Devmountain

I finished and graduated from the QA boot camp at DevMountain this fall. This immense 6 weeks remote program is a great choice for beginners like me, who didn't have any coding/IT experience. The structure is great, it's very hands-on and lets you built an automation experience. I find it easy for me to continue learning other languages because of the foundation I learned from DevMountain. Would totally recommend this to anyone who wants to get into the QA world. Now on to the job hunting! 

One of the decisions I have ever made. It's a hard course, but totally worth the it. You will totally get out what you put into it. IF you really want to change your life and career, then Devmountain can't be beat. They are constantly looking to improve. I did the online remote course. Pro's... the daily lectures are recorded and available to download or viewing later if you need to review anything. There are daily surveys about ways they can improve. I can attest that they do look at those and evaluate what needs to be changed and improved upon. I know this as I watched how they changed the pre-course work to be even more effective and allow for a better experience once started into the normal curriculum.
Being a recent graduate. I can't believe the level of support they offer alumni. Instructor and other alumni or even Guest Instructors will take the time to help you on your app, answer questions, review code, do mock interviews, etc.. Alumni still have access to all their material if needed to go back and review anything you feel you need a review of. Job placement has a whole department dedicated to help find jobs to apply for, foster employment opportunities for employers seeking employees to review and interview graduates. You have periodic checkins to review your resume, LinkedIn and anything else that will help you land a job. However, don't think that once you graduate you are going to have companies lining up to offer you a job. The amount and type of jobs will only become available through the effort you put into find that dream job. 
I can't say enough good about this program. Its really more than the curriculum. Its the whole experience. 
As far as financing goes. I really hate this mentality of getting something for nothing. There are schools which offer "Free" until you get a job. Most aren't worth the words pixels their words are displayed on. Something of value is of value, because you paid for it. Most bootcamps can't get accredited so, federal financial aide isn't available. But there are other alternatives. I partially personally financed mine, and borrowed the rest from a recommended lender from Devmountain. The lender was https://skills.fund. They have been amazing to work with. I do have to payback regardless of the type of job I get post graduation, but I have invested in MY future, and if I am not working a job that I went to school in, then that is my fault for not putting in the effort to get one. I will gladly find intern - temp work to pay bills and my loan back as I pursue my dream.  I am the only one who stands in the way of my dreams coming to fruition or not. 

I placed a big bet on Devmountain considering I, as the sole breadwinner in my family of four, stopped working for thirteen weeks to become a developer. Although I had heard about Devmountain for years I still researched multiple other schools and camps. There are so many choices available right now (a great problem to have) but as I reached out to people I actually knew who were working in software and web development, most of them had gone through Devmountain so I pulled the trigger (keep in mind, I lived and and worked in the Lehi/Provo, Utah area at the time which is where Devmountain started and could explain why so many people in my network had gone through it).

Since I was looking to enroll a few months after COVID really became a global concern the tuition was heavily discounted and what used to be an in-person program was being offered in a remote context. I couldn't ignore the value and accessibility Devmountain was offering so decided it was time to make the plunge--and I'm so glad I did. 

From the beginning  I got a sense that Devmountain, which had been around for a while at that point, was pushing to innovate and improve their program. Their student experience and outcomes departments especially were two services I hadn't fully considered when shopping for bootcamps and they delivered beyond my expectations. The outcomes department has been revamped within the past year and provides a huge network of past grads, recruiter networking, mentoring opportunities, career prep resources, as well as job search and interview training. The student experience department reached out consistently throughout my thirteen weeks, just checking in to make sure I was doing well and to be a third party I could talk to beyond the instructional/mentor staff. My student experience manager even responded to some messages I sent her while she was out of office traveling to a family wedding and a I was having a particularly overwhelming day.

The Devmountain staff pushed us as a group yet allowed for us to learn as individuals at our own pace while making themselves available as resources at every point. 

I can't express enough how much I felt like they more than delivered on the their promises. I couldn't have made this change at this point in my life without my experience at Devmountain (or at least made this change as confidently).

There were a few things that could have been better. I had fairly consistent problems accessing lecture recordings for review. That mostly had to do with the platform we were using (GoToMeeting) and the growing pains of switching an in-person learning experience to a remote one. For the most part I was able to work around those hiccups though and access recordings of the same content from other cohorts who were behind and ahead of me.

Devmountain has been a game changer in my life and career. I'm so excited for what I've learned there and I feel like I have the tools to push myself and keep progressing on my own. I can't recommend Devmountain enough. 

Something to consider: The Devmountain instructional experience is heavily dependent on the instructor. I got to try a few "samples" of different instructors by checking out past lecture recordings and on days where another cohort's instructor subbed for our instructor. Luckily the curriculum was uniform but I definitely found that, at least for me, the instructor was the biggest factor on the quality of my learning beyond just my own practice and self-guided study. I never had an experience with a bad instructor during my time, but definitely felt like having a bad or less competent instructor could have easily ruined my experience. Again, from what I can tell, Devmountain is aware of this and seems to provide the best instructors they can find. No complaints, just something to consider when making your choice.

I just want to say how grateful I am to be a part of Dev Mountain. I was realizing the other day, that it doesn't end after graduation. I thought I was paying for a 13-week bootcamp that would further my education and skills. But Devmountain is so much more than that. I realized I have not only gained crucial dev skills in a mere 13 weeks, but I have also gained an entire dev community and friends at my fingertips as well as a way to connect and keep in touch with them. We continue to work on projects together even after graduation. I also realized with the outcomes team that I have gained skills in how to market myself!

This isnt just any 'school' this is a place for lifelong friendships within the dev community and I wanted to say how grateful I am to Devmountain for creating and letting me be a part of such a great environment.

This was a fantastic boot camp and I really have no complaints or regrets at all. I originally just wanted some structured format with access to teachers so that I could learn the basics and ask questions. I got way more than I bargained for. The material itself is very well laid out and useful, the teachers were extremely kind and helpful, but I also got ongoing access to reference material, valuable resources, the job prep team, and important network connections from my class. I learned a lot and had fun too. So this was way better than I expected.