Actualize

I did the Online Live Bootcamp and it was great, I can now confidentally say that I know how to code and more importantly how to learn how to code. Actualize focuses on teaching you how to learn, because no one ever will be a coding master in all areas, it's just too vast. Online sounds kind of anti-social but it really was Online Live. Actualize uses Zoom and it really works very smooth. My one bad part is the price, it costed me $12,900 total which is pretty hefty for only 3 months + 1 month of non-live pre-work. But Actualize is about the same price as most bootcamps, some are even more expensive, so it's all good.

I reccomend! If you work hard with the Job Hacking you can defineltely land a job but it's not for sure. I didn't look for a job after, I'm in College.

I first heard of Actualize through a random comment on a Chicago subreddit. I reached out to the user and asked about their experience. It sounded right up my alley so I sat in on a class. I was immediately drawn to Peter's teaching style. I also spent a lot of time talking to the TA, Jennifer, about her own experience. She was also wildly helpful in my decision making process.

Fast forward eight months and I just presented my final capstone project. It is an amazing feeling of accomplishment. Would highly recommend. 

TL/DR: 10/10 would recommend.

Actualize has been an amazing experience. Over the past few months I have learned so much about coding but more importantly I am coming away from this program with a belief that I can figure out just about anything in terms of coding. 

Actualize focuses on teaching you how to teach yourself how to code so that you feel comfortable about tackling any problem. It's not about memorizing syntax or best practices. 

I specifically took this course because of the remote video-conference structure. Since I was working full-time, I needed to take a course in the evenings. I was deciding between a course at a nearby college and Actualize but ultimatley went with Actualize because I realized there were a lot of extra logistics required with attending at a physical location, such as: parking at the school, dinner, coming back home after class would be even more difficult to find parking by my house....etc. Actualize gave me a near-as-makes-no-difference in-person experience without the hassles of being there in person.

The teacher, TA, and job-hacking instructor were all stellar. Concepts are explained at a challengning, but attainable, pace and everyone is generally available to you outside of class time as needed.

I have never learned so much in four months, and I definitely didn't expect to have as much fun as I did doing it. One of the best surprises from this was that I feel so close with all of my classmates. I was worried that the remote nature of the course might lead to people not being as engaged in class but it couldnt be further from the truth.

The learning and classroom experience in the online cohort of Actualize was far more personal and welcoming than one would think when considering joining an online class. The instructors have a real passion for their work but it's their passion for wanting to teach others that really makes the miles between each student shrink. They are very understanding and want to help you with every problem that you have as stupid as it may seem to you, because they understand that you're learning and that you have tons of information being thrown at you. The growth mindset that Brian and Lisa taught us made moving forward and learning new concepts easier every day and that makes me very confident transitioning into my future as a web developer.

I am amazed by all the information we have learned in just four months! Coming into Actualize I had very little experience with coding and web development, however, by the end of the course, I was able to create a complete web application by myself with both a working front-end and a back-end. I took the part-time online course while working a full-time job and while the course was challenging at times it was still both manageable and enjoyable. Actualize provided me with a very strong foundation to continue learning upon. Whenever I had questions the instructors were readily available. There is also a great job hacking program in place for graduates which not only helps grads with finding jobs but also helps in making sure we continue coding and learning through graduate initiative projects. I would definitely recommend this course to anyone interested in starting a career in web development.

I heard about Actualize through google and sites like this one. Really wonderful experience! Great pace, really responsive staff, always ready to help you through any questions you have. At the end, you'll have a project you have built that you can add to your portfolio, as well as skills to start the inevitable job hunt. The main course focus is on programming fundamentals using Ruby, back-end API development using Ruby on Rails, front end with Vue.js as well as some quick detours here and there. Not sure what any of that means? No problem! Through the course pre-work and first couple weeks of the camp, Actualize will get you up to speed. You'll leave with skills to help you feel confident as you enter the workforce. They teach you the building blocks of coding, as well as how to apply those building blocks to new languages, which is invaluable. I would recommend Actualize to coding newbies and intermediate coders. I will say, if you're advanced (in web-development) and looking to brush up or learn a new language in a structured environment, you will certainly be able to do that here, it will just be at a pace that is slower than what you'd probably want.

Before enrolling into Actualize, I researched so many different coding bootcamps, but Actualize was the one that stood out the most to me. I had no prior coding experience, though it was tough, I gained so much insight and made my very own app! Everyone here is great, supportive, and understandable. That's something I truly enjoyed the most, that they understood this isn't going to be easy, but made sure I pulled through. I highly recommend Actualize to anyone who's experienced or not. Great way to take the first step into Software Development.

I heard about Actualize through some developers at the company I work for. They had started their careers here and have been quite successful. That was enough of a testimonial for me to commit.

The overall experience was what I was looking for which was a wholeistic approach to software engineering.  No bootcamp is going to turn you into a master coder but it will show you the fundamentals and give you a solid foundation to build off of. You will get out of this course what you put into it.

Actualize is a good chocie for someone who has an idea of what they want. I believe having clear goals in mind prior to starting bootcamp is important. I did the night cohort which meant long days but in the end was very much worth it.  At the end of bootcamp I was able to make an internal transition to the development team at my company.