Codesmith

This review is only for the CS Prep Course but I look forward to reviewing the full immersive. As a person who has completed 3 bootcamp prep courses - including CSPrep - I can honestly say CS Prep had the most advanced curriculum, was the best taught course, and had the best people. I took Fullstack and HackReactor's prep courses before and I'll outline the differences below
FS
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- Too easy, instructor didn't care and just recited from powerpoint slides, students weren't serious and dropped after a few classes

Hackreactor SSP
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- Literally 100 people in a videochat with instructors that can't explain concepts well even though I don't doubt their coding ability. No structure - you're left on your own. The only thing I really got out of it was doing the 150 toy problems which really helped my ability to use array methods but I could have done that myself.

I am glad I went through those 2 first because it really prepared me for CS Prep. CS Prep is NOT for beginners! You learn things that go past beginner javascript like ES6 syntax, execution/callstacks, closure, recursion, HOF, AND Big O Notation, concepts either rarely or never taught in other prep classes. The curriculum was great but the best part was the community. Ryan, our instructor, was one of the most eloquent, funny, and understanding teachers I've ever had the pleasure of learning from. The members were also great and made the learning environment enjoyable where we all helped each other. Even after taking the class, I still keep in contact with the instructor and students who I pair program with as we continue to become software engineers.

Every program has its cons however and I would say the price is one of them. It is way steeper than every other program but it's really for those serious about the full program and so in that case, it is pretty much a free class. 
The second thing is the duration. The concepts taught are way too advanced for beginners so either they need to increase the standards to get in or make the classes longer (which I believe they are considering). I got a lot out from it and was able to keep up but I also took 2 other prep courses before. I believe some of my other classmates were struggling toward the end unfortunately.

After 2 years of self-teaching, I stumbled upon Codesmith while going to meetups to fight the isolation of my solo pursuit. As soon as I walked in, I immediately knew it was exactly what needed.  I had been to a lot of meetups and often found myself in an awkward in-between space of not being a super beginners or long time engineer.  Codesmith was the first place that I felt challenged without being lost.  And the community was hands down the most warm and welcoming I experienced in any meetup.

By the end of the program I'd learned way more than I had in the previous 2 years of self-teaching and felt ready to jump into a career as a software engineer.  More importantly, I had tons laughs and made lifelong friends.  Codesmith truly changed my life and I'm incredibly grateful for my experience there.

It's hard to put the Codesmith experience into words. This whole process is hard, really hard. Getting accepted, the course, and getting a job will all test you but there is no other place I would recommend someone to. As I write this I'm looking at my bags, packed and set for the Caribbean where I'll spend the winter earning a sweet salary, working for a great company and surfing fantastic waves. Here's the thing about other programs and about Codesmith, the proof is in the pudding. These guys know what they're talking about, they've produced the goods over and over again. Make sure to look at the other programs outcome reports and go to Hardparts. Do your research and your decision will be easy. See the staff talk and feel the vibe there, you'll see what everyone is talking about. It's a supportive welcoming community of hard working people. I've been at hiring events with people who've attended other programs and the difference is stark. Trust me, you want the cards in your favor. It's hard, it is and they make it that way on purpose but you'll learn the most valuable lesson there is in engineering, how to learn. And when it's hard you'll find the support you need. The learning curve is steep and the job market for your first tech gig can feel impenetrable. Knowing that your buddy got Google (true story), knowing that your mentors from the program are superstars in their own right and knowing that the answers and support that you need through the process is always there is invaluable. This program changed my life. I'm a better person for what I endured through this process. Buy the ticket, take the ride. 

I am a career changer and found Codesmith at a crossroads in my life. At the time, I was thinking if I should position myself for grad school or look into transitioning to tech, and that's when I attended my first JavaScripts the Hard Parts with Will Sentance. Codesmith was so welcoming and supportive that I kept coming back. The more JSHP I attended, the less I wanted to work at the Medical Office was at and decided to stop working in order to study coding full-time. I studied and interviewed and was able to get in the June Cohort. One of the biggest things about Codesmith is it's community. As I was studying, I made more and more friends that were studying and setting the same goals as I was. Some of these friends joined me in the same cohort while attending Codesmith, some started at later dates, but all were supportive. 
One of the best aspects of Codesmith, is it's ability to create engineering environments where students are able to experience real life engineering situations to build out projects, collaborate with engineers, practice engineering empathy, and learn how to solve problems. As a developer, running into blocks and being able to withstand and overcome them, is one of the essential keys to succeeding in this field, and Codesmith makes sure to drive this lesson throughout your time in the program. 
Everyone I talk to, I tell them Codesmith is a wrap around service, because they not only teach you how to build projects like an engineer, but they teach you how to think like one/learn like one/ and have a work ethic like one. 

Everything is earned at Codesmith, It takes a lot of hard work and dedication, so get ready to work. 

Codesmith make's sure you're equipped with mindset of an engineer, and then take it a step further by equipping you with interview skills and application strategies. The network you walk away with alone is worth the price of admission. I am fully confident, anyone who fully invests their time and commitment into Codesmith, will leave with a stronger network, engineering experience, and the correct mindset to start their career as a Developer in the tech industry as they graduate. By the end of the program you will leave knowing Codesmith is family. Codesmith positively changed my life for the better, it's only been 10 mos since I started studying full-time, I'm already working post graduation and very excited to see what's in store for my future in Tech.  

Just to qualify myself, I graduated from Codesmith and do not work for them. Also, I rarely write reviews unless my experience was exceptional. I have 2 words to describe this experience, Life Changing!

When I started my Codesmith journey, I attended “Javascript the Hard Parts”. Here I met Will Sentence and the Codesmith staff, who where very welcoming. I was absolutely blown away by in-depth, under the hood explanation of the language.

While attending Codesmith, I learned more than I ever thought; let’s say it exceeded my expectations and then some! It’s a lot of work, but their curriculum is designed to help you succeed and have the confidence to be a great engineer. It also taught me how to be more of an autonomous developer and have the ability to push through challenges. They won’t spoon feed you, rather give you the tools to be able to solve problems yourself. You’ll have the ability to dive under the hood and have a deep understanding of the latest, cutting edge technologies. This is part of what separates a junior engineer from a senior.

Not only did I gain the knowledge to be an amazing software engineer, but I gained a community that will be with me for a life-time. Being part of the Codesmith network is the most supportive, encouraging, and powerful group in the developer community.

Once I graduated, the support I got from Codesmith during my job search was unbelievable. They touched base with me every week to see how my job search was going and offered to help in any way. There were times I needed one on one help and I had to go on-site; the staff went above and beyond. Even though you have graduated, the staff is there to help you as if you’re still a student; they care about everyone who walks through those doors. Additionally, I needed some help on my job search approach, and Will called me to create a strategy. Shortly after I got my dream job as a Senior Software Engineer.

I am forever grateful to Codesmith as it has changed my life.

Choosing to attend CodeSmith is a choice that I am extremely grateful to myself for making. Let me start of by saying that it is NOT an easy path. Many days are long and arduous, but  IS extremely worth it. Going into CodeSmith I was told that it would be difficult but rewarding. You spend upwards of 10+ hours a day there during weekdays and and additional 8+ hours on Saturdays. Throughout your time there you get lectures on the topic that you are going to cover for the next 2 days. Then you work on your own for half a day on beginning to understand the concept that you were just taught and the remainder day and a half with a Pair Programming Partner to help each other cement in said concept. For the second half of the time spent at CodeSmith, you get broken out into teams to work on a project that allows you to dive deep into a topic of your group’s choosing allowing you to more fully develop your ’T’ shaped skills.

Throughout this whole process you have a wonderful support system there to help you out. Not only do you have your peers that are learning right alongside with you to help you out, but you also have the staff (both technical and non-technical) and community of alumni by your side. These amazing people are not going to hold your hand and give you the exact answer that you are looking for but they will give you an answer that will help guide you to the exact answer that you are looking for. Some people may find this as unhelpful and uncaring, but I believe it to be the exact opposite. In life we cannot expect everything to be hand fed to us without really knowing what it is, but instead to expect people to be there to help us understand what we are being fed (I know, probably a weird analogy). But if people just give you the answer to your problem, chances are that you wouldn’t have learned as much as if someone helped you to find the answer out yourself. Plus the feeling of satisfaction one gets from finally figuring out a challenging problem and having that ‘aha’ moment is such a great feeling.

Another important piece of CodeSmith is Pair Programming. Every two days we would be paired with a fellow cohort mate to help each other go through challenges and cement the information that we were just taught. Some really important pieces to this is that everyone learns differently and takes in different pieces of the same information at different rates. By pairing with new people constantly a person could see the same thing that they were looking at but from a different perspective allowing for the broadening of one’s own way of viewing things. Also importantly, is being able to speak out loud what you are thinking/viewing in your own head (technical communication). This is extremely important because it is such a difficult skill to master, yet something that is used everyday in an average workplace. Something that should be practiced all the time even if you don’t have another person to speak your thoughts to, there is the Rubber Ducky approach. It may seem silly but speak out loud to a rubber duck (or any other inanimate object - or a pet if you have one) to work on getting the thoughts out of your head and spoken in an understandable way.

Once completing CodeSmith they don’t just kick you out the door and have you be on your way. Their doors are always open! They really encourage their alumni to drop in and say hi or come by and do any work they may have. There are two checkins that they conduct to see how post-CodeSmith life is going. And additionally, they have started post-CodeSmith interviews. So if your going through your job search and seem to be running into any issues, you can schedule an appointment with CodeSmith to help you do a mock interview, resume review, or some sort of general Q&A to help you move forward. They really love having their alumni be active in helping their current cohorts to succeed.

All of this so far has been about being a part of CodeSmith and in a Cohort. But even before that, CodeSmith offers many avenues of learning to code and preparing people to be a part of CodeSmith if they choose. They have many free workshops that anyone can attend, both in person and online. They also offer shorter courses that aren’t as stringent but still extremely helpful and effective. CodeSmith gives the tools for people to pick up and use.

I personally do not consider myself to be of a Computer Science/Software Engineer background. I got my BA Degree in Criminal Justice. Afterwards I started self studying computer programming and did online courses through a Junior College to get my AA in computer programming. From there I attended many months of CodeSmith’s HardParts every week. This gave me the basis of getting into CodeSmith and they have brought me to where I am today.

Thank you so much to all of the wonderful and amazing people that work at CodeSmith to help people realize and make a reality their dreams to be Software Engineers. You all have helped me so much, way more than I could ever put into words or express to you all. It is such a treat to be able to walk back into CodeSmith and always be welcomed so warmly. Also a huge shoutout to my Cohort!!! You all made everyday a fun and amazing learning environment. I miss you all and proud of everyone that have already gotten amazing jobs and can’t wait to see where everyone else ends up.

A final note to anyone considering CodeSmith and it may seem like a cliche but it is true. You get out of CodeSmith what you put into CodeSmith. It is a journey that you can take from it what you will. For me it is a journey that I would gladly take again.

COMMUNITY:

Everyone coming to CodeSmith is looking for a change, and this makes for an environment that is unrivaled by any other that I have experienced in my life.  By design, CodeSmith is a cooperative experience and cultivates a culture in which everyone is helping each other to succeed, be it the senior cohort providing voluntary lectures to help the juniors or one of your own cohort mates taking time to walk you through when you are stuck.  The community that develops is truly inspiring and entirely made up of people I wish to stay in contact with. Unlike other boot camps in which the fear of getting a job at the end creates competition, CodeSmith’s outcomes mean that it is an environment of cooperation. At boot camps where 50% of graduates get a job, there is a need to be in the top half in order to have a chance for a job in the end.  However, when the outcomes are high enough the environment changes from being one of competition to one where everyone is trying to lift up those around them as much as possible, creating a group of friends rather than a collection of competing classmates.

Every single person in my cohort provided value, not only to my time at CodeSmith but to my life.  I have fond memories of every person I interacted with, and I intend to keep in touch with all of the people that were a part of my CodeSmith experience.  The staff also played an important role in shaping my CodeSmith experience, through the warm emails when I was just starting the application process to all of the people that taught.  Everyone on the staff is happy to be there and outwardly projects their love to help others succeed. It is not the cold cookie cutter environment that many boot camps have become, but one driven by people who want to see a wonderful change in the life of everyone who comes through.  The personal touch here really does a lot in creating an environment where you feel great about putting your time.

I am not a fellow, but the idea thrown around in reviews that reviews by fellows somehow don’t count is misleading.  Becoming a fellow is a way for CodeSmith graduates to give back to a community that has already given them so much. Reviews left by fellows show those that are truly dedicated to the CodeSmith community, willing to give so much back to the community that they truly love.  However not being a fellow doesn’t mean I love that community any less, I can honestly say that coming to CodeSmith was one of the best decisions of my life.

LEARNING ENVIRONMENT:

The great community isn’t the only part of CodeSmith that sets it apart from the others.  CodeSmith also shows a dedication to understanding that isn’t seen at colleges, let alone other boot camps.  They provide in-depth explanations of the way the Javascript and the libraries that you learn work, rather than the typical explanation that only provides how to use it.  It is this dedication to teaching how they work, rather than just the how to use them that drew me to CodeSmith and it is the reason that I will always recommend CodeSmith to others.  CodeSmith is the learning environment that I had been looking for my entire life, and as is repeated at CodeSmith all the time they aren’t trying to teach you, rather their goal is to teach you to effectively teach yourself.  Of all the multitude of skills that one must learn to become a programmer, none will carry you further than the ability to effectively teach yourself as the technologies that you work with will change it is important to be able to quickly pick up new technology.

Another major focus of CodeSmith is technical communication.  Being good technically with the material isn’t enough at CodeSmith, which has a focus on enabling its students to be able to succinctly explain complicated subject matters.  It is this focus that makes CodeSmith graduates stand out; while engineering prowess is important, being able to easily carry a conversation about technically challenging concepts means CodeSmith graduates are able to pass technical understanding to others an invaluable skill.  CodeSmith accomplishes this growth in technical communication through the way its units are designed.

CodeSmith structures its units to grow, community, technical communication, and technical understanding.  CodeSmith’s use of pair programming enables each lecture to be a practice in technical communication and technical understanding.  In every unit, you are faced with a challenge in understanding new material, and effectively communicating that new material to another person.  It also grows the community aspect of CodeSmith, as approaching new technical challenges with another person is an immense bonding experience forming a new connection and further engrossing you into your cohort.

RECOMMENDATION:

Everyone’s journey with programming will be unique but if you are serious about learning it, I wouldn’t recommend any other place than CodeSmith.

TL-DR:

CodeSmith provides a community of people looking for a change, those interested in progressing forward.  Additionally, it provides a team of people who want to help you on your journey for change, and it provides an environment for learning deeply about the intricacy of the tools you use, rather than just an overview of how to use them.

I thought attending Codesmith would just be another educational experience, but it really is so much more. Everybody at Codesmith is dedicated to not only helping you learn but making sure you succeed. The people that they let in are amazing and everybody brings everyone else up. It will probably be the hardest you have ever worked, but what you will gain is a deep understanding of not only coding but how to learn how to code. Oh, and you will have a community/family for the rest of your life. If you are on the fence do yourself a favor and come talk to the people at Codesmith and I guarantee that you will be blown away by the culture just as much as the technical knowledge that everybody learns and has.

To give you some background of me and what I came to Codesmith with: I graduated with a dual major in Computer Science and Business in college and had worked for startups in business roles after graduating. I got tired of being on the business side of things and wanted to get my hands dirty and use some of the CS skills I gained in college. But having had no technical internships or professional coding experience, I knew I needed something to give me credibility to get a technical job as a post-graduate applicant.

Codesmith gave me that baseline credibility and a lot more. Being able to speak in depth about full stack frameworks and develop projects that are based around bleeding edge technologies was really important in my job search. The critical difference between Codesmith and college CS courses is that Codesmith gives you practical skills and understanding while my college courses always stayed at a more theoretical level. You need to be able to talk about ways to build a system and their benefits/tradeoffs if you want to break past the junior programmer level, and I don't believe that's possible with a pure undergraduate degree.

For people considering Codesmith who have a background like mine (technical degree, no technical experience) I think the numbers make a lot of sense. You may be thinking that devoting 3 months and the cost of tuition is a big investment (and it is), but if I would have tried to get a job without Codesmith it would most likely have been a junior level job and paying much less than the offer I got now. Given that programming jobs don't always promote very fast, going it on your own and starting with a junior level job means you could be stuck at a lower salary and wouldn't get to work on meaningful technical challenges for years. Before Codesmith I did try to self teach some web development, and I have to say there's just no feasible way you could teach yourself as much and as fast as you would learn from Codesmith.

So to me, it's a logically good investment. And as you can see from other reviews, the support network you get from being in this community is something really priceless. I plan to keep in touch with my cohort mates and the Codesmith staff for years to come. It really is a life-changing program. So for those of you who aren't happy with your career and dream of getting a cushy, spoiled developer job, Codesmith is the path for you.

My first experience with Codesmith was from attending a JavaScript: The Hard Parts workshop taught by CEO Will Sentence -- and man, like everyone else, I was blown away from the depth of knowledge was being taught under the hood of JavaScript. I came from a non-technical background (Sociology major), and initially, I was set on attending another school, but after that workshop, I knew Codesmith was right for me. 

The underlying principle that Codesmith embodies, providing a welcoming and supportive network to grow engineers to their greatest potential, is so simple yet at the same time elegant and substantial.  It’s beautiful -- the process of exponentially growing engineers during this short period of time is impressive, but fostering an environment that creates a community of individuals who care for one another and support each other after the program is far more powerful. 

The depth of knowledge Codesmith challenges individuals in their capabilities in programming is wild (from personal experience). But the foundation of moral support Codesmith community exemplifies is even wilder. The amount of responsibility the staff takes on to make sure every individual succeeds does not go unnoticed. They have open office hours to check on your progress, dedicated fellows assisting with help-desk questions, a stellar mentorship program, and a supportive community of engineers that will help you through the process. This isn’t to say they will hold your hand every step of the program -- you gotta work for it on your own. But when you hit a roadblock, either technical or non-technical, Codesmith is there to help. My cohort and I would not have grown because of the challenging curriculum taught, but because of the positive environment that Codesmith demonstrates. The mentorship Codesmith has given has been a core feature of our success. 

Each day of the curriculum was a technical challenge on its own, but working through the blocks with pair programming and support of each other made this experience so enjoyable. Every engineer exemplifies the five core skills Codesmith vets for during their admission process (technical communication, problem-solving skills, engineering empathy, handling technical and non-technical blocks, technical knowledge) and is always there to help with your growth as an engineer. Codesmith is special not just because of the rigorous curriculum it offers, but the close-knit community of engineers it fosters with every cohort and beyond. For myself, after three months of trusting the process, I was fortunate to receive a job offer as a Software Engineer (Front-end) less than a week after graduating Codesmith. This career change has made me euphorically happy to know putting in a dedicated amount of hard work and perseverance with this program gave me so much more than what I was looking for. 11/10 would do it all again ya’ll

Reasons I'm glad I chose Codesmith:

1) Their teaching methodology and depth of understanding of Javascript as a language is 5 steps above any other bootcamp or online program I had taken part in previously - they show you what's going on under the hood.

2) I took part in and paid for pre-bootcamp prep courses at other highly rated bootcamps and had a better experience at the free meet up called Javascript the Hard Parts - they truly care about their contribution to the larger coding community

3) I'm a self taught developer, had no professional technical experience, and there is no way I could have learned at this level by myself. They teach you to learn and push through challenging blocks - you will not be spoon fed anything and you will be forced to learn things the hard way. That being said...

4)You are never 'on your own' in terms of learning. There are frequent check ins to make sure you understand the material and they will sit down with you and go through your challenges to help you

5) Their focus on technical communication also stands out from other bootcamps and makes you more likely to be considered for mid to senior roles after graduation - you are able to communicate your skills and mentor others much more effectively

and last but not least...

6)The people here are some of the best people I've ever met. Residents all share a deep curiosity and drive to become the best developer they can be but also an astounding empathy and willingness to learn by teaching others. I was someone with the least amount of technical experience and I never felt judged or belittled by others - only encouraged and supported. The staff is also incredibly dedicated to resident's learning.

I couldn't recommend Codesmith more highly to someone from my background (no professional tech experience) though I did have to hustle a great deal. 

A little bit on my background, I am a computer engineer who has worked at IBM. Two weeks before I came to Codesmith, I was browsing the web to leverage the online community and expand my knowledge of Javascript. I somehow landed on “Javascript - the hard parts” and was mind blown on the simplicity with which under the hood aspects of the language were explained. If such in-depth content was served to the community for free then I was CONFIDENT that if I got admitted to Codesmith, my technical mindset would accelerate multifold.

Fast forward to today, I have one more day left in the program and I am so thankful for taking the decision to join Codesmith. At Codesmith, they nurture curiosity and pay a strong emphasis on understanding why a technology works the way it does. They focus on imbibing a growth mindset that helps you become a great problem solver who can learn any technology on the go. Everyone on the staff is AMAZING, super supportive and they go above and beyond to ensure that every person in the program succeeds.