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Skill Distillery is an intensive, 16-week Java bootcamp in Denver, Colorado. The course is arranged into three units – Java Programming, Server-side Java, and Front-end Development. The curriculum focuses on the fundamentals of programming, Java (and its libraries), unit testing, Spring, Spring MVC, and using a source code repository. Students will also gain experience deploying web content to a web server and navigating the server file system from the command line. Skill Distillery graduates will be prepared to take the Oracle Certified Associate – Java Programmer exam and will be on track for a career as a web interface designer or a full stack application developer.
No prior coding experience is required; instead, Skill Distillery looks for driven, determined and passionate people wanting to make a change in their life. Prospective applicants must complete an online assessment, meet with an admissions advisor, and finish a logic test.
Skill Distillery’s parent company, Batky-Howell, has more than 25 years of experience training more than 40,000 IT professionals from companies such as HP, Lockheed Martin, Level3, Time Warner and Disney.
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 th...
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.
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):
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):
2. The environment/structure
3. Learning Java
4. Classmates and alumni
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.
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 d...
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.
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 pro...
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.
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 en...
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.
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 complete...
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.
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.
...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.
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 li...
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.
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...
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.
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, Jam...
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.
Course Report readers can receive an Exclusive Scholarship to Skill Distillery!
How much does Skill Distillery cost?
Skill Distillery costs around $19,950.
What courses does Skill Distillery teach?
Skill Distillery offers courses like Full-Stack Web Development w/ Java Bootcamp (Online), Full-Stack Web Development w/Java Bootcamp (Onsite).
Where does Skill Distillery have campuses?
Skill Distillery has an in-person campus in Denver.
Is Skill Distillery worth it?
Skill Distillery hasn't shared alumni outcomes yet, but one way to determine if a bootcamp is worth it is by reading alumni reviews. 145 Skill Distillery alumni, students, and applicants have reviewed Skill Distillery on Course Report - you should start there!
Is Skill Distillery legit?
We let alumni answer that question. 145 Skill Distillery alumni, students, and applicants have reviewed Skill Distillery and rate their overall experience a 4.73 out of 5.
Does Skill Distillery offer scholarships or accept the GI Bill?
Yes, Course Report is excited to offer an exclusive Skill Distillery scholarship for $500 off tuition! Skill Distillery accepts the GI Bill!
Can I read Skill Distillery reviews?
You can read 145 reviews of Skill Distillery on Course Report! Skill Distillery alumni, students, and applicants have reviewed Skill Distillery and rate their overall experience a 4.73 out of 5.
Is Skill Distillery accredited?
Skill Distillery is a certified vocational school by the state of Colorado.
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