Skill Distillery Reviews
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Alexa Veigel
Skill Distillery set me up with everything I needed to start a new career.
Skill Distillery is a comprehensive and incredibly detailed program. They really create an environment where learning can thrive and give you all the tools needed to succeed in the “real world”. From learning actual code, to rehearsing for interviews, down to beefing up your resume; they really cover the necessities. -
Ankit
Great Program and the best instructors
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I attended Skill Distillery (SD) around end of Jan 2020 and graduated first week of May. I have only good things to sat about the program and especially about the instructors. The course work was very well laid out and had a very good structure to it. Although it is Full Stack, most of the focus was on the backend especially Java using Spring Framework. I cannot, and I write again, I just cannot say how good the instructors are. Rob, Denise, Alex, and Paul are all great. They have over 15-20 years of teaching experience and they know how to teach. They have a vast amount of knowledge but they know how to transfer it over. I cannot thank them enough. The whole program is like a family and Briana, Bruce were very understanding and made everyone feel home from day one. I was lucky to be in a cohort full of veterans, and this definitely helped me. I only have good things to say about the program and the people involved in it. However, I feel that the networking opportunities should be better. Overall, I would definitely recommend anyone trying to get into the software engineering field to attend Skill Distillery. You will learn a lot while feeling at home. -
Jacob Shorter-Ivey
A Way Forward
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Choosing to go to Skill Distillery was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I essentially picked up my whole life and moved across the country to attend, and I don’t regret it one bit. I was working on a computer science degree in college and felt like the degree was taking far too long, with a lot of irrelevant classes that made my course load feel bloated. It was simply a more effective use of my time to spend 4 short months in a boot camp vs. 4 long years at a university.
Skill Distillery being a 16 week full stack program that covers front and back-end means that you’ll have a lot more experience with a wide variety of technologies when compared to most other courses. This greatly improves the amount of jobs you’re qualified to apply for. The course is legitimately difficult because of the speed you learn these new technologies at, but with the help of the instructors (who actually have industry experience), it’s nothing you can’t do if you actually study and put effort into your assignments. I can’t recommend Skill Distillery enough.
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Travis
Great Course & Instructors!
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Skill Distillery is a great bootcamp. I can't say enough good things about the material, the instructors, the assistant instructors, etc. The course as a whole is A LOT of work and is probably the HARDEST bootcamp around, but the resources and material provided, along with the excellent instructors and team as a whole, along with a strong personal work-ethic and commitment, make it totally doable. I'd highly recommend this school to anyone looking for a career as a developer.
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Chana
Great bootcamp for new coders
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This was a very worthwhile experience. I'm coming from a very different field, and I needed a school that has strong connections to local businesses. I also wanted in-person instruction from instructors with experience in the field. This school far exceeded my expectations, and I feel well prepared to start a new career in a different field. The instructors are prepared to personalize instruction where needed, and they do a great job of breaking down complex topics for people unfamiliar with the content. The graduates also find work pretty quickly after completion, and the school is a big help with job search assistance.The entire staff is very open to student feedback, and I felt that they were very responsive. I'm very glad I came to this school. I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking to train or retrain for a new career.
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Dunwei Zheng
Best Program
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Skill Distillery was one of the most challenging and over the top schools I have ever been to. Coming from a non coding background I believe what I have learned at this school has given me enough that I can succeed in this field of work. The Instructors here are very informative and down to earth they will help you whenever you need it but at the same time push you to the extreme to get you reading and breathing code. I will say this if you are not serious, can't handle pressure, and don't like failing this is probably not for you. Through this course you will come to understand that in coding you will have alot of pressure, you will be failing alot of code, and you will be playing catchup most of the program. But when everything finally connects you will be gratful for what this program has prepared you. You will be surprised at how much you know, and you will not regret it.
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Gregory Kraehenbuehl
Graduated and Confident
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This boot camp isn't going to be easy. I think a lot of us made the analogy that it felt like standing in front of a firehose of information that we were frantically trying to absorb.
But I loved it, I remembered it all, and if I forgot anything I always had a fantastic resource to look back through to find my answers.This boot camp will absolutely prepare you for your future, and they are some of the kindest and focused individuals you will get to work with to help you on your journey. When you are graduated, they encourage you to hang out and look for a job in their lobby, and ask for help with resumes and cover letters.
They are incredibly supportive, and the small class room (I had 10) means that you get a lot of focus and attention if you need it.
You'll have to work hard. I kid you not. It will be worth it though, and you'll be better for it, and the employers they know come to them specifically for students because they know we are well prepared and people who are capable of learning. -
Novak Dobrosavljevic
LIFE CHANGING
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SUMMARY
The learning process was intense consisting of 60+ hours of work a week. Each of the instructors was among the best I've ever had the privilege of learning from. I accepted a job offer I am incredibly excited about, for a position I really wanted, only a day after graduation. Overall, it was the best decision I have ever made.
In the following chapters, you can read about my background, other students' backgrounds, Skill Distillery's strengths, the school's weaknesses, financing, and the outcome.
MY BACKGROUND
Firstly, have no fears about your background. The first person who to have a job in my cohort had never completed their Bachelor's degree. That same person was consistently one of the top performers in the course and had multiple job-offers weeks before completing the course.
When I joined Skill Distillery, my experience with coding was next to none. A couple of months prior to attending the boot camp, I picked up some Ruby as a hobby, doing it for a few hours a week. That was enough for me to know that I want to turn that hobby into a profession. I had a bachelor's degree in business from Germany and experience in business development/sales. However, I do not think that either of these was needed for me to get a job. All you need is a combination of passion for technology and problem solving, discipline, and an always learning and collaborative mindset.
OTHER STUDENTS
Other students in my cohort came from all walks of life. From people who spent 23 years in the Military, to those who haven't been born that long ago. From people with no degrees to those with advanced ones. From business owners, through chefs, to insurance sales representatives. One thing they all had in common was that they were ready for a change and willing to learn.
WHY SKILL DISTILLERY (Strengths)
I did a lot of research before deciding which boot camp to enroll. Skill Distillery was a clear winner, and here are some of the reasons:
1) BEST CURRICULUM ON THE MARKET
Java is the most popular language in the world (source: tiobe.com). It is used in many disciplines - from Web Development, through IOT, to machine learning. It is an object-oriented language, just like any other of the six languages with the highest TIOBE index. If you only learn Javascript, like at most other boot camps, you will limit your possibilities immensely. Also, switching from a statically typed language to a dynamically-typed one (e.g., Python) is easier than vice versa. At Skill Distillery, you get to learn Java, as well as the most widely used technologies and frameworks used with Java for web development (Spring framework, Maven, Gradle, etc.). Finally, you will come out a very well rounded web developer, as you will learn front-end technologies such as Javascript and Angular, as well as MySQL, a language very similar to SQL, which used to talk with your relational database.
2) BEST INSTRUCTORS ON THE MARKET
At most boot camps, you will get to learn from recent boot camp graduates. At Skill Distillery, the instructors are world-class experts and have an average of at least 20 years in the industry. They are also great pedagogues, and their teaching style is very involving. Each student also gets the individual help they need whenever working on a project/homework. Finally, a big shout out to the teaching assistants who have done a great job, often sitting with us until very late hours on Saturdays, rather than enjoying one of Denver's breweries. Good job lads.
CONS OF SKILL DISTILLERY
1 ) EXTREMELY FAST PACE
The biggest con is that you have to learn all of the technologies I mentioned above, and so much more, in just 16 weeks. What that means is that almost every day you will be learning a whole lot of new things, and there is very little time to catch up on something you struggle with. I stayed many nights until after 11 pm to cope with such a pace, especially in the first 5 weeks.
On the positive side, we did get to work on two 10-day group projects, (a mid-term and a final project), which give you an excellent opportunity to work on your weaknesses and to exchange knowledge with your peers. Besides, you will get a week to prepare for Oracle's OCA exam, at which time you will get to solidify and improve your core Java skills.
FINANCING
Skill Distillery has a deal with Climb for loans, or, if you are a veteran, you can use GI Bill. I used Climb's loan to pay for the school. I am a recent immigrant, so my credit history is short, and therefore I got a very high interest rate. None the less, the return on investment is great. Consequently, even if your credit is not too good, it is probably still worth it getting a loan and attending this program.
Comparing to some other boot camps, financing options are lacking support for the cost of living. You will have to figure out how you will afford your living expenses during the boot camp, as you will not have any time to work. I strongly urge Skill Distillery to find a partner who will offer a loan for the cost of living in addition to the tuition amount, as that may open the doors of attending to a lot of people.
OUTCOME
My cohort graduated last week, yet 2/11 of us already have jobs. Another person created a cool application for which some real estate companies have already offered to pay a subscription fee.
Almost everyone from the two cohorts before mine found a job within 90 days of completing the course. The lowest salary accepted by an alumnus I have met was still above 60k, and the highest is over 90k. Everyone I talked to said that their income significantly increased compared to what they were making before attending the course, with some people doubling theirs.
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Kyle P
Exactly what i need to start a Dev career
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This boot camp is very different from others i researched and heard about as it teaches Java! While this makes the course much more difficult, it also give you a huge advantage over other bootcamp grads who only know javascript or ruby. Java is a tough language to learn, let alone that you learn it in two months.The first two months focuses on Java and then you move onto finishing the stack while always using java for your back end. This course is well worth you money and time but know it is a lot of material to cover in a short amount of time. Skill Distillery did an awesome job with amazing instructors. I would and do recommend this corse to anyone. I was one of the luckier ones in my class and was able to secure a job before graduation. I do feel strongly that my class mates will have a developer job shortly.
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Jeremy Botta
I would highly recommend Skill Distillery to anyone interested in learning how to program.
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I originally started looking at coding bootcamps after deciding that the way colleges handled Computer Science wasn't for me. It felt like the material was moving so slowly and had a lot of information that wasn't relevant to actual programming. After two and a half years, I knew a lot of concepts, but I knew almost nothing of how to really write a program. Initially, this drove me away from programming, but I decided to try it again with a different approach.
Skill Distillery stood out to me because of their curriculum. Most of the other bootcamps put a focus on front-end development, but Skill Distillery teaches full stack development. I really liked that I could put together a program and understand every aspect of it, rather than just bits and pieces. Skill Distillery's curriculum is really tailored to be enticing to employers. The technologies that they teach are the top technologies used in practice. Java, MySQL and Angular in particular are all highly sought after.
More importantly than the technologies are the fundamentals that this school teaches. It's not just about plugging in code where it belongs, it's about understanding what that code is doing and knowing exactly why it needs to be there.
There were times when the course got difficult, but the staff members were always there to lend a hand and were very patient.
I would highly recommend Skill Distillery to anyone interested in learning how to program. -
Alex Murphy
An Incredibly Positive Experience
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Making the decision to restart my career and enter the world of software development did not stop feeling like a crazy decision until the middle of my second week at Skill Distillery. I had just moved across the country, away from friends, family, and continued employment for…what exactly? To work harder than I ever had before towards the idea of coding for decent pay, rather than as a nerdy hobby? Essentially, yes, and it was the best decision I could have made at that point in my life.
I started looking into coding bootcamps after spending several years in other industries, always working hard but rarely making more progress than simply treading water. After speaking with some old friends (and occasionally less emotionally invested acquaintances), I decided that the coding bootcamp that would best fit my needs and goals would be one that focused on learning the full development stack with Java as the base, general purpose language. Thus began my application process: with my search parameters in place, the filtering process was at hand.
The bootcamps that focused on JavaScript, HTML/CSS, and other front-end frameworks were cut out from my search at the start. It’s not that these aren’t useful; it’s that my personality type needs to know how everything works, and so manipulating only one side of an equation without understanding where that information came from would drive me up the wall. This left the full-stack camps, and in this group Skill Distillery kept floating to the top of the list. Other reviews indicated smaller class sizes than other bootcamps (true), highly relevant curriculum (also true, and continually updated with private sector input), and most importantly to me, a teaching staff that was dedicated to and invested in the success of the students. This last part was more true than any college or vocational course I had attended previously, and is unquestionably the major driver of the success both I and my classmates had at SD.
As a final thought relating to classmates, going through 16 weeks with my cohort led to incredible new friends bonded by the intensity of this process. We were all in it together, all invested in our collective success, and for all of these reasons I would not only do it again in a second but would (and have) recommended it to close friends.
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Wilson
Best decision ever
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I'm from the UK and previously worked in Investment Banking. I attended Skill Distillery after doing tons of research on the best bootcamp to go to. Skill Distillery really stood out as having the best class sizes as well as a solid full-stack curriculum. The course is tough to start with but once you begin to grasp the concepts, everything falls in place. A huge part of this is down to the instructors. Steve, our Java instructor, was fantastic and one of the best teachers I’ve had to date. He really cared about helping you learn the fundamentals and when it came to the end of the course, he really spent the time to make sure you’re in the best shape to get a job e.g. CV and cover letter. Andrew taught us JavaScript for the second part of the course and was amazing help especially when it came to our final projects (he’s extremely knowledgeable on all topics Angular!). Overall, I have no regrets about going to Denver, attending Skill Distillery, and would highly recommend to anyone thinking about switching careers!
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Jackie McKenna
Hesitant? Don’t be. Skill Distillery Will Teach You What You Need to Know to Become a Junior-Level Developer.
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For those hesitant to enter into a boot camp, I understand. I had concerns about my age, my ability to learn a new skill, not graduating with a bachelor’s in computer science, the possible stigma of being a boot camp graduate by employers/companies, and the duration of my job hunt.
A little about me: I was in the military for 8+ years (non-IT related field), 30+ years old, with a bachelor’s degree in social science. Prior to completing Skill Distillery, I left the military during the summer of 2016 to pursue a second undergrad in computer science at a university located in Maryland. After a semester, I couldn’t fathom another 3 ½ years as I would be 33-34 years old by the time I graduated. Looking for an alternative solution, I started looking around for boot camps though it took me six-months to finally take the plunge and apply to a boot camp.
I chose Skill Distillery because it was located in Colorado, approved by the VA so I could use my GI Bill, and taught Java. After completing their technical assessments (online multiple-choice logic test and a virtual Skype-like face-to-face logic test), I found out I made it and was ecstatic.
The first month was grueling as we focused primarily on Java basics. The first two-weeks of the course, in my opinion, was equivalent to my one semester of Java during my undergrad. Take the pre-work (homework prior to entering Skill Distillery) seriously. I was lucky to have a semester of Java, but as I mentioned before, the semester of Java at my previous university only helped me for the first two weeks of the course.
About a month into the course, the instructors prepare you to take the Oracle Java SE 8 Programmer exam. Majority of my classmates who decided to take the exam passed, to include myself (I mention this because of my initial fear of not being able to learn a technical skill and to quell anyone’s doubts about themselves because if I can do it, you can). Reasons why you wouldn’t want to take the test: one, the cost (~$250) and two, you did not do as well as you wanted to on the six to eight mock exams given prior to the Oracle Java exam.
The months will go by quickly and you will get what you put into it. If you have any questions about a new concept, Skill Distillery’s amazing instructors will give you their undivided attention and make sure you understand it. During the weekends, you will have a weekend project (except for two or three weekends). When you have a weekend project, Skill Distillery will have a TA available to answer your questions during a Saturday or Sunday, in Skill Distillery's classroom, to assist you in your project.
Since graduating the program on the 20th of November, about three-weeks of actively searching for a job, I had a few offers (I mention this as my proof that Skill Distillery will provide you with the skills to show employers that you are junior level material).
I could go on and on and shower Skill Distillery with compliments. It is worth your time if you’re interested in becoming a software developer.
If I had one suggestion, it would be for the program to focus a few more hours on the job preparation and hunt (resume, cover letters, more interview questions, technical questions, and behavioral questions). At the same time, Google’s search box, Skill Distillery’s alumni network, its staff and instructors, and the actual interview process will help you become more comfortable with the job search and give you a better idea of what employers expect from a junior level developer.
Though, to defend Skill Distillery and my comment about the program incorporating a few more hours of job preparation, I want to mention that Skill Distillery does a great job in taking input from students. Throughout the program, at least twice, the founder, Bruce, came into our classroom to ask us for our thoughts to improve the program. The program and instructors continually change their curriculum to meet technical needs of employers and to improve their students’ overall experience. I have a really good feeling with Skill Distillery’s recent staff hire and dedicated time to enhance their curriculum during the month of December 2017 that the program will improve for the betterment of future students.
To give you an idea of how long it took to me to find a job (a prior concern of mine), my experience from the time I started my job search to an actual offer took about three weeks. The process was 1) talk to a recruiter and explain why I was a good fit, 2) conduct an online assessment and/or technical interview over the phone or Skype, 3) complete an on-site interview, and 4) wait to hear back and/or provide additional references.
Some of my classmates found jobs sooner or later. I want to note that I graduated towards the end of the fiscal year (Nov 20) so there was less emphasis on hiring and more emphasis on closing out a company's budget (from what I was told or maybe it was to ease my concerns during my job hunt). Either way, I mention this for future applicants to consider. It’s still possible to find a job during the end of the year, but it may be tougher.
To sum up the program, it’s worth your time and will give you the skills you need to be successful. At the end of the program, you will have your own personal website, a portfolio of projects on Github, a network of peers, alumni, and instructors/staff to reach out to and connect with, and the knowledge to become a junior level software developer.
I wish you the best in your search for a boot camp!
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Christopher Bianchi
An Invaluable Skillset in an Invaluable Environment
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Making the transition into more technical roles in Software, I decided to pursue full stack development at Skill Distillery. While most programs offered only Ruby, SD focused on Java. Skill Distillery provided me the platform I needed to differentiate myself as a developer, and engineer, and learn dozens of new technologies in only 16 weeks, all of which were essential pieces to allow me to launch and design my own web applications.
They focus quality and team dynamics above all else. There was no replacement for hard work, and there was no lack of quality professors and teacher's aide assistance on the side to ensure we all were truly grasping materials as we were moving at such a rapid pace. I couldn't appreciate more the time of the staff: Cole, Erin, Rob, Steve, Andrew, Kris, and Aaron. They are always willing to put the time in to help if you are interested in putting the extra time to learn.
This program is not for those wishing to take an easy way out to become a developer. This program is a lot of hours, and a lot of work, however for those that really want to build an invaluable skillset to differentiate yourself in the market, come to Skill Distillery.
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Eric Lee
Great course
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I was an electrical engineer who was looking for a career change. I was skeptical about boot camp but skill distillery has changed my mind.
The staffs are friendly and the course is challenging. As long as you are eager to learn and interested in programming you will do well.
First half you will learn Java and get ready to take in lots and lots of information. Personally, I thought this was the most important and basic part of the class. The instructors are always excited and ready to ask your questions. Always try to come up with questions.
For the second half, we learn front end and in between. It is fun and the instructors make it easy to understand the technologies.
I do recommend skill distillery and I think it is an awesome course as long as you are motivated and excited in programming.
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Jonathan Borgia
Best REAL full stack Bootcamp
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I researched and reviewed a lot of bootcamps before choosing SD. If you can name them, i probably looked at them (it was part of my job in marketing). Skill Distillery is not a laid back, take everyone program. Be ready to take a small battery of tests as part of the application process. They want to make sure you aren't wasting your time and wont be in over your head. It is a genuine full stack program (meaning you learn back end database architecture and management in SQL, middleware/businessware with JAVA, and front end design tools of HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, JQuery, and AngularJS). Most of the other programs I researched focused mostly on JavaScript and its derivatives. If you want to be a front end designer, one of those programs may be better suited to you. If you want to become a software engineer, you should pick Skill Distillery. The staff is super involved and take the time to work one on one when needed. I've been out of the program for 4 months now and am making over 90k/yr. Couldn't be happier. -
Shaun Dashjian
A Place Where People Achieve Their Dreams
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Skill Distillery is the place to join to prepare you to start your dream career as a Software Developer. Before I joined, I researched the various bootcamps available and Skill Distillery stood out for their commitment to effective education and successful career placement.
I joined the school in January, 2017 and graduated in May, 2017. My experience has been life changing. Skill Distillery has a fantastic team of instructors who are highly experienced in what they teach and very passionate about software development and seeing their students succeed.During the 4 months of the program, I have learned a solid and effective software development skill-set and developed a portfolio of over 7 applications that showcase the value I could provide to future employees.
Close to graduation, the staff prepared us for our job search with various tips. And following exactly what they recommended and leveraging what I learned in the program, I got and accepted an offer as a full stack software engineer after just 1 month from graduation.
Skill Distillery is a great place to learn and prepare for a great career as a software developer. Join and don't look back.
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Matt Gmur
Fun Learning Environment and a Great Investment
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I graduated from Skill Distillery in May and I have to say that attending the bootcamp was an extremely rewarding experience.
I came into the program with a B.S. in Economics and some technical work experience but no programming outside of a 101 C++ class 5 years ago. The program is very fast paced and it's easy to fall behind if you're not keeping up on the labs and projects. If you decide to attend then I would recommend doing all of the assigned pre-work and as many Codecademy and HackerRank courses as you can stomach. Getting familiar with loops and methods before you attend will be extremely helpful as the first few weeks can be pretty brutal if you’re starting from scratch.
The instructors at Skill Distillery are excellent. They deliver the course material in a very clear, accessible way that makes learning how to code exciting and rewarding. Programming is complicated but they do a fantastic job of explaining very complex subjects in a simple and concise way. Class sizes are small so it’s easy to get help if you’re struggling with a lab or project. My class had 13 students and we formed a pretty tight bond amongst the cohort and our instructors by the end. Class is actually a lot of fun and I looked forward to going everyday. Class time is broken up into periods of lecture followed by hands on labs so the days actually fly by and you’ll always be engaged.
There are easier bootcamps out there. If you want to go to an easy bootcamp then Skill Distillery probably isn't the right choice for you. The biggest thing I can say about the course is you will get out of it what you put into it. If you expect to coast and do the bare minimum then you won’t learn much and you won’t enjoy the program. Expect to put in 60 or 70 hours a week. My cohort had students who showed up in morning at 7:00 AM and didn’t leave until after 10:00 PM, including weekends.
I’d hazard to guess that the negative reviews that you read here are from people who didn’t have the right expectations going into the program. Either they thought the course was too hard or they thought that they were going to be handed a job with their graduation certificate as they walked out the door. The program is designed to teach beginners how to write clean, functional code and it does a very, very good job at exactly and only that. If your expectations are different Skill Distillery probably isn’t for you.
If none of that scares you then I hope that you decide to attend. This course has been a great investment for me personally and if you’re willing to put in the time and hard work I know it will be for you too.
-Matt
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Chaz
Amazing Course! Steve is amazing!
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I graduated from this course in March and can't say enough good things about it.
For starters, if your primary concerns are the same as mine, I found a job within two weeks making six figures (individual results may vary).
Regarding what I realized was really the important part while I was in the course - the instruction was top notch and the class atmosphere/chemistry was extremely positive and engaging. Make no mistake though, this is challenging. I've got an undergrad from a top university and the better part of an MBA and this was by far the most challenging thing I've ever done academically. This being the case, the instructors' ability to make it fun and engaging is absolutely critical and these guys nailed it.
Since there was a bad review that mentioned Steve by name, I'll say specifically that this blew me away. I liked everyone, so I don't want to play favorites, but Steve was my favorite. Legitimately probably the best instructor I've ever had, and again, I've been through a fair bit of "traditional education" including a degree from a top ranked university and countless military courses in my previous career. The man literally has "JAVA" tattooed on his knuckles. Ok, he doesn't, but he should.
Give Cole a call today if you're considering this course.
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Joshua Bone
A perfect fit for the transitioning professional
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When I was searching for bootcamps in summer 2016 there were only two programs in the nation that accepted the GI Bill, so I can’t really say that my choice of Skill Distillery was based on extensive research. That being said, and knowing what I know now about the industry, I consider myself extremely fortunate to have attended this school. Some things you should know: 1) Skill Distillery is, to my knowledge, the only bootcamp that teaches the Java programming language. This is a very important fact. Java is a completely different beast than Javascript (which most bootcamps teach, and which you will also learn here). Knowing Java automatically puts you into reach of many thousands of jobs that most bootcamp graduates will never have a shot at. (If you’re new to this, do an Indeed search for the keywords “Java Developer”). If your primary interest is designing nice-looking websites, then there are certainly better programs out there; however, if you’re looking to get your hands dirty learning full stack Java development, well, that’s where the money’s at, and to my knowledge there’s only one show in town that’ll get you up to speed in such a short amount of time. 2) Skill Distillery is best suited for transitioning professionals. To my knowledge they are selectively looking for people who already have awesome resumes. You’ll be in class primarily with people who have college degrees and/or security clearances, and probably years of experience in their respective fields. I don’t want to scare people away from applying, but you should know that the quality and talent of your fellow students here will be off the charts. Not to worry though—there’s no competition, grading, or class ranking here. Everything is pass or fail, and the instructors are amazingly generous with their time, often staying after hours or coming in on weekends to ensure the success of every student. At least half of the projects are team efforts, as well. 3) Skill Distillery’s educational program can be neatly divided into two very distinct halves, each with its own very unique teaching style: The first half (taught by Rob and Steve) is a very rigorous and formal course learning back-end (server-side) technology. You’ll cover Java in 4 weeks, and will then spend a week studying for the "Oracle Certified Java SE 8 Programmer” certification. Taking the test is optional and will cost you an extra $245, however, the instructors will provide you with plenty of study materials, practice exams, and feedback to help you make that decision. For reference I think about half of our class earned the certificate, which makes a pretty stellar bullet point on your resume! After this you’ll move on to SQL databases and the Spring framework. If you weren’t overwhelmed already, this is where it really started to feel for me like jumping into the deep end of a pool with no swimming experience, but after enough repetition you WILL start to get it, I promise. You’ll build your first CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) applications and deploy them to your very own AWS server. The second half (taught by Kris and Andrew) starts around this point, and the contrast in both the course content and teaching styles is a little startling, but it works. Up until this point there was pretty much only one ‘right’ way to do things—you learned by repetition, and if you did something wrong (such as forgetting a semicolon or a bracket) your program broke in an obvious way. Now you get into some big and powerful front-end technologies: Javascript, JQuery, and Angular. With these languages there always seems to be a dozen ‘right’ ways to do something, and hundred more ‘wrong’ solutions that can break your website in weird and puzzling ways. For this reason, you’ll get a lot less formal code review in this portion of the course. Kris and Andrew are always available (and very, very helpful!) for the many moments where you’re stuck on how to implement a feature, or trying to find an elusive bug in your application, but if your project works they’re probably not going to give you feedback on how you implemented it. Don’t get me wrong, the instruction is still invariably excellent, but due to the ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ nature of front-end programming, it’s a little easier to get lost during this portion. 4) Skill Distillery provides decent, but not great, interview preparation and job hunt support. This is the single biggest change that I would recommend for the program, and I would highly recommend than any potential applicant develop their own plan to begin studying for interviews early on in the program. For reference, our interview prep consisted of being handed a copy of “Cracking the Coding Interview” on the Monday of our final week, and having a few short lectures and whiteboard problem-solving sessions throughout that week. I’m sure this will be enough for some job interviews, but I’d really like to see 10 minutes per day reserved for whiteboard practice starting as early as week 2. My advice for prospective students is to create an account on HackerRank and make it a personal goal to solve one problem a day for the entire 4 months. As far as job hunting goes, although the school does not guarantee employment, Cole (the school director) is very enthusiastic about finding placement for students, and has a pretty impressive list of contacts. The potential downside is that many of these contacts are specifically in the Denver area or else are for students with security clearances. 5) Skill Distillery really cares about its graduates. By attending this program you automatically become part of a small but growing network of alumni who have positions in various companies and corporations around the state and the nation. Cole does his best to stay in contact with his graduates as well as following up with their employers for feedback. I know that several companies have been so impressed with their hires from this program that they have gone on to hire more students, and I suspect this phenomenon will only grow. Additionally, alumni are frequently invited back to the school to give talks about their interview experiences, which makes for a very nice networking opportunity. In conclusion, choosing Skill Distillery has been the best decision of my life. I graduated less than a week ago and have had a half-dozen callbacks and two formal interviews so far, both of which I think went very well. I don’t have a job yet but I’m feeling confident I have the skills I need to succeed in the software industry. (My background: Former Navy Officer with 10 years of military experience. 4-year technical degree. A fair bit of amateur coding experience plus a couple of college courses in Computer Science.) -
R Hammond
Best in Class Java Learning Experience
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You are likely scanning reviews on this site because you would like to make a better, more informed decision on how to best prepare for a new career as a Java developer. A few months ago, I too was in your position trying to develop metrics to help me weigh the pros and cons of each bootcamp offering. I recently graduated from Skill Distillery with no regrets.
I enjoyed the experience because the staff presented a well designed curriculum with great detail and attention toward the skills employers are looking for in software engineers. It wasn't just the knowledgeable instructors and thoroughness of the various web technologies presented during each instruction block, but also the bonding and friendships which developed among my classmates.
I interviewed and was offered a developer position shortly before graduation. Comparing what I learned at Skill Distillery to my current employer requirements; my knowledge and skills are on par with fellow coworkers in most areas and more advanced in others. I have to admit, at Skill Distillery, you won't get fancy tables or snack bars, but you will get the best instructors, a quality education and the best Java bootcamp experience of those offered in the Denver area.
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J Moye
Great Experience
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Skill Distillery is one of the best educational courses I've ever taken.
The content and the execution are both excellent. Maybe these things were lacking in previous cohorts, but at this point it is very polished and is a great learning environment. My cohort is only a month out from graduation and about half are already employed in full time Java developer roles.
What makes Skill Distillery great?1. The instructors (and admin):
- Always someone available. Whether you're having trouble with a concept, or you want some overall wisdom for a particular design decision you're trying to make, they are there and can help you keep moving forward. One of the most valuable things was understanding their debugging process. If I was stuck on something for way too long, they could come over and not just show me the error, but show me how they would find the error. This led to many "Aha moments" for me.
- They all have different teaching styles and skillsets, and this is good. For me this kept lectures engaging and allowed me to learn from different angles.
- The admin-side was great as well. They were always there for personal help or even just to hang out and relax the brain for a minute.
2. The environment/structure
- You are absolutely immersed in all things code for 50+ hours a week with daily assignments and weekly projects. The combination of reading, listening, and learning about code followed by actually writing your own code from a blank editor really helps cement the concepts learned.
- Everything you learn early in the course you continue to use throughout. So even if you don't fully understand something, you're going to keep using it until it finally clicks in your head. That is the coolest moment.
- The overall energy and focus in the course is intense and part of what makes it great. Of course this isn't forced on you, but you're there with 10+ other people who have dedicated the next few months to living, breathing, dreaming code. This comes with its exhausting moments but it's totally worth it.
- Studying for (and passing in my case!) the OCA exam. This is kind of a pain in the butt in the moment because you just want to make stuff! But it really does help you learn some of the weird, less intuitive parts of Java, which you then end up remembering when you're writing some method that doesn't behave how you thought it would, and you're able to much more quickly understand and fix it. About half of our cohort passed the exam, and most were pretty close. Being able to learn a topic that is typically studied for 6+ months, and pass or even come close to passing in 8 or so days we had, is pretty cool in itself.
3. Learning Java
- If you can learn Java in <3 months, you can learn JavaScript in <3 weeks. This is exactly what we did. The strictness and verbosity of Java does make it harder to initially understand, but once we got it, understanding JS came fairly quickly. This carry-over was further demonstrated when my team was able to throw together and debug a Python script for use in one of our projects in about 10 minutes.
4. Classmates and alumni
- I sincerely enjoyed meeting and working with everyone in class. I consider them friends and hope to keep in touch and see how we all continue to grow as developers. The alumni network has already proven valuable for me as I'm getting in front of hiring managers thanks to alumni referrals.
I highly recommend attending this coding bootcamp. It was very worth it and I am highly grateful I got to attend! I haven't found a job yet but I'm confident I will, and I'll update this when I do.
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Steven Adams
Thankful for the experience
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In just a few months, I was able to acquire the skills necessary to land a job.
Skill Distillery was a challenging course, but I am so thankful to have gone. There were times when I felt ready to give up, times I didn't know what I was even learning only to finally understand it a week later.
I really enjoyed having multiple teachers present information coming from different backgrounds and experiences. The multiple rotating teaching styles helped as well, especially since different students learn in different ways.As a USAF Veteran who had a bad experience with attending a school that claimed to be "Veteran friendly", I was thankful for the care Skill Distillery gave to its prior service students. It was also fun having Vets from all four branches in my class, providing comradery and an easy way to get to know one another through shared military experiences.
Sprinkled throughout the program were several pair, group, and individual projects ranging in difficulty and time allotted to accomplish. These projects instilled the skills learned and helped me get a sense of how to work together on a team, a skill essential to today's tech industry workplaces.
Although the school lacks the flashiness of some of the other local boot camps, in the end, it helped me (as an extrovert) remain focused on my studies without distraction. I also enjoyed the small class size allowing the teachers to spend more one on one time with each student.
Again, Skill Distillery was super challenging but I am thankful for the skills learned, the relationships made, and the opportunities I now have going forward.
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Nick Lang
Go Here
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My first goal is to besmirch the haters. The only thing I can imagine is that they weren't willing to put in hard work. It sounds like Clayton Boyle had a "winning" personality that convinced others in the class to leave with him so that he could feel less defeated by his decision(sorry not sorry). My class was a bunch of normal human beings that worked together and encouraged each other to push through the hard work.
I recently left the Army, and wanted to start a career in programming. Although web-dev is enjoyable, I was really looking for skills that would make me more versatile. I feel I can confidently say Skill Distillery provided both.
After the first five weeks of study, I took and passed the Java OCA exam. The take/pass rate for the class was about 50% and involved a lot of hard work. Normally the Java OCA is taken after someone has held a programming position for at least 6 months, so those that didn't take/pass were by no means behind in class. That anyone passes is a huge gold star for the excellent instruction provided.
In those first few weeks and the remaining 14 we worked on many projects, building them from the ground up. One of my final projects involved building an SQL database, writing the server-side Java framework, incorporating two API's, utilizing a server-side python script for natural language processing, and building the html/css/javascript frontend. The only thing the course didn't teach was the python, and I was able to pick it up and write the script in just a couple of hours due to the strong programming mindset that those first five weeks of Java provided.
The course is a lot of hard work, and entirely worthwhile. I've been dabbling with programming for years, but the structured approach and necessity to finish projects took me further than I would have been able to take myself. If you are looking for a challenge and want to be a great programmer, I highly recommend Skill Distillery.
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Annie Fisher
More than a bootcamp
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Skill Distillery is much more than a coding bootcamp. They do not want to produce a mass amount of "coders". They want to produce competent software developers ready for the workforce. How they do it: The class sizes are smaller, allowing an effective student : instructor ratio. The curriculum has great depth and is influenced by market demand. The instructors are all vastly knowledgable and truly love what they do. Every single student is of concern to the entire Skill Distillery team. They have a growing alumni. One of which I am now proud to be part of. The alumni is a key component to obtaining a quality job after the program is over. Companies throughout the United States are growing confident hiring new graduates from Skill Distillery due to the reputation of the alumni. This reputation is a direct reflection of the amazing job Skill Distillery does. This is an intense program and takes a great deal of work and commitment. 19 weeks is a short time to go from never touching code before, to becoming a software developer companies want to hire and keep. With the instruction and guidance from the Skill Distillery team, I did just that.
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Steven Zuber
Life Changing Decision
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Skill Distillery is what every bootcamp should aspire to be. The combination of teachers took our class, almost none of whom had any background in programming, and gave us the technological exposure, hands on training, and expert instruction to turn is all into capable full stack developers.
We spent the first few weeks learning Java. We covered the basics of programming in a strictly typed language and object oriented programming. As a wrap up to the completely Java focused portion our class spent a week reviewing for the Oracle Certification Exam and half of us passed it. A typical Java programmer is writing code for a year and half before taking this exam.
We moved onto other technologies throughout the program, but never left Java completely. We learned MySQL to create persistent databases for our applications. We learned HTML and CSS to make our projects presentable online. We learned Javascript/jQuery/Angular to make our web pages dynamic. All of these skills were taught patiently by instructors with a variety of backgrounds. Two of our instructors have been programmings for decades and the other two come from strong computer science backgrounds and bootcamps. This combination means that I never felt that I had an instructor who didn't know where I was coming from.
That feeling of personal attention and focus is what really stood out for me at Skill Distillery. Unlike other bootcamps I’ve heard of, they’re not out to just make money off of their students. They look good if they put out quality programmers, which works out great for the students too! If I needed additional help or resources on anything, the instructors were more than equipped to help me.
On the subject of job placement, they did all they could. They helped us revamp our resumes, they put us in touch with recruiters and local groups, and they gave us the knowledge base to expand our skill set to accommodate specific job requirements. Perhaps the biggest asset was the portfolio of web projects we put together starting about halfway through the program and we put them on an AWS page that any hiring staff can go look at. The only thing they couldn’t do was guarantee placement, but that’s a rule with how the school is set up, not a weakness of the program. Four out of eleven students in my class had jobs before graduation and a fifth had a job two days after graduation.
If you are serious about getting started in a programming career, I really can’t recommend Skill Distillery more highly.
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Steve Nagle
Quality instruction, solid curriculum, no regrets.
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Overview
I'm in my last week here as a student, and it's been a long, difficult, and rewarding journey. I am incredibly glad that I took the opportunity to attend here, and I've truly enjoyed my time with my fellow students and staff here at the school. I was apprehensive about my decision, both concerned with dedicating several months of my life to a career transition and also dedicating the money that boot camps cost. That apprehension passed quickly.
You'll want to study hard. Keep your brain fresh. Work together with your classmates and develop a sense of camaraderie. It makes the time at the school much more enjoyable. Pressure, stress, and self-doubt are your biggest opponents here. Attend class, ask questions, and prep with their recommended Java instruction or your own. It will definitely pay off. They'll help you here, but they can't do everything for you. If you have a sense of curiosity and self-sufficiency, there's no reason that you can't succeed here (or in life in general, right?).
Program
The program is challenging. I came into this with minimal knowledge of development. I self-taught some python, took a class in high school about 15 years ago, and took some math classes in college. I felt an inclination to switch careers into tech, specifically development, and self-teaching was simply too slow and arduous. I wanted to learn an OOP-based language, some sort of full-stack experience (based on what I'd read online). There are very few boot camps around the country that offer a broad curriculum like what is offered here. It's very intensive--prepare to cram information into your brain for months--and also very nuanced. I'll speak more about the quality of instruction next. If you are looking to learn fundamental, common-use languages like Java and JavaScript and you also want to learn a ton of other technologies that are relevant or dominant within industries, this is the place to go.
Instruction and the Staff
The staff here are outstanding. Our cohort was primarily instructed by Jamie, Rob, Kris, and Andrew. Jamie has since left, and the school replaced him with an instructor named Steve. Although I didn't have much opportunity to work with him, he seems like an excellent hire and I have no doubt that he'll add to the already tremendous quality of instruction that you'll find here. The instructors are enjoyable, both as teachers and as people, and they care a lot about your personal development, and the development of your development skills. I struggled initially in the program, but evolved quickly to feeling great about my skill set and my capabilities. This is a direct result of the hands-on curriculum and awesome instructors.
I cannot emphasize enough how comfortable it is to work with the staff. Cole is the school director, and he's great with the students. Bruce, the owner, is easy to talk to and is often present. Janet in the back is usually busy at her workstation, but she's diligent about ensuring that snacks and soda, which the school makes available to students, along with special events (lunch parties, etc) go smoothly. She did a great job of handling our finances, including VA. The school here is very vet-friendly.
Jamie (who left recently to return to the private sector), Rob, Kris, and Andrew were all terrific to learn from. They are a group of instructors that love coding and teaching. I can't say enough as to how much I owe them; the time spent explaining concepts that I didn't understand, always being available to help, and staying on top of technological changes (distributions, frameworks, dependencies, etc). They took me, a former marketing manager, and guided me through some very hard material and some challenging projects. My thanks goes out to them. You don't have to worry about distant instructors that check out and leave you hanging. They're top notch.
What you learn
You learn full-stack development here, and it's not easy. Java and JS developers are needed in the job market, and you'll spend more time than you'd imagine on every link in the tech chain. By halfway through the program, you'll be creating fully-functional web applications using everything from SQL to JavaEE to Spring to HTML/CSS. I still can't believe how fast I progressed. By the end of the program, we were creating even better web applications by adding front-end development with JS (and jQuery, Angular, etc) and even some MEAN stack projects as well!
My brain, which I'm sure atrophied since college, was re-energized. Intensive and immersive learning, like studying abroad to learn Spanish for example, is a proven effective method for "re-wiring" a brain, as long as it's done right. The program moves fast because it has to: the concepts and technologies here are difficult. Weekend projects, both solo and in groups, along with some self-study and in-class keyboard time reinforce what you learn in lecture. Our class was just shy of a dozen people, and we almost always had 1-2 instructors available for help during labs/projects. This isn't something that you'll find at every boot camp or coding academy.
Summary
This review is getting long. The summary here is easy: if you're serious about wanting to be a developer, and if you're up for the challenge, SD will do it's best to get you there. They're still a new school (most schools like this are), and they're still networking with companies and alumni to create more comprehensive job placement assistance. This might be their biggest point of improvement, but they're aware of it and continue to work on it. In my interviews so far, employers have been impressed with the fundamentals of my knowledge and my experience with industry tech that I worked with here. I'll update this review when I take a position after I've officially graduated from here in a few days, but I feel confident about that side of things. To be honest, I really enjoyed learning again, and I'm pretty excited to keep learning even when I'm working. I'm a developer now, it's what we sign up for when we go into the profession.
Choose your boot camp carefully. It's a financial investment into yourself, so make sure that you understand what languages, technologies, frameworks, curriculum, etc that you're getting yourself into. Do more than just google salaries by language. There's nothing gimmicky here. No feeling of profit-over-student. I was worried about both, but so glad that I made the decision to attend because neither was an issue.
Thanks again, to both the SD staff and my fellow students. I had a blast during my time here and it was quite a ride.
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Kris Dolbeare
My new job was a direct result of contacts made through Skill Distillery
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I chose Skill Distillery because they teach Java and because Batky-Howell has been around for 25+ years training IT professionals. I echo the other positive reviews here regarding the thorough curriculum, the extremely knowledgeable instructors (who also love to teach), and the rest of the dedicated staff of the school.
I had been an accounting professional for about 20 years, and I decided to transition to a programming career. The boot camp model made it possible for someone like me, with no prior coding experience, to become a full-stack Java programmer in a matter of a few months. It was a difficult program, and we all had to work hard at it for long hours every day and most weekends, but it was worth it. In the world of IT, I’m obviously still a beginner. But, Skill Distillery gave me a broad foundation from which I have the tools I need to continue to learn and grow in my new career.
Most importantly … ALL of the interviews (and subsequent job offers) I had until I found my new job were a direct result of Skill Distillery. Most of the companies had already hired former students, and those students referred me to the hiring managers when they had more openings. The school staff also actively reaches out to area companies to establish relationships that end up connecting their students with local hiring managers, which is how I ended up with my job.
I have no regrets choosing Skill Distillery, and I whole-heartedly recommend it to anyone who is considering attending a full-time coding school.
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Alex
Best decision I've made
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I graduated Skill Distillery about one month ago. I previously wrote a review on here, and I am writing this one as an update. I had taught my self a little programming prior to Skill Distillery, however this school makes learning a much faster and more organized process. The first part of the course focused on Java and the Spring Framework. The last half of the course focused on Javascript and MEAN stack. For the most part, the course was presented very clearly and it was easy to understand even the most confusing topics. We always have access teachers and TAs who are very helpful, dedicated, and knowledgable, and the school listens to student feedback in order to continuously improve the program. I started interviewing during the last few weeks of the program. I have interviewed with several companies, and received several offers, one of which I have recently accepted. The feedback I have gotten from potential employers has been very positive. Also, when being interviewed for developer positions, I am able speak about programming concepts with confidence. If you put in the work during the program, you will come out with a surprising amount of hands on experience. This really helps set you apart from the competition when searching for a job, especially for those of us without a college degree. I can confidently say that Skill Distillery is the best way to spend your GI Bill. I would encourage any veterans looking to change their career to check it out. It is difficult, and it is a lot of work, but if you are willing to put in the effort, Skill Distillery will provide what you need to be successful. If anyone has any questions, feel free to contact me at alexmp1689@gmail.com. -
Riv
Not a single regret
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After I got out of the military I went straight into a private University, I did not know what I wanted to do but I was aware that I needed a bachelor's to do it. By my second year I was already hesitant on what I could do with a bachelors in Economy. By accident I stumbled upon Skill Distillery, a coding bootcamp where I could use my GI Bill! I did some research and applied to the school with Zero knowledge in coding. After many, MANY hours of coding, I have to tell you the program is not easy, it asks a lot of you and requires a lot of your 'free' time if you want to actually understand the topics and truly learn to code.Thankfully the instructors and the TAs were ALWAYS there to answer those pesky problems where not even the internet could help you, they always took the time to go over our code and help us understand what we were doing wrong and how to better think about the problem, so the next time we came across that situation we knew how to handle it. I must have asked dozens of questions everyday and everyday they answered me with the same enthusiasm and motivation as me. It truly was a pleasure to come into class everyday, I was learning to do something I loved with good people! The classes are small so a camaraderie is built really quickly, specially since you are all beginners and you can lean on each other to help you get over those hurdles.
I recently started to actually look for work and the feedback I get from employers is astounding, constantly I get told that my skill set is very impressive and they cant believe I was able to grasp it so quickly. Comments like those help me feel a little more like an actual programmer and its all thanks to the tools I obtained thanks to Skill Distillery's instructors and TAs. I will always carry this institution close to my heart, they helped me reach the career of my dreams.
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Elijah Molnar
Top tier school and staff
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I cannot say enough great things about Skilldistillery, but if made to choose the top three; the curriculum was spot on, I learned Java inside and out, and it doesn't stop there--SD prepares students for real world coding complete with backend, frontend, and middleware experience. How to pariticipate in SCRUM, Agile methodology and much more then I can easily list here. Staff, Cole Frock keeps his finger on the pulse of the industry and is continually involved in each students success, Jamie and Rob (head instructors) were knowledgeable beyond compare in their fields, always willing to put on the extra time and effort to see their students progress, succeed, and explore every avenue of software development, I would be remiss if I didn't give a huge shout out to the teaching assistants--these guys put in the hours and research to be there when you need them. Atmosphere. Relaxed yet fast paced. It felt comfortable and I never felt any hesitation from faculty to accommodate me in anything I needed. I've made new lifelong friends and colleagues at Skilldistillery.
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Michael Gomez Daly
Worth every penny
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Just completed the program at Skill Distillery. I had very little background in coding, just minor self exploration. Left with a solid base understanding of Java as well as basic web development. The team and instructurs were awesome, especially the director Cole Frock. The bootcamp challenged me and forced me to work in team scenarios as well as solo. Overall a very benefitting experience. I would recommend this bootcamp to anyone looking to get a head start in the field.
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David A.
Complete Change of Life
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I would like to preface this review with the fact that before this bootcamp, I had zero experience and only an extreme interest in the idea of coding.
Application Process/Why I Chose Skill Distillery
After searching for about a week through different bootcamps across the country, I decided on Skill Distillery. I was prior military in Colorado, so going to school in Denver sounded like a great place to be. The fact that they accepted the GI Bill was a bonus factor for me, but not the primary.
The application process was fairly straightforward and quick. After sending an email to them, I heard back within one business day (I had applied on a Saturday evening). They had answered all of my questions and concerns, and within the next two, maybe three days, they had me take a 'creativity and logic' test of sorts, all done virtually with one of their administrators. After that, I believe it was another 48 hours when I received an email stating that I had been accepted and I began the course pre-work after I made my deposit. Total, I say about a week and a half had passed for me to finish the entire process and receive my pre-work once my deposit was made.
Classroom Experience
The classroom is pretty small, but comfortable. You're close to your classmates, but it isn't overbearing. We had 13 students in our class, and during the first half of the program there is almost always at least 1 instructor and one TA, or two of either, to help. This was important to me, because I knew I would have a lot of questions and not be afraid to ask them.
There were a couple TAs each day that would stay behind after normal class hours and often I would be there with several other students well past 7pm continuously asking for guidance, and they would stay there with us until the last student left. This includes the weekends, even when snow storms slowed down most of the Denver Metro area.
The first two quads were hell, especially for someone with no prior experience such as myself. But with the additional guidance and constant paired programming as well as plenty of hands-on labwork, I would say that most of us were able to keep up without issue. Anyone who did have issues would put the time and effort in on their own time and during the weekends and they were fine.
The last two quads were just as quick paced, but were focused on Javascript and at this point I believe some people, myself included, began to lose a little focus. This was just from possible classroom fatigue or primarily beginning the search for jobs in their preferred fields of Java, toward the end of the last quad.
Overall, I believe the instructors (Jamie and Rob especially) and the TAs did a great job of holding our attention, addressing our issues and weaknesses, and learning from previous cohorts to improve maximize our experience and Cole and Bruce will continue to improve this for the cohorts going forward.
Gripes
Not much for me to say here, as I'm pretty easy going about this type of stuff. The only things I would have to say here would probably be that the last quad be locked down a bit better regarding the MEAN stack. Even though I am putting this here, it's fair to note that this is also being addressed, as we had our end of school sitdown with the director in regards to our concerns, and it's being worked on to improve for future cohorts.
Job Hunt
** Again I will note that I had zero experience in programming before this. Prior to this bootcamp, I had worked as a medic in the Air force and a Customer Relations manager in the Healthcare Technology field. I don't have a college degree, and did about a year and a half of college courses toward my AA before I decided I wanted a change. **
Due to my unique situation, I started looking for jobs about a month before school ended. Within about a week and a half of applying to a number of jobs, I had three interviews that I had gotten past the phone screening stage. Two of the three were impressed with what we had learned from a bootcamp, and they continuously stated that it seemed we knew more than most CS grads fresh from college. About three weeks into my job search I got my first job offer and I currently work for them here in Denver.
If you have any questions regarding this program, feel free to shoot me an email. I'll gladly answer what I can.
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Adam McDaniel
Perfect for gaining technical skills
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I graduated college from UNC here in Colorado in 2015, and struggled to find a job for 6 months before a friend of mine graduated from a bootcamp in her state and couldn't say enough good things about her expirence. I looked around and Skill Distillery at the time was the only bootcamp that took the GI Bill, and it was nearby. The acceptance process was quick and easy.
The school advertises 20 years of expirence, but I do think it's important to point out that this obviously isn't in the boot camp sphere. Batky Howell, Skill Distillery's parent company, is a corporate IT training provider. This was apperant from the way the first half of the course was structured: The Java-based curriculum clearly has a ton of thought put into it, and is absolutely stellar. The Javascript curriculum, at the time I went through it, was much newer and not as refined. There's absolutely learning to be had, of course, but I can understand the sudden sea change throwing people off, and I suspect this is what happened to the course prior to us and is the source of some of the more negative reviews.
The job assistance is pretty decent, all things considered. I was sent several hand-picked positions to apply for that had clearly resulted from a recruiter or other hiring official emailing the school to inquire about potential fits in their company, all of which resulted in an interview at the end of the course. The director would also send out a blanket list of good fits he had found on job websites and the like. I was concerned that the school would end up being one of the many money traps that commonly prey on veterans to take advantage of their grants and GI Bill, but can confidently say that everyone at the school absolutely has the best intentions and has their student's interests in mind. The only way I can think of to improve is perhaps to offer some sort of deferred payment plan, similar to App Academy or other bootcamps on the west coast.
All in all, attending Skill Distillery was one of the best decisions of my life. After graduating college, I still felt like my knowledge was limited to useless student projects, and that my technical skills were so lacking I was almost embarassed to show up for interviews. After just three weeks at the school, I had already learned more than I had learned in my 4 years of college, and could finally see how these skills were actually relevant in the real world. The knowledge I gained and the projects I created and added to my portfolio allowed me to speak with confidence in my interviews, and I was offered a position the day after I interviewed with only the third company I had applied for.
As a final note, I'd highly recommend looking into getting a Workforce grant if you're able. The $6000 scholarship I was given really helped, and not very many people I spoke to even knew it existed.
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Kaylee
Got a job three weeks before graduation
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There are lots of coding bootcamps out there, and picking one can be an extremely intimidating process. There are all these schools to choose from that all teach different coding languges and all seem to boast a phenomenal hiring rate. So, how are you supposed to choose?
I didn't know this when I was choosing a coding bootcamp, but the two most popular and profitable languages to learn today are 1) Java and 2) Javascript. Skill Distillery is the only coding bootcamp I know of that teaches you both - and they teach them to you well. I started applying for jobs about a month and a half before the program ended, sent in applications to just three companies, and landed a job as a Java developer three weeks before the program ended. My new salary is 50% higher than the job I had in marketing and communications less than a year ago. I'm going into my job confident in the skills that I learned at Skill Distillery, and confident that I now have a solid foundation as a developer and can teach myself myself anything that may be required of me in my new job.
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Jeffrey L.
Best decision I ever made
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-tl;dr- The professionals that I have met and interviewed with thus far have been blown away with the technologies and the level with which I have learned to program in the past six months. Even companies that have previously written off bootcamps are now interested in me and my classmates because of the serious skills we got here. I was extremely pleased with my experience at Skill Distillery and believe that my investment of time and money will pay off exponentially. -Full Review-Making the decision to attend a coding bootcamp was one of the most difficult I have had to make. The bootcamp model is relatively new and there are mixed opinions everywhere about the merits of a condensed and accelerated programming regimen. I approached the beginning of the program with a fair amount trepidation, and I knew that I was taking a risk, having no idea if it was going to pay off. I can now say, after watching previous students and fellow classmates receive high paying job offers from reputable companies, that the model and curriculum that Skill Distillery has instituted is world-class and without peer. The Skill Distillery team has repeatedly shown that they can take anyone with a logical mind and turn them into quality programmers.
I ended up choosing Skill Distillery over other bootcamps for three reasons, they have over twenty-years of experience in corporate training (Disney, Sony, Lockheed Martin, etc.), they teach a serious stack (Sql, Java, Spring MVC, JavaScript, etc.), and they are one of a very few that has been approved for the GI Bill by the Veteran's Administration. I could not be more satisfied with my decision as each one of my reasons for joining were exactly what was delivered and more. As far as the experience gained from corporate training, that shines through in all aspects of the staff and instructors that work at the school. Jamie Romero and Rob Roselius have been teaching Java and Sql/Database Administration/JavaScript respectively, continuously, to professional programers for more than 15 years each, and their professionalism and raw ability to teach is far beyond what any other program offers. Both Jamie and Rob wrote the curriculum that they teach, and have developed it over the past 16 years, continuously updating it all the time to be at the cutting edge of the programming needs of both us students and also the companies that need to have their programmers learn the latest technologies. Cole Frock the school's director has been invaluable to students in helping to connect students and companies, local programming events, and professional groups in the community. What I really wanted from my time learning to program was to walk away with the skills that would be desirable by professional companies and that is what I got from the Stack taught at Skill Distillery. The first 10 weeks of the course are spent learning Java, not just procedural programming like taught at other schools, but in an Object Oriented way. Object Oriented programming is not taught at other schools and this is why some bootcamps get a bad reputation for putting out coders who don't understand how to actually engineer enterprise level applications. Spring MVC is also taught here, MVC (model view controller) being a programming pattern integral to secure web application design, I have talked to students at events that graduated from other bootcamps that have no idea what the MVC pattern is much less how to implement it. After moving on from Java other hugely popular and highly desirable technologies are covered to include JavaScript, NodeJS, Angular, MongoDB, BootStrap, and jQuery. As for taking the GI Bill, about six of my fellow classmates were veterans and we all agreed that being able to come to Skill Distillery with our earned benefits was amazing. We came from all over the country and were all blown away by how much value that we were able to get from attending this bootcamp. One of the students that I went to school with, no prior programming experience, had a job offer across the country weeks before the program even ended. In my cohort we now have had eight students that have had job offers and or started a job as a Java/JavaScript developers, not QA testing, not sales, not anything other than full developer positions, this and we graduated just a bit over a week ago. I could not have ever hoped for a better experience or a more solid education in programming fundamentals and CS design patterns from any other bootcamp. I will report back when I find a job and to let you know how my experience goes in the coming months. I am currently in the process of moving to California and have no doubt that I will have great success with the impressive tool chest that I am bringing away from my time at Skill Distillery. -
Ted Kubach
Success
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I’ve just recently accepted a full-time job with a leading digital agency out of New York City where I’ll be working with large Fortune 500 companies on optimizing their web and mobile delivery. The short time that I was able to spend at Skill Distillery contributed to making that happen. From the leadership team with Cole and Bruce to the instruction with Jaime, Kris, Andrew and Cayle; this a group that is relentless in both ensuring their students knowledge is on the forefront of an evolving technical spectrum and also broad enough to win competitive employment across a variety of opportunities in the digital space.
What I’ve personally experienced to be the best quality of this bootcamp is not just the education you will receive but a group that treats their students with respect. Skill Distillery is an organization that will have your back when push comes to shove. I know firsthand. Things don’t always go as planned (they didn’t for me) but what I can say is you can count on these guys to be there for you in the end.
Feel free to connect and message me if you have any questions: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tedkubach
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Sarah
Intense
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If you're trying to choose a coding bootcamp, think very carefully about the kind of coding you want to do and what you want to get out of the experience. Think about the stack you want to use at your next job. Skill Distillery is a full stack Java bootcamp. We started with Java, then worked our way to the back end, designing databases with mysql and persisting data with SpringMVC and Hibernate. Next comes Javascript. By the end we'll be able to create a web application from start to finish. There are a lot of technologies to learn about to get through this process, and the learning is intense. There is a good mix of structured lectures and group and individual projects. You can be as creative as you want. The team here is dedicated, professional, very experienced, and interested in our success. They have carefully chosen what technologies to present to us, and they have carefully structured the learning experience to create the most employable and most capable developers possible. In 19 weeks. It feels very back end heavy, which is what I prefer. If you are mostly interested in front end design, you might want to look elsewhere.
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Brenton Gumucio
Good class so far...
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I'm currently 8 weeks in at SD. So far it's been a great experience. There is tons of information to learn, extremely taxing mentally. However, I can personally attest to each and every TA and teacher taking extra time to help me out personally.
Coming from a corporate real-estate development background, I am surprised how much of a challenge it's been. People come to a coding bootcamp expecting many different things. SD does a nice job up updating curriculum to stay current w/ technologies that are being used in the real world.
There are always things that could be improved upon. The school doesn't promise a job, and in all honesty doesn't "place" people. Rather, they prepare people to be successful enough to get an actual programming job and not get "placed" at a help desk somewhere.
Overall, it's been a great experience and I'm glad I came here.
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Alex
A Great Experience
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I am currently halfway through the course at Skill Distillery. Prior to this, I was attending college using my GI Bill. I had taught myself a little programming, but I had no direction and it was a very slow process. I found Skill Distillery and decided to take a chance on something new, and I have zero regrets! It has been a great experience so far, and I am amazed at the knowledge I have gained from this school.
The classes are a mix of lectures, labs, partner projects, and individual projects. I noticed some of the other reviews said that there was not enough hands on time, and that is definitely not true. The instructors always make sure to balance lecture, examples, and hands on time as needed. The material is not easy, but it is manageable if you are willing to work hard. Very knowledgable and helpful instructors and TAs are always available and willing to assist you. There has not been one day where I went home with a question unanswered. Overall, it is a very relaxed and friendly environment with all of the resources you could ever ask for.Also, for the veterans - Skill Distillery offers a great value for your GI Bill, and I would encourage anyone that has the opportunity to consider this school. I don’t think there is any other place where you can use part of your GI Bill benefits to gain such profitable skills.
If anyone has any questions about my experience here, feel free to email me at alexmp1689@gmail.com. I will also be updating this review after I complete the course.