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iO Academy is a coding bootcamp based in the UK that offers a 16-week, full-time, full stack coding bootcamp and a 12-week, part-time data science & machine learning bootcamp. These bootcamps are available online or in-person at campuses in Bath, Bristol, and Sheffield. Class sizes at iO Academy are kept small in order to better support students. The curriculum is designed to prepare students for their first developer or data science role, with a focus on practical experience working on projects throughout the course. There is an option to specialize at the end of the full stack course, either in advanced front end or complex problem-solving. Students will learn from experienced tech professionals, chosen to reflect the size of an average software scrum team. This makes project work as close to a professional tech experience as possible.
The course was developed by healthtech company Mayden to be up-to-date with a focus on best practice and to reflect what is most needed in the tech industry. Students will receive industry-recognised Agile training and attain their Agile Professional Certification. No coding experience is required to apply. iO Academy has a goal of supporting diversity in tech and is positive about mental health.
iO Academy was formerly known as Mayden Academy.
Where do I start? One of the best experiences I've ever had and in the space of 6 months I left behind an unfulfilling career in admin that I fell into accidentally and started a new career I'm genuinely excited about! On the course I looked forward to Mondays and was a bit sad on Fridays for the first time in my life.
I first heard about Mayden Academy on a Quora post Mike answered and ended up coming here to look at reviews. With so many glowing reviews I knew I was either appl...
Where do I start? One of the best experiences I've ever had and in the space of 6 months I left behind an unfulfilling career in admin that I fell into accidentally and started a new career I'm genuinely excited about! On the course I looked forward to Mondays and was a bit sad on Fridays for the first time in my life.
I first heard about Mayden Academy on a Quora post Mike answered and ended up coming here to look at reviews. With so many glowing reviews I knew I was either applying to an amazing, genuinely life-changing course or a cult. I won't be able to convince you it isn't a cult so won't try but happy to add my voice to the chants of 'do this, it's the best' and 'Mike, Charlie, Ash (trainers), Margaret and Emily (operations team) are my leaders and I will do anything they say and would die for them, er...where was I?'. Anyway...
If you're asking 'is it for me'? My experience:
I applied to the academy late one night when I was off sick from my previous job with flu. My job at the time was so stressful that even with the flu I was working from home to keep on top of it. After years of being unfulfilled, simultaneously stressed, bored and underpaid for the level of work and effort I was putting in, I'd had enough. The highlight of my job at that time was when I got to use Excel. I loved continuously learning (mainly self-taught through Google) and problem-solving using it as a tool and even felt guilty for enjoying it too much, like it wasn't really work because I was having too much fun.
If any of that sounds familiar (maybe note the Excel bit, I know it's not everyone's cup of tea) - being totally fed up and bored in your work because there isn't enough problem-solving and loving to continuously learn/teach yourself new ways to use tools then becoming a developer could be a really great fit for you.
General info
The academy course is very holistic, it's not just teaching you to code but how to become a developer who is able to work well in a team in the real world. It takes you from not knowing what http stands for or what Scrum project methodology means to being ready to start an actual, real life, paid developer role in an Agile team in 16 weeks. You'll learn the technical and the non-technical skills (project management, guest lectures) both in theory (during theory weeks) and in practice (in the project weeks).
One of my favourite things about the course was the spiral learning approach where we would learn about a topic at an introductory or less complex level and then revisit it throughout the course diving deeper each time and furthering our understanding. We also learned how to do things the hard way first rather than using tools which would do everything for us which sounds like a pain but I'm really grateful for this because I think it armed me with way more understanding of what I'm doing. For example, starting writing code in textmate manually to later using a PHPStorm which can complete typing syntax for you and tell you when you're getting it wrong!
People
The trainers were excellent (I had Mike with Ash supporting) and incredibly dedicated to the students' experience and job prospects. I loved being in a small team, 8 students to 1 teacher was a perfect size for the class. Margaret (Business Development and Marketing Manager) and Emily (Office Coordinator) made everything run so smoothly - from onboarding to keeping us stocked up with toast and hot chocolate, to running events like the hiring partner evening and everything in-between. The whole team work very hard to make this this the once-in-a-lifetime experience it is.
Preparing
Before the course you'll be sent information on prep work you can do ahead of the course. I'd done a small amount (3-4 evening classes) of html and css a few years ago and did a big chunk of the suggested JavaScript prep ahead of the course which really helped. I strongly recommend doing as much of the prep as you can - it's not a pre-requisite but it really helped me not feel overwhelmed by all the information and pace of learning.
Money... :(
I didn't have savings before the course so wouldn't have been able to do it without the option of EdAid so it was fantastic to have this option. It's a no-interest loan where you pay a small % admin fee and pay back at the cost of inflation but only begin paying it back when you're working again. I was also lucky enough to be part-funded through WIDJET. The Academy has itself started a scholarship fund which aims to help people who might not otherwise be able to afford doing the course so please don't be discouraged from applying due to the cost if that's what's standing in your way, get in touch with the team to see what your options are.
During
The course is intense. I didn't have much energy outside it to do anything much more than sleep and more learning! I exaggerate a bit but it really did take 100% of me for the duration. I also found it incredibly rewarding; many days I wanted to stay later and would happily get my laptop out on the bus on my commute to cram in more practice.
16 weeks is a good length, more than that would have been too long, less than that and I wouldn't have been ready to get out there and feel confident in my skills. You don't have to learn outside of the course hours but I wanted to and it really helped me to consolidate my learning. I should add that I was commuting from across Bristol so my commute was longer than if you were to live in Bath or near to a station heading into Bath and that took its toll.
During class time ask questions. Lots and lots of questions. The trainers are really friendly and approachable and love getting questions. If you think you're the only one in the class who isn't getting something because no one is asking the question you want to ask, I guarantee you there are others thinking the exact same thing and will be grateful when you ask it so they don't have to! An interesting thing about the academy (and I would think this is universal, not just at Mayden Academy) is that many of us felt underconfident and worried we weren't good enough because we were finding the material hard. I would like to reassure people in advance: the application process is geared to ensure that if you're on the course, the trainers are confident you can do it. It's quite an unusual situation to be an adult learner on an intensive full-time course in an area where everything is so new day-in day-out. As adults we're not used to not knowing/understanding things straight away and this course puts you in that position for 16 weeks - it's ok to not be good at something straight away but it can feel very uncomfortable and make you question your abilities and bring up fears of failure but ride it out because it's a normal reaction and likely not at all reflective of your actual abilities.
After the academy
The academy don't guarantee you a job at the end of the course, however, their training is so comprehensive and of such a high standard, the network of hiring partners so big and the support given to help you with job-hunting so good, that graduates receive job offers in developer roles within three months of graduating. I won't lie - the job-hunting bit is a stressful process, I experienced a lot of imposter syndrome and worried about when I would have money coming in again - but they do try hard to support you during that. I was fortunate enough to be offered a position in my last week in the course and began my new job a couple of weeks later. I'm two weeks in now and loving it, despite the imposter syndrome rearing its head!
Description | Percentage |
Full Time, In-Field Employee | 76.3% |
Full-time apprenticeship, internship or contract position | 2.6% |
Short-term contract, part-time position, freelance | N/A |
Employed out-of-field | N/A |
How much does iO Academy cost?
iO Academy costs around £11,000. On the lower end, some iO Academy courses like Coding Quick Start cost £400.
What courses does iO Academy teach?
iO Academy offers courses like Coding Quick Start, Data Science and Machine Learning, Full Stack Track, Software Developer Essentials.
Where does iO Academy have campuses?
iO Academy has in-person campuses in Bath, Bristol, and London. iO Academy also has a remote classroom so students can learn online.
Is iO Academy worth it?
The data says yes! iO Academy reports a 98% graduation rate, a median salary of $25,900 and 98% of iO Academy alumni are employed. The data says yes! In 2020, iO Academy reported a 100% graduation rate, a median salary of $25,300, and 82% of iO Academy alumni are employed.
Is iO Academy legit?
We let alumni answer that question. 103 iO Academy alumni, students, and applicants have reviewed iO Academy and rate their overall experience a 5.0 out of 5.
Does iO Academy offer scholarships or accept the GI Bill?
Right now, it doesn't look like iO Academy offers scholarships or accepts the GI Bill. We're always adding to the list of schools that do offer Exclusive Course Report Scholarships and a list of the bootcamps that accept the GI Bill.
Can I read iO Academy reviews?
You can read 103 reviews of iO Academy on Course Report! iO Academy alumni, students, and applicants have reviewed iO Academy and rate their overall experience a 5.0 out of 5.
Is iO Academy accredited?
Students will take the Agile Professional Certification course
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