Byte Academy

I took the intro to Python course and it was fantastic. It gives you the basics to pick up the hard skills that are required in the python language. Greg (lead instructor for full-stack dev) was a fantastic instructor who is very passionate about showing multiple sides of the concepts and problems. He also helped throughout the course on the challenge problems which was FANTASTIC despite the class being a free intro course. Also, Kai (head of admissions) was very helpful in providing the information you need and she is very passionate about helping potential students on the python journey.  Although everything was solid, I would be more interested in seeing more challenging problems that are generally harder for concept learning. But again, this might be overkill for many people since many of the students are generally new to coding and this was an intro course. I will recommend to anyone interested in stepping onto the python language to take this class. This was awesome learning immersive with a $0 price tag. You MUST take this class if you are willing to LEARN in the changing industry environment where python language is becoming a MINIMUM (on top of your excel jockey skills)!

I did not graduate from this bootcamp since I got (and accepted) a great job offer about 3 weeks before my course ended. However, I did complete phases 1 and 2, the bulk of the curriculum, so I can speak (only) to that. Phase 3 is mostly independent work, working on your solo and group projects.

The best thing about this bootcamp is the size of the cohorts. It's very small, it feels like a family and you get to know everyone really well. not only the students in your cohort but also the other students, the alumni, the instructors, and all the people in the office. you become each other's family for those months and people genuinely care about each other's successes and challenges. The curriculum is hard, especially if you (like me) have zero experience in coding. They tell you to "trust the process" and you should, but it's not enough. you have to put in a lot of hours to make sure you get what was presented in class. I would have liked more instruction time and more one on one time with my instructors especially during phase 1, when everything was new and overwhelming. everyday there's new materials with very little time to practice, to absorb, to let things sink in, but that's the nature of these bootcamps. and the schedule did get better in phase 2, partially because of byte's ability to be flexible and attentive to student's feedback.

I will say that the instructors seem to be very busy doing many many other things in the organization and didn't always have the time to walk through a solution, or go over a new concept one more time. At some point I just accepted that I don't always understand everything and I just have to follow the procedures to get things to work. Huge shoutout to Greg and Gabby - their official title may have been TA's but they were both such an incredible source of knowledge, expertise, and comfort. They (but really, every single person, students included) were always willing to give more of their time and energy to explain things or answer my endless questions.

In addition to the coding curriculum there's also a job placement/ career services curriculum which I can't stress enough how important it is to follow - I was skeptic about it and tried (!) to procrastinate but fortunately Jenna wouldn't let me and this is how I ended up getting a job. 

Overall, this was a good experience for me. It took me way out of my comfort zone and I feel very privileged to have met those people at the beginning of my new journey.

If you understand that this is a big commitment and that in the end you're the one that has to do the hard work (the instructors won't do it for you) - then this is the place to go. Good luck!

 

I was a somewhat non-traditional student at Byte in that I had a fairly extensive professional background in software development (PHP web applications & iOS) and I was looking to modernize & expand my skillset rather than learn development from scratch.

The small class size, personal attention, and focus on student-designed projects meant that they were able to tailor my experience to my needs. It is a very challenging introduction to Python, but the support is there for the students who need extra help while the space is there for students working at a higher level.

The knowledgeable instructional staff were a wealth of resources not just for daily lectures and exercise materials, but also with a deep library of knowledge for suggestions for readings and materials outside of class.

There is career counseling that is incorporated into the curriculum starting week one. I was hired by a blockchain startup almost immediately upon graduation.

The structure of the curriculum is two four week phases followed by a final six week phase. The first two phases present a large array of subject matter in daily lectures with a heavy load of exercises. Feedback is provided on exercises in regular code reviews where students put their work up on a project for group critique and improvement. There are weekly quizzes and assessments at the end of phase one and two that are quite challenging, but I didn't hear of anyone failing out of mine or the cohorts I overlapped with. The final phase is dedicated to two deployed projects focused on practical solutions to real world problems. I hear they have since incorporated a competitive challenge hosted by an algotrading hedge fund into the phase 3 work.

Byte hosts meetups and works with the organizers of hackathons. They do a good job of encouraging
Python is a great first language to learn. I'd suggest this program to anyone who is willing to work hard.

Coming from Banking & Finance background my objective of joining the course was to understand the tech side & develop holistic perspective of Fintech sector. 

Attending class & assignments after a long gap was not an easy task, but was made easy due to the program structure of foundation followed by full stack. 

The course content is industry aligned, faculties knowledgable & helpful. The greater emphasis on hands on assignment has helped me learn the nuances faced during application development.

Lastly, the peer learning was also of great help as whenever I got stuck during practise sessions, they were first point of call followed by instructors. 

 

 

I am part of the Python Full stack Bootcamp. It's been an intensive couple of weeks since I started it off. The first phase covers a lot of basics in Python such as data models, data structures, modules, file operations etc. These foundation concepts have helped me understand the language from a better standpoint. 

The Byte academy has developed a highly effective curriculum. The assignments and hands-on sessions during the class help a lot in understanding how to write effective codes. These further in aid in solving a lot of challenges on Hackerank and similar website. 

Our instructor has been very patient in breaking up every concept into its simplest form and explaining it in a detailed manner, with a lot of real-world examples for better understanding. It also acts as a great source to learn about the current industry trends and learn the skills expected of us.

The classroom sessions are highly interactive. The place as a whole has a very conducive environment to study, with a number of T.A's always around to help. 

Overall it has been an amazing experience and definitely a steep learning curve in such a small duration.  

I'm yet to get to the job assistance process and would love to rate it after that.

 

Really good cohorts and instructors and staffs.
It is in the heart of Manhattan but very quiet. It's so good place to concentrate to the programing because is in an beautiful office building.

Selected and small cohort sizes was great for me. I could ask instructors and cohorts whenever I wanted to ask questions.They told me fun and importance of data science and are now my best friends.

I really appriciate byte family. 

I think contents is not so different wherever you learn, what is importance is its enviroment and cohorts to learn with.So the byte will be one of the best place.

After, graduating from college, I felt that I didn’t have the hands on experience that a lot of companies are seeking. Byte Academy not only gave me the full stack development skills; they also gave me the finance education that allowed me to find and thrive in the FinTech industry. Upon leaving the bootcamp I found a position as an python developer in a startup company, called Enso Financial in the fintech industry. After, the company saw a successful acquisition, I left the company to work at one of the world's leading investing banks JPMorgan Chase & Co. For anyone thinking about learning to code, they should learn the basic and see if they truly enjoy it. And know that programming isn’t a solo act, it takes a team. Thats why learning programming in a group setting works the best. While attending byte I did not only learn to program but also build friendships that followed me through out my career dis far. 

Course: Summer Full Time - Python Full Stack - Phase 1

As coding becomes ever more important of a skill to learn, the options of places to learn them have also expanded. Searching for a course which focuses on Python and exciting applications, Byte Academy's Curriculum stood out to me by far as the most exciting, beneficial and lucrative. 

I'm sure that many Bootcamps have a more textbook and Lecture style way of teaching. Where they teach their students the theory and after the course let them apply what they learnt. The issue with this is that it doesn't propel you for any of the real world issues that you will face through your career and not to forget can be extremely boring. Byte provides you with an extremely hands-on course which keeps you stimulated from beginning to end. The project-based learning means you will come up the course with a full portfolio and give you a real feel for what a programming role will be like. This balance between learning and application, I feel will trump any other coding course, in regards to teaching style. No day was dull and everyone has constant optimism and ambition to learn a lot.

Thom and Billy, my intructors where fantastic and really added to the great experience. The small cohorts really allowed you to have alot of facetime and make sure that you are never stuck for too long. You work in small teams and have the real flexibility to work on what you want. My course was Pure Python and I think that's their flagship course.I can't speak for any of the specialisation courses.

The admissions and Career team really helped to make sure that you feel comfortable throught the programmme. Byte really understand what is needed to a get a great job. I'm currently interning as a Data Scientist at Facebook. I can genuinely say that the learning which Byte Academy provided me with, was pinnacle to receiving an offer.

The location was great and put you in the centre of Manhattan, I enjoyed trying a new restaurant every day and exploring what New York has to offer.

Thank you Byte Academy for providing me with one the best summers I have ever had!

 

 

I attended byte academy over the summer of 2017 as part of the summer bootcamp and i have to say Im glad i did!
Located in the heart of Manhattan in an amazing office building , byte academy from the get-go  gave off a real professional and academic feel to it, which i felt added hugely to the whole experience, as it gave me a true kick of inspiration and drive to hopefully turn the skills learnt from the course, into a job which would place me in a location very similar.

One of the biggest selling points for me of the course was the small cohort sizes, which was filled with very bright, like minded individuals  that came from a wide variety of different backgrounds, which in turn meant that due to the small number of us we all got to know each other really well . Consequently this made collaborating on different problems and projects very enjoyable,  and everyone was happy to bounce ideas off one another and constantly challenge each other to come up with more efficient, or drastically different methods of  tackling diffrent problems. Furthermore, as the cohort sizes were small it also meant that we had more personal contact time with the instructors and they were almost always available for help.

This brings me onto THE selling point of the program, the instructors.  Byte academy is lucky to have one of the nicest collection of employee's i have ever come across, all which are very happy to take out time out their day to help you with whatever you need. The attitudes and energy of the entire team at byte is one of the key reasons which i think differentiates byte academy from all other programs. A special mention has to go out to the main teacher of our Cohort, Tom, who went above and beyond of what was required of him, staying after hours to help explain or debug things we were having issues with, and to top it all off doing all of it with a smile. 

All in all i think that byte has constructed an amazing course, which is structured in a way which constantly pushes and challenges you, yet leaves room for you to to shape it into what you want out of it. If your thinking about enrolling, i personally cant recommend enough that you do,  as you will get out of it what byte promised and more.

*After reading what some of the other reviewers have had to say i feel like some of the negative points mentioned should be taken with a pinch of salt. While i cant comment for what byte was like in the past, i can say that i got the feeling that byte is a company which is constantly striving to improve, and i know that lots of the shortfalls mentioned have now been properly revised and addressed.