San Diego Code School

One of the most important things a bootcamp can have is knowledgable and dedicated teachers. Michael is incredibly well versed in software development and definitely takes the time to get to know his students and offer the best help he can to guarantee success. 

The tech stack that San Diego Code School teaches JavaScript, React, MongoDb, Node, Git, and an overview of quite a few other technologies. It really helps to have the information properly laid out and put in an undertandable order. Everything you learn slowly helps to build up your knowledge as you progess through the course leading to a greater understanding of the material by the time you reach graduation.

The program also includes numerous project which help the students build their portfolio and even a project working directly with a local company as a final project! Once you finish the program you will be ready to enter the job market and be productive with a focus on scrum and agile programming.

.I would definitely reccomend this course to a friend!

I was very hesitant at first to make the leap into a coding bootcamp.  I thought the only possible way to get into a career of Software Development was to obtain a Computer Science Degree.  After some research and reading a lot of success(more success than failure) stories from bootcampers that made it into the industry, I thought it was my turn.  I tried to go at it alone with freeCodeCamp and Team Treehouse at first.  I was still working full-time at about 50-60 hrs a week, so it was getting difficult to juggle work, coding and family life(wife and one year old) at the same time.  Obviously, coding had to take on a third wheel role at that point.

I knew I had to make a decision about my future because my current career was taking me away from my family for days at a time(field support engineer) and I had reached the top of the ladder in my current role.  We had saved up enough money, so that I could take at least a couple months off to learn coding full time.  In order for me to accomplish a goal of learning how to code in a short amount of time, I knew an immersive coding bootcamp was the only way to go as you would have an instructor and fellow students to help you get “un-stuck".  My family was 100% supportive in me taking the leap, so I started make the arrangements.

I first looked into another coding bootcamp before looking at SDCS.  I toured the facility and attended a mob programming session along with a Codewars challenge.  I interviewed a couple students as well.  They told me about the highs and lows of learning to code, but it was still the best decision they had ever made.  This really solidified things for me.  Over the next two months, I quit my job and signed up for the course!  But alas, that school had closed down.  Here came Michael(Founder of SDCS) to the rescue with all the same bells and whistles that the other school provided.  With Michael’s 30+ years experience, knowledge of programming and his connections within the industry, I knew choosing his program was the right decision for me.  And it didn’t hurt that the cost was MUCH more appealing.

I am getting close to the end of the program now and I do not regret my decision to join one bit.  The road ahead is still difficult and there is still SO much to learn, but Michael really helps you to think about problems in a different way and to break them down into smaller manageable chunks.  I really enjoy the mob programming sessions as you get to work with a team to solve a common goal. You get to see how other people would solve the same problem and it lets you know what you need to work on learning more of.  Same goes for code challenges, which still pull me back down to earth.  The best part is learning NEVER stops.  You are faced with new challenges daily.

I strongly recommend Michael’s program and San Diego Code School, not only for the cost to value, but for the shear amount of knowledge you obtain in such a short amount of time.

Pretty weird experience here...the biggest problem is that before arriving, they tell you that you will get all of the help and support that you need, and it even says in the contract that you will get 2 hours of assistance each week from staff, but when you're actually there, there is no support except from other students. It seems like they are trying to create a new kind of bootcamp where students who have been there longer teach the newer students...I imagine they do this because there is only one teacher for the entire "school". The one good thing about this place is the price at $2500 for 2 months, which is cheap compared to other bootcamps. But you will soon see why! It was so sad to see new students coming in excited and then watch them realize the situation...the curriculum is basically what you would do for freecodecamp.com, except it has less instructions/explanations. The attitude of the teacher Michael Roberts was especially disappointing...there were so many times where I saw him humiliate students for no reason and make them cry. Many students told me that they were too scared to ask questions for this reason. And they have students submit a bunch of assignments, but no teachers/staff ever check the work. It was like whaaat...? How are they getting away with this? Overall, I didn't learn anything from my time here, and would have done better to just sign up at a coworking space or find a friend to study with and go through freecodecamp or any other free online coding deal. You may see positive reports for this place, but just know that those students probably felt pressured to write them...there is a strange type of bribe culture in the place, where students are told that if the teacher approves of you and if you do what he says, then he will help you get a job. Not very cool.