Fullstack Academy

On Attending a Software Development Bootcamp

Last fall, I made the decision to attend Fullstack Academy's 13-week Software Engineering Immersive course. Now almost six months after graduating, I feel confident in saying that it was a worthwhile investment. FSA is a constructive experience for people who are confident that they want to inhabit a technical position and benefit from structured, immersive education.

I wrote this to help people that are on the fence about enrolling in an in-person programming course. I start off by documenting the plan you should take to first validate your decision to enroll in one of these programs. Then if you've confirmed this is the path for you, I discuss the pros and cons of Fullstack Academy and why I feel it is a leader among coding bootcamps.

Preparation FSA

The high cost and time commitment of coding bootcamps should indicate that they are not something to do on a whim. In fact, when compared to traditional universities, their cost-to-time ratio is equivalent to several prestigious institutions. As with most things in life, you should first educate yourself on what these programs entail.

If you are considering making this move, there are three general steps you should take:

Get Advice from Past Graduates

Seek out people who have completed the course and gone on to work at companies similar to your interest. Simply peruse LinkedIn or AngerlList and you will probably find a number of these people. In my prep, I reached out to five former FSA students. Out of those five, four of them got back to me. I spoke with one on the phone for awhile and the three others wrote me lengthy, detailed opinions on their experience.

When making important life decisions like this I always feel it is best to speak with people who have been through the ringer. Learn from people who have been in your shoes, preparing to make that same decision. This is your chance to ask real people (not paid employees) things like:

- What did you get out of the course?
- Was it a manageable workload?
- Were the instructors helpful in learning the material?

These interactions were by far the best thing I could have done to help assure me that I was making the right decision.

Determine Your Path

By now you (hopefully) know that you want to take your career in a more technical direction, but maybe you are not sure how that desire will manifest itself. Sure, you can be a software developer, but maybe you are a creative with a greater appreciation of design? What about product management? A mathematics nut who would actually be better off exploring data science?

It turns out that a lot of people are interested in tech, but aren't actually passionate about development. And that is fine! Do yourself a favor and educate yourself on the different paths available to someone in this field. All of these alternative fields are growing and worthy pursuits of your time and there are bootcamps out there for almost all of these disciplines. It is reassuring to know that you explored all these possibilities before jumping into one in particular. Most of these fields are related in some capacity, but there is rarely significant overlap. It is much harder to move into a design role when you just spent 13 weeks investing your time in a development course. It's certainly not impossible, but that time/money might have been better spent on a UX bootcamp.

Start Learning

If you've made it this far, then you're pretty certain that the development path is for you. Excellent! Now get to work.

Preparation for the bootcamp needs to begin months in advance of the actual course. The quality schools necessitate that you come in with a solid grasp on the fundamentals of programming and the language that they teach. More importantly, the longer and more in-depth you prepare in advance, the more you will get out of the course material once you are on-site.

Here are some great resources to help you prepare for and supplement your journey:

- Computer Science Course Videos: Recently, several top institutions (MIT and Stanford among them) have been distributing their beginner CS course online for free. These are great starting points for the fundamentals.
- Free Code Camp: Learn to code with one of the most collaborative and resourceful online coding communities.
- The New Boston: A huge collection of free video tutorials on CS, web design, and more.
- You Don't Know JS: I am not one to recommend programming books, but this series is key if you intend to truly understand JavaScript from the compiler up.
- HackerRank/Codewars: Coding challenges of progressing difficulty to help you practice and level-up your programming chops.
- Functional Programming Exercises: Learn how to effectively use functional programming in JavaScript, an increasingly popular pattern.
- Team Treehouse/Code School/Codecademy: Although there are plenty of free options above, these paid services contain a great breadth and depth of courses covering most popular languages and concepts.

Here is what I love most about this step: once you have spent enough time learning, you are faced with a crucial question. Why do I need to attend a bootcamp when I have all of these free or lower cost options available to me?

The truth is, you don't...

I know several professional developers who have no formal background in development and learned everything they know from the abundance of online resources. It is definitely possible if you are disciplined and take a concerted approach to learning the right things in the correct manner.

Where I will say bootcamps differentiate themselves is in their ability to provide regimented learning and hands-on support. Most online options fall short in that area and it is exactly there where I see most people fall off the wagon in their attempt to take on learn independently. This is exactly why I chose to attend FSA. Being able to completely focus on learning and not worry about establishing my own curriculum was instrumental to streamlining my mental process throughout the course.

With these steps complete, we come to a final fork in the road. If you still think that the software development program will suit you best, keep on reading for my take on FSA.

The Pros

• Structured Learning: I alluded to this in the previous section, but I really cannot overstate this fact. Where FSA excels is in their ability to provide a regimented curriculum that logically progresses from CS fundamentals all the way to building a web application from the ground up. To aid in learning all of the concepts along the way, instructors present well-composed lectures that aid in students' understanding of how and why each step is important. If you are genuinely interested in the material, there will be nary a dull moment throughout the course.
• Applied Learning: Not only is the learning sequence logical, but applicable "modules" are provided at each step to cement your understanding of the concepts. Instead of simply just discussing theory, these modules have you actually implement what you are learning. There are two things I loved about this format:
  1. Each assignment had varying degrees of difficulty embedded in the module. Each one would cover the basics, but for those progressing at a faster rate, therewould be an advanced section to take you to the next level. This was never required, but super helpful in truly understanding the nature of what we were learning.
  2. These challenges were better than anything I generally come across on the web. Not only did they help you grasp the material you were learning, they aid your understanding of how the technology itself works. This afforded a deeper level of comprehension and truly was transformative for my thought process. No longer am I content with using a tool. It made me a better engineer by imparting a curiosity in how my tools worked so that I am better able to compare and leverage the ones out there.
• Guidance: As someone who rarely took advantage of office hours in college, this was instrumental for my learning. The teachers were all former software developers and had a strong grasp of the concepts being taught. Each cohort at FSA also has a group of previous graduates, known as fellows, who assist in the learning process. I liken them to graduate students at a college, mentoring undergraduates in the studies still fresh in their minds. Most importantly, there is rarely a time when you cannot seek the help of one of these people. The "always on" mindset of the staff was instrumental in my learning experience.
• Full Stack JavaScript: Most bootcamps offer a Ruby-focused curriculum. FSA and a few others focus on JavaScript. Having had the benefit of formerly working in the tech space, I was aware that the JavaScript language was blowing up. Between Node.js and the resurgence of ECMAScript standardization, it was clear that JavaScript was the language in which to invest. The TIOBE Index for programming languages is one of many reputable sources that shows compelling data behind this trend. Full stack JS also means less context switching, which in turn means more time to focus on learning the fundamentals. I really think this is the way to go moving forward.
• The Cost: To be clear, I am not saying that FSA, or any other coding bootcamp for that matter, is cheap. What I am suggesting is that when compared to most universities, it is cost competitive. Take a look at this chart to get a sense of what I mean. The cost of the FSA Software Engineering Immersive program is right on par with the University of Michigan's (my alma mater) annual tuition for out of state students. Of course this doesn't take grants, federal aid, and other educational loan programs into account, but it does suggest a comparative cost model. Not to mention that as a graduate of both programs, I strongly believe that most FSA graduates are better prepared for a real-world development job than many Computer Science Engineering graduates from UM.

The Cons

Fullstack Academy does not come without its flaws. A few things to note:

• FSA is a Lean Startup: Never forget that FSA is itself a "startup" of sorts. This means that it operates more like a business than it does an institution of higher learning. This is not inherently a bad thing, but it does mean that they try to minimize costs in non-essential areas. Like using free Slack accounts and buying second-rate monitors and cables. I don't think these are imperative to the learning experience, but do not expect to roll into a classroom with shiny new equipment and stand-up desks.
• Not everyone is a "Teacher": Let me start this one off by saying all the teachers were professionals and adequately educated on software development. Unfortunately — and this should not be surprising — being a good developer does not make you good at teaching. While FSA had their standout instructors, there were those that rambled and did not present well-structured lectures. Most made up for this inadequacy during informative one-on-one conversations, but some lectures added little value to the material.

Conclusion

Based on the above breakdown, I would say the positives of the FSA course far outweigh the negatives. I believe you would be a good candidate for the course if you:

- want to quickly ramp up your technical skills
- are confident that programming is your thing
- have done serious research and preparation

In short, FSA provides a concise, focused, and relevant curriculum to help you transition into the software development world. If you see yourself in this world, why not explore this possibility?

When I decided to change careers and commit to web development, I knew that I needed to choose the best boot camp in Chicago. I did my due diligence and found Fullstack Academy. 

Fullstack's excellence begins with its application process. It is not easy to get in, but it IS worth it. Study, take some online courses, do some reading -- make sure you are ready to commit because boot camp is no joke!

The instruction at Fullstack is truly phenomenal. In addition to their solid knowledge base, Nick and Connie bring an enthusiasm that is infectious and they make coming to class a joy every day. (Bonus points: Nick makes AMAZING cookies -- ask him about it and he will deliver.) I was fortunate enough to be a part of a wonderful cohort, and when we graduated, I was literally brought to tears thinking about how much we had accomplished together. We were truly a Fullstack family.

Post graduation, I felt fully comfortable asking Nick and Connie for advice in my job search. Within 4 weeks, I received 2 job offers at companies I was really excited about. During my interviews, both companies were pleasantly surprised by how knowledgable and capable a boot camp grad could be. Truly, I owe it all to Fullstack's education and preparation.

Fullstack Academy is more than just a code bootcamp - it is the next step, should one decide to attend, to advance one's career as well as one's self.

I am a graduate of Fullstack's Web Immersive Program beginning in September of 2016 (1609 cohort). I've watied a while to write this review in order to go through the entire process and let my ideas settle instead of writing an impulsive review and after 4 months of graduation, I am ready to write about my experiences.

I had finished a short contract position as a developer working on a back-end task scheduling program at a large company. Near the end of the position, we worked on front-end functionality and it piqued my interest. After looking and listening to many reviews, I applied and decided to being Fullstack Academy's Web Immersive Program in New York City.

The first month of remote foundations helps establish fundamentals of programming in Javascript and encourages you to interact with the rest of the cohort through their forums. It was a great place to start meeting people and getting involved with them before starting with them on campus. 

After fundamentals, the immersive begins on campus. My cohort was about 40 students and we did not realize on the first day that we would become such a close family and masters at our craft, thanks to Fullstack Academy. For the next three months, we learned about wed development, went to seminars on saturdays to expand our development knowledge (on campus), grueling worked on projects to put on our resumes on our own and with teams. We all spent anywhere from 8-12 hours a day together working through problems, challenges, and helping each other along the gureling program. Nearing the end, the career team comes in and helps us prepare however they can for the upcoming search be preparing our online persona as well as our programmer profiles on paper and online.

My biggest take away is not only the web development skills, but the family I established at Fullstack Academy. They are there for you when you're down and struggling with yourself from the job search, they are there when you're successful with the search, and they're there when you need some guidance. I've experienced a great many feelings after finishing Fullstack Academy, and the people I have met there have been there for me the entire step of the way.

Not only did I leave Fullstack with the experience I need to enter a development market, but I met some of the greatest people I know today on that campus in NYC. If anyone asks me today about what bootcamp i would recommend, I would easily recommend Fullstack Academy not only for the education and academia, but to meet some of the best people you can ever meet.

I graduated Fullstack Academy’s immersive cohort around mid Feb 2017. Loved it so much, and I guess they liked me too, because they offered the fellowship position for another 3 months( Accepted the offer immediately :) )! That felt pretty good since it the fellowship is pretty selective. So I think I can offer a unique perspective from being on the inside going through the program as well as someone outside looking in. It was really amazing seeing the wide range of backgrounds my classmates and students came from. Watching the students grow and learn so fast and knowing that I helped in some way was really rewarding.  

I thought what was really great about Fullstack aside from the great instructors and strong curriculum was actually the culture. While it did feel like an intensive bootcamp during the workshops it also felt like just hanging out and learning with a bunch of your friends all the time. There was just this feeling that everyone was there to help everyone else. I think this helped foster the learning environment just that much more. By the end of the program I felt like our cohort bonded a ton and I feel like they are some of my closest friends now too. Bi Weekly Board Game nights with free pizza definitely helped with that too! 

As a teaching fellow I definitely saw how much effort instructors and teaching fellows work to make sure students learn as much as they can. Tons of office hours before class, after class, and even during lunch. Extra review lectures were done whenever possible as well. One of the most awesome things was watching the students learn so fast even though I had gone through the same program just a a couple weeks prior. Last week everyone was struggling learning React and Redux. Next week everyone is building a Fullstack app. Pretty amazing honestly.

If you’re interested in going to fullstack or just coding in general. I would start off with the simple Code Academy JavaScript track and see if you like it. After you finish that, if you enjoy it and are interested in trying to get accepted into an immersive bootcamp I would do CodeWars till you can do 6kyu problems pretty easily and some 5kyus. Definitely the best decision of my life. 

Fullstack has a special place in my heart, but I'm going to resist the urge to wax melancholic and stick to some concrete points. I completed the Full-time Immersive program in December 2016, and worked as a Teaching Fellow for the Jan-April 2017 cohort.

Why should I do it?

You should come to Fullstack if you're serious about switching careers, and if you're ready to be totally immersed in software engineering. The curriculum is rigorous and thorough, and will give you exposure to and experience with concepts that are essential to every web developer. You'll have the opportunity to push your knowledge much further than you thought possible in such a short time. And attending Fullstack will provide you with a valuable professional network to leverage when you're searching for work and beyond.

Academic Environment

I came to Fullstack expecting to get my ass kicked, but I didn't expect it to be so much fun. A week or two into the Immersive program, most people realize that they're all in the same boat, and there's a sense of camaraderie and support that outweighs any type of competition.

One of Fullstack's core tenets is its "no assholes" policy, given how often you'll be collaborating with your peers. Anyone considering Fullstack should be aware that they're going to be spending a huge amount of their in-class hours collaborating with others. Learning how to communicate your ideas and work with people of different backgrounds and styles is one of the most valuable professional skills you'll get out of this place.

And then there are the teachers. I learned under Ben and Dan, and was a fellow under Gabe, Joe, and Cassio. All five were amazingly knowledgeable, humble, skilled at explaining difficult concepts, and incredibly generous with their time. The support network at Fullstack is no joke. When my own instructors were too busy, I never found it difficult to find another teacher or even student that could help me, either by asking around or posting on Slack.

Also, Chris Thieke is the man.

Teaching Fellowship

Every Immersive cohort has a group of fellows, around 6 or more students selected from the previous cohort to stick around as mentors. The fellows serve as a bridge between the students and the instructors. Having just gone through the program ourselves, it's easy for a fellow to relate to the academic and emotional struggles that students are going through. 

I was lucky enough to be selected for the fellowship, and it was arguable even more enjoyable than being a student here. I got to teach, which helped me solidify my knowledge. I got tons of experience debugging code, often quickly and on the spot. I formed strong bonds with the other fellows, who themselves inspired and taught me things constantly.

Job Hunting

Nobody (sane) likes job hunting. But there's a process to searching and interviewing for a developer role, and the Career Success team will sure as hell teach you that process. You'll cover whiteboarding techniques, behaviorial interviews, tech resumes, salary negotiation, leveraged LinkedIn/your network, and more. And daily morning REACTO sessions will give you exposure to technical interviewing.

Conclusion

My best advice for anyone accepted into Fullstack is to stay healthy. Eat right, get regular exercise, and spend some time away from the computer every week. This is an intense program that will ask a lot of you, but what you get out might be tenfold. I'll miss it dearly.

My wife and I had just had our first child and we realized we weren't going to be able to live the kind of life we want, if we both continued in our current jobs. I always liked to code, and had even done some Udemy courses on web-development, but I still felt there was something missing. So I decided to investigate Bootcamps. After having an on-campus informational interview with two of the lecturers to find out more about Fullstack, and speaking it over with my wife, we decided to take a risk.

Risk? Yes, bootcamp is expensive, and me being a skeptic was worried that I was being taken for a ride. Moreover, I had a family to support (they were supporting me during the bootcamp) and the pressure to not have picked a dud was big. So, I was nervous. Once bootcamp started, there wasn't even time to be nervous we were learning so much at such a great pace. Looking back, it is the smartest investment I made in my and my familiy's future.

Before I started I wondered if I couldn't just do this on my own for cheaper (I'm a pretty well-disciplined learner after all). But I learned more in 6 weeks at Fullstack, than I could have taught myself over the course of a year. The curriculum is well paced and structured, and it is kept challenging throughout. Not a day went by when I thought, that was a wasted day. 

Why Fullstack though? I had taught myself a little bit of Ruby and Rails, and when playing around with building web apps, JavaScript always seemed to stump me a little due to its nature. So I decided to pick a bootcamp that does JavaScript throughout the stack. Again, looking back this was the best decision for me since there was no context switching between back and front end development, and I got to learn one language really well, instead of learning two a little.

Another reason I picked fullstack was because it was so challenging to get in to. They don't promise to take in everyone and turn them into a coder. They want people who have the aptitude, and have demonstrated at least a basic ability to solve small tasks using code. This meant that the classes could move faster, and I was always being challenged by classmates that were smarter and faster than me. I can't stress how important this environment was for learning to code. If you've never coded before, I highly recommend taking a month to learn the basics of coding and then applying to Fullstack instead of choosing a bootcamp that takes anyone.

Another thing that sets Fullstack apart is the quality of the lecturers. While other bootcamps have gone for an expand at all costs, Fullstack academy has really made quality their primary concern. This came through from day one in their lecturers, who were passionate, experienced and just really good teachers and mentors. They are people that I look up to, and will always credit with changing my life.

But truthfully, in the end, all the preceding paragraphs would mean nothing if it didn't result in a job, and I can happily report I landed a dream fullstack job at a top company in Chicago. Not only did the content Fullstack taught me make me a suitable candidate, all the extra effort they put into helping me perfect my resume, and equip me with interview skills particular to the tech job market made me a great candidate.

I'll keep this short for people like me who would rather be reading bullet points than essays.

• Fullstack enabled me to switch careers. I was an accountant for 6 years before enrolling, now I am coming up on 6 months as a Senior UI Engineer.
• The instructors and staff at Fullstack are incredible and do everything that they can to help you succeed in a fast paced environment.
• The selection process works, you are surrounded by other students who are all driven and passionate about learning Javascript. I made life long friends while at Fullstack who I still talk to on a daily basis.
• Though the curriculum focused on NodeJS, Express, MongoDB (now PostgreSQL), and Angular (now React), many of the concepts taught are applicable across languages and frameworks. I currently work a lot with Perl, Backbone, and Marionette, none of which were taught but all of which I am comfortable working with because of what I learned at Fullstack.

I absolutely recommend Fullstack Academy (or its sister school Grace Hopper) to anyone looking to enter the world of software development. My close friend is starting class next week and I am honestly jealous that I am not in her place starting it all again.

Theres far too much that can be said for it to fit in a review. I lived and breathed Fullstack Academy for about 8 months of my life. I could sit here, and pitch you what you'll learn, why its what you should learn, the support they offer after graduation, the network that... You get the point. I'm not the only review you've read.

Heres the thing - Fullstack Academy is just a special place. Theres some pinch of magic to the formula; who specifically is responsible for it is impossible to say. Fullstack has a knack for bringing incredibly interesting, intelligent, and crazy people through its doors - both as employees and as students. These people will be your life for however long you end up being there - and will change the rest of your life afterwards.

If you're here, reading this review - you've wasted time. Start studying by doing Codewars and figure out which of the courses you're going to do, and either move or set up a battlestation. I attended the on-campus in NYC, but I taught the remote course after graduating. The remote course was honestly just as magical of an experience as the on campus one. Actually, in retrospect, maybe even more magical... Anyways, I digress.

You can not justify not wanting to go here. This is the place you want to be. Its the roadmap to the life you want to be living. It's an experience you'll never forget. It's the modern day Hogwarts.

Fullstack Academy is a great bootcamp. When I was searching for courses, it was clear to me that FSA was the real deal. Fulstack is difficult to get in to. They genuinely want to make sure everyone who they admit is prepared and ready for the curriculum. The Chicago cohorts I have seen have ranged in size from 10 to ~17 students. In addition to instructors there are also fellows - former students who were chosen to work as TA's for the next couple of student cohorts. Personal attention from the teachers is never a problem. In my experience everyone was attentive, kind and hoping to help!

The curriculum is full stack JavaScript. We learned Node.js, Express.js, React Redux Sequelize, HTML, CSS and Git. They teach you everything you need to know to go forth and begin a career in web development. The course is tough, but if you come everyday willing to work and learn, you will get out of it everything you need. Things will seem tough at the beginning, but before you know it, you will look back and realize how much you have progressed. If you're interested in learning web development, I truly believe that Fullstack Academy is one of the best bootcamps in the country.

They help you build your resume, practice technical interview questions with you, and set up interviews with a handful of companies with a hiring day event, helping to begin your job search.

I am a career changer who has always loved technology and wanted to be a part of the Chicago tech community in a new capacity.  I looked at just about every bootcamp in Chicago before deciding on Fullstack Academy.  I liked Fullstack because the admissions process was more challenging and I knew expectations of students would be higher.

Nick and Connie are both extremely knowledgeable and effective teachers.  For me though, they really stood out because of their empathy and patience with students.  If you need someone to talk to, they are always there and willing to help you to the best of their abilities.

The Chicago Fullstack campus currently has smaller class sizes, which I found ideal.  My cohort was full of wonderful, encouraging people who want to see you grow alongside them.  I feel fortunate to have meet them.

I am glad that I went to Fullstack and would make the same choice again.

For a year and a half, before I joined Fullstack, I was self-studying mainly HTML, CSS, and PHP. I went through the interview process and had luck getting in the door with a few interviews, but I had a lot of gaps, in both my technical skills and mindset to become a successful developer. When I discovered this, I wanted to make sure that my next 3-6 months were going to properly push me in the right direction. I also wanted to have confidence that I WAS going in the right direction. That's really hard to do until someone finally hires you. I decided to give a coding bootcamp a try, and for a few reasons (as well as a lot of research), I applied to Fullstack Academy.

I have never met more passionate teachers in my life. That became immediately apparent to me on day one when Nick introduced himself. Some of the other students made it apparent that they knew him from bootcamp prep, and I could immediately see how much they respected him. I had times that I needed additional help or even just to talk about personal issues. Every single time, no matter how busy he was, he made me feel like that conversation was the most important thing to him at that moment. That passion for your students is so incredibly important in differentiating a good teacher from a great teacher. I believe they just hired another instructor, but both Nick and Connie are instructors who will do everything they can to make sure that you succeed in the program. You'll meet some of the fellows (teaching assistants) that will give you a similar feel. The interview process is very selective. A good mental note to have when you get accepted is that you got accepted because you're going to be a successful developer and your teachers have full confidence in that.

The curriculum is the exact same as New York's. In fact, I feel like the smaller class size and teacher to student ratios makes Chicago a more personable experience than New York. Sorry New York! Your capstone projects won't just be normal CRUD apps. You'll eventually be building complex projects that will put you much ahead of other applicants in entry level positions.

I really believe that great coding bootcamps aren't for everyone. I don't believe everyone can code. You need to love building things and solving problems in order to be a successful developer. You need to understand that you will never stop growing as a developer. It has much less to do with how smart you think you are, and more to do with what you choose to spend your free time on. You'd be surprised at what your actions during your free time can tell you about yourself. If you're unsure about your reasons of wanting to become a developer, its ok to take a little while to teach yourself and build a few projects. Test the waters first. Also, be careful about the bootcamp you do choose. There are coding bootcamps that do accept everyone that is willing to pay. A good rule of thumb is that a safer choice is usually the programs that are more selective. Once you realize that you really do enjoy coding and want to grow more as a developer - that's when you should apply to Fullstack.

P.S.

Nick and Connie will make you cookies. So don't let them get away with not making cookies at least once.

Fullstack Academy is a great experience. Founders David and Nimit are clearly incredibly thoughtful individuals who truly care about the students coming through the program. They are value-driven, and are interested not just in making money and churning out code-monkeys, but in having a positive impact on the field and society. (This comes across through their interest in projects that work for social good, for instance, as well as establishing from day one that the exclusionary environment often endemic to coding culture is *not* part of Fullstack.) Instructors are passionate, extremely intelligent, and come from a variety of backgrounds (some were CS majors, others were self-taught and then worked in industry, others were themselves graduates of the program). The curriculum is engaging, accommodates a variety of aptitudes and learning speeds, and is clearly constantly iterated to improve and keep up with changing trends in the field. The students are, by and large, super motivated, and a friendly and interesting bunch also from diverse backgrounds.

I was initially worried that Fullstack would be a grueling process: 6 long days a week, for 13 weeks, mainly in front of a computer... but I was pleasantly surprised that it was not grueling at all! It is no doubt demanding, mentally taxing, and it was more or less my sole pursuit for those 13 weeks (though I did, crucially, make time for eating, sleeping and exercise). But the collaborative and varied nature of the curriculum (which also has fun and humorous flourishes built into it) and the warm, friendly vibe of the Fullstack community makes the experience actually really enjoyable! So much so that I jumped on the opportunity to stay with Fullstack for another 13 weeks as a Teaching Fellow, a support role for the next cohort of students coming through the program (I highly recommend taking advantage of this if you have the opportunity--it's a great chance to learn the material more thoroughly and get hands-on engineering experience outside the contrived environment of a classroom before approaching the job search).

The most important thing to keep in mind when considering Fullstack (or *any* bootcamp, for that matter), is that you are NOT purchasing a gold-lined road to a new job. Because of the program's rigor and "prestige," it's tempting to believe that if you get in, go through the program, and make it out alive, you will handily walk right into your first job. Not so! Getting a job is a process of showing a future employer that you have what it takes to be an asset; for the most part, they could care less how exactly you got to that place. If you have the smarts and the drive to get into Fullstack and you apply and challenge yourself throughout the program, you will develop the skills and the confidence necessary to land a sweet first job. It may not be the day after you graduate (the process can sometimes take months), and it may not be at Google or Facebook (perhaps for a select few at first, and some others down the road), but there are many other interesting prospects for employment, and once you have a foot in the door *somewhere* the opportunities will really start opening up to you. 

Fullstack doesn't give you the Golden Ticket (it doesn't exist), but it provides the resources to get you where you want to go, in a surprisingly fun and positive environment.

My experience with Fullstack Academy was not only highly informative and fun, but also led to me making three times as much as my previous job. With an incomplete Computer Science degree, it was unlikely for me to get a software engineering job even with my prior education in programming. However, after coming to Fullstack, not only has my programming improved significantly, but my job prospects have expanded greatly and my confidence in my skills has grown.

When I attended, Fullstack was teaching the MEAN (Mongo, Express, Angular, and Node) stack. Lessons are taught through labs and group projects that challenge your reasoning and give you practical knowledge about the technologies you're working with. The material encourages students to experiment and think critically. As a former programmer, I felt the work was challenging and rewarding.

But the connections and job assistance offered by Fullstack are second to none. The course integrates lessons on whiteboarding interviews and deductive reasoning to help students nail their first impressions. Career advisors support you every step of the way once you graduate. A hiring day at the end of the course allows you to connect with employers and get your foot in the door at Fortune 500 companies such as American Express and 2sigma. Even after you've been placed at a job, Fullstack will support you with future job searches and career support.

The alumni network has been great. I feel like our class has taken on some familial aspects. Upon returning to campus for reunions and alumni talks, I learned from our previous instructors that our cohort has even developed a reputation among newer students. Alumni from Fullstack also help each other find jobs and provide help with JavaScript problems.

All in all, Fullstack has been one of the best educational experiences of my life, and has completely turned my career prospects around. I'm now making over $80,000 per year in a dream job thanks to the skills I learned and connections I gained through FSA.

Today, I'm a mentor for startups in the Gaza Strip and have my own startup focused on making local governments more effective. For my startup, I'm launching clusters of networked docker containers, utilizing machine learning, and develop on the tools of industry leaders. This past year I was in San Francisco with a Y-Combinator startup. None of this would be even remotely possible without Fullstack.

It was not easy though. For me, my first check to Fullstack bounced after my previous employers did not pay me, I had a 1+ hour one-way communte from central New Jersey, and I was working a full-time job to make up the money to friends and family I borrowed from. The problematic start placed me in a position of catch up for the entire 6 month part-time program. But Fullstack and the friends I made in the cohort did not give up on me, and more importantly, they did not lower the bar for me.

It's going to be tough and you're going to be pushed no matter your circumstance, but know that the experience will start a new chapter for you. I highly recommend you check out the part-time program.

Every woman coder should have the opportunity to go through a program as intense, supportive, and transformative as this one. It has all the benefits of going through a great bootcamp on top of giving you the chance to learn a crazy amount of new information in an environment where you don't *also* have to battle the sexism that will inevitably greet you in the working world. The teachers are wonderful: intelligent, kind, understanding, as well as great at their jobs. The curriculum is great: NERDS stack, interview prep, a recorded tech talk, and three portfolio projects. The culture is amazing: group retrospectives, game nights, beer on Fridays to celebrate a job well-done. The career support is amazing -- and often more active about getting your career going than you are! I'm so happy I chose to come to the Grace Hopper Program at Fullstack Academy, it's changed my life for the better.

This program for me has without a doubt been one of the highlights of my life.  I came here to learn how to code, but in the process I learned so much about myself and what I am capable of.  

I believe immersion is one of the greatest teaching tools and techniques.  The best way I can compare it is the difference in trying to learn Spanish using only Rosetta Stone and going to Spain for 6 weeks; a major difference in how the information becomes encoded and applied.  

As far as tech goes, the program is built to help teach you how to learn new technology fast.  Learning new programming languages were intimidating to me in the past, but now after this thorough Javascript based education,  I am picking up C# and working in systems I would have never imagined I could do because now I understand how to build a strong base and work through the details. 

The teachers were fantastic, supportive, and always had an answer or made sure they researched and got back to you in a timely matter for the more complicated obscure ones.

The school is extremely agile, organized, and dedicated to staying current on the latest technology, while enforcing the principles that don't shift with the trends. 

The support staff was always there for me anytime I needed help and were always positive and helped me through some of my rougher patches.

The bottom line is this program is challenging, difficult, and it's up to you to get what you want and need for it.  There is no room for entitlement and indolence.  Do not do this program if you are not ready to do the work.  I can't stress that enough.   This isn't something you do because you can't figure out what else to do with your life unless you just have a large amount of money to waste.  This program isn't the ends to a means, it's the beginning of a beautiful journey with life long implications.  It is something you actively decide to do because you want a change in the direction of the story of you.  

The greatest gift I took away?  Truly understanding there is no finding yourself.  

There is only making yourself.

I could not speak more highly of this program, and I know that many of my classmates felt the same way after we graduated. 

I have never felt more involved in or more rewarded by an education program in my life. You are taught extremely useful technologies in a very pragmatic way. Students that fall behind are given ample help. There are multiple teachers, you can ask the staff (all developers) for help, and each class has a group of 10 or so TAs made up of students that just finished learning the same skills and concepts you are inevitably going to struggle with.

Finding a job was very easy after completing the program. They have several staff members that will actively help you. I moved to Pittsburgh and was given a ton of assitance, despite the distance.

Could not reccomend this experience more to anyone interested in learning how to program.

Executive Summary:

Fullstack’s remote immersive exceeded my expectations in every way. The curriculum is top notch, current and industry relevant. The Instructors and staff are passionate about coding and teaching and clearly enjoy their work. The lead instructor from our cohort, Omni, has an impressive depth of knowledge, is a master at explaining concepts and is a super fun and genuine person. My fellow students were from very diverse backgrounds but all were bright, enthusiastic and overall, a joy to work with. The technical and intellectual rigor and fast pace of the program truly exceeded my expectations rivaling my graduate school experience at a top 20 university (although the content and focus of the programs were very different).

Bottom line: Totally worth the investment in time, energy, and money.

My Journey:

I have a BA and MS in Computer Science. I worked in the computer industry in software product development for 14 years before leaving my career behind to be a full-time mom for 13 years. As my entree back into the workforce, I recently worked remotely for a software company in professional services for 3 years.

My software background is primarily in operating systems, UNIX and C. But a lot has changed since the eighties and nineties. I wanted to get up to speed on modern web development technologies and move back into product development. 

How to Move Forward?

My employer did not have a path forward in the direction I sought. But, I didn’t feel confident applying for jobs for which I had no experience in the desired technologies. So how to move forward? There are literally hundreds of online tutorials on the web many of which are free. I could have taken that route but it seemed inefficient, potentially frustrating and yep, a little bit lonely. So I started looking at boot camps. 

I knew I wouldn’t be the typical boot camper. According to “Am I the Right Candidate for a Bootcamp?” by Imogen Crispe on Course Report, “the typical boot camper is 30 years old, has 6.8 years of work experience, has at least a Bachelor’s degree and has never worked as a programmer”. I would say the typical boot campers is also male and has no kids. As a 52-year-old wife and mother of two high schoolers with a couple of CS degrees and experience working in the software industry, the fact that I would be an outlier was a given. But as the only woman in my college graduating class with a CS major, and a distinct minority in the systems software field, being an outlier is old hat for me.

Another obstacle was location. The closest in-person boot camps are a good 1.5-hour drive one-way from my home (in light traffic). And the idea of picking up and leaving my family for an out of town immersion was both logistically impractical and cost prohibitive. Further, I was also concerned that, given my background, a boot camp might be lacking in technical depth and intellectual rigor. Would it be worth the time and money?

Serendipitously, at that point in my journey, Fullstack Academy came out with their remote immersive program. Perfect!

Academic Excellence/Curriculum:

Fullstack has a selective application process, accepting only about 8% of applicants. The immersive program is not for beginning programmers; you will need to have some programming experience. (Fullstack does offer prep courses). From a time standpoint, you will need to be willing and able to devote (most of) your time to the program for a solid 13 weeks and part time for 4 weeks prior.
The current curriculum features Javascript using what is affectionately being called the NERD stack (Node, Express and Databases using SQL on the back end and React/Redux on the front end). This is a recent switch from the MEAN stack (https://www.fullstackacademy.com/blog/angular-to-react-fullstack-academy-updates-its-curriculum). The curriculum is continuously evolving to stay on top of technology trends and industry demand so your particulars might vary.

Program Structure: 

I was part of the first remote immersive cohort. (Oct. 2016 - Feb. 2017). 
Foundations (4 weeks): The first phase of the program, called Foundations, is online, self-paced and part-time. The focus is Javascript programming skills. You must pass a timed, online test in order to move on to Junior phase.

 
Junior Phase (6 weeks): full-time+ meeting 10 am - 7 pm eastern wit1.5-hourhour mid-day break. Class is held through the Zoom video meeting app. The equipment I used was a MacBook Pro laptop and a 24” LG HD 1080p monitor. I would have been better off with two monitors for juggling code, lecture presentation, and video images of teachers and classmates. I think two 27” monitors would be ideal. Instructors and most students have Macs but PCs can be used (but require more setup).
Junior phase content consists primarily of workshops. We did 27 in all which is nearly one per day.  The typical workshop format is lecture, followed by pair a programming exercise and finally lecture and Q&A on a provided possible solution. Junior phase also includes optional CS Saturdays covering an array of computer science topics. Our CS topics were: parsing (compilers), databases and ORMs, git and immutability, machine learning and cryptography. Projects are done in class but evenings can be spent prepping for the next day’s workshop or completing/diving deeper into that day’s workshop. While evening/weekend work is not absolutely required, doing as much as you can manage certainly enhances absorption rate. There was no shortage of good and useful material to work through. In fact, it was drinking from a fire hose. Pair programming was set up randomly and assigned. Workshop experiences varied to some degree depending upon comprehension of the materials and programming partner. However, I found the vast majority of the experiences worthwhile, productive and enjoyable. In fact, some of them were a blast! There were also those that were frustrating and somewhat demoralizing but instructors and fellows were always there to help during workshops, during lectures and private office hours as desired. No matter the topic or situation, we got through it. In fact, I found that I really enjoyed pair programming which was a concern of mine going into the program, never having done it before.

Lastly in Junior phase, you must pass a technically challenging online test to move on to the Senior phase. Everyone in our cohort moved on to the Senior phase.

We were lucky and got a 4 week break over the holidays but this is not the year round schedule.

Senior Phase (6 weeks): Senior phase is a time to put the skills learned in Junior phase to work. Content consists of project work and job preparation. Each day starts with technical interview practice with students taking turns being interviewer and candidate. Projects include preparation and presentation of a tech talk (individual), a 3-day “hack-a-thon” project (individual or pairs, student choice), a 1 week e-commerce site (team, assigned) and a multi-week team capstone project (assigned team with preference input, team decides topic).  On our capstone project we operated as a self-driven team, defining our minimum viable product (MVP), utilizing daily scrums and project management, and conducting a beta test with our cohort mates. While I ran into some team issues (we probably all did), we got through it and produced some amazing work. Our capstone projects culminated in a demo day live on Facebook. (check us out here: https://www.fullstackacademy.com/blog/demo-day-feb-2017).
Additional job preparation skills covered include resume prep, soft skill interview prep and job search skills. ​

Senior phase also includes an optional CTO lecture series held in the evenings. Our topics included: Visual Design, Intro to the Agile Software Development Methodology, Lean Start-Up, and Scalability.

Outcome:

I have just recently graduated (2/17/17) and am just starting to look for a job so career impact is TBD. However, I feel Fullstack has prepared me well for the job search through rigorous and extensive technical interview practice, polishing my resume, advising me on job search tactics and providing me with a network of alums.

I just graduated Fullstack Academy's immersive cohort in NYC. It was an amazing experience and I learned a ton. They have amazing instructors who really want to make sure you understand the material and the material they teach is what is currently hot in the tech industry. I learned React + Redux with them and only two cohorts before me they were teaching Angular. They did an amazing job with React, and in general all of their workshops are so much fun to do and they really get you to learn and absorb the material.

I don't have a job yet as I just graduated, but Fullstack is extremely legit about helping you get one. They have people working there who's sole purpose is to assist students with their job search.

I highly recommend Fullstack to anybody who is serious about coding and is ready to work really hard for about four months straight. Time willl fly and you will come out with your brain stuffed with coding knowledge and ready to apply it all to a real job.