Makers Academy

I started the 3 month Academy with absolutely no coding experience.

The course material is well laid out, and whilst daunting at first, the coaches are extremely supportive and  helpful. Putting emphasis on not only learning a coding language, but the principles and techniques on how to self study, assess and develop yourself. 

By the end of the 12 week Bootcamp, I had learned the fundamentals to 3 different languages and build web applications in each of them from scratch!

Being able to see the just how far I have come from the first week to the last in such a short a seemingly short space of time is an incredible feeling.
Makers has set me up with skills I can use for the rest of my life, and within a week of joining a team after the academy I am already working on active tickets and contributing to the team.

I would recommend Makers Academy to anyone looking to take the first, or next step in the coding career.

I came into Makers having thought i knew a lot about coding and software development. However that was quickly put aside as makers also teach you other vital skills. Such as behavioral skills like pair programming and working as part of a software development team. Not only this but the emotional support that is available is good for when things got particularly stressful. Overall I would definitely recommend this course to people as they don't teach in the traditional teaching ways. They teach you how to teach your self. For example they will give you a topic and give you some resources and some activities to complete but you spend your time learning how you want to learn. They put on work shops etc to help but also give you a lot of time for you to do your own self led learning.  However being a boot camp that is specific for those with no coding experience, having already had experience the first few weeks seemed rather redundant to me. 

A really great bootcamp, I learnt so much in 12 weeks. Everything from fundamental concepts and multiple languages to Agile processes and effective pairing techniques. All valuable skills in the workplace. The bootcamp has given me so much confidence in my decision to change career. The coaches are very approachable and always on hand should you need them. Mental health and wellbeing are also taken seriously. It's an intense 12 weeks but well worth it. You'll get out of it what you put in. Would definitely recommend.

I've just completed the 12 week boot-camp with Makers and had a fantastic learning experience. Their style of coaching is so engaging and the tasks set were well matched to what we needed to learn. It was great to look back and realize just how much I'd learnt in those 12 weeks. The course also covered some non-coding skills like teamwork , and agile processes which was so helpful when moving into placement.
Overall has a great time, with the help of some super coaches. Didn't want it to end!

I have just finished 3 months Coding Bootcamp with Makers. To start with I was a total beginner. After 12 weeks of intensive learning, pairing, doing challenges, projects. Yes, we had 3 projects! I feel like I have attained the tools and skills to start confidently in my role as Junior Software Developer.

Pros “+”:

— Professional coaches. Throughout the course you get to work with few coaches, and all of them have been knowledgeable and very supportive. They also will never give you the direct answer, bu help you to understand and find answer for yourself;

  — well designed course work;

  — Emotional Support. As part of course you are taught skills to manage your well-being. You learn how to meditate, how to be empathetic , how to look after yourself etc. You can do yoga too! You also can have one2one session with support coach. Take advantage of these, the coaches are amazing and really help me to get through the course, as it was quite challenging for me in all respects. And and emotional support coach was a real bonus!

—  Support after you finish!

Cons “-“ :

— some materials require update, but I think makers are working on this.

Overall, I would recommend Makers to who ever  wants to change their life and have a brilliant start in their Software Developer Career!

Yes, I learnt to code in 3 very intensive months (be prepared for all your relationships to take a backseat!). Yes, I got a job within two weeks of graduating from Makers. But really, that doesn't even compare to what really sets Makers apart from other bootcamps - and that's their focus on emotional intelligence, self-care and diversity. I have a few examples...

1. I was meant to start at Makers in February and got struck down by a serious and chronic health condition that took me out of action for 6 months. They allowed me to keep delaying the start of my course every month, were always available for me to talk through any concerns or questions I had. When I started, they were fully supportive to provide me with what I needed to be able to manage my health whilst at the course.
2. On my first day, I had a few experiences (as a woman, and of South Asian descent) which made me feel uncomfortable. Although Makers and the rest of the tech industry have a long way to go when it comes to diversity, I was able to voice my concerns to a member of staff who then heard these concerns and took action to change the course of it. That made me feel really supported.
3. We have yoga twice a week and daily meditation! Seriously going to miss that...

In terms of 'cons', I would say that the quality of coaching could have been better at times, and it did sometimes feel that they had not been trained thoroughly or had that much experience in teaching. I would also say that some of the course material really felt like it hadn't been updated in years. Also, it would have been nice to have some more time on Javascript - we talked a lot about asynchronicity but I didn't get to really put it into practice until we decided to do a Javascript stack on our final project. However, there is flexibility from week 10 onwards to do more Javascript if you prefer.

In saying that, I don't think any course can be perfect but Makers did feel like it gets the balance right and their pedagogy is effective, and they got me a job (I still can't believe I just got a job as a Software Engineer so quickly!). A shout out to the careers team for their support too!

I've just graduated from Makers Academy and got hired within 2 weeks. I still can't believe that after barely knowing any coding 4 months ago I became someone who can build professional apps in different languages, solve complex technical problems, quickly learn new programming languages or technologies. And become hireable as a full-stack software developer. 

If you want to become a software engineer in a short period of time, it's the best option. Makers teach you not just how to code, but how to learn anything, how to be organised and strategic about your learning, how to push yourself and persevere. They create this intense learning environment where you are constantly pushed out of your comfort zone, so you have to work much harder than you would on your own. It's tough but very effective. 

To alleviate stress and emotional pressure (imposter syndrome, overwhelm, mental fatigue), Makers create a supportive environment & help to deal with those issues. There are workshops on empathy & emotional intelligence, daily meditations, yoga, social event. You can't underestimate the importance of such support.

Another important aspect of becoming a successful software engineer is the ability to work with others. To be a part of a team, to work in pairs, to provide and received feedback. All that was an important part of the curriculum. We had daily pairing sessions in the first part of the course, followed by team projects. We learned and practiced agile, had standups, retros, brainstorming sessions, code reviews. All that can't be learned on your own.

And in the end, it was so much fun! I've met great people and enjoyed the process. I feel a bit sad that it's over, but I've excited about the next chapter. Working as a software engineer, being a coder and the Maker.

I was part of a remote cohort and have recently completed the 12-week course I found that the coaches are easily reachable for advice when needed and are very supportive, they don’t immediately tell you the answer but will always push you in the right direction; I found this really pushed me to learn more and helped me remember things better. There were also other members in my cohort I could reach out to when needed and they were all really friendly. The coaches keep track of your progress and will give advice if they feel you may need more support The weeks would be spent pairing with another student on a task to learn new things, we would use GitHub to collaborate and zoom to call. We also had group calls with a coach to talk about and learn new concepts. Sometimes pairing would be difficult as you would be in different locations. On a Friday we would do an independent task to apply what we had learnt. In the last few weeks of the course you work in teams to create projects of your own choice, this was a great way to apply what had been learnt while developing teamwork skills. We were able to present it in front of the entire cohort on the last day which was really enjoyable. It was structured well and covered a range of things including the basics of ruby and applying the skills to help learn other languages like JavaScript and java as well some postgres for databases. I started this course knowing very little about programming, and have finished it with plenty of knowledge and I have developed many skills. If you are looking for a career in software development, I would thoroughly recommend this course. This is a rather intense course and I sometimes felt it moved too quickly, but I have learnt so much in a short space of time while having lots of fun!

I was part of one of the remote cohorts this year. I went into this program knowing very little about coding, and have finished with the experience to begin my journey as a software developer. The syllabus includes learning the basic theory, such as conditions, loops etc. , then progressing onto more complex concepts like methods and objects. You develop these skills over time by participating in weekly challenges where you can consolidate your learning and evaluate whether you need additional help. This process is particularly helpful as, unlike in an exam, you can be less confident on a topic without being judged or feeling you have failed at it. By the end of the course, Makers students are able to effectively plan projects, work as part of a coding team, write and test drive original code, and enjoy yourself while doing it! I would highly recommend this course to those who want to learn to code or expand their skills.

I have just finished my 3 month training, and honestly it has been really challenging, but I have enjoyed it thoroughly. I would definitely recommend this course to anyone who has an interest in getting into Software Development. My knowledge when I first started programming was pretty basic but Makers teach you Ruby. This was the main focus at the start of the course but then you progress onto Javascript. For our cohort we did Java and also SQL. Doing all of this allows you to use this knowledge to learn a completely new language by yourself. You will also learn from the start how to Test Drive code, which is a really valuable skill when programming  for your future job!

 

I think the Final project was a really good way to showcase what you have learnt over the 12 weeks You also get to present it in front of your cohort and share your experience over the 2 weeks you had to make the product.

 

Overall, be prepared to put in a lot of time into the course in order to be successful but when you reach the end of the course its the most rewarding feeling to have completed it! You don't get spoon fed answers and you will also come across a questions from your coach that make you look further and find the issue out by yourself.