Lighthouse Labs

I was part of the November 2014 cohort. Making the desicion to join Lighthouse Labs was one of the hardest and ultimetly one of the best decisions I have ever made.

The teachers at Lighthouse are amazing, smart and patient as are the assistents (there are always a few working and they where a big help to me). Beyond learning to code (which you will) the community of teachers, students and mentors is an invaluable benifit of attending Lighthouse Labs.

Having graduated Lighthouse Labs I was able to secure a job right away and gain experiance with a company I otherwise would not have had the skills or the connections to join.

I would 10/10 recommend anyone truly intrested in tech and who is ready for a challange to attend.

I worked for a few years in research and was looking for new challenges. I had completed a couple of online courses that made me realize that programming is really fun but these were of course not enough to start a new career. Having already spent a few years at university, I didn't really see myself doing it again but I came across Lighthouse Labs by chance. Within a week, I had applied, gone for an interview, been accepted and decided to join the program. Of course I was worried I wouldn't be able to complete the course or wouldn't be able to find a job/internship afterwards but I decided to take the 'risk'. Lighthouse Labs graduates seemed to be doing very well so it didn't seem very risky anyway, clearly the teachers were preparing the students very well for what's on the other side and I felt that I would 'just' need to work really hard and learn as much as possible.

I am very pleased with my decision. The program was intense (make sure you spend as much time as you can on the prep course, it really helps!), we learned so much in a short period of time and it is absolutely life consuming but so much fun! I was really excited every day so find out what we would learn next. The environment is very nice, being at Launch Academy is just perfect, people who work there are really friendly and it's a very inspiring and warm environment.

Everyone at Lighthouse Labs is supportive and friendly, there are TAs around pretty late in the evening and on the weekend to help us and it is nice to be able to talk with them about the tech scene and the work they do.

Lighthouse Labs has a very good network which helped me start an internship a couple of weeks after the Demo day...no bad at all! ;-)

I attended Lighthouse Labs January 2014 cohort. As someone who worked in healthcare for almost 10 years with very little coding experience, but a desire to get into the tech industry, I had no idea where to start. Do I try internet tutorials? Do I know what online tutorials to choose? Do I have the disipline to learn this stuff myself and put in 16 hour days to learn it?

Going to Lighthouse was honestly one of the best and hardest things I have ever done. The program in Vancouver was absolutely life consuming... as it should be. I figured that I would sacrifice 2 months of my life and come out better on the other side because of it. The experience certainly did not disappoint. 

More important than the "stuff" you learn there is the philosophy and work ethic you learn there. It is this that will give you the confidence to tackle the problems you'll face when you leave the program, and not be afraid to take on big challenges. 

I entered into a 3 month co-op after the program which turned into a full-time position as a developer. 

The TA's worked in tech, knew their stuff and were all around awesome. 

The other students in my class were an amazing bunch and I couldn't have imagined spending 2 months with a better group.

July web alumni here, and I can say that Lighthouse Labs changed my life. My primary goal with Lighthouse Labs was to get into the Vancouver startup scene as a developer, and I greatly succeeded at that. I have a software engineering undergrad degree from McGill and had two years of corporate tech industry experience, so I knew I could do well if I worked hard. I worked my ass off on both coding and networking from week 1 day 1 until week 9 Demo Day, and it paid off. I started my new 'software developer at a startup' gig after only 1 week after Demo Day. The instructors and TAs are all great, and the alumni network is pretty phenomenal. The fact that it is located at Launch Academy with HIGHLINE (probably the best incubator/accelerator in Canada) is just icing on the cake. I still stop by often to see friends, network, and talk about my career/goals over beers. Take the iOS/web bootcamp at Lighthouse Labs if you're serious about choosing developer as a career.

I was in the September 2014 web dev Cohort and had a great time building my skill set and exploring the world of web development.

I was hesitant at first, as I knew little about coding before enroling; but I know an opportunity when I see one. A gaurenteed job after 2 months of hard work is more than worth it, especially when the alternative is a 4 year computer science course, which costs far more and does not gaurentee a job. I'm now coding professionally in vancouver and love my job.

The Instructors know what they are doing, and are experienced members of the industry. Furthermore, they are friendly and there is almost always a TA on hand.

We learnt more than how to code: they teach you how to learn, and how to pick up new coding languages quickly. For example, I learnt python on my own in less than a week- something I would have never been able to do before.

I got a job afterwards, which was amazing. They encourage you to get out, meet people and join meetup groups. Lighthouse labs provides tonnes of resources to make employment afterwards a breeze.

Overall, the experience was phenomenal. I learned lots, and am now an active member of the extensive and growing alumni community. The truth is, Lighthouse labs is the best way to become a developer in vancouver. If you are hesitant, don't be: it will change your life.

I am a former student of Lighthouse Labs, I joined their June 2014 cohort. I had a non-technical background in business development and marketing with very minimal coding or technical experience. I can honestly say it was one of the best decisions I ever made. I learned more practical and immediately applicable skills in two months than I learned in three years at university. It was extremely challenging and pushed my limits – exactly what I was looking for! 

I definitely couldn't have done it without the support of my fellow students and Lighthouse Labs' top teachers and teaching assistants. I came out of the course fully prepared to enter a company as a junior developer and was successful in doing so.  One of the greatest things about being alumni at Lighthouse is their incredible network – as a former student, I am always welcome back to my second home and it is a very warm environment. I often go there to work on my current projects for both the social aspect and also the incredible support. 

Job prospects after the course were excellent, they have a great co-op network and encourage students to participate in networking events as well as holding their own in-house events. 

The education provided has unfortunately lowered in quality. LHL has been known for their decent course content. Due to the pandemic and for the foreseeable future, they've shifted over to an online approach. This resulted in their course curriculum being outsourced to a variety of sources such as YouTube videos, Wikipedia, and general research you have to do on your own. 

The help provided is outsourced, many of the mentors are from India where they are being paid a lower wage. 

I would not pursue LHL again in any way whatsoever. The career aspect of the bootcamp was a complete scam and should be shut down honestly. The advice provided is something you can easily Google. It's basically advice such as ensuring your resume is decent, having unique projects, and applying every day. 

Once they have your cash, they are no longer interested in customer service. Please avoid. Traditional college is much cheaper, and you will get a better education and career prospects. Many of the LHL students are now pursuing formal education, since this was a waste of time and got us nowhere. 

Fun fact: According to LHL, their bootcamp is better than a traditional four-year computer science degree. Anyone who is knowledgeable about this field knows this is simply not true. LHL's approach to business is to prey on those who are ignorant. 

Most students have no prior programming background and yet everyone turns out to be able to finish their final project or even get a job. The curriculum is more well rounded compare to other bootcamps I've researched and they continue to update the curriculum to fit industry standard. Some instructors' style of teaching is more interesting but overall they are all very helpful. Mentors there make a great difference, most of them are patience and passionate! Career service is very helpful and try their best to connect students and alumni with potential employers, which definitely helps a lot when you don't have a computer science background on your resume. Every staff and classmates in my cohort are great people and I do miss them a lot after the bootcamp is done! Although I haven't found a job yet, I think doing this bootcamp is one of the best decision I've made.

It was honestly one of the best decision I've ever made. I was in my late 20s and not happy at my job in the service industry.

I learn best under pressure and with a little guidance (and I have no self-discipline). If this sounds like you, then a bootcamp is definitely worth the investment. No coding experience required (although they give you a thorough pre-bootcamp test to complete before being accepted). The greatest asset that the bootcamp provided were the mentors who helped me in all of my projects. They answered all my questions, took the time to explain the concepts I didn't understand, and explained step-by-step along the way. This kind of mentoring is really hard to come by in real-life situations, so I'd take advantage of their knowledge while you still can. 

The career support throughout Lighthouse Labs' network in Canada is also great and extensive. You can still reach out to their services after 5 years of taking the bootcamp so it helps if you plan to work in Canada.

A bootcamp is not for everyone, so please ask questions to alumni students to see if it fits your lifestyle. A bootcamp is a sacrifice and takes commitment to complete. "Learning to code" will not solve all your career problems if you don't work for it.

Also, I gave 4 stars in the curriculum because I wish I would have had more time with React JS. And I wouldn't have cared much for Ruby on Rails, but that's just a personal preference. 

I read the bad reviews but thought they were outliers because there seem to be so many positive reviews on here. I joined Lighthouse in Toronto and was shocked at how awful this place was.

PLEASE READ THIS REVIEW CAREFULLY BEFORE PAYING $10K. I hope this review really helps make your decision. I wish someone had told me this before I paid 10K, quit my job and wasted both my time and money. When I was at the program, I felt that more than half of the students were NOT happy with their learning experience.

Curriculum: If you felt that you did not learn much from their prep course - QUIT and get your full refund right away. Their poorly-written materials only get worse. Their original content was short and difficult to digest. Usually, they would give you links to random blog posts, Khan Academy, or youtube videos and even Wikipedia (seriously). You would be confused due to the lack of organization. One could argue that it mimics the real world that is full of information. Well, maybe. But I think it will damage your foundations, rather than build them. The assignments were not well-structured. Some were vague. Some were pointless. Some confused you even more. You would also need to try not to be drown each day just to finish the assignments and learn barely nothing. Tech interviews and most of the things were decided on a day to day basis, meaning you'll know when your tech interviews are on that specific day, leaving no time to prepare. There is really no planning here.

Lectures: though selling it to everyone at all levels, the lectures in Toronto don't really build foundations and assume you know A LOT about web development already. An instructor also came to teach half an hour late more than 5 times - which was very unprofessional considering you paid 10K to learn. Though to be fair, some instructors were good. But your learning experience will be affected by the not-so-good ones and the lack of planning and consistency.

Job Support: Some of the resources or documents they shared were Google Docs where they copied and pasted popular websites you could spend your time on after the graduation. Also workshops with basic powerpoint slides that don't mean much. Depends on your luck, employers will come to the speed interview or demo day. Or, they might not.

Mentors: Some are very nice, some are impatient, some are there just to work on their projects. Your lucks. 

If you are still deciding, I'd recommend going to their demo day, and ask students questions. Look into their eyes and body language. Listen to their answers carefully. Probe for more. Ask if they would study at Lighthouse again, and why, or which kind of people Lighthouse would not be a good fit for.

Lastly, the job report. It was one of the factors I chose Lighthouse. But let's be realistic. After months trying to find a job, people will eventually find something whether it's coding-related or not. People have rents to pay. Read between lines and look at the statistics carefully. A lot of students are looking for a job after months.

I hope this review helps. I wish I had chosen other bootcamps.