Sabio

To help explain to you why I'm so pleased with Sabio, I'll run you through how I chose to attend. I did heaps of research about bootcamps after deciding that, though I could probably hack it with self study, I'd benefit more from a structured environment and a foot-in-the-door with provided job search help and networking. Since I'm lucky enough to live around LA, there were a few options, but Sabio immediately popped up with tons of amazing reviews (in other words, the ones right here). Of course, I wasn't going to go on just that, so I started getting ready for info sessions. Other places require you to straight up commit and go in, but Sabio is immediately different. I attended an info session online around Thanksgiving of 2016, and Gregorio was heading it. I loved it. Gregorio pulls no punches. He's always completely honest and answers everything you throw at him, complete with statistics for things like job placements (Sabio really excels here and is even part of a group pushing for complete transparency in bootcamp statistics). I finished and, when I mentioned it to my parents, I already said, "I'm pretty sure this is the one." One of Sabio's best features is their admittance process. You don't go through the college-esque applications of other places, instead you enter pre-work. For a small fee (lower or free with frequent deals!), you both get to see if you're actually interested in moving on and Sabio gets to see if you'll be able to get through the bootcamp alright. The instructors were nice and capable, and you take an assessment test at the end to get into a cohort. Other places just get you to put all of the money in up front, but I loved that Sabio had this model to help make everyone comfortable and confident. Cohort was great. Tons of work, but I learned a lot. One of Sabio's other best features is that you work on an actual project during cohort in a team environment. This means that you gain the skills you'll use in the workplace when it comes to things like working using an Agile methodology and how to deal with code reviews and mergers. The experience I got in Git was invaluable, and I'm so happy it's the way Sabio does things. And it doesn't end there. Sabio is a community, so you have that kind of alumni support that you do from a college. People are always around to help figure out the latest programming problem you hit or to pass along job opportunities. And the Sabio staff is always in your corner, especially Gregorio with his A+ job advice. Between counseling from Gregorio and one of my instructors, I was able to enter into job interviews and negotiations with far, far more confidence than I would otherwise. The result? The in-person interview I attended on the last day of my cohort turned into the job I started a few weeks after. I'm happily employed and make above the median number you see on this page. I couldn't have done it without Sabio's help. It's not literal magic, but if you listen and follow the program it can certainly seem like it by the time you're done. Recommended without hesitation.

Just last year I was approaching 20 years of being a developer for the same company.  I did not have many other developers around me, and I felt like I was falling behind watching the "outside" world of technology expand. My income was favorable and steady; yet, having to make a change was a must, and I felt like I couldn't waste much time with traditional schooling or even through online courseware. 

Learning about coding bootcamps was intriguing as they offered anyone the chance to learn about current development frameworks and libraries quickly, and apply those skills going forward. In my search for a local bootcamp, I found Sabio to stand out because it did not make empty promises. It was very honest about laying out expectations and the level of commitment needed for myself and my family to obtain a measure of success.

I selected Sabio based on multiple factors. The main one was their partnership with Antioch University. From this stance, I was able to enroll and participate in the pre-work through Antioch in evening class sessions. This period was what I called, "testing the waters." Whereas, I was testing whether I could I exert the additional energy to drive to class after work, learn about new tools and coding principles within a structured flow, be excited to be there, do the homework exercises, and continue to be pleased with doing this again and again over 12 weeks. 

Not only was I energized, I felt exalted. I was able to see the potential for more opportunities, and I couldn't wait to move onward to the immersive program. So, I gave ample notice to my employer that I would be resigning my position to commit wholly to the immersive program later that year. Based on my situation, many of my friends and colleagues thought I was taking an enormous risk; yet, as I continued to convey my impressions about Sabio and to the critical need for quality developers in today's market, they recognized my bold outlook and envied my courage.  

The design of the immersive program was one of those other main factors as to why I chose Sabio; it engages you in a real-world project with a real business owner invested in the outcomes of yours and your colleagues' work.  So just days after leaving my previous job I felt like I was starting a new one, via the immersive program.  From day one we hit the ground running, establishing rapport and finding strengths among our diverse group of other "developers."  I viewed our instructors as great team leaders who had extensive knowledge and were always able to balance the notion of providing enough guidance to help you overcome a bug, or understand an intricate design pattern in the code versus just giving away the answer. They would also lead our daily Scrum meetings at the start of the day to promote the principles of Agile development.

As a group of peers, we regularly supported each other through code reviews and publishing.  A useful teaching mechanism used in the program is to identify a topic or a recent implementation of the code and take a break within the day to pause and present to the whole group how he/she accomplished it. Most of these times, the instructors were there to guide the discussion; yet, encouraged us to be comfortable with talking openly about our code, There were instances after the instructors went home for the day, we instituted teacher sessions amongst ourselves. On a personal note, that is an example why I miss the high level of collaboration we had.

While my prior years of development positioned me as senior developer among my peers, I considered myself to be at the same standard level in that we all aspire to learn to code well by using the tools and cloud-based resources many employers are seeking candidates with practical experience. And that's an essential takeaway you should understand. Employers and their recruiters are not looking for dabblers in the hottest new trend in tech. They need people with unique skills that come from practical experience based on working in an environment like this; where specific requirements are given to you to tackle and write code to provide a solution.

The intensive part is that you need to put in the time working with your team, your instructors, the project owner, learning new concepts, coding, debugging, and even dreaming in code. All this effort pays off towards the end of the program when you realize how much you have learned and are indeed able to move forward with your career as a developer. 

Be aware of the final two weeks of the program. It comes at you fast because this is when you shift from developing all the time to preparing for interviews and job searching. It's a bit jarring as I remember many my of colleagues hating this phase because you start to miss coding. During this period, the program directors, instructors, and the support staff do a great job with providing information and setting expectations, and this is when should follow their recommendations and utilize their time and resources as much as possible because you are establishing a momentum for yourself to manage your job hunt going forward.

Some of your peers will find jobs right away, and some will take longer to find the right match. It all varies, but incredibly the jobs are out there, and Sabio is there as a resource even after ending your program, and you're in your new workplace or if you are not. Sabio allows you to be connected and call upon other past graduates as a community to help with code, discuss new frameworks, share job postings, exchange playlists for coding, or get advice on dealing with your new boss or workmates.  

It has been a fantastic journey, and I have new colleagues, and friends to share my challenges and success. A notable achievement includes a 30% pay increase from what I earned before. It is nice to have that; however, my new job setting gives me a better sense of purpose. And I find that to be more fulfilling. In all, I genuinely am reaping the benefits of choosing Sabio.  It is no bootcamp, it is a program that provided a transformative experience where it was a distinct honor to have worked within my cohort, and I feel very privileged to be part of the Sabio community.

Selecting a bootcamp should be treated with great care because you are investing money and time towards your next chapter of finding success and being happy. I applaud you for reading through reviews because I too discovered from the reports that there are a number coding bootcamps that fall short in preparing the world in need of quality coders.  

Selecting one of Sabio's programs and putting forth the effort to code and collaborate with others will set you on a path with many more opportunities.

I wish you well with finding your new career path. Good hunting.

I'll do my best to give what I feel is a realistic perspective of the situation you're faced with as it relates to Sabio's bootcamp experience. You've pry read several reviews that say stuff like, 'changed my life', 'best experience' or 'best decision of my life' which at the time they wrote those reviews was probably a genuine description of how they felt, but trust me that is far from how you'll feel 95% of the time.

In reality you'll constantly question if you've made a good decision. And with good merit you'll doubt your ability. Its hard, its real hard and if you're not putting in a 100% effort they will kick you out. I've seen it happen (no, I was not personally kicked out). It doesn't matter that you paid $15,000+ to be there they will kick out to maintain the reputation of the organization and future students ability to secure jobs. This however, isn't necessarily a bad thing. If they let every random person pass through no matter thier effort your job seeking efforts would be even harder than they already are.

The thing they dont tell you, that nobody tells you (why would they) in the begining is that when you do start looking for a job the fact that you come from a boot camp will work against you at every turn. So much so that they train you to avoid mentioning that you came from Sabio at all costs. You'll be trained to claim you worked for a "Start-up" and then you'll name the project you worked on. If someone asks what you were paid they suggest you claim you worked for "equity" (meaning "sweat equity", not a total lie but, well....). Obviously they tell you not to lie, what respectable organization would? But they tell you to do everything possible short of lying and in many cases it sure feels like lying (see previous sentence). This obviously makes the job search & interview process even more stressfull than it already is. Not only do you have to try to remember years of coding skills rammed into your head over 3 months you have to tip-toe around the fact that you just left a coding boot camp. This is a fact no matter what CEO response might follow this review.

Also, I think its worth mentioning that Sabio fired 3 of the most talented instructors in the organization. Aaron, Varr and the c# wizard Komron (all from Orange County). This left many students feeling abandoned and justifiably so. These were people they struggled with and gained confidence through and then suddenly they were just gone. This considerably diminished the $15,000 tuition value they paid. Many of us students are still confused as to why this happened. We were given a cryptic explanation of the reason for the instructors dismissal that would never allow me to declare if it were justifiable or not.

I dont mention all this to deter you from enlisting Sabio's services. But I do mention it as a reality check, this is not a short cut. This will be a real life struggle. Having said all that I still believe it is the best boot-camp around but this is not the golden ticket you might percieve it to be from the reviews. They provide just enough experience to scratch the surface, just enough to crack the job door open and then its up to you to do whatever you can to break it down. What you're embarking on is a learning experience that will go on long after you've left Sabio. Sabio is just a very small stepping stone in your attempt to cross the Grand Canyon.

Although they often bad mouth those that have paid for the high value "computer science" degrees they are still the ones that get the most attention with those designations on their resumes. My suggestion if you're young is to take the time to get a computer science degree. Be patient, you're young. It will be worth, trust me. If you can afford it, blow your money on Stanford, sure.... why not if you can afford it??

If not, go to a junior college and take a few years to get just an AS with a computer science emphasis or go get a bunch of computer science certifications. THEN, when you've had enough of that come back to Sabio and get some real world development experience. With a computer science degree and the coding experience of Sabio you would be in a really good place. If thats not an option, bite the bullet and be prepared to jump in the fire.

One last thing I want to mention. Pre-work is nothing like the immersive cohort. The cohort experience isn't just about being able to code. Its about being able to code and then get up in front of everyone and communicate what you did in terms you've never heard before that you have no idea if you're even saying correctly. You'll be required to stand in front of everyone, every single day and explain what you're working on, demo your code every week and on special occassions in front of A LOT of people. If you get stage fright, good luck. Your experience may become less about coding and more about how to navigate the anxieties that come with public speaking. It most likely will not be a fun experience but Sabio will prepare you better than any other boot camp out there. Good luck whatever you do.

***My review is anonymous because I do not want to be contacted by anyone at Sabio that may recognize my name. I did not write the review for recognition. I was a recent student that completed the full program and this is my real account of what I experienced. I was not kicked out. I have no incentive to discredit Sabio and any response by Sabio to the contrary is completely false. I've applied to a few hundred positions and received approximately 5 interviews. I have a tentative job offer I am considering.

I graduated college and spent 20k in tuition fees for a piece of paper that got me no where. If I had to do it all over again, I wish I had enrolled into Sabio's program earlier. When I made the decision to come to Sabio, I did a lot of research. I went to all of the coding bootcamp's info sessions in my area and decided that Sabio would be the best choice simply because they truly care about the success of their students. I really like the fact that each cohort has a max of 10 students to 1 instructor. This is crucial because it allows for the instructor to spend more time with a student. One big advantage that Sabio has over all the other bootcamps is they don't employ past students as their lead instructor. I find bootcamps that employs their own students as lead instructors a huge red flag simply because you will not receive the same quality of expertise as someone who has 10+ years under their belt. Another deal breaker for me is the fact that Sabio has their students work on real life enterprise projects. We aren't showcasing a simple tic-tac-toe game or a simple personal project, we are creating business applications that will be used by companies. 

Now I must warn you, please do not enroll into this program and expect that success will be handed to you. This is a full-time job and it must be treated like one. You must work your butt off every single day and go above and beyond what is expected. For the last 3 months, I literally said goodbye to my social life, friends, and family because you will not have time for that. Be prepared to come in at 8AM and leave at 9PM every day. You are doing this for yourself so I highly recommend you put everything you have into it as if your life depends on it.

After my time at Sabio not only was I employed the first week of graduating but I received multiple offers. Sabio prepared me and made sure I was ready as a software developer. I can't be any happier with the results and I recommend this program for anybody who is passionate about coding and wants a career doing so. 

If you're planning on signing up for a bootcamp, do your homework and research!

I certainly did mine, and am sincerely glad I signed up with Sabio. 

Read all the reviews provided here on coursereport, go to Sabio's info sessions, talk to instructors, students and alumni. 

All the reviews here pretty much sums up how I feel about Sabio so I'm not going to repeat it. You're going to learn a ton from instructors with loads of experience.

 

If you've pulled the trigger and are just waiting on your start date, here's my advice:

-Take the pre-course work seriously. If you think you're ready, you're not. Go over the pre-course material as many times as you can until your start date begins. 

-Keep a notebook. You're instructors going to have a lot to say when you ask him/her a question. Be ready to write down key words, concepts, and stuff you don't understand. 

-Ask questions! Starting day one, ask lots of questions. Encourage your fellows to ask questions. Dumb, smart, reptitive. Ask questions! Bother the sh*t out of your instructors(especially Gregorio if you get a hold of him). You've already invested your time and money; make it count.

-Remind yourself that you're learning something not too many people can do. Don't be too harsh on yourself when you don't understand something at first. Give yourself some time to process the information. And if you still don't understand something, remember to ask your instructor to elaborate until you understand.  

I'm sure there's more advice, but I can't seem to remember them. Just remember to ASK QUESTIONS!

Thank you, Gregorio and Jimmy for your instruction and guidance!

Good luck to all current and future fellows! Put in the work, and I'm certain you'll do fine.

 

Before Sabio: While working in marketing, I dabbled here and there with coding, but was no where near employable for a full-time junior developer position.

After Sabio: Dozens of interviews and multiple offers. Now a developer at a startup. Yay!

Experience: Fantastic. I learned something new every day and was excited to do so. There's no greater feeling than seeing your first feature being published and working on an actual website, rather than just a personal project. If you put in the work that they tell you from the start, you'll do well ("Code, Code, Code"). Everyone in your cohort works together, so it's not just the instructors that are great, but the cohort you are in usually ends up being pretty close and helping each other out a lot. 

Job Assistance: They prep you very well for the interview questions you'll encounter. They help you with your resume so that it shows everything you need to show employers. I ended up with multiple offers and dozens of on-site interviews (after the initial phone screens/intro calls). Coming from knowing the bare bones of programming to getting multiiple offers in a few months time is definitely not something I could've imagined before I found Sabio.