Orange County Code School

I'm going to keep this review short and sweet. Making the commitment to go to OCCS was the best decision I've ever made. 

Quick background about me: I realized I wanted to switch to a career in programming about 1 year ago. I began to try to teach myself, by spending a few hours each day after work watching videos and doing tutorials. However, after a couple months, I realized that 1. I was going at too slow of a pace and 2. I was beginning to plateau. I realized that if I was to achieve my goal, I would need a little more push and direction. That's when I started to research different bootcamps, and after reading countless reviews, I decided to apply to OCCS.

I was very excited when I got accepted, but I couldn't have imagined how great of a program it would be. Some big highlights for me: 

• It was very well structured. You alternate weeks of learning new things with weeks of building your own projects.
• The instructors are amazing. Ron, Tim, and Victor were all super experienced and knowlegable.
• Small class sizes mean each student will get plenty of help from the instructors.
• Unlimited coffee!
• Most importantly, the job-hunting help was awesome. Learning all that information was cool, but at the end of the day, the goal is to land a job (which I did shortly after the program ended). From helping me building a brand new resume, to mock interviews, to consistently sending different job openings, they were with me every step of the way through my job search.

If you are looking to get a career in softwar development,then I highly recomment OCCS. As long as you're willing to put in the work, it could change your life.

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I was a member of the 9th Cohort. I graduated in August 2017 and have since then landed a position at a major company, content with my new line of work and grateful for the experience that OCCS has given me. Having been out of the program for more than 3 months now, and being where I want to be in life, I am writing this review with my wholehearted gratitude. 

In the prelude to going to OCCS, I remember being unhappy with where I was in life after I graduated. Having no real direction or prospects after having graduated from UCI with a degree in Economics, I was making a poor living working in fast food and did not feel that I was living up to my potential. I barely earned minimum wage and was barely making enough for myself. Yet out of a stroke of luck, I heard about OCCS through my parents' friends during a luncheon. Their daughter had attended the program and had landed a great position at a notable company in a very short amount of time, having avoided college and gotten a job straight out of the program. Initially, it sounded too good to be true, but going nowhere at that point in life and not seeing my life prospects brightening, I decided to give OCCS and programming some investigation.

Originally I had taken a few programming courses at UCI, but I failed many of my courses, having neither the maturity nor the urgency to take the subject manner seriously. I had been developing a few programs at a non-serious and personal capacity, but never imagined myself . However, having come to a fork in the road in life, I decided to give OCCS a shot. I ended up meeting Ron at an information session, having been the only person who attended. After talking to Ron for about 10 minutes, I realized that Ron and the school were THE real deal, and decided to take it seriously. Ron, with his near-lifetime of experience in programming, and his extensive experience in multiple sectors of the tech industry, knows the way around to get you where YOU want to be in life. Knowing that he was my ticket to help realize my potential, I applied and was accepted to enter the program. 

From day one, you're in the gauntlet with your fellow cohort members. You take intensive cycles, typically 2-3 weeks between learning about features of Modern Javascript and related technologies such as React and Redux that are in real demand in the industry and then another 2 weeks of project building, typically utilizing what you learned during the previous cycle of events. The instructors will go around along the way to make sure that you understand in-depth the concepts being taught, as well as dispense both technical and life wisdom. As you learn more, your projects will only get better and better as you incorporate more learned materials and technologies. At the end of the 12 week intensive, you'll end up with 3 of your own projects that you can proudly say you created. Everything that you learn from the program and your self-projects, and from Ron puts you way ahead of your competition of junior developers when the time comes to hunt for a job.

Now the ultimate goal is to land that position in the tech industry.  With his boatload of connections and his knowhow around the hiring and job hunting process, Ron provides heavy assistance to making sure that you stay on target after you finish the program. He arranges job workshops to dispense knowledge on how to land and smash the interview, as well as personal sessions to work on your resume so that you give the best impression of yourself to the interviewer. He along with Celeste provide job leads and places to meetup so that you can investigate leads of your own. I ended up getting many interiviews and eventually landing the position that I am in now thanks to Celeste finding leads for me to follow. If you listen to what Ron has to say and you maintain a steady amount of job apps filled on a regular basis, it is only a matter of time before you land that job. 

I ended up writing a very long review, but having been out of the program for a while and with my job now, I only have many, many good things to say about OCCS. I have never looked back and have no regrets, only having the utmost praise for Ron and the program. It is rather unfortunate that I can only rate this school 5 stars at the most, otherwise I'd have given OCCS an infinite rating. I definitely recommend the program for anyone with the appetite to learn, and the persistance to really achieve what you want in life. If that person is you, then go to OCCS and your life will change for the better forever!

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- They got me a job offer 3 or 4 weeks before the cohort ended. 

- It's by an Ike's Sandwhiches. 

- Seems like the numbers on the website are correct; Everybody in my cohort has a real job now. 

- They understand how people learn. 

- There is a lot of low-quality information about programming and javascript on the internet. You get to skip it. 

- Cohort six was the best cohort ever

 

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I am a proud member of the 7th cohort at the Orange County Code School.

Background

I graduated from the University of Southern California with a Bachelors in Electrical Engineering. I had a year of experience working on a rapid deployment medical laboratory software team, and about half a year of experience working in the entertainment sector at AT&T in a non-developer role.

Motivations

During the last few months at my previous job, I had a strong feeling that I needed to make a change. I was dissatisfied with the direction my career was going, and one day I was unfortunately let go. I spent hours and hours reading reviews and articles online about the right types of bootcamps, attending many seminars and demonstrations, and talking to people about their experiences.

Previously, I had worked with HTML/CSS and JavaScript through FreeCodeCamp.com, but there is so much out to learn that I felt extremely overwhelmed. I understood the syntax of the language, but had trouble putting it all together when it came time to build any sort of web application. It was at that point I realized that I needed guidance.

Ron, the primary instructor, has a very impressive technical background, and it was evident after speaking with him that he is truly passionate about what he does and has the best interests of his students in mind. To anyone interested in attending a bootcamp here in Orange County, I highly recommend that you talk to Ron; he is the real deal.

The Full Stack Experience

Make no mistake, this course is no walk in the park. This is a 40 hours a week, full time commitment, and you need to be prepared to give 110% of your effort for every minute that you spend here. There will be times that you will feel lost, and times that you will be banging your head against the wall in frustration, but Ron and Tim will be there to help guide you in the right direction.

I highly recommend taking the time to sit down with Ron and Tim both inside and outside of the class to ask them about their experiences in the industry. They've been in your shoes before, and the advice they give is extremely valuable.

The curriculum is structured in a logical and cyclical manner. Each month, two weeks are spent learning the basics, while the last two weeks are spent working on a project. You will be surprised at how much you will learn when you build something from scratch; learning JavaScript and applying it are two totally different beasts. Ultimately, these 3 projects you create will be a part of your personal developer portfolio that you will then go on to show off to prospective employers.

During my time in the 7th cohort, we spent our time building JavaScript full stack applications from the ground up with React & Redux on the front-end, Node & Express on the back-end, and PostgreSQL as the database of choice.

The Job Search Experience

The bootcamp experience doesn't just end after the 3 month learning period. In fact, Ron takes it upon himself to leverage his professional connections and help you find a job. He will assist you with bolstering your resume and LinkedIn profile to garner the most attention. It took me about a month after the course to find and lock down a position at a great company in Irvine, and I couldn't have done it without Ron's connections with key people in the industry.

I recommend OCCS ten times over. I can't say I'm a JavaScript expert, but Ron and Tim have instilled in me the ability to learn and succeed on my own, and that's more than I could have ever asked for.

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I came into the course after almost a year of drifting through free online courses and a few JavaScript books. I was familiar with a lot of the basics, especially HTML and CSS, but hadn't been able to put it all together or push through that beginner level. Programming as a career was a big change for me, and I was both excited and nervous about actually making the leap.

Ron starts his curriculum fast right out of the gate. He knows that there is more to learn than can possibly fit into 12 weeks, so there is no time to waste, or to coddle egos. Some of it was review for me, and if I could go back and give myself any advice, it would be to take those moments to deepen my understanding or move forward. It takes more than just coming to class and putting in the hours. One needs to be driven to make the most of the class time and outside of class time. There is definitely a balance that each person will have to find between school and life, and between coasting and burning out. Find that balance.

There is a lot to be gained just from the practice of sitting in front of the computer 8 hours a day and using the various pieces of software (the same software you will be using in the professional world). The terminal, the editor, chrome dev tools, git(hub), etc. The particulars of which exact tool you use are not important, don't get hung up on that (Atom/vsCode, bash/zsh/iterm). Just use them, learn them, if you can't figure it out, look it up. 

Learn to research independently, if you don't already know how. Ron will tell you what the best sources of knowledge are. Listen to him and then learn to use them. Don't copy and paste code. If for no other reason than the fact that writing it over and over again will help you learn it, help you become familiar with the syntax and rhythm of the language.

These are just the few of the lessons that I took from the class. Lessons that continue to serve me professionally. Attending this course is a big decision, and I worked hard to make sure I wasn't wasting time, mine or Ron's. I would recommend it to anyone who is serious about getting into this industry and willing to work as hard as they can to make it happen.

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TL;DR:

I finally decided to enroll after years of working an unsatisfying Engineering job. Today, I'm happily coding all day for a Cybersecurity company with salary and benfits. OCCS made this possible.

OVERALL EXPERIENCE:

Leaving my job with steady pay to go through a coding bootcamp without another job lined up was intimidating. The three months of learning web development at OCCS was fast-paced and very challenging. Conducting the job search afterwards was a grind. But landing a job and getting to code professionally was a HUGE payoff.

 

CURRICULUM:

The material covered in the cirriculum is modern and relevant to today's job market. On top of learning the core principles of web development, this course introduces you to a modern technical stack which you will be able to use to build entire applications. You'll be exposed to software culture and best practices as well.

 

INSTRUCTORS:

Ron and Tim are excellent instructors. Not only do they have deep knowledge and genuine passion for software development, but they are exceptionally adept at explaining difficult concepts.

 

JOB ASSISTANCE:

Ron helped me refine my resume and hone my interviewing skills. More importantly he provided me with leads to hiring companies in the area. The job offer I got after graduating was through a connection Ron set up.

 

ADVICE TO PROSPECTIVE APPLICANTS:

Understand that this only works if you do. Having a passion for coding, in my opinion, is necessary; I wouldn't have gotten this far otherwise. Outside of the course and now outside of work, I readily work on personal projects and read programming books which has gotten me a long way.

 

Don't fall behind in the course. You don't want to be playing catch up. Spend time after class if you dont understand something fully.

 

Your portfolio projects are really your only leverage when applying for a job after graduating unless you have some previous software experience, so make them impressive. Also, this was not really covered in my cohort but I think it would have been very useful to have had experience with cloud infrastructure. A lot of the companies I interviewed with were looking for that experience.

 

Learn to problem solve, find resources and teach yourself. I think this is the most valuable skill. Sure Ron and Tim are there to help, but only use them if you really get stuck or need general direction. Remember, you won't have them to lean on when your working a job, so you'll have to be good at debugging your own issues.

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On December 2015, I embarked on an amazing journey to learn programming and hopefully transition my career into software development. After 1 year of self-teaching, I 've learned how to read code but I didn't really know how to connect all of my knowledge together in creating a full-stack application. I knew, from that point on, I couldn't do this alone and I need to seek help.

Fast foward to early 2017, I saw an ad for a programming bootcamp in Orange County. The curriculum was run by Ron, who has over 17 years in the software industry. With the wealth of knowledge he has, I knew I could trust his immersive program so I quit my job and enrolled.

My Thoughts

• Ron and Tim are excellent instructors.
• You don't just learn to read code, but understand how to solve problems and read documentation.
• The people from your cohort will be your best friends. For 3 months, you guys stress together and learn together.
• I've amazed myself when I built 3 web applications. Raised my confidence tremendously.
• Learning doesn't stop after finishing the bootcamp. You're just getting started. Ron helps you out by beefing up your resume and running through mock interviews with you so you can get a job. Coding never stops.

Overall, I highly recommend it.

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When I first started my journey into being a web developer I was completely wet behind the ears. I knew people who had coded and heard lots about how Coders make good money, but had no idea what I was getting into. I self-started by taking a few free online courses and quickly realized I wanted the high paced boot camp experience and needed one-on-one time with a seasoned instructor. I needed to make the choice to quit my job and enter a bootcamp, or continue in my current career. After graduating with a BS in Political Science I became a part-time high school teacher, which was essentially a default career. Teaching quickly became a struggle since I wasn't making great money and I started losing the passion for teaching. Managing a rowdy classroom and spending long nights grading papers didn’t offer me the challenging and rewarding career my college professors had promised.

I decided to speak with some of the people I knew in the Tech industry about coding. No matter who I asked I kept getting the same response; “If you want to learn code and make really good money, get really good at JavaScript.” I scarcely knew what JavaScript was, so I started digging and researching. I found some random resources through online courses, but they barely scratched the surface on the JavaScript iceberg. I needed the bootcamp experience. There were plenty of bootcamps to choose from: some were 6 months, some were 3, others taught Python, and others C# or some other random languages. I was completely lost on which to choose, but because I remembered what I heard from my Tech friends, I narrowed it down to the ones that focused on JavaScript. 

In my hours of searching an ad for the Orange County Code School caught my eye. I immediately noticed the school offered web development with a focus on JavaScript and promised to transform new students having no JavaScript knowledge to “job ready’ coders in 3 months. What a promise! I decided to show up to an information session and that was when I first met Ron Perris. Ron is the director of OCCS and the reason it's one of best bootcamps. At OCCS, Ron takes personal responsibility for the success of the students, every single one. The school has a well deserved 100% student employment rate thanks to Ron’s infinite knowledge and mentorship of each cohort.

When I first started in the camp I was a terrible coder, I wasn’t prepared for the onslaught of information. I had no idea what was going on, couldn't keep up and I struggled on a daily basis, but I made it and am so glad I pushed through! At OCCS Ron shows you the best practices and because he's been in the industry for so long, he's one of the best teachers JavaScript has to offer. You aren't getting random instructors that come and go, or previous students who become the new instructors. Ron's school has a tried and true philosophy that if you put in the work, it is a guaranteed formula for success. OCCS is the best JavaScript boot camp in the OC region to date. The lasting benefits that extend beyond just the three months of code camp are Ron’s industry expertise, his professional contacts and his relentless mission to get all his students a job as a coder, that makes the school worth every penny. I have my job thanks to Ron and every day I use things I learned at OCCS. I don't think I would've gotten that elsewhere. Just be prepared to put in the work.

Coders in the Tech industry use the analogy of drinking water from a firehose to explain the coding bootcamp experience, and they're right. Although it was tough, looking back now, I am so glad I made the choice to do it. Today I'm a full time front-end developer at a local startup, working on exciting technology on a daily basis. I am also a teaching assistant at UCI’s coding bootcamp. I would not have made those connections if it weren't for Ron and OCCS. All that I learned there, the coding skills and the skills of learning how to adopt the right mindsets, are invaluable to my foundations as a successful coder. Mostly, I'm grateful to have found a career I'm passionate about where I can make good money, that's not an easy thing to accomplish these days. OCCS helped me get there.

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If you want to write code, make cool projects, and ease your way into the vast oceans of programming knowledge; OCCS is your gateway to it all. I can't stress enough how awesome the instruction is and how quickly they catch everything that you are doing right and wrong to make sure you are only working on good habits.

It wasn't easy but if you are prepared to put in the work and immerse yourself in the code then you will do well. It is not for everyone so I recommend checking it out online and reading up about it to make sure that this is what you really want to do.

The instruction was very well thought out and explained to each student clearly so that you knew what you were doing. However, they will also encourage you to have your own thoughts on how to solve every assignment.

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I had written 0 lines of code before I came to this school and I walked out with a job in hand doing full stack development.

For those that have some experience i overheard a classmate say "I've taken 2 years of Javascript courses at a local school and I've learned more in 1 week here than I did then entire time there."

It was a fantastic experience for me.

Whatever you might expect you should expect to write a lot of code. 9am on day 1 Ron walked and and simply said "Ok, you're going to write a lot of code in the next 3 months, let's get started", and off we went. 

I found the instructors to be super knowledgable and super helpful, they always got me to think about my code and a new way. I was always intimidated to write code but they helped me be ok with knowing that the code I write is going to break, that's part of the process.  

Like any school, you get out of it what you put into it. Show up, work hard, embrace mistakes, embrace the unkown. I don't really feel like I'm going out on a limb to say that this is the best code school in Orange County.

Thank you Ron and Tim. 

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This school and its instructors helped me go from a state of confusion to a state of clarity. 

About me:

For 15 years I had worked in retail like many people. I never got a college degree which can make getting into a higher position let alone a new industry difficult. I discovered my passion for software when fiddling with HTML, CSS, and only a bit of JavaScript. There are so many online resouces for "How to code" but I felt so lost. I didn't know what would get me a job as a developer. That all changed when I interviewed with Ron at OCCS. 

The experience:

Firstly, I love that OCCS is so clean. There is no clutter to distract your mind. The "computer room" is like a place of zen. It is quiet and perfect for focusing.

The curriculum is fantastic. I feel like I got a mental reset in the beginning. As time went on, the projects got more challenging and so did the materials. What is brilliant is that you will learn something, then apply it. This really helps to solidify newly gained knowledge. One of the best parts about the instructors is that they will guide you to finding the answers to problems instead of just giving you the answer. This is really essential to becoming a professional developer, which is learning to solve problem on your own. There are many tools that are introduced that become essential in your dailly life as a developer. 

Class ends:

The idea that bootcamp ends is really a misconception. It is only the beginning. As long as you are a developer, you are always a student. Go to as many meetups as you can, you never know who you will meet. Follow the recommendations from OCCS about how to look for a job, it works. Don't be afraid to call yourself a developer. In fact, you should be able to talk about what you do as a developer when meeting new people.

Final notes:

I really want to thank Ron and Tim for being such excellent instructors. Talk about a wealth of knowledge. There are a lot of "bootcamps" out there but I highly recommend you sit with Ron and see if OCCS is a fit for you. A suggestion that I would make would be that you get to know your boot-campers. Lastly, just remember that you are there for you. You are the captain and how you sail through the seas whether rough or smooth is your decision. 

Bonus:

Bring food(donuts) to share in the mornings, you'll be surprised how fast you will make friends :)

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First, it is important to acknowledge the man behind the school, Ron Perris. I rate him 100/100 as a teacher, mentor, and dude.

I am a member of the 5th cohort, so this review may not cover all the rad improvements the school has undergone, since. OK! Moving on to the review of OCCS...

 

Before OCCS

I was previously doing social media at a ‘unicorn’ startup in San Francisco. Computer Science and ‘coding’ always seemed like a thing only superhuman geniuses had a shot of doing. A few hours on codecademy.com showed me otherwise, and I was hooked.

 

Software development is a very deep field. I knew I wanted to know more about the subject, but I needed an efficient way to turn my newfound hobby into a legitimate career. I took some online courses and even participated in (two lectures of) a community college Computer Science/Java course. For me, online courses didn’t require enough accountability, and the college route was far too long and uncertain - I already had a degree, anyway! OCCS is a shortcut to the good stuff.

 

After some Googling, I discovered the coding bootcamp scene. I visited every bootcamp in the area, and it became clear OCCS was going to offer the greatest challenges and rewards.

 

Attending OCCS

Luckily, Ron accepted my application. OCCS has an insanely low acceptance rate. Employers love this. Ron and his team are only interested in producing solid developers who can contribute immediately. Getting in will be your first challenge!

 

Ron structures the class much like a typical day at work as a developer. You are treated like a professional dev. Show up late? Don’t do your work? Lie about your progress? Rely on your neighbor for help? Can’t keep your mouth shut? Distracting others? Smell bad? Make weird noises when you’re frustrated? ...You’re going to hear about it. Probably in front of the whole class.

 

Some people aren’t able to follow the simple guidelines Ron lays out. If you are a sensitive person, or feel like you deserve special treatment just because you paid tuition, then run as far away as you can from OCCS. However, if you take it upon yourself to follow along with the pace of the class and behave professionally, you will be treated with respect and have access to a tight-knit community of alumni (more on that, later). You’ll also be extremely prepared to join a real world development team.

 

You’re going to learn Javascript. You can do a lot of stuff with JS. There are tons of Javascript jobs out there. Unless the other local schools have changed their curriculum to copy Ron by now, you’re going to start out at a huge disadvantage learning oldschool tech like PHP. I’m sure there are successful LAMP stack devs out there, but the even PHP developers at my company agree Javascript is the language to know.

 

After OCCS

Your job search experience depends on a few factors: your expectations/desires, your skills, and timing.

 

Ron does his best to hook you up with hiring partners and folks in his vast tech network. If your plan is to accept the first job offer that you stumble upon, there is a chance you’ll be employed before the program is even finished. If you want to push yourself and find a high-impact role, or a job at a well-known company, you might be waiting a while longer before starting a job. Use common sense, and do your best to assign yourself an unbiased market value.

 

I don’t think my personal situation was particularly common, but I’ll share it. I applied to hundreds of companies. I received dozens of interviews, and a healthy amount of offers. I bided my time, and waited for an offer to come along that met my criteria of having a competitive salary, hot technology stack, located in OC, startup atmosphere, industry-leading perks, well-funded, and a team willing to mentor/groom me. About 3 months after graduation from OCCS I accepted an offer to become a legit Software Engineer at the #1 fastest growing company of 2015. Dream. Come. True.

 

Now, about 8 months into the job, I’ve skyrocketed in development ability, maturity, and confidence. Since OCCS teaches full stack development with a focus on HOW to teach yourself new skills, my employer can stick me on any unfamiliar project or team (front or back end) and get results. I’ve even started getting back into better physical shape, and I now have the resources to move into a slick apartment with the love of my life. I attribute ALL of this to Orange County Code School! Thank you, Ron and company.

 

Let’s talk about the OCCS community. As I mentioned earlier, Ron is very selective about who gets into and graduates from his program. I personally know everyone who has completed the course. We frequently chat amongst ourselves at our new developer jobs. This is a young and growing community, who I’ve already learned so much from and enjoyed many a good time with. Trust me, you want to be a part of it.

 

TL;DR:

- August 2016: Graduate from OCCS

- November 2016: Begin working as a Software Engineer at a dream company

- You should apply.

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MY BACKGROUND

I graduated with BA in International Relations in 2010. From 2010 - 2016, I worked in the non-profit sector with community development organizations abroad. In 2016, I decided it was time to continue investing in myself and the quality of my service by learning new highly marketable skills, in an exciting sector. I dabbled on and off with Treehouse, Udacity, and CodeAcademy in vain attempts to teach myself. 

  WHY A BOOTCAMP At this time, my wife was a few months into her pregnancy, and accordingly, it was for me, a period of urgency. The full-time, immersive nature of a bootcamp and prospect of rapid skill acquisition was incredibly appealing. I couldn’t see a more effective way to equip myself with skills, and accelerate myself into competitive employment, in a field in which i had little experience, in a matter of months.     WHY I CHOSE ORANGE COUNTY CODE SCHOOL: I researched well-known California bootcamps, including App Academy, Hack Reactor, Code Smith, General Assembly, OCCS and others. I also spent two weeks in San Francisco participating in an introductory program with App Academy.    What appealed to me most about OCCS was the following: 

• Curriculum is thorough and thoughtfully put together, while changing slightly from cohort to cohort to better prepare students. At OCCS I learned: HTML, CSS, Bootstrap, Javascript, ES6, Angular, React, Redux, Node.js, Express, Mocha, Chai, Travis CI, Webpack, Git, Github, and how to deploy my projects on Heroku. 
• Quality Instruction - Ron and Tim are both exceptional teachers with deep knowledge and a lot of experience. 
• Cohort Size is small, which allows students to get targeted assistance if/when they need it.
• Hardware and Aesthetic - Students use large Apple displays in a clean, sleek, and modern setting. 
• Student Success and Reviews - OCCS students have an impeccable record finding employment, and the school has excellent reviews from former students.

THE EXPERIENCE I was a student in Cohort 6, attending OCCS from August - November 2016, and was working 20 hours/week while attending the school.    The Method of Instruction was very effective, and went something like this: 

• Introduction to new topic/concept and high-level explanation provided by Ron and/or Tim. 
• Exercises and resources for practice and deeper knowledge.
• Explanation with Q&A led by Ron and/or Tim. 

This process would continue for two weeks until we had learned enough to cement our understanding of newly acquired skills by building a project.   In this fashion, my 12-weeks culminating in my having a portfolio on Github that could stand the test of employer scrutiny.    As you might expect, learning complex skills in a matter of months would be challenging. It certainly was. But as the many successful students at OCCS can attest to, the challenge is surmountable. It may mean, however, that you’ll have to study, research, read, watch tutorials independently before and after “class.” That’s what I did whenever I had the chance.   I found Ron and Tim very accommodating and patient in situations when I couldn’t grasp the material, or if I had to miss class for doctor appointments etc.    Throughout the program, we were introduced to industry professionals, entrepreneurs, recruiters etc. For me, having had little exposure to the sector prior to attending OCCS, I learned a lot in these sessions, and got practice working on my pitch.    AFTER THE EXPERIENCE With some exception, getting a job is a time-intensive process. It’s also much less enjoyable than learning and attending class. For me, it looked like this:

• Applying
• Following up
• Phone screenings
• Interviews
• Rejections
• More of the above
• Attending meet-ups
• Studying and working on side projects

I received and accepted an offer for employment 8 weeks after completing the program, from a company that I was introduced to through Ron.    FINAL THOUGHT  If you’re interested in getting into the game, reach out to OCCS, and If you know you want to attend a bootcamp, I can confidently recommend this school. I learned the skills, got a job, and thoroughly enjoyed the process.  Read less

I attended the 5th OCCS cohort and graduated in August 2016.  

After I had decided that I wanted to switch careers and attend a coding bootcamp, I started to research the best ones in Southern California.  A few candidates popped up and one of the most prominent was OCCS.  It claimed a 100% graduate hiring rate and had reviews across multiple sites that seemed to back that claim.  I met Ron in person and after hearing about his illustrious background in software, I decided that he was the instructor I wanted to learn programming from.  It turned out to be one of the best decisions I've ever made.

The pace is blistering and there will be no hand holding.  The stress will be considerable and there may be moments of self-doubt.  When you make it through the program, however, you will be equipped with the tools to become a successful developer.  You will have learned the latest and greatest when it comes to JavaScript (Mongo, Express, Angular, and Node at the time of my cohort).  You will have built legitimate projects and established your own GitHub.   

You will not walk away as some sort of JavaScript master - that would be impossible in three months.  What you will walk away with is a sold JS foundation and a tool that is considerably more valuable in the long run: the ability to solve problems on your own.

Listen to Ron.  Do not hesitate to ask questions if you get stuck.  The pace of the course is too fast to remain stuck on one thing for too long.  Sure, you might have to endure some sarcastic retorts, but his knowledge of programming and the software industry as a whole is too immense to not be utilized to its fullest.

The program does not stop at graduation.  OCCS will help you establish a clean resume and LinkedIn.  They will assist in the job hunting process and help you develop strategies that will guide your search.  This is not a feeder bootcamp where the students just end up working for the school, padding the hiring statistic.  You will be getting a real software development job.

Bottom Line - Good luck trying to find someone more qualified than Ron to teach you programming.

 

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What I brought to the code school: An eagerness to learn, a passion for programming, and a history with computers, math and science.

OCCS gives you the skills to get a job. OCCS understands that ultimately this is a financial decision for us. Not only he develops you into a strong programmer, but he gets you ready for the job market. If you stay locally in Orange County, there probably isn’t a company that Ron doesn’t know personally. He is great at pairing talent with local businesses. I secured a job less than a week after graduating from the bootcamp, all started by an introduction from the school.

OCCS understands that your Github is your resume. The code doesn’t lie. From day one in the course, you are building your portfolio on Github and becoming an expert in Git. The class is built around project work. By the end of the course you will be experienced in developing and deploying full-stack software applications. This by far trumps other code schools that focus on exercise based work, and group work.

OCCS teaches the most up-to-date technologies. At OCCS I learned: HTML, CSS, Bootstrap, Javascript, ES6, Angular, React, Redux, Node.js, Express, Mocha, Chai, Travis CI, Webpack, Git, Github…I also learned a slew of API’s as well as deployment. The list goes on.

OCCS teaches a process for development. The reason I kept getting stuck in learning programming on my own is because no one teaches you how to teach yourself, and nobody shows you the process for development. OCCS teaches a structure for developing, which keeps you focused and productive with your time. Ron has the best way leading you to find the answer yourself. He inspires self teaching and creativity, all while keeping you on the path towards success.

Ron surrounds himself with wonderful people who genuinely care about you as an individual, and about your development as a programmer. I felt at home every day at the code school and continue to have a great relationship with the school. This is not a turn and burn code school, but a community you join when accepted to the school. I feel blessed to have been a part of such a wonderful experience.

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If you're reading this, then you are very possibly in a similar position to where I was not too long ago. You're interested in starting a career as a developer, and those 4 years and student loans at a university just don't seem worth it. You are probably also skeptical that these coding bootcamps are legit. I mean, it does seem pretty ludicrous that after just 3 months of hard work you could be starting out at a new job as a software developer. I was incredibly skeptical about it as well, and I will say that I did a lot of shopping around and research before I was convinced that Orange County Code School was the most legit option, and my best bet at a successful career change.

You should absolutely research your options, and understand what you are getting into, but I should share what set OCCS apart from the other options for me.

All of the bootcamps I looked at (roughly 6 in the SoCal area) featured 3 month programs boasting high employment rates among their graduates. That's great! That's the goal, so any of these should work, right? Upon further research, I learned that some of these bootcamps are in the practice of hiring their own graduates as "tutors" for the next class, and so artificially inflating their statistics. That was both incredibly scummy, and a complete deal breaker. Any bootcamp that messes with it's statistics like that and lies to their applicants should be avoided. Before deciding to attend OCCS, I blatantly asked them if they ever hire any of their graduates, and they told me that they do not. Having now attended, I know all of the people involved at the Code School, and I know for a fact that they do not.

The next factor I looked at was curriculum. What am I going to learn? Is it going to be relevant technology? Or some language that is on its way out the door? If it is a solid technology, how well will I learn it? Most bootcamps I looked at have their curriculum up to date with market standards, but in my shopping, I noticed that some bootcamps teach a wider variety of languages. A bootcamp saying it will teach you 4 languages in 12 weeks... I did not believe for a second that I would come out of that truly fluent in any language. I am already looking and learning a great deal of information in a short amount of time, better to pick a widely-used and robust language, and become fluent in it. OCCS is a Javascript bootcamp, a language in vast demand, and rapidly growing.

A few factors that solidified my decision to go with OCCS were Ron's background in software development, and how selective they are with admission. At the time of my application, I believe they had a 5% acceptance rate, which, to me, only strengthened the legitimacy of their 100% hiring rate.

That's the summary of how I chose OCCS. More important than that is the actual course itself. I quit my accounting job because the bootcamp is a full-time undertaking. A goal of Ron's is to make the bootcamp itself similar to working as a software developer. You are there 5 days a week, about 8 hours a day. The course is structured with 2 weeks of skill acquisition, followed by 2 weeks of skill application. Essentially you spend two weeks learning different aspects, applications, or implementations of Javascript and the tools to go with it, and then you spend 2 weeks working on your own project, putting those concepts into form. Those 2 weeks project work are huge, because as much as you can learn from reading about something, or doing exercises on it, you will reach an entirely different level of understanding to it once you incorporate it into a project you built from scratch.

Ron proved to be an extremely knowledgeable resource, and he also brings in professionals from the field to come speak and answer questions. I will say that, even though I learned Javascript, HTML, Angular, Node, and several other skills in the bootcamp, the single most valuable skill I learned was the ability to break down a problem I know nothing about and solve it without asking someone else for help. Ron will push you to answer your own questions as much as possible, and this has proven to be invaluable in my position I am now in. Thanks to this skill, I am now primarily working in C#, a language completely different from what I learned in OCCS, and am constantly impressing my employers with my ability to tackle tasks I have no prior familiarity with.

If you are looking for a career in development, a challenging job you love, and in getting a jumpstart in a new direction, then I can not recommend Orange County Code School highly enough. It is literally one of the best decisions I ever made, and it has changed my life.

Thank you Ron.

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Prior to going to Orange County Code School I had been interested in a career as a computer programmer but just could never find the time to teach myself to code. I had no college education and the thought of going to school part time for a computer science degree was pretty daunting. I had a family member who knew someone that had gone through a code school and found a job afterward so about a year after first receiving that suggestion I jumped into action and began researching “programming bootcamps”. I came across OCCS and after talking to Mike and Ron decided it would be a good fit. I went into the course with essentially zero programming experience and was fairly anxious as to whether I would be able to do it or not.

 

It’s probably important to mention that Ron is not there to be your best friend, he’s there to teach you how to code. If you’re looking for someone to tell you you’re doing great moving along at your own pace as you’re falling behind...OCCS is probably not for you (future employers probably won’t like that either). Ron did not spend a ton of time worrying about people’s feelings but he definitely taught us how to write JavaScript. It’s not easy learning how to program in three months, and after the course is finished there will be plenty more to learn, but if you think you are capable of picking things up pretty quickly and are okay with putting some work in outside of the hours you spend in the classroom, then OCCS will be a good place to begin learning to code.

 

During the course we worked on three projects, each of which expanded upon features we had used on the last and added various new technologies. It is pretty neat watching your skill set grow from project to project and feeling your confidence grow in your ability to write working code. By the end of the course you should have no problem creating a complex and functional web app.

 

Beyond learning to how to code and use various tools which are important in the day to day work of a software developer one of my favorite aspects of the program was getting to listen to Ron’s stories. He has a ton of experience in the industry and through talking to him you will definitely pick up some interesting knowledge about the field that will be good to have as you enter your career as a developer.

 

One last thing, make sure to attend your demo night! You never know where your first job as a programmer could come from and I was lucky enough to receive mine from a company I met at our demo night. There were a few people in our cohort who did not attend the demo night and who knows what opportunities you might miss out on by making that decision. OCCS was a life changing decision for me and I would recommend it to anyone who REALLY wants to learn to code, and is ready to dedicate themselves to making that happen.

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Before I attended OCCS I was working as a manager at a retail store.  I was not making very much money and the work was not very satisfying.  I heard about OCCS from a friend of a friend who works in the software industry and he assured me that the best way to start a career as a Software Developer is to attend a bootcamp-style school and he told me about OCCS.  I went to a meetup they were having the following weekend to get a feel for it, and see how it is.  I was a little nervous, but decided to attend.

OCCS has a rigorous three months of coursework.  They teach all of the latest technologies and skills required to be successful as a Web Developer.  The instructors are there to teach and challenge you to be the best you can.  They teach you everything you need to know, and also give you the freedom to learn and grow your knowledge yourself.  During my time there, I learned multiple programming languages, many new technologies and over a dozen frameworks.

You don't graduate from OCCS when they are done teaching you, you graduate once you get a Job.  OCCS provides leads to you after you finish the course to help you get a job.  While I ended up finding my job myself, OCCS gave me three leads with companies to help me find a job.  They help you prepare your resume and LinkedIn, and prepare you for your interviews.  They will give you strategies on best ways to find a job.  

Two weeks ago I started my job as a Front-End Web Developer.  There is still alot to learn, but I feel prepared thanks to my experience at OCCS, and I am making twice as much money (not an exaggeration) as I was before attending.  More Importantly, I enjoy what I am doing.  Orange County Code School was the best decision I have ever made, and I recommend it highly to anybody looking to become a Web Developer.

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I was part of the fourth cohort. For five years, I worked as a chemist before I decided I needed a change. What I was doing as a chemist, I'll leave up to your imagination (it's more fun that way).

I wrote my first line of code in February. I put in the time and effort both inside and outside of class. I completed three solo projects including a bot for Slack. And now? I'm a developer at a great company Ron introduced me to. 

What did Ron do for me? He provided everything I needed to become a developer. He gave me the knowledge, the guidance and the opportunity I needed to change careers – something I will always be grateful for. 

Then, there's Michael. During my job search, Michael checked in with me almost every day. He reached out to every company I applied to. This was on top of all the tech companies he was already trying to connect with. He let me know whenever he thought my job search was losing steam and kept it real, never sugarcoated anything. This is the guy you want when you're looking for a job.

Ultimately, I chose OCCS because of the person running it: Ron. Any program is only as good as the person teaching it. If you genuinely want become a developer, you owe it to yourself to sit down and talk to Ron, to hear his story and learn why OCCS is different than any other bootcamp.

Two bits of advice for prospective OCCS students:
1. Face a seemingly impossible problem. Struggle. Break it down into manageable parts. Research. Google. Approach the problem again without fear. Code. Debug. Realize that your code is terrible. Refactor. Learn from your successes and failures. Do it again.

Your first inclination when faced with a problem to which you don't know the answer shouldn't be to ask the guy next to you, nor should it be to ask Ron. Attempt to solve your own problems with reason and logic. You're going to be doing that when you get a job – start now. It will make you a better problem solver and a better coder.

2. Take the time to talk to Ron. Before class, during lunch, after class, whenever. You can learn so much from him outside of class. This is a guy who has worked in the tech industry at the highest levels. Talk to him, ask him questions and listen. That kind of knowledge – that kind of insight – can be more valuable than what you learn in class. I sincerely mean this. But don't be annoying.

P.S. This review has nothing to do with hamburgers. The title was irrelevant.

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I am a recent graduate of Orange County Code School. I attended the bootcamp that ran from Nov 2015 to Feb 2016. In 12 weeks I went from being someone who knew very little about coding to making full apps. Was it hard? Yeah sometimes. Did I ever feel lost? Of course. Is it worth it? ABSOLUTELY!! 

Ron the instructor is very knowledgable and will teach you how to code. Other negative reviews you might read in here say he not a good instructor, but that is far from the truth. He's teaching you how to code so you can land a job and keep it. Take it from someone already working in the developer field, NO ONE WILL HOLD YOUR HAND AT YOUR JOB. You will have to figure things out on your own a lot. That is what Ron is also teaching you. All those negative reviews are students that just didn't understand that. 

You will have to learn things on your own. The development field is always changing, and it will continue to change long after you're done at OCCS. Could you learn coding on your own? Possibly. What you won't learn on your own is what employers are looking for and what they expect from you as a developer. Trust me all the help OCCS gives you in getting ready to search for a job helps a lot. You don't go out there completely clueless. 

If you're serious about learning to code and getting a job, OCCS is for you. 

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