Fullstack Academy

Prior to attending Fullstack's full-time immersive web development program in Chicago, I'd worked in logistics and operations within the publishing industry for a bit less than a decade. I self-taught a bunch of Python during that time for purposes of business process automation, and after coming to really enjoy this part of my job I eventually decided to try to break into the tech industry. After looking at the job market for web development, I realized that despite some demonstrable technical skills in order to actually get hired I'd need to do a few things: (1) learn the tooling and ecosystem that surrounds the immensely complex, fast-moving world of modern Javascript, which I couldn't do alone; (2) gain some experience writing code as part of a team, for having only ever worked in relative isolation; and (3) develop a portfolio showing proficiency in web technology stack in demand on the market.

I looked at bootcamps in Chicago, Denver, and a couple of other cities hoping to find a place that would help me in all three of these respects. I wanted a relatively selective program so I'd be working with people who already had a bit of technical experience (or the facility to acquire it quickly). I wanted a program that required students to come in the door with a fairly solid grasp of the fundamentals of the main language or languages used so classroom work could focus on frameworks and technologies rather than for loops and functions. I wanted the program to have a strong curricular component based on working together in teams. I wanted a program whose graduates' portfolios weren't just cookie-cutter copies of todo apps or simple CRUD applications; I wanted to finish with projects demonstrating some creative engagement with technically challenging problems so I could be competitive on the job market alongside CS majors. Lastly, I wanted a program whose curriculum seemed up-to-date, reflecting new trends and directions the industry is moving in (e.g. React, Angular 2, functional programing concepts and patterns), rather than older technologies, however battle-tested they might be (e.g. Rails, Laravel, etc.).

I chose Fullstack Academy (hereafter, "FSA") for it seeming to be a good match on all counts-- albeit after no small amount of research (including flying to Denver to spend a couple of days on a competitor's campus). FSA requires students to have a grasp of fundamental control and data structures in at least one language (as well as some demonstrable problem-solving ability) before being admitted. FSA requires admitted students to complete an at-home month-long "Javascript Foundations" curriculum before stepping the door, ensuring that everyone has a base level of proficiency. After getting everyone up to speed in its tech stack, the second half of FSA's program (“senior phase”)  assigns students to teams to complete projects in an environment designed to approximate the practices and rituals of a real-world agile workflow. In this "senior phase", students are not just encouraged but mandated to explore technologies beyond FSA's stack, finding interesting problems to solve along the way, documenting their work with videos and write-ups that prepare them to present their work on the job market. Finally, FSA's curriculum switched to React a couple of years ago emphasizes a functional style (e.g. you learn the syntax for OOP in JS, but SOLID is not taught; on the other hand, students spend lots of time thinking about how to write pure functions and that are easily testable). 

That's what my research taught me about the program. What I found at FSA vastly exceeded even these expectations. FSA's staff are extremely committed to instructional excellence for every student. In contrast to what I saw when checking out some larger, more impersonal programs, they get to know each student, identifying who is struggling with what and how to best help, on the one hand, and figuring out how to further challenge students who are breezing through the material, on the other. 

The curriculum is designed not just around teaching Javascript and the chosen stack, but at teaching students how to continue to grow as developers. At the beginning of the junior phase, the workshops do a lot of handholding, but as the program progresses the demands are ramped up: students take on projects involving larger and larger portions of the stack, moving from test-driven learning to building code that meets requirements stated much more abstractly, eventually in the senior phase being pushed to learn new technologies on their own and to solve problems with increasingly less instructor assistance. 

Throughout this process there is a healthy expectation that students will build up debugging resilience and gradually learn how to use Google to solve their own problems, though always with help from instructors and TAs. In some ways the purpose of the program, beyond teaching a particular stack, is to equip students with the knowledge of technique and confidence necessary to continue learning in a self-directed way, which is part and parcel of working as a software professional. 

The program places strong emphasis on learning to give and respond to feedback in healthy and productive ways, which does a great deal to ease the transition from pairs to teams and collectively acculturates students to the kind of social organization and processes employed in workplaces.  

All of this is wonderful, but it’s the approach taken in the “senior phase” and around the capstone project that really sets FSA apart. Throughout the first classroom-instruction phase, FSA collects survey data about which pairs of students work well together. In the senior phase, the instructors build teams based on this data combined with student performance scores and the results of further surveys which ask students what kinds of applications they’re interested in building. Teams are guided through a process which helps them decide between ideas, translate the best ideas into minimum viable products, and then into production-ready applications. The balanced, well-matched teams generated through this process are in a position to be pushed by the instructors and teaching assistants to build technically interesting applications that demonstrate students’ capacity to pick up new technologies and capacity for deep thought about architecture and design. 

As in any bootcamp program, things move quickly. It’s up to students to dive deep into technologies or parts of the stack in which they would like to specialize. The portfolio projects can end up having a “hackathon” feel, for this being the environment in which they’re produced-- but employers of course understand this. Tough choices have to be made about what to cover and what not to cover. But these are all par for the course with all bootcamps for being built-in to the territory. 

There are a couple of potential challenges unique to FSA worth mentioning. FSA’s teaching-assistantship model (they’re called “teaching fellows”) is based on keeping former students around for a three-month contract to help guide more students through the program, in contrast with some other programs which keep around a semi-permanent teaching-assistantship staff (i.e. people with less expertise than instructors who are the front-line debugging helpers, coaches, code reviewers, etc.). While the instructors typically stick around for several years, teach many cohorts, and grow their own skills as programmers and pedagogues through this experience, the relatively short duration of the fellowship program makes it hard for FSA to accumulate experience and wisdom in the area of its teaching assistants. On the flip side, teaching fellows always have a fresh memory of what it was like to be a student and are in this respect well-positioned to help other students navigate the program’s many challenges and demands-- the program is quite good at selecting qualified former students for this role.

FSA prides itself on an always up-to-date curriculum and has a lot of infrastructure in place to collect student feedback on the curriculum and integrate improvements into it. But as of Fall 2019 FSA moved more slowly than should be possible in integrating this feedback due to the many demands placed on instructor time. I believe they are now in the process of reorganizing curriculum design into a separate department to help address this issue. These are growing pains that instructors and management will freely admit to-- and I am fairly confident that FSA will rise to meet them in the years to come. 

Whatever the challenges faced by the program, I liked the environment at Fullstack so much that I decided to stick around as a teaching fellow despite some leads for local jobs that would have paid much more (I should say that I've wrapped up that contract and am no longer employed by FSA at the time of writing!).

Some words on the alumni network and the career success program. When FSA advertises that they've helped candidates land jobs at top companies, they're not kidding. While obviously not everybody will end up at Google, or whatever, it's also not just a couple of outliers that have made it into FAANG companies. (In NYC, Google in particular has taken an interest in FSA graduates and it's not uncommon for a few grads in each cohort to go through the interview process-- whether they make it in, or not, it's a great learning experience.) FSA is known for its academically rigorous curriculum and the quality of its graduates relative to other bootcamps, and companies that have hired from FSA are likely to do so again-- facilitated by an alumni network that feels loyalty to the program and helps graduates navigate the complexities of the job market. It's not uncommon as an alum at career fairs or tech events to name-drop Fullstack and see faces light up: "Oh, great! I've heard good things about them / I've worked with a Fullstack grad / My coworker spoke so highly of a Fullstack grad they’ve worked with," and so on.

After the program I planned a move to a new city in which there was a *much* smaller FSA alumni presence than Chicago or NYC. But the few alumni in my destination city more than made up for their small numbers with a willingness to help me understand the market and find companies where I might be a fit. Not long into my search, with lots of advice from alumni and and the career success team at Fullstack, I was able to land a wonderful position at a Fortune 50 company. And that definitely would not have been possible without FSA!

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.