LearningFuze

I recently finished up LFZ's 12 week full time immersion program and would like to share my thoughts. 
Before attending the program, I was looking at other boot camps and to be honest the others had wowed me a little more at first. One boot camp was next to the Chargers training facility, had sport Wednesday and had cool rooms. But when I went into the orientations and did more research I noticed that I was looking at boot camps wrong. I wasn't planning on spending all that money and time just to have fun. This was about my future and about a career change. I knew as soon as i completed the program I needed to be job ready to land my first job without any prior coding experience. So I made pro's and con's list, I looked over reviews, instructors, and I asked current and past students for their feedback. I found some mixed reviews but a majority of it was positive. I went with LFZ because of Dan's (Lead Instructors) experience and his honesty in the info session. He wasn't trying to sell you on getting rich but was honest that not everyone makes a ton of money right out of the gate. It is all about those who put in what they want to get back. To me, it was an absolutely amazing program. Not only do they teach current tech, have passionate and inspiring instructors, they also truly care about each student. If you are looking into a boot camp, I would highly recommend LFZ. They will take care of you but make sure you do your absolute best, ask questions, and push through all the challenges.  

I have just completed my 12-week immersion course with LearningFuze and it has changed my life. I have always been interested in coding and learning various languages but had little development experience outside of copying code and pasting it hoping it would work. Now that I have gone through the 12-week immersion program I have been able to write multiple apps by myself as well as various team centered apps.

 

The biggest difference between LearningFuze and other programs that I investigated was that LearningFuze takes the time to get to know you and your skills and then helps you gear up for the full immersion course with two shorter programs to teach you the basics of HTML, CSS and JavaScript. Then when you are in the program you take a really deep dive into these topics and build real-world applications to truly understand how to think like a programmer and how to work through the development lifecycle from beginning to end.

 

At LearningFuze you do not only learn languages like HTML5, CSS3 and JavaScript / jQuery, but you are exposed to PHP and MySQL. You create various apps that test your logical thinking and then you start to work as groups to bring together various technologies (AWS, APIs, JSON, AJAX) to create real world applications that solve particular problems. There are code reviews for you and your groups to help improve your code and to show you that there is no one way to write code to solve even similar problems.

 

The instructors are top-notch and take the time to get to know your name, where you are coming from and have a great ability to explain difficult concepts in a simpler manner that you can understand. This level of commitment doesn’t end when you finish the program. You are given time during the program to work on your resume, interviewing skills and various whiteboard challenges to prepare you for after the program. They have staff members dedicated to helping you find a job after the program and have great connections in the Southern California area and beyond.

 

This is a culture of helping and setting you up for success after the program. They are personally invested in your understanding and knowledge and look for ways to help you whenever they can. If anyone ever asks me about which accelerated web development program they should look into I will direct them here so that they can have the same experiences that I had. 5 stars

I have had an exceptionaly fun time at this academy, they put you in the environment of being in the workplace and give you the opportunity to learn first hand what it would be like.  We had the mentor of a senior level programmer which gave us some deep level understanding of the industry and what we would need to know to succeed in the field.  The projects we were tasked with completeting were fun and tough at the same time, each time learning a new concept to bring us deeper into the understanding of programming.  You learn to work in a team atmosphere and have projects and hackathons that resolve around this concept, which is a great learning experience because you will have to learn how not just you program but how others around you do.

Long story short, I was not happy with my career. I decided to quit my job and start the long venture coding\programming. After speaking to friends and going over many options, I decided to check out LearningFuze in Irvine. I was a bit apprehensive at first since I had no real first hand experience with coding but after the initial info session, I was all in. Between the friendly and welcoming staff and the fact that the majority of the students had no prior exposure to coding but were still enrolled, this gave me the confidence to move forward with enrolling at LearningFuze. During my cohort, we were taught a variety of skills such as Javascript, React, Redux on the front end and Node.js and PHP for back end. Since this was a full immersion program, we were coding up to fourteen hours a day, five days a week for 12 weeks. We also put together various projects both alone, and in groups. The group projects were especially rewarding as they greatly emphasized on the team dynamic. These hack-a-thons as they were called, were a true real world sprint in not just coding in tandem, but also a teaching us to better our communication skills (which is something that can easily be overlooked). Even after completion of the program, we are still allowed to come in and work on various projects. The staff is always ready and willing to help us acheive our goals even after our program is over. This mentoring alone is what sold me on Learning Fuze. 

Learning Fuze is a worthwhile time investment in order to explore a new career in technology. Learning to program can be an exhaustive tedious experience if you try to learn everything by yourself. It's easy to get lost, feel frustrated, and lose sight of things because programming is a unique skill that needs time to develop. What Learning Fuze does is bring together a number of like-minded individuals who are in similiar situations and make what can be a hard painful process into what is still painful but a social and unique experience. Through the people you meet and the helpful instructors of very knowledgeable and dedicated instructors, the process of entering the tech industry becomes a lot more enjoyable, faciliated, and most importantly, it reminds you that you are not alone in your struggles. There are plenty of reviews stating the highly quality of the instructors and the institution so I will not add more except to say that I agree with them. 

I attended multiple info sessions before choosing LearningFuze, and am glad that I did, since I was able to compare them all to what I was experiencing throughout.  I now know I made the right choice.

Starting off with the facility, it offers a tech-startup type of environment which allows students to have access to the multiple instructors on-site at any given time of the day.  There are 2 lecture rooms, 3 study rooms, and an alumni room for graduates to come back to the facility to work on any current projects.

The instructors are some of the top in the industry.  Starting off with Dan, the lead instructor. He had a unique way of teaching the most important fundamentals of Javascript to make sure we remembered it.   I still remember his specific examples, no matter how extreme they were to this day.

Andy was another very helpful instructor, showing students what they could become, being a previous graduate in the program.  Andy was one of the reasons I joined LearningFuze, from his willingness to help students and ability to relate to any struggles they face throughout the bootcamp.

Scott was the lead instructor for the React.JS portion of the program, who brokeeverything down in to pieces to help beginners learn a new framework from scratch.  I chose the frontend route and highly recommend it, with the material that Scott put together.

Lastly, TJ makes sure to put everything you learned to use, and prepares you for the job search.  He provides all students with the necessary tools, interview prep, and resume building to make sure everyone is able to get interviews and eventually land offers.  This was a huge piece of the program that differentiated it from others.

At LFZ I was surrounded by like-minded, motivated people who want to learn to code as much as I did. I'm not only learning from the instructors but also from my classmates, seniors, alumni and guest speakers from various tech companies.

The curriculum gave us many opportunities to work together as a group. You will be surprised at how different learning is with a group and in-person. We teamed up together, participated in multiple hackathons, and helped solve each others bugs.

After getting my portfolio fully approved by the instructors, preparation with TJ’s interview tips, and weeks of applying, I was able to land multiple offers in the OC and LA area within 2 months of graduating.  

Doing a complete career change and participating in a boot camp was one of the hardest decisions for me. Like you I researched many different ones and ultimately decided on LearningFuze, and am glad I did.

 

Initially, I was debating which bootcamp I wanted to go to because I was worried that they would'nt be able to provide me with the adequate education I need to get a job in the development field. What took away some of my fears about joining a bootcamp was how transparent learning fuze was compared to other bootcamps. They give you a detailed description of their hiring rate and what their program consists of. I ultimately picked learning fuze because of the assitance they give you after they graduate. I wanted a program that would stay commited to me and provide me with a safe learning environment. I would say if you've never had any coding experience before and are serious about getting into web development definitely pick learning fuze because of their supporitive environment. 

It has definitely been a wild ride at LearningFuze…I only say that because you're really taken out of your comfort zone when you enter the world of development. From things you never thought you would have to think of and breaking down your own logic, piece by piece. Despite all the challenges that came from being a part of the cohort and changing my career completely, the staff and even the people in my cohort were very helpful and supportive. The environment was definitely filled with down to earth people that really cared about one another and would be some lasting friendships for years to come.

One thing that I especially liked about LearningFuze was that despite graduating, all the lectures and materials are still available to you for however long you may need them. They definitely keep in contact with each cohort to see how everyones doing and to make sure that everyone is on the right track in terms of getting a job; as well as providing mock interviews, resume reviews, and portfolio reviews/approval even after the cohort.

Seeing where I stand 6 months after I officially started in development, I would say that I am definitely grateful and glad that I went through the cohort…I finally found what I’m passionate about and coding happens to be it!

I had programming experience prior to joining this boot-camp but many of the people in my cohort did not. Learning Fuze does a great job at sparking interest in new comers while also giving veterans the challenge they want and need. If you're planning on becoming a web developer, this school teaches you everything you need to get your foot in the door.

They also do a great job fostering a fun environment. You're always welcome so even if you don't walk out the door with an opportunity, their doors are never closed and they are always very willing to help you on any project (even if you have a job, they are still willing to help).

It's taken me a while to write this review.  I wanted to wait a while to get a full view of how my life has changed since taking the course.  I can definitely say this was a major, life-changing, amazing decision.  I loved LearningFuze.  I loved learning how to program, I love the friends I made, I love the teachers, and I love being able to live a life now free from what used to be a constant struggle to make ends meet.  Since graduating from LearningFuze, I've doubled my income.  My husband, who also graduated from LearningFuze, also doubled his income.  I made lifelong friends.  I made connections that helped me get my second dev job.  I learned how to learn things on my own.  I still have a space to go when I want to study independently (and free coffee).  I still have people to help me find work when I'm between jobs.  I still have the support and the resources and the community of LearningFuze.  I have a profession that's constantly in demand, allows me to grow and learn indefinitely, and uses all my intelligence, creativity, and passion.  

There are lots of roads to success in this field.  You might be innately talented.  You might have a ton of grit to make it through.  And, you might just be a great interviewer.  If you have two out of three of these, you are golden.  I have talked to a lot of other bootcamp grads, and while some of them achieved success, none of them have the community and support that LearningFuze has.  I know people who turned down opportunities in San Francisco to move down to Orange County to study at LearningFuze.  It really is the best way in, and once you're in, you're in.  If you're the kind of person who will take big risks like dropping everything to go to a coding school, chances are you'll probably be a good developer, engineer, and inventor.  And if there's a lot on the line should you fail, chances are, you'll give everything you've got to succeed.  I'm excited for your journey.  

My first impression from attending the Learning Fuze info session was that it seemed most open, organized and welcoming. Unfortunately, I ignored my gut intuition to go to Learning Fuze and chose to attend a different program... it was a huge mistake a waste of time. I spent 6 weeks going to a different bootcamp that had no proprietary course materials and the coursework/homework that was given was from free learning sites such as CodeAcademy. After about 6 weeks at the other bootcamp I decided it was not right for me, and I made the switch to Learning Fuze. Unlike at the other bootcamp, in order to even get into Learning Fuze I had to take a skills assessment, and two interviews (in person and over the phone). I also had a white board with the lead instructor due to trying to get into the current cohort. The questions during the white board session showed me how much I did not know. I decided to take the two root courses and then start the next cohort. During the root courses (the pre-courses before starting the full immersion cohort) I learned more than I did at the other bootcamp in 6 weeks! The full immersion course was paced well and had great flow. The first week and a half or so was review from the root (pre-courses) but with more depth and detail. Instead of simply memorizing how to do things, you learn what, why, how, when etc... to use/do things properly. Also the course is geared towards helping with job interviews and on the job situations. There are hackathon projects, solo projects and a large group project along with other problems/projects if you choose to take them on. Learning Fuze also hosts meet ups, employer talks, alumni talks, etc.. I believe that structure and organization is very important in any business/school. Learning Fuze has that in spades, but Learning Fuze also believes that everyone learns differently so while following the course, they are willing to go the extra mile to help you succeed. They will try and answer your questions in different ways with examples and analogies, so you can try and relate/understand things. I understand why they're rated so high and ranked #1 in Orange County.