General Assembly Reviews
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Locky Keaney
Set me on the right track!
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I was a classic case of finishing a Uni degree and still had no idea what to do. I love technology and fast pace learning, so GA was perfect for me. A few weeks after graduation I started the WDI immersive course.
Because I chose to do it over the summer, I really lucked out, with a small class that I had a great time with, 2 great instructors, and a personal connection with all the staff that seemed to really care about your outcome.
The course taught me a lot about coding and development, but in a way that taught me to enjoy and learn about the industry, which is the most important skill in the fast paced tech world these days. When I finished, I was so confident that I could accomplish something and my career tradjectory, for the first time in my life, actually existed.
I now have a great job that I love, but what is more important is that I have a career that I love and am very excited about where it can take me. Everything about it excites me, and GA help me get there.
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Allie S
Great experience that helped me switch careers
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TL;DR - it was truly a transformative experience and I am very glad I took the WDI course at General Assembly.
For those of you wanting details...
After working in the tech industry in non-technical positions, I finally decided to take the leap and began codeschool at General Assembly.
Though in the industry, I myself lacked any real technical knowledge outside of some CSS selectors and some regex. So, like the naive caterpillar I was, I entered the GA cocoon and 12 weeks later, emerged a beautiful technical butterfly.
Don't get me wrong, those 12 weeks of class are intense and stressful, long long long days and a touch of being overwhelmed. But once you land that job and start a new career that you enjoy, the pain fades quickly and you're left with a badass new skillset and a FANTASTIC community. The folks at GA are simply A+ humans and I'm happy that they're in my life.
I think the biggest thing to understand is that you'll get out of this experience what you put into it. If you want to be a developer, you're going to not only have to bust your ass in class, but you'll also need to be working on developing those skills outside of class. You have to learn to teach yourself and learn to stretch and grow constantly. You're not going to learn everything you need to know in 12 short weeks, but you'll establish a really solid foundation to continue learning with.
I think the other thing worth noting is that you don't have to be a developer if you take this class. In my current role, I am a basically a technical consultant for clients implementing our product. I don't write a lot of code, but I read code and debug code and solve complicated issues every day, and I love it. There are a lot of different paths that you can take after finishing GA's WDI course. The career counselor there (shout out to Nicole in Austin... she's amazing) will help you figure out what jobs are out there and what speaks to you.
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Melissa
UXDI: worth it's weight in gold
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I graduated from the User Experience Design Immersive course at General Assembly in April 2016. The immersive course is challenging but definitely worth its weight in gold.
Throughout the course I was given the opportunity to practice the UX craft in a supportive environment with guidance from experienced instructors. As the title suggests, you are fully immersed in the course every single day for 10 weeks and I abosolutely loved it. I learnt so much during those 10 weeks and met some of the greatest people.
One of the great things about GA is the collaborative environment which helped me to build my UX network, meet mentors, connect with industry contacts, potential employers and lifelong friends.
I was able to gain so much more out of the course than one would initially think & still reaping the benefits now. It was amazing to see my own evolution during the course and I can safely say that this course was a pivotal moment for myself & some of my peers.
I worked a number of contract jobs after I graduated through contacts that I made through General Assembly & currently working as a UX Designer agency side.
All in all, I would definitely do it all over again.
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Magdalena
Coding is fun
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I always thought about programming as an 'unnecessary evil' until the very first day of the course, when my instructor DT had showed us how much fun it actually is and what amazing things you can build with just a few lines of code.
I was learning for almost 20 years (since primary school up to Master's of Engineering) and studying at GA was one of the best educational experiences with one of the best teachers I had.
The course itself is very intensive, it's important to complete, understand and remember all the materials from the prework and if possible do some extra on your own (eg Code Academy).
It really takes 40 hours per week with afterhours for homework and going through the notes.Great atmosphere, support, resources, materials and many occasions to socialise and meet other programmers.
Teachers are very passionate, helpful, experienced, patient and encourageing to try and do new things.
Classes are intensive, but run and explained in a very funny and easy way :)
Before, I also thought that you can't really change careers in 12 weeks, but trust me yes you can (if you put enough effort and commitment).
Fantastic career support with all the strategies of how to find the right job (not just an any job).Good luck! 👍🏻
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Roelof Neuman
User experience design immersive
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I went into this course as the least experienced and youngest student of my class, but at the end I felt like I could stand next to my peers and look at them as equals, rather than view myself as less capable. The course was designed to get you a job as an ux designer as fast as possible while equipping you with all the skills and knowledge you'll need for your first job. Although all coursework was very realistic and practical, with the last project having an actual client, the learning environment is amazing. As a current university student I can say that although the course wasn't designed for me, I got so much from it and I think if you want to learn anything about anything related to UX this is course is for you! -
Bryan Sun
User Experience Design Immersive - Melbourne
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This 10 week course was perfectly designed for anyone that want to put the first foot in the door of the UX industry. The curriculum was carefully selected to provide you with the most up to date and relevant skills to be industry ready. My instructors had great industry experience and are still currently practicing and provided a solid mentorship. The course helped me switched careers and I landed a role in less than a week upon finishing.
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Jonathan Mercado
DATA ANALYSIS CIRCUIT
Learn to gather, analyze, and tell stories through data with SQL, Excel, and visualization.
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Cindy Smith
Data Analysis Circuit / 05-10-16 / Online
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I completed the Data Analysis Circuit on-line course offered by General Assembly. The level of support offered by General Assembly is outstanding, each student is encouraged to select a Mentor for the course, attend on-line meetings, and participate in the class meetings.
The General Assembly team is always available to answer any questions, review your submitted projects and meet with you one on one.
This was the most positive and enjoyable training class and working with the staff at General Assembly made this a successful and informative experience.
I look forward to my next on-line training course and working with General Assembly.
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Karen Schneider
Digital Marketing Circuit
The online course focuses on the funnel of digital marketing; the material was digestible and manageable, yet very informative.
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Ashley Broatch
USER EXPERIENCE DESIGN CIRCUIT
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This course was super valuable. It’s true that you don’t know what you don’t know.
This course has empowered me with the confidence to have UX discussions, use the industry correct language and terminology and have knowledge around what is best practice.
Since completing this course I have transitioned into a role as User Experience Designer and I am loving challenging those around me to ensure we are user -centric in everything we do.
I would have liked to have some course material that I could refer back to though.
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Kyle T.
Useful Course
I found the data analysis circut to be a great warmup course for some of GA's other offerings. If you are looking to ramp up your excel and SQL skills, this is a great starter course.
Took this course for a ramp up on the Data Science Immersive program.
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James G.
A Wise Investment for the Serious Student
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TL;DR: Worth every minute of my time and every dollar spent. Invaluable experience with tangible results. Was hired at a top company within 6 days of graduation.
A little background regarding my education, experience, and character: I hold a BA in History and Comparative Religion from a liberal arts university. I have worked as a teacher, a fashion photographer, a designer, an account coordinator, and a partner in a wedding photography business. I enjoy traveling the globe, learning languages, and eating local foods. In summation, I’d never had anything beyond a slim introduction to HTML prior to my decision to enroll in GA.
I formally began GA’s WDI first remote cohort after completing one month of self-directed study, a prep that gave me a solid foundation to begin but was no substitute for what I learned. I had my suspicion regarding the efficacy of a completely online platform but it quickly dissolved as I completed my first week.
The 13+ weeks felt simultaneously indefinite and momentary. I believe the content of the curriculum was so new and challenging that it seemed long but it was also so engaging while augmented by the fun had in class with instructors and classmates. The most important thing about this course is that you learn and you learn a lot in a short period of time. While the course is no substitute for a CS degree that teaches you the complex math behind machine code, the jobs a web developer is looking for doesn’t require that! I think most people are fearful of bootcamp programs because we’ve seen the scandals involving for-profit academies (Everest, ITT, DeVry), but you need to realize that programs like this work far better for those that have already been out in the world gaining experience and looking to pivot in a new direction.
You are assigned HW nightly that certainly requires 3-5 hours of work but the projects are your true tests and ultimately become your portfolio. I kept on top of my portfolio landing page and projects and eventually received a bite from a top company two weeks prior to my graduation. My interests lie in front-end and web animation so when I was offered a full-time salary position with killer perks 6 days post gradation, the final validation for this course was checked off my list.
Learning to code is not a passive skill (well, at least not initially) so you must be ready to listen carefully, think critically, and apply what you learn thoughtfully. If you do this and couple it with dedication/interest/passion/whatever drives you, failure is not an option - you will succeed. GA has a finely tuned system with kick-ass instructors that are real people, and by that I mean they’re personable and considerate. Many of the instructors are GA grads themselves that after a few years in the workforce have decided to come back and teach, which is killer because they can speak the same language as the novice. I haven’t an unkind word for any of the instructors I encountered.
The same kind words apply to the operations and career outcomes staff. GA has done a fine job sourcing amazing talent and I trust they will continue to apply these tactics to acquire even more.
To summarize, GA has an outstanding curriculum with an amazing staff that keeps you laughing and interested while teaching you hard skills that truly gets you the work you’re looking for.
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Susannah
GA means Community
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I recently completed GA's Web Development Immersive and I honestly had no idea what to expect going in to the course. I had no prior development experience, beyond the free Codecademy and Code School courses I had been taking online.
I have a background in journalism and had worked for a media company designing newspapers for a little over two years prior to taking GA's WDI. I had been teaching myself to code and I fell in love with the endless possibilities that web development holds.
I decided to make the leap and GA was the best fit for me. GA Austin is in the perfect location downtown amongst the various tech companies and you have the opportunity to meet "out in the wild" developers in that very building! GA also really stresses the importance of community and I truly have found a community within GA. I had a great community of classmates within the classroom. We got to help each other and watch each other grow. We picked each other up when someone was down and we cheer each individual's accomplishments.
The instructors and GA staff are also part of my community. Everyone wants to know how the course is going, how the job search is going and what they can do to help. I was always greeted with a friendly face or a helping hand. There are tons of networking events that help you meet past students, present students that aren't in your course and future students.
The Austin tech community is my community. GA provided networking events and invited industry professionals in to our classrooms to meet us, speak with us, and critique our work. I've met a range of developers from a variety of companies, that I know I could call on to ask questions about code, the job search or advice about the industry.
My real takeaway from General Assembly is the sense of community they provide, because the course is not easy. It takes a lot of time and a lot of energy. It is truly immersive and having that support behind you not only makes it easier, but it makes it even more fun!
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Giulia Lake
WDI Immersive
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I came to the course with no prior experience coding or designing anything. It was a fantastic jumpstart, super fast, engaging, at times overwhelming but overall awesome. I had two great teachers Jason, who brought his great experience and deep knowledge of the subject knowledge and Will who was a very talented teacher and very passionate coder. The learning experience was great, but I was not prepared to struggle so much to find a job afterwards. It should be expected though, when you launch 100+ Junior developers on the market at the same time the process of getting them hired it is not an easy task.
Just be ready, you are going to be amazed about the skills you have learned but getting a job is not an easy ride.
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Colin Standefer
Web Development Immersive - Austin, TX
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I attended GA for their Web Development Immersive from May 30 - August 19, 2016. I’ll start by saying it was an experience.
The bootcamp is a very intense experience where you’re in a classroom for 40 hours per week - taking notes, listening to lectures, and working on mini-labs as well as day-long labs. You also have, on top of the 40 hours per week in class, an additional 20-40 hours of homework and projects to complete outside of class putting your workload realistically at 60-80 hours per week. It’s physically exhausting as well as mentally exhausting over the course of the 12 weeks. Bear in mind that this isn’t a full-time job and part-time job that you’re probably tired of or bored with. This is a course where you’re constantly being pushed mentally to grasp new material and apply it in solo settings, paired settings, and group settings; it’s exhausting, but also refreshing and exhilarating at the same time. You’re encouraged to go to meet ups when you find the time between class, homework, and projects if you have the energy, to meet new people, expand your network, and hopefully meet someone who needs what you have to offer (i.e. employers and freelance work). Somewhere in the mix of all that, you get resume coaching by a professional career coach, personal portfolio site coaching by professional designers, behavioral interview prep by professional recruiters, technical interview prep by professional programmers, and lectures about freelancing, negotiation, and a host of “soft” skills to prepare you for your eventual job search and career. Somewhere in there, you also tour a couple of local tech/tech-oriented companies. We visited uShip and Atlassian.
The 12 weeks are structured in 4 units - 2 weeks, 4 weeks, 3 weeks, and 3 weeks. You’re asked over the course of the 12 weeks to build 1 game, 2 group projects (1 front end, 1 back end), and 1 final capstone solo project with most people opting to make a full stack application for this, but the program leaves it open-ended as to what you do. With the exception of the game at the end of week 2, where everyone is assigned the same game, the other 3 projects are left completely up to your groups and yourself to decide what to build. You’re asked to be creative. You’re asked to be logical. You’re asked to be patient. You’re asked to be motivated. The program is very demanding of what you bring to the table.
If you’re not so much intimidated by all of that that as you are excited by it, then please keep reading because you might have found your next step in life.
It’s a blast! You’ll meet people from so many different walks of life. In my class, there was a college student majoring in business, a former Computer Science major, a former Army Ranger, a game designer, a journalist, 2 people who worked in finance, a guy who took on various roles at various companies, and a former Apple employee. I was a music composition major in college, and worked as a pianist, composer, arranger, and teacher for a few years before I decided to transition to something new, which ended up, after a year and a half of searching, to be computer programming for web development. You’ll come to make friends with these people, love them for their quirks, hate them for their quirks, and eventually have a sense of camaraderie with them because you all made it through something together that not everyone wants to do, nor, I’m not even sure, can do.
ALSO, you’re in one of the coolest towns in the U.S.! Austin is the live music capital of the U.S., so just the live music scene alone is something special. Austin also has all kinds of hiking trails, like the Barton Creek Greenbelt, and natural swimming holes, like Barton Springs, to explore. Everything Austin offers makes for a great environment to deflate and relax from the intense programming environment you’ll be entering into.
This is pretty standard information, though, so I’d like to talk more about my personal experience with and in the program.
I had never coded before GA, and so I was really going out on a limb here spending that kind of money, investing that kind of time, and putting myself way outside my comfort zone. I’ve never been “a computer person”. I used computers, but not for anything extraordinary; just Facebook, YouTube… the usual suspects. I always had this weird interest in learning to program for some reason, though, and an acquaintance of mine always talked about it with such passion and verve. I never gave myself the time or credit to teach myself how to program, so I ended up telling myself, “Now or never… you’re not interested in pursuing music professionally anymore, you’ve worked several odds-and-end jobs with nothing really catching your imagination… go for it!” So I did. It was the best decision I’ve made in my adult life. I’m 27. So now you know my non-existent programming background prior to GA.
(Note: For anyone older reading this, there were also people much older than me, though. I think in the cohort that started a few weeks after mine, there was a guy who was in his 40s. In my class, the aforementioned game designer was 31.)
The application process was cool. They give you very limited resources and ask you to build your own About Me website and submit it. I did this, so they scheduled an interview. I got accepted. It wasn’t stressful. They just try to engage you, see what gets you ticking, and get to know you. Next was the pre-work to be completed before the program started, so there was at least an exposure to fundamental concepts. The pre-work is challenging, and, unfortunately, in my opinion, I think GA could do way better with this pre-work. Every time you come to the exercises, you feel like you aren’t prepared for them, which is not how the program is. The labs, homework, and projects are very challenging, but you’re very well-prepared for them. It may seem like you’re not at times, but you are. You just have to really mine your mind for the information you’ve been exposed to. This pre-work, however, can be quite harrowing at times, so if you decide to enroll, start working on the pre-work, and feel like an idiot… don’t worry… I was the same. I’m not sure if it’s the exposure to a completely new way of thinking, or if it’s just the pre-work is insufficient in its explanations… it definitely leaves you wondering whether you’re going to be able to do this. I can assure you again, though, the rest of the program plays out much better.
My instructors were awesome! Sean, Amanda, and Britney Jo… they were something else. Very patient people who want nothing more than to see you succeed. I don’t know GA’s process for hiring teachers, but they seem to pick the cream of the crop. These people are so knowledgeable and very kind. To boot, instructors from the other classes like Ross, Riley, and Mike reach out to you and make sure you’re doing well.
The staff is really great, too! Really cool people from Leah and Emily, to Nicole and Sarah, to Chris… there’s several of them. They went above and beyond to make sure all of us were doing alright, and would always say, “Hey, how’s it going?” when you passed them in the hallway. They hosted a potluck where all of the students brought food, and we ate together. They know you’re spending money and time to be there, and they want to make it worth your while and really make you feel like you’re part of something.
Something I haven’t mentioned about my experience is what was happening in my life outside of GA. My father passed away halfway through the program, and I was very distraught by this loss. The staff and faculty, with the exception of 2 or 3, all came up to me individually and privately to express their condolences. Leah sent flowers to my mother. They were incredibly flexible and accommodating, going so far as to offering to extend the program an extra week for me so I could go be with family for a week in the immediate aftermath. They were also very supportive. Everyone would engage me in conversation and check to make sure I was doing alright. I really wouldn’t have graduated without the support they gave me. I was completely alone in Austin. I’m from Arkansas, so Austin is 9 hours away from my family and friends. What they did for me meant the world to me, and, I think, speaks very positive worlds about the people you’ll be engaged with on a daily basis.
I’m a very cynical person, but I believe in this school.
A friend of mine I met there who was enrolled in the previous Web Development Immersive which started prior to but overlapped with mine, said something very succinct, which describes the experience in a hilarious, but apt way. He said, “WDI was the greatest experience of my life that I never want to repeat again.” I expressed this sentiment to my friends in my cohort as well as my friends in the Android Development Immersive and the User Design Immersive that were happening simultaneously with my cohort, and everyone who heard it laughed and agreed. It’s damn intense, but it’s also a damn good time.
If you have any further questions you didn’t get answered here, I encourage you to talk to the staff, but you’re welcome to contact me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colinstandefer
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Sam Ray
Employed Android Immersive Grad
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I'll tell you first and foremost, deciding to attend GA was one of the best decisions I've ever made for myself. If you're like me then what you really want to know is "am I going to get a job". that depends on a lot of things like how much work you put into it, how good your instructors and classmates are (mine were incredible), and that je ne sais quoi that makes some people successful for no quantifiable reason. What I can tell you with certainty is GA will make you employable. I went from no coding background to full time salary employee at a startup tasked with building out the android app by myself, and I'm doing great. You will leave GA with those skills. The greater hurdle is convincing employers that despite the notable lack of a degree you are actually more qualified that Johnny Justgraduated because you've spent the last three months doing the job they are hiring for. It's not fair, I know, but a good friend once told me you gotta bet on yourself.
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Zach
GA Is More Than A School
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Before General Assembly, I was attending a traditional university studying computer science. There, I found that I wasn't learning any real-world skills. I had the desire to create something, but I didn't have the ability to do so. I heard about General Assembly through a friend, and he had told me it was the best decision he's ever made.
I decided to take the plunge! The interview process went smoothly. The admissions staff is very kind and informative, and I learned about General Assembly's mission through them. I had some prior knowledge of development, so the pre-work was a bit simpler for me than it may be for others. However, I could see the benefit for anyone coming in with no experience.
I was nervous. Perhaps the course wouldn't quite live up to my expectations. I had heard so many different things, and read polarizing reviews. Soon after arrival, I figured out that General Assembly was the real deal. It is tough. The workload is intense, and you will find that the only thing on your mind at times is the course. This is exactly what I wanted though. It is called an immersive, and that's exactly what you get from GA. It really was an experience unlike anything I have done before. I was constantly thinking about code. I believe this is the only way someone can learn such an immense amount in only three months.
Besides the course load, GA gave me much more. I made new friends in a new city. I was given confidence in myself that was missing. I was provided mentors and peers that will be connections for life. I found a challenge, and I overcame it. Most of my cohort was comprised of people who were not challenged in their current careers, or were just not satisfied with them. I can say confidently that GA's immersive programs are the perfect way to make that change.
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Lyn D.
From a graduate of the first cohort
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I'm part of the first cohort that graduated a few days ago. I have technical background (Bachelor of Science in Computer Science) and some programming experience.
Research before signing up, and why remote?
Signing up for this first cohort was a huge leap of faith. I did so much research in finding the right programming bootcamp for me.
I even went back and forth to NYC to learn more about the bootcamps while attending a part-time programming class. Each way is 560 miles from my home. I put around 15,000 miles in my car in the process of deciding if I should go enroll in an immersive program.
Because I lived in a rural area, quite easily called the boondocks, I crashed at my relative's apt in NYC for free (lucky!). I still had to go home every weekend for 3 months while going through part-time programming classes. After that grueling commute cycle, I realized that I really can't leave my family alone almost 600 miles away, even if I want to join an immersive programming course.
My husband is military so I cannot simply uproot our lives for my desire to go into an immersive, and become a programmer.
I really needed to think carefully about what I was going to be doing for the next few months in regards to my career change. After weeks of decision making, I came to the conclusion that I needed to either drive 110 miles every day roundtrip if I wanted to learn how to code in the nearest big city, or attend a remote bootcamp.
I ultimately decided that I should apply for a remote immersive program.
Hard time finding the right remote immersive bootcamp.
After applying for several more selective programming bootcamps and passing, it just didn't feel right. It felt like the people that I was put in contact with weren't eager to talk to me. Almost like I was a bother, especially the people who did the technical interviews.
I was getting a bit frustrated because I just couldn't connect with the people I was talking to. It didn't feel like they were eager to help me learn. Instead of sounding enthusiastic about teaching me, it felt like they were talking down to me. Of course, learning the best languages of the moment is key, but I also wanted to feel comfortable with the folks I will be dealing with for the next few months.
Seeing GA's Ad for the first cohort (aka guinea pig).
A General Assembly Admissions Advisor reached out to me. I was surprised. It took me a few seconds to process why GA was calling me. I honestly forgot about applying for their remote program. A few days back, I submitted their online form in whim to get the curriculum. Most of the schools with harder vetting process didn't really follow-up.
I've read a lot of reviews on GA and it just didn't seem up to par to what I envisioned myself getting into. The reviews for GA are so mixed everywhere.
Being the inquisitive person that I am, I politely grilled the GA representative on every single aspect of the program. She was very professional, it made me happy to talk to someone who knew what I'll be learning.
But I still wasn't convinced.
I politely told the admission advisor that I might go with "XYZABC" school because I've already been talking to them weeks back. She convinced me to give it a chance, and attend the information sessions they have. The contrast alone between her demeanor and the uncaring conversations I had with the other "top" school convinced me to give it a shot.
I went to all of their information sessions with the lead instructor and the program head. All I can say was is that their information sessions were really live and open, very unscripted.
I pondered for a few more weeks, until I finally decided to go with General Assembly's Remote Immersive.
The pre-work.
I honestly wasn't ecstatic with the pre-work. I thought that it could've been much more focused on drilling the fundamentals than coming up with a pretty project. Honestly felt nervous when I went through the pre-work. I was thinking, "what the heck did I get myself into".
I was upfront about this when they asked for my feedback. I am not scared putting this out there. This also shows that nobody is silencing my voice. I even used my name in this review. Not going as anonymous.
I believe they tweaked it for the upcoming cohorts. I'm not sure. Attend the information session and do not rely on my statement alone. They are constantly tweaking things.
Although I did say that I wasn't much fan of the pre-work, because to me it lacked the preview on the fundamentals that the instructors will eventually hammer on you, I did not dock a star. It is because it ultimately did not take away anything from my learning experience.
My experience in the actual lessons.
The beginning was rough. It's just like starting your first day in class, or first day at a new job. A lot of adjusting and discomfort as you go into "immersive learning" mode.
However, I sure did learn a lot. I get goosebumps just thinking about the whole experience.
I honestly can say that I got out so much from this program. I was able to finally utilize the tools, the Computer Science Fundamentals, that I I didn't know what to do with before graduating. I'm learning ASP and C# now, a few days after graduating. The program was very systematic in teaching us how to approach new topics most efficiently.
Shoutout to my awesome instructors.
I also know it also had a lot to do with our awesome instructors. I am so thankful that I got the instructors that I did. Our instructor group had about 20 years experience collectively between them. That alone speaks volumes of my experience. Did they make it hard on us? Nope. They definitely gave us the chance to excel, but if the student didn't want to, they were not hard on him or her. But the instructors definitely did not slack off in whipping our butts to learn as much as we can.
Take note, the instructor teams change every cohort. Again, attend the information sessions. You're spending $$$, an equivalent of a very decent car, you should at least make an effort in researching who will be teaching you. I for one would have not joined if I saw anything less impressive than what I saw the team that was going to be teaching me.
After graduation.
To speak of the other people in my cohort, I know of a few people already going to interviews. As of this writing, this is day 3 from graduating. I myself went to a few even before graduating. I cannot speak for everybody, but a lot of the people I grew close to, and am still chatting with, seem to be doing quite well. There were some who also had interviews before graduating, but a lot of us were holding out for remote positions.
Full disclosure, right now I'm not going all out in finding a job, so my view of the job market is not quite detailed. I'm thinking of either getting my MS in Computer Science or finding a remote job. At the very least, I want to code with and for a mission and get a job at a mission-focused company, hence the lack of vigor in applying for jobs immediately. The lack of immediate outcome in my part is not the fault of General Assembly. Plus, it's only been a few days since we graduated.
Jobs landing on your lap! Not.
Am I saying you'll easily get a job if you apply for this program? I'm definitely not saying that.
This is not a program for someone who saved some dough, and decided, "Hey! I wanna make easy cash!". Don't waste your money or your time if you're not willing to change your lifestyle, way of thinking, and personality.
How this program changed me.
I am able to dive head on to learning new tech without hesitation, my approach to working with others in the development side also changed. I'm no longer apprehensive about showing people my code, unlike 10 years ago when it terrified me to do so. I didn't go into this program to learn how to make easy money as a programmer.
How I approached the program.
I am actually one of the vocal (but constructive... I hope?) students. I didn't hold back if I felt something was preventing me from getting the best out of what I paid for, both monetarily and my time.
Working till 12am was normal for some of us, be it on homework or pet projects. My day in the immersive officially starts at 10am (although I wake up at 5am to do chores and attend to my family) and ends officially at 5pm. To really learn, get the most out of the lessons and work on my homework with the night TA, my GA time typically ends 11pm. Projects week normally calls for working until 2am. Those who had similar schedule (roughly 14 hours of coding each day for almost 4 months) were able to secure interviews before classes ended.
The job hunt.
Like I said, I'm not in full job hunting mode. I'm not even sure if I'm going to be able to find a job. But do I feel like I got my money's worth? Yes, I do feel that I made the right decision attending this program. I'm even in the process of talking to academic advisors from different schools regarding their Masters programs for CS majors.
Conclusion.
This review is about my experience. I am telling you about how effective it was for me in the aspect of being able to learn new tech and working in a simulated professional dev environment.
DISCLAIMER:
This review is definitely not an endorsement of the program. As of this writing (Aug 2016) I have not applied for a job at GA. They do not even have a campus in my big city. Definitely think hard, very hard, and do a lot of research before signing up for anything. And if you do sign up, make sure to do everything that will make your investment worthwhile.
You can visit my blog to read more about my experience as a WDI Remote student. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions you would like to ask a former student of the WDI Remote program.
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Joy
Biggest critic turned fan
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I have to admit, this program was hard for me. I have a non technical background and there were times in the course I doubted it would work the way it said. In fact I got to a point where I was pretty sour on the entire thing, and there were a few weeks where I really threw a fit.
I graduated two days ago, and I have to take back every bad thing I said. I was getting recruiter calls before my final project even started, and before I filled out a single application. Today was the first day I really started my job search in earnest, and GA has juice. I have gotten callbacks within hours of applying for anything, and matter of fact have an interview set for tomorrow. From an application I did halfway through today.
My story isn't over, since I've just begun jobhunting I'll obviously update this when I get a job. But the response from companies has given me a lot of faith. Here is what I will say in the way of specifics.
1. This is a really hard program; this is a really hard thing to learn.
Sometimes in this course I was miserable. I was trying really hard to understand, but I couldn't. There was a little while where I would get very frustrated and start to fault the program in my freak-out moments. But the struggling phase is probably just inevitable when you are trying to learn something really hard, fast. I have come to see that there is a method to the madness.
Some of my class actually didn't make it through, and if there is any definite difference I can say about who survived and who didn't, it has to be optimism. You have to know that even if you aren't technical, even if you feel like doing this is taking a big risk, you have to see it through. You have to discipline your dissapointments and frustrations and once out the other side, willl see the big picture.
2. The workload is EXTREMELY INTENSE, and you need to prepare yourself.
Cook a bunch of meals and freeze them ahead of time. Knock out any trips to the DMV or doctor you have on the horizon, you will absolutely not have time for it while in this course. If you have pets, honest to god make a plan to exercise and care for them. The schedule is that intense, and I am not exaggerating.
If you have a spouse, tell them you are having an affair with your laptop for the next few months. Not even kidding.
If you have any trips planned, cancel them. Do not make the ridiculous mistake of trying to move during this course, which is what I did and made me fall behind for a while. Also, do as much codeacademy as you can beforehand. You will be glad you did later.
3. Mix trusting the program with your own gut and learning style.
My course was the first remote course, and there were things that worked and didn't. For instance, I found hand written note taking (what I usually do) was a mistake. You can't keep up with someone typing 60 wpm by trying to take hand written notes. Take screenshots, and code along with the instructors as much as possible.
CONCLUSION?
You know who you guys are, but the people that led my course (the first remote program) were Colin, Matt B, Matt H, Marc, Kristyn, Thom, Adi, Seth, and Meghan. (Shoutout so any corporate back patting does not risk missing you as it's target. It was well, WELL earned.)
I was a tremendous pain to these people sometimes. I expected them to answer to me about how the course was running in a way that was probably obnoxious. They bent over backwards to help me. They were incredibly accessible. And adaptive. And as something of a dark horse within my class they put in as much effort if not more with me than with the super genius kids that were breezing through.
I don't think I have felt like an instructor, or all the instructors in fact, were this personally invested in me since elementary school. These guys were so on top of it. They knew before I did what languages might be easier for me to learn. They pay very, very close attention. They also are patient with that jerk set on cracking bad jokes and being the class clown. (Spoiler alert, that was also me.)
I try to stick to the principle of being honest about both problems and solutions. There were plenty of times in this course where I was raising an alarm and freaking out. It is only fair now that I am through that I give appropriate credit. These guys are life changers. Even if you have doubts about this type of course, as once a huge cynic, I gotta say these guys are monumentally good at what they do. And the program they run meets if not exceeds the results that it advertises.
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Rebecca
My journey back
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UXDI at General Assembly helped me relaunch my career. I started in UX over a decade ago when the industry was just starting out. I spent a few years in a CX / UX role and then left to have my family. After almost 10 years out of the workforce, and out of the UX community, the industry had moved forward so much and my experience was very much outdated. I spent 2 years applying for jobs by myself, to no avail. It was then that I stumbled across UXDI at GA and thought I had nothing to lose. Incredibly, after only 1 week after my meet and greet I had lined up 7 interviews in 3 days! This was a combination of jobs i had applied for myself, interviews with recruiters I had met at the GA meet and Greet, and also interviews lined up for me by my outcomes producer. This was unheard of for me, considering I had previously spent two years trying to find employment. By the end of that week I had secured my first short term contract as a UX Designer. Since completing this initial contract, I have moved onto a permanent UX Reseracher role. I have been in this role for close to two months now and I love it. I am proud to say I am a GA success story - a middle aged mum who made her way back into the tech industry after a ten year hiatus.
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Andy
Wonderful Part-Time Course
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I took General Assembly's part-time front-end development course and was adequately pleased with it. I had a fair amount of front-end knowledge prior to the course through online courses such as codeacademy.com, so the GA course was more review than anything (you won't need any knowledge prior to taking the course, however). That being said, the instructor was great, the homework was beneficial and I loved the atmosphere created by the GA building/staff. If I could afford the full-time tuition, I would definitely consider taking the bootcamp and making the switch to the programming field.
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Oli
Immersive works
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Personally I found the format for General Assembly's web development immersive extremely effective. The number of hours committed as part of the course forces you to focus on nothing but learning, or levelling up, your web development skills. However it's not just brute force transfer of information via presentation. In having a mixture of taught lessons to cover new topics, exercises in the afternoon to put that new found knowledge to work (and the chance to talk with teachers 1 to 1), and individual assignments in the evening to further practice & cement a concept.
Curriculum wise I think the areas covered are well chosen and have an appropriate bias to the real life skills you'll need as a software developer. One area I think could be improved is bringing testing in earlier - and give time to showing real examples of TDD from scratch - not just the concepts.
The teachers on my course are knowledgeable in their field, a great bunch to spend time with, and made themselves available to help students. GA is also a fun place to be. There are always interesting people around to chat with, when you have the time!
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Brandon Kearns
The network is the multiplier.
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Enrolling in a course at General Assembly was arguably the decision that has had the quickest impact on my life. I had zero experience with tech outside of being an avid consumer of the Internet and its depths. The curriculum was well-suited to someone without prior knowledge. It does assume that you have the desire to learn, however. Most of the criticism I have heard is from those that were under the false impression that the course would make them experts at web development without any sort of effort on their part. This is not the case. For me, this was an important component of General Assembly - the course and its instructors showed me what was possible and through the projects, I was able to build my confidence to the point where I believed that I could build anything. That was true much before I believed it, though. General Assembly and its network of alumni, students and instructors imbued me with the confidence I needed to recover from what seemed like failures but were really just adjustments to my journey. I would recommend (and have done so) enrolling a course at General Assembly if you are serious about changing your career or adding valuable skills to your tool kit.
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Carolyn
User Experience Design
I completed the UX Design (part-time) course at GA, in NYC, 2 years ago. I came into the course as a Fashion Designer with no UX experience. I learned so much at GA, from very knowledgable and talented instructors. I even got to participate in a UX Design Sprint at Google. I highly recommend taking a course at GA.
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Pauliina
Web Development Immersive
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I graduated from the Web Development Immersive at General Assembly (campus Melbourne) and couldn't be more delighted. Course was relevant, fast-paced, well structured and it really taught me more than I could possibly imagine that I could learn in such a short time. The staff and the teachers at GA are the most amazing as well! Two weeks after the graduation I landed my first job as a junior developer. This course changed my life so I would be happy to recommend it to anyone - it will be the best decision of your life.
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Charlene
Backend Web Development: Ruby on Rails
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My background was computer science degree with a heavy emphasis on theory and not alot of web development. I had learned the basics of Ruby on rails through books but the course helped me understand fully the language and framework. The instructors were very helpful, passionate about coding and always available for help online or in person. The communication they used with Slack was extremely convenient. The course was fast paced and just as they instructors advised before starting, it needed to be done at a time in your life when not too much else was demanding. My only suggestion would have been to either add 2 more weeks to the course or subtract something in the beginning that was less important. The projects were challenging and went right along with the course material. The last few weeks of course were a tad bit rushed but I was so proud the last day of class when I stood and presented my application and it worked. It wasn't the prettiest but it indeed worked and I came up with each creative idea on my own. Definitely a good experience and I'd recommend to any other beginner or even intermediate developer.
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Amy Simmons
The best 3 months of my life
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Before starting General Assembly's full-time Web Development Immersive course I was a journalist with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
I'd taken an interest in data visualisation, and knew a little bit of HTML, CSS and JavaScript. But I didn't know enough to confidently use code in my day-to-day life as a digital journalist. I simply couldn't learn fast enough in my spare time, or without a classroom environment where I could ask for help. I knew the course was expensive, and would require me to take unpaid leave from the ABC. But I'd spoken to a few graduates who assured me that it was worthwhile - that once graduating, I'd be able to code and use my new skills to be a better digital journalist. I eventually decided to take the plunge. I built a little website on why online journalists should learn to code and pitched it to the ABC. They gave me unpaid leave, and $5,000 towards the cost of the course. But about six weeks into the 12 week course, I resigned from the ABC. I was having the time of my life. I had met an amazing group of people. My eyes had been opened to the tech industry. I was coding day and night, barely sleeping, running on caffeine and chocolate, but absolutely loving life. My instructor Joel Turnbull was incredibly talented - and hilarious. I loved every bit of the content that we covered. The General Assembly staff were amazing. I made the decision to resign because I knew that in order to continue progressing my coding skills, I would need to be coding full-time, rather than trying to code on top of my usual day-to-day journalist responsibilities. I also wanted to be in a supportive environment where I could pair program and be mentored by a senior. It didn't take me long to find my first job as a developer with a company called ansarada. During the course we studied Ruby on Rails and JavaScript. At ansarada I'm a back end developer writing C# and SQL. I've kept up my front-end skills on the side, and in a few weeks time I'll be moving to London to start a new job as a software engineer with Twitter. Doing WDI and changing careers from journalism to web development was the best decision of my life. The tech community is like no other, and I'm so happy to be part of it. -
Anna
HTTP/CSS
Learned how to build a website from scratch using HTTP and CSS and the visual concepts behind designing a website.
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Phoebe
General Assembly Melbourne - Front End Web
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As a designer and in this modern world I needed to get my skills involved with web. I signed up for the 10-week part time course after following one of the one day workshops - 'Code in a Day'. Working full-time the night classes suited me just fine and only 2 classes a week was good, as it did not overwhelm me. Straight off the bat the course layout was great, pre-work that with a video tutorial took you through the basics steps and as each class progressed we would always relate back to what we learnt earlier to keep it refreshed in our brains. The pace was good and even when I personally fell a bit behind or had difficulty the instructors were quick to help and very understanding. Having materials accessible online is a huge benefit for at home studying and using 'Stack' as a communication source was resourceful. All in I've finish the 10 weeks confident, all be it not a pro of course, to continue on with my own studies and update my resume to include web skills. It’s real world knowledge and skills for the real world workers.
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Taylor Y
Got a job in the last week!
General Assembly Melbourne equipped me with all the skill I needed to land a job as a Junior Front-End Developer. The classes were fun and the teachers were really great. Landed a job in the last week! Would reccomend this course to anyone.
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Yang
Amazing Experience
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A little disclaimer - I continued to work at GA after my graduation as an Instructional Associate. I imagine this makes me slightly biased.
What the Web Dev Immersive course does is prepare students to become junior developers. This is something it does very well. The course focuses on Ruby (especially Rails) on the backend and HTML, CSS and Javascript (JQuery and some Angular) on the frontend.
The thing that I found most rewarding about GA's program was the accessibility of the instructional team and other support staff. This, coupled with our small class size, really helped me improve my skills rapidly and really get to know my classmates. In fact, I recently finished a freelance job in collaboration with one of those guys. It was a fantastic experience.
Finally, it is probably pertinent for me to add that as with all similar courses, you get out of the program what you put in. Students really get an opportunity to expand their skillset beyond what is in the syllabus if they choose to do so. In my time as Instructional Associate, and as a student, I really saw the difference passion and commitment can make in a program like this one.
I'm currently working in Hong Kong as a developer, taking full advantage of the geographically transferable skills that I now possess.
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Tracie
GA Seattle Rocks!
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The User Experience Design Immersive Program was intensive and covered most of the common practices in the industry, it was more than good to prepare students for the real world experience. I would not say that the modules were completely thorough or in depth but you could not ask for more from a 10 week program. You have to do a lot of studying at your own time. Having said that, you will not believe what you accomplish in that short span. I enjoyed every bit of it. I enjoyed the pace, I loved the intensity of the course, the speed the programs were planned through the weeks, the culture they have created throughout the campus that made me feel so comfortable with everyone. We learned various techniques, we explored useful resources, we learnt to use multiple softwares, tools and applications. Our instructors were very supportive throughout the program and they guided us every step of the way. Moreover, the experience of being at General Assembly Seattle was amazing. From the moment you walk in that front door; the frontliners, the course producers, the instructors, career coaches and all the other students just make you feel as if you've been running the same race and there is no end to it. Perseverance, Determination, Confidence & Commitment are the tools that will get you through this course.
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Arturo Goicochea
UX Designer
You'll learn an amazing foundation and an awesome start to a UX career. Amazing instructors and people to help you along the way, and an incredible community to be a part of.
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N.Iverson
User Experience Design Immersive
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So happy with the GA User Experience Design Immersive program in Seattle. The staff and instructors are fantastic people to work with. They have a lot of expertise to offer. The course is a major full time learning commitment but through the hands on projects and close advising of the instructors I feel I've gained more UX experience in 10 weeks than I thought would be possible. Also working with a great group of committed students helped me make some invaluable connections. Give it your all, you'll be thrilled by what you've learned, what you can do, and what is possible at the end of the 10 weeks in this program.
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Claudia
A continuing education school for real-time tech jobs
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I've taken several bootcamp classes and workshops, and am currently 6 weeks into the Digital Marketing Part Time program. The bootcamp classes are crash corses into a particular subject such as Google Analytics and Google AdWords tought by people who actually do this for a living! Well planned, really good use of my limited personal time, and tons of additional resources so you can continue to practice the tools and continue learning and fine tuning once class is done. I love the weekend bootcamp classes, even though they are during the summer.
The Digital Marketing 10-week course is a great deal of information that is relevant to today's tech jobs! If you look up descriptions for digital marketing jobs you'll see a vast majority of these skills and tools you need that's covered in this course. I highly recommend. Pre-work and homework solidifies what you learn and additional resources are provided with each class. My instructors Kim and Quison are amazing, down to earth and very willing to put up with tons of questions!
I browse General Assembly's website a few times a week to see what new classes and workshops and events they have that I can use to build my professional skillset. And gotta love the brain boosting oatmeal and constant hot coffee and tea on each of their floors. (super clean fridges and mini-kitchens too!)
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Ben
A solid introductory course that provided a strong foundation and inspiration
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I took the part-time Data Science course in the summer of 2014, and it changed my life for the better. As a non-programmer, I spent a significant time preparing for the class by doing all the pre-course work. I highly recommend it as the students that appeared to struggle in the class clearly didn't have any foundation in Python and hadn't completed all the tutorials. I really immersed myself in the projects and assignments, and came out of the class with a really strong foundation in Python and machine learning techniques. My teachers were supportive and found ways for me to encourage exploring beyond the course material. At the end of the class, I still might not have considered myself truly "proficient" in Python or machine learning, but I definitely got all the information I needed to self-learn. I think that is the true indicator of a good introductory course -- that you have a high level of confidence that you can continue learning on your own. All in all, I highly recommend and the GA space / environment / people are very warm and welcoming.
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Hope Lourie Killcoyne
Writer | Photographer | Front-end Developer
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The Web Development Immersive class at General Assembly was a life-changer for me—this despite the fact that I'm already well down life's road. ; - ) Actually, it's no doubt because I'm beyond the average student age that I was able to take it all so seriously, and take so much from it.
Granted, I did somewhat cherry-pick my favorite parts of coding—i.e., JavaScript, HTML, and CSS—but doing so was all to the good. Having a wide expanse of offerings during the three-month WDI class afforded me the opportunity to see where my interests and background were best suited, so that my nascent skills could grow in the right garden.
The GA campus itself is wonderfully conducive to learning; and the administrators are knowledgable, hardworking, and delightfully friendly. (BTW, I don't have any stars for Job Assistance yet because I have yet to take advantage of this service.)
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John
Bridge from Hobby to Career
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As someone who'd spent about 3 years self-learning programming as a hobby, knew I wanted to transition to software/web development as a career, but didn't have much exposure to web development, the Web Development Immersive course put me in a position to capitalize on the great opportunity it presented. The curriculum was packed with useful exercises and well taught lessons by instructors that understood what they were teaching and were always willing to help ensure students had all the help they needed. Because this course covers so much information in a short time, it requires hard work to pay close attention, study and research to make sure you understand topics at a micro level. Understanding and completing exercises the right way is key to success; taking shortcuts is not advised. The multiple programming challenges each week were super helpful to hone programming chops while also further imprinting the content learned. Outcomes was great throughout and provided useful resources and advice on how to approach the job search/interview process. The GA employees I encountered (not limited to instructors) were super nice and left me feeling that they are good people. The course producer and instructors were always eager to listen to any constructive feedback given so that they can improve for current/future courses. Overall, I'd classify my experience in the Web Development Immersive as being excellent. -
David
Just what I needed, and a lot of fun
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I am currently a product manager. I took the class to be more effective in my role, understand the products I'm working on better, and have fun on the side being able to build my own websites.
The class gave me those things and more. I refer to what I learned when talking to our engineering team about a feature, or when talking to our customers who are also Front End engineers.
Also, my instructors and classmates were impressive and I enjoyed getting to know them. I am still friends with one of the instructors.
Interesting mix of backgrounds which made for great discussions in class. Awesome experience - thanks GA.
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Ankoor
An amazing experience and a great course
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TL:DR - An epic summer, it was a great 3 months and i became a web developer. It was difficult, it was intense, at times stressful, but ultimately a lot of fun. And, i left with a job at a great startup in London's tech sector.
I chose General Assembly because the people were open, honest, were great teachers, very skilled developers and fun to be around. You'll be working there for 3months, fulltime, so you've got to enjoy it.
It was a very hands-on course and focused on building good websites. We started, from day one, using tools and techniques I now use on a daily basis as a web developer. There were computer science fundmentals, how to write good ruby and javascript code, and how to use modern tools to create complex websites. We learnt all of it because we actually created websites (and these were our portfolios to get a job).
General Assembly also put a huge amount of effort into giving students the best learning environment. There are tutors to help students in the evenings, after classes. There are experienced teachers, all of whom are active developers and know the latest technologies. And, their community is massive; you will gain a lot of contacts.