Fullstack Academy

Preparing for Fullstack:

I attended Fullstack Academy after working for several years as an editor, and realizing I loved both the logic and creativity involved in coding (the little I was exposed to). I learned some HTML and CSS on the job, but JavaScript was new to me. I studied JavaScript for 5 months using online resources before applying to the Web Development Fellowship at Fullstack. At that point, I wouldn't say the admissions exam and interview were easy, but they were at a fair level and I was admitted into the program. Good communication seemed to be a key factor to admission as well.

Attending Fullstack:

I echo all the reviews here that mention Fullstack's great instructors and approach to teaching code. The curriculum builds on itself such that by the time you finish the program, you've gained a lot of depth in your JavaScript knowledge, and can apply that approach to learning anything new. You'll have several full-scale projects under your belt, too.

You don't need to have prior coding experience to do well at Fullstack, but being strong at problem-solving, logical thinking, or math would definitely help everything come easier to you. The instructors also do a great job of explaining the material in a digestible way.

Job Search:

Fullstack has great connections as far as companies in the industry. One of the companies that attended our hiring day hired 5 people in our cohort, me being one of them, and I wouldn't say this is the norm but I accepted a position as a software engineer a week after graduation. (I had factored in 3-4 months of job-searching in my plans, because for many companies the overall interview process takes 4-6 weeks).

The career services team at Fullstack are highly skilled at what they do and were incredibly helpful; however I got the impression they were juggling a lot and when dealing with our class as a whole they were not as effective/friendly as they were one-on-one. It's also important to note that Fullstack is there to help you during your job search, but obviously they won't do the work for you, so be ready for long hours of studying, networking, and coding even after graduation for the best results. I'd also advise to keep building apps, because job interviews are easier when you can back up your answers with real examples.

On the job:

I've now been working full time as a software engineer in NYC for 3 months, and though I haven't been working with the exact same stack that Fullstack taught us (don't expect to), picking up the new technology went very smoothly, and I've been able to tackle everything thrown my way so far. On top of that, my managers have been very impressed with how fast us Fullstack grads caught on (to their stack, code base, and projects) and how soon we've been making valuable contributions to the code base. I can definitely say Fullstack prepares you well.

Final thoughts:

If you're debating between Fullstack and other programs in the city, I think what sets Fullstack apart from the rest is their culture and curriculum. I have friends who attended other coding bootcamps in NY, and the culture at Fullstack tops them all in terms of professionalism and a supportive, friendly atmosphere. We had a lot of fun in our cohort, but also were all driven and hard-working. Many bootcamps can seem really fun because of how much they party, but if you're serious about changing careers, I believe it's best to focus and put yourself in an environment that reflects being on the job. I've also found that my friends from other programs have had a harder time getting job-ready, because their programs taught them a wide breadth of technology, frameworks, and libraries, but nothing in too much depth.

Fullstack won't disappoint, especially if you're motivated and ready to work hard!

Fullstack Academy has the potential to give you an amazing education and potentially an equally great career, if you are willing to work hard and use all the tools they give you. The curriculum is structured to first expose you to their tech stack and to then let you use that stack to create projects for your portfolio. Fullstack gives you everything you need to succeed, but it's up to you to use what you're given. There is very little micromanaging in the course, meaning if you are struggling, it is up to you to seek out help and to improve yourself. While this does open up the opportunity for failure, anybody who is willing to work hard and has a passion for making cool stuff can definately succeed here. 

In terms of getting a job, all graduates are definately prepared to work in a professional software engineering environment, however, Fullstack doesn't gurantee a job right off the bat. Fullstack does offer support on the job search, through Hiring Day, post-graduation career counseling, resume review, etc.. Just like with the curriculum, you will get what you put in, meaning if you work hard on it, you have everything you need to succeed. I think some additional managing from career services could have been good here, since it is easy to slack off when you're not showing up to campus everyday. However, they will offer plenty of help and guidance to anybody that reaches out. There is also a large alumni network which you will be able to leverage in your search.

I definately recommend Fullstack Academy for anybody looking to become a software engineer. The curriculum is relevant, the instructors are knowledgable and easy to work with, and the career services team is dedicated to making sure you land a job. If you are willing to work hard, you will see some amazing results.

The Fullstack Academy Software Engineer Immersive program has a great curriculum and the schedule is layed out effectively. The first six weeks of the program is lectures and workshops. The workshops solidify the material in the lectures. As you work in pairs, some doubts you may have can be cleared with your peer programming buddy. If not, you always have a Fellow to aks questions. Fellows are alumni who stay for the next cohort to help instructors. This guarantees coverage for questions and general help for students. The curriculum for lectures is updated often between cohorts and reflects the software and languages being used in the real world.

The latter six weeks of the program you spend all your time in project work. I think this is a valuable time for many of my fellow cohorts who may have never worked as a group in a software project. It reveals to them how communication is important to collaborate when working on a single GitHub repo (think merge conflicts!).

One other valuable part of the program is during the latter six weeks as well. Every morning we work on an algorithm challenge. This time helps solidify fundamental computer science concepts and prepares you for what you will face in real interview. 

The instructors are very knowledgeable and helpful, the Fellows provide another level of coverage so students never feel lost or without help resources.

Finally towards the end of the program the Career Resources team kicks in to help you prepare for interviews and job search. The team is very helpful and really walk you through the entire process in detail. For those cohorts looking for work for the first time in their lives this is very valuable information. Even for someone with experience like me, it provides a review of what the job search practices are today.

Overall I got a lot out of the program and was able to get the type of job I wanted. I highly recommend the program.

Exceeded my expectations. :)

Positives: Great teachers, very fun, good space. Teaches coding principles for those who are self-taught (!!!!). Super friendly. You can learn a ton if you put in the time. Covers a lot, quickly. Definitely would not have gotten my job without these guys. I would strongly recommend to someone who's only done research beforehand and is trying to move into software.

Negatives: Curriculum focuses on usage of a lot of frameworks, which is fun but definitely didn't really stick in my head after the course. Not enough focus on coding problems/algorithms. Post-graduation has some super awesome people helping out but you are no longer the focus of their life (obviously, but a lot more structure would be useful). Definitely not enough time to learn for someone who has not coded before, so self study for a few months first. Work on full-stack projects first, work in UNIX, make a website, whatever.

I'm a Yale CS major who took FSA in Fall of 2016. FSA was hands down one of the most rewarding and fun educational experiences I've gone through. I did a pretty thorough comparison of bootcamps before choosing FSA, and am very happy with my decision. A couple of key points

1. Excellent instructors with legit backgrounds: my main instructor was an ex-Microsoft software engineer. The founders Nimit & David are also legit engineers.

2. Full-on teaching support staff. Former students acted as TFs; very knowledgeable, and helped immensely.

3. Legit, well designed curriculum. We went over both fundamentals (algos) and cutting edge frameworks (React, Node, etc). The activities were fun and very practical.

FSA was very demanding. Fellow classmates were really smart and driven. Everyone came in knowing a bit of code, so we were able to move very quickly. 

I'd say if you're looking to level up your practical skills (i.e., know how to build web apps and not just AVL trees), FSA is hands down the best and most effective ways to get that out there. If you're a CS major considering doing this, I'd highly recommend it as a complement to a traditional CS education (a couple of my classmates are now seriously considering it).

I finished the Grace Hopper Program at FSA in April and then completed the fellowship in July. The experience as a whole was probably the best decision I've ever made for my professional career. I went into the program with very basic Javascript knowledge, having built maybe one or two very simple websites and with no professional experience at all. At the end, I had multiple interviews with a variety of companies that I felt very well-prepared for despite being a nervous wreck. I would not have been as successful as I was in the job search without Ceren and Claudia either. I called Ceren with every question I had and sent them almost every version of every thing I wrote, which they gladly edited or approved. They did mock interviews with me and gave me great feedback that in the end culminated into me receiving mulitple offers. When it came to finally accepting, Ceren helped me negotiate my salary to $10,000 more than what was offered. I'm still in disbelief that after 6 months I'm working in a role that I thorougly enjoy at a company I'm so excited about and making an incredible salary.

That being said, the program is defninitely not for everyone. You're going to get out of it what you put into it and it can seem a little chaotic or disorganized at times because they are understaffed. But there is no shortage of people who want to help you; the instructors, Chris and the career success team are with you every step of the way. 

Like many of my classmates, I attended Fullstack Academy (FSA) for a career change. I had only started coding on and off a month before I formally applied to the program. FSA offered a robust program that directed my passion and enthusiasm for coding into practical ends. Beyond the ever-developing curriculum, the instructors have been top notch (at least the ones who taught our cohort). They spoke with clarity and depth regarding complex topics. Most of all, they were able to package years of classroom knowledge in just 3 short months. Looking back, I can honestly say that the program changed the trajectory of my career for the rest of my life. I am happily employed at an amazing company, an opportunity that would not have been possible in this short of a transition without FSA. 

Some look to coding bootcamps as the 100% package to make their way into the tech industry. I'd say that FSA does not lack in comparison to other bootcamps in that regard for sure -- however, much of the burden of succeeding in the program and the job search thereafter is on the student. My personal successes have been in applying what I've learned, exploring the breadth and depth of technical articles out there, and recognizing that there is always so much to learn. FSA helped facilitate that kind of learning through their amazing instructors and staff and their curriculum. But don't expect things to be handed to you... the job market for entry level software engineers is tough, you have to prove yourself constantly to make it. 

I would say, don't goto FSA to be motivated to code, you must be motivated prior to attending FSA. To make the most of your Fullstack experience, be ready to grind it out!

I cannot speak highly enough of Fullstack Academy.  I completed their full time NYC immersive program in April, and was invited to stay on as a teaching fellow for the following cohort. The curriculum is up-to-date, challenging, and interesting.  The instructors are so intelligent and amazing at teaching all concepts.  The projects we worked on taught me everything I needed to know to start my new job as a Javascript developer, which I never would have gotten without the assistance of Fullstack's unbelievable career success team.  Claudia and Ceren are so helpful and knowledgable about tech recruiting.  Overall, I would say that if you're looking to do a bootcamp, you are doing yourself a disservice if you don't apply to Fullstack!

I chose FullStack Academy over Hack Reactor. It was truly one of the best decisions of my life. I had been in tech prior to FullStack but mostly on the business side. So it helped that I knew what I was getting into.

The instructors were a mix of FullStack graduates and industry veterans. That was a great combination because recent graduates had an idea of what I didn't know considering they were in my shoes not too long ago. But at the same time, if I I wanted to understand how something works in the real world, I can easily ask the experienced developers/instructors.

FullStack pays a close attention to what the employers are looking for and adjusts its curriculum accordingly. The curriculum is structured well especially for the foundations and introductory courses. We were the third cohort to learn React/Redux and things were still a little unorganized. I think since then they have improved upon it considerably.

FullStack has a special curriculum for Job assistance. The staff does a great job of helping the students with resumes, interview preps (they bring in outside recruiters to help with behavioural interviews) and job hunting. During the last week of the program, FullStack hosts a career day where employers from all over the NYC come to interview the candidates. A good percentage of students from my batch got a job from the hiring day. 

I truly had one of the best experiences at FullStack. I really enjoyed my cohort and made life long friends. Nothing comes easy so be ready to work hard and enjoy the fruits of your labour.