Skill Distillery

Skill Distillery is an amazing experience with compassionate dedicated instructors who will get you to the finish line when you trust in yourself and the process. While at times it feels like drinking from a fire hose trying to learn 4 years of schooling in 4 months should be impossible but SD seems to have it down to a science and while you may not be an expert when you graduate you will most definitely have what you need to compete for those entry level jobs and even have experience and knowledge that most college graduates will not have. I can not recommend Skill Distillery enough if you are wanting to become a full stack or back end software developer.

Skill Distillery exceeded my expectations. Coming from zero programming experience prior to attending, they make you feel incredibly comfortable asking questions. The instructors are extremely knowledgable and passionate about programming and collectively have multiple decades of experience in software development and teaching. They solidify important programming habits and practices that will be necessary when working in the industry. You can tell right off the bat, they love teaching and want you to succeed. The curriculum is extremely intensive and hard at times, in my opinion, which provides you all of the tools necessary to have the context you need to further your understanding and learning in this field. So be prepared to give it all you got. I did and couldn't be happier with what I've learned. 

I attended Skill Distillery from January to April 2023. The course starts off with you hitting the ground running and ends with you still running. This course teaches you MANY concepts ranging from Backend Development to Frontend Development using Java, JavaScript, Angular, HTML/CSS, and many other technologies in between. If you attend this school, be prepared to make this course your full-time job. There is a lot to learn, but Skill Distillery has plenty of staff instructors and resources to help you understand the concepts or to assist you with your projects. They will hold you accountable for everything you do. The course itself was extremely challenging but also very rewarding. You won't regret choosing this program if you are serious about changing your career.

This is an excellent boot camp to learn Java programming. The instructors are knowledgeable and seasoned, 20+ years of experience, meaning you don't have to worry about them moving to other opportunities during the program. The content is fast-paced, and you must be prepared to dedicate yourself to the program. Resume building and job support leave something to be desired, so if you have little to no job experience, try to find professional development networks (alumni, Linkedin, etc) and resources to complement the course. Finally, be prepared for a considerable amount of lecture vs. coding, which is to be expected with the amount of content and what is covered. Overall, this is an excellent BootCamp where you will learn a desirable programming language and framework from seasoned instructors.

As someone who had taken programming courses in college, I wasn't sure what to expect from Skill Distillery. But I can honestly say that I learned more in the bootcamp than I did in my college courses. The TAs and instructors were all incredibly knowledgeable and were able to explain complex concepts in a way that was easy to understand.
So honestly I can't speak highly enough of the Instructors and TAs. They were always very welcoming and approachable. They always made it clear that they wanted us to ask questions and seek help whenever we needed it, which made for a very supportive learning environment. 
The curriculum was comprehensive and covered all the relevant topics we needed to become proficient in Java full-stack development and although the coursework was challenging,  the instructors were always available to provide guidance and feedback when needed.

Overall, I would highly recommend Skill Distillery to anyone looking to develop their skills in programming. The TAs and instructors were fantastic, the curriculum was comprehensive, and the learning environment was very supportive and engaging. 

Attending Skill Distillery is one of the best decisions I have ever made, while simultaneously being one of the most difficult tasks I have ever accomplished. If you are looking to attend a coding bootcamp this is the one. Everyone at Skill Distillery is extremely dedicated to providing their students with the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in Full-Stack development, but you will need to put in a significant amount of time and effort to be able to complete the course. If you are looking for a challenge and want instructors to help you along every step of the way choose Skill Distillery. 

Before I joined SD, I looked for a coding bootcamp that teach Java and SD is one of very few of them. After reviewing their curriculum, my SWE engineer friends agreed that it covered a solid foundation for  a java developer, which made me feel more confident to join the program. As I joined, I liked how the knowledge was presented, especially quizzes and projects, really helped me solidify my understandings. During the lectures, I asked a lot of questions to cover all of aspects and all of them were answered thoroughly. I was impressed with their patience, communication, and experiences. I also felt supportive post graduation. Their full stack program helped me a lot during the interview at LinkedIn. I would recommend anyone to this coding bootcamp. Also, overall advice, join couple Udemy courses in advance would help expedite the learning process. 

This course is challenging and very worth the effort. If you're the kind of person that picks your education for the challenge and quality of the curriculum, Skill Distillery is the right choice. After reviewing many bootcamps, I chose Skill Distillery because of it's foundation in Java (a more challenging language than JavaScript), focus on back end development (I wanted to make things work more than I wanted to make a webpage look pretty), and its reputation for being a challenging course.

It is definitely challenging. It's a firehose of information and can leave you feeling overwhelmed at times. Even so, as someone who had no background in programming, I was able to complete the course and passed all the assignments. The instructors welcome questions and are always ready to help. There are TA hours on Saturdays to help with the weekend projects.

The days last about 10 hours with a one hour break for lunch. There are 10 minute breaks every few hours. The weekend projects can last anywhere from 4 - 20 hours, depending on how much you're putting into the project, the complexity of that week's project, and how many errant semi-colons or misspellings you might have made. ;-)

After the course, the instructors and staff still check in with you to help you brush up your LinkedIn profile, create a resume, coach on interviews, and give mock interviews. 

The course curriculum sets you up with experience for some of the most popular and in-demand languages and frameworks that large companies are looking for in their job descriptions.

It is difficult to land your first job in software development. The staff helps and offers assistance to keep you motivated during that process after the formal course is over. 

If you're looking for a great programming foundation and have the willingness to put in a lot of hours, this course is highly worth it.

The technical knowledge, experience, and confidence I gained in 16 weeks was far greater than both a college degree and a career in quality assurance combined. 

I came into the bootcamp with a computer science-related degree, and a prior career in QA automation. Any advantage I had was gone within the first week. I let go of what I thought I knew and started from scratch. It honestly would have been easier if I had absolutely no previous technical experience, which is exactly how this bootcamp is designed.

The scope of Java, SQL, and front-end material is incredibly thorough. The continuous hands-on practice, homework assignments, and group projects all drive it home. The schedule is rigorous. The amount of knowledge consumption will have you dreaming about coding.

If you invest four months of your life into this program and put faith in the instructors, the TAs, and the program itself, you will be the author of your software development career.