Nashville Software School

Jumping into a full-time bootcamp with NSS was hands-down the best decision I've ever made for my career. The instructors are outstanding, the curriculum is fast-paced and completely relevant to the current needs of the industry, and the reputation the school holds in Nashville makes the job hunt much less daunting.

In order to get an ideal experience out of NSS, students must be hungry, engaged and self-motivated. If you're considering attending, I highly suggest working through some online coding tutorials first to make sure you're definitely interested. Once accepted, the mandatory pre-work is absolutely crucial if you don't want to be in over your head right off the bat.

During the duration of the course, you will get out what you put in -- that goes for your understand of the content (and beyond), personal and group projects, and job hunt. I got a job before the end of the course, so I can't speak to the job connections the school offers to students after graduation, but I appreciated the help on my resume, linkedin, and advice concerning networking.

The curriculum at NSS is not for the faint of heart. If you have no experience, as most students don't, it's difficult. You will be tested. I have a friend in a Part-Time evening cohort. From what I've heard about it, it's even harder than the Full-Time. 

However, NSS is hands down the best school I have ever attended. They don't just push you to learn the material. They challenge you to develop a growth mindset and give you the tools to become a lifelong learner. You become part of a network that is deeply entrenched in the Nashville community. And in my case, my cohort became life a second family. 

Everyone in the staff is a genuinely terrific person. The instructors are attentive and caring. The career development staff are hard-working and have excellent industry knowledge. And if Jeremiah likes you, he will insult you in the nicest way possible.

I was in the parttime bootcamp. The first half was good, and I got sound instruction on HTML, CSS, JS and Angular JS. The second half, dedicated to C#, was subpar at best. The instructor, whom I hear is no longer with the bootcamp, did not prepare well, rambled a lot, and gave us the same lectures over and over.

Having been out of the camp for a while, I do wish I could go back in time, save the debt, and do online course work to give me the foundations I recieved in the front end half of the course. If they offered front end web development for half price, I'd say it was a good deal. Though again, that instructor has been replaced, so perhaps the backend cirriculum is a great deal better now.

I say "success and some" because Nashville Software School provided me with much more than the baseline coding instruciton that I sought to pivot my career. NSS also welcomed me into a learning community unlike any I have been a part of before. Having been in the part-time course for 6 months and the full-time for three, I got a unique view of both experiences. Nearly every instructor and staff member supported me personally during my time there, and I feel like NSS genuinely cares about the development of each person deeper than their educational experience. More important than teaching me how to code, NSS taught me how to be a successful professional sotware devleoper. The curriculum and organization noticeably cares about constant improvement. When I give these 5 stars, I mean it, and I look forward to seeing how my most recent "alma mater" continues to up the ante on bootcamps across the nation. 

This place changed my life. Plain and simple. It’s like Hogwarts for adults. I went from barely being able to change the background image on my desktop to creating full-stack web apps. They immerse you in programming from day one, support and encourage you throughout the process, and go way beyond what is expected. Nashville has this amazing and welcoming tech community and I believe that NSS is a huge part of that. The best part is that with every graduated cohort this place gets stronger and better at what they do.

I completed the evening cohort in January 2017 after 12 long months, and have recently been hired as a professional Web Developer, thanks to the career transition team at NSS. I graduated with a strong portfolio, a great grasp of industry best practices, a portfolio site and a killer resume. It was the most difficult and rewarding thing I have ever experienced. I often say it was the best decision I ever made.

I had zero experience in this stuff so I’m proof the system works but I recommend spending time with all the great resources online such as Team Treehouse, allotting time to complete the pre-work, or taking the Web Development Jumpstart program before taking the leap. Either way, they’ll take great care of you. The staff is absolutely amazing. They want you to succeed and are extremely passionate about what they do.

Obviously, I am a fan but if you compare it to a lot of the other options out there it’s pretty easy to see that NSS is an excellent option… if not the best. You’ll leave there with a huge lead on your new career and a huge group of awesome people backing you up. All you have to do is fully commit yourself and put everything in that you possibly can. Sounds like a lot but the more you put in the more you get out. Cliche but true.

This course is completely worth whatever you decide to put into it. Before attending, I was a professional luthier here in Nashville. I was self taught with python on a minor level, but didnt apply it to anything. This bootcamp is tough!! Likely one of the harder courses you'll attend. However, I would say it was worth it. 

This course teaches you how to code. You will have many many group projects and personal excercises to keep you busy and your chops up. I would say that the first half is more extensive than the second. You will learn the fundamentals in whatever path you decide to join. 

The second half is evolved more around working in a production-environment. You will learn team building, have daily stand ups, and work through technologies that other companies in the dev community are using. This last half is also more job-driven. NSS wants you hired. That's their goal, and a huge portion of why they teach the way they do. You will work on your linkedin and resume, have mentors come in, and get Q&A with successful companies around Nashville. 

Like my title says, I was hired 2 weeks before graduation. NSS has a strong name in Nashville, and a strong set of instructors. I made a lot of friends, had a great time, learned so much, and now it's my life.