Fullstack Academy

One year and two days ago, I started Fullstack's free online Javascript Jumpstart course, to see whether I might like coding enough to attend a bootcamp (I had a tiny bit of programming experience in C++, almost 20 years ago). I completed Fullstack's Immersive program at the end of August, and I just signed my first job offer before the holidays, on 12/18. So it took 3-1/2 months of (intense) job-hunting to get a job afterward. (I wouldn't have guessed, but apparently there's lots of hiring before the holidays).

I'd spent the past 11 years in non-profit bicycle shops, fixing bikes and mentoring kids. I have small-business management experience, but no real tech experience to speak of.

I'm putting this in here, because it's something I was concerned about going into all this: I'll be 40 years-old in May, I have a 2-year-old, and my wife works full-time, so I was worried both about: (1) ageism in the industry, and (2) my ability to complete the coursework given family responsibilities and time constraints.

The Fullstack Curriculum is excellent, and the staff is supportive and sensitive to people's needs. It's important to ask for help when you need it, and I did so.

It's a ton of work, and a lot of time. It's hard, and stressful, and draining. The second half of the curriculum, which is project-based, and team-based, is still a ton of work, but becomes more energizing and exciting, if you like building things anyway.

One person in our cohort didn't make it through. It was clear to me that he did not anticipate the work and focus that would be involved.

I had a good experience and would recommend it, and apparently there's still a demand for developers, because I just got hired.

I just finished the 17-week immersive program at Fullstack Academy of Code and this was one of the best experience of my life. If you are looking for a boot-camp to kickstart the career as a software engineer,  I couldn't recommend Fullstack more!

First of all, the academic structure, curriculums, and outcomes were top-notch. Fullstack adjusts the curriculums often based on the trends of the tech industry to make sure the materials taught are not obsolete and the students are fully prepared for becoming software engineers. In addition, the students' voices are always being heard. There are multiple channels that we can leave feedback and suggestions. Fullstack takes the feedback very seriously so they can improve the program and students' experience.  

Secondly, Fullstack has great instructors who are extremely passionate and talented. The three instructors assigned to my cohort(shout out to Geoff, John, and Dakota) are very knowledgeable and helpful. Every lecture is well planned and delivered, and the guidance they provided are precious. Thanks to them,  I learned and accomplished so much during the short period of time. 

Thirdly,  Fullstack has very good career success support. During the senior phase, students will have on campus counselors and remote counselor to give them guidance on writing the resume, perfecting Linkedin profile and interviewing practice. If students utilize all the career coaching service Fullstack provided during the senior phase and after graduation, they should be very well prepared for job searching after graduation. Besides, the career success team often hosting alumni panel talks and tech talks, which are very helpful for students to expand their horizons and learn the experiences and tips from people working in the industry.

The tuition is not cheap and the program is very challenging. But the friends I've made and the knowledge and skills I've learned definitely well worth the time and money

    There is no way to underestimate how big of a positive impact completing Fullstack's Software Engineering Immersive program has had on my career. It was nothing short of a life changing experience.

    The program not only brings new developers up to speed on highly in demand skills and technologies but the challenging fast paced curriculum also teaches students how to learn new things on the fly, which in my opinion is a one of the most important skills to learn as a new software developer. Also by keeping the curriculum entirely in the world of Javascript (instead of teaching separate technologies for different parts of the software stack) Fullstack’s instructors are able to touch on more advanced topics pertaining to software design and students are able to create more advanced projects which make their portfolios look that much more attractive to employers. By getting really good at one language Fullstack graduates can realistically compete in the job market with recent CS grads.

    Not only is the Fullstack curriculum top notch but the career services provided at the end of the program played a critical role in me landing an offer at a Fortune 50 company just weeks after graduating. First every student had several one on one sessions with career coaches to discuss resumes, interview questions and overall career goals. These sessions give students a head start on the job hunt process and help make looking for a job way less intimidating by giving students a strong idea of what hiring companies are looking for. Also at the end of the program Fullstack will invite hiring managers to campus to meet in person with students. Many of my classmates were invited back for second round interviews with these managers and several even received offers. Good offers from really cool companies.

    If you are serious about breaking into software development and you are willing to put in the work, Fullstack will get you to where you want to be faster than any other route.

Fullstack Academy's Bootcamp Preparation Classes are great. I didn't have any knowledge about any sort of programming language, and this course is just perfect for beginners. When you sign up, you have access to lots of videos and coding challenges, which is definitely giving you all essential points of JavaScript. I attended one-week Bootcamp prep class in NYC campus, and I am a Grace Hopper student now, so they really prepare you for your Bootcamp path. Instructors are so helpful and explain the subjects clearly.

I just finished my 3-month immersive program at Fullstack, thought it might be a good time to review and share what my experience was.

My overall experience at Fullstack was great! My intend to join a bootcamp instead of learning from online resources was to be able to get one-on-one feedback on my learning progress, Fullstack has a good reputation on that and that’s why I chose it! And definitely I made the right choice and got lots of one-on-one attentions both in class and outside of class. During class, you are encouraged to ask questions, and never feel shame to ask DUMB questions (actually they kept saying there is no DUMB questions)! Outside of class, you can sign up office hours with the instructors. I have to say all my three instructors Dan, Karen and David are awesome! They literally knew every single student’s name in one week (we had nearly 40 students in my cohort). I felt that every student was highly respected. And they really want you to succeed and tried their best to help you thoughtout this learning path. They took the initiative to remind you that they had office hours for questions so you would never feel that you are pushed away! One minor feedback I have is that if we have some good sample of code work that we can refer to after we’ve done the projects, that would be a great way for us to review our own projects and find areas to improve. But of course, we can get individual comments and ideas from instructors and fellows regarding our code work too!!! So if you value comments, feedbacks in your learning, you should go for Fullstack!!!

Fullstack takes the time to curate and update its curriculum to best teach its students the most relevant languages, libraries and frameworks. Instructors are always prepared for lectures and willing to meet individually with students to explain concepts.  I was overall impressed with the amount of information that was clearly and effectively presented in such a short period of time.  Not only do I feel prepared to enter the industry with relevant knowledge, but also the skills to efficiently learn new material.

I completed the immersive program in February 2018 and landed a job in May of the same year. I have a BA in English and was an Account Manager when I decided to quit my job for Fullstack. 

Was it worth the cost of tuition?

I think that's probably one of the biggest concerns for people when deciding whether or not to take the risk. You can find all sorts of comments on Reddit or Quora from people telling you to save your money and just teach yourself. And it's true, there are tons of free resources online that will help you learn how to program.

By attending Fullstack Academy, however, I gained more than just practical JavaScript skills. I regularly practiced pair programming, learned to conceptualize and build apps from start to finish (both independently and with a team), became comfortable with tech documentation, beefed up my resume and LinkedIn profile, gained valuable feedback from practice interviews, and now have a network of people willing to help me as I continue my career.  

Fullstack Academy will set you up with everything you need to kickstart your career as a software developer, but as others have said, the curriculum is fast-paced and by no means magic, so expect to work hard and take ownership for your own success. 

Attending FullStack Academy(Grace Hopper Program) was an extremely positive experience in my life. The Immersive Program has a good quality, is fast and effective, super challenging especially the first month, but the good thing is that you will be able to learn faster than you ever thought, and if at some point you feel discouraged, remember to repeat to yourself  `TRUST THE PROCESS`. I had a great time there, my cohort was excellent as well as all the instructors and staff. Thank you FullStack Academy!

Although Fullstack Academy offers a terrific curriculum, the most important resource for me was the incredible instructors and the terrific network of fellow students I got to work with. 
I've attended almost all of the courses that Fullstack has to offer in Chicago, Javascript 101, Bootcamp Prep and the Immersive Program, and consistently I was surrounded by students that were driven and respectful, as well as instructors that personally evaluated my skillset and helped me become a better programmer. 
At no point of my experience was I handed a couple libraries and kicked out the door.
The fundamentals, the ability to understand and do for myself were always at the core of the curriculum. 
The biggest challenge for me came after I'd graduated from Fullstack, during the job hunt where I faced rejection and the stress of trying to break in to the tech industry. 
Actually, this was where Fullstack was the most helpful. 

Not only was there a large network of alumni that were willing to help out, but the Career Success Counselor, Holly Valenty went above and beyond and personally invested in me. 
She sent numerous opportunities my way and spoke with me almost every day, even when it was just my confidence. 
I think that anyone who doesn’t know the NERD stack, regardless of experience level or background should consider Fullstack. 
You’ll end up challenging yourself like never before and will become a part of a great community. 

Fullstack Academy can be best described in two words - life changing. For several years, I worked in Technology but in functional fields, while always being interested in and curious about building technology myself. However, I always felt an intimidation towards software development and in all honesty, some skepticism towards programs that seemingly turn you into a developer in a few months. I held on to my fear and doubts for a long time while a few of my friends went through the program and successfully became developers. One day, I decided that I didn't want to regret not trying and took the leap of faith and applied for Fullstack Academy after doing the bootcamp prep course, one of the best decisions I've ever made. I graduated from Fullstack in February this year and went through their Fellowship program for three months before working fulltime as a developer which I'm currently doing since the past four months. 

Just the fact that Fullstack Academy forces you to prepare with some coding experience and you need to interview and show your readiness for the program so that you're setup for success before getting in, tells you a lot about the quality of this program. That is what made the decision easy for me to apply here versus other bootcamps although it was a harder process. Once in the bootcamp, we all had to go through a 5 week remote course that gets us all on the same page as people are coming in with various backgrounds and experience levels. You think you have learned so much already, and then you get on campus and the next few months, you are all hands on deck, building different applications with incremental knowledge growth day by day.

You get to pair program with others a lot (where two people write code and solve problems together) so you're not on your own and get experience working with others and talking your thoughts out loud which is key. There is a ton of support offered from fellows (previously graduated students who serve as teaching assistants and mentors), instructor office hours, and more. There are minimal lectures and the curriculum is mostly based on writing code yourself which is why you learn a lot in a short amount of time. You're not alone, you're in a room full of people that are going through the same thing you are together. That is powerful and has a huge impact on your learning journey. You gain a crazy amount of knowledge in 3 months, more than you could ever imagine. Towards the end of the program, Fullstack also prepares you for the job hunt and supports you in preparing your resume, linked in, interviewing, etc. and keeps in touch for post-program job search support. In my cohort, almost everyone was able to land a job in three to six months.

Now that I am working as a developer and have been for the past four months, I have realized what Fullstack gave me even more. I am a Level 1 engineer at my company but am told that I am able to work on features at least one if not two levels above my level, all because Fullstack's program was that in depth to prepare me for that, both on the front end and back end. I started out fixing small bugs but quickly transitioned into building new front end features and writing services on the back end which has been so exciting. I highly highly recommend Fullstack Academy for anyone who is looking for a means to change your career and life, and go into a creative and stimulating field like software development with support and expertise from the best staff, instructors, peers, and mentors around.