Coding Temple

TLDR: I highly recommend Coding Temple for its great community and awesome career support if you can take the time to do the pre work and are prepared for the intensity of a bootcamp. 

I completed the full time software engineering bootcamp a month ago and just accepted my first job offer. I have prior coding experience which helped me find a job so quickly after graduating, but I definitely credit CT with having the ability to find the job.  

I felt a great sense of community at CT both during the bootcamp and afterwards. The slack channel is very active, there are tons of extracurricular activities and workshops, and the small cohort size and instructor support is phenomenal. My instructors were Ryan and Alex, and they were amazingly kind, helpful and knowledgable human beings. They took the time to answer every question. With a cohort of about 12 people, it was very easy to get support.

I loved the structure of the class. We start with a 30 minute whiteboard, (this is so beneficial for once you're looking for jobs,) followed by the lecture, a lunch break, and then any remaining time in the eight hour day is a sort of study hall. The cohort TA is available to answer questions as you're working on your homework. This part is "optional" but I really recommend not skipping it. It was so helpful to have that time. There are also evening and weekend TAs, but your cohort TA will be the most helpful, since they are knowledgeable of what is going on in your specific cohort. 

In terms of curriculum, some weeks were more intense than others. There were weeks where I really felt like I was learning and processing the information, other weeks where we followed along and wrote long pieces of code without full understanding what we were writing. But this comes with doing a bootcamp; it's more of a survey to give you ideas of what you want to learn. There were weeks that I was working 70 hours, but not every week. In the end, you definitely learn enough to build your own full stack application, something I would have really struggled to do on my own. 

The pre work will take more time than they tell you it will. Please give yourself the time to do it! They asked us to read 6 chapters in a python book and do a quiz for each chapter. I wanted to be really well prepared, so I pushed back my start date in order to have time to complete the pre work. I probably spent about 40 hours on it. Some of my cohort mates signed up just days before the cohort started and hadn't completed the pre work. They had a much harder time with the first few weeks of the program. They will also ask you do a html/css tutorial and create a portfolio. Make sure you finish this before you start! And I would recommend taking the time to learn some basic html and css before you begin. If possible, do a tutorial on bootstrap and learn some javascript fundamentals. And start doing CodeWars before the program even starts if you can. This program is shorter than any other bootcamp by 2 weeks; devote those extra 2 weeks to pre work! 

I think what I was most surprised by was the quality of the career support. There are 2-3 career workshops during the course but you can basically reach out the career coaches, Marlene and Aubrey, any time. Once you graduate, they switch you to the alumni slack, where there are daily workshops, daily challenges, tons of topics to discuss, and career coaches available for mock interviews and coaching sessions whenever you need. It is soooo comprehensive. They also just started an open source project that alumni can contribute to. Marlene and Aubrey are the dream team; Marlene will tell you exactly what to do to find a job (do everything she says,) while Aubrey will give you the encouragement you need get through the difficulty of the job search. Nate and Sam were wonderful and super knowledgeable technical coaches. 

Overall, as with any full time bootcamp, it's going to be super intense. But Coding temple is a great choice. 


Read less

I am a Digital Foundry & Operate Manager at Deloitte. In 2020, during the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, I got downsized by my company. I decided that I needed to update my tech skills, and transition further into technology management. I had a technical background, but wanted to learn how to write code and use data science in product management. Wanted to use these skills to my advantage when conversing with software designers, UI/UX developers, and other members of the product team in order to build robust projects.  I learned of a software development/data science program that the City of Chicago (Chicago Codes) was creating for displaced employees, due to Covid-19. Chicago Codes partnered with Coding Temple, offering a 10 week software development and data science bootcamp. I was a little hesitant, being a more mature student with previous experience in IT. I wanted to further my career in IT management, and did not know if this program was appropriate. However, Ripal Patel assured me that I had experience on my side. I was not starting a career, I was enhancing my management career trajectory within the tech sector.  I completed the 10 week Coding Temple software development bootcamp cohort in 2020 with Coding Temple. I learned to expand my horizons, and challenge myself daily. Sometimes I was operating on a diet of no sleep and fumes, for what seemed like an eternity.  However, It was the best 10 weeks that I have spent, in a very long time.  Our instructors, Joel Carter and Nate Welter extracted coding skills that we did not know that we possessed. We walked in as novices, and came out coders who understood the nuances of Python, JavaScript, React, JQuery, SQL, Numpy etc.  My cohort felt more like family, than colleagues.  We struggled and succeeded as a family, together. We have become life-long friends. Over the years, we have congratulated each other on our mutual accomplishments and have referred each other for positions within our respective companies. Personally, completing the Coding Temple cohort in 2020, was the best thing that came out of the Covid-19 pandemic.  Thank you Ripal Patel and Marlene Tang, for your continued guidance and support in the Coding Temple Alum Community. This journey has been personally challenging, yet rewarding and fulfilling. I could not and would not have wanted to do it all over again, without Coding Temple.  Read less

This bootcamp will teach you enough basics to land a junior level developer job; it is very much a "you get what you put into it" type situation, where if you can keep up with the work and do some extra learning everyday, you will most likely be successful. Since the camp is only 10 weeks, it is very fast paced and students can fall behind very quickly if they're not on it. During the bootcamp, I kept thinking about how I should have picked a longer camp, one that provided more time for certain subjects or could just cover more in general. After finishing though, and finding a job, I'm glad it only took 10 weeks time to get where I wanted to be. If you are someone that needs more time to grasp new things, you might want to consider an option longer than 10 weeks. 

The material taught was enough to give a broad sense of how a full stack application is built and generally how the pieces all fit together. My cohort only did one group project during the whole camp, I really think it would have been beneficial to do more of those. The alumni support is amazing and honestly, the best part about the whole camp. The alumni staff are there for you and are so supportive and helpful in job searching and interview prep. If anything, go to Coding Temple just for that!  Read less

There are plenty of reviews about the quality of the course which I agree with 100%. However what you really pay for is the support after you graduate the bootcamp. 

    The career coach, Marlene, knows what she's talking about! Her advice is always on point, she's very knowledgable about the software engineer job market, approachable, and will literally walk you through every step of the job hunting process if you ask her. Her goal is to help you get a job and she backs that up in her work ethic. She helped me and 100s of other graduates walk through job offers. Plus she will help you land your second, third job and beyond too. I would not have got a job as quickly as I did if it wasn't for her help. She hosts weekly workshops that include celebrating graduates signing offers and asking them what they did to land the job as well as going over any tips/techniques in the job hunting process.  Added bonus: She also will help you find a house (she has a realtor license)!! Find a bootcamp that has a career coach who will help you get a job and help you buy a house...spoiler alert YOU WONT!
    There are two technical support instructors who have the talent to work at MAANG companies. Nate and Sam both have thought the course so they are very familiar with the curriculum you learned. They host weekly workshops that either reenforce the skills you learned in the bootcamp or some new techniques that build upon what you learned in the bootcamp. Nate hosts an additional weekly workshop that covers technical interview questions other graduates have been asked in interviews. There are daily coding challenges to keep your whiteboard skills sharp (every Friday there is a chance to win Amazon gift cards). AND on top of all this there are recorded series that cover totally new topics such as Java basics and Fast API. It can feel overwhelming at times but thats a good problem to have.
    Lastly, there is the alumni graduate body who support each other. From helping each other fix bugs in our jobs or personal projects to posting job opportunities at their company it really does feel like a big family helping each other out. The best thing about being apart of Coding Temple alumni is that all these resources are for life. 

The quality of the course and the resources you have access to after graduation is worth every penny. In fact it's almost a steal. I haven't compared Coding Temple's alumni support to other bootcamps because I don't need to. I have everything I need to succeed and more. Take this course, put in the effort, and enjoy the success. Read less

I did research on bootcamps and read tons of reviews online and on Reddit. I applied to several bootcamps and passed a technical assessment, but my inner voice and connections from space told me this was not the right place for me. And I started from the beginning. 

One day I found a hidden gem-Coding Temple (And now I can say that, because before I had a lot of doubts). I applied, took the assessment, and from the first second before bootcamp even started, I got my first coding challenge to complete a prework. I was so excited about it, and I started feeling that these guys are on the right track and they are interested in you succeeding. It's incredible, but on the first day you learn the basic concepts of programming, and by the end of the week you are making a Law Firm website. The most important part is that mentors teach you not where to put a piece of code, they teach you WHY you need to put this piece of code, and they teach you to think as a developer. My life changed forever. My class was a magic class, and I’m so grateful to my mentors Kevin B. and Dylan S.; if you got them, you got a mega million winning ticket, and it's not just a $2 payout, you will get much more. During the course and especially after graduating, you will get so much important career support from the super professional Marlene T. And these are not all the bonuses you will get. After bootcamp, you will continue to grow as a developer thanks to the great support from the staff (Thank you, Nate W. and Sam D.) 

Thank you, Coding Temple, for giving me the ability to swim like a dolphin in the sea of software development. Read less

Easily one of the best choices I have made. The teachers were incredible. (Kevin and Dylan). They pushed us all to be at our best from the very beginning. They were honest about our work and helped us reach our max potential. They always challenged us with every project and assignment given. By no means is it an easy course. The weekly white board sessions helped us become more comfortable explaining our code in front of other peoples.(The wheel of death). It was something we all dreaded at first but something I'm glad they had us do because it has helped me with my interview skills. This is a course where you only get as much as you are willing to put in. Overall a great experience and i would recommend it to everyone who wants to learn how to code and thing like a software engineer. Read less

Where to start.
From the front office staff to the instructors and all the people behind the scenes, Coding Temple is hands down the best bootcamp around. I start my journey back in 2021 I was workin a full-time job (60-70 hours a week) I got week 3 into the program and Nicole checked in with me because I was so far behind I told her I don't think this is for me I work to much and have no time to sleep or even eat. Nicole mysel and co-founder Ryan work together to come up with a plan where I would  return in the summer of 2022 and restart the course. I restarted in June of 2022 and with great motivation I flew through the prep work with flying colors, and started the course with much more confidence then I did the year before. Huge Huge shout out to my instructors Brandt who was there for me almost everyday no matter how dum the question was he always found a way to make it make sense, and Shoha who made class worth coming to everyday. He always made it fun. I really liked the cohort I was in there was always someone in the classroom where you could bounce ideas back and forth or get help in an area you were struggling in and no matter who was in there no one ever made you feel behind or not up to speed we all helped each other out. My one very small teeny tiny thing is you only get 30 mins of 1-1 time with the instructors a day. There were many times where I wish I had just 15 more minutes. Overall the experience was amazing and continues to be they have a great alumni program for after you finish the course with TONS of people who all went to Coding Temple and are there to help you with anything coding related (job, project, etc.). I would recommend this course to anyone looking to get into the tech industry. You need 0 experience to start they teach you everything. Read less

As a complete beginner knowing absolutely nothing about code so much so that I thought coding was just putting 1 and 0 in the computer however, after beginning my adventure at Coding Temple I soon found out how absolutely fascinating coding is. The instructors are there to help you with whatever you need and really care they want you to do well and enjoy coding as much as they do. Coding Temple has been a great leaning experience for me as well as many others I can't wait to start me new career and I can't thank everyone at Coding Temple enough for giving me this opportunity  Read less

Coding Temple has a culture of hard work and honesty. You will get out of the bootcamp exactly what you put into it. If you're looking to make a career change into Software Engineering / Development, the instructors and career assistance staff will be there to back you up every step of the way. 

I remember having a lot of concerns while looking for the right bootcamp, and one of my biggest ones was that as soon as I graduated, I was on my own. This is not the case at Coding Temple. When you graduate there are live lessons nearly every day, 1 on 1 meetings you book with instructors, and infinite job support from Marlene and Nate. 

If you have any doubts about Coding Temple, let Ripal give you a call, I spoke with him before signing up, and he lays out how to program works from A to Z. 

P.S. Request Lucas Lang as your head instructor if you can! Read less

As a true beginner coming from a completely different background, I am so glad I went with Coding Temple. They have unbelievable support here for their students and also for their graduates. The staff are amazing, the instructors are down to earth, relatable, endlessly patient, and knowledgable, the post grad support is unlike anything I've ever expected, just above and beyond. My only regret is not joining sooner! Read less

Coding Temple will take you where you want to go. It is hard to see progress in yourself until its exceptionally obvious, but trust the reviews and the program. For me, the structure, and expert guidance was the allure for this camp and I was not disappointed. Brian was an excellent teacher, with patience and kindness. You can expect long hours, and if you do not have any coding experience, it will be very difficult. This will likely be the most studious weeks of your life, and if you are considering anything other than studying and sleeping, it might not be the choice for you. There will be a plethora of study material, so you will get what you make of the program. The training is excellent, but it will also provide a foundation to learn more on your own very effectively adding on to the value of the camp. This career field is one where there is constant learning and growth, so consider this as well. In addition to great instruction, the after class Alumni Group is very active. In the Alumni Group, you can work on your resume, advance your skills, and connect with many like minded individuals. I highly recommend this course, for anyone looking to get into software development as a career. Read less

I had a great experience at Coding Temple. Before enrolling in C.T., my coding / web design experience dates to at least 15 years ago. I was overdue for a re-introduction to the wonderful world of web development.

I like how C.T. emphasizes both the material subject matter (the curriculum) AND the job search process itself, and how -- once one passes/graduates the program -- one becomes availed of ongoing education AND career advice.

I found a focus here, while also gaining an introduction to a wide array of topics.

With the help of the alumni staff, I'm assessing my strengths and taking time to study and delve in to areas of interest and areas for improvement, with ongoing support.

My advice to future students would be to "code along" in Jupyter Notebook or VS Code during the first 5 weeks, but by the weeks where we study Flask, React and Express, perhaps use class time to just "observe"...  There's so much happening, and so much building on the previous material, that trying to code along and troubleshoot and cut/paste. etc risks missing important points of instruction with regard to the advance of new material... 

Either way, however, all class lectures are available to review indefinitely (at 1.5 x speed!)... But since my instructor consistently uploaded to github the relevant files for each day's class, there's no urgent need for the student to "code along" at the expense of "big picture" understanding -- during the somewhat accelerated Flask, React, Express weeks.

Sometimes, (personally) by the time I realized I needed after-hours help, the available TAs were already booked. But that I'm sure is a labor concern, not a quality concern. For most of the time, help was available and they were definitely knowledgeable and positive.

Another thing I appreciate about C.T. is the general vibe / community of proactive, enthusiastic ppl helping each other along, no matter what stage, nor real/perceived obstacles. I do appreciate that community in Slack.

Read less

Brandon Apol, Christian Askew, Kevin Beier, first and foremost I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for all your hard work and dedication as instructors. You personally made coding temple an amazing experience for me via video. I'd do the whole course again and again, and even recommend it to a friend! Self pace was a wonderful experience for me because of the videos and the hands on guidance from each of you.
I came to coding temple looking for a chance to break into tech and I received so much more than just a chance. I receive the skills to become a professional student and researcher, understanding the space to always grow and learn more. I love the support and positivity I received in my whiteboard sessions with Christian, the awesome commentary every video with Brandon to keep me alert, and the great food choices for how codes by Kevin in the pre-work. 10/10 would recommend, I love the work coding temple is doing for people like me! Thank you! Read less

I came into Coding Temple with almost no coding experience, spurred by a desire for career path change, and I would recommend it. As several other reviewers have mentioned here, the program (like most things in life) provides the most to those who take full advantage of what it can offer.

I appreciated the structure of daily lessons and routine assignments and the accessibility of the instructors. Students should realize that there is an unending supply of technical detail and that it cannot possibly all be covered – much less in 10 weeks. How to react to this reality? Ask questions, do additional research, and follow the path of technologies that pique your interest. You can show up and sit silently in the background and you will maybe/probably do fine, or you can embrace the full experience and excel.

Personally, I enjoyed the challenge of the classwork/projects, but found my desire to focus specifically on coding after graduation tepid (I was probably an outlier of my cohort in this sense). However, I now had a list of skills and the demonstrable ability to learn new technologies and apply them, which I parlayed into a consulting job with a software company.

Understand that this is not just a 10 week process – those who got the best jobs most quickly from my cohort continued to hone their technical abilities after graduation and put considerable effort into applying and interviewing – these truly are separate skills to be learned. The post graduate support is far beyond what I assumed it would be and benefited me greatly. I met routinely with Marlene (the career coach) who gave unending advice and helped push me to rethink my potential. A special thanks to her. Read less

This was the best experience! If you are looking for a career change or would like to find your niche in coding, this is a Coding temple place to start. I graduated with a BA in Economics and had no real job prospects. I wanted to go into Data Analytics (so thinking that a coding boot camp was the next logical step) I took the leap to enroll in the full-time full-stack development (remote) program. I fell in love with software engineering and now have a position as a lead software engineer only one month after finishing the program. 

Let me start off by saying, this program (like everyone else will tell you) "is what you put into it". Some students in my class went above and beyond on every project, while others completed what was required and did just fine. Expect to be on zoom Monday-Thursday from 9:30 - 4:00 CT. Some days will end sooner than others depending on that week's curriculum. Your TA is also available after class, in addition to a night TA. Friday is a project day where you have a lot of freedom, but the instructors will be available to help throughout the work day. Although you can avoid coding this day, I definitely recommend getting the weekend project done since you can immediately contact your teacher when you get stuck. 

Brian, my instructor, was the absolute best. He was incredibly knowledgeable and prepared for class, introduced topics in a way that wasn't terrifying, and was patient with his instruction. Looking at online tutorials after finishing the program,  the way he taught things is better than 90% of the material on the internet (easy to do and understand). I often reference his code. You can also engage with other students in the slack channel which is really great for your support system with my program being online. They have daily challenges, guest speakers, and codewars events. 

Curriculum wise, everything you learn is very useful. I found that the first couple of weeks I had more time than I budgeted (according to reviews). This is a good time to dive into syntax and get up your points on codewars. I spent the most time coding during Flask and React weeks. Be prepared for those weeks to make you question everything you know. Once it does click you will regain that confidence, it's just a lot of information to learn at once. 

After you graduate, you get moved to the Alumni channel where they have weekly review sessions. Nate teaches technical interview topics 3 times a week, where you can cover advanced topics from class more thoroughly. Marelene is your career coach to help you go over linkedIn, job resources, and resumes. You can also hear from alumni going through the interview process and how the hiring process went for others.  Read less

I absolutely enjoyed my time learning Software Engineering from Coding Temple. From first phone interview to post graduation. The application, learning, and career support are amazing. I went from zero coding experience to actually understanding and building applications. It was a great price for the time learning. It is a 10 week intensive process, which was perfect for someone who could stay out of the work force for long. Shout out to Terrell and Ryan for being the best and the amazing cohort and friends I gained. The curriculum is Python and JavaScript, and learning both frontend and backend frameworks. Every week, you are learning something different and applicable. There are whiteboards that everyone gets the spotlight on and you are aided by the teachers. They were always readily available, and really want you to succeed. Post graduation, the career support is great also. I am learning a lot just from the mock interviews and guest speakers who were just in our shoes. Highly recommend! Read less

From knowing nothing about coding to having a very solid base and amazing support. What they say at the start is show up and put in effort and if you do that you will get what you want out of it. It's fast and a lot of information. What I wish I did was each week write down what I didn't understand so once everything was done I can have a list to start and go though. Loved the school, teachers and everything else. Highly recommend Coding Temple!  Read less

I had zero software development experience when I enrolled at coding temple, but as promised that was not a problem. The staff is constantly available for the students and care about the success of each individual. The course is time consuming and takes a lot of time and focus, but I believe Coding Temple covers more material and better prepares the individual for a job than most other bootcamps out there. Read less