App Academy

TLDR: App Academy changed my life and allowed me to join a great new career, 5/5 would recommend (to those determined)

I started App Academy in June of 2021 after about a year of considering a career change into coding. One of the main reasons I chose it was because I couldn't afford to pay tuition outright, and they offered an ISA (Incoming Share Agreement), which means tuition was free and you don't have to pay them back until you get a job at $50,000/year or higher.

After 6 months, I graduated the program, and 3 months later, landed a job as a software developer at a startup working full time remotely at $85,000/year. App Academy helped immensely in both the 6 month full time bootcamp, learning programming and building website projects, and the job search period after graduation. For some context, I barely knew what a "for loop" was prior to starting the program, and graduated with 4 website projects as a portfolio, and with frontend and backend development experience.

For the main curriculum (I can only speak to the 6 month online full time course, the part time course I hear is spread out more), they really take you through the basics, from declaring a variable all the way to practically using the coding languages you learn to make some fun projects. I was in the JavaScript/Python course, but we also learned HTML/CSS, Express, React, SQL, Postgres database stuff, etc. Be ready for an intense program; on average I spent about 60-70 hours a week attending class studying in the evenings, and working on projects. But if you enjoy logical thinking, building cool things, and don't mind a fast paced environment, you'll do well in this program, you just have to trust the process.

For the post-main curriculum, after graduating, I entered the "job search" period, where I got assigned a job coach with other graduates. The job search for new developers trying to get their first job is intense, and it takes a lot of perseverance to get through, so having a job coach and other students to go through it with really helped me keep at it, and everyone in my job coach group eventually went on to get jobs too. My job search period took 3 months to land a job, I think on average it took us ~3-6 months to get an offer, but it really varies with some only taking a few weeks and others taking 6+ months. Job coaches helped with networking too, and put me in touch with connections they knew who were hiring bootcamp graduates. It was a very helpful to know not only the job coaches, but to have a network of other students who got jobs as well.

I did App Academy back in sept 2021 and graduated in dec 2021. I honestly felt like I did during the right timing because I started job search in Jan and there were so much opportunities. I signed my first offer in April. My overall experience is great. I really like the staff and student ratios. There are a lot of support that I could get from the TAs. I learned a good amount of stuffs that prepare me enough for interviews and breaking into tech. I would highly recommend this to anyone who wants to make a career transition into software engineer. 

I had a great time here making friends and learning software development. The program gave me all the tools necessary to dive right in to my first job. I recommend it!
I experienced TONS of stress because of the tests and threat of dismissal. The instructors and friends I made there were always fun to be around and supportive. Everyone was experiencing the same thing. I just got hired as a software developer. My tech stack is c# dotnet backend with react frontend. Even though I didn't learn C# while at App Academy, I was able to quickly adapt thanks to the solid foundation they provided me. 

Two words: life changing. Literally. And I don't write that to be cliché. I can honestly say that App Academy (a/A) is responsible for giving me the tools to successfully start a brand new career, a career I knew very little about before attending. The thing that I love the most about a/A is that you don't leave there with a very specific knowledge in one area of programming. They teach you the most important part of being a software engineer – they teach you how to learn. Because of that I was able to get a great job working with a programming language that we didn't even cover in our studies, Elixir. Not only is it a language we didn't study, it's also a completely different programming paradigm, functional programming vs. object-oriented programming. I think that right there is a testament to the skill set they equip you with.

In order to get that job I had to go through the job search phase, and a/A was right there behind me the entire way by providing me with an absolutely amazing career coach, Allie Villarreal. She was there to guide me through the roller coaster of a wild ride in finding the job, providing me with helpful advice and encouragement along the way (thank you, Allie!). In addition to this, I was able to apply at, and interview with,  some truly great companies through App Academy's partnership program. Being backed by a/A can open many doors that previously may not have been available.

If you're looking to gain an education in programming while being able to completely change your life within a 6 month timeline, I highly recommend considering App Academy. You'll be amazed at the amount of content and skills that you can learn and progress through in such a short amount of time. It's worth every minute if it means you can achieve your goals.

I only have good things to say about AppAcademy. I graduated with a BS in Wildlife Conservation in college, but I needed something better than what jobs were available to me (better pay, better growth, and remote opportunities). I had no family or friends with any experiences with bootcamps, so I did my own research and went for it. I chose AppAcademy because it has a true 'pay after you land your first job' model (didn't pay a penny until I landed my first job. No security deposit) AND because it ranked high on all bootcamp charts, AND because I knew it would be very difficult (better quality education).

I wasn't disappointed. Within a month of graduation I was hired as a Senior Software Engineer at an international company that has over 5,000 employees. Definitely one of the best investments of my life. I have recommended this bootcamp to so my people - friends, family, and strangers. I love what I do. My pay, social status, and quality of life and all significantly improved.

App Academy was more than just an academic institution to me. It taught me many life lesson that I will carry with me throughout my entire life. I was part of the 24-week online curriculum, and not only did I learn the full stack of software development, I sharpened a lot of soft skills that will benefit me in and out of the office, such as communication,  collaboration, and most importantly the ability to teach myself complicated material.

To be completely honest, App Academy is vigorous, and not for everyone. But if you’re serious about changing your career path, be ready to put in the work and constantly be pushed out of your comfort zone. 

I wish you all good luck on your endeavors.

Overall I had a good experience. Learned a lot about programming and developing web applications. Instructors and TAs are great, they are very supportive and passionate for what they do. Technologies covered include JS, Python, React, Express, and Flask just to name a few. Learning these builds a foundation for you to learn other technologies once you finish. However, there weren't any CSS frameworks that they covered which was a little disappointing. Also I feel more emphasis could be put into learning DS&A which I feel is a big part of the interview process. With that said this is a rigorous and stressful curriculum itself and there is a strike system implemented that just adds unnecessary stress in my opinion. But if you take the time to prepare before the bootcamp starts and actually study you will make it to the end. 

App Academy's free resources were one of the first resources I found that actually began to speed up my learning process when I was learning code by myself, and it hooked me so well that I knew I had to take the full time course to speed things up. I can easily say it was one of the best decisions I ever made. Every experience I had in the program was a good one. I had the pleasure of having AMAZING coaches throughout, the coursework was concise, efficient, and PACKED full of real-world, applicable knowledge that I use everyday now. I can't imagine breaking into the industry any other way having done App Academy now. I am a week out of graduation with people already reaching out to me thanks to the incredible networking setup they had us do. I'm hoping to use my momentum now to break into big tech, and I know that even if I can't do it right away, App Academy has given me the tools and skills I need to get there soon. Can't recommend them enough!