Alchemy

This is one of the scariest decisions I have ever made. I left a well paying, safe, secure, and long term government job to "do this thing". It turned out to be one of the better decisions I have made. I took this leap to provide a different life for me and my husband (and growing family one day). I wanted to expand our life and I needed to find something remote and flexible that paid more. I had my interview with Alchemy, was encouraged to apply for a scholarship and to my surprise-- got it! It felt like a sign that it was the right path and how could I say, "No". The community has been nothing but welcoming and supportive ever since I made my first introduction in the slack channel. The instruction is top notch as far as technical skill BUT most importantly, they care-- they really do. Career services is top notch and always gave me everything I asked for-- mock interviews, connections, time, numerous resume reviews. This is a program that will make you work for what you want but it's worth every penny, hard moment, and eventually reject that leads you to your first gig. I wanted to share my story because truly, if I can do it-- YOU CAN DO IT! Alchemy is a life long thing. You make the choice to join the community and learn the skill but then you get to be apart of it all. If you're looking for a full-time bootcamp, this is it. Happy coding and good luck!

Alchemy Code Lab was the best decision I ever made.  The teachers were incredibly knowledgeable, professional, and approachable.  The only thing difficult was the curriculum change halfway through my experience.  It was a one time, major change for the school, and our cohort was one of the first "test" cohorts to check out the new curriculum.  They worked out a lot of bugs after us, and the new curriculum offers some things that I wish we had the opportunity to learn.  But other than that, the school was incredible. the cohort was incredible, and the experience was top notch.  I believe that the school really put the proper emphasis on what to teach to make us all marketable for employment in the field.  I don't believe I would have done it any differently, or gone to any other school if given the chance to go again.

If you're looking for full stack web dev sort of bootcamp, Alchemy Code Lab is a great choice. I signed an offer for a software engineer position about 4 weeks after graduating. Before Alchemy, I was working nights loading trucks at UPS trying to put myself through college, which was miserable and destroying my health.  I had a solid background in math and technical problem solving at this point, and had begun to take programming seriously, as well as starting to self teach data structures and algorithms. Still, the timeline to being employable as a software engineer was unacceptably long for me, and I saw quitting my job to commit to self teaching full time as unacceptably risky. I decided doing a bootcamp was my best option, and ultimately went with Alchemy because of their community ties to the Portland area and good reputation there. 

I had a great experience at Alchemy. The community is friendly and helpful. The instruction staff is competent and cares about the students, and daily labs are well thought out and designed to push the limits of what you can do without being demoralizing. The curriculum touches on programming and computer science fundamentals, but there simply isn't time to cover these more than superficially while also learning to build apps with the kind of modern tools and frameworks that are in-demand practical job skills. That being said, bootcamps were never meant to be a replacement for a computer science education and the Alchemy Code Lab curriculum is surprisingly demanding and thorough given the time frame they are working with. It is genuinely hard, but the staff is supportive and if you are determined to succeed, you will.

There was a higher rate of staff turnover than I would have liked to see, and occasional quality control issues with curriculum, but these minor problems didn't detract from my overall experience. No organization is perfect, but I can confidently say that Alchemy Code Lab is operated in good faith and consistently produces great outcomes for most of its students.

A common complaint against bootcamps is they hire their own alumni as teaching assistants to boost their job placement numbers. While Alchemy does hire alums as teaching assistants, I'm pretty sure it's not for this reason, as they were often scrambling to find TAs because the TAs kept finding jobs! My TAs were kind, competent, professional and helpful, and it always felt like they were an integral part of the instructional staff, not a placeholder or a numbers booster.

Coming from a math background, I found that my logic and problem solving skills were readily applicable to software development. Being able to formalize your thoughts and communicate them precisely, reason symbolically, prove things, etc. along with the soft skills, tool and framework knowledge, and teamwork experience of a bootcamp, will push you to the top of the non-traditional candidate pool, so I highly recommend Alchemy to people with a similar background.

What I got the most out of at Alchemy was experience working on software as a team and strong connections with the developer community in the Portland area. Alchemy provided me with an immersive environment where coding together with a wonderful and diverse group of people was my daily life for six months, and ultimately that is what got me ready to work as a software engineer. 

It's a huge decision to stop working and put your life on hold for 6 months, but attending Alchemy was definitely the right decision for me. It is HARD, and you will struggle at times, but it's because you are learning so much in such a small amount of time. I did a lot of research before landing on Alchemy(I am not from Oregon), including looking at how they come by the numbers in their success rate statistics. What really sold me was the promise of pre and post-graduation career services, and they have lived up to expectations. How to socialize with industry professionals and actually going out to do it are part of the curriculum, and the career services people will go out of their way to help you. If you put in the effort, they will absolutely match it and go above and beyond for you. 

The education is top notch, I am leaps and bounds ahead of most recent graduates I've met from other bootcamps, but what really sticks out to me is that each and every person at Alchemy wants you to succeed. I've had TA's and instructors from other classes come help me, staff reach out when I was having a hard time but hadn't said anything, and never have I been turned away when I asked anyone for help, both staff and alumni. You can go to any bootcamp and learn to code to some extent, but the high standards and compassion at Alchemy set it apart. The community it fosters is unmatched, and when you're stressed and crying the staff will not hesitate to take time one on one with you to either help you through the problem, or just to listen and sympathize with you. (I say staff and not instructors because every employee I have interacted with has been kind and eager to help me with whatever was going on).

If you're going to take the plunge in to a new career you have exactly 0 experience in, I wholeheartedly recommend Alchemy. 

Like many folks, I lost my job when the pandemic hit. I started researching programming boot camps on the advice of some friends who had found success in tech after participating in similar programs. My background wasn't in this field, I had to do some light programming for various things in college but I never had any real grasp on what I was doing. I shopped around, I attended a few free intro courses that many boot camps offer to feel things out. They were fine, but things felt impersonal, most of the teaching was done by recent grads and the classes were huge. Everything changed when I found Alchemy. Every single person I met through this school made me feel like a capable and worthy human being. I deserved to be here. The classes are small and personal with plenty of TA's (who are truly amazing) to help anyone in need. The lectures are engaging, the exercises are relevant to what you might be doing on the job. Most importantly, you are supported by the staff, they really want you to succeed in this endeavor. You need to embrace that support network, this program is hard, it requires a lot (A LOT) of dedication to what you are doing and if you can't do that, you might be held back or asked to leave. But the help is there, the resources are there, you can do it. This program has a great reputation for a good reason, and if you put in the work, you'll come out of it a very capable engineer. Some of the things taught to my cohort were vanilla javascript (a deep dive), React (with hooks and the context API), NodeJS, Express, PostgreSQL, and how to make the best use of Github. They also have events called "hack days" which are workshops for you to pick up other skills. I got to mess with typescript and tailwind CSS. I still can't believe all of the things they taught me in 6 months! On top of the programming skills, Alchemy provides you with a talented and motivating career services team (as I said, they want you to succeed) who will help you nail down a proper resume, and give you realistic interview practice. Don't underestimate the value of those things, I was getting interviews right out of school because my resume and portfolio looked professional. Not everyone needs a boot camp and not everyone can handle that kind of workload. If you are the type of person who thrives in a community setting and you don't mind hard work, Alchemy could be a great fit. I highly recommend you give them a chance. 

I'd first heard of Alchemy through a friend who went through the program in 2016. During the early pandemic I lost my job and decided it was time to take my future career more into my hands. I saw coding as an increasingly in demand field and with pay that would lead to financial security for myself and my family. 

I looked at programs around the Portland area and surveyed friends in the tech world to see what they knew about local code school options. One friend told me not even to bother with a boot camp and to just teach myself. When I mentioned I was considering Alchemy they immediately stopped and said, well I have actually only ever heard good things about that program. Between that and my friend who had gone through the program previously my mind was made up. My informational interview with Megan was purely a formality (but I will admit it made me even more eager to start ASAP). 

Megan was very honest about time commitments, academic rigor, and job search following the program. If I wanted to make this transition, it was not going to be easy or brief. That was exactly what I wanted to hear. 6 months of coding and a portfolio with at least 4 projects to show to prospective employers gave me full confidence in the program.

The program itself lived up to the hype. I won't lie and tell you it was always fun, or that I even felt like I was progressing each day. However, each week I felt like I was a stronger coder, reader of code, and critical thinker than the week before. Alchemy blended solo work and group work to create a nice measure of personal progress and learning to code and manage group dynamics. 

They also incorporated career services assignments throughout the course. This gave students dedicated time to work on things like resumes and researching both technical and behavioral interview questions. It also provided time to work with colleagues on our answers to those interview questions. My personal favorite during all of this was 1 on 1 meetings with the career service staff to tighten up my resume, craft my narrative of becoming a software developer, and gain confidence in talking professionally about my skills.

Overall, I would highly recommend the program to those ready to make the leap. It has given me the tools to succeed in the tech world and enhance my ability to contribute to companies and provide me and my family financial security going forward. 

Alchemy Code Lab was probably one of the best decisions I’ve made in my life. Prior to this, coding was something I was interested in but never really planned on pursuing. That was until one of my best friends took the program. Before coming to Alchemy, I already had a good impression because my friend had been trying to convince me to take it from when he was in the program up until the point when I finally said yes. I gained confidence in Alchemy’s ability to prepare people for tech careers when my friend got his first job where he was referred to by another Alchemy graduate, and after talking to Megan, my decision was made.
If your only interest is to learn web development, then I would suggest much cheaper alternative resources like Khan Academy, Udemy, Codecademy, YouTube, etc. There are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of other resources that are much cheaper than Alchemy Code Lab that you can use to learn web development. Alchemy Code Lab isn’t just about teaching you web development, it’s about preparing you for a career in tech starting with web development. You’ll get tech industry-related experience with teamwork and communication, project planning and management, and best practices as well as career-related experience with networking, resume writing, interviewing, and salary negotiation. When you join Alchemy Code Lab, you won’t just be enrolling in a class, you’ll be joining a positive and supportive community that will support you during your time at Alchemy and will continue to do so long after you’re done with the program.
While the cost of doing Alchemy Code Lab is obviously higher compared to other programs in the Portland area and keeping in mind that I can’t really compare the Alchemy program to other programs (because I didn’t have to take other programs), I would say that it’s totally worth it for the experience and the amount and quality of support you get from the staff. I would dare say that you can get your money’s worth just from having access to Shannon in Career Services but that wouldn’t be fair or right to Megan, Marty, Ryan, and the other staff members (I haven’t met the others) because they are all amazing and supportive. Shannon will help you with networking, interviewing, and negotiating salary. She will give you advice on your resume and even set you up with recruiters for positions that she thinks would be a good fit for you. Her goal isn’t just for you to get a job, it’s for you to get a job that you’re happy with and pays well. Marty and Ryan are veterans in the tech industry and are very up to date on the latest and most popular technologies. They always make sure that the curriculum they teach you is reflective of the demand in the job market. Megan is basically Alchemy’s mom. She’ll support you emotionally if you ever feel down, and she’ll also work with you to get financial aid. Before the pandemic when the classes were in-person, she made sure that the class environment was comfortable and gave out snacks everyday.
I want to be clear, just doing the program isn’t going to guarantee you a job nor will it guarantee that you will be an amazing developer. You’ll have to put in the work to get results. However the work you put in at Alchemy will have amplified results with their support.

At the time I joined Alchemy, I had past experience coding, but I wanted to bring my skills current with an in-demand tech stack. I was fully prepared to go out of state to get the best bootcamp education. Alchemy, being a smaller school, didn't happen to cross my radar until the very last minute. Thankfully, it did, and I was able to join a cohort that had just completed their prep week.

I found the coursework to be very challenging and I really appreciated the strength of the Alchemy community in supporting each other through it. I really feel like I made some true friends in the coding crucible there. I was able to continue on with a small study group after the program ended in order to keep up and build on my skills.

Six months later, I've accepted an offer for a great job with a startup after receiving a great deal of interest from several potential employers.

So wait, why only 4 stars for curriculum? As a cohort, we expressed some concerns about the timing and methods for the introduction of React.JS into the coursework. To Alchemy's credit, they listened and adjusted things for the very next cohort. This wasn't a huge deal and curriculum in a good bootcamp should always be evolving to fit the needs of the market and the students. If I could give 4.5 stars I would, it's just difficult to be perfect in this area.

One thing that I've heard from other bootcamp grads in town is that they are a little jealous with the career support that Alchemy offers. Job hunting can be very emotionally challenging and it was nice to know that I could always reach out and get help when I needed it. I frequently reviewed materials we'd been provided with prior to interviews in order to be well prepared. And, as an alumnus, there were fireside chats and other events to keep me in touch with developer life and the job market in a more direct way.

tl;dr
Challenging (and fun!) program with really strong network/community. Unparalleled instruction quality and career support. Went from having virtually no programming knowledge to being a confident software engineer in about 5 months. Found first role within seven weeks of graduating despite having completely unrelated professional background and seeking work in the midst of a global pandemic. Couldn’t be more grateful for decision to attend Alchemy.

Instruction and Curriculum
Depth
What drew me most to this program was the depth of the instruction — learning one language from front to back through hands-on experience. Bootcamp timelines are short; by spending that time diving deeper into JavaScript instead of scraping the surfaces of several languages, Alchemy students develop a strong foundation in the engineering processes and practices that make us successful finding jobs and in the field. We have a deeper understanding of fundamental concepts, are able to write better quality code and can adapt to new languages and tools quickly.

Process
During the technical interview for my current role, I was asked to architect an app based on product requirements from imaginary project managers, wireframe it, and build it out on the spot. For an Alchemy grad, this is a breeze; I did a version of this every day for months and really deepened my skills during project sprints. What really sets Alchemy students apart is our ability to break down a process and execute each step from start to finish. The language itself could be learned through online courses; it would take longer, and the lack of accountability would limited the format’s effectiveness for me personally, but it would be possible. But becoming really comfortable with processes — through demos in iterative practices, projects and many hours of hands-on experience every day — is not an ability I think I could have learned through other means.

Staying up to date
Alchemy’s curriculum is always changing to keep up with the industry. My current software engineering role is with an established retail company that is transitioning its model to focus more heavily on software. At my job, we use the most popular library for building UI components and the most up-to-date syntax. The fact that my current role is using a similar tools to what I learned at Alchemy — and is using them the same way that I learned — highlights Alchemy’s strengths. When the latest JS version was nearing release, we knew what to expect and were able to implement some of its features immediately.

Instructor quality and support
I felt so supported throughout the program by Alchemy’s primary instructors, Dani and Ryan. They are skilled at finding ways to present information that can be absorbed by different learning styles. Several TAs were also available to offer assistance, and one was officially designated to review my work. When I needed assistance, I was always be able to connect with a member of the instruction staff — both while the program was in person and after the pandemic abruptly shifted us to remote learning. This is a huge asset compared to other programs, where you may find yourself beating your head against the wall for hours.

Projects
Among the greatest strengths of this program are the one-week sprints on small teams. During each of these four sprints, you will collaborate with your peers to design, build and deploy an impressively professional app. These experiences prepare you for working on teams at software companies: You pair- and mob-program to build features and squash bugs; put test-driven development principles into practice; learn how to implement effective project management strategies; navigate snags in a high-pressure environment; learn new technologies really quickly; and develop approaches for working with colleagues who don’t always share your style or perspective.

These projects become professional portfolio pieces and provide real-world experiences to discuss during interviews. But even more, they prepare you for your future job. In my opinion, they put Alchemy head and shoulders above other bootcamps.


Career Services
Shannon is an impassioned advocate for grads in the network that she is diligently growing. (I have her to thank for my acquiring the interview that led to my current role.) But she also teaches you how to advocate for yourself as a software developer. She provides you materials to consider your strengths and weaknesses and how you’ll fit in the tech community. This helps you grow your confidence about what you have to offer, which in turn allows you to converse comfortably at both networking events and interviews.


Community
The Alchemy community believes in you when you have doubts. Megan and Shannon will always remind you of just how uniquely awesome you are. That sort of personalized attention simply doesn’t exist at most bootcamps and figured prominently into my decision to attend Alchemy. The community of grads is also ridiculously supportive of current students. (That includes me! Please reach out if you have any questions. I did the same before choosing a program.)


Remote Learning
My cohort transitioned to remote learning almost halfway through our program due to COVID-19. I could not have been more impressed with how seamlessly and professionally Alchemy handled the pivot at a really ambiguous moment. Communication channels were completely open with students to ensure that we were well supported, and staff were quick to heed our suggestions. Our actual schedule was unchanged; we simply switched to Zoom lectures in the mornings and worked on labs from home in the afternoons. “Zoom rooms” were available during lab time for students who wished to simulate the in-person experience, when we would often work independently at the same table.

As someone who had to commute at least an hour each way to reach Alchemy’s physical location, I found that I had more time to complete labs and maintain work-life balance. I also found it easier to focus than I did when we were in person. That said, those of you with families at home may have a different experience.


So is it worth it?
Alchemy is more expensive than many bootcamps. Given the depth I wanted from a program and the networking that I considered imperative, that expense was well worth it. The tuition was a big chunk of change that I didn’t have, and as someone with a master’s degree that was already going unused, I wasn’t willing to increase my debt unless I was really confident that I would 1) enjoy the work, 2) be trained adequately to actually do the work, and 3) find a job after graduating.

Through my time at Alchemy, I developed not only the technical skills to be a competent software engineer, but also the ability to collaborate effectively on software teams and confidence in myself as a woman in this male-dominated field.

I was offered a job within two months of graduating that almost tripled my previous salary — and I was actively interviewing for other positions at the time of the offer. I expect to pay off the loan I took out for this program in six months.

So yes! Alchemy was so, so worth it. If you are confident that software development is the right fit for you, then look into Alchemy.

I came into the program with no prior programming experience. You quickly pick up how to use vanilla JavaScript and HTML as well as CSS before moving into working with databases and libraries such as React. It's a very fast paced program where you learn a ton in a short amount of time. The instructional staff are top tier and the TA's are super helpful in answering any questions you have an providing feedback for your assignments. The career services are also top tier. I would highly recommend this program to anyone - in fact I recommended it to my brother and he completed the course as well!

Enrolling at Alchemy was one of the best decisions I have ever made. The coursework is extremely rigorous, with built-in support systems to help students succeed. It’s pretty amazing that in less than half a year, students can gain a very solid found­­ation in both the fundamentals and cutting-edge technologies. The curriculum is updated for every cohort to reflect the most sought-after technical proficiencies.

More than anything else, what sets Alchemy apart from other schools is their stellar career services. They have spent years forging relationships with companies, and have built up a strong reputation for graduating students who are ready to hit the ground running and be contributing members of engineering teams. They go above and beyond to make sure students are prepared not just technically, but also ready to translate their existing skills for a new tech career. I graduated Alchemy feeling 100% ready to interview successfully and thrive in a technical career. 

Alchemy Code Lab is by no means your average code bootcamp experience. While many code school graduates might feel like they're ready to enter into the tech industry, I think few of them really are. As an Alchemy grad, I felt like I had a huge leg up over other code school graduates. Alchemy doesn't just cover foundational web dev concepts. The curriculum changes to reflect the rapidly evolving landscape of modern frameworks. Another incredibly important facet of this program is that on day one they are honest with you in that most of what you learn will eventually be obsolete. The most valuable asset you take away from this course is an understanding of how to learn new code concepts. For a 6 month course, I'm still shocked at the amount of hard and soft skills students acquire here. If you're worried about the cost, google "average full stack web dev salary".