Craft Academy

Can you learn to code in three months?

The answer is “yes”. Although worth to keep in mind that this is so much more than coding - in three months time you will learn to plan and execute design sprints, apply agile methodology in practical terms, organise work in team, work test driven way, practice pair programming, and yes - a whole lot of coding.

The cost of it is hard work under immense pressure. Non-stop grind for 3 months, a lot of frustration, some tears even - this is not an easy fix for a career change by all means. All work done during the bootcamp is very practical, simulating a real world work environment, which is tiring yet super exciting at the same time. You will learn things that you thought you could never do and gain a whole new confidence both professionally and personally.

I feel like it was 100% worth to put my life on pause for three months to experience this, and the knowledge and friendships gained are priceless. If you are curious about coding and prepared to put in the work I absolutely recommend this bootcamp!

High pace, intense, exhausting, frustrating, thoughtful, inspiring, and extremely rewarding learning experience!

The 12 week Craft Academy bootcamp throws you right into the basics and foundations of web development, in a case -and exercise driven approach. With the personal support from (multiple) highly knowledgable coaches - in a team setting of about 6 people - this truly is a perfect experience if you want to:

• Learn the basics (and far more than that) of multiple programming languages - both back -& front end
• Get practical (and applicable) insights into modern technical frameworks - not just theory
• Understand the benefits of web development in a team (pair)-based setting
• Understand the benefits of working in a true agile setting
• Learn how to setup a web development project, and get acquainted with all roles and stakeholders
• Get the rewarding feeling of constantly delivering new functionality - not just wait for a final exam

… and all that in 12 weeks!

I can truly recommend this course for anyone who wants to either explore a career within web development, or (like me) are curious to both demystifying the concepts of programming and web development - and enhance your knowledge tremendously in a field which you knew very little about 12 weeks ago.

Thank you to all coaches, Thomas, and all team members for a fantastic and exciting journey that I will always have use for -and feel grateful that I took part in!

The course is very well balanced and gives you a very nice foundation to build upon. 

What it comes down to is your ability to work hard and to communicate with your coding partners. If you work hard and sleep well you're going to do fine!

If you don't have any experience at all the prep course is extremely important and should be at the highest priority. Coming to the first day of the course without knowing what the prep course covers leaves you in a very bad spot (and your pairing partner).

A tips is to try to do some coding online (there are several sites where you can try languages and solve problems) before you decide and see if you like it. If you find it stimulating and fun this course should be perfect for you!

Last thing is that you really need to understand that this course wont give you a job without you having to give your all. It's NOT a relaxed journey towards a nice job waiting for you on the other side. Go all in and collect the prize! =) 

Why:

I joined this bootcamp because I wanted to make a career change and because I knew two former camp students (with no prior knowledge in software development) that successfully found a job as web developers after attending CraftAcademy's bootcamp

Bootcamp experience:

My experience at the bootcamp was great. I learned how to code, how to pair program, how to work in a test-driven way but most importantly, I learned a method to continue my learning experience. At camp we also practice the Agile approach.

Bootcamp curriculum:

The course is structured so that you start with a 4-weeks prep-course where you cover the basics (Ruby and JavaScript languages). If you are not sure to go all-in with the full bootcamp, you can also purchase the prep-course only.

The actual bootcamp is 12-weeks, it's project-based, with week assignments, but also weekend assignments and the complexity increases steadily week by week. During every week you learn something new, building up your knowledge week by week.  

Bootcamp coaches:

My experience with the coaches was great. They are very invested in what you are doing and if you want to take on some extra-challenges, they are there for you, sometimes even during the weekend (when they are not supposed to be working). They can be tough at times, but keep in mind that that's part of the learning process.

My advise:

Take this bootcamp if you want to find a job in this area, but be ready to put your personal life aside for the entire bootcamp length. You will need full support from the people around you, because you will simply have very little time to spend with them, and they need to be prepared for it. Without full commitment, it will be much harder to finish the bootcamp successfully. The more time you spend, the better outcome you'll get from it.

If you are not sure if you like coding i would advise to start by taking the prep-course.

I will start by saying this was one of the best decisions that I have ever made. 

The course itself covers a massive amount of information and there is so much support from the coaches. Even though we were under loads of pressure, the environment was welcoming and my fellow coursemates were amazing. Changing careers can be scary and intimidating but there's support for that as well and I think the most important thing is that after graduating I do feel that I have the skills now to actually call myself a developer.
The school offers a shorter introduction course if you're unsure if you'd like to tackle the entirety of the 3-month boot camp.

     I'm a week out from graduation and I'm still buzzing.  Not sure if it's pure shock, excitement for the future or the feeling of creative freedom now that I have the coding tools to start this adventure.  Honestly, I'm sure it's all three of those things.  When I started this course, I wasn't sure what to expect.  I knew it'd be hard work and I'd have to block out any social life for 3 months.  What I didn't expect though was the pair programming aspect.  You will NOT be doing this alone.  This courses main two focuses are teamwork and testing your code.  The instructors are amazing people and will give you a lot of their time and energy.  They really do care and it shows.  They have given me a new passion and hunger for coding.  If you have an interest in coding, I definitely recommend reaching out to Craft Academy.  

I worked as a team leader for a customer service when I wanted to change my career. I have always had a technical interest, but had never coded, now after the course I work as a developer at the same employer where I worked as a team leader

Although everyone tells you that it's a tough course in a high pace, I could never imagine how tough it actually is. You put your usual life on hold for 3-4 months, but it is definitely worth it.

Something that I liked very much was that you worked in project form, you always had to develop something and the theory was minimal. If you choose to do the boot camp, you will first have a prep-course of 4 weeks. Craft says that you should spend 15-20 hours / week on this course, I would recommend everyone to do this course full-time, because it will benefit you so much during the actual bootcamp. I worked part time during the prep course, which I would not have done if I had done the bootcamp again.

Intro:

• I decided to take this course because I wanted to do something different in my life. I have worked in the consumer goods industry for almost 5 years, but always felt some kind of calling for the tech industry. So this is my background
• To be honest I joined this bootcamp because this was the only one I found in Gothenburg. I did not have much expectation, I know it is going to be hard and I hoped that I will learn how to code, but I learned so much more.

About the curriculum:

• The curricilum is well build, they teach you everything 3 times, each time covering more. In what this camp excells is that you have to do a lot of projects, some of them guided, some of them left up entirely on your team. This is the highlight of the camp this is where you can learn the most. 
• Speaking of projects, you are not only going to learn coding but most importantly project management. This is when you will experience what is like to be a software developer, delivering features, and planning the days and weeks.
• Speaking of teams you will not code alone most of the time! This is essential that you will learn how to pair program, and how to work in a team of 4-5 people delivering a project.

FAQ:

• How are the coaches?
  • They are incredibly helpful, sometimes even on weekends and evening can help you out, but also tough enough that will get you into a good habit during coding.
• Was it hard?
  • You bet it was! They say that you have to code 7 days a week even in evenings and that is true. If you want to have the most out of this camp you have to give it everything you have
• Was it worth it?
  • It totally did. I learned how to code, I learned how to pair program and manage projects, and I learned a lot about myself during the process. It is an experience that if you can get the chance you should have in your life
• So should I go and do it?
  • Well it's really up to you. Did you felt some kind of exicetment reading through my thoughts and you can dedicate your time and resources to this camp? Do you love the idea of creating something by inputing a bunch of lines after one and other? Do you like the ever lasting circle of frustration and instant satisfaction of solving an issue, or putting that picture in the perfect position on your website? Then Hell Yeah! But if you just want to join because you think that there are good opportunities in the tech industry, than I would think twice.

Final thoughts:

I gave this camp everything I got and gone out on the other side swining. I learned to learn, to develop, work in teams, and manifest my ideas. I am very glad I took this course and knowing what I know now I would do it again!

I completed Craft Academy Full Stack Developer Bootcamp in February 2019. 

Perspective: Do not join merely to learn coding, instead join to become a great developer and a genuine team player.

Experience: Three months of daily learning (day/night/weekends). Cutting edge tech knowledge interlaced with project management, working and delivering under pressure, being a team member,regular presentations, iterative improvement in true AGILE manner. DO NOT expect spoon fed content, you will be treated as adult responsible for your own learning. Coding skills will improve by leaps and bounds. Coaches actually practice what they preach (hard work, constant improvement, always receptive to feedback). Always a surprise around the corner to keep you on your toes.

Take aways: Expanding my comfort zone, self discovery by regular self reflection(part of formal learning process), being under pressure but never alone, coaches who work even harder to deliver best content. A huge toolbox of tech skills honed by 'rule of 3' practice. Confidence in test drive development with Ruby on rails and javascript.

Recommendation: Join for expanding your thinking, horizons, knowledge of cutting edge tech and to learn more about yourself.

Warning: Say goodbye to social life if you really want to make the most of the 12 weeks.

Bottomline: It is definitely worth the time, money,energy, sweat and tears I have put in.

I graduated in february 2019 and this course was the best decision I have ever made. They teach a lot more than just programming, you will learn how to develop a project all the way from beginning to end. They will also push you out of your comfort zone a lot and they have what is called "Tech interview training", which I found extremely helpful for when I will look for a job.

They also have a prep-course where you will learn the basics of programming. I highly recommend you spending as much time as you can of going over that course and try to experiment with your code (it will help you a lot during the bootcamp if you have a good knowledge of the basics) because if you know the basics then you can focus more on the harder stuff during the bootcamp.

What you get out of this bootcamp is very much reflected on how much time you put in. Do not go in to this thinking you will learn just by signing up and showing up, you have to really sit down and code to learn it.

For me it was an awesome environment to be in every day. The coaches are extremely dedicated to you and having other students next to you that goes through the same thing was very helpful. Be prepared to work all day, 7 days a week. Tell your family and friends that you won't be available a lot during these 12 weeks, because you will literally sit and code all the time.

To anyone who wants to get a good look into programming and how the industry works, I would strongly recommend this course.

A challenging experience with high rewards

I am coming to the end of my journey with the Craft Academy Full Stack Web Developer Bootcamp and it has been one of the most challenging but rewarding thing I have done.

In 12 weeks, I came from not knowing anything about coding to leaving with the knowledge to join the workforce as a Junior software developer.

In the course you cover a lot, I learned Ruby, Javascript, HTML5,  frameworks Ruby on Rails, Angular, Ionic. The course also covers test driven development, pair programming and version control.

The bootcamp not only teaches you how to code, it sets you up to work in a software environment.

The bootcamp teaches you about agile methods like scrum, we had daily stand ups and discussed what we were working on, if we had any blockers and what we would move on to that day. The course mocks what a real office environment is like but in an extreme way.

It is call a bootcamp and that isn’t some cool buzzword, it really is a boot camp.

The course prepares you for a developer job in 12 weeks and you have to put the work in, that includes 7 days a week and evenings. You learn to code with weekly challenges and weekend challenges and if you put the work in you get so much out of it.

Sounds scary but you have some much help, the course material is really detailed and the coaches in the course go above and beyond the call of duty,

The coaches of the bootcamp are the heart of the course, they really invest in their students, they go out of their way to help you, they push you to the very edge and bring out the best in you.

The boot camp also offers assistance getting a job, offering tech interviews, career talks that review your LinkedIn, your portfolio and advice on the kind of interviews that you will go through after the bootcamp.

I came into this bootcamp not sure on it, wondering how they are going to teach me to code and get a job in a software environment, but it has set me up with the tools for future employment in this industry and for me to develop new skills in coder for years to come.

Superb course for all. Fantastic coaches and a broad training schedule.

I had written a long and descriptive review, but unfortunately the login flow on CourseReport meant it was lost in the ether.... so instead (and in the interest of brevity) here are the top 10 "truths" about the Craft Academy Full Stack Developer course.

1. A fantatsic all-round course - not just about coding - much more about how to be a highly effective developer in the real world
2. Coaches are brilliant, work on a small student to coach ratio, and are always there to support
3. Don't expect to learn "by rote" - you will need to find the answers for yourself - this mirrors real life
4. This is a bootcamp. Period. Tell your friends and family you will be "off limits" for 3 months. If you aren't prepared to work 7 days a week (including evenings), then this isn't the course for you. Sure, you may get to the end, but you will severely miss out on everything the course has to offer
5. It's a great overview of a range of languages and frameworks, although the "go-tos" are Ruby and Rails.
6. The course is focused on building high-quality, fit for purpose software. Expect to be exposed to many best-in-class philosophies and approaches (eg agile, BDD, XP, pair programming etc).
7. If you just want to learn to code then this is not the course for you. If you want to learn to be a developer with all it entails, then it almost certainly will be.
8. Be prepared to collaborate. At Craft Academy, nothing is a solo sport. If you can't/won't work with others then this either isn't for you or, hopefully, this is an opportunity to learn that skill.
9. This course is hard. Really hard. I've been an investment banker and a management consultant - I've spent much of my career doing 80-100 hour weeks. Whilst the actual hours probably won't quite reach that level (I'd estimate more like 70-80) the amount you will learn in those hours if exhausting.
10. This course has been fun, hard, frustrating, exhilirating, rewarding and painful in equal measure. I made the right decision to do it.

"Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty…" Theodore Roosevelt

If you embark on this course, you'll understand how right Teddy was - so worth doing, but no walk in the park!