General Assembly

GA wasn't just about a coding experience, it has also given me an understanding of being adaptable to the ups and downs that we had experienced in the beginning of each unit. I now embody a strong self-belief that regardless of the outside circumstances, I am able to do whatever I set my mind to because I have done so many times before. Another great fulfilling experience was working in a group, it has helped me develop a team mindset and an ability to find the unique speciality in each of my team members. It also gave me a chance to push myself and support my team at the same time, which is a plus!

Most appealing aspect of General Assembly courses is the practical and hands-on nature. We get the opportunity to learn concepts and become aware of relevant tools, then  offers a platform to apply all we learn and share our findings in the form of a final project. Instructors are of high caliber, we are able to learn from true experts. Support staff are very friendly with great customer service. This course demonstrates "Data is the future of oil", when data is handled and managed appropriately, decisions can be more effective.

As a freshly graudated 22 year old math major with little idea of what career I wanted to pursue, I stumbled upon General Assembly's Data Science Immersive Program shortly after graduating and am extremely satisifed with my overall experience. My instructors in the course were extremely knowledgeable and taught me more than I ever could imagine in the course of three months. Although I can't say I'm a master of machine learning (it would be impossible to do so in just three months), I know what I don't know and have honed the ability to LEARN which is perhaps the most important skill in the tech industry nowadays. This course put me on track to succeed as a data scientist in my mid 20s and the confidence to go out into a job interview ready to answer techincal questions and having valuable skills to bring to the table.

One important thing to note about the course is that you really need to drive to constantly learn new things and also have some interest in mathematics/ programming or you will quickly fall behind. That being said if you want to make a career change into working with data and possess those attributes, the GA Data Science Immersive Program is a great start to catapult you into the field.

I went to General Assembly when I realized that I was ready for a big career shift and I was going to need some help. I was beginning the process of switching careers from an actor on Broadway to a role in the tech industry as a web developer. I am incredibly grateful to the entire team at GA for their help and support on my journey. First and foremost, GA's teaching staff are not just great educators, but also professionals currently working in the industry. Their knowledge stems from a deeper understanding of how you will actually use these technologies in an day to day working environment. As a result, I never felt like I was being taught something that wouldn't be relevant. They were all passionate about the material and had clearly taken time to prepare before the class. I am forever grateful for the teachers I had during my time at GA. 

The second thing about my experience at GA that I cannot praise enough is their outcomes team. One of the biggest problems I had with my undergraduate experience was that I felt like I was educated on what to do once I had the job I was seeking but there was no help or real hands-on training or support for how to get the job. GENERAL ASSEMBLY DOES THIS SO WELL! Their team worked with us very early on in the course and for months after I had graduated. Having people actively sharing your resume, supporting you, submitting your work, and working on your behalf who know you personally is so valuable. And they aren't just helping you find the job but educating you on how to improve your resume, interview techniques, cover letters and more. This is what puts General Assembly ahead of so many other schools that offer web development courses. 

I've worked in the digital industry for 15 years but was feeling a bit flat. I finally had the headspace (after having 2 kids) to start thinking about my career again and wanted to fill in the gaps and get up to speed.

That was my intention... but what happened exceeded expectations.

I had used the 'tools of the trade' before, and had even freelanced as a UX designer. But this course gave me a better understanding of the WHY, and HOW to turn all the bits of information into actionable insights and using that to inform the design process.

It was challenging and empowering to break old habits and to focus so much energy on making sure you are solving the 'right' problem before allowing yourself to move into solution mode. Seeing classmates go through their own 'aha' moments was really interesting, as was the breadth of final presentations and hearing all the challenges and pivot moments. We had an extremely supportive group of teachers, teaching aids and classmates.

Two months on, and I am loving my job. Applying the 'process' of UX to my current work has been immensely satisfying and achieving much better results. Instead of using the 'tools' in an ad hoc manner, I have the confidence to communicate the entire process as part of risk management and get more engagement from stakeholders. Instead of being reactive when somebody tells me they need a solution that does XYZ, I can use the UX language to find out more about the 'suspected problem' so we can move through the various stages to make sure we are solving the right problem before we even start thinking about the solution.

I could go on and on. Suffice to say I loved the course and completely recommend it.

A well run course, pitched primarily at the entry level for Digital Product Managers.  The presenter did a great job of presenting the key principles in a fresh and lively manner and illustrated many key points with some real world examples.  The class members were energetic, fun and made solid contributions to learning for everyone.  Final, group project added an extra dimension to learning and it was practical and fun.  A great way for me to get a refresh on some key Product Management principles and upskill on more digitally focussed areas. 

I took WDI from March to June of 2015. I previously had a job in community relations, but felt uninspired by my day-to-day (I just hated it). I tried out some free resources on Codecademy and applied to several bootcamps. After checking a few out, I liked the campus and curriculum at General Assembly the best.

About two years later - no regrets. I love programming, and GA gave me what I needed to do this as a career! My teachers were fantastic, passionate, and gifted with coding and educational chops. It was VERY stressful at times, but I loved working together with my classmates to get to "the next level," so to speak.

My only note is that I had a job lined up before graduation, so I don't have experience with the career coaching so much.

I took the Data Analytics part-time course in London. The program consists of learning the process of data analysis and practical skills to perform data analysis.

Nowadays for online business, marketing & data analysis tend to become a one-person job as campaigns can be optimised in real time based on their performances. This program gives you a set of skills that aren't taught at the university if you studied broad subjects like marketing or business.

The theoretical part was very useful for me to understand what is the best approach before to do a specific analysis. How to prepare the business questions and choose a data set.

Then we did many exercises using Excel, SQL, Tableau to learn how to leverage those tools to make the analysis and provide great data insights.

What makes me satisfied is that I could use at work the next day what I had learned at night. 

I also met interesting, passionate and motivated people. In my group there was people from many industries (Finance, online business, offline business ...).