Flatiron School

I was a restaurant manager with little to no coding experience before finding the Flatiron resources online.
Instructors, coaches, and campus staff are there to help you, but if you don't reach out to them don't expect them to come to you. There is a lot of work and most times it can be very stressful. The school gives you lots of rope to handle the work yourself, but if you can't manage your time effectively you might struggle.
The career services department was helpful only after about 4 months of job searching furiously. I was a little disappointed to see there wasn't more support outside of the general job searching advice.
Overall, I landed a job just inside of 6 months after graduating which was the goal, so I would call my experience a success. However, I know a lot of people from my cohort that are still searching with no end in sight.

I went through the immersive software engineering program at Flatiron from April -July 2020. We had a very unique experience as we were the first cohort to go through virtual immersive learning at the Houston campus due to Covid. Even though I was concerned with missing out on quality instruction, I have to say that I was wrong. We had top notch instructors every step of the way who were more than willing to help us in any way possible. I will say, for me, the instructors made all the difference. There is no way that I could have learned all this material on my own in such an efficient manner. Our instructors were always prepared, challenging, and extremely helpful. They had been in the industry for a long time and knew the material very well.   We had five “Mods" that built on the principles that we learned in the previous Mod. At the end of each Mod, we had a code challenge that we had to pass within two tries to make sure we could move onto the next Mod. The challenges were tough but with enough preparation and practice, very possible to pass on the first try. I would say it is helpful to make sure to do your labs, ask questions, and attend every lecture. You will definitely get out of this bootcamp what you put in. So, making learning a priority will be the biggest determinant if you will succeed in such a difficult program.    After bootcamp is over, you do have access to a career coach. My career coach has been wonderful and has pushed me to keep pursuing leads and opportunities. Even though covid is making the job search more difficult, I am certain the skills I have picked up during bootcamp will be a tremendous benefit for my career long term.

Flatiron was the best decision I made in my life. I graduated in July 2020.  After that, I worked for a month with my career coach to prepare my LinkedIn, my portfolio and my C.V. It only took 2 months to find a job as a UX / UI Designer. Not to mention the fact that we are in the midst of a pandemic. 

Flatiron gave me all the tools needed to succeed. Great curriculum, best instructors, and fantastic projects to feature in my portfolio. I never felt left behind, on the contrary, they supported my growth every time I had a problem.

I highly recommend the UX/UI track.

Flatiron was a wonderful experience and one of the most challenging things that I've done in recent memory. It was also one of the most fulfilling; thanks to my skilled instructor, the immersive nature of the curriculum, and our portfolio projects, I was equipped to tackle most development jobs that came my way. The career services followthrough was also fantastic; I worked part time with my career coach to find a job and signed an offer with a solid tech startup about a month after graduating!

My experience with Flatiron is overall positive. I really enjoyed the course curriculum and the structure of course. During the 15 weeks it made me feel overwhelming but I did learn a lot from it. 

Instructors
Instructors are pretty good. 

Job Assistance
You get assigned a career coach, who you would meet with every week to give you advice and new directions. There is also the Employment Partnership team, who is supposedly setting up interviews for you. I would say not expect to get much benefits from the career services. I attended the course on March 2020, right after covid-19 happened, I am not sure if that caused the job market goes down but the career services was not very helpful. 

I completed the course during the covid-19 pandemic, so the course was conducted online instead of in person.

Overall Review: The structure of the course and the readings/labs were very helpful.  I learned a lot during the course, but there were quite a few drawbacks.  Many of the pros are likely true for other bootcamps, while many of the cons may be specific to Flatiron.  I am fairly satisfied with the education I got here.  

If I were to do it over again I would:

• Wait until in-person courses resume.
• Consider other bootcamps.
• Consider a masters degree from a university.  
  • Bootcamps seems to be most helpful for those with advanced degrees who want to transition to data science.  The job market is very competitive for those with only bootcamp experience.

Pros:

• Structure
  • This is the most valuable part of the bootcamp for me.  Data Science is a huge field, and it can be difficult to come up with a plan for what to learn, what order to learn it in, and how to practice skills.  Flatiron sets out this roadmap for you.
• Learning Resources
  • There is a wealth of well organized readings and labs as you move through the course.  I found these very helpful & informative for the most part.  You retain access to the readings/labs after graduation.
• Employer Network
  • The employer network has resulted in 2 interviews so far.  Getting to the interview is the hardest part, so this is valuable.  However, the employer network seems limited and I don't expect to get many/any additional interviews this way.

Cons:

• Online
  • The move from in-person to online classes took a lot away from the experience.  Zoom meetings and online resources were helpful, but there was limited time to actually learn from/with other students.
• Lack of Adequate Skill Checks
  • There are coding challenges during each module that students must pass to continue through the course, but these challenges are not nearly robust enough.  Some students also did not complete the pre-work for the course.  Because the coding challenges didn't adequately test for knowledge, students who were behind were pushed forward through the course.  This meant that for 2 out of 4 group projects, my partner was unable to help in any meaningful way.  This resulted in rushed projects and no opportunity for learning in a group setting.  There is not enough time to complete a high quality project if one of the group members cannot contribute.  This left me with only 2 projects I feel comfortable putting on my resume/portfolio.
• Instructors
  • Firstly, the instructors are not the instructors listed on Flatiron's website.  The instructors listed on the website were a large part of why I chose the bootcamp, so showing up to find less experienced instructors was disappointing.
  • I was initially told that the program would include 1-2 main instructors and other 'coaches' would be around to help with work/questions.  There were no extra coaches.
  • One instructor was very competent and helpful, while the other had a shakier understanding of the math/data science concepts.  For the price of the course, I would expect instructors to be able to confidently answer most questions during the course.  
  • The more capable instructor left the company (and was replaced with another instructor) halfway through the bootcamp.  More on this in the next bullet point.
• Staff Turnover 
  • There was a high rate of employee turnover during my experience at Flatiron.  One instructor left the company during my bootcamp, the other left right after the program ended, and my career coach left the company 1.5 weeks into my job search.  This means that all 3 of the employees I had regular contact with are no longer with the company.
• Refund Requirements
  • In order to get the tuition refund you must write one technical blog post, make 5 git commits, and make contact with 8 people at a company where you would like to work each week.  It's a struggle to complete all of these tasks while still maintaining the knowledge from the course and preparing for/taking interviews.

I wish I could recommend the flatiron school but I really can't in good conscious do that. I attended the data science program near the start of the pandemic, expecting to start remote and move to in-person soon. Obviously the move to in-person never happened, and while that part is understandable, the school's lack of effort in supporting us through this change was saddening.

While many schools around the country reduced tuition and gave partial refunds for experiences that are moved online, Flatiron made no changes and actually began to give our class less instructors than we had been promised.

Despite several members of my class voicing their concerns that we weren't getting the full experience we'd paid for, no effort was made to rectify the situation or refund any portion of our tuition to compensate us for the experience not being what we'd signed up for.

I thought my instructors were all very good, and I enjoyed learning everything I did. There are many bootcamps out there and I can't say for sure that any others would be less exploitive of their students, but I can say for sure that Flatiron was exploitive of us, so I'd recommend trying one of the others.

My employment background had always been blue collar; largely construction, factory work, some retail. I always had an interest in tech and greatly envied my friends who were in the field, while I was working 14 hour shifts overnight in a massive factory. I did abysmally in high school and never attended college, so for years I told myself this is as good as it gets. Boy was I wrong. I wish I did this earlier.

I learned about Flatiron from a friend who broke into the industry from a similar background as me, and I spent the next year saving my wages to be able to attend full time.

Overall I would rate Flatiron very highly, there was never really a time where I found myself looking at the school in a very critical manner. I'm normally a skeptic and tend to look at things critically and I had no qualms with the school. At the time of me starting, a great emphasis was put on "job placement" and the money back guarantee. I will say right now, if you go into this thinking that Flatiron is going to FIND you a job or your money back, your expectations will be different than the reality. You are paired with a career coach (mine was phenomenal) and given the tools to find a job with lots of support and guidance. Also, don't focus on the money back guarantee or attend this school because theres a money back guarantee that you'll find a job in 6 months- the terms to reach that are way too difficult to keep up with and for me, took away from the ability to genuinely grow and learn after graduating. Your ROI is much greater than bothering about trying to get your tuition back. Don't focus on it, you're investing in yourself.

The instructors were genuine, hard working, passionate folks who really made it a point to get to know you but also lead as a teacher and show you the tools for success. The in person portion was much better because it was easier to connect with an instructor in person. They're industry experts with real life experience which made things way easier.

I enjoyed the curriculum and the projects that I took on, actually helped me get my job. They were relevant to realistic job prospects out in the world and give you a safe place to experiment, flex your skills, and if you miss the mark, you have plenty of people willing to help show you the way. You'll do a series of mock projects leading up to one big project with a real client that played a big part in me finding a job in the field. I used all of my projects in my portfolio, which ultimately helped me land a job.

Job assistance was thorough and really great. This is where it's important to understand your expectations. If you expect to be given a job or your money back after 6 months, you're going to have a bad time. You have to understand that Flatiron is going to pair you with a coach who will: Walk you through how to interview, when to bring certain things up, when to send that thank you email, how to word the outreach messages to people you're looking to network with on linkedin, etc. You're doing the work to find yourself a job, not Flatiron. My coach kept me accountable, sharp, and pushed me along when I was feeling burnt out or having trouble with motivation at times. The emphasis when I first signed up was pretty much "find a job in 6 months or your money back" but I see that is no longer front and center on their school website which is probably better off, so maybe this doesn't apply anymore. I also thought Flatiron had partnerships with companies that hired directly from the school but was wrong. What would be more appropriate to say is that you'll be looking for your own job with lots of guidance, and that every once in a while the career placement division will send you an email or reach out for an opportunity that was usually out of state. Again, once my expectations were aligned with what the school provides, this wasn't an issue for me.

I graduated in 6 months, and found a job 7 months after graduating. Given the fact I graduated right as a global pandemic was developing, things were hard and I felt hopeless at first but tech is still thriving and places are still hiring. More and more as days pass, the industry is finding ways to adapt and come back to life so don't give up hope and don't stop trying.



I would wrap up by saying that no one is going to hold your hand. No one is going to force you to adopt the right expectations for the school or course work. I came across people who complained and who were unhappy with their experience because it didn't meet their expectations. You get out of this experience what you put into it. If you focus on getting good grades, you're going to miss out on retaining the work. Flatiron is a place to try new things and is a safe place to take the risk and miss the mark on a project. You have people willing to give feedback, help you along, and show you the way. Don't come here trying to get a "4.0" GPA, that stuff doesn't matter here. Come here hungry, curious, caffeinated, and ready to put hard work in. Do your best, take plenty of notes, immerse yourself in this world and know that when you come out of all of this, your life will be much different.

At face value, Flatiron's promises and guarantees (such as the money back guarantee) seem flawless. Flatiron seems like a reputable school with great values and, with hundreds of great reviews online, there's no reason to believe otherwise.

Instructors:
We were promised lead instructors and assistants.

Three days into the bootcamp, every single lead instructor on my campus quit. We were then taught by TAs that apologized for their lectures because they had, and I quote, "never taught before." Flatiron attempted to remedy the situation by flying in leads from DC and NYC, but neither instructor stayed longer than a week (a mod is 3 weeks) despite being told we would have them for a whole mod. This meant our TAs stepped in and taught a couple of lectures, while most of the time we were just sent pre-recorded lectures from the prior year. To add insult to injury, they finally hired someone named Lyn to come in and be our Lead Instructor for the last 3 weeks before our final project. She taught us one 30 minute lesson, "Who is Lyn?" and then was conveniently sick/caring for her sick wife for the rest of the three weeks.

In the event that you did not experience instructors leaving (which would be a miracle considering lead instructors are hard to come by these days), lead instructors are NOT what is promised on the website. Now, please don't think I'm calling out every lead instructor, there were a couple great ones, but one of the best ones quit 3 days into my first week.

Curriculum:
Have you ever heard of code academy? Flatiron certainly has as it seems all of their curriculum is either poorly TA-written (and I mean, POORLY), or ripped off from code academy. The amount of times we looked around and scratched our heads at what on earth we were supposed to be doing is far too many to count. Sure, you might think we were just a particularly stupid group, but it turns out that most Alumni feel the same way about the curriculum.

Also, you cannot go from "beginner" to "job ready" upon graduation. You are not taught enough basic fundamentals (hello, react hooks?!?) to even get a jr. level job and far more people spend 6+ months after graduation absolutely grinding out lessons from places like code academy and leet code to get up to par that Flatiron would like you to believe. There is no curriculum after the 15 weeks (technically, it's only 12 because the last 3 weeks are spent working on a project) to further your education and you will find yourself scouring youtube videos on how to code just like you did while attending flatiron.

Job Assistance:
I've said it once and I'll say it a hundred times: I got a job despite going to Flatiron.
My previous work experience played a HUGE role in getting a job and Flatiron does NOT have a "robust employer pipeline" as their website would like you to believe. Their money back guarantee is also a scam. If you do not do every single thing they ask for 6 months (and the requirements are really, really tough) then you are disqualified from getting your money back. I think 2 people in the history of Flatiron have gotten their money back and I know of 8 in the last couple months that have tried.

We did not have "Lunch and Learn" meetups with people in the industry, I was not contacted by Employer Partnerships more than once regarding a job paying over $12/hr ($24,900/yr)... the going salary for a SE in NYC is $75,000/yr.

Overall:
Flatiron has one silver lining. Their alumni community.

BUT, If you want to spend $15,000 on a bootcamp that barely gets your foot in the door, potentially rips you off for $20,000+ if you do an ISA, or screws you over by disqualifying you for a "Money Back Guarantee" that is nothing short of a legal scam, then go ahead, be my guest. But as for me? I do not recommend Flatiron. There's so many better options out there that are free.

I can't comment on the curriculum or instructors but honestly, my overall experience thus far has been a disaster.  The python entrance exam for starters is wrong.  How do I know? I was running the code in an IDE, and, if I'm seeing the output that matches what they are looking for, it's a pretty good indicator.  After this, I had to do a "technical interview" since I had failed the exam, which I was done within 5 minutes.  When I told the interviewer I had "failed" the Python portion he raised his eyebrows in disbelief.  Fine, things happen. Fast forward, I already had my loan done for school, I'm pushed to start on the August 17th cohort.  I speak with my admissions counselor on August 11th telling me something happened with the loan.  So, I have to resubmit, create another inquiry on my credit account, to be ready for the Monday time period.  No problem, done by Thursday.  Friday rolls around, I'm told that the deadline was Monday, something that had not been brought up until this point on any call previously.  By the way, why are people waiting for the last week in order to bring up an issue with the financing?   

I have no idea if the instructors or curriculum are held to a higher standard than the enrollment process.  What I do know is that Flatiron has laid staff since the Pandemic had occurred and it's clearly impacting their ability to run the operational side of things properly.  My experience was a flat out disaster.  This is unacceptable considering the $15,000 price tag.