Rithm School

Attending Rithm School was one of the best decisions of my life! Like all bootcamps, it wasn't 100% perfect, but to me, the drawbacks are completely outweighed by the benefits. Here is an honest review of Rithm based on my (REMOTE) experience:
Environment/Culture: Pros: 

• SUPER collaborative and tons of pair programming experience. It really helped me improve my technical communication, and it was a great way to connect with my classmates. 
• I thought that the cold calling during lectures would be scary, but the instructors make you feel comfortable so even if you don't know the answer to a question it's not a big deal.
• Everyone in my cohort was supportive, friendly, and a delight to work with. Even after graduation, many of us stay in touch regularly through weekly Zoom meet-ups. We all want to help each other succeed!
• Zoom + Slack === a near-perfect virtual experience.
• Rithm has a strict "anti-burnout" culture, unlike the big bootcamps like Codesmith, Hack Reactor, App Academy, etc. In my opinion, this made learning much more efficient and enjoyable. 

Cons:

• Although the remote environment was as good as I think it could've been, it would've been extra awesome to attend Rithm in person!

Instructors:
Pros:

• The instructors are super knowledgeable and friendly - I always felt comfortable asking questions. Due to the small class size, they were usually very quick to hop into our Zoom breakout rooms when we needed help.
• You get assigned one instructor to meet with 1-on-1 every other week. This is a great opportunity to get your code reviewed in more detail, do mock coding interviews, or just chat about random stuff.  

Cons

• Some instructors are more prepared to help with certain topics than others, so the time it takes you to get "un-stuck" may differ depending on who joins your breakout room.

Curriculum:
Pros:

• The curriculum was extremely up-to-date and relevant, and I loved the emphasis on testing, documentation, security, and fundamentals of how the web works.
• If you find yourself with extra time, there are PLENTY of "further study" materials that will push you to learn and practice with more advanced topics.
• By the end, you'll have built tons of mini projects and a few big ones! Project-based learning is highly useful for solidifying topics that you cover in lectures.

Cons:

• They would probably need an extra week or two to fit this in, but more of a focus on CSS/accessibility or DSA would have been nice.
• "What you put in is what you get out". You do have to meet the minimum requirement of passing the weekend assignments, but you can also learn way more if you put in extra time to ask instructors more questions and/or do the optional "further study". This isn't really a drawback, but just something to keep in mind - knowledge won't just be handed to you, you have to put in the work to make it the best experience possible.

Company projects:
Pros:

• Company projects set Rithm apart from all of the other bootcamps. No other bootcamp that I've heard of does this. It is basically a mini-internship. 
• You get to work on a team to build some cool things in a complex codebase! By the end I had great real-world experience for my resume and I was a much more confident engineer. 

Cons:

• Instructors are busy during this time preparing for the upcoming cohorts, etc., so they are sometimes spread pretty thin depending on the size of the team (my team was on the larger side with 6 people) and the complexity of the project. It usually wasn't an issue, but sometimes it took a while to get help when I was stuck.
• Some of the company projects aren't with actual companies - one of the projects in my cohort was an open-source project. Still a really cool experience, but just a bit misleading.

Outcomes and Job Support:
Pros:

• I got a job at a company I'm really excited about only 3 weeks after graduating! Although a big part of it was luck (I was referred by a friend in my cohort), I owe a lot of my success in the interviews to Zach (the career coach) who helped me prepare for interviewing and negotiation, and the whole Rithm experience for training me to be a skillful and confident software engineer!
• After graduating, Zach was always available to answer questions and meet with us regularly. He even found time during his busy day to meet with me right before I had a scary negotiation phone call! You can tell that he loves his job and is passionate about helping us find HIGH QUALITY jobs.
• It's been a little over a month since graduation and at least 5 out of the 16 people in my cohort have gotten job offers already! (4 have accepted offers). 1 person went to grad school, so it's more like 5/15 people.
• The alumni network keeps growing and is filled with supportive and successful engineers that want to help Rithm grads land great jobs! 

Cons:

• I can't really think of any significant areas of improvement here! If anything, perhaps a few more mock technical interviews would have been useful.

I will also add that they regularly had us fill out feedback surveys. Rithm is continuously improving their curriculum and experience based on the feedback - they truly care about providing you with the best learning experience possible!
 
TLDR: If you're debating between Rithm and the other top bootcamps, choose Rithm for the small class sizes, excellent curriculum, company projects, and overall great learning environment and culture!! You won't regret it.
 

Initially, I didn't know what to expect going into this program but the Instructors are great and caring. I had classmates from different cultures and backgrounds that all succeeded throughout my time as a student. There were three active instructors in my cohort of about 15 or so students. Having three instructors on call helped a lot. I thought the lectures were very concise and clear with a lot of time for paired programming. The career coach definitely takes time to make sure you're on track after graduation and Is always of resource as someone who can give advice, help and any information you need well beyond graduation. The staff here are most definitely one of the most caring educators I've had in my life and would recommend this program without a doubt. 

I loved my experience at Rithm School. My favorite aspects of Rithm were the company projects, the staff, and the career search module.

Company projects were mini-internships where we were able to touch a working codebase. We had been building projects throughout the program, but this was where you had to put it all together. I honestly had no idea what to expect work to look like when first going to boot camp. Company projects gave me real-world experience that I could speak of in job interviews. The only change I would make would be adding another week. I'm not as outgoing as some of the others in my cohort, so I was timid in putting myself out there and running with the opportunity.

I went to Rithm just before COVID and Shelter in Place. I got to sample in-person and online classes. What I wanted was an in-person experience. The staff had stressed the importance of the teacher-student interaction when I was applying. When our class went online, the instructors did everything they could to make themselves more accessible. What I did miss the most from in-person instruction was overhearing someone else in the computer lab with the same problem and then teaming up to figure it out. The instructors would still pop in on our breakout rooms during remote instruction, but it wasn't quite the same. 

Rithm closes the program with a week of career search. I needed the extra help in transitioning my non-technical resume to something I can send to tech companies. This week helped me process a lot of imposter syndrome around my resume and tying together the skills and experiences gained at Rithm.

Rithm is an incredible bootcamp and I had a great experience! The material is very relevant and constantly updating to keep up with the technology trends in the industry. I always felt the work we were doing or the concepts we were learning were highly practical tools that we would need in the job, and now that I'm in the workforce, I see just how true that is.

The work is definitely challenging, but the guidance from the instructors was excellent and the small cohort size made it very easy to ask questions and get hands on assistance with any concept, or project. Frankly, I sought out Rithm because I knew it would push me, and that's exactly what I got.

Leaving the bootcamp, I felt fully prepared for both the interview and job search process along with whatever job would come my way. Zach (the Career Coach) did a great job of getting us ready for the job search and was always available for questions and assistance after the bootcamp ended.

Overall, Rithm School is a great community of instructors, students, and alumni who genuinely care about getting you prepared for and educated in this industry.

I thought after reading so many glowing reviews that Rithm wouldn't live up to the hype, but it really is as incredible as others say! I received an offer at my dream company, The New York Times, 3 weeks after graduating from Rithm, which I truly don't think would have happened if I hadn't attended Rithm (side note: this was really fast and I do think part of it was definitely luck, but part of it was also attending a bootcamp that gave me the skills and confidence to succeed in an interview just a few weeks after graduating). Below is a quick summary of my experience:

Why I chose Rithm (& would chose it again!!):

• Small class size & collaborative culture - my class was 10 people with 2 instructors and 1 TA. With pair programming, cold calls, and a great classroom atmosphere, I was able to feel really close to everyone in the program even though it was all remote. Everyone at Rithm is  talented and motivated while being caring and pushing others to grow as developers. I was amazed by how often my peers would share tips throughout the program or job openings after the program, and it really felt like everyone wanted each other to succeed as much as themselves. 
• INCREDIBLE instructors - I studied engineering at a good university and have been taught by great professors, but somehow Elie & Joel (& Brit as the TA) exceeded my previous experiences. They were patient, funny, caring, and so talented, and I would join the program again just to be taught by them. The instructors at Rithm are deeply invested in your learning and growth and even check-up on you once the program ends. 
• Curriculum - In addition to what you read online about the curriculum (Python & JS, company projects, etc), I thought Rithm also did a great job of stressing what it means to be a professional developer. During code reviews, the instructors would not only comment on the logic of our code but also on documentation and testing. There is also cold-calling during lectures which terrified me at first, but has improved my ability to speak on technical topics. When I was interviewing for jobs, this proved incredibly useful and has given me confidence starting my first full-time job.
• Job support - Two weeks at Rithm are dedicated to interviewing and applying for jobs, and I never felt alone in the job search process. Zach (the career coach) is so helpful throughout the entire process, from figuring out when to start applying to reading over your negotiation email. 

In summary, Rithm is expensive but worth it. I can't think of a negative aspect to write in this review, and I think that says something about how Rithm really has it figured out! 

 If you are looking for a coding bootcamp to attend, I would honestly just stop searching now and choose Rithm School. I was once a prospective bootcamp student and did extensive research on every bootcamp in the San Francisco Bay Area and I ended up choosing Rithm due to its small class sizes, well paced curriculum, and most importantly: its company projects. 

As many of us know, small class sizes means that you are able to get more individualized attention from each instructor in the course. It makes it extremely easy to ask questions and get a response. Many other bootcamps have very large class sizes making it so that when you have questions or need help while you are working, it takes a ridiculous amount of time to get the help you need. If you truly want to take advantage of your instructors, then small class sizes are essential. Rithm paces their curriculum in a way that makes the material digestible instead of having to “drink water from a fire hose”. While Rithm may be longer than other bootcamps in terms of its duration, this added length really helps with truly understanding the material without having to feel like you are being rushed. The longer length also makes it so that you are able to get more support from your instructors over a longer period of time.

The most important feature of Rithm is definitely the company projects. I want you to picture company projects kind of like mini-internships. These company projects give you real world experience working on a real live codebase. I cannot stress how much this gives you a leg up compared to all the other bootcamp graduates as you will leave Rithm with actual real world experience that you can then use in your job search.

After the main meat of the course, Rithm also prepares you for the job search through their awesome career coach, Zach. Zach does an extremely good job of making sure that you are well equipped for the job search ahead by discussing interview best practices, job search best practices, and even self-care best practices. He will literally teach you how to hack the job search and make yourself stand out in a vast ocean of applications. 

If you are looking for a coding bootcamp, Rithm School is definitely the way to go. However, I also want to preface this by saying that attending a coding bootcamp requires a lot of commitment and work on your end as well. Do not assume that going into any bootcamp will automatically land you a software engineering job with minimal work on your part. If you are willing to fully commit a few months of your life to learning, then Rithm School will definitely be a life changing experience for you. 

I really didn't imagine beforehand what a great experience I'd have at Rithm.

What to expect (I think a lot of this applies to most Bootcamps):

• You won't be made into an expert, or magically transform into an amazing developer in 4 months.
• You'll be given context on a bunch of relevant web technologies, all while improving your skills as a coder. It's basically accelerated learning where you should come out with many of the tools necessary to get up to speed when you do land a job.
• Around 40 hours per week in class (more if you want to do extra), and 6-9 hours on the weekends doing assessments (I spent more to go deeper into the topics). This is something I appreciated about Rithm - the Bootcamp is longer, but the pace is more manageable compared to some others.
• Days start with (the numbers could be a little off) ~60-90 minutes of lecture, then 60-90 minutes of pair programming with a random classmate until lunch. 60-90 more minutes of lecture, then pair programming with the same partner until you're ready to go home.
• When you get out, depending on where you want to apply you could find yourself behind on Data Structures and Algorithms (only spend a week on it). A lot of companies are not heavy on this stuff, but just something to keep in mind as it can take some time to get up to speed.
• You won't be dropped once you graduate, they have office hours every week where you can go get job hunt related or technical advice, and they'll continue to follow-up with you until you get a job!

What I loved most about Rithm:

• Classmates! I was really impressed with their ability to find so many smart, friendly and motivated people.
• Class size - 6:1 student-instructor ratio means you can almost always get help when you need it, and the fact that you're pair programming makes this ratio effectively 3:1 for most of the day.
• Company projects - this is a standout feature of Rithm, and owes itself in part to the fact that the class size is small enough that they're able to find enough companies willing to let you work on their codebase. It's a one month internship where you work in 6 person agile teams and put to practice everything you learned during the Bootcamp!
• Instructors - all awesome people who really seem to care about your success. You'll have a bi-weekly one-on-one where you can discuss your assessments, talk about how it's going, ask questions, or generally just make sure things are heading in the right direction. I'm giving them 4 stars here because, while they were most definitely a very positive part of the whole experience, there were some (infrequent) times when I felt like they couldn't help and I had to figure things out on my own. It really didn't make a difference in the end though.
• Feedback loop - they frequently ask for feedback, and it really feels like they're rapidly evolving the course and making it better even during your time there.
• The curriculum felt very well put together, well paced, and at a good level of depth for you to understand it without being too simplistic.
• As you may have noticed from the other reviews, there is a large and growing community of people whose experiences were similar to my own, who would love to tell you their experiences, give you advice, or maybe even become a referral.

Other things of note:

• They gave us mentors! A former student now working as an engineer who you can meet regularly with to ask questions or get advice.
• They had people come to speak with us and provide advice at the end of the bootcamp. This includes two companies, one of which gave us free interviews and hired 3 of my classmates, and another who offered to skip us past the screening process, and is the company I currently work at!
• There's a slack channel where you can frequently find job opportunities post-graduation, including roles opening up at former grads' companies.
• One of the underrated things about Bootcamps as opposed to self study is that you instantly get a team of people who can keep you motivated, practice interviewing, answer questions, share advice and generally make the whole job hunt process a lot more manageable.

In short, Rithm school is the best. 

Previous reviews already point out why Rithm is a great Bootcamp. So, I would like to emphasize a couple of points that deserve more attention.

1. Incredible instructors and a career coach

Elie, Joel, and Tim taught my cohort. Not only they're knowledgeable, but also they're incredibly passionate about teaching and the industry. They were always approachable and they always focused on important fundamentals, tips, and tricks that you can not learn from an online course. They were huge for me to build a strong foundation to start my journey as a software engineer. I really do miss their classes because they are amazing at explaining difficult concepts in a succinct manner. Seriously, my only regret after the Bootcamp is not bugging them more. If you are going to join Rithm school, pick their brain and ask as many questions as possible because they will always have answers for you and sometimes even if they don't, they would go out of their ways to get those answers for you. Also, Zach is the best career coach you can ask for. When you finish your Bootcamp, you are not done. You are just starting and the hard part begins. Job search. However, Zach is always there for you and does his best to help you. Having Zach to rely on, ask questions, and get help from was huge for me during my job search. I can not thank him enough.
2) StudentsThrough interviewing many students, Rithm school not only accepts quality students to each cohort but also Rithm always emphasizes the importance of respect and teamwork.Thus, during the Bootcamp, I was able to learn a lot not only from the instructors but also from the students in my cohort. They were motivated, smart, and personable. I was confident that even if after the Bootcamp, those students will do great and I was excited to grow as a developer together with this group. I was able to become great friends with them and we still reach out to each other. Another thing to note was how helpful the Rithm community was. Whenever I reached out to different alumni, they were always willing to help and I can not thank them enough as well.
So in conclusion, go to Rithm if you are willing to work and stay motivated. Rithm school is a place where the more you put in the more you get out.

Before I get into everything else, I'll lead with my overall review, which is that I would highly Rithm to anyone willing to put in the upfront work it takes to prepare for the program. Once you're there, the instructors do everything they can to ensure that you are successful there.

Before Rithm, I spent the first 2.5 years of my professional career in brand strategy consulting. I realized that my favorite part of my job was learning how the companies and products I was branding actually worked, which sparked a renewed interest in engineering and specifically programming. My exposure to coding before the boot camp was fairly minimal - I had taken two mathematical programming courses in college but had no experience with Javascript before taking their free online courses (their curriculum is open source).

When I first started doing research into boot camps, I had narrowed it down to App Academy and Hack Reactor because those are the ones I had heard of. Then a friend told me about Rithm, and it was everything I wanted: smaller class sizes (capped at 18 so you can get to know your cohort well), instructors with industry and teaching experience (i.e., it's not somebody that just graduated the boot camp teaching you), a full-stack curriculum that covered multiple languages (Javascript and Python), a focus on work-life balance to prevent burnout (other boot camps tout their demanding curriculum requiring 80+hour weeks), real-world experience (there's a 3-week internship towards the end with a start up), and job support (the last 2 weeks of the program are dedicated to practicing behavioral and technical interviews). So I decided Rithm was my top choice, though I had read it could be pretty selective since, unlike other boot camps, they do all their filtering upfront. So instead of doing what Hack Reactor does and accepting most people and letting them drop out themselves when they can't keep up with the material, they do a good job of making sure everyone has the same fundamentals down before starting the program.

Originally, I was planning on slowly working through some of their online courses (starting with their Javascript Fundamentals course) and then eventually applying in 6-8 months. I ended up liking their curriculum so much that I decided pretty soon that I wanted to apply much earlier. The first step in the application process is setting up a conversation with the Director of Admissions. She'll direct you to a set of ~50 practice problems and a few courses from their website you should complete before interviewing (the Fundamentals course I mentioned above plus the first three sections of Javascript Intermediate). Once you complete those, you can set up an interview, which will be a whiteboarding style interview (for COVID, this would be a screen share). From there, they'll get back to you within a few days to let you know if you got into this cohort or if there are areas you need to work on before applying again (you can interview up to two more times, but the first time you have to wait 6 weeks, the second time a few months).

So all in all, it took me a little over 3 months to study, work through the problem set, apply, and get into Rithm (was working through this material after work). Once I got in, there were 80-120 hours of additional prep work (a few additional courses plus a few small projects and a personal website). I completed most of this in a two week period after I quit my job before I started the program). I joined their March 2020 cohort, and we had a glorious 2 weeks together in person before the shelter in place order went into effect in SF. I wish we had had more time together, but we all worked together to adapt. It was new for everyone, and the instructors quickly figured out the tech to emulate the in-class experience as much as possible.

The three main differences between the COVID zoom classroom format vs. the in-person format were:
1) When we were in person, there was this room we'd go to for labs in the morning and afternoon and the instructors would do walkthroughs to check in on people as they were working. Once we switched to online, it was harder for them to sense that a pair was struggling since they can't see us in the breakout rooms, but what they started doing was just popping into our zoom breakout rooms to check in and that was helpful.
2) When you're in person, you can also see when other pairs are struggling and can often overhear that they're working through the same issue you are, so you can just join their group for some brainstorming, or at the very least you can commiserate together and know that you're not alone - it's hard material! In the breakout rooms, you can commiserate with your partner, but you're somewhat removed from that environment where you can hear other people struggling. What our cohort had to do to adapt is we had to start being more vulnerable over our slack channel during labs, like "hey, we're really struggling with X - has anybody else been struggling with that too?". And slowly we transitioned to being more communicative over slack to keep up the cohort's sense of community.
3) In person, there were happy hours and game nights every so often where you could hang out with your cohort and other cohorts. We, unfortunately, didn't get to do this before we left, but we started organizing zoom game nights and happy hours on Friday afternoons to try to continue getting to know each other. That ended up creating a good foundation for us to continue supporting one another after graduation - our cohort continued to have a weekly stand up and happy hour where we could check in on one another during the job search.

With all that said, I would highly recommend Rithm School. Everything that I mentioned above about why I chose them in the first place was exactly what I experienced at the boot camp - high-quality instruction from people who have a ton of experience, knowledge, and passion for teaching, getting to learn multiple languages and some of the most relevant frameworks and libraries,  internship experience, and job support from the end of the program throughout your job search. They also have technical and job support office hours weekly that you can drop in all throughout your job search (and beyond - people who already have jobs will drop in to ask questions about things that stumped them at work too). 

During my internship, I was able to work out a lot of my insecurities and imposter syndrome so that by the time I started my new job, it didn't feel so scary, and I felt relatively comfortable within 2 weeks of starting. I started softly recruiting 2 weeks before graduation and got a job 5 weeks after graduation. I'm really happy at my new job - I'm a Full Stack Engineer at a pet health start up - and I owe much of that to Rithm for preparing me so well.

Before joining Rithm, I was a restaurant manager. I had absolutely zero technical background. Now I am a backend engineer at one of cloud native database company. Rithm school made this switch possible! There are so many bootcamp options but I will tell you why you have to choose Rithm school.

1. Curriculum
Rithm school teach full stack web development. They teach frontend development in Javascript and backend development in Javascript and Python. Which are pretty similar with other bootcamp. However, MAJOR DIFFERENCE is that they teach not only practical knowledge but also fundamental concepts behind the practical knowledge. This makes students to adapt new technologies and language easier and effectively. They also spend quite some time on CS fundamental and data structure which are often neglected by the other bootcamp. It is very possible that you have to do your interview or new job with unfamiliar language and technologies. The combination of practical knowledge and fundamental concepts that Rithm school teach you will definitely help to adapt them much more effectively.

2. Class size
Rithm school cohort is very small. My cohort was only 11 students. And we had 2 instructors and a lab instructor. Bootcamp moves very fast. We were introduced new concepts and technologies every day. This can be overwhelming and hard to catch up if you fall behind. However, thank to the RIthm small class size, we were able to get personal help from instructors and lab instructor one on one. This is very very variable advantage that Rithm school can offer you. You will never be left behind in Rithm school.

3. Instructors
Knowing technologies and languages and teaching them are totally different skill set. Rithm school's instructors are teachers as well as engineers. They are very passionate about teaching and helping students and trained to teach. This makes huge different how much you can learn from their lectures. They really care about students. Time during bootcamp can be stressful, but instructors at Rithm will definitely help you to get through that.

4. Support
Rithm school supports students many ways. They support you on technically and emotionally. Whenever you need support during bootcamp and job search, they are there to help you.

At the end of days, you as student have to put effort and work to learn. But with Rithm school, you can learn everything you need to know in order to start new career as software engineer.

I highly recommend Rithm school.

I recently completed the full-time immersive program at Rithm and strongly endorse the bootcamp. As most of the other reviews have positively note, Rithm places a critical emphasis on student learning. Small class sizes are tremendous and the low student-to-teacher ratio gave us all plenty of one-on-one time to ask directed questions and ensure understanding of the day's lecture or exercise. Additionally, instructors often stayed late with students and were easily accessible if needed.

Choosing a bootcamp wasn't a decision I took lightly. I attended info sessions, interviewed, and researched all of the top programs in SF. Larger programs (not be named) seemed to be operating a business model of churning out students--this is especially true where students from a prior cohort (often only a couple months of finishing the program themselves) were tapped to teach the incoming class. This was a redline for me. I'm happy to report that the Rithm instructors each have years of instruction and job experience as software engineers. 

What happened to me? I leveraged the program's curriculum and my product background to get a techical product management role at Hulu. 

Again, I strongly recommend the Rithm program. Comprehensive curriculum with quality instructors who care about your learning.  Get in the Rithm!