Fullstack Academy Reviews
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Andrew Grant
Full Stack Academy Cyber Bootcamp
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The Full Stack Cyber Bootcamp (part-time) is 26 weeks of learning the industry's most in-demand IT and cybersecurity tools/concepts along with receiving outstanding customer service from the career services team. I enjoyed learning IT fundamentals, networking, blue team, and red team concepts. Not only was the material beneficial to learn throughout the bootcamp, but the teachers did a good job of presenting the material in a way that I could grasp and apply what I've learned. This bootcamp will not only prepare you for future success in IT and cybersecurity roles, but it will also help you network with people who are currently in the industry. -
Vibitha Varghese
BootCamp Full stack
It was amazing to do the bootcamp in concordia. The bootcamp was challenging work shops were fun to do. Dipti Razdan was very kind instructor. Penny was awesome Career coach. I got placed in a company after 1 month of bootcamp. I highly recommend the bootcamp full stack for others. -
Claire C
Too Much Change
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While I can't speak for every cohort I can say that mine had to deal with a lot of change and chaos unnecessarily. From week two up until the last week of class, we had staff members and mentors (who acted in a TA-type role) quitting and sometimes being replaced. The replacements were never as good, and if staff members weren't replaced we were added to other people's already busy work loads. Our new mentors were so unreliable that our lead instructors (Alec and Bobby, who were incredible) had to stretch themselves thinner to help groups that they weren't in charge of. It added a lot of extra stress to an already intense learning environment, and I think it took away from my learning experience.
As for the curriculum, most of the skills I learned were very relevant to my job search, but they don't always teach the most modern version of some technologies, especially React. I think it would make more sense to modernize the curriculum more to allow for students to focus on learning algorithms and other relevant tech after the course is over, since there's not much time to focus on those during the bootcamp.
Overall, I think this course prepared me well to join a brand new field, but I am unsure if I feel comfortable recommending the program to others because of all the staff issues. -
Ndeh TOIKADE
Great!!
The program is a very challenging one and requires hard work on the students part. But please mind increasing the Time and provide more beginner friendly resources -
Olivia
Student
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I had a wonderful experience at the Grace Hopper Program at Fullstack Academy. It was such a really positive atmosphere to have for a learning environment- no crazy ego's, and my fellow students were great to work with both in pair programming and projects. Huge shoutout to my instructors too- Joe Alves and Johanna Nelson. I truly feel like I lucked out with having such incredible instructors. They fostered a really healthy learning environment, kept it fun, and I learned so much from them. Overall, I truly feel like this program helped me grow in so many ways, and now I have some pretty great projects to be able to talk about. -
Jose L.
Full-Stack Web Development
A 28-week full-stack web development immersive course. Students learn HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. The course focuses on the PERN stack and other tools like Redux, Sequelize, Babel, Webpack, Mocha, and Chai. -
Wilson Voltaire
My experience at Fullstack Academy
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The instructors at Fullstack are unmatched. My greatest fear before attending a coding boot camp was my ability to understand the course materials with-in a short period of time, especially as the courses get more and more complicated really quickly. Within the first few days of my cohort starting those fears were laid to rest due to how knowledgeable and how versatile my instructors were in breaking down complex materials to simple, easy to understand and familiar components. The learning environment is superb. Everyone on the staffing team at Fullstack Academy are very mindful of everyone's needs and personality from publicly outspoken opinions and needs that you may wish to express privately, you always have someone to reach out to. The classmates are a lot of fun too. Imagine an environment where you make friends, talk about programming, struggle and learn together and from each other. That is what you get at Fullstack Academy. -
Kevin Kim
Amazing Bootcamp Experience!
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Fullstack Academy exceeded my expectations when it came to having an educational experience. The teachers explained all the topics and lessons in great detail and the fellows help you throughout the entire process. I was overwhelmed in the beginning as everything was new and there was a lot to learn but with hard work, determination and the help of the fellows I was able to successfully complete the bootcamp and graduate with 3 amazing projects under my belt! Ultimately I now have a full time position as a Software Engineer at an Info Tech company and it's all thanks to the help of everyone at Fullstack Academy! I would definitely recommend this program to everyone interested in learning how to code. -
Shaun
Simply Amazing
An amazing course from start to finish. Everything was wonderfully explained and the instructors were great at communicating and willingness to help was top tier. This course has already changed my life for the better. -
Von A.
Exceptional Cybersecurity Bootcamp
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Anyone looking to get started in the field of cybersecurity without previous experience should definitely consider Fullstack’s Cybersecurity bootcamp. No prior experience is needed, and for someone looking to make a career change like me, it’s a fantastic opportunity. Thaddeus was a very thorough lead instructor, and Amir and Anjili provided a quality on-demand help as assistants. The program is very attentive to their students and it’s clear they care about the students experience and futures after the bootcamp. Fullstack also offers career support to help prepare students for interviews after the program. -
Inna Lynn
The Grace Hopper Program
The Grace Hopper program was a wonderful and supportive place to learn, and the outcome was a job offer that tripled my previous income. -
Zach Baker
Cyber Bootcamp Review
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Coming into the bootcamp with no prior knowledge (as well as many others in my cohort), was a little nerve-wracking. However, the instructors made us feel very comfortable, confident, and capable, from the first day - throughout the entire cohort. The cyber curriculum is in depth and goes extensively through blue teaming, red teaming, general security best practices, and amazon web services (AWS). I felt confident post-program to go out and find my first entry-level job in the field. The school provided us with a "career launch day" opportunity to meet some potential employers after the cohort was over, and I had got a job not even 3 weeks after graduation in the field. I would, and have, recommended this bootcamp to many of my friends. -
Sarahjean Marhone
Build Skills to be Job Ready
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I had been planning to go a a coding bootcamps for months before being accepted to Fullstack Academy. I thought I knew what to expect, but the program exceeded my expectations. The first half of the program is dedicated to learning tools and technologies to build a full stack JS-based application. The pace is fast, but there is ample opportunities to refresh on content and practice more. The second half of the program is all about projects, and in my case, was when I really began to understand how many of the technologies worked when applied. This was the funniest part of the program and the part that truly made me job ready. The Career Success team, through their series of workshops on networking and resume re-writing, as well as the 1-on-1 coaching, helped me prepare and anticipate what I needed to have ready in order to kick start the job search. I am tremendously grateful to all the instructors and program staff. I could not have successfully transitioned into a career in software development without them. -
Vikki Chan
An Effective Learning Program for a Promising Career
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Attending Fullstack Academy’s Flex Program during the pandemic was one of the best educational investments I’ve made to switch careers from architecture and design to software engineering. As a result of learning in a remote environment, I improved my video presence and ability to articulate technical concepts in writing, and learned how to work asynchronously with other students. These skills are advantageous to collaboratively effectively for any job that offers a remote work plan.
Looking back (as a newly employed software engineer), I am really glad I chose the 6-month long part-time program over the 3-month long full-time program so I could learn the Junior Phase material at my own pace and retain the abundant amount of knowledge taught in the curriculum. It was important to me to take the time to learn, so that come Senior Phase, I could make strong contributions to team projects and effectively collaborate with my teammates. While anyone can learn web development on their own, I can vouch that Senior Phase is absolutely worth the cost of the program - you get to mirror a real work environment by pair programming with other students, communicating technical concepts, and participating in a hackathon to hone your learning process for any new technology. I want to shout out to the amazing instructors/mentors: Bienvenido (Ben) Rodriquez, Eliot Szwajowski, Eric Katz, and Stanley. They did a great job of teaching the material in an engaging style that made the classroom feel safe and collaborative.
In addition to the well-planned, relevant curriculum, I was extremely satisfied with Fullstack Academy’s career development support and received guidance from their Career Success Coach, Dezzi Rae Marshall. She taught me how to manifest the right opportunities and people through regular one-on-one sessions by crafting a personalized plan that I could adopt for today’s modern workforce. As a second life career changer, she helped me build the confidence I needed to fearlessly master the pivot and create a shift in mindset - one that projects an abundance of optimism and opportunities. While my time at Fullstack Academy has ended, I look forward to working with Dezzi throughout my career progression in software engineering. -
K
Fantastic decision
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I signed up for the part-time software engineering bootcamp at Fullstack Academy because I wanted to test out whether a software engineering career would be right for me, and I'm so glad I did. Firstly, taking the course over 5.5 months part-time vs. being in a 10 week immersive program means that material can marinate a bit longer, and I personally found that helpful. It also adds a sense of security because most people in my program had a full-time job, and were doing this bootcamp part-time. One drawback of being part-time is that you don't have as big of a fire under you to get employed as a software engineer after the program is over, because you already have a job. I took a break of a few months after graduating from the program, and ended up recruiting successfully afterwards, but it is can be easy to to lose momentum if you already have a full-time career in your life.
Pros:
- good instructors. We had 2 instructors during our program. Both were great, but the first definitely used some dated technology, while the second was a currently employed software engineer and basically told us that we were 'behind.' While this was frightening, he luckily ended up catching us up and we as the students felt more prepared as we neared graduation.
- pace: as mentioned, the pace of the part-time program was great because you had time to let the material sink through. I heard that the full-time immersive is much of a 'drinking from the firehose' vibe where you are just cramming information
- support of TAs: the fellows assigned to our course to help were fantastic. We had 3 fellows and they were available on Slack or to hop on a video call with us to help us with our projects, explain concepts, etc. You will have more interaction with them during Q&A than with your main professor
- access to AlgoExpert: Fullstack has a relationship with AlgoExpert, which is a site created by a fellow Fullstack alum and ex-Googler, that is used for algorithm practice. It is a paid subscription but Fullstack gives it to students for free. AlgoExpert was CRUCIAL to prep in the job search. It is one of the few resources that has a detailed video (~50 min) where the actual instructor walks you through the problem and various solutions. On free sites like LeetCode, you are on your own to figure that out and scour YouTube videos for randos' solutions. I used AlgoExpert pretty exclusively in the job search and was well prepared for technical interviews as a result - so thanks Fullstack for that hookup!
Cons:
- variety of instructors: We had 2 instructors with a hand-off a little after halfway through the program. This lack of continuity wasn't fantastic, and it was clear that the second instructor seemed more experienced and used more relevant technology. While both instructors were great, I think the majority of my class wished we had the second professor for the whole time
- career services engagement: Finding a job after the program is completed is very much up to you. Don't expect daily or weekly newsletters from the career team with job listings. I got those maybe once every other month. You get a resume review and some general lectures on networking, and then you're on your own. Follow-up to see how you are doing was nonexistent. If you want help or to set up a time with Career Services, you have to reach out - Career Services is not proactive in helping you get a job.
Overall, my cons are really limited. I am super happy with my decision to go with Fullstack, and will be starting my first software engineering job shortly. Most of my classmates, according to LinkedIn, are also employed in software engineering jobs 6 months out of the program. I was debating about accepting Fullstack vs. Codesmith for the bootcamp, and Codesmith seemed like they kind of threw you to the wolves and expected you to figure things out, versus Fullstack was more hand-holdy. I very much appreciate that Fullstack takes a very deliberate, supportive approach to teaching students software engineering and it helps you really digest the material and get support when you inevitable hit hard topics. If you are thinking about entering software engineering as either an interest or as a full-time job, and are looking for a place to learn the skills to do that, definitely consider Fullstack Academy. I'm super happy with my decision to go here and thanks to the program and my performance there, am now able to become a full-time software engineer. Thank you Fullstack!
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JC
Highly recommended
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Instructors:
The instructors are fantastic. They are really passionate about teaching and they really care about the students. (Most of them are probably taking a significant pay cut to work at Fullstack, compared to what they could be making in industry.) As a Teaching Fellow and as a student, I got to work with 4 different instructors. Everyone had their own sense of humor, but some were more laid back and others were more strictly regimented. All of them were great to work with in different ways.
Curriculum:
The pace is very quick, and at times overwhelming. There is a method to the madness, though, and most students will be able to pull it all together by the end of junior phase. If you are struggling, there are lots of resources -- office hours with fellows, office hours with instructors, invitation-only Study Saturdays -- to help you out.
The curriculum is mostly project-based. Almost every day in junior phase, there is a lecture, followed by a workshop. I don't retain much from lectures, so I quickly learned to use the lectures as an introduction to the topic. The workshop and projects are where the real learning occurs, since most people learn best by doing.
While the curriculum could be slightly updated, it really doesn't matter because the emphasis is on teaching you how to think, not on learning any specific library/framework. Once you understand how to think about solving problems, you can go learn whatever new technology later (and most reasonable employers understand this).
Administration:
The program leads are (in my experience) incredibly supportive. Have a death in the family, a health issue, a sick kid/spouse/parent, or anything else stressing you out? The program leads will bend over backwards to work with you and help you get through it.
The limiting factor is often not the resources provided, but the student's own reluctance to seek for help. Most of us deal with imposter syndrome and some of us have a hard time admitting that we are struggling. If this is you, then do what you have to do to ensure that you don't get trapped in the "I don't want to ask for help because I should have asked for help 2 weeks ago and now it's hopeless" mental trap. Ask for help. FSA is incredibly supportive and will work with you on just about anything.
Job Assistance:
My career success coach went above and beyond. She helped me negotiate a salary that was ~$15,000 to 20,000 more than I was expecting to make on my first job offer. She helped me with my behavioral interviewing skills, cleaned up multiple drafts of my resume and cover letters, was regularly available, and was just a fantastically supportive and insightful person to work with.
The Remote Experience:
Due to the pandemic, my cohort was 100% remote. The one disadvantage of being remote is that I didn't get to know my fellow students as well as I would have liked. I came away with one close friendship and a few acquaintances that I really like, but that's about it. Otherwise, the remote experience was fairly smooth, and in some cases can be an advantage (pair programming is sometimes more difficult in-person if you are paired with someone who doesn't understand basic social etiquette and will literally grab your keyboard and start typing on it).
If you are in a major city (NY, Chicago), now that COVID vaccines are widely available, you will probably find that students are organizing get-togethers on their own.
What Could Be Better:
Just like any mid-sized company, communication can be... imperfect. Sometimes one person will tell you X and another person will tell you Y (deadlines, policies, etc.). Be willing to ask clarifying questions and go with the flow sometimes.
Summary:
FSA is a great bootcamp. It is hard work! Do not expect to attend FSA and do the minimum and succeed -- you will probably have to work after hours on some weekdays and some weekends. But if you are willing to do the work, you will be able to get a job. (I had no prior coding experience and had not taken any math/science classes in over a decade.)
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Laura Van Dyke
Exceeded my expectations
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The Grace Hopper Program at Fullstack Academy exceeded my expectations in every way. The instructors are phenomenal - I had Mac and Sarah who were both excellent teachers and very approachable. My fellow, Jackie, was so supportive and available and she taught us a lot. Yasmin and Trent are both fantastic career counselors with tons of great advice and guidance for getting into the field. The program taught me so much and I got to build some great projects. I loved my cohort and am still in touch with them. I got a full-time job in the field within 3 months of graduating. -
Saj King
Would Recommend!
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I had a fantastic experience at Fullstack Academy's Grace Hopper Program, both as a student and later as a teaching fellow. I felt that the curriculum was very well curated to provide the maximum amount of useful and relevant information in the short 17 week timeframe, and the combination of lectures, hands-on coding exercises, and projects worked well for me to retain new concepts even at the rapid pace we progressed at.
I was very fortunate to have excellent instructors as a student. Ben Rodriguez, Noelle Laureano, and Julissa Napoletano did a great job of teaching and answering questions in Junior Phase, and worked hard to make time to work one-on-one with anyone who needed it.
I felt that the Senior Phase projects were very helpful in solidifying everything learned in Junior Phase, as well as teaching very valuable organizational and teamworking skills. The daily algorithm practice and mock-tech interviews were also invaluable in preparing for the job hunt, and I appreciate these practical skills being stressed.
Overall, I would definitely recommend Fullstack to anyone who wants to get into tech, especially to those who can attend the Grace Hopper Program with deferred tuition. -
Alex Dunne
go to fullstack
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Fullstack has everything you could want in a software engineering course, and will supply you with the fundamentals to software engineering, as well as sufficiently preparing you for the job search. However, if you are not prepared to 100% focus on the course, don't go. It will eat up at least 80-90% of your time over the length of the course. If you are a hard worker, logically/mathematically inclined, and able to thinking critically about problem solving and design, then GO. I loved FS and legitimately cannot think of anything more it could have done for me. -
Kristen
Good Teachers, Meh Staff
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TLDR: Go for the tech instruction and experience. Be prepared to have a headache with career and financial services.
LOVED the instructors. Had a really fantastic educational experience, and for the most part my cohorts were also great. However, career services and all other aspects of Fullstack Academy leave a lot to be desired. Working with the career team was endlessly frustrating, with myself and others being given contradictory instruction, with little to no clear communication channels. The financial team doesn't get involved until you finish....but they're also incredibly frustrating to work with, and refuse to provide answers, ensure refunds are going to correct accounts (and then refuse to take responsibility for such), and also very rude. -
Saba
Amazing Experience
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I had a wonderful experience with the Grace Hopper Program at Fullstack Academy. Their self-paced bootcamp prep online workshop prepared me for the admissions interview, and the program itself was very well-structured and supportive. The instructors were incredibly smart, but more importantly, they were good teachers who knew how to instruct a group of people with varying levels of experience and never made anyone feel silly for asking a question. The career support team was incredibly professional and gave us so many resources to prepare ourselves for the job market. I appreciated the constant reinforcement from all staff that we could achieve learning all these new skills in such a short amount of time, and their dedication to the productive struggle definitely made me a better developer and learner. -
Joe Tonelli
Code, Communication, Community
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I graduated from Fullstack's WDF-2011 cohort in February of 2021. Regarding the stack we learned, based on my conversations with other developers, and what I've seen in the job market - it's a solid group of tech. PostgreSQL, Node.js, Express, React/Redux, plus a few other associated libraries - all of them seem to be in demand skills for the current openings. But more importantly, and perhaps most valuable, was Fullstack's focus on pair-programming, technical communication, and teammwork. Every day during the immersive, you had the opportunity to code with new people, talk through problems together, and ask for help if necessary. These practices, in addition to the group projects during senior phase, taught me invaluable lessons about how to work with other developers, how to prioritize features, and how to ask for help. Doing this for months has taught me how to talk technically about almost any problem, and start to think about how to solve them. The instructors, fellows, and other students were all extremely supportive, and I'm proud to say I am still in touch with many of them, and I anticipate I will be for a long time to come. The network you build here is so valuable, and I am grateful to have gone through Fullstack thanks to the NYC Tech Talent Pipeline. -
Jonathan Arreola
Full Tuition Scholarship
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I really enjoyed the bootcamp, but I was definitely a special case as I was awarded a full-tuition scholarship which heavily influenced my decision to attend. The instruction was top-notch, and my cohort was mostly professional and hard-working. The skills you'll learn are valuable and marketable, but competition in the job market is intense, and you may struggle after the bootcamp. Most bootcamp grads will find a job in their industry in 6 months to a year after graduating. So, make sure you're in this for the long haul. The only negatives I can think of are that you could potentially leave the bootcamp without any notable projects on your resume. So, work hard to make every project a resume worthy one. You can also revisit them afterward to polish them up. It may also take some commitment on evenings and weekends to really create something impressive, especially in the second half (senior phase) of the bootcamp. Don't get burned out, but give it everything you can so that you're not disappointed after graduating. I did not heavily use career services, but found a job after 6 months anyway. It's a personal decision of how much you use what they have to offer, and personal opinion on how helpful you perceive it to be. Best of luck if you attend, we're nearing the end of Covid, but returning to in person classes in the future may be possible. I attended the bootcamp fully remote in the summer of 2020. -
Tim
A Risky Option
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Fullstack Academy has great curriculum and great instructors. I can confidently say that I came out there with the appropriate knowledge to identify myself as a software engineer. The instructors are helpful and insightful and the curriculum itself was fun because of its challenging nature. NOW, the only caveat is that job assistance is POOR. There are many in my cohort who STILL do not have jobs, I am really only one of the few. I also do not think Fullstack has a vested interest in your ability to find one. There are other bootcamps that will not require upfront payment unless you land a position, which is much safer as you can be assured that they have a profound interest in connecting you with a company. My recommendation for Fullstack is to allow all people to have the option to pay post-finding-a-job, and not just a select group (their Gracehopper program). If this option is allowed, I would whole heartedly recommend this bootcamp. But if not, ethically speaking I cannot. Find a different bootcamp that asks you for compensation afterwards because it is stressful to have to pay back a near 20k loan unemployed. -
JMac
Completely Unprofessional
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I reached out to Fullstack to schedule a call to discuss their software engineering immersive because I am going to make a decision ASAP. Not only could they not make time to speak with me for almost 4 days... THEY NEVER EVEN SHOWED UP FOR THE CALL! They sent me a calendar invite which I accepted, it had my phone number right in the appointment, but they were late. I emailed them about 5 minutes after the appointment time and no response. I emailed them 15 minutes after the appointment time... STILL NO RESPONSE. I cannot even believe how unprofessional this is. I guess they're too busy to care about actually showing up to their recruiting appointments. -
Ariana Hwang
Life Changing!
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The Grace Hopper Program was fast paced and I had moments where I struggled to absorb every piece of information that was thrown at me. However, I'm so glad I completed this bootcamp. It was well worth all of the hard work (even post-bootcamp). I think this program is great for people like me who really want a career change and want an organized, structured curriculum to follow. I enjoyed a lot of aspects: the instructors, the engaging lectures/workshops, pair programming, and senior phase. After the program, I found it helpful that there was an alumni slack in which jobs were posted daily for bootcamp grads. This was the best resource for finding jobs/networking in my opinion. During the last phase of the bootcamp (senior phase), I would've preferred gaining more insight from technical recruiters on my resume and projects. I realized I needed to put in a lot of extra work/time into preparing for interviews, namely algorithms and data structures. Other than that, I would recommend this bootcamp to a friend. It changed my life and I am way more confident in my skills/experience than before. -
Adriana
Best decision ever
Joining the Grace Hopper Program at Fullstack Academy was no doubt the best decision I made. I had amazing instructors and classmates who helped a lot in every step. The amount of support was above my expectations. -
Michael
Coding Bootcamp
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Fullstack Academy was a great experience. I went from knowing virtually nothing about software engineering to building fully functional web applications within the span of a few months. Full warning this bootcamp is a lot of work, be prepared to spend your weekends and free time studying. But if you're willing to put in the work Fullstack provides an incredibly supportive team to help you achieve your goals. -
Claire
Fullstack changed my life
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I know the title is dramatic, but that is genuinely how I feel. I first heard about in Fullstack when my partner went about a year and a half ago. I saw how good his experience was and knew it was legitimate when he got a job as an engineer just a few months after graduating.
I took Bootcamp Prep in January and now less than 9 months later I have accepted an offer as an Apprentice Software Engineer at a reputable startup in Chicago. I was connected with the job through a Fullstack alum, which is a testament to how passionate Fullstack alums are to help new grads get jobs.
I don't blame people for being initially skeptical of bootcamps- there are a lot of bad ones out there, and at the end of the day they are for profit institutions. During my time at Fullstack, it is safe to say that they have earned their rank as one of the top bootcamps in the country. From start to finish, I was challenged more than I ever have been, but I was also supported more than I ever have been in an academic setting.
I would recommend Fullstack to anyone I know who is interested in starting a career in web development. -
Jason
One of the best decisions I've made.
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I applied to Fullstack on recommendation from a couple of friends who are developers. I had looked into 2 other highly respected bootcamps as well, but was not interested in the hours they offered. Fullstack is 5 days a week 9-6, while the other two were something like 9-8 M-F and 10-5 or so on Sat. Perhaps they end up covering more at the other schools, but I'm not certain. I knew that I would need to get enough rest, and that I would probably have enough to study on the weekends anyways, which was certainly the case
The application process was pretty smooth, and included a live pair programming algorithm over Zoom or Skype. I was excited to be accepted, and had to begin the pre-course which was online, at your own pace with weekly deadlines and mini-tests called checkpoints. Most of the pre-course was targeted at improving your javascript skills and didn't include any frameworks or any type of work with stacks. After 3 weeks or so of that, the on-location portion began in NYC. It was exciting to be back in a learning environment, and I had been out of school since 2005. It was also energizing to be surrounded by many other people who were making a career change and were eager to learn. Unfortunately, we were on location for only a week (or two?) because of COVID, but I was extremely pleased at how well everything worked in a remote setting.
The 13 on-location weeks are split into two phases. The first, called junior phase is essentially learning the core stack. Node, Express, Sequelize, React, Redux. Then there is a week off with limited assignments, and a god chance to relax and review. The second phase is essentially putting everything we learned into practice, and prepping for the job hunt. I was surprised at how robust their career coaching was from resume reviews, interview practice, etc. I came out of the program a transformed person, and was fortunate to land a job within 2.5 months of graduating. -
Grace
Worth the money!
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My experience at the Grace Hopper Program at Fullstack Academy was extremely positive. Pivoting your career can be nerve-wracking and scary but I started to feel like a software engineer right off the bat at this bootcamp. I decided to apply to Grace Hopper for two reasons. One, it's exclusively a women and non-binary coding program, which is so rare in the tech and software engineering world. Two, the deferred payment plan is super helpful, especially since I uprooted my life to make a career switch. The material we learned is relevant and interesting and you have access to it even after you graduate, which I used throughout my job search. It's also really great to have a network of fellow software engineers as I begin my career in the field. I highly suggest this program if you're looking to pivot your career! -
Oleksii Musinov
Web development immersive bootcamp in NYC.
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I was starting with simple test about any programming language usage. After that I've got an invitation to attend one week JavaScript course for free. Then it was preparation to the course at home and final exam to get started bootcamp junior phase. The process was so excited that I did not think a lot and made a start.
The advantages of this course are very talented teachers, with many years experience in the industry. Smart Curriculum, it means you step by step learn how to make things starting from front-end and ends of back-end. You will try to get some technologies by yourself and make a project on it. You will aware about additional tools for developers that helps to host and control you work. Data structures and algorithms is a big plus as well. -
Adam
Cyber Security
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The instructors are extremely technical, smart, and knowledgeable. This rubs off on you in a positive way. You learn how to be technical and gain the ability to learn new technologies, which applies when you get your first job. The bootcamp is extremely difficult but you learn a completely new skillset and are fully prepared for the job market, minus one or two things you may have to do on your own in an ever changing cyber security job market. But, to get an entry level position in cyber security, you are definitely prepared. It is a classy bootcamp and the career success coach and instructors do care about your well-being and success even though the pace is very fast learning because it is a bootcamp. Very difficult but leads to excellent career so well worth tremendous effort. Career success coaching is good but obviously cannot guarantee you or hand you the job but they are there to hold your hand along the way and the career success coach is there to advise you and support you. I am very lucky and grateful to have gotten a job within two months of graduating the bootcamp in the pandemic so my effort has paid off. Part of the reason of my success is my willingness to relocate. The instructors are caring but push you. -
Helen
Full-stack immersive software engineer program teaching fellow
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I first joined Fullstack Academy's bootcamp prep course which is only $99 and I also received a complete refund for completing the course. My bootcamp prep instructor Sarah was super passionate and she explained all Javascript in clear logic which was super helpful. After completing the prep course, I became close friend with Sarah and a couple of other students at Fullstack Academy. I got a sense of their supportive culture and decided to enroll in their full-time immersive course.
After being admitted, I took 2 month to study as much as I can on my own before I started the full-time course. I started the course in July 2019 and the three months period was really intense but not unbearable. For the six weeks junior phase, you get to learn new concepts on a daily basis. You will have lectures in the morning and workshops(pair programming) in the afternoon. I normally had some time to relax and exercise after dinner every day but I did continue to study over the weekend. Each week, you would also have to take a checkpoint test to check your understanding of that week's study.
After the junior phase, you will take a week off to relax and refresh yourself, which I found really helpful. Then you enter another six weeks of senior phase. You will build two group projects and one solo projects, which I found was really fun. You also got to build closer relationship with your group members. Each cohort would also have social chairs that organizes activities for us to get to know each other better such as happy hours on Friday. Each week, you would also have ample opportunities and channels to express your concerns about the course, instructors, or your peer.
Upon graduation, I was also offered a 3-month paid teaching fellow position. While helping mentor the next cohort, I also got to sit in all the lectures again which definitely helped solidify my grasp of all the concepts. I also took the time to learn more about algorithm and data structure on my own. After that, I attended the launch day organized by Fullstack academy.
After leaving the school, I continued to apply for jobs, practicing algorithms and building projects. All my interviewed were obtained through Fullstack's network and I finally got a pretty good offer from a big company this May.
I want to thank Ben for being a passionate instructor and supportive friend. I want to thank my career coach Natalie for always being there for me and practicing all the behavioral questions with me. I want to thank many others at Fullstack Academy that made my transition from a person with zero tech background to a full-stack software engineer POSSIBLE! -
Sam
Online Course Lacks Support
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The coding instructors for the program were fantastic. However, the support offered by the career success team was very disappointing. My cohort was scheduled to have 2 career fairs, both of which were cancelled with little notice and with a broken promise of rescheduling. It was my career counselor's last year with Fullstack and it was apparent by how 'checked out' they were. Students could request individual assistance (which was difficult to ascertain) but there was no structured curriculum about job hunting. Learning how to job hunt and interview for coding positions was the main appeal to me and it was disappointing to be snubbed. -
Nikko Elliott
Hard but well worth it
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When I decided to switch careers to software engineering, I didn't look much beyond Fullstack Academy as a starting place. Their reputation and proven numbers were stellar and it didn't hurt their onsite immersive in Chicago was easily accessible to me. Chicago has other options, though, but Fullstack won out on quantitative results. Of course, none of that stopped me from being nervous about the program. With limited background in coding, I wasn't sure I'd be able to handle it. Their tried and tested system, patient instructors, and dedication to their students quickly helped me understand why they have the reputation as one of, if not the, premier coding bootcamps in the country. Don't get me wrong. It was difficult and stressful at times, but, that's why they call them bootcamps, and in the end I came out prepared to enter the job market and succeeded in landing a job in the industry in three months. To anyone considering making this leap, I can't recommend Fullstack Academy enough. And make sure you take advantage of their bootcamp prep course before applying. -
Chris Kang
Bet on yourself
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Fullstack Academy played a very special role in my life at a time (around 40 years old) when I was finally daring to face down deeply ingrained fears and negative thought patterns about my ability to learn challenging new concepts and skills, and bet on myself in pursuing new and compelling pathways in life.
I attended the immersive program, which is so well structured and paced, relevant/current, and meticulously and lovingly crafted; the instructors are masterful and clearly passionate and invested in the success of the students (love to Finn, Collin, and Priti); and the student community is so intelligent, growth-oriented, warm, and supportive (coming from someone who usually has trouble fitting in), that there's no question this was a critical turning point in my life. Fullstack's career counseling- and especially, their Chicago lead, Holly- is the best I've engaged with anywhere in my life, and I've just accepted a software development role at a company I'm truly excited to work for.
I could ramble for a long time, but here are some subtle things of note:
- They have an actual 'No Assholes' sign, no assholes were encountered in my time there
- They have an entire lecture dedicated to unconscious bias, and I watched them make good on it with poise and grace when a contentious situation arose
- They demonstrate and fluently integrate a deep understanding of the learning process, including concepts like psychological safety and a hierarchy of activities that solidify knowledge acquisition (if you've always felt teaching is the best way to learn- you're in good company)
- I normally get icky vibes from CEOs (and I've met many), but when one of the co-founders, David Yang, came to do a Q&A with my cohort toward the end of our time there, he was so transparent, and took the time to truly consider and reply authentically, evenly, and without pretense to every question (even some challenging ones about company management), that the last piece of the puzzle snapped into place- this is a program founded and built by a group of people who have a deep, abiding love of technology and of learning, and faith in the potential of both of these things to change individual lives and the world. -
Kristina Key Cayetano
Prof Eric Katz is the best!
I've been a software engineer for 2 years prior to attending the bootcamp, and I still learned a lot of real life work experience and best practices in the bootcamp. I would do it all over again when time permits. -
Emma Curtis
Grace Hopper Program
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I can't believe where my life is now. After about one year of programming and a short three month bootcamp sprint I am a fullstack software engineer for a medical imaging company that I am inspired to work for. I could not have been here was it not for the skills and support that was brought to me from fullstack academy. They not only taught me the fundimentals of coding, but also gave me confidence in my ability to learn. Despite the academy's currculum in fullstack javascript I acheived a position at a company who uses completely different technologies, solely because I am now an expert learning of software. I can't thank fullstack academy enough for accelerting me into work I love and making me confident in my proffesional abilities.
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Kaitlyn Martinez
Web Development Fellowship (WDF)
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My time at Fullstack Academy was extremely fruitful. I was taught relevant and powerful technologies that the industry is using, and given all the resources I could ever need to succeed. I began my journey afraid of what the future held for me and unsure of my abilities as a coder, to then becoming a confidant software engineer who's eager to learn more and more. The fast paced curriculum is a bit intimidating at first, but it becomes almost addictive by the end of the program (especially during Project/Senior phase).
The personal growth you see at Fullstack is incredible. At graduation, though I know I have a lot more to learn, I was proud at the amount of material I was able to learn in such a short period of time. The community is another incredible characteristic of Fullstack. Everyone is eager to learn just as much as you, and are extremely supportive of one another. The instructors are another gem. They are very down to earth and patient with you. Definitely, Fullstack Academy was the best choice for me.