Prime Digital Academy

Attending Prime Digital Academy (Prime) was a game, and life, changer.  Over the course of 4 years, I earned an AS in Computer Science while working full time.  After being let go, breaking into the tech community with an AS was near impossible.  Lots of resumes and cover letters with no bites.  I needed something to up my skills and Prime came highly recommended.  It was a big, nerve racking, decision to make the commitment but I couldn't be happier that I did.

The biggest advantages Prime gave me are:

• Full Stack Knowledge  Earning my AS, I was experienced with coding concepts, algorithms and how to work simple frameworks but I didn't know how to connect it to anything or create a full product.  Prime not only gave me the skills to create a full stack application but the practice and guidance on how to make it better and continually improve.
• Career Assistance  Prime doesn't guarantee you a job after graduation but they set you up with the skills to get one yourself.  Everything from resumes, cover letters, networking, interviews, and more are taught and practiced weekly.  This was a huge selling factor for me personally and one of the main reasons I chose Prime over other local boot camps.  If you put in the effort and pay attention, you will land a role.  You just need to be patient, apply yourself, and trust the system.
• Cohort There's the old saying that "it takes a village..."  When you join Prime, you are not alone.  You cohort mates become some of the greatest people you will ever meet and you will make connections left and right.  From the staff, other students, and alumni, your network of people to reach out to and ask questions grows exponentially.  Prime fosters a safe place to learn, grow, and ask questions, and the support and sense of community is amazing.  I graduated a few months ago and I'm still in contact with the folks at Prime.

Joining the Prime community has not only made me a better developer but a better problem solver and team mate.  I can't thank the staff at Prime and my fellow cohort mates for helping me get to where I am today.

I enrolled into Prime Digital Academy during the summer of 2020, graduated January 2021. The only thing I would do different, is go back in time and force myself to do it sooner! The whole process from start to finish was well worth it. There are ups and downs just like anything in life. It was one of the hardest things I had ever done but also just as rewarding. You have to trust the process and instructors. They can’t teach you everything in 20 weeks but they give you the tools and basics to propel you into the tech world. The things I learned about myself and the tools I was taught at Prime Digital Academy helped me get my first job in the tech industry, shortly after graduating. Forever thankful for my experience at Prime!

To set the stage, Prime Digital Academy isn't a school that just accepts your money and says "sure take a ride." It's student focused and goes through a process to not only ensure your success (as long as you are willing to work for it), but sets you up with skills beyond "traditional" schooling. This is certainly the most technically and brain bending curriculum I've been challenged with, but it has also been the most rewarding. And after you've finished a challenging lecture, you move into an instruction block to improve your own self-development outside of tech. This is what sets it apart. The student as a whole, even less as a student and more as a software engineer entering the field; that's the difference. I feel just as prepared if not more than CS grads I know and can't wait for the next steps.

When I started researching education in software engineering, I was torn between a boot camp or finishing my 4 year degree.  I come from a home that greatly values a 4 year degree so I was a little skeptical about a 20 week boot camp.  I also had looked at all of the reviews on this site and had a really hard time believing that so many people could have so many positive things to say, it really seemed too good to be true.  I love doing research, so I started going over all of the boot camps in the area trying to find out what would be the best.  My research repeatedly led me back to Prime, so I finally decided to send them an email and set up a meeting.  I'll be honest, $15,000 is a lot of money to me and even after the meeting I was still really nervous.  It's not nice to say, but the only thing that calmed my anxiety was that they had a very fair refund policy!  

But let's be fair, if you're reading this you're in the same boat as I was.  It's a scary step to take.  I'm so glad that I took it though.  The curriculum goes deep into the technologies that they teach.  I spent 3 years at a major technological university and I think we were deeper into technology in about 6 weeks.  They teach each topic fully enough that by the end of the week I would be confident that I could move on to the next section without issue.  They also exposed us to additional technologies that they didn't teach, but instead challenged us to learn and apply to what we were building.

The instructors were fantastic.  We developed a very close relationship with them which made it very easy to ask the questions we needed to ask.  Our group had to do remote learning due to Covid-19, but the instructors went out of their way to make sure we were communicating with them and each other.  I don't think there was a time that I didn't feel supported whether it was with my education or searching for a job.  

As far a job assistance, no they are not just going to hand you a job when you complete the course.  But what they will do is put you in a great position to find a job.  The education they provide is centered around what many employers find important.  They also do weekly job search trainings where they assist you with cleaning up or creating your resume and prepare you for finding a job.  They put us in touch with a mentor group who give us a different perspective of getting employed in the software development field.  

As a student, you have to know that the course is immersive.  To say that it is full time is an understatement.  In the second and third tier, you must be certain that you can dedicate around 60 hours or more each week to your education.  Some of the base content takes less time, but there are always a lot of "stretch" goals that solidify the understanding of the topics that are very important to attempt to complete.  The course requires a lot of patience.  There are times that you will feel frustrated, and that's not unusual.  It's not uncommon to feel overwhelmed by a topic on Thursday, only to be very comfortable with the topic by the following Monday.  Just know that there are tons of resources there for you to use and sometimes you have to swallow your pride, ask questions, and trust the program.

Overall, I am so glad that I decided to attend Prime.  The education I received has put me in a great position to get a better job and the support continues on past graduation.  I feel like the decision to come here has positively impacted my life and has set me on the path to success.

Are you ready to grow? To challenge yourself? To invest in your future? To affect change and to create opportunity - for yourself and for others? To build both a career and a community? To learn skills that can be applied in any field, business, or industry?

Did you answer yes? Then consider Prime Digital Academy for an experience that will enrich you both professionally and personally. I did - and I have grown, I have been challenged, I have invested, and I have built. As a recent graduate, this is just the beginning, in the best possible way and I am confident and well prepared for it.

This program asks you to commit. To succeed, you HAVE to commit - know this going in. What is required? 20 intensive weeks (including most weekends for coding challenges that you do on your own) so consider if this is something you can do without exception and if this is a good time in your life. Be realistic and know there several cohorts each year so if you aren't quite ready now, you have options! Reach out to Prime and have a conversation.

After that conversation, the application process is the first place to start. Even if you don't have coding experience, they provide you with tutorials that include what you need to accomplish the assessment tasks. The application is a pretty good indicator of whether this is the right direction for you. If you genuinely enjoy the application tasks and find yourself inspired, then you may be on the right path. Did you find those tasks hard? That's ok, don't rule yourself out just because of that. Keep reading and I'll explain why. 

Hard is ok. If you are accepted and enroll, you will learn to embrace hard - but you won't be doing it alone. You will be supported by a generous and incredible network of staff, peers, mentors, and alumni and you WILL learn to rely on them. The sooner you learn to trust yourself, your progress, your decision to do Prime, and all those people I just mentioned, the more you will get out of Prime. You will explore and dig for strength and capability you might not have known you possess. You will discover a whole new way to learn that you haven't experienced before, and that learning will be meaningful. I have a background in higher education so believe me when I say Prime is a refreshing, engaging, holistic approach of applied learning and discovery.

The skills and technologies Prime teaches are relevant and keep current with the job market. How do I know this? Because local working professionals serve as mentors, guest speakers, and participate in mock interviews. They tell it like it is, sharing what their day-to-day is like. Because Prime is a part of the community. Prime hosts events (remote and in-person). Prime has community partners. During Prime you work on real projects, real solutions - including one for a local non-profit. This is as real as it gets.

Only you know you. Take an inventory of where you are and where you want to be. Ask questions, research, put yourself out there. That's what I did and now I am proud to be a Prime graduate. I am looking forward to my career as a full-stack software engineer - that sounds pretty good, right? Now it's your turn.

When I was looking for a coding boot camp, Prime's graduates told me it's worth every single dime which seemed hard to believe. Now that I went through the program, I find myself agreeing with them. What I loved about this program is that this program doesn't just teach how to code. You get to practice speeches every week which will prepare you to be a better professional. Also, you will have a guest speaker every week as well which will allow you to hear from professionals from the industry who all have different backgrounds and different positions. This is definitely a well-rounded program and definitely recommend it!

Prime Digital Academy is a fully immersive Bootcamp. It will change your life positively in all fashions. Not only will you learn to program and become a software engineer. You learn about yourself, the science behind learning, and how to overcome mental blocks.  Prime is a lifestyle. It is "A Hard School for Smart People." The instructors Scott Bromander & Myron Schippers are the best teachers I have experienced in all my education. Racheal Bromander is a networking/placement guru, and our biggest supporter. If you follow the program and listen, you will succeed. Prime Digital Academy was the best decision I have made to date for my professional career!

Prime was an incredible experience. From the beginning, I could tell the instructors really cared about the success of each one of us and that never let up throughout the 20-week program. I'm writing this review after graduating during Covid-19, and I can say that Prime has prepared me for the job hunt by drilling in both technical skills and soft skills. If you're on the fence about a coding boot camp or looking for a career in software development consider Prime as your prime choice.