Covalence

I really enjoyed my time at Covalence.  The videos were very well done, and the labs did a good job of assessing my knowledge of the material.  I can’t say enough good things about the instructors.  They let me know (literally every day) they were available for any questions I had.  They made sure I knew the fundamentals and were positive and encouraging when I was having difficulty with some concept.  They were instrumental in helping me set expectations for implementing features in projects, completing projects, and all throughout the job search experience.  I felt I was well prepared for searching for jobs, and was hired within a few months.

Covalence Cataylst program is one of the best investments I've made in my education and career.

That may be a bold statement, but I'll explain why in just a moment.

As someone who spent over 6 years in the mechanical engineering industry followed by a season in entrepreneurship, Covalence made the most sense for me after a post-pandemic career change.

Here are my reasons why I recommend Covalence to any aspiring developer or anyone looking to make a career transition into software development.


1. Cost, Time, and Skills:

You may already know the standard model of education is broken.

Covalence offers a cutting-edge curriculum that provides real practical skills you can use to build real things...not theory or useless info you'll never use.

When it comes to cost and time, the Catalyst program is extremely reasonable compared to a University program which often has an inflated curriculum (and can cost 4+ years and tens of thousands of dollars).

If you work hard and apply what you learn from Catalyst, you can definitely land an opportunity making as much or even more than college graduate(in less time too).

For someone who is committed and can dedicate time to learn, Catalyst can help you get up an running in less than 1 year.

2. Curriculum:

The Catalyst program was very organized and each section built on the previous.
The program did a great job of covering all areas of full stack development and a variety of modern in demand technologies.

As someone with very little programming experience, the program was manageable and there was always support when needed.

All the skills learned throughout the program come together nicely in a final project which can be used in other projects.

3. Instructors and Community:

This was the most impressive part of the Catalyst program that made the biggest impact on my experience and career growth.

Not only was the learning fun, I actually looked forward to webinars each day.
Andrew and Luke both went above and beyond to clarify any challenging concepts.
The instructors were very patient and always made time to help me understand the material.

I also enjoyed making friends and connecting with other developers on a similar journey.

4. Job Prep:

After graduation, the instructors did a great job making time for leetcode prep as well as portfolio project development support. The job search process was challenging, but having continued support from the instructors and community was super helpful!

Conclusion:

In summary, I love what Covalence is offering by providing students with real practical and applicable future proof job skills.

If you are looking for a coding bootcamp to take your skills and career to the next level, the Catalyst program will prepare you for the development world. You will not be disappointed.

I heard about Covalence through a colleague when I was trying to make a career change. I did not know too much about software development but it sounded interesting so I decided to give it a shot. Covalence provided a great jump start to my new career. I enjoyed Covalence so much that I am now enrolled in a Computer Science graduate school program. My instructor was accommodating with my work schedule and you could tell he wanted you to do well if you put in the work. Small class size was beneficial due to I was able to get a lot of one on one time with the instructor. But I do think if the class size was bigger we could have gotten a better feel for working as a team on projects (but really majority of the course is you learning concepts so this is not that big of a deal).

Covalence has been an invaluable and well-rounded learning experience for me. I consider myself tech-savvy, but not a gadget geek by any means, and Covalence had a great mix of easy-to-follow video lectures and labs, while also challenging me to find my own answers as I progressed through the curriculum. It became evident that this was their intention: you can’t always have the answers provided to you, so you as the developer need to go out and find them sometimes. I felt like I wasn’t simply being taught to be a developer, I was learning on my own how to be a developer.

I completed the Molecular course in about 7 months, and I finished my final project after that. By the time I was done, I felt ready to walk into a job interview and tell an employer what I could do. That doesn’t mean I can code anything––and from what I know now, almost no developer could––but Covalence helped me acquire the skills necessary to be confident approaching a coding job. I’m prepared for the process I need to undertake to succeed and the issues I might face along the way. Because of my location I had to choose an online program, but I’m thankful I did in the end; since it was self-paced, I was able to learn more and dig deeper on concepts I didn’t understand well. Two developers I know, who completed in-person 3-month bootcamps, told me I’d probably be a better developer than them because of this difference.

I’m incredibly thankful to the team at Covalence. They are truly supportive of their students, and they are quick to respond to your questions or concerns. When an unexpected life event came up for me, they worked with me to ensure I could take the personal time I needed before coming back to the curriculum and ultimately being able to complete the program.

I loved the way the curriculum is set up. I learned via video lectures at my own pace and I had a webinar I could join every day (Molecular program). Knowing I had a live instructor to work with daily kept me progressing quickly––and I was often lucky to be in webinars by myself so I had personal attention. Plus, I had 1-on-1 mentoring sessions when I needed them for more in-depth stuff. Initially I was afraid of not having that in-person attention, but I realized that I had better attention doing it online through the Molecular route (not to mention time and energy saved when I could literally roll out of bed and start coding). Cost was one of the main reasons I chose Covalence, and frankly I’m impressed with what I received for such an affordable price.

What could they have done better? It's hard to say because all it took was asking. The team/instructors did what they could to make it happen whether it was a mentor session at a weird time or a new video about React Hooks.

All in all you’re learning with a fun and encouraging group of people which goes a long way toward keeping your motivation up! My main instructor, Luke, is an awesome, energetic dude and he was instrumental in helping me learn: he was there every day in webinars asking us what we were struggling with, doing a deep dive into a topic or teaching a new trick he learned. The community overall has a wealth of knowledge and experience, so if you’re trying to find some information/answers without luck, the Covalence community will have some solutions for you. Because of them, I always had help when I needed it.

On top of that, there are constant discussions about new tools, languages, updates, etc. that your fellow devs are working with/trying out, and bringing your own questions or curiosities to the group is always encouraged. As an alumnus, I know that continuing to be a member of the Covalence community will help me keep up with new stuff happening in the dev world.

When it comes to my new career, Covalence’s career webinars and services have been helpful to get my resume, LinkedIn, and portfolio going. That’s also something my fellow alumni and the instructors are already very helpful with: telling us their personal experiences in interviews, job postings they find, any helpful tips they have. It’s great having some help in this realm since getting your first job can be daunting.

Ultimately, Covalence has been a way to learn full stack development, and (in my opinion) one of the most supported ways I could’ve done it. Being part of a community where everyone congratulates me on my victories, however big or small, and continues to cheer me on has gone a long way toward my learning and my success as I become a web developer.

Absolutely loved my experience at Covalence. I took the self-paced online Molecular program which at the time of this review costs $200 a month. This program provides 1 on 1 time with an instructor, daily webinars for additional help, and personalized video reviews for each lab that you submit.   The structure of this program was perfect for me as I had to work and take classes. I already had two years of Computer Science education in college, so I was able to breeze through the first quarter of the program. My CS education taught me the fundamentals, but Covalence took my experience to the next level with using JavaScript frameworks.   The cost of college is insanely high so I'm very grateful that programs like this exist at an affordable cost. Three weeks after graduation I received a job offer as a Junior Software Developer!

Covalence was one of the best choices I've made for my career. They provided training and insight into cutting edge tools for web-based software development. The instruction was excellent, and I could tell they really care about their students. They also have a vibrant online community on Discord, where instructors, fellow students, and alumni can help each other solve problems and learn, or even just chat. I was very impressed, and their Catalyst course was critical in helping me land my first job in web development. I can't recommend Covalence highly enough.

Had an awesome time learning in this program. The instructors were amazing. Always ready and willing to help. The course work and videos were constantly being updated to make sure the information is staying relevant which was something I haven't seen as much on other possible platforms. The way the course work and assignments were structured helps make you think more like a developer. Mainly they give you enough starting foundation and information on where/how to learn more if you wanted to get more into a certain subject, making you learn how to think more like a developer. As in, not every project is going to be "just the basics". Would definitely recommend.

 

My experience with Covalence was very good, it had everything I was expecting in a bootcamp. The mentorship they provide was second to none, and I was able to get enough one on one time as I needed to get me through some of the more difficult concepts. The other shining star in their program is there curriculum, its stacked full of video content and reference material, it gives you enough information to get going while leaving some gaps for you to cement in your knowledge. And if you really get stuck, they have a collaborative discord channel broken down into topics for you to discuss with other students, alumni, and instructors. 

As far as job assistance goes, I feel they did a great job making sure my resume/cover letter were up to par, analyzing my linked in, where to look for jobs. I feel students that were local to the bootcamp would feel a few more benefits being they know more about the local companies in that area, but I did receive help whenever I asked. 

With any bootcamp I cannot be stressed enough, this isn't a magic key to getting a developer job, you will have to work before and after the bell to get the skills needed for a job. Some students get the luck of the draw finding a job quick, for me it was little over 6 months. During that 6 months I continued to get better and learn different technologies.

I came to Covalence knowing absolutely nothing about programming but eager to create a new opportunity for myself. I was initially anxious about my lack of experience (I had no idea what JavaScript was) but was relieved to find out many of my classmates were in the same position.

Covalence's instructors are undoubtedly what secures their program's reputation as a five-star boot camp experience and sets them apart from other programs. My instructors, Will and Jio, were enthusiastic about my learning experience and always ready to provide the help I required. They were willing to come in before class, stay after class, and even offered assistance on weekends if needed. This is not to mention that the entire Covalence community of instructors and students was only "a click away" 24/7 on Slack (a community messaging platform) to help with any problems or questions I had. 

My classmates included beginning level programmers, as well as students who had considerable experience with code, and both experience levels were able to find what they needed with Covalence's curriculum. More experienced programmers were challenged and learned valuable new skills alongside classmates new to programming. The curriculum was fast paced and downright arduous at times, but it was designed to be so. Covalence was acutely aware of this and ready to step in to assist with or speed along my understanding when necessary. Our instructors genuinely valued the class's feedback and continuously made adjustments to the curriculum when appropriate. The last two weeks of class were dedicated to a final project, during which the instructors began to step back and challenged us to find solutions to our problems with less assistance from them. This time proved to be especially valuable as I became significantly more confident in my coding skills and my ability to perform on my own once in a job setting. Preparing for an entry-level programming job in ten weeks was a demanding process that required me to put in work outside of class in order to keep up with the concepts. If you are willing to dedicate personal time to your learning, this curriculum is designed for your success. 

Initially, after graduating Covalence, I began the job search process and was pleased with the effort and enthusiasm Covalence's Director of Student Success, Kimberly, provided me with. She helped edit my resume and cover letters, would send us job listings, and reached out to potential employers on students' behalf. 

I eventually decided to continue my programming education instead of directly entering the workforce. I'll soon be moving from Tennessee to California to pursue a degree in computer science. I'm attending a program I surely wouldn't have gotten into without the education and portfolio Covalence equipped me with. I do, however, believe I would have been ready to begin my career as a Full Stack Engineer after attending Covalence had I chosen to. 

Well, there you have it! Should you decide to attend Covalence I hope you are able to thrive with them just as I have. Good Luck!

Covalence was more than a class, it is family. From the cohort to instructors, it was nothing short of awesome.

The struggle is real, but the payout is way beyond worth it. We learned technologies like Bootstrap, NodeJS, MySQL, and even React which was created and developed by Facebook!

The creations we were capable of just after 5 weeks was impressive, but after 10 weeks and learning React-Native (used to create cross-platform apps that run on both Android and iOS!) the possibilities became endless.

You don't just learn a handful of languages and that's it, no, you learn how to learn ANYTHING and put it to use!

With their new online courses available and the FREE webinars they do, the options have become even more AFFORDABLE!!!

I highly recommend this bootcamp to anyone thinking of taking this career path.

Overall Experience:

This was a career change for me and getting another 4-year bachelor’s degree in computer programming was a ridiculous and expensive pipe dream for me. Like with any career change, I needed something that could prepare me to become a software developer. I came across Covalence thru a Google search via the Course Report website and signed up for the January 2017 Nashville Full Stack Software Bootcamp that lasted 10 weeks. The location of the class was at the Refinery inside Houston Station, which was a nice safe environment with decent parking.  Most students in the class were sailing the same unemployed ship as I was, so people were motivated to succeed in the course in order to get a job.

Curriculum:

I went in knowing nothing about how to code a website or a mobile app. You will see a lot of reviews saying that it was the hardest class they ever took, which in most cases, it will be difficult since it is like learning multiple foreign languages.  It is a 10-week course, so I expected that learning all the bits and pieces of what goes into Full Stack Development (Front End, Back End, and Database) was going to be at a fast pace. For me, the first two days was the biggest hurdle to overcome since there were a lot of tutorial videos in the morning and coding projects in the afternoon to absorb on HTML and CSS. By the time we switched to JavaScript in the first week, it was pretty straightforward from there because the curriculum is structured to build on what you learned in the prior labs, so by the time you get to your final project, you should be able to build a website/app with less hand holding from the instructor and teaching assistant. My favorite troubleshooting tool was “console logging” all my variables in order to see how the data was flowing thru my project from Front End to Back End to Front End.  This feels like a nerdy coding anecdote, but there was a point where I enjoyed using console commands so much, that I ended up using “console.dir();”, which allows you to see data inside of an “object Object” in the console. There was a moment in my final project where my React Native code stopped working if it was not in debugger mode, which had my instructor stomped for a moment because React Native doesn’t console log errors unless it is in in debugger mode. When I let him know that I was using “console.dir” in my code, he realized that my “console.dir” were giving a negative one aka undefined when it was not being debugged, so he wrote me an if-else statement that would by-pass that problem, so that I didn’t have to delete all my “console.dir”.

Instructors:

We fortunately had an instructor who was a guru at computer programming and a teaching assistant who graduated from Covalence that was very knowledgeable of the course material.  They helped guide us thru the coding challenges that came up every day.  They tried their best not to just solve the problems for us but instead guide us in the right direction to get to the solution.  For me, I didn’t want to be spoon fed a solution; I wanted to be able to figure out how to write the correct function, for loop, or if-else conditional statement on my own. If my attempt at solving the problem was a train wreck, it was comforting to have the instructor/teaching assistant there to help because I can tell you that Stack Overflow is not the greatest resource for coding problems when you can have a coding guru right next to you showing you what you did wrong.  The funny thing is most of the time, it was misspelling a variable or missing a curly bracket or a comma somewhere.  One of the best things about the course is when you have those moments where you solve something without needing to ask for help, but when the instructor looks at your solution, they make a comment that it could have been coded with fewer lines of code, which makes your great personal achievement seem like an okay personal achievement, but you silently agree that the instructor’s comment is right, which is the main difference of learning to code on your own versus having a coding expert right next to you.

Job Assistance:

Covalence has two team members that are dedicated to helping you update your resume towards a coding job and help you prepare for the technical job interview. They scheduled guest lecturers in the local tech industry to share their experiences with us, which helped us get a better idea on what we were getting into.  Four things that you will get out of the course that helps toward your job search is a new skill set of computer languages, a Github account filled with your lab projects and final project, a LinkedIn account (if you haven’t made one), and resources to tech meetups that increase your chances to network with job recruiters/hiring managers. In terms of a guarantee of job placement after the course, this was not something I was expecting from a 10-week software bootcamp, but Covalence still tries to help you find jobs regardless.

Final Thoughts:

After 10 weeks, I am able to code a website or mobile app in ReactJS and React Native from Front End, Back End, and Database without help now.  This to me is priceless since being lost and unsure on how to code was a huge mountain to climb over. Covalence helped me overcome that mountain, and now, I feel prepared to look for a software developer job on my own. You get to stay connected with a great coding community thru the Covalence Slack channel after the course is over. Lastly, Covalence provided me the foundation and the software tools to be able to learn new programming languages on my own because this is a career/industry that has many languages that handle Front End, Back End, and Database development.

Recommendations for Future Students:

1. If you can, bring a MAC laptop with at least 16 GBs of RAM. Your class experience will be smoother except make sure you have a root password set for you MySQL database when you get to that lesson…

2. If you want a head start, find a tutorial on how to make a website with a code editor (VS Code) with just using an index.html file that displays your web elements and a CSS file that styles your web elements.  If you are a savvy coder, try to add Bootstrap to your index.html file.

3. (Advanced) After you successfully make a website with just an index.html file and CSS file, make a JavaScript file (App.js) in your code editor that uses jQuery or DOM to display web elements thru the index.html file.

4. You will realize over the course where your strengths lie; be it making things look pretty with CSS or adding more functionality thru JavaScript.

5. When dealing with Front End requests to Back End responses, know that you are sending some kind of “request” from the Front End to the Back End such as “get all images links from database”, and the Back End will send a “response” back with all the image links to the Front End. Make sure your Front End understands the response from the Back End or else it will just console log an error.

6. There is nothing wrong if you can’t be good at everything. Just be great at what you enjoy. Good Luck!