background in entry-level web development from Epicodus. The tone at the top seems to be supportive and encouraging, and that shines through with all of the staff that I've interacted with.
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Niem
You Don't Get What You Paid For!
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That's because you get what you put in. It doesn't matter if the bootcamp is $5K, $10K, or $15K; if you don't put effort into it then you won't succeed, period. Epicodus and probably many other bootcamps will provide you the environment and fundamentals in programming, but the rest is up to you. Don't expect to get a job so easily if you only spend 40hrs a week coding. Epicodus doesn't make promises; rather, it creates opportunities for students to get into coding habits, connect you with peers, prepare you with sufficient coding skills (based on your effort), and allows you to have a taste of real world experience through internships at an affordable price.
- Instructors: I liked all of my instructors even if not everyone are senior developers. When my partners and I are stuck on specific problems, our instructors would go over our errors step by step just like they are another coding partner. Even if they know what the problem is, they'll still ask us questions until we answer the problem ourselves, which I do appreciate. They don't just help with coding errors, but they also give advice on how to handle situations where you and your partner might not be on the same wavelength. In other words (honest words), you will not like to work with some of your classmates, but they'll still help you out when you need help. I would like to thank Leroi, Summer, Diane, and Michael for being awesome instructors during my time at Epicodus.
-Code Reviews: I'm ok with the weekly code reviews. They don't ask too much from the students, but I always go above and beyond for most of my reviews. It's always good to do more than what is being asked, and that is what Epicodus wants its students to do.
- Curriculum: It's understandable that the curriculum is what it is because of code deprications. There will always be newer codes, methods, and efficient ways of programming. However, I do think the curriculum should always be a top priority at Epicodus, which it might be, but it didn't feel it. The Design course could use some improvements from when I left. The design tasks for weekly reviews, I think, should be more complex or more strict. That would help me build a stronger portfolio. In the JavaScript course, we had three days to work on Angular 2 and two weeks of Ember JS. I prefer a more balanced schedule because I like Angular more.
-Job Assistance/Internships: I think communication between the staffs are clear and comprehensive. The internship, for me, was ok. It's not the best, nor do I feel like it's worth $1000 because it's a one person startup, but it's good experience in a way. I would recommend trying to find an internship on your own before going for the internship course because you know who you'll be interning for. At Epicodus, you'll be matched with 1 out of about 3 or 4 places, which could be awesome or not depending on where you are matched with. After my internship, I studied by myself at home for two months then applied to several places and landed a job. So I guess I didn't rely much on the assistance part. They offered to do weekly checkins, but I was lazy on my part.
Overall, if you have the motivation or looking for more motivation, then you should try Epicodus. Don't take Epicodus if you're the type of person who doesn't want to commit to doing extra coding work outside of the classroom. Again, you will only land a job if you put effort into it.
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Alex
A jump start
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I went into epicodus because I was curious. They introduced me to programming and I was instantly hooked. You start with the basics of learning a markup language (HTML) and applying basic styles with CSS. You will gloss over a lot of fundamentals of programming like how to make a for loop, or basic debugging techniques. You will get to know a little bit about everything.
The rest is up to you. You need to study on your own time. You need to make programming your whole life while you are at Epicodus and the only person holding you accountable is yourself. Because Epicodus covers a little bit of everything, you need to take the time a learn a lot about one thing. As an example, they'll teach you basics on JavaScript, but to really harness the full power of JavaScript you're going to need to study a lot.
Don't expect to work while attending epicodus as this is a 40 hour a week program. If you have the talent, you can do contract work while attending Epicodus to help pay for classes.
The coding challenges they have every friday are too easy. I left many of them feeling like they were not pushing me hard enough to learn more and just passing me because they could. I would have liked a more strict coding challenges that would have pushed us to the limits.
The course material was great, however, there was frequently errors in the material. This is ok though, as it will help you identify bugs.
Through epicodus, I was able to land a job at a creative agency and I am finally doing fulfilling work. I do not regret Epicodus at all as they provided an environment for me to learn something new, work with others, and help me achieve my goals. If you are dedicated and are willing to spend many hours outside of this program studying, you will succeed. The work you put in will reflect how soon you obtain a job after the program.