Makers Academy

I took a huge gamble leaving my full-time job to join Makers, in the middle of the pandemic no less, but I found that a lot of people on the course were in a very similar situation to myself. Makers know this too and offer incredible support at every stage to help you deal with the doubt, stress, and anxiety that can come with taking such a huge leap of faith. That said, the course is not a cakewalk. Makers do everything they can to help you along your journey, but ultimately, you are the one who has to walk the path. To get the best out of the course, you will need to put your all into the weekly challenges, workshops, and materials provided by Makers. It is an intensive course for a reason.  Luckily, the coaches make this a really enjoyable and fun experience. They treat you as an individual and there is an emphasis on emotional intelligence that for me was a huge part of why I chose Makers over other coding boot camps. They are honest with you when talking about job prospects or any limitations upon course completion and have an amazing team specifically dedicated to assisting you in finding your first role. I am happy to say I was offered a role within the first 2 months of completing the course and the face time that you get with their hiring partners is invaluable in achieving this. If you are pursuing purely a front-end role, the course curriculum does not focus on this as much so maybe it wouldn't be the best for you if that was your goal - the hiring partners (for the majority, it seems) tend to be either back-end or full-stack roles. That said, some of their hiring partners are looking for front-end only devs so I wouldn't write it off completely. Look at the curriculum. Do your research. I can guarantee you will learn something on the course that can help you find a job.  

Learn to learn how to make anything, that's a tall order!  However, it's a great goal and Makers definitely meets that challenge with an agile approach.  The bootcamp was a hard journey that I value highly and I feel empowered to be able to make anything.

Sometimes it didn't feel straightforward how each particular lesson or exercise on the course fit into the big picture, however perhaps that's the nature of tackling as abstract and complex of a problem as learning to learn!  You learn it's best to fail quickly and often, that pair programming and talking out your logic is sometimes invaluable, and about a myriad of topics that nascent experience can only skim the surface of.  There are plenty of workshops offered as well as one-off workshops when a group of Makers all have similar needs.  Technical support in the form of coaches is available and helpful, but you're also learning to de-bug your problems yourself.

The end of the program was a little unsettling by the very nature of stopping an intensive 3 month structure and then preparing to apply for jobs.  The careers support side of the program has a strong emphasis on learning your own effective process for meeting the challenge.  The coaching available during this time is incredibly helpful and prepared me with confidence in an approach to job hunting that I'd never had before.  Additionally, the roles available to apply to, from companies recruiting through Makers directly, are high quality opportunities.

Community is also emphasised during the program, looking to bring people together in new ways, encouraging communication and relationship development.  Even though I was on the remote program, my cohort was extremely cohesive, supportive, and energising.  I can only imagine that the bootcamp in person is an elevated experience of what Makers manages to pull off remotely.

Well done to Makers Academy and their incredible staff!

Makers Academy takes you from zero knowledge of web development to being able to plan, create and host your own web apps using the most in-demand languages and technologies. Through the use of instructional seminars and regimented pair programming sessions - daily - you quickly learn whilst sharing your knowledge with the rest of your cohort and this only compounds the rate at which your skills develop. There are challenges at the end of each segment that showcase just how much you've learned, to yourself more so than anyone else. At the end of the course, I found myself employment ready. Making the most of the post-course support to build a competitive CV and hone the art of writing a cover letter, I found myself on the end of a job offer within a couple of months. I would recommend it to anyone wanting to make a career change!

Makers was a great experience to not only learn to code and explore different tech stacks, but also to gain experience working as a developer in agile teams and through pair programming. It really teaches you a lot about test driving your programs and how to debug. Both internal and External code reviews are available so you can keep track on your progress. 
The thing that separates Makers from other bootcamps is the wellbeing aspect (meditation, yoga and workshops) and the career support after you graduate.

Pros: 
- A well-rounded overview of many aspects of coding you can't get from a solo course. 
- You make many websites in teams, and pick up the exact kind of workflow you need for a job.
- Great way to create a portfolio
- The coaches are very invested, pay attention to you, give great feedback. Ditto for the hiring team at the end of the course. 
- Good job support for those willing to engage with it. 

Cons: 
- The pace is very fast, so burnout risk is potentially high for coding newcomers. I would strongly recommend doing extra work online before applying, so that the transition to JavaScript doesn't come as a shock. I did a The Modern Javascript Bootcamp Course (2021) by Colt Steele and Stephen Grider and I think it made my life a lot easier. 
- Ruby is less popular than it used to be, so if you want more job options, be prepared to explore other languages or learn them on the job.

This has been a once in a lifetime experience and was not just about the code but more about understanding what you are writing in a meaningful way. The approach to emotional intelligence was also something new for me to take in and has now become the baseline for how I take on most challenges in my life (professional and personal). One of the draw backs in the beginning of the course is when you are stuck on a problem a coach will not simply give you the answer but rather try and point you in the right direction which was a bit of an adjustment in the early days as I have never experienced this way of teaching but ultimately this is much more meaning full. 

Pros: While the entire bootcamp was completely remote, I had never felt isolated from day 1 because it's been a jam packed learning schedule right from the very beginning with a huge emphasis on pair programming and team work. The three months were undoubtedly intense and not for the uncommitted. While it wasn't uncommon to code 10-12 hours a day because you just want to learn as much as you can after the day ends,  the makers team encouraged students to make sure they take time to unwind and there are daily meditation sessions facilitated by the Chief Joy Officer, Dana. Personally I enjoyed the bootcamp for its ways of teaching us 'how to learn', rather than spoon-feeding us information or tutorials to follow. That meant at the end of it all, I am now confident I can pick up any new framework or language by referring to documentation and any resources out there. The technical coaches at Makers ensure this by being available to students at all times, however their method is always to guide you to find the solution yourself, rather than giving it straight to you. 7 weeks from graduation I have received two offers from non-Makers partners and will be starting my new career in a week. When the course ended there are ongoing support from the career coaches and partnerships team to help with job applications and if appropriate, being introduced to Makers' hiring partners.  Cons: As I wasn't based in London, the partners weren't right for me even if the opportunities were part-remote. I felt it was harder for me to find the right roles than others in my cohort due to my location in the midlands. However like any job, in the end I was able to find the right opportunity by persevering and speaking to quite a few companies. Ultimately I felt what Makers instilled in me prepared me well for the interviews.