Makers Academy

I joined for the February cohort which was interrupted by Covid-19.  Even when we moved the course online, the community and the staff continued to make the whole experience productive and positive - I have learnt so much in just 12 weeks it's crazy.  The course material itself is really engaging and the difficulty builds week upon week at a nice pace.

But the course is difficult - you will have moments where you wonder why you chose to sign up for this. The discomfort is worth it.

I just managed to get a job despite the current climate,  thanks to the extra support of the careers staff (who are amazing). The main thing I will take away from my experience at Makers is the wonderful new friendships and a new passion for learning which I haven't had since I left university many many years ago.  Thank you Makers!

I took the plunge and signed up to the web development bootcamp after doing Udemy/FreeCodeCamp courses on and off for a year. Looking back I regret not signing up to Makers sooner - there's no better way of learning the fundamentals quickly than building real group projects with students using best-practice tools and methods e.g. pair-programming, test-driven development and agile methodology. The course is demanding but there is plenty of support from staff and peers. Makers also provided external code reviews which simulated the pressures of real-world job interviews. The post-course job assistance was helpful, and being in a community of job-hunters meant resources and leads could be shared. After the course I now have the confidence to learn independently, and a clear sense of the trajectory of my future development career. 

Overall I think Makers is absolutely brilliant. 

It's exactly what I wanted from a bootcamp, namely a lot of exposure to technologies and methodologies I would have otherwise struggled with learning by myself, and excellent support from experienced coaches.

There's also a great alumni community (which I have just become a part of).

They start you off with 4 weeks of independent learning and challenges (the pre-course) before the course (12 weeks) starts in earnest, which is where the real magic happens. 

The course starts with Ruby (a language I really enjoy), which has a clean and simple syntax, allowing you to focus on programming concepts you can take to any language (which you do then apply when learning JavaScript). This approach allows you to build skills that you can apply to any field or language. For your final project you can decide on anything at all, even applying your newfound learning skills to get to grips with tech you have never used before to great effect.

The style is mainly self-led learning, with provided materials to for you to use, but you are also encouraged to learn from other materials you can find. I really like this approach as it has set me up to be a lifelong tech learner, rather than struggling to learn on my own once the course finished.

The coaches are there for you to get feedback on what you have done yourself, and to help you get unblocked in sticky situations, rather than to spoon feed you information. I think this is representative of the working world as a junior dev.
Because of this, you learn a lot about communication and teamwork, as its often other members of your cohort that you turn to first when you have a problem.

That said, the course is tough because of this, don't expect an easy ride. It will be uncomfortable and hard at times, but hopefully that signals that you are growing and improving. Self discipline to be on time and put the effort in, willingness to trust in the course's process, and the ability to give things a go when you aren't entirely sure of yourself will all serve you well on this course.

Have you ever wanted to learn something, but you just can't fathom how to begin learning?

I doubt I will ever face this problem again thanks to the self learning skills that Makers Academy has set me up with.

The holistic approach to their learning is simply refreshing, and effective. Equipping you with no only the skills and tools needed to secure a career in Software, but also the roadmap to becoming a more balanced and emotionally intelligent person. Equipping you with the skills to learn independently and effectively.

This truly has been an amazing experience, One I would wholeheartedly recommend to anyone interesting in forging a career in tech.

Just do it!

Having had limited tech experience before Makers, I found  the interview and the pre-course really helped prepare me for the course. While it is a lot of work, the coaches, projects and reviews help prepare us for what it's like working in the tech field.

I had a truly fantastic experience at Makers. The support from staff from getting on the course all the way to finding a job made a huge impact on my time here. For anyone who can put in the time and make the commitment I think it's a fantastic opportunity but it is important to keep in mind that it is a self-lead journey and you get out what you put in. 

For anyone looking to make the career change into software I would definitely recommend this course!

Taking the plunge into a new career can be extremely daunting, but Makers made my transition from IT consultant to Software engineer near to seamless and enjoyable. From as early as the pre-course Makers encourage you to work with your peers, this was something that didn't come naturally to me but was something that I have been wanting to work on for a long time so I embraced it. You will pair on a daily basis and learn to work with every personality type, and you are guaranteed to make some lasting connections.

I never felt too comfortable, which is a good thing, I was always challenged and felt like I was learning something new every day. You will learn not only how to be a great dev in 12 weeks, but you will be given the tools to continually learn and code anything you can imagine.

The fact that Makers place soft skills on the same level as tech skills was refreshing. Not only did I learn a lot about coding best practices but I learnt a whole heap about myself throughout the process.

I can honestly say that Makers has changed my life, I am starting a dream job and have all the tools to make it an enjoyable experience.

I attended the Makers Academy Bootcamp from September to December 2019. Being in my 30s and having very little prior knowledge (a smattering of hobby coding from my teen years) I went into the course apprehensive that I wouldn't be able to keep up and end up left behind. How wrong I was! I learned a phenomenal amount in just 3 months!
The learning was approached from a bottom-up perspective with a heavy emphasis on learning the very basics of coding first and then using those basics to expand and extend the knowledge learned in a gradual and manageable way to complete more and more complex projects. In addition to the coding there was a heavy emphasis on emotional learning as well, through meditation, yoga and workshops on how to be a more well-rounded and emotionally healthy person in a tough, fast paced industry.
The only con I can think of from the whole experience was the hands-off approach to teaching. Don't get me wrong, the coaches were there to help and provide advice (and were fantastic), but the learning was not in the same vein as school or college wherein the teaching was more formalised and followed a strict curriculum. This was jarring and somewhat difficult to get used to, and at times rather frustrating, but in hindsight it was actually a positive. They gave me the tools to learn organically and on the go, which (after a month in my placement) is absolutely essential and I am definitely grateful for!

In short: the bootcamp was tough, oftentimes frustrating, but ultimately it was a fantastically valuable experience that has given me the knowledge and skills I needed to take my first steps into the Software Development industry!

Makers is very much a self driven course. There are coaches available for classes and assistance, but most learning will be done with your peers using the Makers provided curriculum. If this suits your learning style, I would highly recommend the course. If you prefer structured learning, it might be a bit of a challenge but success is still definitely achievable. You'll get out only as much as you are prepared to commit! Be prepared to work 12 hours a day during the course, with weekend work as well. The course is intense and there's a lot to take in, but with the friendly staff and students I highly enjoyed my time and kind of wish I could do it all again!