Rithm School

Rithm was an amazing experience! I have a classical music background and a decade in the service industry. I was nervous to make a career transition into tech because I felt far removed from the industry. When I researched programs I knew I wanted a small class size and high student:teacher ratio. Rithm delivered and more. Even though it was completely remote, lectures still felt personal and engaging. I made a lot of friends through our pair programming sessions. Most of my cohort is still in regular contact and I actually got my job through a cohort-friend referral. As a queer and trans person I felt like I could show up as my whole authentic self and be seen and supported. I knew my instructors cared and were committed to seeing me thrive.

The tech stack is excellent and the curriculum is challenging but rewarding. As others mentioned, they're always evaluating and making updates so they're current with the industry. Rithm also does an excellent job teaching non-technical skills like collaboration, communicating errors and problems, and continued self-study. You graduate ready to work across the full stack.

I'm not going to sugarcoat it: the job search is rough right now. Sophie (director of career services) offers tailored guidance for what best suits you and your needs. There's not a one-size-fits-all solution to getting a job in the current climate, so having someone who can give varied recommendations and support is invaluable. I couldn't have done it alone, and I'm so grateful to Rithm's staff, alumni, and my cohort-mates for their assistance and encouragement.

If you're unsure, I highly recommend Rithm's free courses available on their website as well as their free private prep classes. You'll get a great feel for the instruction style and Rithm's values.

I highly recommend Rithm School. While it may not be as well known as schools like Hack Reactor or App Academy, I have absolutely no doubt that I made the right decision with Rithm. 
The curriculum is second to none. You learn the latest technologies and the curriculum is changing all the time in order to make sure you’re learning the latest and greatest. 
All of the teachers are incredible. My lead instructor was Joel, and he is one of the best educators I’ve ever had the privilege to learn from. It genuinely seems like he knows or has connections to every big name in tech today. Every staff member felt dedicated to seeing me succeed and always took the time to make sure every question I had was fully answered. 
I also felt like the small class size helped not only helped with one on one instructor time, but also with building meaningful relationships with all of my classmates. We still talk on a weekly basis even two months out from class, and I expect we’ll continue to stay in contact and help each other through our careers. 
The alumni network is fantastic too. Plenty of talented people front all types of companies were going out of their way to help me navigate the job application and interviewing process. Once I’m settled in my new role (landed a job 6 weeks from graduating) I look forward to returning the favor to new Rithm grads. 
I’m so grateful for all of the support and quality education I’ve received via Rithm School and I can’t imagine making the big career change that I did without them. 

Deciding to choose Rithm School was one of the best decisions I've ever made. The curriculum, company projects & job search support provided me the knowledge, techniques & tools to launch a successful software engineering career. But what makes Rithm stand out above the rest is the small class sizes and 1-on-1 support from experienced industry professionals. Through daily code reviews, I not only learned how to code, but also how to write clean, testable code applicable to the industry. This helped me standout during the interview process and ultimately helped me find a job that matched my personal goals. Other highlights include:

Curriculum: Tailored, holistic curriculum covering Javascript/Python for front-end and back-end development, SQL, HTML & CSS that reflects current industry standards.
Company Projects:  Provides a unique opportunity to drop into a large professional codebase, understand Git workflow, run daily stand-ups etc. This is similar to starting a new job and provides great content for interviews.
Job Search Support: Our career coach and instructors helped craft responses and refine techniques to succeed in the technical/behavioral interviews. During my job placement, I had a very high success rate to reach the final round interviews once I was able to talk to the recruiter.
Instructors: If you are a curious cat, look no further. Rithm instructors have a wealth of experience & knowledge for you to learn from. All of my questions and curiosities were answered during lecture, code reviews and 1-on-1 advisory sessions. Plus, they actually care about your wellbeing and create a positive learning environment.

Making a career change is always a risky & challenging feat. With Rithm School's support, I not only reached my goals, but also enjoyed every step of the way.

When I first started thinking about switching careers to become a software engineer, I looked around for resources to start learning, and stumbled across Rithm’s free courses. I loved that the entire curriculum was available and free, and that I could see where it was going and why they were teaching things. I didn’t understand what any of it was, but as someone with a Masters in Education, I really appreciated that the thought was clearly put into it and that it was all available. I sent a couple of friends who did know a few things about software engineering to check it out, and they confirmed that it was good. So, in January of 2021, I started putting in a few hours a day on the material.
I wasn’t completely sold on the bootcamp route, but as I continued through the free curriculum, I felt like I could feel how funny and down-to-earth these people were, and authenticity and human connection is really important to me. The fact that I could feel it seeping out of the webpage was a really cool thing. So, I started considering bootcamps seriously, with an eye toward Rithm, and I started reading all these Switchup and Course Report reviews that you’re now desperately reading, too, trying to see if all the nice things people say about Rithm could possibly be true. 
Well, they are. 
What finally convinced me? I connected with another alum that used to be a music teacher (if she could do it, omg, then I probably could, too!) and talked her ear off (thank you, Katie G., you are a godsend), and then I attended every free Rithm offering I could. Every couple of weeks they’ll offer a free one-night class on an intro to intermediate JavaScript topic, or they run something called Private Prep, which is a four-night class that’s meant to give you a taste of being a Rithm student and prepare you for the interview. I signed up for every single one, even the ones I was too green to understand, just so I could see the teaching style and meet them. 
Elie, the co-founder, and Joel, the VP of Education taught most of the courses I attended, and they were incredible. It was very clear to me that the personalities that I sensed behind the free course material were just as friendly and hilarious in-person as they were in print. Both were very encouraging and helpful, and I thought - if these are the people teaching at Rithm, I have no reason not to go. 
So, I continued studying 3ish hours a day, and interviewed in April. And failed. I got the right answers, but I was s l o w. So much slower than I thought. So, I studied for three more weeks, got an extra help session from Nate, and then got through a ton of questions at my next interview and passed. 
The class itself was the most intense thing I’ve ever done, and as someone who’s used to excelling at pretty much everything, I got my butt handed to me over and over again. There were points that I felt like I should drop out, but Joel assured me repeatedly that I was doing great, and that I had nothing to worry about and to trust the process. That’s a phrase you’ll hear a lot at Rithm. It’s so hard to do, but they are 100% correct. Trust them, they know what they’re doing and if you’re in trouble, they’ll let you know and help you. I’ve never been in a learning environment that supportive, and it was the thing that got me through. 
Speaking of supportive, another magical thing about Rithm is the people they let in - my cohort was full of smart, curious, driven, folks from a wide variety of backgrounds and we cheered each other on and encouraged each other. Three months later, we have a standing meeting to get together once a week and check in, and it’s great to still be able to support each other and catch up even though our time at Rithm is over. 
So here’s the part where I drop the other shoe…I believe in the quality and mission of Rithm so much, that when they offered me a job on graduation day, I took it without hesitation. Having worked with them every day, all day, for four solid months, I knew that these were humans that would make me happy to be around. And it’s true. Working here is the first job I’ve ever had where I truly look forward to what I’m going to accomplish every day, and get excited to go to work. The behind-the-scenes is just as good as what’s presented to the students, and that’s a rare thing for a workplace to be. As a Software Engineer/Community & Partnerships Manager, I get to do engineering work on Rithm’s websites and systems, and I get to connect with other people and organizations to help get the word out about Rithm and make our student and alum experience even better. Attending Rithm is literally one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Feel free to find me online and ask questions - I’m always happy to chat!

I have virtually nothing but great things to say about Rithm. I did a fair amount of research ahead of time trying to figure out the best program to choose. In the end I was deciding between Hack Reactor, Rithm, and Flatiron and (after a lengthy pros and cons list) chose Rithm because of its class size, language/frameworks it focused on, company projects, and alumni I spoke to.

Having worked my way through the program as the second "pandemic" cohort (so we were virtual), I can say I could't be happier with my decision. Between the level of instruction, preparedness of the lectures, order in which material is presented, and small class sizes (mine was very small given the start of the pandemic at ~12 I believe), I was able to understand the material presented, easily pursue my areas of confusion, and even dive into material beyond the curriculum. The instructors truly care about whether you understand the material and are willing to spending time with you on an individual basis or provide detailed feedback on weekend projects. The community is also fantastic during and after the program. Though I have not attended other bootcamps, I would easily recommend this bootcamp to anyone interested in participating in a bootcamp.

Things to consider that could possibly change my glowing recommendation:

• They will cold call on you during class - this was fantastic to make sure I was engaged but obviously not for everyone
• It is more expensive than other bootcamps - given their financial options, this still feels like a no brainer but something to consider
• I loved the two instructors I had, but I spent very little time with the other instructors - I've heard they have quite a high bar for instructors and have heard nothing but good things from other alum
• I spent time in class (~9am - ~5pm), time outside of class reviewing (probably another ~2 - 4 hours of the day), and then ~10 hours between Saturday and Sunday working on our weekend project/reviewing material. I think this is true in any bootcamp but fully committing to the 4 month program ultimately makes the most of the program

About Me: I attended Rithm school from 02/2021 - 06/2021. I left a career that I felt unfulfilled with as a biochemist in a very-well recognized biotech company in the Bay Area, California. Great work but just a bad fit in the role left me a bit sour, burnt out and looking for a change. I graduated university in 2014 with a B.S. in Biochemistry with great grades at an unranked and unrecognized private college.  I worked there at the biotech for a few years and did a couple of online programs (M.S. Analytics and a B.S. in computer science online) while working to see if I liked it. Please don't let the degrees fool you - if I were to do this all over again, I would study for the entrance exam to Rithm School 100 times over getting the degrees. However, I will admit that I do think they landed me interviews easier than others when blasting them out.

I felt I still lacked the confidence, portfolio, and network to succeed so I shopped around for a few boot camps. I also pinged a former coworker alumnus (she didn't know me but I reached out on LinkedIn - highly recommend doing this) and she attended a boot camp and highly recommended to pursue a boot camp. She became a Data Scientist from a lab job so I definitely heeded her advice.

Choosing The Bootcamp: I considered HackReactor, Rithm School, and AppAcademy - the top programs in SF. I didn't like the tech stack taught at AppAcademy so I applied to Rithm School and got in! I was stoked! I also applied to HackReactor because their tuition was cheaper and a shorter program but it felt really impersonal compared to Rithm. I came from a corporate impersonal environment so I didn't like that. Maybe it's true that I was coddled in private school haha. Oh well. I didn't put much effort into studying and didn't get in there but was completely happy with my choice in Rithm.

The Program: Their tech stack is solid, the curriculum is awesome and relevant (Python + Javascript + React, etc. - check out their home page as it changes - https://www.rithmschool.com/ ), and I was so impressed with the caliber of my cohort. Everyone was smart, hardworking, and a pleasure to work with. A little bit of trouble sorting out some internet issues but overall that was the only issue. A major plus is you work on a real live codebase. Not one that you can write yourself but one you get to sift through - work with other engineers, fix tickets, communicate asynchronously, with GitHub version control, etc. It REALLY builds your confidence as an engineer. It also gives you interesting things to talk about during an interview. This is the major technical differentiator for the boot camp vs the other ones.

The only con I would say is that it is a little expensive and being remote was a bit weird BUT (and a big but) financing is very easy and the salaries after are well worth it. DO IT!

Post BootCamp and Salary Stuff: I actually had some money left over and was still pretty burnt out from my prior career so I spent almost 2 months in Mexico clubbing... ehemm..... I mean studying for interviews. I also finished my comp sci capstone and spoke a bunch of Spanish there so don't judge me too hard! After bombing an interview, flew back to the US and started actually studying for interviews. I started applying and getting a lot of traction about a month after I really started the process. I sent about 50 apps a day and had it streamlined to a little over an hour for that. HOWEVER, THE HIGHEST YIELD APPROACH IS LOOKING FOR ROLES AT YOUR FRIENDS/FAMILIES COMPANIES SEEING IF A ROLE IS AVAILABLE AND IF THEY WILL REFER YOU. Also, the interviews from these are waaay easier.

Salary + Offers: Guesstimating all the numbers here except the offers....over 2.5 months from actually trying to get interview -  post Mexico - to starting the new job: 15+ phones screens, 6 tech interviews, 2 offers: 1) 120k salary at a startup in SF - full stack software engineer - weak benefits, high stress, low probability of product success, 2 weeks vacation, equity grant but is meaningless unless there's a liquidation event and high valuation which from funding rounds didn't paint a rosy picture. 2) 101k + a bunch of other benefits at a biotech. I took the biotech as it came with tons of vacation for American standards, equity grant up front (30k after a year), bonus (target at 10-12k), was established, less working hours, I felt I would love the work, etc. 

TLDR: Take The Leap And Do Rithm, Study A Lot, Get Some Killer Offers and Most of all.... be Happy With Your New Career Where You Build Cool Stuff!!!

I had a fantastic experience at Rithm School (Class of July 2021) and would highly recommend for anyone who is considering the bootcamp path to becoming a Software Engineer.

Key highlights:

• Company Projects: This by far is what makes Rithm stands out from its competitors. We were able to get exposure to working in a live codebase to fix bugs, create features, practicing scrum based development. When trying to get your 1st job after a bootcamp, I was able to talk about this experience in every interview and it caught the attention of every interviewer I had.

• Curriculum + Instruction: The curriculum is up-to-date with the changing dynamics, best practices, and technologies of the dev community. My class size was 11 and we had 2 instructors + a teaching assistant which made the student to teacher ratio great. It was easy to ask questions during projects and get a thorough code reviews and feedback. I continue to use what I learned in these code review sessions in my day to day job to practice good coding habits/skills.

• Job Support + Community: What also makes this program standout is its dedicated 2 weeks to recruiting prep. One week of technical prep such as white boarding, speaking on technical topics, etc. The 2nd week on behavioral such as Linkedin profiles, cold emailing, networking with engineers in the field, panels etc. I found these very helpful in getting me ready for the post bootcamp application cycle in making the most of my time and reach the end goal of getting competitive offers in the industry. In addition, Rithm as an alumni mentorship program and I had a great mentor who met with me to do practice problems, talk through the application highs and lows and just provide support during a stressful time. This is in addition to our career coach from the school who met with us every 2 weeks after the program to check-in on our application process. The community looks out for each other and I can speak to that personally as I ended up getting my offer through a referral from a classmate.

In conclusion, Rithm is longer and more expensive than most bootcamps out there, but it is well worth the extra investment for a life changing decision. 

Rithm School was amazing! I loved the small class sizes, and their curriculum is solid. I’m a fan of how they try to keep up with industry standards with the materials they teach. The structure of having a lecture in the morning, lab right before lunch, another lecture after lunch, and another lab in the late afternoon was super effective in helping me learn and retain everything well. My one critique is that not all the instructors are on the same level, and your mileage may vary for code review sessions and quality of lectures. Also, I really appreciate having the company projects, and it’s one of their biggest selling points that distinguish them from other bootcamps, but I will say that the quality of the project also varies depending on which one you get. Overall, it was a great program and it definitely prepared me well (especially with React) and landed me an awesome role after 3 months. What you put into it is what you get, and you gotta take accountability and ownership of your learning experience.  

The admissions process at Rithm School gives you an idea of how the classes will be.  First, you solve a couple easy/medium questions and once you pass, you schedule a pair programming interview with an instructor.  Yes, it's really just you and one of the instructors pair programming (and not you with 20 other people in a Zoom breakout).  They'll challenge you and ask you how you can make your code better, or if there's another way to solve what you just solved.  They also give specific feedback on what you could improve.  This process is pretty indicative of what you can expect from Rithm - a challenge, but with someone guiding and helping you along the way.

The days are typically broken into a morning lecture & lab, then a corresponding afternoon lecture & lab.  Mornings go from 9-12 and afternoon goes from 1-6.  Expect to be working on labs with a partner for a majority of the time, with instructor code reviews every couple of sections.  If you get stuck, you're free to call in an instructor at any time, although you should spend 20-30 minutes trying to figure it out with your partner.  Code reviews are essential because you'll be able to get immediate feedback on what you just wrote, so it's appreciated that these are baked into the lab time!  Even though classes end at 6, you should either study & solidify the day's lectures or if you have it down, take a look at tomorrow's lecture notes to get ahead.  I spent 3-4 hours every night studying the day's lectures & practicing related problems on my own.

One of the best things about Rithm is the weekend assessments.  I know, I knoooow, no one likes weekend homework!  But these are thoughtfully created to help you solidify the concepts learned that week, on your own (vs with a lab partner).  Expect to take anywhere from 6-12 hours (avg ~8hr for me) to complete these.  They give you a prompt and some base requirements, but a lot of it is up to you as a developer to decide what you think is the best solution.  You have the whole weekend to submit it and an instructor will go over your answers and code.  THIS FEEDBACK IS INVALUABLE!  You can really tell the instructors read your code, line-by-line, and give you feedback on how to make your code more readable or performant.  This really helped me sharpen my skills as a developer and I cannot thank the instructors enough for taking the time to do this!!!

Another great thing about Rithm is the internship.  I don't know how much having an internship helped on my resume, but it doesn't hurt!  I mostly saw the internship as a glimpse into the future as a developer.  Yes, we're thrown into a production code base.  No, we don't know what any of this code does, BUT that's ok and expected.  Working on a bug for 3 days made me realize that the world of software development isn't always making cool and flashy apps, sometimes it can be a drag and would I be ok with that?  (Answer: yes!) It helped me set expectations of what real work could potentially look like and emotionally prepared me for my future career.

One amazing thing about Rithm that I think is underrated is the career coaching portion.  Sure, we're not learning to code anymore, but the career coach Zach prepared a very thoughtful set of lectures that really helped me, both in the job search and in general life lessons.  He starts with reviewing your resume (I had to revise 3 times) and opens the career coaching week with how to deal with rejection, finding out what you value, and how to look for jobs that align with your values.  Throughout the career coaching week, Zach had hands-on activities for us to practice/do.  However, DON'T expect Zach to look for jobs to throw your way - looking for jobs is entirely your responsibility, but Zach will always be there to help answer any questions you have, even past the career coaching week.

The single best thing about Rithm is the instructors.  They're super knowledgable, patient, and willing to answer any question you have about the curriculum.  You're matched with an instructor as your advisor, who you meet with every other week.  These are mostly student-led so don't expect them to have an agenda for the meeting - unless you do!  I used this time to air out my anxiety about my career change and sometimes asked them to re-teach concepts I didn't understand or ask for advice on how to improve XYZ.  Beyond that, during the lecture and lab time, they are entirely focused on your class and can take the time to explain things slowly or otherwise in a way that allows students to really grasp the lesson.  You can definitely tell they are there to help you succeed, so never be shy about asking questions!  Also, maybe unpopular opinion: I like that they cold call during lectures to make sure you understand previous concepts and/or the material that was just taught.  It reinforces what you should know but there's no shame or embarrassment if you don't know.  (I literally answered a question with: "I have no idea" and the instructor was like "That's fine")

Attending Rithm School was one of the best decisions of my life! Like all bootcamps, it wasn't 100% perfect, but to me, the drawbacks are completely outweighed by the benefits. Here is an honest review of Rithm based on my (REMOTE) experience:
Environment/Culture: Pros: 

• SUPER collaborative and tons of pair programming experience. It really helped me improve my technical communication, and it was a great way to connect with my classmates. 
• I thought that the cold calling during lectures would be scary, but the instructors make you feel comfortable so even if you don't know the answer to a question it's not a big deal.
• Everyone in my cohort was supportive, friendly, and a delight to work with. Even after graduation, many of us stay in touch regularly through weekly Zoom meet-ups. We all want to help each other succeed!
• Zoom + Slack === a near-perfect virtual experience.
• Rithm has a strict "anti-burnout" culture, unlike the big bootcamps like Codesmith, Hack Reactor, App Academy, etc. In my opinion, this made learning much more efficient and enjoyable. 

Cons:

• Although the remote environment was as good as I think it could've been, it would've been extra awesome to attend Rithm in person!

Instructors:
Pros:

• The instructors are super knowledgeable and friendly - I always felt comfortable asking questions. Due to the small class size, they were usually very quick to hop into our Zoom breakout rooms when we needed help.
• You get assigned one instructor to meet with 1-on-1 every other week. This is a great opportunity to get your code reviewed in more detail, do mock coding interviews, or just chat about random stuff.  

Cons

• Some instructors are more prepared to help with certain topics than others, so the time it takes you to get "un-stuck" may differ depending on who joins your breakout room.

Curriculum:
Pros:

• The curriculum was extremely up-to-date and relevant, and I loved the emphasis on testing, documentation, security, and fundamentals of how the web works.
• If you find yourself with extra time, there are PLENTY of "further study" materials that will push you to learn and practice with more advanced topics.
• By the end, you'll have built tons of mini projects and a few big ones! Project-based learning is highly useful for solidifying topics that you cover in lectures.

Cons:

• They would probably need an extra week or two to fit this in, but more of a focus on CSS/accessibility or DSA would have been nice.
• "What you put in is what you get out". You do have to meet the minimum requirement of passing the weekend assignments, but you can also learn way more if you put in extra time to ask instructors more questions and/or do the optional "further study". This isn't really a drawback, but just something to keep in mind - knowledge won't just be handed to you, you have to put in the work to make it the best experience possible.

Company projects:
Pros:

• Company projects set Rithm apart from all of the other bootcamps. No other bootcamp that I've heard of does this. It is basically a mini-internship. 
• You get to work on a team to build some cool things in a complex codebase! By the end I had great real-world experience for my resume and I was a much more confident engineer. 

Cons:

• Instructors are busy during this time preparing for the upcoming cohorts, etc., so they are sometimes spread pretty thin depending on the size of the team (my team was on the larger side with 6 people) and the complexity of the project. It usually wasn't an issue, but sometimes it took a while to get help when I was stuck.
• Some of the company projects aren't with actual companies - one of the projects in my cohort was an open-source project. Still a really cool experience, but just a bit misleading.

Outcomes and Job Support:
Pros:

• I got a job at a company I'm really excited about only 3 weeks after graduating! Although a big part of it was luck (I was referred by a friend in my cohort), I owe a lot of my success in the interviews to Zach (the career coach) who helped me prepare for interviewing and negotiation, and the whole Rithm experience for training me to be a skillful and confident software engineer!
• After graduating, Zach was always available to answer questions and meet with us regularly. He even found time during his busy day to meet with me right before I had a scary negotiation phone call! You can tell that he loves his job and is passionate about helping us find HIGH QUALITY jobs.
• It's been a little over a month since graduation and at least 5 out of the 16 people in my cohort have gotten job offers already! (4 have accepted offers). 1 person went to grad school, so it's more like 5/15 people.
• The alumni network keeps growing and is filled with supportive and successful engineers that want to help Rithm grads land great jobs! 

Cons:

• I can't really think of any significant areas of improvement here! If anything, perhaps a few more mock technical interviews would have been useful.

I will also add that they regularly had us fill out feedback surveys. Rithm is continuously improving their curriculum and experience based on the feedback - they truly care about providing you with the best learning experience possible!
 
TLDR: If you're debating between Rithm and the other top bootcamps, choose Rithm for the small class sizes, excellent curriculum, company projects, and overall great learning environment and culture!! You won't regret it.
 

Initially, I didn't know what to expect going into this program but the Instructors are great and caring. I had classmates from different cultures and backgrounds that all succeeded throughout my time as a student. There were three active instructors in my cohort of about 15 or so students. Having three instructors on call helped a lot. I thought the lectures were very concise and clear with a lot of time for paired programming. The career coach definitely takes time to make sure you're on track after graduation and Is always of resource as someone who can give advice, help and any information you need well beyond graduation. The staff here are most definitely one of the most caring educators I've had in my life and would recommend this program without a doubt.