Redwood Code Academy Reviews
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Darlene Kim Verified via LinkedIn
Full Stack Dev
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Redwood has proved to me that they are efficient as a school and as a business. The staff maintains a great balance exhibiting professional and personable manners. I was never treated in any condescending way, as I had been at a previous coding bootcamp. The course is streamlined to guarantee every student picks up the languages at the same pace, build applications accordingly as individuals and as a group. Assistance is available at any time, after class and even when you're at home.
I greatly respect the efforts Redwood's staff has put in, to ensure the students are crafted into full stack developers, and would invite anyone curious - to spend a day here to get a feel for what a typical day is like. Watching the staff work with all different kinds of students who learn differently, have different personalities and behaviors that shape them into their own kind of developer, it's fascinating to see how fast they all can move and handle such a variety of people. Every student's frustration and challenges were always taken care of. The E in Redwood could go for exceptional or efficient, either works well. Redwood has a community that is evident with previous students and professional developers coming in as guests speakers, who are able to use the environment as a mini work space or to just hang out and visit.
A very good friend of mine in my cohort had actually become employed halfway, week 8, (this is not to say you will be employed early on), he accepted the employment and Harrison was personally helping him with in-depth learning in a particular language, guiding him with problems and making his transition out of our bootcamp smoothly into his new full-time salaried job! This bootcamp does not guarantee its' students a job, but job assistance is most certainly available and is put in place. For anyone who is worried about job placement, at any coding bootcamp you go to - it's always going to be up to you to do the hours of searching, applying, interviewing and putting yourself out there. Redwood does provide the environment, time and effort being put into us to ensure we are maximizing our productivity of job search.As a business too, they genuinely care about how they're doing, if they're meeting the students' expectations. We have one on one's that check in on how the student's are doing, how they're feeling so far and what kind of feedback they have if any - this happens every few weeks. I have never read any coding bootcamp reviews about the schools' staff and Founder, taking the time to check in on student's personally and making sure that both sides are happy. They promise a specific cirriculum, and they delivered accordingly.
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Jerri Ho Verified via GitHubI Only Wish I Had Done This Sooner!
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When I was 18, I thought I knew exactly what I wanted do, had my entire life planned out to the very last detail, and put in countless hours to get to where I wanted to be. After graduating from UC Irvine, I received an amazing offer at an established company that provided me with many opportunities. Although everything was falling into place, I began to feel a great sense of emptiness. I was very fortunate have an extremely patient supervisor that provided me with the resources to succeed, however, I knew that this was not path that I wanted to continue on.
Despite the countless moments of conflict, I was assigned the task of redesigning the company website which I eventually took on the role as a Project Manager for this project. I used Adobe Illustrator to create wireframes of the look we were aiming for and also worked with the developer to determine the best user interface for our customers. Althought it was not an easy process, it was extremely rewarding to be able to be a part of creating something that our users enjoy using! This was the most enjoyable project that I had the opportunity of working on and this was also when I began thinking how could actually make this a career.
After much consideration, I decided that it was time to redefine my goals and move on. I knew for a fact that I wanted to be in an environment where the learning opportunities are dynamic and continuous. I looked further into Software Development and found the field to be absolutely fascinating! I then left my job to pursue a career in Software Engineering, which was extremely intimidating as it is a field that I had absolutely no background knowledge in.
In the first couple weeks of the program, I felt extremely overwhelmed and was extremely uncertain if this was the right path for me. As time progressed, however, I can't believe that I've found myself falling more in love with programming with each passing day. It's definitely not all rainbows and butterflies as the instructors at Redwood constantly push us with new challenges each and every day. They won't give you the solution to the problem, but they do an amazing job at guiding you get to the solution on your own. Their curriculum and approach to teaching definitely prepares their students to succeed in the workforce.
Although I find myself constantly challenged each and everyday, it's been an extremely rewarding journey thus far. Whether it's something big or small, we are literally creating something everyday - Whether it's building a game, creating a website, or collaborating with other developers to make a app! Redwood has countless resources to help you succeed so all you have to do is just ask and they'll be there to guide you in the right direction.
Whether you want to leave a job that you're unhappy at, change careers, learn a new skill, or whatever your heart desires - I challenge you to take control of YOUR life and just DO it. It took me a year and a half to muster up the courage to make this transition, but I've never been happier and I wish the same for all of you!
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Roger Chavez Verified via GitHubI was nervous about taking the risk of attending a bootcamp
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I was nervous about taking a risk of attending a full-time bootcamp, but since I've gone through it, I am confident I made the right choice. They helped guide me through a few steep learning curves that would have taken me much longer to get through on my own. This applies to both the languages themselves and the tools used to make it all work. There have been some concepts that seem overwhelming, but Harrison and Billy are very knowledgable and break it down into smaller bits that are easier to digest. Having done my research before attending a bootcamp a common piece of advice I read about was that you get out of it what you put in, if you're willing to put in the work, Redwood will definitely go more than halfway to get you to your goals. I highly recommend Redwood to anyone that is serious about learning to code.
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Sean Swan Verified via LinkedIn
No better choice for your future
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I was just like anyone else at the beginning of the course. I had a lot of hope that this was not going to be a bust or waste of time and I'm so happy that 9 weeks later I feel I'm doing things I used to watch other techies do and wonder if I'd actually get to learning it in my lifetime. Now I'm mad I just did not do this a long time ago Harrison and Billy really have an excellent way of teaching so that you get the meat of it all.
I checked out a couple of other boot camps before and they were cool but they did not cover any mobile or app development mainly just javascript. I wanted flexibility in my future career path so I really appreciate Redwood Code Academy giving me multiple paths to choose from and instructors that really code for a living.
Harrison and billy are a beast when it comes to knowledge and experience in the field and I'm so happy I came here because I know for a fact it very rare that instructors have such a deep pool of knowledge to draw from. I feel very confident on interviewing for the job I want due to the fact your teacher could pretty much hire all the people that would be trying to hire you. Harrisons Bio doesn't come close to what you learn about him in person and Billy is always there to back you up when hit that wall.
Jobs Jobs Jobs That's what you want to know about well in the mean time I'm trying to get everyone I know in here for the fact I already have three job offers halfway through the course. The need for developers is not dying it's growing as we head into this new technological era so once I started just telling people what I was studying for people were giving me there business cards offering pay that is 50% more than what I currently make at my lame 9-5 job ummm can you say complete life change.
I have a daughter coming around April first and at the beginning of this year I was stressed out on how I'm going to pay for everything so i can be a great dad considering I have not been back to school in 20 years, to be able and pick this up and start a new life is beyond words to me.
I personally feel that this is the time to get into a boot camp and save yourself for 4 years of debt. If you go to college it would take 4 years to get what we get in 3 months at Redwood but main difference is we use the technology when it's hot, school you will be going back to BootCamp to learn what's up to date. If you don't have the luxury of time and free rent, food and people just flat out paying all of your bills this is the place to be, and if you do, it's still the place to be lol. Redwood Code Academy did not change my life it literally saved it to think I was going to procrastinate and take a later class, id just be further away from the success that I'm enjoying today and the class is just 4 weeks to go.
Is it tuff yes its a challenge you will hit that brick wall but the teachers are here to pull you up and they always do. My advice is to never give up stay hungry and time will fly so many people waste so much time in 3 months you are literally a different person and personally I'm basking in the new me.
10/10 Life Changer
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Joshua Han
No Job Support
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I'm leaving this review in support of my fellow alumni who has experienced the same situation as myself. I began attending RCA in May of 2019 with a determination to make a career change. RCA seemed and sounded promising at the time, primarily because of the promised job support and the job network that is posted on their site. The instructors were great people and I don't blame them at all. I felt like the course itself is spread too thin and the instructors weren't able to teach everything that was in the coursework efficiently. The lack of depth of coursework left me and others feeling unprepared to join the workforce. The primary issue is that I did not receive job support and certainly did not feel that RCA had the industry connections they claimed to have. I finished the school in August and I am still unemployed (still learning and working on refining my new craft all the while). All that was conducted, was a basic resume review, but there were no deep dives into technical interview preps. RCA has not connected me to other companies for work unless you count an unpaid internship as a connection. Any connections or job opportunities were primarily researched and conducted by myself which I understand is also part of the process but I still expected help to kickstart myself. This review again, is not to spite the school but to put to light the real issues that are plaguing the school and preventing it from producing successful developers. As much as I believe that RCA has potential, it has very blatant and serious problems that it must address. I would not attend this school if I was an aspiring developer and would try to look elsewhere. I also realized a majority of the previous reviews were under the management of a different owner and it appears the current owner uses outdated placement numbers as his own. It's been a very disappointing experience for me and now I face extreme financial hardship due to trusting Redwood. I agree with my fellow alumni, this is going to be hard to write but it's great that I can unite with students from fellow cohorts and bring out some truths about Redwood that people need to know when considering RCA as a potential boot camp they'd like to attend. Please don't just ask to speak to the people who got jobs, ask to speak to the people who did not. Redwood gives emails to the FEW students who got jobs but do not mention those who did not. I will be happy to share my email and contact me if you have any questions. I will give you the honest truth. So in closing, I do not recommend attending Redwood in its current state. -
Arsalan Gazor
An Honest & Detailed Review
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**PLEASE READ I CAN BE CONTACTED TO VERIFY-CONTACT INFO BELOW**
I would like to preface this by saying I am not a spiteful person. If I were I would have made this review months ago (January) when it all began. I had given the owner of this school plenty of time to respond to my loan cancellation request but I no longer have a choice but to leave a review now that it is nearing April.
I had went onto the school community channel for support and to voice my dissapointment and I was instantly banned by the owner after sharing my experience and sharing info that if anyone else had a bad experience to contact me so I can share an organization called BPPE.CA.GOV My post was immediately deleted but to my surprise I was messaged by several students who voiced that they were disappointed with the school as well. None of which found jobs but sadly you will never hear from them or their experience. I do not enjoy the fact that I have to write this but this school needs to be exposed so that the owner immediatly stops taking advantage of aspiring developers who do not know what they are getting themselves into. The owner finally reached out to me but I am not happy that it took this to get a response out of him. Please do not dismiss my review as I remind you I do not enjoy that this is what it has come to. I attempted to find a solution at lower levels from several attempts to contact the owner and then using the community platform for support. But now this is my last resort.
To the owner of Redwood I am prepared for a calculated rehearsed response to make me appear the one who is wrong when all I wanted was your assistance. But now I am facing financial hardship due to your concious decision to avoid me. I don't appreciate that you are NOW responding to me after being exposed and students who are now encouraged to share their experience have emerged. FYI I purpsoley avoided your phone call and text just now as I would like document this moving foward. You can email me your solution to the email provided below.
Anyone reading this please do not judge this review until we can connect. Please contact me directly at SGAZOR@GMAIL.COM. Unlinke Redwood I have nothing to hide and now have the support of students that attended Redwood. Thank you to those that reached out. I genuinely feel upset about having to write this.
Stay safe amid this Covid-19 pandemic.
Peace and Love.Patrick of Redwood Code Academy
President
Mar 30, 2020
This review is not true. While Arsalan did request a refund in January he cancelled that request. He was not ignored. Here is the exact copy from our text message exchange in January:
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Arsalan: Hi Patrick; sorry to bother you again. Plans changed again, I'm gonna stay in the U.S. so I would like to stay in the class if possible, and work on my front-end stuff. What do you say?
Arsalan: Sorry I've put you through this back and forth roller coaster. It's not my fault. It's my situation that keeps changing.
Patrick: Yes sir welcome back :)
Patrick: No worries:)
Arsalan: Thank you Patrick; THANK YOU!!!
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I sent a screenshot of this to Arsalan as a reminder. -
Brian
Scammed. Defrauded. Misinformed. Mislead. I lost $12,500 attending Redwood Code Academy in 2017.
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Hello World, I'm Brian.
I went to this "coding bootcamp" from Mar-Jul 2017.
Harrison Spain, Billy Pruden, and Taylor Thomas misled, and misinformed me about their experience and qualifications to teach code, and scammed and defrauded me out of $12,500.
A LOT of students paid thousands of dollars to this "coding bootcamp" in 2016 and 2017 got scammed and defrauded by Harrison Spain (Redwood founder) because he frankly lied in a very elegant manner.
Playing A LOT of ping-pong, eating cheap pizza and junk food, getting cheap apparel with the stupid poorly designed "Redwood" logo, having my candy bar stolen and eaten without my consent, and spending OVER $12k for nothing is NOT what I signed up for. This is what happened to me at this place. I'm NOT making this up!
He claims that jQuery and Angular.js were "modern" javascript libraries and frameworks (they are NOT!!) These are NOT ES6 (ECMAScript2015) javascript libraries/frameworks, in fact, they are pre-ES6 (legacies). The curriculum was completely overpriced elegantly package garbage!
Coding-along = copying code from the projector screen while the instructor talks and types in front of the room, while you type out the code on your own computer screen, is NOT the way to teach someone how to code!
Until this day he has NOT provided FACTUAL PROOF of his claims and statistics when it comes to student outcomes and curriculum success.
The Redwood founder has NO Github account to validate his "coding skills" for the "supposedly" 15 years of experience he claims to possess.
He has hired "former students" as TA's and given them the titles of "experienced developers", which is a complete lie.
Harrison doesn't have the experience to teach code, this is why he had to hire an "experienced" developer to take over his school as of right now in 2019. If he did this from the start in 2016, then he would NOT have any kind of problems and I would NOT have to write about this at all.
The "job support" was microscopically non-existence and the path to a developer job was NOT clearly given (applying to all dev positions disregarding junior-senior positions is NOT good job advice and direction)
Harrison has bragged that he was interviewed over 500 developers throughout his years in the tech industry, but when I ask him what they would ask me in an interview, he couldn't even give me ONE question or advice. He says, "you never know what they will ask you." This type of nonsense useless advice is NOT worth OVER $12k!
This "coding bootcamp" was operating unregulated by the Department of Consumer Affairs Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education from Oct 2016-Jul 2018, therefore any sort of fine or legal punishment against Harrison Spain, his associates, and most important his school, is non-applicable = meaning "Us" students from 2016 to 2017 got RIPPED OFF! The only way to get justice from what Harrison did is to take legal action against him and his school, which would cost thousands and thousands of dollars to facilitate.
There are A LOT of online coding programs that are better and more affordable as of right now in 2019!
Avoid this coding bootcamp. Avoid this place. And don't go here!
HERES THE TRUTH ("You" refers to Harrison Spain/Redwood Code Academy):
- You were NOT accredited by the BPPE while I attended your school.
- You didn't teach modern javascript - jQuery (library 2006) and Angular.js (framework 2010) are not modern javascript (ECMAScript2015 aka ES6) libraries and frameworks. (I can prove this).
- NONE of your students in the part-time front end developer night classes have NEVER gotten a job as a front end developer because you were not teaching coding properly to supplement those skillsets.
- The MAJORITY of your students from 2016-2017 could not get a job as a developer, whether front end developer and especially full-stack developer because you weren't teaching enough to substantiate those skillsets.
- You, Harrison, have NEVER made a single phone call or initiated a slack conversation to find out whether or not I had secured a developer position after attending your overpriced, deceptive, fraud school.
- You NEVER looked over my LinkedIn.
- You NEVER helped me write my resume or cover letter (I had to take a resume writing course after Redwood).
- You NEVER looked over my GitHub account and didn't teach me how to use GitHub the way that professional developers use GitHub in the workplace and workforce.
- After attending Redwood and ending in July 2017, over six months later, you told me to apply to every developer position out there, even though I was NOT qualified for any of those jobs because you didn't teach the right stuff to qualify for those positions.
- I expressed and complained to you and Taylor, and you accuse me of threats because I spoke up to a White Man; you didn't want to help me at all and you didn't care at all.
- You hire your past students (Taylor Thomas) as TA's to cut cost in hiring an actually experienced developer.
- You hired another developer with 25 years of experience (more than you) because your "experience" was insufficient and inadequate.
- You created fictitious reviews for your school online (I have proof!!!).
- You exaggerated and lied about your experience and qualifications (you did NOT win multiple hackathons)
- You have NO GitHub account to validate and show your claims as an experienced developer (where are you web applications that you've built in your 15 years of experience?).
- You told me that my projects were good enough to get a job (they are not).
- You provide NO substantial and factual proof to validate any of your claims.
- You blame me for not being able to get a job because I got pissed off at you and spoke up to you.
- At face value, most importantly, you are a deceptive, and calculating liar!
- You and your lawyer, Raeesabbas Mohamed at RM WARNER LAW (8283 N. Hayden Rd. Ste. 229 Scottsdale, AZ 85258) are pathetic and sick individuals that make-up non-sense and untruth claims in your demand letter against me and tried to entrap me and extort me.
THIS IS WHY I HAD TO REPORT YOU AND WHY YOU WERE INVESTIGATED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS BUREAU FOR PRIVATE POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION (BPPE) IN DEC 2018.
READ THIS:
https://bit.ly/2VuIJ48
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Eric
Redwood Review
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Had a great experience attending Redwood. Initially I was trying to teach myself but could not progress at the speed I wanted to go. So I took the plunge and attended Redwood. The instructors were great. Harrison, Taylor and Zack were on hand to guide us to find solutions when needed. The format was perfect in terms of learning the material. Lessons with the daily and weekly labs, followed by a few projects. It was a wonderful learning environment. Harrison and Taylor did excellent jobs presenting the material in a way that was easy for me to ingest. I was able to get a job a couple of months after the bootcamp ended. Should you decided to join, definitely commit and put in the effort since the time goes by quickly.
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Eric C
Full Stack Immersion
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I attended the Summer-Fall Cohort of 2018 as part of the Full Stack Immersion course. I had graduated from UCLA with a degree in Aerospace Engineering so I a little bit of experience in coding (took one basic C++ course and mostly coded mathematical computations using Matlab).
Before I started, I went into it knowing it was going to be very difficult and worried a lot whether or not I could keep up with my cohort members. I was so worried that I had gone over the required section of the prework about 4-5 times over until I had a sense that I had grasped the basics in javascript, html, css. I didn't even try to get to the intermediate and advanced sections of the prework until felt like I had fully understood the basics. I also finished some of the certifications from freeCodeCamp to prepare myself. From my whole experience, I would say that my preparation helped build a foundation that I could work from and would really recommend going over the prework meticulously (maybe not as much as me).
Overall, like most of the other reviewers had said, you really do get as much as you put into it. The instructors at Redwood try to help you to the best of their abilities and provide you the resources to become a better developer, but at the end of the day, it wholly depends on how much of an effort you put into it.
Pros:
- Instructors were great, Patrick was extremely knowledgeable with every question that I asked him and would give me extra resources if I wanted to know more about something. Taylor was also very great, he was extremely patient and kind to all the cohort members especially if you were at a roadblock. Harrison was also great as he was especially knowledgeable of the industry and with most of the holistic aspects.
- Loved the atmosphere as everyone in the cohort was extremely friendly and just fun to be around.
- The after hour lessons were extremely helpful as they went over concepts that we did not have time to cover in normal class hours. (Would highly recommend you stay for the after hour lessons for at least the first half of the course).
- I also gained a lot of insight about the job market as guest speakers came and answered any questions about the hiring process.
- We also participated in a group project (optional) for after hours in hopes that we would develop a deployable application. This was extremely fun and rewarding as I had learned a lot from this experience. Sadly, we were not able to finish it as we had gotten too busy with the externship and personal projects.
Cons:
- The first few couple of weeks were a little slow for my pace, but I decided that take that as an opportunity to hone my skills further by assigning myself extra goals or finish more of the curriculum from freeCodeCamp to prepare myself for the upcoming weeks.
- As the 12 weeks were coming to a close, I still felt like there was so much to learn and I was still not that confident in my coding skills. After all, I was competing in the job market against 4 year CS degree students. It still felt like I had a long way to go before I was ready for my first job.
- Overall, I did not have too many gripes about the curriculum as whatever I believed they were lacking, I took it upon myself that it was my responsibility to ask for resources and do independent studying.
I don't really have any input in terms of job assistance; I got sick on the day of the mock interview (which I really regret missing). I would recommend attending this academy only if you have the motivation to learn. After the cohort ended, I took job searching a little slowly (tried to make it a goal to get at least 7-10 job applications a week). After about 3 months, I was finally able to get my first job offer which I gratefully accepted.
All in all, I really am thankful of the instructors of Redwood Code Academy for helping me achieve my goal of landing a job as a developer!
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Tram Dinh
Honest Review
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I would like to preface this review with a disclaimer that this review was not meant to attack the school itself, but instead provide an honest review on how I experienced the program. I hope that my readers will take these points into consideration instead of meeting this review with anger. I also want to give "Overall Experience" 3.5 stars since I did enjoy parts of the cohort (but there aren't half stars!).
I'll start with the cons:
- Job assistance: going into this program, I really wish that the recruitment process would have been a lot more transparent in terms of job outlook. If it will take an average of three months to find a job, please make students aware of it. I was very unhappy to learn that months into the program, considering I was encouraged to leave my full time job for the full time cohort, with the push of "You'll make [the 13k tuition] back in two paychecks." With interest piling up, I don't quite think so. Job prep definitely should have been more hands on- resume help should be in person and not over Slack. I had to seek assistance from my classmates to turn my less than stellar resume into something that really showcased my professional experience. It is also worth noting that interview prep and "recruitment" only took place over two days during an optional week. Please prepare students with more information on the computer science side of interviews. Integrate more concepts into lessons. I can code, yes, but can I explain it? Not really.
- C# and .NET: For technologies so marketable in the area, I was hoping that this portion of the cohort would be more comprehensive and involved. Instead, I didn't feel that I got the most out of this portion. It felt disorganized and rushed. Trying to study C# outside of the program really emphasized how little I knew about the language.
- Externship: Our capstone project. I have mixed feelings about this one. On one hand, it was a really neat experience getting to "work" in the industry, but was it really work? There was no code review for our work - after the presentation, we instructed to just zipped our code up and ship it to, what I will assume is, our client. Nothing else was mentioned or said about the project. There needed to be more transparency and more professionalism with this project. There is no paper trail of our having done work for our clients, yet we were instructed to list the externship as work experience. I want to know what our project became since my group and I worked extremely hard on it. Also, there was very little communication with our client.
The pros:
- The instructors: The instructors were absolutely fantastic. Super supportive, and fun to be around. There was no such thing as a stupid question to them, and I really appreciated how open they were to helping students to make sure nobody falls behind.
- The culture: Speaking from the perspective of the only female in the cohort. Everyone here was very inclusive. Not once was my gender made salient. The school was awesome in that regard.
- As I've mentioned above, there were parts I really enjoyed about the program. The first half of the program was very informative, and I learned a lot during my time here. But the second half of the program really could've used some fine-tuning. First half had really good pacing; second half was rushed.
So, you might be asking why this stuff is being addressed here. Well, I think when you've initially graduated, the thrill and enthusiasm from accomplishing something big really fills you with positive feelings, but as I started to recap as I am preparing to get out there, I began to realize parts that were really lacking.
I loved the school, honestly. I hope that this review doesn't discourage you from applying,as there were good parts, but instead helps you to really think about it. It's a huge life decision, so having both sides of the coin is helpful, in my honest opinion.
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Sia Xiong
Bootcamp Grad Success Story
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Congrats on your decision to attend a coding bootcamp! I absolutely recommend to take the bootcamp route. Although I know a few self taught developers, I personally feel much more prepared and skilled having attended Redwood Code Academy. I graduated in the April 2018 cohort and landed a job just 3 weeks after graduating! What I learned at Redwood thoroughly prepared me for my position with a small start up working with React Native. At Redwood I learned various languages and frameworks. Redwood is one of the only bootcamps in the area that teaches React, which I think is the best framework to know when getting into the job market! We learned Vanilla JavaScript, JQuery, React, React Native, and some Angular. I appreciate the instruction I received while learning .NET, because I learned a lot about MVC frameworks. It was especially great that we got exposure to Node.js as well. At Redwood you will get a taste of everything you need to become a succesful developer. As with any bootcamp, at Redwood you will get the foundation you need to effectively learn any language or framework and build your skills to become advanced in your preferred stack(s). Harrison offers great advice regarding getting your first job. He keeps it 100% real as he was responsible for hiring many developers throughout his career, and he knows what he's talking about. I'm so grateful for my time at Redwood and helping me change my life by becoming a software engineer.
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David G. K.
The real deal
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Initial impression...
When I arrived for an info session at Redwood I exprected to be ushered into a room full of people for a typical hour of power point slides and a general sales pitchy type session. Instead I was welcomed by Harrison, Redwood's Founder and Karim, Redwood's Program Director who sat me down for an individual interview which I appreciated. This allowed me to get better insight for the program and allowed me to ask questions I would've been hesitant to ask in a group setting. The transparency was present from the beginning and reassuring when making a big decision like this. It truly set them apart from the options in OC.
Cohort
Got nothing but respect for everyone in my Cohort. We all put in hard work, long hours, coded together and on most Fridays had a student podcast. Friends were made and I would be happy to work with any of my fellow RCA alum knowing they have the skills and programming thought process required to make software.
Technologies
My Cohort covered HTML, CSS, JavaScript, AngularJS, Git, Node, API’s (used after I understood API’s PostmarkApp, Optical Character Recognition OCR, Walmart Search API) & C# & Azure SQL Database) I knew Harrison would not be teaching something that did not have value and man was I right.
Things move fast in development and the technology stack that was covered was a great starting point for my foundation of knowledge. I left knowing I would need to continue to evolve over the next few months and years to come.
Instructions
All instructors Harrison, Billy and Taylor we’re always professional accessible at any point of my frustration or confusion and I knew that help was only one slack message, "Hey Billy, or help me.. I don’t get it. "
In the end..
My personal limits were the only boundary… RCA might teach programming but they teach a skill even more valuable and that’s the ability to think like a programmer. To me, programming is a thought process and I can confirm that the RCA instructors can teach one to become a developer if the student is willing to be taught.
After Graduation:
Updated my resume with my newly acquired software development skills and had no issues finding work with in the software industry. Happily coding most days.
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Samantha Noon
Redwood - Great Choice
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I did a lot of research before I picked a coding school and these guys lived up to their online representation. This review is for the Full Immersion program.
The professors are dedicated to the students, the curriculum is relevant and up-to-date, and Harrison is pretty much a genius and can solve any issue that comes your way when working through labs or projects.
It is absolutely true that you get what you put in, but the professors are right there with you and always providing support and encouragement while keeping expectations realistic when it comes to projects.
They don't overly micromanage your time, so your lunches are yours and if you're done with all labs etc. for the day sometimes people would leave early, but most of the time there is a stretch lab so you can keep going to learn more, again you get out what you put in.
Great career advice and prep and had industry speakers come in and share their knowledge the last couple weeks.
Would highly recommend this school.
Hit me up @codernoon on Instagram if you have any specific questions or contact the school directly, Karim is super helpful. -
Lee Thorne
Unbelievably great.
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Anyone that is on the fence about whether or not to attend a bootcamp - stop debating. If you’re researching the code schools to death and still feel unsure of where to go - stop looking. My only regret is not starting this sooner. I researched a ton of camps before deciding to attend Redwood, and I am so thankful that I made this decision. The curriculum is current and relevant to the job market. The content is challenging and intense, but you can still feel comfortable asking questions and seeking help when you need it. If your curiosity of a particular technology takes you somewhere beyond what the course curriculum entails, the instructors are more than willing to work with you on whatever your interests are in their free time. You have 24/7 access to the truly brilliant minds of the leader and instructors, which is an invaluable resource. What sets Redwood apart from the rest is the obvious dedication, brilliance, and enthusiasm that exudes from their staff. It’s apparent that they eat, sleep, and breath code. The instructors are excited about development and dedicated to your success as a developer. They provide you with the knowledge, training, and resources that it takes to secure that dream job. I have no complaints about this program and would highly recommend it to absolutely anyone. Don’t just take my word for it though...contact Harrison with any questions, concerns, or thoughts you may have about the program. I assure you he will respond in a timely manner with all of the info you’ll need!
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Barton Flojo
An amazing experience
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I came into this course not knowing anything in regards to coding. I had my doubts and had visited several boot camps before making a decision. The first impression is always the most crucial and Harrison Spain blew me out of the water. He walked me through how this course works and what the expectations are. He put my mind at ease. Over the past 3 months, i have had ups and downs, I have felt completely lost and each time something connected the feeling of accomplishment was amazing. Several fully functional apps later I have a solid grasp on coding for the languages that we have learned and full confidence in learning new ones with ease. 10/10 would absolutely go through this experience again. The teachers were awesome, the students were great and I am all the better having gone through this class!!!
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Caroline Doan
WORTH EVERY PENNY!
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This decision changed my life. Before I decided to embark on this journey, I was completely miserable. Even though I was doing well career-wise, I absolutely despised my job! My experience here has been rewarding, challenging, and WORTH EVERY PENNY!
Curriculum:
So far, we've gone over Javascript, JQuery, Angular JS, C#, SQL, and various industry best practices and operational frameworks such as Agile which includes SCRUM. The curriculum is very robust and fast-paced. It is tailored to the increasing job demands of the Orange County market.
Instructors:
Harrison, Billy, and Taylor are the most knowledgeable and patient instructors I've ever had the pleasure of working with. The structure of the class is small so that each student has the opportunity to obtain personal instruction should they need to.
Job Assistance:
N/A
Overall, my experience has exceeded my expectations, and I am excited to finish this journey and see where this path leads me!
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James Obaña Padolina
Half way mark, review!
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After watching "Silicon Valley" on HBO one sunday night, I was inspired, and wanted to learn how to code, and be able to create things, as part of a team, or on my own. Before enrolling into Redwood Code Academy, I was in the medical field as a Respiratory Therapist, with no experience in coding. I started teaching myself code by trying out free courses online, and did that for a month. While I was self teaching, I found myself learning at a slow pace, and needed to go somewhere that would push me to learn..
MAN!!!, did I get what I was asking for.. At Redwood Code Academy each day would start off with a lesson, and after lunch would be a lab. The lab would take up the rest of the day. It would make me think, and occasionally frustrate me. The thing is, they dont always expect you to finish the lab, but understanding the concept from the lesson prior, is what they are really trying to push.
The instructors: Harrison, Billy, and Taylor are very knowledgable know their stuff, when it comes to making RPG games, teaching, and what jobs will be looking for during an interview. There will be days when you feel like you hit a wall, but the instructors are there to help and point you to the right direction.
I am 6 weeks in, and half way through the program. My experience so far at Redwood Code Academy has been nothing but challenging, and I wouldn't have it any other way! I have learned so much these past 6 weeks, than I would have on my own. My colleagues in my cohort, come in all different ages, from their mid teens to their late 30's! I say this because, it's never too early, or too late! If you have been considering to learn to code, and want to go to a place that will give you that push! Redwood Code Academy is the place to be! -
Kenley
Best Decision Ever!
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I always wanted to pursue a career in coding but after graduating with a Marketing degree I thought it was too late. I had watched quiet a few youtube videos about HTML, CSS and Javascript as well as took a few courses on code academy but my coding experience and knowledge was very limited. After working in the Marketing field for a year I decided to take a leap of faith and pursue coding. I googled coding bootcamps and realized there were quiet a few in the LA/ Orange County area as well as online. I talked to many of the bootcamps but soon realized Redwood was the choice for me. The class size is small which I loved because I was already intimated coming in with such little experience. The professor to student ratio is perfect. In my cohort there were 3 professors and 15 students. There was always someone to answer your questions or help you catch up if you had fallen behind. The professors are amazing and willing to go the extra mile for students. If they could tell we were struggling they would hold extra study sessions after class and review the material as many times as we asked. Redwood goes above and beyond for their students. Not only do they provide an incredible curriculum that will prepare you for a job but they also give students an awesome learning enviorment. I would reccommend Redwood to anyone interested in pursuing a career in coding. It was the best decision I ever made!
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Lisa
COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW
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This is a comprehensive review of Redwood Code Academy.
About me: before Redwood, I was a student looking to develop my understanding of programming so I could better contribute to an app development project at Stanford University. I specifically sought to increase my skills and understanding of front-end design using HTML and CSS, while simultaneously getting to know how code works. These goals, along with my schedule and financial situation, led me to take the part-time class at Redwood Code which runs in the evenings from 6:30 to 9:30PM.
Content/Course: the course is fast-paced! Do your homework and pay attention while the instructor talks. Billy, the lead instructor, is very funny and personable and is there 24/7 to answer any concerns and issues. If you get stuck while he is lecturing, Taylor, another kind instructor, walks around the room to help debug and resolve any issues. Throughout the course you learn CSS, HTML, Java and more and the languages’ application in the real-world is tested in your homework. Homework ranges from review to challenges so you have plenty to do after class! You are provided with resources to review content before and after class and additional material to supplement your understanding, but as with all coding bootcamps, what you get is what you put out. The structure of the class goes from learning in lectures, a short break, to practicing in the lab time where you can do homework with guidance from the instructors. My advice: definitely come in with snacks on your break as it may get tiring at night, give yourself enough time to learn before and after class, and be patient! Learning a new skill is not easy, but with practice you will find yourself feeling more and more versed.
Instruction:
Billy and Taylor (did not experience Harrison) were generous, light-hearted and knowledgeable instructors, you felt at the same time safe and challenged asking questions, providing input, and also working in the class while doing the lab. I got to witness Harrison lead other classes and noticed his calm demeanor and confidence in teaching as well!
Community:
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You work in a small cohort
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There are many OC locals and everyone has a story, so you can always relate.
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Doesn’t feel too technical nor impersonal at this academy unlike some larger academies.
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There is always one-on-one help whether in-person or via a Slack channel.
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Billy was thoughtful to put a dongle on my desk every day knowing I had a Mac that only had a USB port.
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It is a very cool and chill working space-- I liked having the choice to work in the office spaces and classroom. There’s even ping-pong and VR for a mental break!
Job prospects:
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I wasn’t searching for a job, but I could see that the team here was intent on sourcing their students.
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There were side projects and hackathons suggested for students to develop their programming skills outside of the classroom for cash prizes, and portfolio and skill development.
Finances:
I was able to work on the Redwood Code Team as an intern, which reduced my cost of attending the part-time class. Harrison was very intent on providing an opportunity for me to learn despite my financial constraints.
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Ryan Beardshear
Great school, jump started my career
Although it may be pricey to attend a bootcamp like this, if you are serious about changing or advancing in the world of code, a boot-camp like Redwood is exactly what you are looking for. It was challenging and frustrating at times but the great staff an instructor/owner, Harrison, are great teachers.
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Shawn Pridmore
Excellent experience
The teaching staff make every effort to make the material digestable for a novice. The structure of the curriculum and the small class size enabled us to move quickly and efficiently through dense subject matters. While the atmosphere is easy-going, the instructors will make sure you are challenged everyday.
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Sean Roe
Satisfied Student of Fall 2016 Cohort
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The best advice I can give regarding making a decision about attending a bootcamp at all, or if this is the bootcamp for you: go to the website to get in touch with and meet Harrison, the lead instructor & founder to discuss what you are looking for, and to get a feel for his personality and experience.
Harrison is endlessly knowledgeable in a ton of technologies, computer science theory, programming concepts, and best-practices. His real-world experience really shows in our lessons, the curriculum, career prep, and his industry connections.
The assistant instructor, Billy, graduated from a bootcamp himself (General Assembly, LA). His bootcamp experience is incredible for us students, since he knows exactly what we are going through and how to supplement lessons when the class is struggling with a particular topic.
It will not be easy, but nothing worth doing is. Harrison will have prep work for you that is very helpful and much needed in preparation of the 12 week slam. Be prepared to do up to 70 hour weeks. I perosnally had around 65 hour weeks throught the bootcamp. It's as Harrison said to us many times, the bootcamp is like waking up and drinking from a firehose full of knowledge. There were a few times near the end of the 12 weeks in which I was told we would be going over a langue or two but never did end up getting the lecture or a one-on-one lesson.
I was a unique student in the cohort as my employeer had sponsored me to go to the camp. I had moved from several states away to attend a .NET camp. There are very few camps out there like this one and the market for .NET is ever growing. However Harrison made sure to make a point of whiteboarding and preparing us for the job interview and application process.
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Taylor
A great experience
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If you're considering joining a bootcamp, I highly recommend Redwood Code Academy.
The amount of information and knowledge presented throughout the course is amazing. Post graduation and I'm still learning from it all. Sure, It was tough at times, but that's because I learned more in the three months attending than my previous two years of self teaching. And not only do you learn full stack development, but you also learn the stages of developemnt and the strategies used to ensure success. You'll learn how to assess a given project, choose a combination of technologies to build with, and move forward with the knowledge of how they connect to make the whole. There is a good amount of white boarding and both of the Instructors have the knowledge, patience, and tools to help you succeed in this journey.
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Chris Ahumada
Great teachers
Harrison and Billy are great teachers. Very knowledgeable. Learned a great deal with them. Just finished the boot camp. I am very confident that I will find a job very soon!
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Kwesi
Truly Knowledgeable
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I attended Redwood Code Academy and received the knowledge needed to be successful as a developer. The instructors at Redwood Code Academy bring all to their knowledge to table. I enrolled having no exeperince at all in coding. Now that I've graduated knowing the lastest skills in development. I'm happy and confident moving forward. It was a struggle for me but the assistance and motovation I received got me through, I couldn't be more exicted and thankful about the opportunities ahead..
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Jaime Torres
Great Experience
I came into Redwood Code Academy with very little knowledge of coding. From start to finish it has been very challenging and fun. As the course has progressed, I have been able to build projects and understand each process. Not only is the environment entertaining, and enriching, but it's helped me with real world skills as a Dev.
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Neil
Satisfied Current Student - 9th week.
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The best advice I can give regarding making a decision about attending a bootcamp at all, or if this is the bootcamp for you: go to the website to get in touch with and meet Harrison, the lead instructor & founder to discuss what you are looking for, and to get a feel for his personality and experience.
Harrison is endlessly knowledgeable in a ton of technologies, computer science theory, programming concepts, and best-practices. His real-world experience really shows in our lessons, the curriculum, career prep, and his industry connections.
The assistant instructor, Billy, graduated from a bootcamp himself (General Assembly, LA). His bootcamp experience is incredible for us students, since he knows exactly what we are going through and how to supplement lessons when the class is struggling with a particular topic.
Having .NET in the curriculum and taught by someone with Harrison's experience is an amazing opportunity as well, since so few bootcamps teach .NET and because of .NET vs Ruby job openings in this area currently.
It will not be easy, but nothing worth doing is. I recommend doing some prep work on sites like Team Treehouse, but after a certain point during self-study, progress becomes too slow and that is when something more intensive and immersive is needed to drastically speed things up.
I'm not far into the job assistance phase yet, but we've already been introduced to top specialized recruiters in the area and have had great one-on-one meetings with the instructors, as well as white-boarding experience and interview advice (Harrison was director of ~100 developers and has a lot of experience being the interviewer).
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Miguel
Definetily was a good decision to come here
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I took a course last year that taught the basics of front end development and I was able to get a job, but when I was working I realized that I needed more training, then I started looking for intensive courses (bootcamps) that will give me the skills to be a full stack developer, I was particularly interested in .Net and C# and that is how I found Redwood. Being now in my 4th week of the course I am glad I found this school, Harrison the instructor is an expert developer and champion of a few hackathons, he challenges us every day and we are acquiring the skills to perform well in a real job. Also the environment is good, Billy the other instructor is always there to help. I will update this at the end of the course, but if you are looking to be full stack developer with .Net in the backend you definitely should consider redwood.
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Kyle
Might be the best decision of my life
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**NOTE: I have updated this 5 months after graduation, original review below this**
So I am 5 months out of graduation. I have a job that pays roughly 50% more than before.
Was Redwood worth it? YES! For me, it was the only way for me to learn. I struggled being able to sit at home and teach myself.
Redwood does a good job at preparing you for the real world. You learn full-stack development, and have resources to help you out. The people you meet there are all amazing.
Should you take a course just to make more money? No. If you want to excel at Redwood and in the future, you need to make sure becoming a developer is what you want to do.
Post Graduation was a bit tough. Without prior dev work experience, it's not super easy to get a job even though there are tons of them. You need to work harder than you worked during the course to find a job. Network, apply to 100 jobs per wek, etc... It takes time. Without Redwood's training I would have never had the job I have today.
Some tips that I wish I followed:
- Code in your free time. The 3 projects you make should take up all your time. I spent 2-4 hours after class each night working on my project, and all my weekends. When not in a "project week" I suggest you either continue to learn on your own, learn something else, or start working on a side project. The more code you can have on your github, the easier it could be to get a job.
- Network, Network, Network. Start going to meetups during after classes. Majority of open positions are filled by someones acquaintance.
- Don't get down if no one respond to your job app. I got a bit depressed after 2 months of searching. Harrison at Redwood helped me out of it, and once I gave it 100% I was hired 2 weeks after that. Job searching should become your full-time job post-graduation. Spend 6-8 hours a day doing it. Oh, and did I mention you should be networking and going to meetups?
Redwood has the tools to make you a great developer, but you need to put in an effort to use the resources they offer. Slacking off, not trying, etc...will get you no where. You're paying a decent chunk of cash to attend and have them teach you, get all you can out of it. Don't squander it and expect them to snap their thumbs and make you a developer if you don't try.
This course will kick your butt. Let your family/significant other know that once this starts you need to dedicate your time outside class to learning/projects.
I'm extremely grateful for Harrison and Billy at Redwood. I would recommend the course to anyone who was interested in becoming a developer.
You can't go wrong with Redwood as long as you put in an effort - during the course and after graduating.
**ORIGINAL REVIEW**
Where to start? Over the last few years I've attempted to self-teach myself using Code Academy, Free Code Camp, The Odin Project and a couple of books. Most of them went the same way. Pickup the fundamentals, then at a certain point I hit a wall and don't know where to go. New concepts become to difficult to learn, and I can't figure out how to use what I learned in a real life situation.
I decided that enough was enough and enrolled at Redwood Code Academy. I was scared to apply to a first cohort, but after meeting Harrison I was sold.
Harrison (the owner and lead-instructor) knows his stuff, and is also very personable. Another reason I chose Redwood was that they teach .NET and C#. Not many bootcamps do this. Do a job search, do it right now. Search for "web developer." There should be a ton of .NET jobs at large companies. When I searched, I saw a significant amount of more jobs for .NET than ruby (what other bootcamps teach) or Node.
I've learned more in 2 weeks than all my self-learning combined and am actually understanding how to use this in real-life situations.
Is it frustrating at times? You betcha. But I knew this going into it. I would hit walls like I did when self-learning. The difference here is that Harrison and the TA (Billy) are extremely knowledgeable and I wouldn't be able to get past these hurdles without them there to explain things to me in more detail.
The culture is also a plus. Coming from a startup, this feels like home. It's that "work hard, play hard" culture, and Harrison does a great job at fostering that culture. Pepsi's stocked in the fridge (sorry all you Coca-Cola fans :P ), ping pong table that gets used every break, etc...
I 100% believe that after the 12 weeks I'll be able to find a job as a developer, and believe this is the best thing that's happened to me. In fact, this weekend I worked on some classwork. The big difference is that this weekend I couldn't wait to do some work. Before this weekend, I would have to force myself to work on code on weekends and considered it work - now I'm enjoying it.
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Anonymous
A Worthwhile Endeavor
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Redwood Code Academy has been the gateway to infinite possibilities for me in the field of software development. I had no prior experience in anything having to do with computers. The course is intense, but that is because it is meant for people like me. Harrison, the instructor and founder of the academy, does an excellent job of making sure his student get a full-scope view of how these full stack programs work and are related to each other. The environment he has built at Redwood is creatively stimulating and comfortable. You can really get things done and be productive there. It is safe to say that being a part of this cohort was one of the best decisions I ever made. Enrolling in the intensive at Redwood gives you the tools to succeed in any software development endeavor you set your mind to.