General Assembly

Denver General Assembly is a smaller, newish GA campus. I believe they're also one of the highest performing in the country. The learning experience was phenomenal, but the culture and networking was above and beyond what I expected. I made lifelong friends and careerlong contacts during this course. Our instructors were outstanding – genuinely great people who had decades of industry experience and also great teaching skills. We still stay in touch.

Our curriculum was cutting edge, incorporating the latest technology and centuries old, tried and true design theories. Industry professionals were woven into our days for panels and talks. We also spent time building our portfolios, working with real clients, and preparing for the job hunt. I know we learned the latest and greatest because I wowed potential employers at all of my interviews with my portfolio.

I felt like I was really well prepared for my job search. While most of my cohort found jobs within a month, I took a little longer but fell within my estimate of around 3 months. Career coaching was a priority at GA, and our coach was there to provide support above and beyond, introducing us to channels, people, events, reviewing countless resumé updates, and keeping us in line!

HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS COURSE!

I was skeptical when I enrolled in General Assembly's UX Design Bootcamp. It's an expensive, for-profit, unaccredited educational institution. Those characteristics go against everything I'd been told to look for in an educational pursuit. 

As a graduate, I cannot say enough good things about the program, and I am jealous of the cohort currently learning with our phenomenal instructors. The instructors are, without a doubt, the backbone of the course. Our Denver instructors were passionate, supportive, and wealths of knowledge. They not only taught us a tremendous amount but also connected us with the local community and introduced us to awesome organizations. I feel fully prepared entering the world as a *junior* UX designer. I'm eternally grateful to them and the GA staff.

All that being said, this is NOT a job placement program; you absolutely have to hustle to get your first job, and no one can or will do that work for you. Our career counselor gave us all of the tools to position us to be the best possible applicants out there (seriously, I feel like I'm a LinkedIn, Meetup, and applicant tracking system guru), but even so, the job search takes time (it can be many months) and starting salaries can be low. I think this is all completely reasonable, and I'd only ask that GA be very upfront about this truth. 

For me, the course was worth it. I'm happier and more excited about my work and my job than I ever have been, and I'd take the course again in a heartbeat. 

Great course. Got a paid internship / junior role within 2 months of finishing the course with a brilliant agency. The UXDI content is diverse and interesting, teaching staff are very engaged and just good all round people.

I now work in an environment I love with the best people I've ever worked with. Very expensive course but definitely worth it to leave behind a career that leaves you feeling meh.

The careers ('outcomes') team are absolutely brilliant. Just do what they say and be nice / keen and you can get a good gig afterwards.

One of the best things I've ever done. Thank you GA!

The caveats: 

- really, really think twice (thrice?) about doing this if you have very young kids (unless you have full time childcare and/or a partner who doesn't want to see you for 3 solid months). You will work 6 full days a week, and some very late nights, and on day 7 you'll be braindead. This gets good results but can put a big strain on family life. That factor was my only big regret.

- cross your fingers for a good cohort. The people you train with have a big impact on how much you get out of the course

- the market for Juniors is pretty competitive so get ready to roll your sleeves up and be very proactive to get your first role.

- you will learn a lot in a short space of time, and yet not know very much when you come out compared to your colleagues if you work in a good agency. Don't expect to come out a pro. This is just the first step!

I want to start by saying I am only 18. Most of the people I see attend this are in their 20s but don't feel like being younger than everyone will stop you if you are considering coming to GA after high school. 

The course is fast paced and you have to put in the time and effort if you want to succeed. You may not have a whole lot of time during the weeks for the duration of the course so it's really a committment. I think the fast paced is perfect for learning, especially for web development. You need to be able to learn on your own as a developer and the course really encourages you to do that.

I highly recommend GA for Web Development Immersive course for the people that want to do a career change into web development in a short period of time.

I have to say that the best way to do this course is by totally committing to it, giving up most of your weekends to get most out of it.

Joel teacher wast the best teacher I ever had. He had extensive knowledge in this field and was very lucky to have him as an instructor, same with the teacher assistants, they were extra helpful .

Also Lucy was super helpful with helping what to do after GA, and I really thank her for all her effort she put to help us all in having the job we wanted.

Joining GA was one of the best decisions in my life. I could not say anything bad about the whole experience, plus the new campus is great!!!

General Assembly is a great school for expanding your skillset. I was sponsored by my work to take the part-time UX course. I apply things I learned in my UX course at work and in life daily. Taking this course has truly influenced the way I think about design and approach problems. The classes are always interesting. I was never bored in class and I always felt that the material was relevant.

There were two main negatives to taking the part-time course. The first is that you don't receive direct job assistance from General Assembly like the full time course does. The second is that it can feel like there isn't enough class time to do activities or dive deeply into topics. 

That being said, I loved the course and am thankful I had the opportunity to take it! 

This was a blog post I wrote in 2015 about my experience at GA that I still this is relevant. 

This was a really good experience for me. My situation is not going to be like everyone else’s, so let me give you the low down on why, for me, it was a good fit.

If you don’t feel like reading this epistle, skip to the bottom and read the section on “What to expect if you are thinking…”

I’ve been learning HTML and CSS off and on over the past six years. I bought books and read them. Did online tutorials. Had friends and co-workers walk me through the basics of HTML and CSS. I cannot tell you how many times I have created the “Hello World!” page. I have learned a bit over the years, but not enough to be considered dangerous by any stretch of the imagination.

I’m currently working at FamilySearch as a UX/UI designer. Been there for a little over two and a half years, and during that time our webDev team put together a skills building program. A set of requirements that demonstrates understanding, application, and proficiency of core HTML, CSS and JS principles. Developed for our webDevs, our UX El Jefe challenged the designers to get certified in a different discipline in order to have a more well-rounded understanding of how our designs are implemented in the code.

I cannot emphasize this enough: to learn how to code has been one of the best career decisions I have ever made.

“The more we know how the web works, the better we can design for it. A painter knows paint. A sculptor knows clay or marble. Musicians understand acoustics, feedback, mics, guitars, pianos, etc. There’s a technical aspect to every medium. The better a designer understands the technical aspects of their craft, the better their designs.”

–Tom DeForest, UX Heros: John Dilworth

Enter General Assembly

I did my homework and developed my own objectives as aligned with FamilySearch’s goals towards certification. Then I contacted General Assembly (GA) and told them I was interested in their program. Based on my prior learnings…if you could even call them that, I felt like I had enough background in HTML/CSS to make the course do-able and help me get certified. I received the course outline for GA’s FEWD program and ran it past my webDev managers. They thought it was a solid curriculum and gave it their blessing.

My FEWD class was taught by two developers; the course instructor is a professional in the web development community, and the TA is a recent graduate from the General Assembly Web Development Immersive program. My class was 10-weeks long and held on Saturdays from 10–5 at their Santa Monica LA campus. Class size was about 30–35 students.

I was really happy with the course. The highlights for me were: learning and understanding the HTML/CSS/JS syntax and document structure; responsive design and utilizing media queries; some Bootstrap and how to use the responsive framework; how to talk to my devs and use their terminology when communicating my designs. This one sounds a little funny, but it’s true: learning how to ask Google. Google will tell you anything you want it to, as long as you know how to ask correctly. If I have questions about code, syntax, structure, etc. I now know how to ask. Creating WordPress themes. This was a bonus. We built a custom theme in class based on a previous homework assignment. I was even able to turn my final project into a WordPress theme based on that class.

To graduate from the FEWD program there were essentially two requirements: attend 80% of the classes, and build a site that demonstrated what we learned. GA wanted us to build a multiple page site with linking pages, and use of HTML/CSS/JS.

Coding is a language. If you’re not going to use it, you’re going to lose it. Stay on top of it. Also, learn to jump in and figure it out.

What to expect if you are thinking about taking this class:

If you want to get the most out of this course, code. Then code some more. The best way to learn is repetition. I probably spent an additional 10–15 hours per week outside of class time coding. I did my homework. Deleted it. And did it again. The course is expensive. Get everything you can out of it.

The course is designed to increase your skill set, not to get you a job as a developer. If you are looking to change careers, this is not that kind of course. You will want the Web Development Immersive course or something similar.

You are not going to learn how to design for the web. You are going to learn how to code.

The lessons are structured as high-level primers with code-a-longs. The instructors expect you to take the initiative and learn to delve deeper on your own. Instructors are always available for questions and help.

I wish the instructors talked more about best practices and correct principles and guidelines.

The course seemed to cater to the people who were struggling with coding concepts. It slowed the overall pace of the class.

Make use of lab time and the instructors’ office hours. Their time is invaluable. Use it.

There are always events going on at the Santa Monica campus. For the most part, it was fine, but sometimes it got really annoying and distracting. GA needs a building better suited for the number of classes, lectures, and seminars at that location.

I wish we spent more time on vanilla JavaScript, but I think they could have spent the whole ten weeks just on this.

Free snacks and candy.

Great networking opportunities with classmates and instructors.

Access to GA Front Row, lectures and seminars.

Suggestions for General Assembly:
Expand the FEWD curriculum. If I was running GA, that’s what I would do. You can thank me later.

FEWD 101
Utilize the current part-time FEWD curriculum. Overview and application of HTML and CSS with an intro in JS.

FEWD 201
Full vanilla JavaScript class. Understanding the DOM and DOM manipulation. JS libraries and how they work and integrate with your site. A little bit of jQuery with an intro in Angular JS.

FEWD 301
Getting comfortable with the command line. Using git and github and understanding version control. Scaffolding and frameworks. Drill down on all or few of these (Node JS, Angular JS, Express JS, Node Package Manager (npm), Bower, Grunt, Gulp, Yeoman, Web Starter Kit.) And finally, testing. You could work with companies that have hired GA WDI alums and adjust the program as needed.

Hope this helps.