CodeCore Bootcamp

I was looking for a career change. I did a lot of research before chosing a bootcamp. Why I chose this one was I needed hands on training. I need someone to walk me through everything. Years ago in university I made websites before CSS was invented, but stopped after graduating, and found a real world corporate job. So I had some experience with coding, but programming, creating functions and methods etc, sounded very intimidating. The people at codecore provided me with guidance, training and leadership. 

Some people are really smart, no matter which bootcamp they would choose, they would end up the same. Me not so much, I definitely needed patient and knowledgeable teachers. All the TAs at codecore were saints, they never got frustrated with me or impatient. Eventhough I asked same thing over and over again. Most of the TAs at codecore had impressive credentials and well known in the community.

Birds of a feather flock together... Its weird, like minded people find each other. Most people in my class had similar stories and background. We were all looking for something different and wanted change. We all got along, there were good vibes all over. I got the same feeling when I met other previous graduates and current students. 

If you work hard, it is worth it. It is so cliche, but really do "get out what you put in." The only thing I wish I had was more time. There is a lot absorb in just 8 weeks. Also, there are more topics I would have loved to get more teaching in, such as javascript. Anyways, I fully recommend this course.

I enrolled in the bootcamp with very little coding or development experience. My goal was to get a developer job straight out of the bootcamp, which I did!

Tam and the instructors are phenomenal. The TAs are amazing and available every afternoon/evening for help with homework. All the knowledge and support you need is at CodeCore, it's up to you to show up and do the work! 

The BEST part about CodeCore is the community. Everyone looks out for each other and you will make many new friends. There are always networking events and people helping you find work. 

If you want to be a Rails developer you should absolutely do the bootcamp! Do yourself a favor and do the required/suggested prep material to set you up for bootcamp.

I came to CodeCore committed to switching careers to get started in software development and unsure what to expect in terms of pace and rigour. I had spend a number of months before the course learning from online courses and guides, but was moving to Vancouver to be closer to opportunities and wanted make it easier to find a position developing software by rounding out my skill set and making some connections with local developers.

I was very impressed by the teaching style and personal committment to the success of the students that I saw from the lead instructor Tam, which is what had initially drawn me to Codecore over the other comparable alternatives. The course material is culumative and the pace was relentless for many students who were not coming in with a high level of preparation. Tam was careful to arrange for extra help sessions for students needing them and was also helpful in providing stretch exercises to other students to keep everyone engaged.

In addition to the general high quality of the daytime sessions, I found much of the value in the program to come from the less structured evening sessions with teaching assistance who teach part time and work daily as industry professionals. Their alternative perspectives on topics were intersting and having more one on one time than during the day allowed them to jump a bit deeper into some of the topics that might have been compressed during the main curriculum in order to have time to cover everything.

Codecore helped me during after the bootcamp to make connections with some local companies, one of which I interviewed and started working for the week after the program finished. Transitioning into the workplace I found that Codecore had set me up the basic skills I needed to get started and helped point me down the further learning paths I need to become a fully proficient professional.

For anyone willing to put in the required hard work, the Codecore bootcamp is easily the most focused, ambitious and supportive program I have seen for people looking to transition into a rewarding career.

I attended CodeCore Bootcamp in October 2014, and I can honestly say that it gave me all the tools I needed to succeed in transitioning to a developer career.

I did a good amount of prepwork, as directed by the staff at CodeCore, and it definitively helped.

CodeCore provides TA hours every day, which if you are willing to stay and work will help you immensely, TA staff is friendly and very knowledgeable.

Attending a CodeCore bootcamp will also help you get connected with industry professionals as these are around CodeCore every day of the week.

I would recommend CodeCore wholeheartedly for anyone looking for excellent teaching, TA-ing and chance of getting a job as a developer!

I may have come in with large expectations. I may not be the typical case. For me, viewing  across-the-board, 5 star reviews doesn't really tell the full story. The T.A's in the class can potentially be helpful when you can acquire help. That isn't always often enough. I did go in with some computer skills, minor coding previously and an intention to learn. Come the exam at the end, I wasn't prepared for the material. Neither was about 75% of the class I would assume, who didn't show up to write the exam. I had windows, and a prerequisite of the course should be having a Mac. I was unable to do the final due to my operating system, as well as almost a full class I sat in for.

If you are serious about wanting to become a web developer, then CodeCore is your answer. Its definately not easy, and requires a lot of commitment, but if you take the cohort you can definately get to where you need. Even if everything dosnt sink in all the way after taking the cohort, you can come back and re-take the course again, or sit in on some classes you think you need a bit more help with - what other place offers that ? 

You can leave here confident in your abilities - weather you have no previous knowledge in any computer related field or you have a background (even a degree ) in computer sciences. Bottom Line - you will be challenged, and you will leave a complete, confident web developer. 

I have quit my job as a cook to join the Ruby on Rails Bootcamp and it is one of the best decisions I have made.

Tam is an awesome instructor. He explains everything very clearly. There's a lot of TA's to help you with assignments and personal projects.

One of the best qualities of CodeCore apart from the awesome instructors is CodeCore is not just a bootcamp, it's a community of developers. Past and current students are all approachable for any questions that you may have.

I loved the CodeCore Bootcamp! I did their fundmentals course too, which really set me off on the right foot for the first few weeks. 

Tam is a really great instructor and there's lots of awesome TA's around if you ever get stuck. I continue to recommend CodeCore to people who tell me they're interested in learning programming.

- Leah, Cohort 8

If you are thinking about pursuing a career in the software industry then I highly recommend you to come and checkout CodeCore bootcamp. They have friendly and experienced teachers from the industry, and they provide great supports in assisting you to land your job after the bootcamp.

Learning by yourself or taking a university / colleage program would take much longer time, and could be harder to keep up with the fast-chaning industry. Take the bootcamp to learn the most up-to-date skills that will help you to survive in the industry,and ,furthermore, gives you the ability to pick up other materials own your own.

Before the bootcamp I had limited coding skills. After finishing the bootcamp, I am now a full-time mobile / web developer doing the job I love.

I highly recommend CodeCore to anyone who is willing to work hard for a successful career change to becoming a programmer and wants the best support out of a bootcamp in Vancouver. Honestly speaking, taking the Codecore bootcamp is the best decision I have ever made in my life given that I just graduated from UBC Sauder with honor in accounting one year before taking the bootcamp; I was as scared as anyone who is trying to start a new career in an area for which they have no previous knowledge, but with CodeCore's help, things could not have been smoother after I decided to just go for it. 

CodeCore stands out the most from other bootcamps I have looked into in Vancovuer in terms of its constantly evolving curriculum, amazing support from its teaching staff and its strong community. Having graduated almost one year ago, I am amazed by how much the material you will learn at the bootcamp has evolved in every bootcamp and how related they are to the current trend/what the employers are asking for. And the results of graduates coming out of the bootcamp has shown that the skillset you will get and hopefully master by the end of the court will make you a competent junior developer ready to be hired. The teaching staff at CodeCore are well-equipped with both passion and industry experience to help you understand this material, give you suggestions on how to use them and help you connect to companies which pay you to use them.

One of the highlights from my experience of the bootcamp is how amazing the teaching staff are at CodeCore. For instance, they will actively try to get to know you, give you new programming knowledge as well as tips based on their experience and follow up on your own personal learning progress. With the support of the teaching assistants, I never feel lost during the course despite being constantly challeneged; furthermore, they are also very passionate about students' personal projects and will give you amazing ideas on how to achieve them. And frankly, they are also really good and fun people with very unique or even weird personalities, but at the end of the bootcamp, you will be so glad that you have made friends with these amazing people.

One characteristic of CodeCore that makes it stand out the most from other alternatives is its strong community. Because of the fact that all graduates are forever welcome to come back and work on their start-ups, listen in lectures to learn the latest technologies, ask for TAs' help and help out current students, CodeCode always has friendly and competent graduates who are passionate about contributing to the commmunity by inspiring students with their own work and helping them out with course material. Furthermore, having naturally developed strong bonds with the teaching staff through the bootcamp, students will gain tons of valuable industry relationships, hence having more options in terms of job opportunites. Furthermore, students will have no shortage of chances to attend industry events organized by CodeCore or software companies; these experience are crucial in helping them gain connections as well as understand the industry better. Overall, CodeCore just feels like a community filled with TAs who go the extra steps to help and bond with students and alumni who enjoy being permanent and contributing members of the community.

As an intermediate developer, I am currently working in a freelance team. One aspect I like the most about my job is being available to work on projects on different subjects from the begining to the end. My transition from accounting to programming and having a job I actually enjoy could not have been smoother and more clear-cut without CodeCore's help and all the friends I have made through CodeCore, and knowing that I will always have CodeCore's support makes me so glad that I have joined the community. Hopefully, if you are in the same boat as I was 2 years ago, my review can be helpful to you.

Taking the codecore bootcamp was the best decision of my life, I am now in a career I love making good money. The great thing about codecore is its more than a school its a community. I'd say the resources that were made available to me as an alumni were even more important to my growth as a developer than the course itself. I highly recommend codecore to anyone interested in programming or looking for a career change.

I have the highest respect for CodeCore Bootcamp.  The new space is great, and the community is awesome.  Students who struggle can retake the bootcamp -- a huge plus!

Personally after graduating I'm not making $50 an hour in a job that I love.  The instructors here are truly great.

I highly recommend CodeCore, Tam and all the TA's are extremely intelligent and easy to learn from. Everyone at CC goes out of their way to help you. Going to CC was one of the best decisions I've made in my career.

I have a background in IT but hadn't done any programming and I have always wanted to do freelance/contract web development. Thanks to CC that's now exactly what I'm doing.

5 STARS all the way!

My experience at CodeCore began very positively. Despite not having a background in computer science I felt very comfortable with the tasks we were being given, and overall enjoyed the lessons and homework. Things started to change a little over a month in. The material became dated in contrast to what I was finding online and we were spending a lot of time on seemingly unimportant topics while breezing past others.

Although some of the instructors were very helpful and knowledgeable, some others simply seemed to be going through the motions. I was surprised to find they didn't review any of our code with the exception of quizzes (which were completely unstructured and students often worked together to complete) and the group project towards the end of the course. So I didn't really recieve much if any feedback in regards to my progress.

Upon completion of the course, they offered a week of job preperation classes (covering resume building, cover letter writing, and interview questions), and while I felt most of this was common sense I'm sure it did benefit some. Unfortunately, this was the only help we were given in regards to our job hunt despite the advertisement on their web page saying they would work to help place us in an entry level or intern job. While the skills we were taught were helpful in learning the fundamentals of web development, I'm not sure about their relevance in the current job market.

I encourage anyone looking to take this bootcamp to consider other options until things are improved at CodeCore. There are plenty of fantastic online courses that can provide you with a similar, or greater level of education, as well as many other bootcamps in the city.

I completed the Codecore bootcamp in October 2016. I found the bootcamp to be immensly informative and useful. 

The course covered all of the major components of web development. There was plenty of material to get through every day and I certainly did not fully retain all of it. However, it provided a good basis for me to do my own learning aftewards. 

The instructors were overall competent and helpful. Many of them were web developers in the Vancouver tech community. They came from different backgrounds and had a diversity of perspectives. I found it useful that there were 3 types of instructors. Lecturers, Lab instructors and TA's. The majority of TA's had completed the bootcamp previously so they were familiar with Ruby on Rails even if they were not currently working with it.

I had an engineering degree prior to starting the bootcamp with a basic knowledge of coding. I was able to get a job very shortly after completing the bootcamp (around 2 weeks). I am very glad that I made the choice to switch careers by doing this bootcamp. It provided me with a way to smoothly transition into web development while connecting with like-minded people.

The environment at CodeCore was quite welcoming. I made a number of friends while completing the bootcamp and we are still in touch months after. CodeCore staff were accomodating and eager to provide all needed help, and of course coffee :)

The bootcamp itself was a fun experience because for a few months you are constantly surrounded by other people who are trying to achieve the same goals you are. It was a great way to build relationships and work together learning how to program. It definitely beats trying to learn on your own. The full time program was fairly intensive and I would suggest people have a little bit of programming experience before taking the bootcamp in order to not fall behind. It's not as difficult as people make it out to be but since the pace is fairly quick, it's better if you have a little experience or a quick learner. The program focuses mainly on Ruby and Rails and by the end of it, you will have a fairly good understanding of creating fully working web applications. Despite programming on my own a little bit, the bootcamp really helped me understand the neccessary steps in putting everything together in terms of the front & back end. You will definitely be able to create some cool working applications as can be seen from the end of the program demo days. You also learn a lot of other programming fundamentals as well as languages/libraries such as Javascript/React/Node...etc. However, these portions are very small - only a few days for each so don't expect to learn enough to program or work in those. The focus is on Rails. 

The instructors and TAs are extremely friendly and knowledgeable. As the main instructor, Tam was a fantastic teacher and really knows his stuff. Very approachable and was willing to help you out if you had any problems. The Codecore campus is also pretty nice. Plenty of room to come in and work on anything whenever you want.

Cons

While the learning experience was great. The overall goal for every student is to easily and quickly get a job by the end of the program. Unfortunately this is where the program falls short. Contrary to what their website tells you, there is little to no help in regards to finding employment. Essentially after the program ends, they encourage you to come into campus as much as possible to work on code, resumes and applying for jobs. They will meet with you occassionally to go over your resume, your github, linkedin....etc. While these are helpful steps towards employment, their website ( as well as any other bootcamp ) claims that they have hiring partners, networking events, and other resources to connect you with employers. This turned out to be a let down in my experience.

Obviously nobody is going to job search and hand out resumes for you, but one would expect due to their claims that there would be an easier path towards employment by taking their program. Unfortunately, the process of gaining employment is a grind that you will have to do alone. Having met with other students from other coherts, the ones that will typically get a job right away are going to be students that have had previous programming experience and were top of the class. 

You will learn a lot during the program and have access to fantastic resources like Tam and TAs to help you. You will certainly have an easier time learning than by self teaching. If you are thinking of taking the bootcamp in the hopes that it will better prepare you for a job post camp, be warned that it is not as easy as they make it out to be.

If you have the extra money to spare and want a fun learning experience. Take the program. If you want to take the program in hopes that you will have better resources and connections to employment. Save your money, learn on your own and apply to jobs yourself.