General Assembly

My background before I started my journey into web development was in documentary production, journalism and education. I had no clue about where to begin coding digital experiences. Sure, I have some experience with CMS (Content Management System) and some HTML and CSS, but not to the extent I needed in order to build my own web app. Which is where my journey began: I wanted to build a journalism education game app and pitched it at my previous company’s internal hackathon. It was chosen as one of the winning apps, and I got to work with a team of developers producers, and engineers. From that point on, I was hooked on working in the world of apps!

Before attending General Assembly’s Web Development Immersive (WDI) course I looked into other institutions and I’m very happy that I chose GA. Not only do I feel like I belong to a strong community of intelligent, hard-working, and supportive employees, students and alumni, I feel like a successful student! I knew about General Assembly while I lived and worked in NYC, and because of my fiancée, who TA’d for the first General Assembly UXDI (User Experience Design Immersive) course in San Francisco. So even though I kind of knew about the great community, I experienced it firsthand when I started the WDI program in Seattle.  

It was an intense and sometimes scary ride, but it was worth every moment. I made great friends, colleagues, and had sympathetic course producers and instructors. My instructors have both professional and educational experience. They were very good about gauging class participation and pacing of lessons. I knew that the material being taught is based on what’s being used the in the professional world and the latest technology, so I knew I’d be getting a great return on my investment.

After my course, I was offered the Developer-in-Residence (DIR) fellowship and gladly accepted it. I’m very proud to be able to give back to the next cohort and pay it forward using my newfound knowledge and skills.

After my DIR fellowship, I’ve been asked to come back as a TA for the 3rd cohort and am thrilled to have recently accepted a full-time Associate Technical Product Manager position at Expedia. Because of General Assembly, not only have I been able to transition into tech, but I have also learned skills I can combine with my previous experiences as a producer to advance my career. Thank you GA!

I was in the first Web Development Immersive (WDI) in Seattle. I am now a Front-End Web Developer at a consulting/creative agency. Before doing this I was in healthcare and I decided to make a career change. I did research on other coding bootcamps around Seattle. I decided to go with GA for a number of reasons. First, the course curriculm was amazing. I learned 3 different stacks in 3 months. Second, the career/networking help they provide during and after the course. I was able to find a job within a month of finishing the course. Third, the community that GA has in Seattle and around the world. And finally the people that work at GA Seattle. The entire staff at GA Seattle is there to support every student part time or full time. I can now say that I love my job and I am making more money than I ever have thanks to GA. I can say without a doubt that GA changed my life.

I recently completed GA's Web Development Immersive and am so incredibly glad I discovered the program. For me, it was a positive, uplifting environment where I made incredible friends and connections. The instructors and staff are truly dedicated to helping change peoples' lives and give them valuable, marketable skills.

I had researched other coding schools, however, none seemed as personable and prestigious as GA. Also, no other school's curriculum or course format seemed to fit my needs quite as well.

That being said, it was no cakewalk; I had very little trace of a life outside of GA for the duration of the three-month course. 10-12 hours each day (in order to successfully retain most of the concepts) is no exaggeration.

I'm currently in a full-time three-month contract position, and because of the effort I put forth in the immersive, I have very few concerns about attaining my next role. A big theme at GA is "growth mindset" and this is an especially helpful thought pattern for when you're feeling less-than-capable.

However, before you decide to take the plunge, ask yourself: do I love learning constantly, do I have emotional fortitude (e.g. being comfortable with struggling through concepts daily), am I doing this for the pure joy of building/creating/designing, and am I willing to dedicate three months of my life to coding and sleeping? If yes, then I highly recommend! Good luck!

I loved my experience at GA. My instructors were invested, knowledgeable and genuinely cared about sending us into the working world prepared. The instructors are constantly iterating on the curriculum, based on student feedback, and market-specific research. The immersive courses are intense - expect to put in between 70-100 hours a week, depending on the project you're working on.

You absolutely get out what you put in - if you aren't super focused on the course, the immersive is likely not the best fit for you. The UXDI immersive also emphazises group work - that is something to keep in mind when considering UXDI, be prepared to work on a team, with compassion and respect. Because the UXDI program encourages project-based work, you leave the program with a work-ready portfolio. GA is an incredibly welcoming community, and one that they encourage you to stay part of beyond your time in class. 

I went to GA Seattle WDI (Web Development Immersive) course. It changed my life. Within 1 1/2 months of graduation, I was offered a great job at a company that's considered one of the top 5 to work for in the pacific NW. Starting next week I'll be a Software Engineer making more than twice what I made in my previous career, and I enjoy the work much more. I can't heap enough praise onto the General Assembly Web Development program. Like I said, it's changed my life in ways I didn't think possible.

The WDI experience varies from class to class largely depending on the teachers. There is no standard curriculum across WDI classes, they are put together by the teachers of that class. So people from one WDI class learn things a person from another WDI might not not. There is also no standard pre-work, this too is put together by the teachers for their class. Seeing how this varies from classes in one location, I can only imagine the difference compared to several locations.

Credit the folks at GA for being very quick to make adjustments based on the student feedback. It’s great to know they do listen to the feedback, and are constantly making adjustments, but it doesn’t change what you’ve missed out on. 

GA is fitting so much into 3 months, there is so much taught at a very quick pace, some things are squeezed in so while “covered” it’s not really a learning experience. 

The overall WDI learning experience also depends on if you’re starting with prior experience with at least one or two languages. The pre-work was not adequate preparation for the class if you were starting with no experience. Before starting WDI, it would be best to spend a couple of months at least becoming familiar with JS and Ruby, you will be setting yourself up for a much better learning experience. If you need extra assistance/time with a teacher you’re out of luck, this was not something available to students.

They have some terrific teachers and several not so terrific teachers. People can be highly qualified skill-wise but this doesn’t necessarily make them a good teacher. Additionally, they have many teachers who are only recently out of their WDI program. Like most learning situations, the teacher has a big impact on the learning experience. When you need to learn in 3 months, and don't get a do-over, it's a big drawback to have a not-so-good teacher for the 3 months. 

WDI is a grueling program that can be truly amazing and rewarding if you’re lucky to have quality teachers. It’s a very comfortable environment, which is important since you’re there from morning to evening. Their emphasis on “community” is great. If you’re not starting with a good amount of prior experience you will need to be fully committed for the 3 months. The majority of students who took the program with no prior experience finish and still need to learn while those who took the program with some prior experience are ready and able to land jobs. 

There is a weekly session with a career person but once the program ends, aside from some shared leads, you feel like you’re on your own in the job search. Which can be intimidating when you’re trying to land that first job as a developer and you see the job posts which make you feel like you're not qualified for the job.

I have no regrets about taking WDI but I also wish I would’ve known what I now do. GA can be a great experience but depending upon your learning style and needs it might not be best for everyone. There’s no way I would have the knowledge I gained in the 3 months if I was learning on my own but learning more about other bootcamps, I can think of at least one that would’ve better suited my learning style and needs.

I took to the nighttime FEWD course at GA's SF campus. I thought the first 2 curriculum sections (HTML and CSS) were good. The teachers explained the concepts well and had us apply new concepts to projects. However, the last section covering JS was very difficult and the curriculum was not in depth, leaving the majority of the students lost in the last 3rd of the course. GA should have realized that JS was a much more difficult concept to grasp and created more material for students to read, create better practice projects and so forth.

Over all it was a good intro class for frontend web development. Most people weren't looking to switch careers, just up-level their current skill set. 

I didn't have a great experience.  I was really pressured to sign up and was assured multiple times that I did not need Adobe CC experience - which for this class was just not the case.  I think if I had some level of comfort with Photoshop and Illustrator, I would have enjoyed the class more. 

I thought the business strategy was basic - and my instructor was pretty terrible.  He has lots of skill and experience, but those two things combined do not always make a good teacher. 

Overall, a massive waste of my time and money.  

I took a one day course to get a review, which wasn't that great. A few students left before the class ended with hours to spare. I think the guy was very knowledgeable about Analytics but couldn't teach worth a dime. 

I looked into their digi marketing program and was considering that but declinced to move forward after speaking to a couple of reps. The first was very wishy-washy in her statements and contradictory. I spoke to another rep upon request. She was better, but I could tell a lot of her answers seemed made up on the spot. I'm comparing this program to other programs and continuing to look. Here are some things that should be readily available for prospective students: 

-feedback from random graduates who can be emailed.

-success rate of students who intended to find work afterwards and actually got placed, inclusive of data on part timers, contract, and full-time.

After checking out the digital marketing teacher and not being very impressed (no website and almost zilch on social media presence), I realized that it was initially supposed to be a female teacher. Now it's been switched to a male teacher who was probably brought in the last minute, which would explain why he didn't have much of an online presence. Not very appealing when the subject to be taught includes social media. FYI, I've read quite a bit on these start-up bootcamps (very low barrier to entry) and the digital marketing programs seemed to be treated as an afterthought, including the amount of teaching practice, or lack thereof, that these instructors have. Not to mention that the founders have no background in education as a past interest or career.  It seems I'll have to patchwork the coursework I need from different places. I'm looking at Stanford, Duke, Berkeley, and MarketMotive next. Here's something to read on: http://www.fastcompany.com/3023456/become-an-ios-developer-in-8-weeks-the-truth-about-hack-schools

Regarding bootcamps for coders: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-U5D4RSHRI&feature=youtu.be

Maybe it was the particular representative who forgot to attend charm school, but this place really rubbed me the wrong way.

Here I was, all set to attend an informational session and ready to shell out big bucks for continuing education.  And then, prior to the informational session, I get a phone call from the head of admissions demanding to *screen* me and know about my profession before letting me attend the informational session, even though this information should have been clear from my LinkedIn profile and company URL!!!!

I should mention a couple of things about my "profession" and "background": I'm CEO of a software company with a graduate degree in computer science.  And my name is obviously foreign-sounding.

I do believe these people discriminate based on some factors that are not clear.