Tech Talent & Strategy

I've had an amazing experience in the part time Code Immersion course so far! We cover a ton of material, but Shane paces the class well so it never feels too overwhelming or confusing. The homework and class challenges are incredibly helpful and make me feel like I'm grasping the concepts. I had some exposure to programming before at college, but not to this extent. Shane also makes a point to give real life examples from his own professional work to teach us when or why you might use a specific method or approach. We have different partners every week which allows us to collaborate and learn from our peers, and also get to know everyone else in the class! Jackie and the rest of the TTS team are very welcoming and supportive, making sure I never feel out of place. I would definitely recommend this program to others.  

I am amazed at how much I can do after taking Tech Talent South’s full-time Code Immersion class. I went from zero experience with Rails to deploying my first web application a month after finishing the class.   The full-time class provided a comprehensive background on Ruby and Rails. We also touched on version control, JavaScript, APIs and deploying with Heroku enough to understand them conceptually and continue to learn about them on my own.

The staff at Tech Talent South are genuinely interested in your experience.  They are accessible and engaged.  Since the class ended they continue to offer assistance and answer questions.

This is a comprehensive, well organized class. You will get as much out of it as you put into it.

8-week full stack developer course.

The full-time immersion program accelerated my learning faster than could've happened learning on my own. I never realized how valuable the network would be! The course includes bonuses like guest speakers and tech company tours. It was assuring and inspiring to seeing TTS alum working full time at both new and established tech companies. Along the way I met great instructors and classmates. There were some students who didn't know what they were getting into--some got bitter but some got better! Your classmates will help you get where you want to be in your career if you connect and work with them. I've formed relationships with people that I believe will last my entire tech career. I've had a great experience! I applied for and received a partial scholarship at the start of the program, and I'm very grateful for that! I wish TTS much continued success in the future! 

I’ve been working on making a career move to tech for the past couple of months and it was time to take it to the next level. I’ve been learning code using free online outlets, but although it was great, I wanted to know the “why’s” to fully understand the content. The first week in, you learn HTML & CSS and a bit of JavaScript and listen about ideas and processes from others you don’t even begin to understand, because it’s a bit overwhelming. And then, BOOM — in a matter of weeks, you’re standing where they are. It’s exhilarating, with the constant sensation that you barely grasp the material at hand as deeply as you should, that you couldn’t ever know all the concepts there are to know. That is the power of immersive learning at Tech Talent South. The instructors and the community organizer went out of their way to answer any questions, regarding job prospects, tech companies, meet ups or if you just want to grab coffee and talk about the mysterious topic of “life”.. they were just a Slack away! So if you’re thinking about joining Tech Talent South, go for it. It’s not easy, and you won’t become and expert, but it’s one hell of a start. 

Winter 2016 Full Code Immersion. 

Overall, I had a very positive experience with this course. I had done some online courses/tutorials prior to enrolling, but Tech Talent South provided a more in-depth look into the basics of Ruby, Rails, HTML, CSS, git, and Javascript. The real advantages of this course in my opinion are providing structure to the learning process, hands-on instruction (the chance to ask all those dumb questions you have to a person face to face), and the opportunity to get tapped into your local tech community. The instructors for my class were excellent and very open to answering questions, which can be a great resource if you take advantage of it. The course also does a nice job of introducing each concept, getting the students familiar with it, and then showing how they all work together (think Ruby, HTML, CSS, Rails, etc.). In terms of criticisms, I would say that I thought the course moved a bit slow at times. I felt like a bit more material could have been covered during the 8-week course, or that some topics could have been discussed more deeply, but I imagine this varies from city to city and teacher to teacher.

As you'll read in most of these reviews, to get the most out of this course you really do  need to be fairly self-motivated. TTS did a great job of providing opportunities to not only learn the foundations of web development, but also to tour local tech companies and attend networking events, etc. However, it's very much on the student to make the most of these opportunities. Attendance and participation are NOT part of your grade (heads up - there are no grades), but they are critical to your success.  If there is a company in your area that you're interested in learning more about, talk to your TTS Community Organizer about setting up a meeting. If there is a topic that isn't being covered in as much depth as you were hoping for, ask your instructor for guidance on learning more. 

Long story, short - I enjoyed and benefited from TTS. I had good teachers and fun classmates. I wrote a lot of code outside of class, worked on my own projects, attended all the events and was able to secure a junior development position shortly after completing the course. If you're interested in the course and ready to put the work in, I'd say go for it.

I took the Fall Part-Time TTS course covering HTML, CSS, and Ruby on Rails (as well as a bit of Javascript).

I honestly didn't know what to expect going into the course, but it definitely blew me out of the water. Each class was about 3 hours, with a nice, short break in the middle; but even though the classes seemed like they would be long (I mean you're coding for 3 hours..?), they turned out to be the perfect length. The time always flew by crazy fast as everyone got sucked into their code. The instructor, Zapata, was awesome; he was always cracking jokes, had plenty of memes, was more than willing to help with any questions or problems, and was super kind and knowledgeable.

The team at TTS is a really great group of people. I've taken plenty of different courses - online and in-person - and in most cases the instructors or creators are just concerned with getting you to buy the course or getting you through; they're not that concerned with making sure you understand the material or helping you apply it afterwards. I found the team at TTS to be quite different; they were always there if you needed them, happy to help get you connected with different individuals, and help you in whatever your career aspirations are.

I definitely recommend the course and Tech Talent South! I'm sure I'll be a life-long student of theirs and take some of there other courses :)

I feel as though I paid thousands of dollars for a fairly helpful slideshow and some links. Our instructor told us from the beginning this was their first time teaching but we were all shocked to learn that they had only just completed the most recent TTS bootcamp a few months earlier. Their answer to almost every question was either "Google it," "It's in the documentation," or simply "I've never had that problem, I don't know." The instructor was OBVIOUSLY struggling with teaching as much as we were with learning. I am pleased to know that they will no longer be teaching the bootcamp. The classroom was very cramped and always freezing or roasting; there was no comfortable in-between. The after-class "lab time" was nothing more than a glorified study hall. The instructor regularly encouraged us to leave before lab hours concluded so they could leave, too. I would not recommend this course to others and, in fact, would actively discourage others from attending.

In my experience, the founders of Tech Talent South have created an excellent team of people and fostered a quality learning environment inclusive of anyone who wants to learn and grow their code skills. I gained so much by taking this class, I have no regrets about spending my money on it, and I feel as successful as a junior developer could possibly feel. My biggest nitpick is the fact that my full-time class met at 8 am. I am night person, so that wasn't the easiest on me, but it was worth it.

The Part-Time class runs 8 weeks and holds class on Monday and Wednesday from 6:00pm to 9:00pm. Office hours directly precede class and begin at 5:00pm.  You spend most of your time on Ruby on Rails, HTML and CSS.  The instructors walk you through programming from the ground up, starting with terminology and logic, then working your way up to more difficult problems.  We learned a lot about model associations, Ruby Gems, domain modeling, bootstrap, and materialize.  Lastly, we learned a bit of JavaScript, databases, and Github.  We combined all of this into a project at the end of class that we can continue to work on and ask our instructors for help even though class has ended.

I really liked the way the instructors taught the class and made themselves very available outside of class.  The material was difficult and daunting, especially when you are doing a part-time class and have less time to absorb the material.  Going into it, I was a bit concerned about doing part-time and wished I had the time to do full-time. After finishing the course, though, I can confidently say I am in a good place with my understanding of all the above applications and methods.  The Part-Time Code Immersion class gave me a great foundation to continue to build my knowledge.  Another great thing about this class is that it isn't just a class; it's a community.  Upon graduating, you have access to your classroom portal and all your slides.  The instructos and Community Manager encourage you to continue posting questions and problems to Slack (our mode of communication) and they will help out.  As someone new to programming, this kind of support is incredibly valuable and I am looking forward to staying in touch with everyone at Tech Talent South.

    TTS has been a wonderful experience, through and through. Our class had a very diverse group of students– graphic designers, AT&T technicians, opera grant writers, dancers, stay-at-home parents, hardware folks and more, just for a general sample. We were all at different places in our life and different levels of stability. The common thread was that we all were looking for a change in our lives, and TTS was our springboard. Coding may have seemed daunting going in, but TTS really made it all doable and provided us with the resources and tools to grow our knowledge going forward.

    The CURRICULUM covered a lot of ground for the eight weeks we had, but our instructors were extremely dedicated and the spirit of the class extremely civic-minded. Heaviest focus was Ruby on Rails, followed by HTML & CSS, with Javascript as an intense but graspable two-day topic. We also touched on SQL and Sass in one day each, covering both thoroughly enough that most of the class could use them fluidly going forward. Something really special about our class was our commitment to learning the material. The class gave us the tools we needed, for sure, but taking the homework seriously is what really solidified those skills. The homework was consistently fun and challenging, and always offered lots of opportunities to expand beyond the course material and build something really special (for students who wanted to do so).

    We were really lucky with our INSTRUCTORS (Lee and Mariel). First off, they really set the bar high by investing in the course and in our individual success. Both of them met with students outside of class on multiple occasions, and they were available at the craziest hours through the Slack messaging system we used. In addition to their personal care, they really complemented each other as teachers. Their styles of teaching were really different (Lee’s being very minute and devil-in-the-details, Mariel’s offering a bigger picture view of things). Their particular skill sets were different (Lee excelled at back-end while Mariel was untouchable in terms of front-end code). They really balanced each other brilliantly and worked hard to make their vast base of knowledge available to their students. And that didn’t stop when class ended–they continue to support us going forward and that’s amazing.

    Bringing me to the biggest magic of TTS: the COMMUNITY! It sounded cheesy and it still sounds cheesy, but TTS really is like family. It’s a really positive environment focused on forging mutual admiration within its own ranks, on connecting to and making a difference in the tech community at large, and uplifting anyone it can. It’s contagious and incredibly valuable. My classmates and I have continued to keep up with each other, and we push each other to go to meet ups and get ourselves out there. Andrew, our brilliant Community Organizer in Charlotte, continues to keep us in the loop about events in the community and jobs that we as individuals might be good fits for. The community is a major piece of the value that you get with TTS.

    TL;DR: I LOVED the program and I’m pretty sure it turned my whole life around. The road is wide and full of hope, and after TTS I feel ready for it. If you’re on the fence, don’t be. Just sign up and brace for awesome.

TTS Raleigh was a positive experience. I did the part-time immersion class for website building. I had been interested in learning HTML / CSS for the past year or so, and it gave me the push I needed to get motivated and start building my own website. 

Our instructor was very knowledgable on the course material, and he was friendly and eager to help us / answer our questions. When the class ended, we got digital copies of all the material and class exercises, which I know I will reviewing in coming weeks. He was also willing to meet with us for homework hour every Sunday, which I thought was really nice. 

One consideration for future iterations might be to move from 3 hours / week for 8 weeks to 2 hours / week for 12 weeks. The part time class is designed for working students, which is awesome, but it's so much material and 3 hours is really long to add to a full work day. 

We also met out of a local co-working space, which for the most part was cool.. but sometimes the main projector screen was hard to see because of how the room was set up. 

Overall, I would recommend TTS to anyone who is interested, and motivated, to learn HTML / CSS. I don't think I could have made a career jump based on the class alone... but maybe after a few more months of reviewing / learning on my own, I might be able to. It laid a good foundation though.

And, females and minorities get a partial scholarship, which I really appreciated.