Ive always wanted to be a software developer, from when was a kid trying playing with Hexidecmial editors and my friends Commodore 64. 

I spent a lot of time researching and looking for a good coding school in Portland, Oregon. What drew me to  The Tech Academy was the job placement program they offered, and the extensive amount of software languages you learn. After completing the program, I can honestly say I am a software developer. 

I will refer anyone who is intrested in software development to have a serious look at The Tech Academy and see if it is the path you want to take. 

The Tech Academy does a great job at staying in communication with the students throughout the process, building a support network and sense of community from day one. The course content is good but the most important thing I learned from the boot-camp is how to learn, meaning I can grow my skills better even without the school.

I chose to attend the Tech Academy after much consideration and careful research of many (MANY) other boot camps and programs. I was not disappointed with my choice! The Tech Academy not only filled in the gaps of my self-taught knowledge, but the course taught me to think and build software like an engineer. On top of the comprehensive, challenging, and well-structured software curriculum I learned an equal amount about the importance of networking and the job hunt. Coming out of the program I felt confident in my new found abilities and excited for the work ahead of me!

In March, I decided to pursue my dream in the tech industry. 37 years old, with a little bit of self-taught programming/IT knowledge, I quit my job and committed full time to The Tech Academy's curriculum. Today, less than 5 months from my start date, I accepted an offer to start my new career.

Was it hard? Yeah. It was challenging. There is a lot to learn, and while the courses move at a good pace and through the material in a way designed to build up your knowledge quickly, you've got to be paying attention and putting in the time and work. You can't just copy code and learn. You have to DO it.

The instructors were very helpful, I never had to wait long for the answer to a question or to get feedback on essays or code reviews. The real gem though is the Live Project. Getting a feel for what development is like in a team setting/job simulation was invaluable and invigorating.

The course isn't easy. Finding jobs isn't easy. But if you're willing and able to take on a challenge with your whole heart and mind, I can tell you that the rewards are there. With the help of The Tech Academy, only you stand in your own way.

After learning about coding, I took some courses online and realized this is what I wanted to do. I began looking for more information about coding courses and schools. During my search I found The Tech Academy and contacted them. I was invited to come look at the school and talk about coding.  I decided to join their bootcamp because I wanted to be able complete it online while I was working a full-time job. The Tech Academy provided me with a laptop while I attended the bootcamp. I made a schedule and stuck to it the best that I could. This really helped me stay focused and stay on track with my coding.

Everyone I spoke to at The Tech Academy was nice and helped me when I was stuck. Being a remote student, I would watch the lecture and if I got stuck on a challenge I was able to reach a remote instructor via email or by phone. I felt like this gave me a glimpse into what a remote job would be like because in most cases you will get a piece of a project and work on it yourself but if you can always ask someone for help.

My favorite part of the course was the Live Project. I live in a small town and I was able to get an internship at a local web marketing company. It took some time to coordinate my internship because I had to plan it around my work schedule. Everyone at The Tech Academy worked with me to get my internship scheduled and provide the company instructions on what I needed to get from my internship. The Tech Academy also provides a job placement director who helps you find a job by providing mock interviews, feedback after the interviews, help with your resume, and sending job post emails. This was what helped me choose The Tech Academy, because if you put the effort into learning to code and you want to succeed in coding, they can help you start your career.

The instructors were excellent during my time at the bootcamp, and they were always willing and eager to help with any questions that I had. This made for a great learning experience and learning enviornment during my time there. 

For someone who had no prior coding experience, I now have invaluable skills that will be very useful in my career as a developer. You learn how to think like a developer and the experience as a whole was very rewarding.

I would reccomend that if you are able to attend the school in person that you take advantage of that opportunity. 

I attended and just recently graduated from the Tech Academy. I was able to work a full time job AND keep up with the coursework by opting for the part-time local student option. Even with my somewhat limited knowledge of coding, what they proved is all it takes is the drive to learn, to succeed.

The idea of their program is to really get you into the mind of a developer. You will be challenged, you will get slightly frustrated, but ultimately, you will learn. The instructors here are there to help you when stuck, but encourage you to keep trying. 

The best part of the course to me was the Live Project, where you simulate being part of a scrum team, and Aja made it fun, challenging and very rewarding.

All in all, I cannot recommend this school enough if you are looking to break into the industry as a developer. What you learn is current, powerful and definitely worth your time.

I attended the Tech Academy. I now have a job. This is good. 

The instructors are excellent. They create a very realxed environment and are always happy to help or just chat when your brain needs a break. Aja is an incredible live project manager. I owe Aaron the world for all his help getting me a job. The coursework improved significantly during my time as a student, especially with the addition of the new C# course. 

The school is a very afforable place to learn at your own pace and meet a lot of great friends and contacts.  

Also, I saw the new billboard on the building and almost paid to go to the school again. Whoever made it is super good at making billboards. 

I had an excellent experience at The Tech Academy, from enrollment through graduation.  The Tech Academy's software development program was exactly what I was looking for - self-paced and a comprehensive curriculum for full stack development. 

I was able to begin the program the day after my enrollment and I was able to spend as much time as I needed in each part of the curriculum and I was able to spend less time on the languages that came easier to me.  The instructors were always extremely helpful. Whenever I was learning remotely I could call up until 9:00 at night and an instructor would help me with complex solutions to a software program objective ( and sometimes even a computer issue ).

I would highly recommend to anyone seeking a quality education in software development to check out The Tech Academy.  I researched several local and even national programs and The Tech Academy really impressed me and they never let me down.  I wouldn't change a thing!

The Tech Academy gained my attention through online searching and reviews. I hope to return my experience so others starting their search can use my experience in their decision. 

I have an over-time job, full-time family, and part-time college; so I enrolled in the online boot camp. This allowed me the flex needed in my schedule. I was allocated adequate time to complete each course topic. Topics helped to reinforce lessons learned during parts of my computer science degree. The biggest difference between CS classes and The Tech Academy is the Tech Academy took the learning out of a mundane classroom style environment and put me into a functional job oriented program. It felt like I was learning for an occupation! I was provided plenty of help when I became "stuck" in problems, and yes you will too. The course is challenging.

The Tech Academy topped off the course with a real project. You cant that from a general CS degree. This was a work-related experience that can be used in your search for a job. Going beyond relative learning; Tech Academy provided training interviews and help in job placement. The Tech Academy was one of the main reasons I was able to stand out in the hiring process of the AF Cyber Command. Definitely relative training and experience.

I went into this bootcamp having had some experience with coding in the past and with a grasp of some of the concepts and thought processes requisite for coding. I found that the beginning of the course, taught by Erik Gross, was engaging, easy to follow and interesting (I was... engrossed... if you will). Much of the middle of the course is videos made by someone else at the Tech Academy which were also informative and helpful, but didn't carry quite the same quality.

When the curriculum moves to C# and ASP.NET, you are forwarded to a video series at DevU.com, which you could easily purchase yourself for $80 or so. During the curriculum--learning the different languages--I don't think the value is in the material itself, it is in the support and the environment. When you get stuck or have a question, there is someone to ask about it, be it another student if you are studying locally, or one of the instructors (of which I think there are plenty and they're all nice, smart and approachable). There are a ton of tutorials online to teach you what you want to know, what you're paying for here is support and accountability.

When you finish the curriculum, you go into two weeks of the Live Project. This part, I thought, was really cool. It is essentially an internship in which you are working on a product in a team with a project manager. You will take little chunks of work and do them in a real-world-ish environment. When you get stuck, you need to fix it--either by asking for help from the team or working through it. At no point do you feel left out on a limb, but you will get experience working through things on your own.

Finally, you enter the Job Placement section in which you watch a selection of kind of redundant and common sense videos (though they are probably not common sense for many of the less socially inclined students which is why I think they are included). You will read advice on creating a resume and cover letter. After you do that, you'll receive copy/pasted advice on refining them. You'll get added to a mailing list and you'll receive dozens of emails per day containing job listings, some (but few) of which are relevant. The value in this step that I could find is the mock interviews. The placement Director is great at taking you through what to expect at an interview (in fact there are weekly roundtables throughout your time there in which you can do both softskills interviews and technical interviews: I recommend attending all of them).

In all, I think it's a good experience and worth the money. If I suddenly found myself in the owners' shoes, here's what I would change: 

First, the in-house curriculum is rife with little errors. None of which affect the students' understanding of concepts at the end of the day, but they're distracting and they sap the students' confidence in the program. 

Second, I would overhaul the job placement program which felt very under-resourced to me. The Job Placement Director clearly knows what he's doing, but I think his plate is too full to offer the kind of hands-on attention that would be a true value. Looking for a job is, for many people, completely demoralizing, and if you had a weekly meeting in which you discussed which specific jobs you're targeting and how you're building your skills, etc, I think it would feel less lonely and less daunting. If the daily emails students received each had a short preamble specifying which of the listed jobs are good jobs to apply for, I think the emails would feel less like a jumble of wires to be untangled and more like a helpful starting point.

Finally, I think the transfer between the curriculum and the live project, and the live project and the job placement section could be smoother. When I finished the curriculum on a Monday, I was told that the live project was on hold for the week and to come back in a week. When I finished the live project, it took me a week and a half or so to get feedback on my resume and get started in earnest with the job placement. This was a little frustrating when I was burning $750 a week or so while jobless. I think the student care dept should be looking ahead at when a student is ready to finish a section and make sure that he or she will be ready to make a smooth transition and have expectations clearly communicated.

All in all, this place is filled with great people and this was a positive experience for me, and I know this place is getting better constantly. If you're thinking of starting a new career in coding, this is a good place to do it.

I started the Tech Academy with a certain level of understanding in HTML and CSS. I left fully confident in my abilities, and with a new job as a web developer. The courses are designed to drive you towards being a full stack developer, teaching the proper ways to work in this field. Even if the job you get doesn't use the languages taught, the methods that you learned will apply, and you'll be able to pick up anything that much faster.

My overall opinion:

If you are a self-motivated individual who is willing to put in the time and effort, this is an excellent program that gives the foundational knowledge and job search support to enter into a software development career.

My detailed opinion:

I chose The Tech Academy because I wanted to switch from a non-technical career path to development. Even though I live in the Portland area, I chose to complete the course online as it allowed me greater flexibility in my schedule. The Tech Academy had a great on-boarding process so I was able to jump right in. The curriculum was comprehensive and I appreciated that it went beyond just learning a coding language. We also learned how a computer functions and runs a program, how web applications are rendered, how code is compiled, and the basics of project management. My only reason for giving the curriculum 4 stars instead of 5 is that it would have been useful to also cover unit testing. 

The instructors were excellent and did a great job of answering any questions that I had. They always replyed promptly to e-mails. The job assistance was also very helpful, especially the opportunity to do a mock-interview with the Job Placement Director. Having no experience interviewing for a technical position, the encouragement and feedback I received during the mock-interview was invaluable in building my confidence. 

I found my experience at The Tech Academy to be challenging yet very fulfilling. I was surprised at my ability to learn the concepts, facts, and nuances, for each language and I believe it's because of The Tech Academy's approach to teaching. As a remote student, I feel the system was a bit more challenging because I didn't have anyone to discuss questions or concepts with and sometimes I had to wait hours to hear back from the remote instructor because of my schedule- that still worked out fine but I think there is a major advantage to being on-site and having other students and/or instructors to communicate with. That being said, I really got the most out of the Live Project. It was suggested that the Live Project really brings it all together and I couldn't agree more. The Tech Academy pushes students to be active in the industry and network, take on projects, etc to prepare students for their new career. They have it down to a science and it's proven over and over again. 

The Tech Academy provides a well-rounded full-stack format for learning software development. After completing the courses, one has a solid foundation of fundamentals and can use this as a basis for learning additional coding languages and programming concepts, as needed, for any future job position. The courses are self-paced in a very positive environment. There is a tremendous amount of support resources available, including instructors, technical support, weekly soft skill and technical round table forums for interview preparation, an outreach specialist, a job placement director, meetups, and guest lectures. 

I choose the to enter a coding boot camp because I wanted to re-invigorate my coding skills. I had learned some coding in school, but when I entered the work force, I didn’t have time to keep up with the latest languages and technologies. I believe that programming languages are the new literacy.

 I looked at several coding boot camps and I choose the Tech Academy for four reasons, 1) Self-paced; I could move through material quickly, if I felt I already have a good grasp of the material and I was able to linger and do exploratory study if I felt I needed more depth. 2) There was a central location I could go to and live instructors to help in case I had problems, for me the central location helped keep me on track and focused. 3) rolling enrollment and I could start any time. 4) There was a live project course, so I was able to get a sense of how software development works.

In the end I was happy with my choice, I filled the holes in my knowledge and I have strong basis for continued self learning.

I started programming profiile pages on Myspace for my friends so I could have lunch money when I was in middle/high school. Years later I found myself teaching myself how to write code again and wanted to do it for a profession. I didn't have the time or energy for a 4 year+ program and thats when I found out about Boot Camps. I found that The Tech Academy had the best all around curriculum that I needed so I registered. The hardest part for me was the C# course but I learned so much from it that helped me with the Live Project. As a graduate I will actually be starting as an Intern under Erik. I can't wait!

I attended The Tech Academy, first as an online student and, later, as an onsite student in Portland, OR. I did not complete the Job Placement course so I am not officially a graduate even though I have completed all of the actual "learning" at the school. 

**PRO**

**CON**

In summary, The Tech Academy is a decent option if you are looking for a low priced school, have spent little time engaged in self-study and are comfortable working solo. If I were making the choice again, I would attend a "traditional" cohort-based bootcamp. 

It pains me to write such a negative review because the staff at The Tech Academy are genuinely nice people. I simply feel obligated to offer a true accounting of my personal experience at TTA.

Earlier this year, I was laid off from my recurrent temp position of 5 years.. sounds ridiculous, I know, and I had had enough. A former co-worker of mine in the IT department suggested that, since I was interested in software but had no technical background whatsoever and didn't know where to start, that I find a coding bootcamp if I was serious about making the switch. After researching my options, I ended up choosing the Tech Academy because they had a remote option for students, as well as a flexible work schedule. Fortunately for me, I knew ahead of time that I was going to be laid off, so I was able to begin the program while working, up to the end of my tenure. I also selected the Tech Academy because the price was very reasonable for the services they offer, especially compared to their competitors.

Since completing the program, I will be starting a new job as a junior developer this week, and I'm so excited. The Tech Academy's guidance along the way made changing careers much easier than it would have been had I tried to accomplish it alone.

I completed this bootcamp and I now work as an instructor at a different bootcamp. I spent about half my time learning online and half in-person.

It's nice to be able to move at your own pace yet still have real people grade your work. If you're not going to put in more effort than what is asked, you may not have the best experience because the courses are short and only teach you the basics. If you enjoy diving deeper into a subject then this shouldn't be an issue for you. Expect to put in more time than what is stated if you want to walk out of the doors job-ready.

This biggest negative for me was the lack of any partnerships or reputation with local businesses.

I wanted to break into the tech industry after graduating college but did not quite have enough experience or a portfolio to show employers. I shopped around the various available bootcamps quite a bit and landed on The Tech Academy primarily for its flexible, self-paced program and reasonable tuition. I was working full time with a non-standard work schedule so being able to complete the courses on not only a part time schedule but a schedule that I got to determine was extremely ideal.

All the curriculum is offered/accessed online for both local and remote students. Some people might think, "Why not do self study then? There are plenty of online tutorials and courses without a boot camp price." That's true, and some people are able to successfully learn through self study and get results, however it requires not only extreme self-discipline, but a great support network which is hard to come by for most. What I mean by that is a a network of people that can hold you accountable, review your work and offer feedback, and provide guidance. This is the value of a boot camp.

The staff at TTA truly are dedicated to the program and helping the students. They are all incredibly friendly and supportive. As it is a self-paced program, you progress through the coursework on your own and any time you have questions or need help the instructors are available to assist you. This also promotes developing the habit of first doing exhaustive research on your own to solve a problem then knowing when you need to ask for help. This is a habit of successful software developers and will be crucial as a junior developer working with and learning from senior developers. The school is staffed 7 days a week, 12 hours a day Monday through Friday. Remote students can call or skype in and speak with instructors.

On top of being available for assistance, a number of the instructors and staff are extremely engaged in the tech community and contribute to it outside of the school by hosting events, participating in local meetup groups, and volunteering. These people are committed to involving others in tech.

You can also receive weekly preparation for interviews. The staff does a great job providing guidance and practice in both soft skill and technical interview questions.

As for curriculum, TTA covers more technologies than most other boot camps. This has its pros and cons, as some will point out that by covering more topics you are spread thinner in each area instead of spending more time getting a deeper understanding on fewer topics. On the other hand, gaining skills in a slightly wider array of topics opens up more opportunities for employment and getting your foot in the door. I have a friend who completed a different boot camp and he said he seemed to find that knowing a couple more languages would have been the optimal route for getting hired. Once you have the fundamentals you can deepen your knowledge and specialize as you gain experience and find what you most enjoy. With courses covering HTML, CSS, JavaScript, SQL, Python, C# and ASP.NET MVC, TTA really does create well rounded software developers. My only wish was for some of the courses to cover front-end development with JS a bit more extensively.

Job placement is also great at TTA. The staff give you all the tools to help you succeed in your job search. They encourage you to start as early in the program as possible. By attending the TTAs many interview practice sessions as well as networking at tech meetups I was able to secure a job before the program ended. TTA guides you through your job search by ensuring your portfolio, resume, and LinkedIn are being presented as best as possible, hosting seminars on what employers are looking for, and bringing people in from companies looking to hire or people that may provide a good connection to job opportunities.

All in all, I would say TTA offers the best value of any boot camp due to its great staff and resources, flexible schedule, and breadth of languages

This was definitely one of the most interesting times of my life. The application process for the school was pretty seamless and easy to get started. However, I do feel as though I was pushed to sign up faster for the "discounted tuition". It was available every month subsequent. I did not enjoy that pressure. When the course work began for me, I was informed that they would be  making changes and updating information as I went along. Going through the program and the courses I set a weekly study minimum and a deadline to finish the program. While completing projects, it was a little difficult to get an immediate response to a problem unless I called in ahead and said that I would be emailing the instructors about my issue. They were extremely helpful when they responded though. They were reassuring and also honest on whether they could help or not. The school definitely instills the need to research before asking any questions. The learning portion has been fantastic for me, honestly. An issue I did have was the student daily newsletters. Whenever a student completed a course, other students were notified. I was never included in any of the emails for completing courses. Upon completion of the live project, the job placement course, is next. I do not agree with how this is set up. As someone who had to borrow money to attend the school, I had a deadline and I need to submit proof of completion. Unfortunately due to having to apply to numerous jobs OR landing a job first, I still have yet to officially graduate. Luckily, I landed a job that I am excited to start. Frustrating none the less. I feel as though the help of finding jobs and tips should still be available(and it is) even if the student doesn't apply to the required number of jobs. Some students just attend to learn and move on to other things and so it sets a feeling of entrapment. This is my personal opinion. The staff is still friendly and helpful! Thats where I give the most props and kudos to the school. EVERYONE wants to help! And if they can't they will find you someone who can!

I enjoyed my experience with The Tech Academy. The instructors were available and supportive, and the program worked great with my busy and fluctuating schedule. I truly learned a lot (being somewhat tech illiterate when I came in), and came out of the program satisfied that I got what I came for. 

Some of the curriculum materials seemed a little outdated, although I suppose that will always be a problem for tech schools. Additionally, it sounds like my Live Project could have been directed better (compared to other students' experiences). However, The Tech Academy seems to be on a constant, attentive mission to collect student feedback, and to continually update their program. That's worth a lot.

I entered the Tech Academy with very limited coding experience and no idea as to what a developer does on a day to day basis. By the time I was done, I had an unrelenting impulse to learn more and more and more. It's honestly addicting, and a very profitable habit at that. The instructors are excellent, the course is incredibly thorough, and everyone is happy to help.

The curriculum is structured to both teach a base understanding of core languages, and to encourage students to pursue apt facility in a realm of particular interest. The process works for folks of all technical backgrounds; I learned many things that I thought I already understood and countless things that I was not aware existed. I could feel my brain rerouting to make new connections. 

I encourage everyone to look into the Tech Academy. It's an amazing bang for your buck.