Blaizing Academy

I have worked in customer service and operations my entire career, zero coding experience.  I was skeptical I was going to be a coder, but with intense focus and determination this program delivered.  I worked full-time and have 2 children.  Even with my husband picking up nearly everything, there were still many late nights and a tear or two when I became overwhelmed.  The hardest part was finding the uninterrupted time for practice and assignments while trying to balance life. If I had it to do again, I would DEFINITELY go full-time!

This instructors and learning assistants were encouraging and supportive, they were truly committed to my success.  

I actually attended the 24 week Part-Time Web Development Course.

Due to Indiana CARES Act Scholarships I was able to attend Eleven Fifty Academy 100% for free, but I can honestly say after the fact that it would have been worth it if I had paid full price. Eleven Fifty allowed me to launch from a completely unrelated field into the tech industry. I had done some code studying on my own before attending ( with free online resources) which helped tremendously with the fast pace at the beginning of the course. However, the free resources did not give me direction, guidance, troubleshooting, or camaraderie with my cohort, all of which is needed to actually get through this material. I would say we went through most of the material I had learned on my own within just the first 3 weeks of the course. 

While my class was part-time, only meeting 2-3 days of the week, I had access to assistance from Instructors and Learning Assistants throughout the week, and was able to jump in a zoom room with them for troubleshooting easily. You have to be willing to bring gumption and plenty of time to this program, but you have all the support you need to succeed.

My cohort went through HTML, CSS, JAVASCRIPT, GIT, NODE, REACT, and TYPESCRIPT (plus some other smaller technologies), although they are constantly updating the curriculum to match what is actually needed in the working world. You definitely learn as a class, and will get experience in working with a team on a code base using Git and becoming comfortable with presentation skills.

Lastly, I will say their Career Services team is excellent. You will get resume guidance, mock interviews, and 1-on-1 meetings. While I have not found a full time Development job yet (only 1 month out), they personally helped me land a paid summer internship and another sought after training program. I also have an interview next week for a full-time fall internship from their recommendation. They clearly have lots of connections and their fingers on the pulse of the tech hiring world, particularly in Indianapolis. 

I started the Software Development course in the peak of last years lockdown and I was definitely impressed with how seamlessly Eleven Fifty transitioned to offering online instruction. 

The instructors were very knowledgeable and helpful, and everyone was willing to put in work when a question was asked that they could not answer. 

This is an accelerated course, so you have to go into it with the drive and the willingness to work extremely hard, but this was one of the most rewarding experiences for me. I came in with zero coding experience and left with a specialization in .Net development and the confidence in those skills to look for an entry level coding position. 

After a fairly extensive background in IT (systems and networking), I felt the need to change course some and get into a new career path. I had always been interested in coding/programming/developing and had dabbled in it for years. When I first learned about Eleven Fifty Academy I was a little skeptical. After researching it some, I knew I had found an opportunity that I couldn't pass up. I took the full time course in software development and in three (3) months had learned enough to become readily employable and start in a great new career adventure. While you can learn this material from a number of places (and all over the web), one of the great benefits that Eleven Fifty Academy brings to the table is well-planned path to teach the main points of whatever course curriculum is chosen to get the student up-to-speed with what is needed to get a job and start a career. They also help guide and instruct on the skills needed to get a job, and, they teach you how to continue to learn on your own so you never stop learning.

I came to Eleven Fifty with zero background in tech, let alone coding. I never excelled in science or math in my formative years, so I had never really considered a career in tech besides maybe a sales role. Eleven Fifty showed me I did not need to be a math whiz or computer guru to learn how to code. Learning to code is essentially just learning another language. I certainly was not the most talented student in my cohort, but by the end of the bootcamp I was able to build a full-stack web application from scratch using JavaScript. My newly learned skill opened up additional tech opportunities that have lead me to the position I am in today: a full-time tech role doing things I never would have thought I would be doing, within 1 year of graduating from Eleven Fifty, and loving it. I also know there are so many others that have come through Eleven Fifty with very similar stories and outcomes. If you are on the fence about enrolling at Eleven Fifty, let this be your sign :) .  

Throughout my whole experience at Eleven Fifty, I felt that everyone was on my side and invested in my success. From the Learning Team, to the Student Success advisors, all the way through to Career Services, I always felt like they had my back. I also love that EFA is dedicated to helping the community and the individuals who are part of it. They've done amazing things for Indianapolis and it's so great to see their reach expanding to other parts of Indiana and beyond. So glad to have had this experience.

My personal experience was first trying to learn "code" on my own through online resources but falling short because I wasn't sure exactly what to research and the application that each language should be applied.  I decided I needed some guide-rails and chose EFA to produce this.  Not only was it an intense program, providing a ton of information, project-based challenges, but it was also clear that the learning team truly cared about the success of their students.
The biggest take-away that I came out of the program was the ability not only to understand the fundamentals of JavaScript, React, and Nodejs; but how to really research and practice building.  Since I've gone through the program, I've seen how the program has not only changed, always taking past experiences and building a better system with it, but track for even more improvement coming.

I decided to attend Eleven Fifty Academy after losing my job in the restaurant industry during the height of the COVID pandemic, and I could not be happier with my decision. Not only were the instructors attentive and knowledgeable, but the coursework was up-to-date and covered just enough of the basics to make me hungry for more knowledge, without getting too much "in the weeds". The Career Services department did a great job of guiding me in my job search following the program, fostering a personal dialogue that helped me establish my priorities in an unfamiliar field, and their well-established network of connections was very valuable. Overall, I feel like I can comfortably call myself a Web Developer with the experience I gained in this course, and I am extremely excited to see what my future in the tech field has to offer.