Fullstack Academy

I attended the Fullstack Immersive Program in October 2017 at the Chicago campus.  I came from a strong interest in wanting to learn how to code but no actual practical experience.  Before joining Fullstack, my background was in psychology and then a year of sales experience.  My strongest recommendation for anyone even remotely interested in joining the immersive program is to attend an information session that they host each month or so.  For me, that was the point where I fully decided I wanted to make the jump and pursue applying because it made my perspective on the whole concept much more real.  Rather than just being “something with great reviews that I read online”, I actually got to meet the people who run the program, ask questions, and walk inside the campus area.   

 I signed up for the boot camp prep program, which was great because it helped build up my foundational JS skills and also got me more comfortable with common programming exercises like paired programming and solving coding challenges.  If you are new to coding or are even at a beginning level, I also strongly recommend taking the time to join the boot camp prep course yourself before applying for the immersive part. 

As for the immersive program itself, I can easily say it was a very tough and challenging experience, but as you can see with many similar reviews, was also one of the most wonderful and memorable experiences I’ve had.  There are many reasons for this.  The first reason is, of course, going to be because of the peers whom you share the experience with.  Fullstack holds strongly to their “no assholes” culture when selecting applicants and also has a somewhat difficult acceptance rate to get in.  Therefore, it’s very likely that your cohort is going to be made up of a diverse group of determined people who are eager to learn, respectful, and excited to be in the program.  With that, you get to share a lot of “magical” moments such as high fiving your coding partner after solving a bug you were both stuck on for a while, or the camaraderie that comes with doing intense coding sprints with your team to complete a feature before its deadline.  These are all experiences that alone make the boot camp worth it and at the end, you will likely realize you are leaving the program with very strong friendships.  

The second reason is going to be the learning structure.  The curriculum will be very fast-paced and even overwhelming at first, but you will definitely hear from the cohort ahead of you the phrase: “trust the system, work hard, and you will be fine”.  The learning process is also highly focused on paired programming exercises, problem solving rather than hand holding, and gaining the ability to look up documentation on your own.  The good news is that the instructors are super available and are wanting to help you when you ask questions and need the extra help.  Even better, Fullstack provides “teaching fellows” whom are graduated students who stay on for an extra three months and help the newer cohorts of students.   These teaching fellows are trained to not give you the immediate answer when you ask, but rather try and guide you towards problem solving techniques that help you solve the issue yourself.  Before students realize it, the teaching fellows become more like human rubber ducks and students start solving the problems themselves just by talking out loud the issue.  Finally, concepts that you learn each week will be repeated many times and become foundation for future week’s material and what will seem foreign at first will be super familiar by the end of the program. 

Overall, on top of a very adaptive curriculum that focuses on popular and in-demand libraries and frameworks, due to Fullstack Academy’s teaching style you will be leaving the program with increased problem solving skills and the ability to effectively communicate code to others, and these will be your most valuable tool sets in the work field. 

In the end, I was able to get an offer three weeks after graduating for a front-end developer position with a company I am really enjoying being at.  I want to be transparent and say that I was one of those teaching fellows and this helped me stand out in the interview process. I also was able to meet the company in person at the Launch Day event that Fullstack will host for each cohort.  Realistically you should expect to have to continue to work hard in applying for at least a few months after graduating before solidifying an offer.  You will have access to the career success department and the fullstack alumni community and they will frequently put the word out for networking events and position offerings, so these will help with your journey to getting that first job in the field.  

At my job, I am not using all of the frameworks and libraries that I was taught in the program but I am definitely using the problem solving skills that I gained on a daily basis.  I have access to a large group of Fullstack alumni for networking, and I have the career success team to reach out to in case I need assistance with salary negotiations or other career related issues in the future.  I also got to leave the experience with a great group of friends.  My time at Fullstack Academy was very strong and I was happy to write this review because I want to recommend the opportunity of joining to anyone who is interested in making a jumpstart into their career in coding. 

Overall the bootcamp was a great experience. Started with css/html culminating in a Javascript based working e-commerce website utilizing industry specific skills such as react and restApi. There were several instructors, 5 at the start. Two were amazing and 1 left after a short while and never replaced. The other two were quite unhelpful overall and it showed when no one would sign up for extra help with them. Overall, always room for improvement but it gave me the knowledge to gain a foothold in the industry and that's all I hoped for.

I want to start off by saying thank you to the entire Fullstack team for all the help that they've given me. Kim Wood is an extremely knowledgeable career coach and she helped me a ton when it came to my interview process. The instructors were extremely friendly and knowledgeable as well. A few things to consider if you're thinking about enrolling at Fullstack... Start studying for your Security+ ASAP and be prepared to study outside of class hours. My two goals when starting this course were to have Sec+ completed and a job lined up for when I graduated. Both of those goals have been accomplished, I actually got my job offer 3 days before graduation! I know most everyone who reads these reviews wants to know whether or not they will get a job and I'm confident to say that if I can do it, anyone can do it. The only downside I can think of with this bootcamp would be that my cohort was over 70 students which made it a bit tough to get 1 on 1 time with the instructors and to have your personal questions answered. However, there are mentors in the cohorts in which they provide outside class office hours that you can attend to ask any questions if you can spare any time outside the course itself. Lastly, start focusing on LinkedIn and building connections. This is how I found out, applied and got my job so I cannot stress enough how important LinkedIn is. Also, NO I did NOT have prior tech/cybersecurity experience before this bootcamp either. I started from scratch!

Nobody wants to hire anyone in my class and I'm not surprised.. This class was incredibly rushed and It seemed like the instructor had zero to negative energy when teaching. Nobody wants to hire a fresh cyber security apprentice with no real experience.. But these people make it seem like this "bootcamp" is the way to get to it. Anytime we had intricate questions we were met with the usual "if you want to learn It you have to spend time outside of class learning it" 👍 
I would of left a decent review if I had paid 1/10 of what I did. But since I paid what I did.... I can attest this is 100% not worth it. Everything you "get" with this class, you're able to get on the internet for free. Starting with VirtualBox. 

My overall Experience with Fullstack was very good. The Instructor I had Stephen Mathews was great at communicating the material in a way we could understand and input his real life experience in the field. The Cyber mentor Dawon Han was excellent at being flexible whenever you needed help. She was an excellent mentor and aid. Finally my Career coach Kim Wood was very Instrumental in my locking in a job 5 months after the bootcamp. She helped tailor my resume, LinkedIn, and gave me Networking Strategies and always held me accountable and pushing me to achieve my goal. Any question I had, she was proactive at getting back to me in a timely manner and to help me succeed. 

Prior to becoming a student at Fullstack Academy I'll admit, I was a bit skeptical, but I gave it a shot and it changed my life.  I came into Fullstack Academy with absolutely ZERO experience in cyber and tech in general. But that did not matter as the Bootcamp can take you from, as some would say, "Zero to Hero". To put your minds at ease for those contemplating attending the Bootcamp; no, I was not very tech savvy nor is there MATH involved. There, better?  The instructors are awesome and VERY knowledgeable.There are also assistant instructors who are available whenever to help and assist you with any assignments and provide the clarity you may need. USE THEM, they were students prior to being assistants. They were in your shoes. Job assistance. What you're here for....When it comes to job assistance there is a Career Coach who is there to help with your resume, work on your elevator pitch, work on how to answer interview questions, and work on how to network with people via LinkedIn/Social Events. (Shout-out to Dezzi, she's awesome!) Fullstack Academy does offer an event where you have a chance to network with people who are already in the field and work for already established/start-up companies. The Bootcamp doesn't necessarily host a Job Fair where you meet recruiters, and you get hired on the spot. (Things may have changed since I graduated a year ago).  Now, DO NOT LET THAT DISCOURAGE YOU. Fullstack Academy has a HUGE alumni network. You can find people who work for well-known companies and start-ups in various industries and connect with them to potentially refer you to a job posting, invite you to events, or direct you to the company/person that can help/hire you. From my experience, the people in the cyber community are extremely helpful and willing to help you. Put yourself out there, network, and smile.  There is nothing to fear. Take the leap. You miss 100% of shots you don’t take. *!!LinkedIn is your best friend!!*

Fullstack Academy's Data Analyst Training Accelerator (DATA) program was a wonderful opportunity for me to learn data analytics and get to know a whole network of data professionals. Class was engaging and supportive; the instructors are paired well in terms of teaching style and my classmates were helpful and collaborative. The topics covered by this program are highly relevant in data analytics, and my presentation and speaking skills constantly improved. In my job search, I sought out additional support while interviewing, which was immensely helpful. 

Areas of growth: the readings in the modules could use proofreading and fact-checking. The associated challenge questions also needed proofreading and the short-answer questions were usually a rewording of the reading material, and did not necessarily encourage critical thinking. Particularly with the SQL challenges, students were asked to write hypothetical SQL code pertaining to a non-existent database, making it difficult for students to check their work. 
In response to student feedback, instructors did provide alternative challenges that were more engaging.

The Fullstack Academy Cybersecurity Analyst Bootcamp was intense and yet, by far, the best learning experience I have ever had.  The leaders and instructors were always available, willing to stay a few minutes after class to ensure a complete understanding of the material provided and how well we comprehended and applied all the principles of the lessons.  Lastly, I truly feel gaining an offer letter recently was highly due to having completed this Bootcamp.  Thank you Fullstack Academy for allowing me to have a professional learning experience that I will never forget. R/ Carey 

I felt challenged and empowered by the full-time data analytics bootcamp program at Fullstack Academy. The instructors are knowledgeable and the lead instructor imparted helpful advice from their extensive professional experiences. The student success manager and career coach were empathetic listeners and overall, kind people. I felt supported by the team in my education and post-graduation job search.
An area of improvement is the curriculum. The modules are easy and at times, redundant. The "challenges" at the end of each module often asked me to regurgitate the modules and did not add value to my learning. The curriculum was thankfully supplemented by challenges provided by the instructors.

Fullstack Academy gave me the tools, experience, and knowledge I needed to unlock a world of potential in the cybersecurity field. 

Joshua Mann and Kara Medema were the most patient instructors I have ever met, they had an answer to everything I could imagine. Dillon Daniels and Evan Haberman were excellent mentors and offered top-notch education support and resources. 

Kim Wood my career coach and wonderful advisor in this journey taught me exactly how to write a resume, cover letter, what skills I needed, how to understand my past experiences, and leverage those soft skills to show I am a team player and contributor to organizational goals. She was there for me at all hours of the day and night when I needed her to look at a cover letter, analyze my resume for the applicant tracking system, or coach me on how to beat the ATS. Most importantly, she taught me how to network, when to network and why to network. Fullstack students and alumni, Kim will be your greatest battle buddy before your graduation and especially post-graduation. Talk to her regularly, connect with her and you will reap the benefits of her experience and knowledge. 

Words cannot describe the experience at Fullstack Academy; all experience is positive.

I had a great learning experience at Fullstack Academy in Offensive and Defensive knowledge. The instructors are very knowledgeable Security Analysts with prior work experience in Cybersecurity. Some are in Offensive and some are in Defensive. We were taught everything from AWS, Linux, Splunk, Burpsuite, Wireshark, Nessus, and so on. The list goes on. They prepare students for the CompTIA Security+ as well as the CompTIA CySA+. 

I want to thank Kim Wood, the Cybersecurity Career Success Manager as well as Lesia Harhaj-Kudryk, the Director of Career Success for their full support during this job hunting journey. They were both equally highly had motivated me to not give up and be confident to look for a job. Their mock interviews, behavioral interviews, and career coaching had helped me tremendously. 

Thank you so much.