Prime Digital Academy offers intensive, 20-week and 28-week full-stack coding bootcamps and a 14-week UX design bootcamp with programs available online and on campus in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Working directly with tech employers, Prime Digital Academy has created programs that equip emerging engineers and designers with the skills they need to make immediate contributions. Prime students learn modern technologies, practical methodologies, and critical behavioral skills through carefully crafted curriculum and real-world projects for pro-bono clients in the community. Prime’s immersive programs empower learners from diverse backgrounds to begin their new careers in months, not years.Prime’s full-stack engineering and UX courses prepare students with the skills and hands-on experience to develop complex software to solve business problems. Prime’s user experience design curriculum prepares students with professional practice in research, design and prototype software that is usable and meaningful. Prime graduates have been hired by nearly 800 companies, and the tight-knit learning community continues long after graduation, with students participating in mentorship, community education and ongoing alumni career support.
It's hard for me to speak or write about my experience at Prime without sounding like I'm exaggerating. But I wouldn't be going to the trouble of writing a review at all if I didn't think it was an outstanding educational experience. In fact, I've found myself telling friends that in many ways, Prime was more valuable to me than my Master's Degree. Before attending Prime, I taught at the college level, and I was initially skeptical about the whole "boot camp" model. I kept hearing glow...
It's hard for me to speak or write about my experience at Prime without sounding like I'm exaggerating. But I wouldn't be going to the trouble of writing a review at all if I didn't think it was an outstanding educational experience. In fact, I've found myself telling friends that in many ways, Prime was more valuable to me than my Master's Degree. Before attending Prime, I taught at the college level, and I was initially skeptical about the whole "boot camp" model. I kept hearing glowing reviews from a few friends who had attended the Full Stack Development program, but it wasn't until I visited campus and had some conversations with the staff that I started to understand how rigorous and multifaceted and awesome the Prime curriculum is.
When I was looking at UX bootcamps, I also visited General Assembly in Manhattan, and it seemed large and impersonal compared to Prime. I was also unimpressed with the class session I sat in on -- it seemed like a passive lecture, presenting the same information I'd seen in online tutorial videos. In contrast to that, Prime is hands-on from day 1, with tons of opportunities to practice new skills as you learn them.
People are Prime's number one asset, and I can't say enough good things about the staff. They truly get to know every student, and give everyone access to an incredible professional network and helpful career development activities in addition to the regular curriculum. The primary UX instructors are not only experienced designers with impressive resumes -- they're skilled teachers who know how to immerse students in a brand new career and help them succeed. They are 100% dedicated to students, and they're always available to help. They also have deep connections to the tech community in Minneapolis and beyond, and they share that access with students.
If you're considering attending Prime, the best way to start is to schedule a visit and talk to people. Talking to students and instructors is what convinced me that it was a place I could spend 3 months of my life, and I couldn't be more glad that I did. An immersive program is not for everyone -- it's intense! Expect to spend 60-80 hours a week working on new skills and building a portfolio. I honestly enjoyed the intensity most of the time, but I'm sure not everyone would. But a couple weeks after graduating, I'm already starting a UX job that I love, and it definitely feels like the hard work paid off.
Talk to people and visit to decide if it's for you, but I highly recommend Prime.
I cannot say enough positive things about my Prime experience. It was a wonderful, life-changing time for me, and overall I believe they did a great job of setting my cohort mates and I up for success in the Twin Cities tech community. My instructors were fantastic, and it was clear from Day 1 that they truly cared about our success, and were very passionate about their work, often working late to answer our questions/offer help. The support/admin staff were also amazing, as they dev...
I cannot say enough positive things about my Prime experience. It was a wonderful, life-changing time for me, and overall I believe they did a great job of setting my cohort mates and I up for success in the Twin Cities tech community. My instructors were fantastic, and it was clear from Day 1 that they truly cared about our success, and were very passionate about their work, often working late to answer our questions/offer help. The support/admin staff were also amazing, as they devoted so much of their time helping us with soft-skills, resume/cover letter guidance, and even arranged a "Career Day" for us where we each had several actual job interviews with local businesses. Also, I really appreciate how Prime is constantly seeking to improve and change their curriculum based on current tech trends/needs in the TC community. Finally, the environment at Prime is extremely welcoming and comfortable for all types of people and backgrounds. And the bond I developed with my peers was unexpectedly deep for me, as I gained not only immense amounts of knowledge at Prime, but several new friends as well.
That said, it is a very demanding curriculum, can be mentally and emotionally exhausting at times, and will challenge you in countless ways. But ultimately I believe that what you get out of the Prime experience is what you put in. I devoted nearly my entire life to Prime for those 4 months, and it paid off immediately for me. If you aren't ready to give it your all, I would not recommend Prime, as it truly requires a 100% effort. The only small criticism I have of Prime is that the first few weeks devoted quite a bit of time to non-coding related discussions/speeches/exercises. While I recognize their importance, I would have liked to see those things pared down a bit in order to fit more coding/learning in. Overall though, I had an amazing experience at Prime and would recommend it to anyone willing to put in the effort and jump-start an exciting new career!So you are interested in a career in User Experience? GREAT CHOICE! UX designers are in high demand and the market is growing fast. The Problem: even entry-level UX positions are seeking candidates with 1 to 3 years of experience...but how does one gain the experience necessary to land their first gig in this field if no one will give them an opportunity to get their foot in the door? The Solution: Prime Digital Academy. This 18-week immersive course will not only provide you with a founda...
So you are interested in a career in User Experience? GREAT CHOICE! UX designers are in high demand and the market is growing fast. The Problem: even entry-level UX positions are seeking candidates with 1 to 3 years of experience...but how does one gain the experience necessary to land their first gig in this field if no one will give them an opportunity to get their foot in the door? The Solution: Prime Digital Academy. This 18-week immersive course will not only provide you with a foundational understanding of the industry so you can talk the talk, it also affords students the opportunity to demonstrate what they've learned by partnering with real companies to solve real UX problems, so you can also walk the walk. By the end of this program, you'll have the direct experience and polished portfolio necessary to be taken seriously in any job interview. And it doesn't end there...after graduation, you'll become part of a well-connected and supportive group of Prime Alumni & Staff that are only a message away...talk about a lifelong competitive advantage!
I attended the User Experience Design program from December 2017-April 2018. Three weeks after graduation I started my first job as a UX Designer. One thing that really impressed me was that even alumni who were unemployed a few months after graduation told me they'd do it again without question. The experience is truly that remarkable and transformative.
I cannot imagine how any program would do a better job of preparing for this career shift than Prime Digital Academy. Experience...
I attended the User Experience Design program from December 2017-April 2018. Three weeks after graduation I started my first job as a UX Designer. One thing that really impressed me was that even alumni who were unemployed a few months after graduation told me they'd do it again without question. The experience is truly that remarkable and transformative.
I cannot imagine how any program would do a better job of preparing for this career shift than Prime Digital Academy. Experienced professional instructors, caring and knowledgeable staff, and a solid curriculum based on the skills that employers are looking for. One major benefit of Prime is that you'll build a portfolio by doing meaningful projects for real clients. There's no substitute for learning by doing.
The flip side is that it's a lot of hard work, stress, and strain on personal relationships... but only for a few months. If you're committed to a change and prepared to give 100%, then I can recommend Prime with no reservations. You'll get out what you put into it.
I never thought that 18 weeks could change my life's trajectory so drastically. I was at a plateau in my career as a contract graphic designer and was tired of always struggling to find work. I always wanted to find my way into UX but was always shut down during the interveiw process in a job market that is amazing for UX. Feeling down on my luck, I decided to go to Prime so I could identify my shortcomings and improve the quality of my work. Prime offered me exactly what I needed for me t...
I never thought that 18 weeks could change my life's trajectory so drastically. I was at a plateau in my career as a contract graphic designer and was tired of always struggling to find work. I always wanted to find my way into UX but was always shut down during the interveiw process in a job market that is amazing for UX. Feeling down on my luck, I decided to go to Prime so I could identify my shortcomings and improve the quality of my work. Prime offered me exactly what I needed for me to succeed: an amzing support system, REAL industry expereince, a huge network, great friends, and an incredible place to learn and grow.
Be ready for an intense 18 weeks. It is a lot of work but if you can stick it out you will not regret signing up.
Having gone through school a few times, I honestly can't tell you how beneficial Prime Digital Academy was to helping me figure out what I wanted to do in life. No matter your background, Prime caters to your needs. I literally learned a life lesson every day, as well as learning about real life job scenarios, and how to be prepared when applying and interviewing for jobs. Is it a huge commitement? FOR SURE. Will it change your life? FOR SURE.
Prime Digital Academy is not just an incredible school that will teach you EVERYTHING you need to know about UX design, research and working with business and developers, but it’s also a place you grow into a better you.
Overall, my experience at Prime Digital Academy was positive and I am very glad I attended. I received the fundamental knowledge I needed to begin my career in full stack programming/development. I would highly recommend that anyone looking for a relatively quick way to get into this industry, they attend Prime.
With that said, I feel my experience at Prime could have been better. I believe our cohort's instructors were not fully devoted to their position as educators. As a pair...
Overall, my experience at Prime Digital Academy was positive and I am very glad I attended. I received the fundamental knowledge I needed to begin my career in full stack programming/development. I would highly recommend that anyone looking for a relatively quick way to get into this industry, they attend Prime.
With that said, I feel my experience at Prime could have been better. I believe our cohort's instructors were not fully devoted to their position as educators. As a pair, they really required the students to come to them with their questions. On its face, that sounds fine... but in reality, a lot of us didn't know what questions to ask. The pace of Prime is very fast and it is easy to not realize when you're not grasping the fundamentals of something. Also, as a pair, they were not the most approachable individuals... They weren't aholes or anything, but they had the more "generalized" engineer personality, not necessarily the personality type required to be great instructors. Not to my surprise, both of them voluntarily left Prime to return to engineering positions after our cohort graduated.
Now, the majority of the other instructors at Prime have been there for a long time, and they are absolute rockstars - from what I understand. Talking to other Primers, they have nothing but glowing reviews for their instructors... I think our lot just got a bit of bad luck. ALSO, the entire staff are some of the greatest and most caring people I have ever met. The experience at Prime is pretty intense and they are always there - and encourage you - to talk to. They become a sort of family to you, and it is pretty awesome... definitely will not forget a couple of staff members in particular.
There are a lot of other perks as well. You will have access to endless coffee, RAMEN NOODLES, and PB&Js. Also, they have a great mentor program and 2 awesome careers days. Plus, they emphasize soft skills - public speaking, communication, etc - which is awesome because if forces you to get out of your comfort zone and really forces personal growth.
Post graduation you continue to have access to all of Primes resources - even your Codeschool accounts (For a few months). They also have a weekly thing called "Alumn Scrum" which is pretty boss. It is aimed at assisting you in your job search and continuing education and personal growth.
Lastly, I would reiterate that Prime delivers the fundamentals - or base - knowledge needed to get into the industry. It is in no way comprehensive. If you are looking for a comprehensive educational experience, you are better of getting a CS degree... but if you are comfortable with entering the job market not fully understanding what you know and needing to learn as you go... Prime is for you.
Attending Prime Digital Academy was the best decision I ever made. I always wanted to get into software development but I didn’t have the time or money to go back to school and get a degree. When I came across Prime I knew it was exactly what I was looking for. The instructors are caring and knowledgeable and the support personnel go way out of their way to help you in any way they can. Not only did a learn so much about full stack software engineering, Prime also takes time to work on sof...
Attending Prime Digital Academy was the best decision I ever made. I always wanted to get into software development but I didn’t have the time or money to go back to school and get a degree. When I came across Prime I knew it was exactly what I was looking for. The instructors are caring and knowledgeable and the support personnel go way out of their way to help you in any way they can. Not only did a learn so much about full stack software engineering, Prime also takes time to work on soft skills, interview prep and resume assistance. I could not be happier about my experience at Prime.
A good friend of mine, with a similar degree and job status, enrolled in Prime's program. He disappeared for a several weeks, and emerged a happier, fulfilled, and importantly, employed as front-end developer.
Dissatisfied with my life as a pre-press operator with a degree in multimedia design that went nowhere, I decided to follow in the footsteps of my friend. I hated my current job so much, despite enjoying the people I worked with. Eager for change, I compl...
A good friend of mine, with a similar degree and job status, enrolled in Prime's program. He disappeared for a several weeks, and emerged a happier, fulfilled, and importantly, employed as front-end developer.
Dissatisfied with my life as a pre-press operator with a degree in multimedia design that went nowhere, I decided to follow in the footsteps of my friend. I hated my current job so much, despite enjoying the people I worked with. Eager for change, I completed the application and resume challenge pretty easily considering HTML and CSS were part of my multimedia background. Functional programming however, a skill almost every designer should have, was definitely lacking. To my surprise I heard back quickly and was interviewed and later accepted into the program.
The first few weeks were online code courses, which I would be lying if I said I didn't struggle through. I spent nearly 12 hours a week fumbling thru the labyrinths of loops and the variable vallies, juggling my hated job and my new passion. What eased my stress was the weekly video meetings with my group (cohort) and instructors. You could ask them anything. I even went into the building early and sat down with one of the instructors who took the time to slowly step me thru a problem my dumb brain couldn't quite get. It was at that moment I knew the faculty actually cared about my success, and pushed me to achieve it.
Classroom began, 6 weeks of intense lecture. I quit my job to do this. 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, with weekend assignments. I was not the top of the class by any means. I wasn't the middle of the class at any means. But I didn't give up. In 6 weeks I had a deeper understanding of HTML, CSS, Javascript, AngularJS, Express, Mongo, SQL, Node.js and SQL. The next 6 weeks I spent developing a solo project and working with a team in a group project to reinforce and explore the ideas I learned during lecture. There were road bumps for sure. But I developed one of the most important skills a Primer can get: I LEARNED HOW TO LEARN CODE. Suddenly that while loop didn't seem so scary. New library? Let me google the docs, look at some examples, write up a smaller scaled verison of what I'm trying to do on codepen or jsfiddle, then try it on my own.
And that's really the best thing I got out of Prime, not to discount my new friendships, the support from the staff, or the sweet job I landed 2 weeks after graduating. Prime taught me how to put that imposter I thought I was away, and understand functional programming at a deeper level. A level they gave me the tools to explore on my own.
It was the best, hardest, most frustrating yet most rewarding thing I've ever done for myself. In 18 weeks I was more marketable to employers than after 7 years of college (art school, I am no doctor, remember how I said 'not even middle of the class?'). The job market for young devs if competetive for sure, but it's definitely not lacking in careers. Suddenly I had many other options other than "pre-press operator."
If you're hear to ask "Should I go to Prime?" I'd answer back with a question:
"Do you want to change your life?"
i was a graphic designer before applying to prime. in fact, the application was the first bit of code i ever wrote. after a great interview and application process i was accepted to prime.
the first 6 weeks of the program are the worst part in my opinion. it is all code academy type online courses. but i know they are creating a custom plan for the initial 6 weeks which should be launching soon (maybe it already has).
the 12 weeks in the classroom goes crazy fast, but...
i was a graphic designer before applying to prime. in fact, the application was the first bit of code i ever wrote. after a great interview and application process i was accepted to prime.
the first 6 weeks of the program are the worst part in my opinion. it is all code academy type online courses. but i know they are creating a custom plan for the initial 6 weeks which should be launching soon (maybe it already has).
the 12 weeks in the classroom goes crazy fast, but also is really intense (in a good way). expect to be a little MIA from friends and family during this stretch. weekend homework usually takes up ~10 hrs a weekend for the first 5-6 weeks of in classroom—so expect to have one day 'off' a week.
after that, it is on to solo projects where you create your first web application on your own and present it in front of the school. this application can be anything, but make sure you pick something that you will want to talk about to potential future employers.
the remainder of the program revolves around the group project where you take a real world problem that a local company is facing and help them solve it. it was a great way to network and work with your fellow classmates. this final project is presented in front of ~150 people (of whom are recruiters, companies that are hiring, and the whole prime school).
on top of all of that there are speakers who come in and talk about the industry, what to expect, bits of encouragement etc. prime also provides free bananas, cereal, ramen, coffee etc. there is a mock interview day where you meet with recruiters to tailor your resume and your interview skills, as well as a career day where you are interviewing for real jobs.
other than that, it took me a week after graduation to get a job. the hiring network, was fantastic and there were a lot of potential opportunities to connect with companies and recruiters.
on top of ALL of that, the people are the best part. there is a real sense of community and genuine support from both the teachers and students.
TL;DR? do it! it'll change your career path in less than 6 months.
Course Report readers can receive an Exclusive Scholarship to Prime Digital Academy!
How much does Prime Digital Academy cost?
Prime Digital Academy costs around $18,000.
What courses does Prime Digital Academy teach?
Prime Digital Academy offers courses like Full Stack Engineering - Full Time (20 Weeks), Full Stack Engineering - Part-Time (28 Weeks), User Experience Design.
Where does Prime Digital Academy have campuses?
Prime Digital Academy has in-person campuses in Minneapolis. Prime Digital Academy also has a remote classroom so students can learn online.
Is Prime Digital Academy worth it?
Prime Digital Academy hasn't shared alumni outcomes yet, but one way to determine if a bootcamp is worth it is by reading alumni reviews. 125 Prime Digital Academy alumni, students, and applicants have reviewed Prime Digital Academy on Course Report - you should start there!
Is Prime Digital Academy legit?
We let alumni answer that question. 125 Prime Digital Academy alumni, students, and applicants have reviewed Prime Digital Academy and rate their overall experience a 4.89 out of 5.
Does Prime Digital Academy offer scholarships or accept the GI Bill?
Yes, Course Report is excited to offer an exclusive Prime Digital Academy scholarship for $500 off tuition! Prime Digital Academy accepts the GI Bill!
Can I read Prime Digital Academy reviews?
You can read 125 reviews of Prime Digital Academy on Course Report! Prime Digital Academy alumni, students, and applicants have reviewed Prime Digital Academy and rate their overall experience a 4.89 out of 5.
Is Prime Digital Academy accredited?
Prime Digital Academy is licensed as a private career school with the Minnesota Office of Higher Education pursuant to Minnesota Statutes. Prime Digital Academy offers WIOA approved courses.
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