SPICED Academy

I'm super happy I attended the boot camp at Spiced!
All of the staff is super helpful and has such a positive energy. 

I started with basic knowledge of HTML and CSS and learned a lot about web development and feel definitely job-ready.

Things which can be improved:
Since it is a very personal experience and it very much depends on everyone's self, I still think that the BootCamp can be a bit more intense. Sometimes there was a bit too much free time between the classes. This time could have been used to dive into details or to teach additional technologies.

But nonetheless, I would definitely come for another BootCamp to Spiced as every Teacher is such a cool person!

I participated in this Bootcamp during the summer '22 and I cannot be happier with the experience. Nine intense weeks fully immersed in the learning process have equipped me with the tools I need to start my career as Data Analyst: Python, SQL and Tableau, plus career coaching that increases the chances to find a job after the Bootcamp. 

My recommendation for anyone interested in this Bootcamp is to have some basic knowledge of Python. Although the course takes you from the very basics, having some idea of every topic will speed up the process. 

Skillful and kind instructors, nice location, and quality content make this one of the best learning experiences of my career.  

The Data Analytics course at Spiced Academy in Berlin teaches data analysis using Python, SQL and Tableau. Additionally creating and working with databases as PostgresSQL and interactive visualization. The curriculum is logically designed and well thought out. The teachers guide the students through the course material professionally and with passion and patience. I personally could learn a lot and enjoyed the challenges. I feel well prepared for a carrier in Data Analysis. 

I have a natural science background and decided to switch careers to the field of Data Science and Data Analytics. My motivation to take the SPICED Data Science Bootcamp was to brush up my Python programming skills and to learn the current data science methods in hands on projects. I had already some self taught experience in python, but was not confident enough in my programming skills to use them in my projects. The bootcamp changed that!
Each week brought a new project with increased difficulty level that often seemed impossible to achieve at first, but with ceaseless help of the teachers and full time commitment every hurdle could be taken. The curriculum included a variety of data science methods and the mathematical theory to go with it. Because of the big number of topics, it was often not possible to explore everything in depth. However students were encouraged to focus on specific fields they were interested in and neglect others. Also, by design, every challenge was a team effort. There was no toxic behaviour and cooperation was always encouraged by the SPICED team. The teachers often went out of the way to help with bug-fixing or explanations of complex topics.
In the end, the bootcamp gave me exactly what I hoped to get. It gave me the confidence to apply for Data Science positions as a career changer and allowed me to enter the thrilling and wide field of data science. I had a great time!

I completed the Data science boot camp with Spiced academy 2021 April - Jul and I can honestly say it was exciting, tough and it will push your limits and test you. 
All the teachers and staff were helpful and went above and beyond to provide a quality instruction environment and they also provided HR support and pointers on how to improve your Github, CV, and LinkedIn profiles to help improve their graduate's chances at the Job market. 
On a personal note, I wish I had practiced more exercises with solutions on the topics of Pandas and Python as this would really really help during the course also get second computer monitor.
I wish future students good luck on their journey to becoming Data Scientists and Developers.

Kind Regards

During lockdown I completed the Data Science Boot Camp to 100% remote. Which was a quiet tough challenge for me as newby in coding, guess a little more tough as to do the class room course. Due to 100% remote class room I was missing a little the interaction between or after the class room sessions between us students. Anyway it was a great experience which I didn't wanna miss, especially with our very knowledgeable teachers which gave us a great support! As well the Spiced team around us gave a great support and take care that everything is running smooth, thanks!
At the end I could only recommend this course to every data friend to get a good insight about what is possible in the world of Data Science. Even, as in my case, that you not go ahead as Data Scientist or Analyst, you can participate from the Boot Camp in every data related position. 

Spiced successfully kickstarted my career in tech. That's it. What else can I say.
I also learned a lot about problem solving in general.
The teachers were very approachable, the curriculum was very well prepared and thought out imo, and I had a great connection with other students.
It can be a little overwhelming if you haven't coded before, so I'd definitely recommend preparing as much as possible. The more you prepare the easier of a time you'll have, plus you get to ask much more in depth question and understand the topics on a much deeper level if you have your basics covered already.

I  graduated from the full stack web developer course in June 2021. Following graduation, I received one-to-one career coaching to enable me to successfully gain employment within software development.

The course structure and delivery is well planned and industry applicable. The Spiced team are attentive, knowledgeable and always willing to support. 

I remain in touch with a lot of the Spiced team and I would definitely recommend a bootcamp and Spiced for anyone looking to become a software developer.

I decided to change career path and finally work in something I like. Thanks to spiced and it’s wonderful teachers, I finally work in something do something that I enjoy. I found an internship one month after graduating, and currently a trainee software developer. So if you are motivated to work intensively during 3 months, (and maybe go through some weekly mental breakdowns lol) then just go for it! Definitively worth the hard work. 

My time at Spiced Academy was a super career-reset. After making the tough decision of a career switch during the pandemic, there was also choosing the right school. I read online about bootcamps in Berlin and they always mentioned that it can be a nerve cracking experience if you are not mentally prepared and highly motivated. I had already decided about Full Stack Web Development after discussing with friends in the field and online research. 

I believe the curriculum at Spiced was well-organized and structured. As I was a bit nervous naturally, I prefered the duration of 12 weeks instead of the more common 9 week bootcamps. In addition, an appealing website always helps to attract students, especially if they want to become a web developer. It definitely had an effect on me and made the decision easier. If eligible, one should definitely utilize the Bildungsgutschein from the Arbeitsagentür. The admission process was a good way to learn about the school and get some basic preparation. The home assignment during admission already gives you a good idea about yourself and whether you are ready for such an intensive bootcamp. 

Once the bootcamp started, there was no time to look back. We were thoroughly engaged with learning and our home tasks everyday. It was nice to have fellow course mates from various backgrounds. We slowly got to know our friendly and very helpful teachers day by day. They each had their own style but also a common aim, to get the topics into our heads! During the pandemic, studying remotely was a new experience for both sides and Spiced handled it quite well. It was a good balance between lectures, assignments and consultation. The course also had a seemless flow starting with JavaScript, HTML, CSS for the front end; shifting to the back end with Node/Express, PostgreSQL, etc.; getting introduced to frameworks like Vue & React and finally moving onto the real projects. While working on the projects I had realized I have already made considerable progress. Each project was different and exciting to do, as we could include our own ideas and creativity. That always helped to open our minds and broaden our perspectives. 

Finally, before we knew it, it was time to submit our final project and graduate. The intensity made the 3 months feel like it flew by. We were ready to create our portfolio, resume and online presence as job-seekers. Spiced career consultation helped a lot to achieve them, even after we had graduated. There were career talks/discussions throughout the bootcamp. In addition, the hiring department was always actively searching for prospective employers for Spiced graduates. Both career counselling and hiring department from Spiced supported to push towards the job market and give confidence while applying to jobs myself. Thankfully I was able to land my first job within a couple of months as a Frontend Developer in Berlin. Till date we are still connected to the Spiced network, old and new students. The time at Spiced will be a very memorable experience forever. I would highly recommend Spiced Academy for anybody looking to change their careers, no matter what background you come from; have an awesome/priceless brainwash and get ready for the tech industry within 3 months!

I did the course after quitting my job as I really wanted to be a Developer for around 2 years. So my decision involved a lot of research in advance because it wouldn't be an easy way either. After multiple talks and invitations at different providers, I quickly wanted to be part of SPICED. My personal reasons for that were primarily the curriculum --> modern frameworks, a lot of JS and working on/creating multiple projects each week to really have something of your own work to show after graduating. That was quite helpful for my applications afterwards. Also, it shouldn't be too general and easy - at another provider I needed to simply change colors in css and got the course acception based on that. Idk, you think about the level of the whole course then right? If you have few experience before, you need to learn so much to even start in that job anyways. My recommendation is learning the basics before and use the bootcamp for getting deeper into understanding. If you see yourself in my review so far, SPICED is the absolute best way to do this. :) I'm not gonna lie, it was very challenging and exhausting. I thought I cannot make it so often. But it was the best way to learn quite a lot in a very short time. You get a great overview of different Frontend and Backend projects what can also be helpful for focussing just in one field afterwards. Biggest props at this point to our outstanding teacher Florian! I really think that he was the best part of the whole bootcamp. Patient, funny, very good at explaining, always helpful and positive on anything especially when you are deeply frustrated :')
It took some time and still a lot of work after graduation, but I'm an employed Full Stack Web Developer now and would do it anytime again with SPICED.

The Overall experience of the Boot Camp was really Nice. The instructors were Really helpful and the curriculum was very well constructed. First we learned the basics off css and javascript then we had two big projects that were made with react and vue.
The graduation project was a Projektei of our choice with a framework of our choice.
10 graduation project was actually the most fun, because it was the first time you really saw what you learned in practice.

While going through the different topics there were really interesting job search workshops in between, , preparing you for the later job search.
They also help you with the whole hiring process and get you a accustomed to 
Tech interviews.
What really stood out was the community behind spiced Academy. All people are really engaged to help you and I’m still grasping opportunities via slack and the different channels and events they do for graduates.

If I had to decide again I Would totally 
Do the camp again.
It is a really good starting point to get deeper into web development, if you already have grasped the basics.
I have to warn you though that It is really intense and you will probably come to the point where it seems too much, but luckily there will be teachers which will guide you, if you get stucked.

❤️❤️❤️

I completed the 12 weeks intensive course in Data Science in Berlin this June-Sept. It was without a doubt one of the best times and I want venture as far to say life-changing. The faculty and staff were, and remain, extremely helpful and supportive. Course content can be challenging as it really is quite a lot (a new topic every week), but totally worth the time, and you will never not receive help if you ask. The bootcamp gives a great overview of various topics and teaches valuable (tech) skills, so the hardest thing is to then choose what you like best and want to continue focusing on after you graduate. There is great career support with e.g. CV reviews during and afterwards as well. SPICED Academy also has a good number of hiring partners, which the direct line helps to land an interview in today's competitive market.
I can only recommend SPICED to anyone wanting to advance their skills and career.

This web development Bootcamp was one of the hardest things I've ever done in my life. But it is well worth it. In the first place, I had too many concerns regarding my background because I have spent 7 years as a lawyer and when I decided to make a career change, I had literally no idea about web development and had no coding experience. I still can not believe but I found a position just after 2 months of finishing my Bootcamp, first as an intern and now as an FE engineer in the same company.  Bootcamp is quite intense but all teachers in Spiced are quite helpful and so supportive. Whenever I felt bad or under pressure, they really made their best to make me believe again that I can learn to code. 

Bootcamp is officially 3 months but with the prep period (Spiced is providing some links/platforms so that you can learn basics for CSS/HTML/JS/SQL for the Bootcamp and pass the assignment), I would say I spent almost 5 months for Spiced. I strongly recommend investing good time in the prep especially if you have no background/ experience in coding. The curriculum is quite packed and intense but at the same time great for the industry. While applying for the positions, I figured out how much we learned in Spiced and how useful the things we learned for the industry. Happy that I had this experience and met all the great people (and of course David's cat :) ) from Spiced! 

This bootcamp is a great opportunity to get into this area in Germany without any German language requirements, also worth joining for Germans who would like to learn in an international atmosphere. When I heard about SPICED, I didn't hesitate to register and try to get the funding from Agentur für Arbeit. The course was indeed intensive, but I completed every project in the end and had a lot of fun. The teachers are good at what they do. The career coaching is super helpful. I'm glad about my decision and will definitely recommend it to friends.
Application:
Don't be afraid of this 60-hour prep course and the assessment. The course is just a review of university math (Calculus, Linear Algebra and Statistics), some introductory reading, and basic Python codes. If you have a programming background, it doesn't take that much time at all. If you don't, it is easy to catch up with the learning material.

The assessment is writing a Python program regarding simple math problems. This is not a graded exam. You will receive a comment with suggestions from the teachers.

During the Course:
The course is mainly about Machine Learning (incl. Deep Learning). There are also projects about SQL, AWS, Docker, and software engineering. Meanwhile, topics like coding style, testing and web application will be mentioned as well.

The bootcamp can be on-site or online, depending on which city you live in. You will stay in front of the computer for at least 10 hours a day, and the brain work will get you hungry sooner than usual. Remember to relax and keep exercising during the bootcamp. → Don't break your eyes, back or neck. :P

All course material is online, which means you have full access even after the bootcamp. There are mandatory lessons and extra lessons for self-learning. The teachers may add them in the course depending on the schedule and students' learning speed, or upon requests.

A weekly project involves many relevant topics. The target and steps are usually listed in the beginning. You'll receive the tools from the teachers and apply them one by one. On Friday afternoon, everyone will give a lightning talk about their work of the week or some other interesting topics from their exploration during the week. This is the relaxing moment of the week.

Career Coaching:
After the class (once a week), there are online career sessions about job functions, CV & cover letter, LinkedIn, interviews, salary negotiation, job search strategies, etc. There you will meet students from other cohorts. No matter how many applications you may have written, you could always learn a new point or two. For academics and fresh graduates, it will be a fundamental instruction of job searching.

You could also book private coaching sessions with the professionals to discuss individual cases or for a revision of your CV/cover letter. The career sessions are also offered after graduation.

Graduation:
In the last week, you will come up with your own project idea and use what you've learned to realize it. The teachers are there to help. It will be an exciting challenge, and it helps you to get a feeling of real work. You will present your project online on the last Friday in front of 40/50 audiences.
In the end, you will only find that 12 weeks are not enough, you want to learn more. But at this point, you are actually more capable than you think because you can already solve so many problems in your life! The final project is proof. This bootcamp is a fast and ensured path to start your data career. 

Learning web development at Spiced Academy was a fantastic experience! I joined the full-stack web development program. The admission team is very friendly and informative, though the entry assignment is quite challenging but worth it! As a German citizen or resident, you can benefit from state aid and get an approximative 60% grant.

Every teacher was great and supportive. I went from no code to build a simple web application using all the latest industry tech stack.

The curriculum is very well organized, and the pace is relatively fast. It was not easy at all, but every day made more sense as we moved along. The Bootcamp lasts 3 months. We learned HTML, CSS, Javascript, SQL, and the most used frameworks in the industry, NodeJs, Handlebars, VueJs, and React. The Bootcamp gives you all the tools in your hands to become a web developer!

The bootcamp is an excellent opportunity to get into Web Development, both Frontend and Backend. Teachers are friendly and the atmosphere is great, even though completely remote due to Covid lockdown restrictions. Although I wasn't a complete beginner, I learned a lot. The content can be quite challenging some times. So as a beginner, I would definitely recommend to take the prep material seriously and tune in for some hard but fun work.

I'll start off by saying that we were the first cohort to be 100% beginning to end online. That would be worrying as so much of the experience would be lost, or so I thought.. SPICED adapted incredibly well, and the instructors were beyond incredible. 

My entrance exam was returned to me after the first attempt because I didn't know the difference between a return and a console.log (except that they show different colors on the browser). Today I feel like that was years ago and not just 12 weeks. 

Spiced will keep you up in front of your screen 10-14 hours a day. You will dream code and you will have breakdowns but not once did I feel alone or lost.. The light at the end of the tunnel seemed faint at first but if you push, SPICED will get you there.. 

I think the biggest positive (and this might be a negative to some) there is no hand-holding. There is guidance, it will seem vague at first but when you pick a new library and can read the documentation and think for yourself the feeling of accomplishment is overwhelming. 

Today I can npx create-react-app cd into an idea, and from nothing create something. Thanks SPICED 

TLDR: good instructors and curriculum, diverse and cool peers, space is changing but was bursting at the seams before, school is grabbing any and all students it can get and must stay vigilant to protect brand/reputation, job assistance needed improvement but is also being worked on

As a previous reader of these reviews, I think there are a handful of things to consider when evaluating a coding bootcamp:

1. Is the curriculum and instruction intense enough if completed to get you a job? 

2. Are your peers going to contribute or detract from the experience? 

3. Is the school and space going to be conducive to excellence? 

4. Are you committed enough and interested enough in coding to commit above and beyond the school's offering?

5. (for Americans) Is the program good value for the money?

6. Are you supported in the job search?

I will answer those questions in order:

1. Is the curriculum and instruction intense enough if completed to get you a job? 

I will start with the positives: David is a very experienced instructor in coding and even some of the frameworks/materials are slightly dated versus what I have seen since starting as a developer, I am almost certain it is impossible to stay 100% current at the pace things change. The materials and information are highly focused and I think you are taken on a deep dive through older frameworks jQuery that then gives some insight into the current state of affairs. I might shift more of the curriculum towards the frameworks, structuring of applications and software development best practices around Github/workflow, but there is no way for a 12 week curriculum to do anything but give you a taste of most things and not exposure.

Classroom flow was very positive and asking questions there was the move. Read all lectures in advance of the courses and pose your questions then. I found the ability to get questions answered was more limited once you actually were working through problems and projects. There were simply a lot of students and fewer instructors than needed.

In regards to the negatives, outside of the first week of courses, you will not receive a code review. There simply were not enough instructors to provide this meaningfully. I did not expect a review a week, but I think 2-3 thorough code reviews to identify poor patterns, structuring etc. would have been helpful. I have no sense of whether this is offered anywhere else, but I imagine it is.

Bottom line: I do believe the school gives you enough to get you a job if you are commited. Due to various concerns and differing backgrounds, several peers took much longer to find jobs, but those who actively applied and hustled found jobs eventually (emphasis on hustle). There is plenty of demand. I'd recommend aspiring beyond just getting a job, and instead getting a great, high potential and supportive job, but there is also only so much that you can do if you are coming in from a non-traditional background.

1. Are your peers going to contribute or detract from the experience? 

For context, after quitting a decent paying job in the USA, I left everything behind to give my entire life and focus for 6 months to become as strong a coder as possible in Berlin. I am not sure this is a realistic commitment for many and that is ok. The school has a broader mission than just people like me and that is part of its appeal. However, since the school's affiliation with the German Job Agency, many students are entering on free training programs to Spiced. This has dramatically increased the number of students and exposed the limitations of the school's structure and staffing. 

Everyone is super chill, we get along very well, and the group chat has stayed active months after graduation. I can't really give a clear assessment what the impact of the massive expansion of students is on student quality beyond anecdotes. I was extremely committed and motivated to get a job right away due to my personal financial commitment. I found surprisingly that almost no peers stayed and leveraged the space provided for the 6 weeks of job search after graduation. Paying my own money made the urgency of finding a role very high, and I was not sure that was the case for all students. However, those who persevered found opportunities and the market is still favorable enough although increasingly saturated. 

Concerning students, my main concern is that Spiced must stay vigilant to protect its brand and quality of incoming students lest the coding landscape become saturated like the United States (numerous bootcamps have gone bankrupt and job placement has plummeted). Bootcamps risk becoming a dismissed and commodity credential with Spiced simply being another certificate mill unless there is action taken now to continue maintaining the reputation and brand.

3) Is the school and space going to be conducive to excellence? 

The space was just a big open office, but I found it to be pretty calm and was able to take a quiet room for my coding when needed. The classrooms and monitors were great and I loved the lectures. The room was essentially overrun with students and there wasn't enough space if everyone had stuck around. They have moved spaces now so I am not sure this feedback is relevant. However, I would note that the space to keep searching and preparing for a job was completely inadequate and not taken advantage of for that reason. I had nowhere else I could go to for free with WiFi, but this certainly weighed on post-grad outcomes. Again, everything I am saying may now be irrelevant with the space change. The plus side is there was a coffee machine and kitchen. I had no complaints about living there and even sleeping there on one fateful night for 12 weeks, 7 days a week. Others might disagree.

4) Are you committed enough and interested enough in coding to commit above and beyond the school's offering?

Many are not aware of the annoyance and detail oriented nature of coding before attending the school. This is simply laziness. Thousands of coding resources exist online and can be completed. Complete FreeCodeCamp, Udemy courses (focus on highly rated offerings from: Colt Steele, Max Schwarzmuller, Stephen Grider, Andrew Mead, Angela Yu), Code Academy... The pre-work the school provides is the bare minimum. If you are goign to commit months and years of your life to this, do your homework. This is not rocket science, but it requires persistence. I was shocked at for how many peopel the course was the first time opening an IDE. Frankly, without a real sense that coding is fun and something you are passionate about improving in, I would recommend delaying your enrollment in the school.

This bootcamp, and for that matter any bootcamp, will not make you a developer. Without months of silent commitment to improving yourself and a tolerance for being puzzled and discouraged for hours, you will fail at becoming a developer or maybe you're clever but still you will you achieve far less than your potential. I don't think these abilities are genetic by any means, but I also don't think you get all the answers in 12 weeks, so prepare like a madman in Javascript, and the school should just help with the details and frameworks. The team are not miracle workers, and if you do not have work ethic they can't solve things for you.

5) (for Americans mainly) Is the program good value for the money?

This is a special comment for Americans, but I think this school remains fantastic value for the money as it costs 50% of a comparable American bootcamp. Admissions standards are going to absolutely be lower than most comparable bootcamps in the United States and you can see that up front in what is covered in the curriculum. I would recommend you stack the curriculum at a few open-sourced bootcamps against Spiced and you will see there is about a 3-4 weeks of preliminary material that is done as pre-work for other bootcamps. Just raise your level, prepare aggressively, and you'll be fine.

6) Are you supported in the job search?

I had fantastic relationships with the career support person (previous employee), but she wore many hats including admissions etc. The secret of getting a job is networking and strategically continuing your learning, and I freely offer my insight into what that entails to anyone who asks. I mostly achieved these tasks myself and there were some helpful sessions peppered throughout, but they assume you are starting as a relative neophyte.

No career center can help you with all the prep/hustling this process entails but they can tell you where to apply your energies if you lack savvy. I expected a bit more structure in the prep offerings and interview support, but again, this takes personnel and money. There is a bit of a staff shortage, but I think that the new expanded support team will only improve in this area and based on my conversations, I see reason for optimism.

 

It was maybe the toughest thing I ever have done, but it was an amazing experience. First things first the teachers and the people who work at SPICED are amazing and that made the whole experience much better. Before I visited SPICED I was thinking if I am going to go to a coding Bootcamp or to a university for a bachelor's degree in software engineer. The decision going at SPICED was the best decision I have ever made. A couple of months ago I wouldn't believe that I could learn so many things and change my life in so short period of time. I would recommend coding Bootcamp over the university and especially  SPICED to anyone.

­­If you are looking to learn full stack development, SPICED Academy is the right place to do so. 
I have been wanting to learn how to develop for a while and if it wasn't for SPICED probably I would still be stuck in the online tutorial loop. 

As a SPICED student, you will learn valuable, cutting-edge technologies and deliver code every day, in a very fast and intensive pace. Your portfolio will grow each day with interesting projects.

The teaching staff is very supportive and passionate: they will do anything to keep you moving forward. Each one of the teachers manage to teach extremely complex topics in a fun, accessible way.

The SPICED community works as a team. Your challenges will be your colleagues challenges. 

Regardless of what your level is as a developer, the course is built in such a way that it will demand the most of you. Expect to be constantly challenged and fully committed to the course. 

At the end, the knowledge and portfolio you will build in only three months is worth every moment spent at SPICED.

I have had the plan to switch work sectors for a while now. And since trying to teach myself on top of a fulltime job was tremendously slow and not overly rewarding, I decided to take a more drastic step and focus on coding fulltime. So I applied for the boot camp at SPICED, which turned out to be one of the best steps I took.

I joined the boot camp as an absolute JS beginner, while I had dipped my toes a little into other programming languages and concepts, I had never connected the dots in the way that I did over the course of the three months at SPICED. Plus my coding skills were super limited by the time I started the boot camp let alone develop full-stack applications. Those 12 weeks of classes and projects basically took me from writing simple blocks of code to writing full-stack applications. That being said, coding is a constant learning process and by the time you finish, there is definitely still a hell lot to learn. However, those weeks truly show you, what you are capable of learning in a short period of time, if you set your mind to it, dedicate your time and keep pushing - and by that I mean basically code, code, code.

SPICED is intense and hard. I had days that felt wonderfully easy, where I felt completely on top of what we were covering followed by days where I simply felt like I was never going to fully get it. Thankfully you are in an environment, where

1. you are not the only one going through these feelings but there is a whole bunch of you going through these things at the same time 
2. there are teachers there to guide you through it and they are incredibly helpful and supportive in catalysing your learning progress.

I am still amazed and proud of what I learned to build in this short amount of time. During the first half of the course, you cover a lot of different aspects of web development and build up the fundamentals to start full-stack development projects during the second half of the course. Once you have graduated, you can still come to campus and work there so you will still be able to ask for help in the six weeks after you have completed the course.

The boot camp provides a great environment for you to learn and grow, but you are the one that has to do the learning and growing, no one can do that for you. This might sound rather silly and obvious, but the bottom line is, you have to pull your own weight. You have to get comfortable with not knowing everything, sometimes not understanding everything straight away, and most frustrating of all: learn how to ask the questions that help you figure development problems out, when all of this is completely new to you.
SPICED is quite fast paced and pushes your comfort zone of how much you are capable to learn, absorb and take in. For me maybe one of the most valuable takeaways is not necessarily how much can code by heart today, but having build up the skillset and confidence in myself that I will be able to figure things out and learn the things I don't know or understand yet. Basically, SPICED teaches you the skills needed to jumpstart a continuously ongoing learning process.

Altogether I highly recommend SPICED as an amazing starting point for anyone that wants to learn how to code and pursue a professional career in this field, but be ready to push your comfort zone of learning.

 

Had a super time at my bootcamp with SPICED. 

Speaking of my cohort in Oct2018, they had selected a diverse range of students. 
For a total of 18 weeks!!! (12week bootcamp + extended 6weeks) you are free to use and stay at the facilities as long as you wish and receive help by the teachers.

This is important for the time after the course bc you should be able to master coding challenges to prove you are familiar with your craft while you're on the job hunt. 

The curriculum is always up-to-date and according to the needs of the industry. 

I only had wished to learn things about pair-programming or working on a project as a team. 

David and his team are very committed to support and provide a holistic and contagious coding environment/ learning experience. 
+ you get to meet a community of kind (and smart) people.

In the end it's up to a students entitlement of what one gets out of this bootcamp. 

I learned myself the hard way and can't stress enough to be really prepared for the course with their prep material (JavaScript in general) and during the course to ASK AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE, since these are prerequisites you need anyway to work in software development. 

Enjoy your journey. 

Attending SPICED Academy was one of the best decisions I have made. Since I was moving from the US to Berlin for this course, I did a substantial amount of research in order to find the right school for me and I ultimately chose SPICED. I applied in March 2018 to start in the October 2018 cohort and during that time I completed the prep course work several times to get a good grasp on the concepts. I joined the bootcamp as a complete beginner and once I finished the course, I was amazed at the incredible progress I made, how much I learned, and the applications I was able to build. The teachers are incredibly helpful and always willing to help you work through a problem but also ensure you understand why that problem occurred in the first place.

That being said, this course is also incredibly demanding - it is a bootcamp after all! I spent an average of 10-12 hours every day at school for 6 days of the week. This is a fast-paced learning environment where you are challenged on a daily basis and expected to learn by doing. One of the first things I learned at SPICED was getting comfortable with certain parts of your application not working and how to patiently troubleshoot and work with your peers to figure things out together. This is all part of the learning process! There were times when I was incredibly frustrated and other times when I was overjoyed because I made something work on my own.

In all, I absolutely recommend SPICED for anyone interested in making a commitment to learning programming. It was a gratifying experience that provided me with the skills necessary to apply to the workplace as a junior developer. You just have to be willing to put in the work in order to truly see progress in your abilities and get the most out of this course.

Graduating from SPICED Academy is truly a life-changing experience. You will learn an insane amount of things in encouranging and motivating atmosphere, you will master soft skills as well as tech skills necessary to land a job, you will always find support from the staff and you will work really really hard -- and in the end it's all gonna be worth it. You will get everything you need to get an entry level job -- provided you are willing to work hard and be proactive. Even after graduation you can always ask for help. 

Every day I went there with excitement and joy about what I'm going to learn and build today. I was never bored and always challenged. I absolutely loved it and had no trouble finding a junior position.

I recommend preparing beyond the prep course they provide you with though and mess with a code a bit beforehand -- it will make your life much easier.

Stuff to improve: more teachers and including more materials on git, testing and production environment.

I am already recommending SPICED to many friends, so why not share my experience  here: 

If you feel like you want to know how to code and get a job as a developer, you should put them to the top of your list.

I did extensive research before opting for this bootcamp and can honestly say that ,while there might be good alternatives, SPICED was the perfect choice. 

Things to highlight: 

1. Up-to-date curriculum & tech stack

2. Staff that cares about your personal & technical development

3. Great help through the staff & alumnis even after graduation

 

If you are looking for an awesome atmosphere, super central, comfortable and impeccably equipped space, a knowledgable and friendly staff that excels at lecturing just as much as in private tutoring and more than anything else: sharing an intensely satisfying learning experience with a group of like-minded peers who are in this together  - look no further! 

It would have been great if the bootcamp had 2-4 more weeks so more content could be thought and get the students extremely well prepared for the job marked (in 12 weeks you got to "well prepared" status). It would have also been really swell if it was possible to do frequent code reviews for each student multiple times (which demands a lot of manpower, something no bootcamp that I know of has). But going back from fantasy into actual reality - SPICED do the absolute best with what they got.

p.s The career workshop was really awesome. Learned and grew from it just as much as I did from the coding lessons. 

I went to Spiced-Academy last April-June and I should say that it is right up there on my list of " The best decisions I've made". Prior to attending the bootcamp, I've been studying in a University as a Software Engineer but I felt that I wasn't learning enough. The school is theory heavy and you learn little on the practical side. I did my research and found about Spiced. After talking to Shilpa, I decided to enroll and boy I did it right. Before starting the bootcamp, they will give you a homework and for future students, pay attention to the homework and do your research before hand. Most students get problem during the first couple of weeks because they're in the state of shock. If you prepare enough, you won't experience this coding stuporous state. :)

The mentors are really good. They are always there and if you get stuck at something, they can help you but try to do it first before you ask, that way you are sure you're not asking a stupid question.

The course is very intensive and even after you get home, you will have to do some study or exercises so be ready to dedicate your time, you are in Berlin to learn and not as a tourist. Make friends because it will make your life so much easier.

If your only purpose is to land a job as a developer after you graduate, this is not for you. There is no assurance that you will get a job when you graduate. If you like coding and you want to learn (and you are 100% sure of that) then this course is for you.

Overall the experience is tantamount to nothing. The things I learned in 2 years in school is nothing compare to what I learned in 3 months in this bootcamp.

I also attended the first Data Science cohort and I can fully support the positive comments made below by Konstantin. The course at SPICED Academy was very valuable and intensive likewise. We got more than just a brief hands-on introduction on each topic as often seen before in online courses. Kristian was awesome at teaching and he fostered our abilites to code steadily. He always took into consideration what the participants were interested in and set the focus within the main topics variable and very encouraging. The curriculum was very concise and Kristian was always capable of making a clear connection between the topics covered and the tech stack used.

After graduation we now know a lot more about clean, well-structured and object-oriented coding in Python and respective frameworks, and about getting a project from development to employment. We have also got a profound understanding of the underlying theories of both supervised and unsupervised machine learning techniques, when to use them and how to evaluate them in the right manner. All in all, it has been the course I was looking for. I got everything at hand I need to know to dive deeper in any Data Science related topic and I feel well prepared for future work. Beside the course itself I think that it`s been a nice working environment with plenty of pleasant people to talk with and to share experiences.

I have been trying to learn to code for a long time, however alone I was jumping all over the place and never focused on one technology long enough to start a career as a programmer. I came to SPICED with some knowledge of basic JavaScript, however I have never written a full app, just some small console programms. I found the Curriculum of the course very nicely put together, that allows students to build up upon their skills and teaching the things that get you hired. I also liked career workshops that helped me to craft a nice american-style CV that I was not ashamed to send to companies.

If you want to change career I would recommend a bootcamp, however be warned that a bootcamp is not for everyone - I really advice you to prepare with some free online courses, I think it's not stressed enough by SPICED. Maybe you're one of those who grasp new things quickly, but I won't bet on that especially if you're paying for the bootcamp from your own pocket.