DigitalCrafts

I completed the immersive 16 week course at DigitalCrafts Atlanta location. Joining a bootcamp was one of the more difficult decisions I've made in life; however, I wouldn't take back a moment of it. I came in knowing light HTML and CSS and what a crazy journey it's been. I feel if I had learned purely on my own, I wouldn't be at the same place I am now for another year or so. And by that time, I'm sure another 10 languages would have came out and I'd be behind.

The staff was always friendly and helpful, both before starting and during the 16 weeks (even when I asked 1000x questions). The teacher was incredibly knowledgeable, patient, and able to keep the class laughing. I loved the small class size. I felt I could truly have a moment of either the TA's or teacher's time and go through concepts I was having troubles with.

Curriculum is on point. The biggest hurdle of programming is getting down the basics. If you don't understand the basics, when the next shiny new language comes out it'll take you so much more time to learn. This course focuses heavily on the basics when starting with Python. Covering classes, functions, variables, arrays, objects, dictionaries, algorithums, clean coding, command line, syntax, making comments, and the list goes on. From there, we jumped into CSS/HTML and JavaScript. These 4 are all languages that are not going ANYWHERE anytime soon. After all the basics were down, we jumped into more niche languages and kept building upon the fundamentals.

As far as job assistance, they have a staff member dedicated to reviewing resumes, Github profiles, LinkedIn profiles, cover letters and portfolios. She is incredibly knowledgeable and knows the tech industry very well. She does a thorough job going through spelling, grammar, links on your portfolio and more.

Overall, DigitalCrafts was a great experience. And with every other bootcamp, you get what you put into it. Yes class is 9-4pm, but you better believe we don't only put 30 hours a week into this. Most people stayed past class and/or came in on the weekends. It's not easy, but the teachers, staff, and my classmates made it a wonderful 16 weeks.

Dropping everything to attend a fully-immersive 4 month coding bootcamp is an extremely risky and expensive commitment, but DigitalCrafts was worth every minute and penny. After spending a couple of years in the Account Management realm of the Advertising Industry, I found myself looking for a more technical and creative career path through web development. I spent several months researching the different programs in the Atlanta area, from General Assembly to Iron Yard, but none of those programs appealed to me as much as the Full-Stack approach that DigitalCrafts offered.

The DigitalCrafts curriculum changes with the industry, making it a versatile program with up-to-date material. This ensures the relevancy to the students entering the industry and keeps them marketable for companies looking to hire them. The Full-Stack approach really appealed to me the most because it covers both front-end and back-end languages, allowing the students to explore both aspects of web development. This gave myself and the other students the ability to learn both sides of web development and choose which path interested them the most.

Rob Bunch, the instructor for my cohort, was incredibly knowledgable about all the material taught in the curriculum and was passionate for each and every student throughout the entirety of the 16 week program. He adapted the pace of the course to the individual cohort and made sure every student received the help and support the needed to succeed. He kept the course engaging and entertaining, and used real life industry examples to help students relate to the material being covered.

The founders, Max and Jake, as well as the rest of the staff, dedicated countless hours to ensuring our success in the program. Throughout the length of the course, the DigitalCrafts team offered amazing job support through project, resume, and online portfolio reviews, as well as continuously providing a wide array of part-time, full-time, and contract-to-hire opportunities through the many DigitalCrafts Slack channels.

All in all, DigitalCrafts was an unforgettable experience. From the people I met to the confidence I gained as a new developer in the tech industry, I can’t thank the DigitalCrafts team enough for all that they provide in their Full-Stack Development program. I would highly recommend this program to anyone looking to get into the web development industry!

My decision to attend DigitalCrafts and pursue a future in Full-Stack Web Development is by far the most rewarding decision I have made in my career. I spent five years in project management before I decided to take my career in a different direction. DigitalCrafts does a great job of taking career changers from all walks of life and teaching them the skills needed to become Full-Stack Web Developers in a short amount of time.

The founders, Max and Jake, take great care to ensure that they have the best talent teaching the class. They recognize that it is the instructors who keep students engaged and motivated throughout the 16 week program, which is not an easy feat for a classroom full of students who are completely new to the subject. I was lucky to have Rob Bunch as my instructor. Rob is incredibly knowledgeable and a highly qualified developer; he is also one of the funniest and most genuine people I have ever met. His passion for his students and their success is clear, and he keeps his students motivated to work hard and to keep learning. I found myself looking forward to each class not only for the subject material, but to interact with Rob and continue to learn from the best.

The curriculum changes based on what is in demand in the job market. In the quick paced and ever changing world that is web development, the curriculum may change from one cohort to the next (or even mid-cohort). DigitalCrafts is not afraid to change their curriculum to stay up to speed with the current tech trends.

The career search support has been excellent, with DigitalCrafts providing feedback on resumes, portfolios, and online profiles. Jake and Max constantly send updates on job postings in the area and will reach out to potential employers on the student's behalf to introduce DigitalCrafts.

I truly believe that DigitalCrafts is the best coding bootcamp in Atlanta and would absolutely recommend DigitalCrafts to anyone looking to get into Full-Stack Web Development. Without a doubt, I would absolutely attend DigitalCrafts again.

DigitalCrafts is something special. A coding bootcamp by itself isn't anything special. There are hundreds of them. If you stand downtown in a major city and throw a rock in a random direction you'll probably hit one, or it will at least land close to one. So what makes DigitalCrafts stand out?

1. The Founders: Jake and Max have built a strong, close-knit organization that feels organic. They have hired instructors and staff that genuinely care for the students and take pride in what they do. They are on-site and available to answer questions, resolve issues, or just chat. They are supportive and encouraging, and they will challenge you to do your best.

2. The Staff: During my cohort two new staff members were hired, Liz and Zakia. From day one they were friendly, helpful and ethusiastic. They took interest in our projects. They gave their insights from their respective fields in order to help clarify questions about things like searching for a job. Katy wasn't on-site, but communicating with her was fast and easy. She quickly and efficiently provided several pages of feedback on my resume, portfolio, LinkedIn profile, and Github page, which were quite helpful in maximising the chance of getting interviews and ultimately landing a job.

3. The Instructors: Rob was my instructor, and he is easily one of the best teachers I have ever had. He's smart and funny and is able to present difficult concepts in an entertaining way, yet clearly and concisely enough so that at the very least you can easily learn more about any given topic on your own and be able to learn it well. His breadth and depth of knowledge and experience are second to none and he is more than willing to share his knowledge, as well as work with you individually to work through a difficult problem. He stayed in the classroom with one student from my cohort until well past midnight helping them with a project. For our final project my partner and I wanted to use tools that weren't covered in class. Instead of insisting we use what we learned in class (which he could have easily done), he ecouraged us, gave us resources, and shared his experience with us in order to ensure we were successful.

4. The Students: What can I say about my fellow classmates? Over the 16-week course, we laughed together, cried together, got frustrated together, and triumphed together. Note that the key word here is together. We all came from different professional and educational backgrounds; we varied in age, socioeconomic demographics, domestic profiles, country of birth, and language. Despie our outward differences, we supported and helped each other, encouraged each other, and rooted for each other. I started DigitalCrafts among 15 other classmates but graduated with 15 new friends.

So now the question is, did I make the right decision in attending DigitalCrafts? The answer is an unequivocal "YES!"

DigitalCrafts is an amazing experience. It takes a lot to drop your career and devote 4 months to a coding bootcamp. It's expensive and risky, but if you think web development is your future, DigitalCrafts is the place for you. The staff is amazing, the environment is comfortable, and the students are all willing to work hard.

Jake and Max have done an excellent job providing an effective program that really cares about the students. Day or night they are always willing to help, and if they can't help they will find someone who can. Rob, my instructor, is exteremly intelligent and wonderfully witty. He is not the bog standard anti-social computer nerd. He loves to teach while connecting with his students. He walks the line between humor and instruction gracefuly, explaining complex ideas with effective, comedic analogies. 

Atlanta Tech Village where the Atlanta classes take place, is an awesome locations to say the least. It is very modern, leaving you with a feeling that you might just be working at google. If you are having a bad day, there are pingpong tables, videogames, and free beer in the community center. The building isn't only dedicated to DigitalCrafts. It is littered with tech startups of every variety, so you are constantly surrounded by people who have real working experience. Not only does this present you with unlimited networking opportunities, but it's also a great way to learn from real professionals. 

The students at DigitalCrafts come in all shapes and sizes. Some people in my class were in their early twenties others were in their thirties. Some had masters degrees, some had PhDs, and others had no degree at all, but everyone was intelligent and willing to work really hard towards the same goal. Our backgrounds didn't matter, we were all staring from the bottom. Everyone had strengths and weaknesses which is a huge help. If you have trouble someone else can help, if someone else has trouble you can help. I found that helping others was very a great way to reinforce the things we were learning in class ehich made helping others a benificial activity. 

One of the biggest benefits of DigitalCrafts is their connections in the Atlanta area. From Chick-fil-a to Home Depot, they have good relationships with plenty of companies and will get you interviews. They provide career support during and after the program, constantly posting jobs they find and openings at companies who come to them looking far suitable applicants. 

DigtalCrafts was the adventure of a lifetime. One I wish I could do all over again.

Did I need to go to a coding bootcamp to learn software development?

No. There is more than enough information available through free resources such as freeCodeCamp, edX, Coursera, and Udemy to transition successfully into a software development career.

Would I still make the decision to attend DigitalCrafts if I had to all over again?

Yes. Yes. Yes! What made my DigitalCrafts experience worthwhile wasn't their curriculum (don't get me wrong, that was great too) but rather the mentorship from a Senior Developer whose sole role was to transform me into a competent software developer. I value the confidence I gained at DigitalCrafts tenfolds more than the knowledge I gained here. I was intimidated when applying because of how foreign development felt to me. But little by little, that intimidation transformed into a newfound passion for developing and building applications that can make a substantive impact on people's lives and businesses. 

If you know you want to attend a bootcamp, but aren't sure which one to attend, I strongly recommend DigitalCrafts. Especially if you're in Houston. Every member I've talked to on their staff seems to really care a lot about the students' success. And they're all very approachable! 

My primary concern when deciding to apply was whether a program as new as DigitalCrafts would be able to provide me with a network strong enough to benefit me. It has and I think it will for you too. Their alumni network and their career network is growing by the cohort... so what I had will only be better for you. 

Some tips if you apply: 

Do the prework! You don't have to do all of it, but I recommend at least going through fundamental concepts of programming through a class like CS50x or MIT 6.00.1x on edx.org (both of these classes are free and DC will even reimburse you for their verified certificate). 

And have some experience with Python, JavaScript, HTML, and CSS coming in so you spend your time in class to learn and excel instead of just catching up. They will provide you recommendations to learn the basics in these topics but I recommend freeCodeCamp.com for JS, HTML, and CSS, and automatetheboringstuff.com for Python. Both of these resources are free will be more than adequate to prepare you for class. 

While you're in class, feel free to explore and go into depth of topics that you're interested in! I started learning Machine Learning and Cyber Security while I was in class. I recommend TeachYourselfCS.com to dive deeper into the theory behind the languages you will learn in class.

And lastly, remember to have fun! Sometimes stepping away and taking a break was all I needed to figure out how to solve the problems I was having with my code. 

I hope to see y'all on the Slack channel soon!

I would highly recommend DigitalCrafts to anyone who is interested in enrolling in a coding bootcamp. The staff is very supportive, especially my instructor Toby. I had no coding experience prior to the course and struggled a lot throughout the course, but Toby went above and beyond to help me out. Toby cares about each student. He created challenges for students who were ahead of the class, but also created exercises for students who were behind in class and out of class. His support and encouragement gave me the confidence to keep on pursuing a career in web development. DigitalCrafts hires instructors who are not only skilled but are also determined to help you succeed. 

Although DigitalCrafts is fairly small compared to the other bootcamps they have an expanding network and a great administration. They provide you with career support and have someone who gives you feedback for your resume, portfolio, github, and LinkedIn profile.

It’s a fast-paced and challenging course especially for beginners, but if you’re willing to put in the work it will be rewarding!

I recently graduated from Digital Crafts and it has been one of the best educational experiences I have ever had. The first thing that won me over was the level of importance they put on the pre-work to prep you for the course. The instructors are highly qualified, and took the time to work with students if they were falling behind or ahead of the class. The curriculum is designed to teach you the most marketable technology skill set. The course is very fast paced, and I did have to put in lots of time outside of the classroom to learn and finish projects. 

When I first started researching bootcamps I wasn't sure if this was the best route to go, and I was very nervous about landing a job after completing a coding bootcamp. I ended up receiving an offer right before graduation and another one the week after graduation. We were provided with very good documentation to help you succeed in finding a job. They even have a person on staff who will provide you with thorough feedback on your resume, portfolio, github, and LinkedIn profile. 

I definitely wouldn't have been able to gain the confidence and knowledge to become a web developer in such a short amount of time without Digtical Crafts.

The first time I had ever attempted to code was for the entrance quiz to DigitalCrafts. In the 8 months since then, I have developed the skills, confidence and eagerness to pursue a career in web development. This could not have been done without the amazing support of the instructors and campus counselors at DigitalCrafts.

One person in particular, my course instructor Toby, was extremely patient with me during the many moments that I doubted myself throughout the 16-week process. He is committed to helping his students at any stage in their learning process, both in and out of the classroom. From what I understand, DigitalCrafts hires instructors who are not only extremely knowledgebale of the topics covered in the curriculum, but also very patient and driven to help students learn in what might be the most challenging endeavor of their lives. 

In addition, my campus counselors played an integral part in keeping me sane and assured during this process. They were very helpful to each student in the area of job assistance. I never had to wait long to hear feedback on items such as my resume, portfolio, and job-hunting inquiries. They reached out to potential employers and developed relationships with companies that have gone on to hire many gradutates from DigitalCrafts. The professionalism of Max, Jake, Natalie, and Katy, just to name a few, is second to none.

I would highly recommend other beginners take the plunge and enroll in DigitalCrafts. I promise you won't find a better support network than the great people at this bootcamp.

Everything about how DigitalCrafts operates makes this one of the best educational experiences out there. From the quality top-notch instruction, career support, curriculum, and location made it a life-changing experience. I got a job offer the day before graduating, and a few other students received offers during the class as well. It is intense, especially during the last couple weeks. It is easy to fall behind in the material because the class moves so quickly. I really recommend anyone considering this to be absolutely sure and absolutely dedicated because it is not a walk in the park. Students that put in more effort and were willing to spend outside class hours coding, no doubt got more out of it than students who did not.

Instruction: I was fortunate enough to be a part of Toby's last cohort. It was clear from Day 1 that he is truly passionate about coding and teaching. He had no problem breaking things down for us, helping us dissect the material, until we finally got it. When he felt that some students were ahead of the material, he created special bonus exercises to challenge them. When he felt some students were falling behind, he created exercises to help drill down the material. Our class had a huge disparity of skill level. Some people were true beginners and some came from very advanced technical backgrounds. Toby made sure to address it the best way he could and I really appreciated that. 

Career support: DigitalCrafts helps students with everything in the job search process, from portfolios, resumes, mock interviews, sending out job postings, interview tips, whiteboarding, networking, etc. The staff is extremely dedicated in helping find you a job. They have a small, but growing network of employers who have had positive experiences with hiring DigitalCrafts graduates. My only wish is for their network to be bigger, but considering this bootcamp is still fairly new, it is understandable. They have guest speakers and recruiters come in for networking opportunities but I felt like the pacing was just not right. They should have come during weeks 12-16 when students were starting to get serious about the job search, definitely not during the first half of the course when we felt nowhere near ready for a job.

Curriculum: They are constantly changing their curriculum to match what's in demand so you really can't go wrong with what you learn. The curriculum is specifically optimized to help students be more marketable as software engineers.

Location: The Atlanta Tech Village made being an unemployed student much easier. There is plenty of free snacks, spaces to study, places to relax/sleep, and free weekly lunches. It is really the perfect environment for a coding bootcamp.

I had a great experience at DigitalCrafts. I came in with a background in email marketing, which is where I was exposed to some front end development and decided I wanted to shift my career to the technical side. I chose DC over the other schools for several reasons: the length of the program, the curriculum (front end, back end, plus database), fair price, good reviews, and good vibes after interviewing. This course is very fast-paced, challenging, and time-consuming. You are pushed to your limits. Although class was M-F 9-5, I was in early, stayed late, and sometimes went in on the weekends to keep up. Despite this, I had a blast. Rob was a fantastic teacher — very engaging and enthusiastic, not to mention a wealth of knowledge. I landed a few interviews and ended up accepting an offer for a Software Engineer Apprenticeship at Home Depot, just a few weeks after completing class.