Lighthouse Labs

You meet your teachers and you know
it will be fun to be a member!
Each day your skills just grow and grow;
each day unique, you will remember!
You will be there for Don's great lectures
with nicest smell of coffee cup.
You won't have time to make conjectures
when meet Khurram.. you hurry up!
You can talk Python with Murat,
and choose TA to ask a question.
Charlyn will make you a magnate
providing jobs with nice agression.
You will enjoy sublimest pretty
with sunny teacher Monica.
All this is in the heart of city
creating code as music from harmonica!

The web development program at Lighthouse Labs was, well, intense. There was a lot of content to cover in the 8 weeks, but the instructors did a great job at delivering the information in a way that was easy to digest. There was always mentors around to help us with our work, and the atmosphere was very inviting and conducive to positivity and learning. The fact that they share space with Launch Academy allows students to network with industry professionals, and get a feel for startup culture. While this course is not for the faint of heart, with enough will and determination, anyone can excel in this program.

Before signing up for Lighthouse Labs, I had some prior coding experience doing web development and taking university computer science classes, but what I really wanted to do was mobile development (which isn't really offered in depth at any university). I had looked at some tutorials online for iOS development, however they weren't quite enough to take me to the level I needed to be at. 

I thought extremely hard about joining Lighthouse Labs primarily because of the cost. Upon joining, I realized that the course was actually filled with amazing content and very knowledgable teaching assistants! In other words, the bootcamp at Lighthouse Labs was worth every cent! 

I thought my prior coding experience would give me an advantage over other students, however I was wrong (in a good way). Not only was the bootcamp challenging, but I learned lots of new things; and what I learned wasn't just about iOS development, but about software development in general! Now I feel like I actually understand computer science instead of just hacking away at something I don't understand. I don't want to say that you shouldn't go to university or college, but from my experiece, I felt way more job-ready upon completion of Lighthouse Labs than from my university program.

The first four weeks were the most challenging becase of all the new knowledge being thrown at you and all of the assignments I had to complete. Once I absorbed all that material, and completed my first, real project, I felt confident enough to do anything in iOS. Not only do I feel confident to code on my own now, I feel confident enough that I can accomplish anything if I just put my mind to it!

Close to and after the end of the program, Lighthouse does a pretty decent job at connecting students with its network of employers. It is extremely difficult for junior developers to find work. That is why Lighthouse Labs sets up things like employer speed dating events (where students breifly meet and interview with various employers), resume and interview workshops, and lastly, sending student resumes to employers that would be a good fit to students.

In conculsion, if you are thinking about learning mobile or web development, join Lighthouse Labs. You won't regret it!

Having no prior knowledge of programming, I was extremely skeptical of educational institutions that claim to prepare you for a new career in two months' time. I was extremely motivated to change careers at the time, and so I took the plunge.

Not only does Lighthouse provide you the skills to become an employable web developer, it also provides you with the opportunity to integrate yourself with the local tech community. There are countless occassions where you are exposed to entrepreneurs, senior web developers, and other important members of the industry. By the time you graduate, you will have known many developers and business that are in the area you are trying to find work in.

And find work you will, because the career services at Lighthouse is stellar. They do their best to match you with an employer and expose your resume to more companies than you could ever do by yourself. 

As a person who initially had no industry contacts or programming experience, I am highly satisfied with what Lighthouse has provided me.

I can still remember the first day, it was the only time we ever got breakfest treats served to us in the boardroom table. I guess the staff wanted to sweeten things up since they knew it would be a rough week for us. the first week went by and every day seemed like an odessy, with every task increasing in complexity and building upon the knowledge bse of the previous one. So many lines of code written, tested, deleted and rewritten. The next couples of weeks at lighthouse have infamously been name "hell weeks", two exams and a midterm project, orms and http protocols. 

if you make past that while feeling like you've actually become a better developer, you should be proud. the last month of the program will be significantly easier and enjoyable. 

Overall it was a great experience, the staff was always more than willing to help, and TA' s are there until late. Lectures are short and usually straight to the point and exams are well designed.   

My experience at Lighthouse Labs was life changing for multiple reasons. One, I was immersed into an excellent curriculum with interesting learning material that challeneged me to work hard and learn fast. Never, however, was I without the support of LHL's enthusiastic and caring TAs.

Two, LHLs welcoming, nurturing, and fun culture creates a perfect environment not only for networking and creating promising future career connections, but also a network of friends and warm connections in the Vancouver tech community. As an alumni I feel I always have the support of the staff at LHL. 

Three, I feel that LHL has prepared me well for the internship I was hired for rigth after finishing the program. My supervisor (senior dev) is impressed with my level of knowledge and speed of learning. 

Coming into the program with very minimal coding experience, I feel my career change was extremely successful and within 2 months at LHL I am capable of working in the tech industry and I have a network of connections for future career purposes. 

My experience at Lighthouse Labs was very positive, and totally exceeded my expectations. I really wasn't sure if it was possible to learn to code in just 2 months but I actually was coding my own apps *from scratch* by the end of the program. For my final project, I made an MVP for an app that helps you create online invitations. I think the biggest thing is that you spend more time working on apps then you do in lecture, so you are learning a lot more. And, being sorrounded by other programmers and smart people helps you grow a lot as a developer.

I left my comfortable white-collar job to pursuit my fascination with technology and software development - it wasn't easy but it has paid off.  The people running LHL really care about what they're doing and it definitely shows.  They have outstanding teachers with decades of combined experience from different backgrounds.  The facility is awesome, their staff is kind and helpful and they give you access to some of the best and most innovative people our tech community has to offer through guest lectures, presentations, and talks each week.

I went from zero to having a solid foundation in coding concepts, from which I've been able to continue my learning at a fast pace.  They teach you how to learn and solve problems so that you can be self-sufficient after the 8 intense weeks (because in this industry the learning never stops - and that's awesome!).

I had zero web development experience before joining LHL but found the teaching style extremely approachable. Instructors are technically very expert, and actually good at communicating that expertise. TAs are plentiful and friendly. Everyone teaching has actual experience developing in the field and the emphasis is definitely on getting things done. There's only 90 mins of lecture a day, to explain fundamental theoretical concepts, but most of the time is devoted to actually building things and breaking them. Don't expect to be spoonfed, instead expect to be trained in how to decipher documentation, how to take an application apart to find its point of failure, how to think logically through a problem - in short, what programming is actually like in the field. I thought it was a good balance between theoretical and practical aspects of software engineering.

Culture is fantastic. There's such a palpable and contagious enthusiasm for learning, people (teachers) are there because they want to be. Being located in a hub of the tech scene doesn't hurt. It's an immersive introduction to what working in tech is like. 

LHL is also very well networked and if you're at all competent, it won't be hard to land some kind of job right away and start gaining some real professional experience. 

Lighthouse Labs was a great experience. It was intense, challenging, and equally worthwhile. The skills I've learned while at Lighthouse Labs have allowed me to change how I look at situations, identify a problem, and engineer a solution for that problem. 

The instructors were tough, but fair. They're always willing to come and help. They will help us not to give us the answer, but to help us look at our problem in a new way that allows us to realize or find the solution.

The TA support was incredible. They, too, stood for teaching rather than spoon-feeding, and every classroom experience helped us come out richer. 

I will always remember my time at Lighthouse, and the amazing skills that I have gained by being there. Out of the sheer amount of hours my fellow students and I spent together, I've made friends that I will always keep. I would recommend this to anyone!