First Step Coding

This was a fantastic class. I’m a high school teacher with zero coding experience. I spent a few weeks trying to learn to code on my own through various free online resources and then I found out about First Step Coding. I was initially skeptical about paying for the class, thinking I could learn Javascript on my own for free, but I am so glad I took this course! The instructors are great teachers who are very invested in supporting students (they even offer office hours via video chat for one-on-one support outside of class). I learned a lot really quickly.

TL;DR Totally worth the money if you want to apply to a top bootcamp; it was a much more effective way to prepare than using free online resources.

When I was trying to learn to code on my own, I wasn’t sure what to prioritize and wasted a lot of time bouncing between different resources. First Step Coding has a great beginner-friendly curriculum that helped me build a much stronger foundation in key concepts. The class size is small (my class had 6 students), so you get a ton of one-on-one support during class, and the instructors are available for office hours outside of class. Both instructors--Kurt and Andy--have a great teaching style. As opposed to a lot of online resources where I felt like I was just copying lines of code without understanding why, Kurt and Andy asked a lot of questions about my code to make sure I understood the concepts. When something wasn’t working, they always asked me questions to prompt me to identify bugs on my own and learn to fix them myself. We also did a lot of pair programming during the class. I found that, with all of these opportunities to talk out my thinking as I was coding, I made progress so much more quickly than I ever would have on my own, and now I feel much more prepared for bootcamp interviews.

The class also connects you with tons of high quality online resources to continue learning on your own. Once my First Step Coding course ended, I started working through interview practice problems for Hack Reactor and also learning Ruby (another programming language). I found that I was able to able to progress through the material ten times faster after getting a strong foundation from First Step Coding.

I also highly recommended signing up for the longer class that includes the “bootcamp prep.” This part of the class involves a project where you create your own web application. You also get to participate in a mock interview, which I found incredibly helpful in terms of feeling prepared to apply to bootcamps and knowing what to expect.

Overall, I learned a whole lot in this course and would highly recommend it to anyone who is "code-curious" (as they say) and looking for a good jumping off point. I really can't believe how much I learned throughout the prep course. Prior to this class, I had tried teaching myself some JavaScript and Python, but never got too far on my own. Then I signed up for this class and in less than three months I have built a web application from the ground up and feel fully prepared to continue learning to code on my own or to apply for a bootcamp.

You will find people with a wide range of backgrounds coming into this class. I personally had substantial experience working with data in excel (as well as some SQL experience) so many of the concepts came easier to me than they did to most of my classmates. This did not turn out to be a problem because the teachers were willing to provide me with more challenging exercises as well as guidance on advanced topics to learn so that I didn't get bored. The more time and effort you put in to this course, the more you will get out of it and the teachers are willing to help you learn as much as you can (even if the concepts extend beyond the core curriculum). It was the quality of the teachers that impressed me most about this course.

For those curious about the online course vs. the in-person, I say go for the online and save your $500. I was signed up for an in person class because I was worried about the online classroom dynamics, but then switched at the last minute and am so happy I did. It allowed me to skip the commute (I just worked from a conference room in my office) and it really did feel like being in a real classroom. I can't imagine that I would have learned any better being in a real classroom.

Final thing: I am extremely happy I took the prep course vs. the intro to coding class. It was the process of building your own web app that makes the big picture come together. Sure, someone who did the intro course can probably build a web app as well, but I'm not sure how easy it would have been for me to connect all the dots without the extra instruction. I found the exposure to APIs was especially helpful.

There are courses on coding and there's First Step Coding.

Designed for those with zero experience in computer programming-- over the course of the 4 weeks FSC provides a clear, organized, and straightforward introduction on the basics.

But it doesn't stop there. FSC is unique as an introductory course in its immersive and networking-based class model. With FSC you dive in from day one-- working both with peers and teachers while getting the chance to tour and network with people at several bootcamps (Hack Reactor, App Academy, Rithm School, to name a few).

And lastly, you have Andy. One of the reasons Andy does what he does is because he genuinely loves to teach and work with others. You can tell. I'm in the process of applying to programs now and Andy continues to give me advice and help me with interview prep.

If you're looking at getting involved in coding, I promise you, this course might be one of the best decisions you can make!

I'm at the halfway point in First Step Coding's 8 week bootcamp prep course at the Boston campus, having just completed the JavaScript portion of the curriculum, and I couldn't be happier with my experience. Kurt, Tom, and Alex are great instructors and have managed to pack an enormous amount of information and practical knowledge into short period of time. If you're new to JavaScript, this is a great way to become familiar with the language. After 4 weeks, I'm confident that by the time I've finished the program, I'll be able to get into competitive bootcamps like Fullstack Academy and Flatiron. As an objective measure, I'm about halfway through Rithm School's interview prep problems (they're available on Repl.it) and haven't hit a snag yet.

 

I had been contemplating a career change from business to software development for a while. Before committing to a full-time bootcamp, I wanted to make sure that I would enjoy coding as a full-time job. FSC's twice-weekly evening classes fit into my schedule and needs perfectly.   I had a blast in class! I loved that the majority of time was spent pair-programming. Coding is hard, so being able to work with another person helped my understanding of concepts through another person's eyes. Kurt, our instructor was also kind and incredibly patient.

Most importantly, I learned the fundamentals well enough to be able to apply to some top bootcamps. I got into my first choice and will be starting in the fall. I couldn't have done it without FSC!

I had no experience in programming of any kind before First Step Coding but we got right into learning basic JavaScript. It was certainly tough and I was stumped on things the majority of the time. However, I ended up going on to Startup Institute in Boston in the web design track. We had about two weeks of JavaScript courses which we did together with the web development track. We moved through the JavaScript courses super fast. Almost too fast for anyone to get a real grip on it as we covered the basics of JS so quickly and without much focus on it. This was the point where all but three people in the web design track decided to go the way of design rather than front-end development. If it wasn't for FSC I would have totally fallen flat here.

FSC provided me with a strong understanding of the basics of JavaScript that I was able to build off of that knowledge and understand the more complicated logic. The two other students who remained interested in development also had experience with JavaScript beforehand. I believe that something like FSC before a full on bootcamp is the key to success in the fast paced setting of a bootcamp. Programming logic takes a while to grasp for anyone so if you can spend time on the basics beforehand you'll be more successful moving forward.  

Towards the end of 2019, I began thinking about a career change into software engineering, but I had no background in coding. I started looking at free resources like Codecademy and freeCodeCamp, but I felt that I needed something more structured; that’s when I came across First Step Coding. 
Everything about the experience in the class was spot-on, from the curriculum structure to the pace of the program to the sense of community among the cohort. It was very clear that Andy and Kurt put together a really thoughtful curriculum given their combined expertise in the industry. We covered a lot of content in the program, and at times it was quite challenging, but the instructors created a really supportive learning environment. I appreciated how FSC is targeted towards beginners so that we were all starting from a similar place. Some people had goals of enrolling in a bootcamp while others were working at tech companies in non-technical roles, but we were all in this class because we were interested in becoming “code literate”.
Since I was interested in enrolling in a bootcamp, I did the 4-week Introduction to Coding in JavaScript plus the additional 4-week Bootcamp Prep through FSC. If a bootcamp is your goal, I would encourage you to consider the additional Bootcamp Prep; I was able to showcase my capstone project in bootcamp applications and I found the mock interviews to be extremely beneficial. After going through FSC, I spent some time working through the pre-application prep courses for a couple of bootcamps and felt very prepared going through that material. Ultimately, I applied to General Assembly, Flatiron School, and Hack Reactor and got into all three! I am so grateful for a program like FSC that was able to help a complete beginner become ready for a bootcamp; I would highly recommend their programs.

I've worked in SaaS tech support for a few years, and have slowly been introduced to code various concepts by virtue of doing my job. Over the years I've built a pretty broad understanding of various code concepts, but I couldn't tell you much about the basics ( like the difference between an object and an array).

This course provided an excellent framework for understanding the fundamentals of not just JavaScript, but also general coding principles that apply to any language (pretty sure I'll use P.R.E.P. for the rest of my career). I really enjoyed the fast-paced learning environment and having a web-based sandbox for completing take-home coursework removed a lot of the overhead/complexity of trying to use an IDE or set up a local environment.

One thing I loved about the class was, while zero coding experience is required, the learning environment is flexible/challenging enough that if you've already had some experience with certain aspects of the lesson, you can push yourself and still find a ton of value in the coursework (plus you have a knowledgeable instructor to ask questions and work with during office hours).

All-in-all, I cannot recommend this course enough for people who are interested to learn more about coding and want to get their feet wet with an entry-level language like JavaScript.

In parting, I wrote a program to illustrate my experience with the course:

var firstStepCodingClasses=8;

function learnToCode(firstStepCodingClasses){ 
var codeLiteracy=[]; 
for(var knowledge=0; knowledge<firstStepCodingClasses; knowledge++){ 
codeLiteracy.push(knowledge); 
}

return codeLiteracy; 
}

An intense online search for coding classes led me to First Step Coding and I am so happy I found it. Although self learning is great ( and very important in this field), First Step Coding is the right place to start and get a good coding foundation. 

My instructors were Riley and Kurt; they were both very nice, helpful,professional, extremely patient and always available to answers questions. The curriculum is indeed adapted for people with no coding experience and by the end of the program, you acquire a great amount of skills and knowledge.

I finished the program  in July and just got accepted into a bootcamp here in Boston. I would recommend this school to anyone new to coding; go for it, you will not regret it!

 

First Step Coding is a wonderful school to enter the world of coding—whether it's getting a grip on the building  blocks of Javascript and HTML or getting ready to apply to top-notch bootcamps that can help launch your coding career. 

I started my First Step journey with the assumption that I will not understand anything only cause I had struggled with Javascript at grad school. To my surprise, the instructors at First Step Coding made the process fun and enjoyable. At the same time, they pushed me to overcome my mental barriers with positive re-inforcement. 

I found all the teachers extremely approachable and never hesitated to talk about conceptual roadblocks I faced along the way. The team at First Step Coding is dedicated to help you learn. That is not only their motto on paper—it's evident in their attitude toward every student. 

I strongly recommend the online learning platform, as well. Not only does it allow you to attend classes after a long day of work, it also offers access to recorded classes that you can revisit to brush up questions/concepts that require a deeper understanding. 

The accountability aspect of the course helps drive confidence in students, who are pushed to tackle 5-10 questions on new concepts learnt on a weekly basis. By the end of the course, students like me start feeling more confident about the distance travelled. I am now in the process of applying to reputed bootcamps in New York City based on my training with First Step BootCamp Prep!