Flatiron School

Picking Flatiron Full Stack Web Development course was an easy choice.  I was working full-time and planned to study online, I liked their bootcamp Prep Course, they offered job search support and the payment schedule was flexible - you pay $1500 a month up to $12k, after that it's free. So if you're able to finish the course in 4 months, your tab is only $6k. Plus they offer $1500 merit scholarships to 25 motivated students each month.
 
The structure of the course is pretty straightforward. You learn a new topic and in the next lesson you pass the test which usually consists of writing a function or fixing a broken code.  At the end of each module you build a project that will be part of your portfolio when you go searching for a job. There are tons of videos and webinars, 24 hr online support plus you can always schedule a session with an instructor.  Luckily for me I could find answers to most of my questions on StackOverflow so I didn't really use their support system. At some point I was even thinking that I chose the wrong program -  you can get the same course for $150 a month but without instructor's support (there is still a community-based help). That,  however, would have been a mistake as I realized later. 
 
I think the main feature is their post-graduation support. I was assigned a career coach to touch base weekly. She helped me build a resume, a cover letter, gave me tons of advice on how to speak to recruiters and employers and provided moral support all the way though my job search.  In addition to that Flatiron has a resourceful Business Development team who provide you with leads you won't find online. I wouldn't be able to find my job without those guys. I received tons of rejections, even though I made it to the last round of interviews at some companies. After almost 4 months I got an offer which was way above my best expectations. So I don't regret for a second it took that course, it's a life changer!

I was in legal IT and legal management for over 10 yrs before I figured out I wasn't happy, call that stubborness if you want but I wasn't happy. I began taking a lot of courses on sites like Codacademy, Pragmatic Studio, Treehouse, etc. Those are great sites but they don't emcompass everything you need to succeed. I set out looking for something more, something to get me over this educational hump and came across 3 bootcamps/online learning schools. Not to get into what all 3 institutions were I researched all 3 HARD. I just had a peace about Flatiron. Flatiron online courses were hard but not without an ability to get help, it takes time but only the amount you are willing to put in, its not cheap but isn't your future worth it? They want you to succeed and give you the skills to do so in the real world. Don't take your future lightly... research and make the best choice for YOU, Flatiron is a good place to start looking though.

Every step of the way I had doubts and despite seeing the success of my classmates around me didn't want to believe the outcomes Flatiron was telling me. I'm now sitting in the Downtown Chicago library writing this after getting my first fulltime job as a software developer and am 100% sure this never would have been possible without Flatiron. They exhibited significant dedication to my success during the curriculum and the job search in a way that put my public university education in English to shame. This is not an easy journey or a get rich quick scheme, but if you want to make it happen you can. Now Flatiron is the only organization I would trust on the journey and I believe that their model for post-graduation student success is something that colleges and universities need to learn from. 

I'm currently a little less than %50 through the prep work with FlatIron. Before starting on the prep work I also worked on the free boot camp prep on their website Learn.co. Though, I didn't complete the boot camp prep yet(hope to circle back around), the work I have done translates well into the prep work. I have had a little bit of confusion particular in the Local Environment Setup. The link for the setup wasn't working but the prompt suggested that I could proceed without it and that I would just use the broweser environment until I got to FlatIron's campus. I proceeded and got confused because the lessons were instructing me as if I had the Local Enviroment Setup and I didn't understand why things weren't working correctly. It was soon fixed when I reached out for help. The help came very quickly. The lessons can be challenging and some require asking for help, however this is a good thing. Unlike another online website I tried, they don't hold your hand step to step in which you aren't learning. FlatIron, so far has given me the gentle push that I need to proceed, and when I truly get stuck, if I ask, they give me a even larger push. I have been please thus far in my experience. I also very much enjoy the dashboard to help me stay engaged by setting visual goals. 

I'm currently 60% through the prework at Flatiron Coding Bootcamp. My experience has been very positive so far. The prep work is really intensive and I'm learning a lot. The lessons are well structured with plenty of hand-on coding exercises to help solidify new info. Flatiron has a proprietary online learning platform called Learn.co that students have to use for the prep work. I find it extremely user friendly, and it makes online learning much more structured. I was able to easily follow the step-by-step instructions to setup my local development enviroment to work on the lessons. The lessons are then submitted to github. All lessons are checked for successful completion through Learn.co before they are checked off as completed.

I'm very impressed with Flatiron online learning platform so far. This is also one of the reasons why I chose Flatiron over other bootcamps. I'm looking forward to attending class in July 16, 2018!!!!

I completed Flatiron's online bootcamp prep course to see if coding was for me - and I loved it! 

The course gives a fantastic introduction to Ruby and Javascript, with just the right mix of hand-holding as concepts are introduced, followed by challenges which require you to put what you've just learn to the test. I learnt a lot in a short space of time, and found it very rewarding. The online environment in which you code is easy to use, but advanced enough to allow you to think about the file structure of coding projects as well as the sort of command line interface you might use in the real world to manage your project.

As a result of the course I'm going on to study in-person in London for the software immersive course, and throughout the admissions process everyone I've spoken to has been friendly, quick to help, and passionate about what they do - I'm now very excited to start the next course!

Great for beginners who want to get into the field or developers with some knowledge but want to get to the next level.

The Flatiron Bootcamp sets you up for success with the help of a great team of teachers, TAs and a well structured learning program.

Over the course of 15 weeks, Flatiron teaches you the fundamentals of learning how to build the back end (Ruby on Rails) and front end (Javascript/React/Redux) of an application. Each section is broken up into 5 modules (3 weeks each). The first two weeks of each module includes a lot of labs, pair programming and smaller projects to get you accustomed to the new material. The final week of each mod allows you the freedom to build and showcase your newly found skills by buidling a small project. The last module is a fullstack project that you have full control over and can build whatever you like.

After you graduate, Flatiron connects you with a coach to help with all the things that are not code related. You will get weekly meetings to prepare you for the job search, interviews, and the paper work such as resumes/cover letters.

I highly recommend attending Flatiron. It has helped me in my career and it may help you as well! 

The bootcamp prep course was my first official lessons I took in programming. I've done self teaching a bit and the structure and clarity of the bootcamp helped expedite learning and retention. I would recommend this to anyone interested in seeing if programming is something they'd like to explore, whether it is for fun or for a potential career change. I worked through the prep course for my admissions process into the In-Person Software Engineering Immersive in NYC. It definitely helps set you up for being ready for the prework if you are accepted into the program. Overall, it's a well-made online prep course with clear explainations and a smooth guide to learning.

Flatiron School's data science prep course is a fantastic tool for anyone considering starting a career in the field. The course starts with python basics, and then covers simple plotting tools and machine learning algorithms. I found the prep to be particularly useful for putting techniques into practice after I had learned them in books. There is a very vibrant community around the school and help is easy to get from various slack channels as well as the online platform. Perhaps most importantly it is FREE, and has far more content than similar free offerings at dataquest for example.

The bootcamp prep course was challenging, but I feel it gave me a -real- glimpse of coding. "Coding is hard", and in the past I've felt that other bootcamps have held my hand enough to make it seem easier, but is that realistic in a job scenario?  Flatiron's bootcamp prep quickly gets to the point and teaches you great skills. I feel much more qualified in my pursuit of being a coder by just having completed their bootcamp. The support offered with the bootcamp is fantastic. They're available (almost) all hours of the day and respond generally within seconds of you posting a question.

I'm honored to say I'll be attending the software immersive program in a few weeks. The interview process is thorough and compared to other schools I interviewed with, they really make sure you are serious about this. They want to see demonstrated dedication and passion. Everyone I spoke with throughout the process was incredibly kind and helpful. I can't say enough about their kind, friendly, open & helpful demeanors!