Concordia Bootcamps

Decode provided a comprehensive bootcamp in becoming a web developer, with an emphasis on fundamentals and continuous learning. Additionally, Decode provided the necessary knowledge and tools in starting a career as either a front-end, back-end, or fullstack developer using JavaScript and/or Node.js, along with understanding and using a framework (React) and other tools.

Overall, the instruction was great and the teaching assistants were for the most part excellent. I feel that more topics could have been covered in the course, but then again topics you could cover for web development are virtually endless, and the material had to fit into 8 weeks.

Great experience, and well worth my while.

When I first got the idea of doing a coding boot camp, I felt like it was a huge risk. And truthfully, it can be! I quit my perfectly fine job and enrolled in Decode because I wanted to make a fast change.

It's really crazy what you can do in just 8 weeks. If you're bored by your current job, industry, whatever - and want to make a super quick change into a computer science career, this is the program for you. If your end goal is to get a programming job ASAP, Decode is the right stack - they teach you the latest technologies in demand, unlike other boot camps in Montreal.

The boot camp is an intensive, condensed program with all the useful parts of a university computer science degree, and then some. A CS bachelor's degree to Decode's boot camp is like university to technical college. 

Now, about the course itself. The first 2 weeks are the toughest, as this is when your body and mind struggle with the fact that you're probably going to be at school for 10 hours every day. It really does require full spiritual and physical commitment, but this also means that almost every person in your cohort is 100% motivated and ready to learn, so it's a really awesome environment to be in.

During my cohort, we could've used a little more academic support - a couple more TAs would've been nice. Also, I do wish that a few more technologies were covered, but we have given feedback on this subject for future cohorts. There is after-grad support in terms of job search help. And also academic assistance, if you ask for it. But ultimately, the power is in your hands so be resourceful! 

It's been just under 2 weeks and I have a job offer. I'm super happy that I experienced Decode and would recommend it to anyone looking to get into software development today! 

Honnestly before doing the bootcamp I wasn't sure what I should expect from it, either some more technical knowledge on my resume which would have been valuable (for a career Web- related)  or enough skills / confidence / pleasure to start a new career. 

That was the later. 120%. 

The curriculum (React / Vanilla JS / Node ) where we solely focused on Javascript was one of the reason I choose this bootcamp over the other ones in MTL. Why ? because I trully believe it offered me the best mix of current job opportunities / future market perspectives / quick prototyping stack for side projects. I was not disappointed at all 

The staff. Jacques (the main teacher) and the TA (teaching assistants) were really a great help and support navigating through all the new concept you need to learn. They are all very knowledgeable and passionate about teaching. They made several adhoc workshop based on our questions / interests (Redux / Jest / Enzyme etc). Kevin and Natasha were really helpful in the post bootcamp job search. They do their best to connect you to the right employer. 

Of course it's demanding and you have to be fully dedicated to it. Not only through the courses, but also in doing the workshop at home/over the week end. As I see it, the bootcamp provides you all the tool and support to achieve what you want (aka for me was pivoting in my career), how much you get out of it depends mostly on you. 

That being said one of the key takeaway from this bootcamp for me was the pleasure I had doing it. Being in a class where all the students were fully dedicated to learn, 100%, was creating a really inspiring atmsophere. Plus with all the different backgrounds, I felt and still feel we're part of a community. (I wear the Decode Tshirt at work :) )

After that, I found a job in 1 month, and had even the privilege to choose among several offers. 

My biggest fear before the bootcamp was about my technical level, not  being sure I would be ready enough and maybe thinking that Decode would try to fill in the class despite the basic knowledge needed. No body wants to spend X thousand $  for something not appropriate.

Trust Decode and their interview preparation process, they're looking more into your logic than in a formal lvl of technical knowledge. At the end what is important to them is what makes a difference for you - aka finding a new job because that's their selling point. No jobs - No bootcamp.  If they believe you have what it takes, be confident.

 

Decode is the perfect fit for anyone looking to get a job as a junior web developer. Everything about the course is relevant and practical. 

When it came to job applications, Kevin was outstanding in coaching me through the process. He is extremely well connected in Montreal and which is a huge advantage for decode students. I was fortunate enough to land a job a few weeks after graduating.

To make the most of your experience, I would strongly suggest you follow many of the free/paid tutorials online and build some basic applications before attending. 

DecodeMtl does exactly what it promises. It is a high intensity bootcamp, where they will provide all the necessary tools and resources for you to come out as a competent web developer. They provide you with great instructors, resources and teaches you by making you write lots and lots of code. I am a software engineering student and had a fair bit of coding experience before joining the bootcamp (not in JavaScript though). So naturally, at first I was worried if this course was too basic for me but on our first meeting Kevin had assured me that I would be challenged. They kept their word. I got to learn a lot in a very short span of time. If I had to teach myself all this through online resources, it would have taken at least a couple years more. They also focus on the latest technologies which traditional schools or universities don't in my experience. While you won't learn about time and space complexity of algorithms and data structures, instead you will learn relevant practical coding skills needed to build actual deployable products. I certainly came out as a programmer with a lot more confidence in my coding abilities regardless of the language I am working with. After you graduate, they provide a lot of assistance to you for landing a job. I personally had to go back to school but Kevin assured me I could come back whenever I was looking for a job in the field. My only criticism would be, I thought the bootcamp was a week to short. As you really learn the most and the fastest near the end. Also the TAs stay up to 6 everyday, sometimes till 9. It would be even better if they stayed till 9 more often but then again no one wants to stay in office that late :p. My final advice would be, if you do decide to do this, understand that it is a huge time commitment and expect to stay late into the night. While Decode does their part, it is upto you to grind out the results. You got to do your part to get the best results. 10/10 would recommend.

I had a solid experience with Decode despite having very little programming experience. The stacks that were taught are extremely relevant in my opinion. I landed a job as a Wordpress developer after graduating, and with my experience in sales and management, I feel comfortable leading a team of developers.

Pros:

-Intense and gruelling; best way to learn

-Project-based (you're writing code all the time and producing original applications)

-Job placement services: it shows that Decode puts their money where their mouth is

 

Cons:

-Not enough TA's (although this forces you to be more independent and figure things out on your own)

 

My two sense: this coding bootcamp works best for people who have strong fundamentals in programming and who want to find a job as a junior web developer. If you're thinking about enrolling, my suggestion is to spend at least 3-6 months learning to code on your own in Javascript and get comfortable with it. This way you won't feel like you are punching above your weight. Fortunately Decode offers a free bootcamp prep course that you can finish in that time.

Good luck!

I was skeptical about bootcamps in general. Comp sci students take a minimum of three years to be ready to apply for software development jobs.

However, the 8 week program really gave me enough practical knowledge to be able to do well in the position I'm in now (funded, high-growth startup). To my own surprise, I passed the technical interview "with flying colours". Most comp sci graduates finish school with really good theoretical knowledge of how to build algorithms and the like. That's really interesting knowledge, but most jobs don't require too much of this type of skill. They require knowledge of modern libraries and methodologies, all of which I learned through Decode.

So, if you already have a university degree (like I did), don't go back to school. Do a bootcamp. If you're in Montreal, do Decode. They've been around the longest, and the Kevin/Ziad combo probably know more people recruiting software developers than anyone else in the bootcamp business in Montreal. This part is really important for organizing a proper demo day (I found my current gig there).

I also want to give a shout-out to the post bootcamp job assistance. The support doesn't end after 8 weeks. They do mock interviews (both technical and culture fit), they help review your CV, and put you in touch with a bunch of different recruitors. It's surprising how much this can help out in your career change.

TL;DR - Before Decode, I had no experience with coding. 10 weeks later, I had a job. 

If you're considering DecodeMTL, I would highly recommend it. There is seemingly endless ways of learning web-development, but for me Decode made the most sense.

Decode is an intense two months, but if you throw yourself into it, you will be in a good position to succeed afterwards.

Everyday, you have tutorials for several hours in the morning, and then the rest is spent on workshops that build off that material. The projects that you end up doing are fun and portfolio worthy. We built everything from a weather app, to a reddit clone.

One of the things I most appreciated about it was the fact that we as students, had 1-on-1 teacher access for about 11 hours everyday, and they never hesitated to answer your questions via slack outside of school hours. They won't straight up tell you how to solve your problems, but they will help steer you towards figuring it out on your own and will always make sure you understand why you got the result you did.  

The final Demo-day was a unique experience. This is a very cool part of the course. You end up presenting your work to a room full of potential employers, and it was through this I met the company I now work for. 

They don't just kick you out the door at the end of the 8 weeks. The next week - if you want it - is for helping you with the job search. They do mock interviews both regular and technical, and help you currate your portfolio, resume, and linked in.

If you want a program that asks a lot of you, but gives you a lot in return, Decode is it. From the top down, they genuinely care about you succeeding, and if you put in the effort, you will. 

 

My experience at DecodeMTL was extremely rewarding. I would recommend it to anyone who is looking to launch their career in web development, regardless of your background. The class size is small and very dynamic. You will learn a lot and work a lot - expect to spend your days and evenings there. If you are looking for an easy pass into learning how to code, this is definitely not it. Decode will teach you everything you need to know, and have a really good support system with the TA's, but they will not hold your hand. They will make sure you are really understanding what you are doing and why you are doing it. The more work and focus you put in, the more reward you will get out of it. 

I would recommend going into the program with as much javascript knowledge as possible. This will greatly assist with the learning curve and will allow you to understand the more difficult concepts much quicker. I would recommend doing the Decode prep course, as well as an extra month or two of hard study, prior to starting the bootcamp - you will get much more out of the program. 

The quality of instruction is really good. Ziad and the TA's do a really great job of simplifying complicated topics. Ziad loves what he does and really wants his students to understand and succeed. 

If you're disciplined and driven, you will thrive at Decode. Clear your schedule for 8 weeks and make the most of it. 

10/10 recommend.

 

 

I completed a full-time Data Science bootcamp with Concordia, graduating in December 2023. The course is intensive and covers a lot of material in a short time, but if you put in the effort, you’ll definitely learn a lot. Pros: Numerous workshops throughout the course to practice newly acquired skills, plus very friendly and helpful instructors. The career services afterward were also quite good. Cons: The bootcamp is a bit pricey in my opinion, and the course notes could be improved.

Being an immigrant, securing a decent job without a Canadian university degree is a real challenge. I consider myself fortunate to have discovered this bootcamp, as it opened doors for me to enter the field of data science. It's undoubtedly demanding and rigorous, necessitating long hours of study, but the rewards are well worth the time and effort invested. Moreover, the support from the bootcamp team post-graduation was exceptional. I want to express my special gratitude to Kevin Khoury and my career coach Penny Mancuso-Kaplan for their invaluable assistance throughout this journey.