Blaizing Academy

I attented Eleven Fifty Academy's Full Stack JavaScript cohort of December 2018. I cannot thank enough the shool and staff for this incredible learning opportunity. This is one of the best decisions I've made in my life. I was able to gain the skills to pursue a career I'm passionate about. Since day one the entire school was very supportive and made sure all the students had everything they needed to succeed (including snacks, drinks and lunches). 

It is a very fast paced program (as expected for being an inmmersive training) and the technology skills they teach are very relevant to the current market needs.

After attending the program for 10 weeks I was offered a full time position as a Web Developer which I accepted right away! 

I cannot speak enough benefits for Eleven Fifty Academy as a resource for anyone motivated to make a career change into software development. I originally expressed hesitancy while considering EFA, although a precursory visit to the facility to meet current staff and students convinced me of the extensive resources available to current and former students.

Pros:

Eleven Fifty's greatest benefit is teaching students to grow independently. The program may begin with some hand holding while learning the fundamentals, yet the program ends with nearly complete autonomy in the learning process. Essentially, one learns to drink from a firehose, not to drink everything from a hose. The practical benefit is that we learn how to pick up a new language on our own rather than relying on an instructor to guide us.

The very benefit of developing the skill of autonomous learning is can present challenges for those who are accustomed to many types of post-secondary education. One must walk into this program with the full intent that they will be teaching themselves rather than relying on a teacher. The staff is very transparent about this transition as well as the work commitment at the beginning.

A possible "con":

The transient nature of the tech industry is reflected in the day-to-day learning process at EFA. Changes throughout the course can be viewed as disruptive or unfair for individuals that expect a static and fixed curriculum, yet this is not how the industry works. Instructors and mentors can change, project scope can change, and opportunities can appear or disappear with little notice. Anyone who walks into this program with the mindset that things WILL change and faces changes as a learning opportunity will exit the program better prepared for a working world.

Suggestions:

Much of this suggestion is due to circumstantial changes for MY cohort specifically, but I would have preferred more opportunities to participate in mock interviews.

I have a tendency to be verbose so I'll try to keep this somewhat brief- just rest assured that the topic of my recent career transition is one I could gush about nearly endlessly.

I was interested in pursuing coding for a few years before attending Eleven Fifty, but thought I would have to put a lot of time and money into going back to school and getting a CS degree. The fact that I was able to break into the tech field in just twelve weeks? It feels like cheating, but I couldn't be happier with the results. I'm in an amazing career that speaks to both my interests and skillset, I'm with a great company that is extremely supportive of my continued learning, and I nearly doubled my salary over the course of a few months.

The experience was great, from the friendly staff devoted to our success up to the warm reception of the Indy tech community. The curriculum constantly evolves as the Academy figures out new ways to make the most out of the twelve weeks, and it is structured around learning how to learn. The tech industry is rapidly changing, there's no way they could cover everything that's out there, but the best way for them to equip their students is by helping to equip them to think like a programmer and be receptive to continuous learning. Which they do! I was in completely new territory when I started my current job, but I had the practice under my belt to be able to know how best to tackle the challenges that continue to present themselves.

I can't recommend this course enough, I would just make sure that any prospective students have the aptitude and interest before beginning. I took out a loan for the full amount of tuition, but felt secure in that commitment because I was certain it would be up my alley and I would be able to make it through. There are plenty of online resources to practice and get a good taste for programming before diving in!

The 12 weeks spent with Eleven Fifty Academy was challenging, exhausting, and exciting. I came into the program having done my research, so I knew it would be difficult and fast paced; but whew, it was crazy fast. The first 2 weeks had my head swimming in symbols, characters, numbers, and words that had me questioning if programming was for me. Slowly those words, numbers, and symbols began to make sense and that is when the excitement comes.  

The instructors are knowledgable, articulate, helpful, and passionate about their craft. They seek to educate the students with the latest, most up-to-date technologies and frameworks possible. 

I found the entire staff at Eleven Fifty to be incredibly helpful and caring. Always taking an interest in how I was feeling about my progression in the course. They made me feel welcome from day one, which was greatly appreciated.  

There are areas of the curriculum that need to be addressed. In my opinion, there needs to be 1-2 more hours per week of classroom instruction. 

My overall experience at The Academy was a positive one. If I had to do it all over again, I definitely would, I would just make sure I was better prepared. I would encourage future students to prepare for the class above and beyond the pre-work they suggest for you. 

I do not have a job yet. I did not expect to, since I just graduated last week and did not begin seeking employment until the class was finished. Through job assistance programs, networking, and mentors I have faith that it will happen in the very near future.

 

 

 

 

I came to Eleven Fifty as part of a career change which was a risk for me. Before coming to the school I was fully employed with an advanced degree in my former field. However, I was miserable in that career and Eleven Fifty was a great chance to change.

I came to the school with the only coding experience being the weekend course and pre-assigned work. If you are on the fence at all take a weekend class and see. I found there was zero difference in the environment and quality of instruction from the weekend course to the longer classes. Sure the pace in the 12 weeks is greatly accelerated but if you’re on the fence see if you can be comfortable in a risk free environment. If you don’t like it no worries the people that run the academy are not going to push their services on you.

To that last point I have never had an interaction with any of the Eleven Fifty staff from instructors all the way to the head leadership that was unpleasant. They really do care about you and your development and will often reach out. I have graduated now, and I am still in daily contact with the staff and use some of the facilities. They do a great job of fostering a sense of community and it’s evident that community is important to each and everyone in the school.

Last point, if you want to graduate it is very simple just do the work. If you put in the time and effort you will make it through. The instructors are not going to leave on an island. I didn’t feel very confident in the core fundamental until late in the program. Stick with it do the work.

I would recommend this 10 out of 10 times if you are considering this as a career change and like the weekend course. 

I wrote a review recently about how amazing the school was and the only hang up for me was being an out of state student and not being able to continue because of financing. Well the president of the school called me and offered me a way to continue my education despite my trouble with the loan servicer I had. I don't think they understand how much they changed my life by doing this. I have never met school administration that went above and beyond for their students when they didn't have to. I start Immersions next week and I'm so excited to keep going. I can't say enough good things about EFA and the people who work there. 

Eleven Fifty Academy is a great place to learn and change to a new profession.  I wanted to get into the cybersecurity world and found a certification program to be the best course for me.  Two things that pulled me towards EFA:  1)  They had a shorter and more focused program.  Some IT certification programs go for 6 months or more and prep you for 12+ certifications.  EFA went for 3.5 months and prepared me for 2 industry specific certifications.  Doing the math there it shows that EFA has more focus on specific certs, ones that directly apply to the field you are interested in working in and it shows they will dedicate a good amount of time helping you understand the material.  2)  My second reason was the Cyberbit Range.  This advanced simulated network is used in the final weeks of the program for you to test your knowledge and skills in a real world environment, complete with user segments and malware to identify.  This was a draw for me because many programs, including many college programs, give you book knowledge to pass tests but no application of it in the real world.  EFA and their cyber range helped me excel in the book knowledge, then put it to use for real hands on experience.  There are many options for funding, they have full time and part time classes.  This is a bootcamp so be prepared for a lot of note taking, a lot of reading, and a lot of learning in a short amount of time.  If you can handle that and want to get into tech, then check out Eleven Fifty Academy!