Fullstack Academy

When I first heard about the phenomenon of coding bootcamps, I was incredibly skeptical. However, after completing Fullstack Academy's Software Engineering Immersive, I am a true believer that a good bootcamp can change your life (and career 😉).

Initially I chose to attend Fullstack for two reasons:

1. By requiring students come in with a baseline of knowledge, you are able to move more quickly and spend the limited time of the bootcamp covering more advanced topics (side note: I took the Bootcamp Prep course and was more than ready for to apply for the immersive by the end).
2. The idea of focusing on only one language/stack also leaves more time for honing skills and going deeper into concepts instead of learning different syntax for essentially the same things.

After completing the program, I still agree with both of those statements. However, they are only the beginning of what sets Fullstack apart...

Before attending Fullstack, I was a middle school math and science teacher. Coming from a background in education, I was very impressed with the curriculum and overall educational experience Fullstack provides for a variety of reasons, including:

• Each lecture is followed by a workshop in which students get to actually practice using the new information.
• The curriculum builds incrementally on itself, introducing concepts in a logical order. While new topics are introduced in quick succession (there is a TON to learn in not a lot of time), the nature of the workshops and projects requires students to continue using all of the skills they have previously covered. This not only provides additional practice, but also helps students understand how the various pieces fit together.
• Fullstack has found a good balance between explaining the most important ideas, while still requiring students to figure out how to implement them on their own. I think the most important thing I learned at Fullstack Academy is how to read documentation and teach myself to use new technologies.
  • This is then revisited in the second half of the program (see comment above) by asking students to choose new technologies/tools they are interested in learning about and using them to build a project of their own design.
  • When applying to jobs, I was able to tell interviewers that I was confident I could teach myself whatever languages and tools they use. (In fact, for one job application I taught myself an entire new language and became very comfortable using it in about one week!)
• It feels like the staff really cares about each student and their success. I saw this play out in two main ways:
  • Support: the instructors and teaching fellows are genuinely happy when students ask them questions or request office hours.
  • Assessment: it is made very clear that the purpose of assessments is to ensure that students have made an appropriate amount of progress, or to find out what they might need more help with. During the immersive portion of the program, there are no "passing" or "failing" scores — assessments are looked at holistically to determine what each student needs at that point to be successful.
• Fullstack purposefully crafts a supportive, collaborative environment by explicitly teaching in the first week such topics as why pair programming is important and how to do it well, how to combat implicit biases, and how to give clear, helpful feedback.
• The instructors elicit and actually respond to feedback! Not only do they make small tweaks if requested during a specific cohort, but they are constantly looking for ways to improve upon the curriculum and program as a whole and then implement them!
• On the topic of instructors: each of the instructors is extremely knowledgeable and brings examples from their own experience to highlight what they are teaching!

As someone who has tremendous anxiety around applying for jobs, I particularly took advantage of the Career Success team. During the bootcamp, I appreciated the guidance on such topics as creating a technical resume or harnessing LinkedIn. Then, during my job search I consistently refered back to the materials they provided us. But most importantly, I felt like I could always reach out to Holly, our Career Success counselor, for answers to even the most inane questions! She was beyond helpful in my search for that first job out of bootcamp, which I can't wait to start next week!

TL;DR Fullstack Academy provides a well-designed curriculum, supportive and knowledgeable instructors, and personalized career support. I couldn't recommend it more!

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.