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I have decided to update my review on Galvanize due to having been out of the program for longer at this point. Updated 11/1/2018
I'm a relatively recent graduate of the Galvanize Web-Development immersive program (coming up on six months since graduation) and I will tell you to absolutely stay away from the program right now, at least the Denver campus.
For starters, I would be extremely leery of any data you see from Galvanize on their job placement rates. The last...
I have decided to update my review on Galvanize due to having been out of the program for longer at this point. Updated 11/1/2018
I'm a relatively recent graduate of the Galvanize Web-Development immersive program (coming up on six months since graduation) and I will tell you to absolutely stay away from the program right now, at least the Denver campus.
For starters, I would be extremely leery of any data you see from Galvanize on their job placement rates. The last data the website shows is from 2017, and puts their job placement rate at 83%. This might sound good, but bear in mind their job placement rate for 2015 & 2016 was 87%. Assuming both those years were 87%, that would require a drop off of 12% in their placement rates to now have fallen to 83% average. Even with those not terrible numbers, I would be highly skeptical. As far as I know, from my cohort of 20 graduates, only 6 have solid paying full-time jobs, and of those six, one had the job lined up prior to graduation through a friend, and the other works for Galvanize. Of the remaining four, all came into the course already having very strong coding backgrounds.
Their admissions process is a joke. You solve a logic problem, submit "code" (which can be basically anything), and make a simple animation on a website that is designed for children. The interview portion is hysterically easy. Once the course actually starts it gets even more absurd.
Galvanize's whole idea now is that they aren't a traditional 'school' anymore. They give you a bunch of various drills and projects you have to complete and throw you out there to go do them, with instructor help if need be. There are no tests, no quizzes, no grades, no homework, essentially no real checks to make sure you actually understand anything. While this might be ok for someone who already has a solid foundation in JS and coding, it's basically the equivalent of giving someone an essay written in a foreign language and telling them to go translate it when they don't speak a single word of the language. Without the fundamentals, you may as well be trying to squeeze blood from a turnip.
This wouldn't be so bad if they were staffed well, but they aren't. Instructor turn-over is so frequent it's almost comical. During my time in the course, we lost around 5-6 different instructors, and we lost both the Faculty Director and our Lead Instructor (as far as I know, they were forced out). On top of that, the vast majority of the instructors are people who just graduated from the course, and have never actually worked as Web or Software Devs. So half (or more) of the instruction you receive is from people who only learned this stuff themselves a few months ago. Hilariously, they'll also tell you all about what to expect at your first Dev job when they've never actually had a Dev job.
Because there are no exams or grades, it's pretty much impossible to fail the course (which is hilarious because they act like graduating from the course is some sort of amazing accomplishment). If you can't figure out a coding drill, they'll eventually just walk you through it and then decide that you "understand" it because you've seen it done one time. If you tell them you have no idea what's going on and are falling behind (like I did nearly every day) they'll insist that you're doing fine and keep pushing you through. Since there are no grades or tests or any real way of knowing how well you're doing, you take their word for it. Then suddenly you're graduated and you realize how little you've actually learned. To give just a few examples:
-During our last week, we had people who had not even started on the Back-end portion of the program, so the instructors just came over, hand-held them through the entire thing and basically did the work for them, and then declared them "complete" so they could graduate them on time.
-During my 'final interview', I don't think I answered a single technical question correctly. They acted like it was no big deal and graduated me anyway.
-We would do 'coding challenges' in the morning, which were supposed to simulate Tech interviews. I literally never solved a single one, but they didn't care and kept telling me not to worry about it. Now post-graduation, I've tried example coding challenges, and I can't even do the most absolutely basic ones. Six months of "teaching" by Galvanize, and I can't even get through the basics.
The course organization is atrocious. Ideas start (like remedial training, advisor groups, etc.) and then either get tossed aside or end up getting altered constantly because there's little to no planning by the staff. There's no syllabus and the curriculum seems to change like the wind; it's just sort of chaos. Ideas are also just sort of chucked in at random. We didn't get a "breakout" (a lecture) on the basics of how the internet works until halfway through the course. We didn't even touch basic computer science concepts until about a week prior to graduation.
Finally, they are WAY too crowded. There are 3 classrooms in the basement (the primary area for the Web Dev program), and there are so many people in the course that they've converted what was originally a break area into a classroom. They call it an "open air classroom". Please.
The only real positive I can say is that Career Services is actually very good. They clearly care a lot, work hard, help you improve your resume, LinkedIn, cover letters, etc. The problem is that without strong coding skills to back it up, a good deal of that is just window dressing. Oh, and the coffee, snacks, and beer are good.
Before anyone thinks that I was just lazy and this review is sour grapes for not getting handed a job after graduation, I arrived every day about 2 hours early to work ahead, and stayed late every day to work some more. I worked weekends and break weeks, sought help whenever I needed it, and anyone in the class will tell you how much effort I put in. My reward? We were told that the average Galvanize grad "applies to 55 jobs, gets 4 interviews, and accepts one". I've applied to 150+ jobs, and I've gotten 2 coding challenges (which of course I couldn't make a dent in, since G-school taught me next to nothing), and 0 interviews.
Apparently there will now be some big changes coming to the G-school curriculum following their acquisition of Hack Reactor. Hopefully this fixes their issues, but they have a LOT of work to do if they want to prove they're worth your time and effort. If nothing changes, stay far, far away from this program. You'd be better off spending a few hundred bucks on Udemy courses and teaching yourself.
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Full Time, In-Field Employee | N/A |
Full-time apprenticeship, internship or contract position | N/A |
Short-term contract, part-time position, freelance | N/A |
Employed out-of-field | N/A |
How much does Galvanize cost?
Galvanize costs around $19,480.
What courses does Galvanize teach?
Galvanize offers courses like 12-Week Software Engineering Online Immersive, 19-Week Software Engineering Immersive with JavaScript & Python.
Where does Galvanize have campuses?
Galvanize teaches students Online in a remote classroom.
Is Galvanize worth it?
The data says yes! In 2022, Galvanize reported a 100% graduation rate, a median salary of $95,000, and N/A of Galvanize alumni are employed.
Is Galvanize legit?
We let alumni answer that question. 216 Galvanize alumni, students, and applicants have reviewed Galvanize and rate their overall experience a 4.5 out of 5.
Does Galvanize offer scholarships or accept the GI Bill?
Yes, Galvanize accepts the GI Bill!
Can I read Galvanize reviews?
You can read 216 reviews of Galvanize on Course Report! Galvanize alumni, students, and applicants have reviewed Galvanize and rate their overall experience a 4.5 out of 5.
Is Galvanize accredited?
While bootcamps must be approved to operate, accreditation is relatively rare. Galvanize doesn't yet share information about their accreditation status.
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