Actualize

I started to play with coding a little bit a few years back, and about 6 months ago I had a moment of inspiration to jump into it full time. After researching every bootcamp in Chicago, I determined Actualize was the right choice for me.

WOW sooooooooo much information to learn to get started in this field, so so much information and yet Josh taught it to us in such a way that I was able to retain it, and reimplement everything when I needed to. I highly recommend anyone to at a minimum come and check it out and meet everyone so you can get a good feel for if this is the right school for you.

I am a graduate of the first online cohort at Actualize. What's unique about their online course is that it is actually live. I had the full live experience from the comfort of my home (read garage), complete with pair programming and team collaboration. The tech team had it all running smoothly with screen sharing and video all seamlessly recreating the in-classroom experience.

One reason I chose Actualize was because their instuctors, besides being experienced engineers, are also experienced teachers. My instructor Brian was great. He understood what the students were confused about and really knew how to explain things. He also pushed us to debug our code on our own and discover thing ourselves which is half of what being a developer is about.

Overall my experience was great and anyone looking for a real live class with quality instruction but doesn't want to spend an hour and a half traveling downtown in name-your-city should certainly check out Actualize.

Originally, leaving my review right after I completed the course, I didn't give Actualize five stars for Job assistance. However, I landed a paying internship less than a week after graduating and as I continued searching for a regular entry level position I was really impressed with how the team at actualize made themselves available with help in improving my personal brand and navigating different situations that came up whether it was dealing with recruiters or how to prepare for an interview with a particular company. I think they deserve an A+ for job assistance and that's even for a student like me who took the online course and is easy to forget about after the course is over.

Prior to attending Actualize, I was a project manager in the construction management industry, with no coding experience. While my job was stable, I was feeling stuck because I have a heart for technology and I yearned for a chance to get my foot in the door to the tech world. If you are working full-time, cannot afford to quit your job to attend classes, and like me, have a heart for technology and want to make a change in your life, I would absolutely recommend Actualize without reservation.

At Actualize, in addition to teaching you the core skills to become a full stack web developer, they made coding fun! Attending coding bootcamp is no magic pill of transformation, you have to stay committed and constently put in the work and research. It could easily become overwhelming and intimidating. Jay, Josh, and the TAs, are coding professionals who are empathic, funny, and engaging, and are on a mission to help you understand and to discover the most of your learning potential! These four months of classes has been the most challenging yet rewarding learning experience of my life, and I am very thankful for it. 

As a recent graduate (July of 2017), I'd recommend Actualize to anyone who is thinking about atttending coding bootcamp. 

I became interested on coding back in middle school on a TI-85. It wasn't until I met Jay and Peter almost 20 years later the I realized that I could and would make programming my career. Jay, Peter, and Josh have constructed a great program here in Chicago and I wouldn't be where I am today without the deconstruction of explanation of web app frameworks that I recieved. I cannot express enough how much this program and the support within has meant to changing my life. 

If you spend your days tinkering and surfing online coding resources, please look into one of Jay's tutorials at 1871 here in Chicago

I know it sounds lame, but you can do this. If you just need the classroom experience to kick it into full gear, please investigate this program. 
 

I had an amazing experience at Actualize Bootcamp! It was a fun and challenging program that constantly pushed me to grow. I highly recommend taking the course with Peter Jang – he's an excellent instructor. What stood out the most was how I saw my skills sharpen throughout the program. Not only did I learn to code, but I also learned how to learn, which is invaluable. The curriculum kept me engaged, and I always felt like I was progressing. Overall, it’s a great bootcamp that offers a fantastic learning environment!

Before joining Actualize I did some serious searching in order to find the right situation for programming bootcamp. The usual suspects popped up and I was inundated with phone call after phone call after just asking for an information packet. Actualize took a different approach, inviting me to a class and sending information without requiring enrollment, which really jived with me. That and they set realistic expectations from the get go about the experience, which was a breath of fresh air. 
My classmates, instructor and TAs were fantastic. Always helpful and willing to take the time to engage when problems existed. Career development is also at the forefront of their program which is a really important distinction from a lot of other programs. While other programs have useful alumni networks and some general guidance, the program is interwoven into the curriculum at Actualize. If you follow their guides and instruction, you will see results in the job market.  
Personally, I could not recommend the program enough for those wanting to make the transition to tech. While your first foray into the tech industry may not be fully in development, you will still have a massive leg up coming through this program. If you make the commitment, good luck and happy coding! 

If you’re new to coding and unsure about the best path to take, Actualize is the perfect solution. This bootcamp is top-notch, and I wholeheartedly recommend it. My experience was fantastic, and it has thoroughly prepared me for a career as a software developer/engineer. Their application process was simple, and they were very clear about their curriculum. The pre-course work with Kevin was essential for building a strong foundation in coding, and the live course with Brian surpassed all my expectations. Brian structured the class content exceptionally well and paid close attention to each student’s needs. He guided my cohort from writing loops in Ruby to creating full-stack web applications, and I now feel confident using Rails and React to develop web apps. Ryan, the career advisor for my cohort was also super helpful for preparing you get a job post bootcamp.

I did quite a bit of research on different camps and thankfully found Actualize at the last minute. With some of the contenders I just had this feeling like it may not be the best fit for me and everything I read about Actualize sounded great. I couldn't have been happier with my time at Actualize. The instruction is in a league of its own and the instructors know how to convey the information to every student (including those that do not come from a computer bootcamp like myself). The instructors were so helpful and caring! I feel equipped to enter the working world and have been given the tools to navigate coding post graduation. The Job Hacking portion of the class does not stop when you graduate as they are truly there for you and want to help you find a job. This is an all around outstanding organization and I am so grateful to be a part of it!

I was undecided if I wanted to join a bootcamp and had looked into many different ones. I decided on Actualize because of all the positive feedback from graduates, and now I can see why. Amanda was an amazing teacher and made learning fun with all the coding we got to do throughout the day and the TAs, Emily and Ann, helped out a ton with any questions we had or issues with code. A new instructor, Leon, took over near the end of the cohort and he was just as amazing and fit in perfectly with our class. If you're on the fence about joining a bootcamp or not sure which one to join, I would highly recommend Actualize.