Flatiron School

Flatiron School is without a doubt, a great bootcamp for receiving the fullstack engineering experience from true industry professionals. When I say great, I mean it's great because of the community. The community really does motivate you to code. Everywhere you go, you see people work together or alone, drawing diagrams on whiteboards to design user interfaces and systems, and students constantly finding new technologies to incorporate into their next project. If that isn't enough to fuel your hunger to learn the trade then I don't know what else will. But while that is where it shines, it falls short in the fact that there are no transitions between phases. Learning Vanilla JavaScript is great but when you suddenly crash straight into React, without having truly experienced the full extent of Vanilla JavaScript, many students end up confused or discouraged. This might not seem like a valid point as this is a bootcamp that only lasts for about 15 weeks but this is something definitely worth considering. This is a concern that the majority of my peers share as much as I do. Other than this, Flatiron School brought me a memorable experience that I will never forget in my life!

When I started Flatiron School, my cohort was my instructor's first coding bootcamp cohort ever. This person, with years of programming experience and a background in education, struggled to adjust to the fast paced, high demand bootcamp atmosphere and was very overwhelmed. Initially, I was upset and insecure with an intimidating workload, and seemingly no guidance from an instructor who was just as confused as I was. 

The way Flatiron is structured is that you have modules with lessons, exercises and practice code challenges that you can complete to gauge your understanding of the concepts at hand, as well as lectures for every phase on that particular language/framework you are learning, AND technical coaches. I leaned on these other resources to make sure I was leaving this bootcamp learning to code. Halfway through my 15 weeks, the instructor was let go and replaced with someone who had not only attended Flatiron School, but had taught multiple cohorts already. Many students were upset with the sudden layoffs, and some couldn't let go of what could be seen as an inconsistent learning environment. 

However, my new instructor was amazing and not only did I graduate with two full stack projects under my belt, I was hired for an entry level position less than a month after graduating. Flatiron's curriculum gave me a solid foundation to pass my first ever technical interview. To quote my now direct manager, I made it farther into the tech assignment "than some mid-level and senior developers we have interviewed". The technical foundation and career coaching I received at Flatiron was solid and I left prepared with projects, a resume, and useful skills, that have yielded real results for me, regardless of the hurdles I had along the way. Although Flatiron's bootcamp experience is intense and challenging, it works. 

I started the Flatiron program back in August of 2022. I was a Mortgage Loan Officer who was looking to pivot my business experience into a more technical role where I could merge my soft skills into a more technical field. I was referred to the Flatiron program by a fellow Loan Officer who was also interested in moving into a more technical role. He convinced me that the program was worth the price tag. ($16,900 is what I paid for the start of my program.) I left my job and started the program and I haven't turned back. I graduated in late November and have accepted a position as a business analyst. As far as turnaround times go on employment, I couldn't be happier.

One thing I would like to see more of in this program is an increased focus on SQL and visualization programs like Tableau or Power BI, as those are required for many data analyst roles.  I would recommend this program for anyone who is interested in learning Python and its many libraries for data science / data analytics purposes. 

Like many others have said, what you get out of the bootcamp experience is what you put into it. They will support you but no one will hold your hand — you need to be highly-motivated and interested in the discipline you're studying. However, I would also add that the reality is it is also what you bring into it. By that I mean you will be far more likely to land a decent job in a reasonable timeframe out of bootcamp if you have impressive and relevant higher education credentials and/or (ideally and) impressive work experience. The experience doesn't have to be related to the field you're going into but if you can show you've done previous professional (white-collar) work competently, then it will make things easier. That's not to say you can't land a good job without one or both of these, but it will be harder. For those without previous professional work experience or an undergrad degree at a top-tier college (or stand-out resume at a lower-tier) I would probably say that you are better off spending the time going for a master's degree because you will be competing with a lot of people who do have those things. If you are strictly interested in learning the subject matter though, then I'd recommend it to almost anyone — you will learn a lot.

I have always had an interest in software engineering growing up, but I ended up in another career field because I felt that I didn't know much about the tech industry. After 4+ years as a Physical Therapist Assistant, I decided I wanted to change my career path and thought about pursuing my doctorate in Physical Therapy or becoming a Physician's Assistant. The overwhelming thought of putting myself in so much more debt and many more years of school made me decide to look elsewhere. The thought of going to a coding bootcamp kept popping up, but I just brushed it off.

Once the pandemic hit, I decided it was the perfect time to take the leap and pursue what I knew would be the career I could see myself in moving forward. I applied to Flatiron School and got in! Right from the beginning, Flatiron School's staff was very friendly and helpful. The application process went smoothly and I was excited to begin my coding journey.

One of the main reasons I decided to go to Flatiron School was because I needed structure. With all the free resources out there to learn coding, it was overwhelming. Flatiron School's curriculum was very structured and taught at a pace where you're able to grasp each concept well. The instructors are very helpful and made sure to help each student understand everything at their own pace. The project assessments after each module truly help you understand what you learned and also give you a taste of what a technical interview would be like. Career coaching is top-notch and very helpful in helping you with fine-tuning your resume, and LinkedIn profile and giving you the advice needed to succeed in landing interviews. All the students are very helpful and typically worked as a team to help reinforce what was learned. Each resource given to the students was also very helpful and assisted in your learning both during and after graduation.

The only thing I would say that Flatiron School could improve is to incorporate more data structures and algorithm courses into its curriculum. Overall, I'm proud to be a Flatiron School alumni and want to thank Flatiron School for preparing me well for my first job in this new career.

I very much enjoyed my Flatiron School experience! (For full transparency, I just signed an offer after 2.5 months of searching so I'm feeling particularly positive right now!) The instructors and curriculum did a great job of setting guide rails to success. Do not think this is not hard work or a commitment, but if you commit yourself to this and spend extra time you can leave in a good position to find an entry level job in tech, while acknowledging that getting your foot in the door is very challenging. The career coach services were very helpful. 

Important takeaways:
JavaScript, HTML/CSS, React, Ruby on Rails is a solid full stack to work from but you really get just a taste of each. If you want more of a back end focus, be sure to supplement more.
Results can differ based on who is leading your cohort. Your lecturers are all very solid, but hope your cohort leader who you will be communicating with on the daily in alignment with you. 
Start learning data structures and algos early. Flatiron gives you a basic curriculum you can do on your own but get started early. Your job search will thank you. 
The more you put in, the more you get out! 

I completed the life, full time software engineering bootcamp this year (15 weeks, full time 9-6). Overall, I would recommend the program. I thought it was very well organized, and the materials were educational and easy to follow. I would do the program again, because I do not think I would have been able to learn the material as quickly on my own, and I attribute this to the pace of the program, instructor support, and coding challenges/projects which held me accountable to keep up. I also really enjoyed the community flatiron offers, there are a lot of events and networking opportunities. There is a good amount of self study and independent learning involved, so to do the program virtually I would recommend having strong self-discipline to complete coursework at home. The networking opportunities and connections I made at Flatiron enables me to get a job within 3 weeks of graduation. 

In this school, the part-time flex program, it is self-directed. And they mean it. You are left to your own devices. The only help you get is from former students who are paid $20 an hour to answer a question if you by chance get stuck but I have gotten timed out in those chat calls. Several didn't want to share the screen to help you through the lab in Visual Studio, etc. Before class even starts you are given 75-100 hours of pre-work to finish no matter if you're part-time or full-time. I'm working full time and specified I had 20-30 hours a week of time to work on this course work. But I ended up working 7-8 hours after work a night and 10 hours on a weekend day. I was exhausted, had migraines, and literally made myself sick that I was put in the ER. After I was timed out again from a chat, I tried to call the school, and there is no live person who picks up the phone. I emailed onboarding and I was stalled until I played phone tag with the admissions director. By that time, I decided to go to another school that was a better fit. I left a message saying that I was pulling out of the program and asked him for a refund of all money received. An hour later, I received an email from him saying that my behavior was in violation of the student code of conduct and they were disqualifying me from the school.

So, essentially, it was the hypothetical 'I quit' and 'you can't quit but I fired you'. Real professional and maturity there. I have read reviews where people tried to persist through the program, ended up with the debt and little to show for it, and now feel blessed to have gotten out when I did even though I spent 80 hours on their program with no support, no instructors. They tell you to learn four or five languages on your own. 

Please, if you're considering the part-time flex program with them, take this as a word of caution. You will be on your own. You won't have much support but former students who will only help on occasion and an advisor who will tell you how much of the program you have completed by a percentage every Friday. Is that really what you want to pay $15-$16K for? You can save money and sign up for Code Academy for $19 a month. It's a good program for giving you the basics of various coding languages. 

This was one of the most rewarding things i have done for my life.  It was tough it made me strong not only in skills but emtional it out me in a place where I can succeed. I question their course the first week. not understanding the  way things work. But in hind side I would not have it any other way. Take the leap they will catching you and teach you to fly trust me. I m a programmer !  landed a job 5 days in to my job declaration. Nick L. Was an amazing instructor with you every step of the way. was really there when you needed him and super friendly and not intimating to talk to when you have issue with code or life . man without Nick I would have had a much harder time. Brian W. my career instructor  was flexible and a real asset to my branding and resume writing. I thought I was an ace resume writer, through friendly interaction we took my resume from great to Outstanding ! 

Hello,
My name is Alavi Ahnaf I start cybersecurity analyst program in January 2021. I graduate it in April 2021. I did my best in cyber security analyst program, It was extremely hard for me because they don't provide any kind of sources which means they don't have any good professors or help from anyone at all. In this program you're pretty much in your own. If you are someone who can do things in your own than this is for you. But, if you're someone who's visual leaner like me than will have a lot difficulties in this school. I didn't know this before getting into this. I get to this field having so much hope that I would be successful and get job after but no this school doesn't do anything for you no help so ever with anything. They are useless and will put you in a lot of in debt. When I was doing the classes I struggle so much still I didn't give up I finish my classes when it was time for the job search no one in class explain anything how to do it anything. You need to figure out all the directions yourself.  After the program was over you to do the job search log which is about 6 months and you have to follow up every week with career coach that time I got Sara Aharon as career coach. She use to look over my work whatever job search I use to do and log. She use to tell me is correct when it wasn't at all.I know for 6 months I been doing it correct after when its over I apply for money refund since still I didn't get the job right. I met with Samantha Arthur who's a career service coach as well she say to me I am not qualified for money back guarantee because my work is not correct the logs I did for job search is not meeting the requirements of the money back guarantee.  She ask me to contact someone high than her who's Mollie Khine I spoke to her and everything she say she will review my job search logs again. Finally she get back to me after two weeks and tell me I am not qualified because I didn't meet the requirements  when Sara Aharon use to check my logs who use to tell me it's correct. This school has ruin my life and made me so depressed please guys I am trying to help you all I don't anyone to go through this as what I am going through. I am suffering I have no job right now in so much in debit. I wanted to do this so I can gain my experience and get somethings better so I can make some good money. I start this school thinking is covid time I can do this program and my career but no something else happened. This school put me in horrible situation now I have a loan to pay of $17 thousand because of them I don't know I will pay that. I am so sick too because of them. Please I hope the school read this I want you guys to be aware that please don't ruin students life they come to school with the hope that they will be successful and get better job not they will be in debit pleaseeeeeeee don't lie to students about anything, don't ruin their career or credits. ##########saynotoslatironschool################stay on your words$$$$$$######## worse experience, bad school, bad professors and career coaches are worse and disgusting. NO STUDENTS SHOULD COME TO THIS SCHOOL!!!!! RIP OFF SCHOOL!!!!!!!!

Overall, I'm happy with Flatiron School as they even helped me land a job after I graduated. The curriculum is challenging and getting the projects done is not as easy as it may sound. You have to study to be successful. The only problem I can think of is an inconsistency between cohort leads. I've had to change cohorts a few times due to personal issues and had some bad experiences with some teachers. I would recommend FS to improve on the teacher's consistency. Other than that, it was an absolutely great experience learning all the tools to become an Entry Level Software Engineer.