General Assembly

The immersive course was an incredibly rewarding experience. It's an intense programme that not only teaches a range of coding languages but moreover the ability to learn. I never thought that I could absorb so much information in such a short space of time.

The experience would not have been the same without the fantastic GA community and their continuing support. I have had the pleasure to learn and grow with a wonderful cohort and I have made friends for life.

Coding has fuelled my love for design, something that my previous career in Accounting lacked. Now I'm excited to pursue full stack developer roles, GA have been activley supporting my job search as part of the Outcomes programme with regular events and 1-1 meetings. My time at GA has truly exceeded all expectations!

I just graduated from the WDI at GA in Melbourne. It's a very fast-moving course designed to push you to your learning and making limits. WDI is not for the faint-hearted. The nature of the bootcamp is sink or swim – you really have no choice but to swim. You're forced to keep up with new concepts, theories and frameworks and it's really good and difficult. That's why you're there – to learn.

The course instructors were qualified, approachable and encouraged us to solve the problems first. They were careful not to give away too much because part of learning is doing and finding solutions for yourself. That's what will make you a good developer. Of course, a lot of tips and short cuts were shared.

GA Melbourne staff were really friendly and supportive. Our course producer was very meticulous and ensured all our needs were met and support was always there when where we needed it – especially with any learning difficulties and/or career counselling. The outcomes program is quite solid with very practical advice on job searching and personal branding. We also went to see three work environments - a start-up, digital agency and product company, which were exciting windows into industry and what's to come. 

Overall, WDI at GA Melbourne was a fantastic experience. I would highly recommend it.

For Background: After 3 years working in a finance and tech-ish field where I worked closely with (but didn't understand) the tech team, I decided to try to learn to code.

The Search: I probably didn't vet as many bootcamps as most do. Having seriously looked at two other courses, I decided GA had the more wholistic experience without being well over my head. Once I'd decided on GA, I came very close to choosing UX but I really wanted a hard skill and was worried UX didn't provide the deep problem sovling I thought Dev would.

The Program: The 12 longest weeks of my life, in the absolute best way. Truly, I didn't belive the human brain was capible of learning that much. Advice I would have taken if I did it all over again. 1.) Go to EVERY office hour. You're paying a lot for this course and the instructors are all amazing, kind, and smart people who are all gifted in teaching others- stick around and talk to them. 2.) Code all but one day a week. There were weekends where I didn't touch code at all and others where I coded throughout- try to find a balance that's healthy but keeps you immerced. 3.) Do. The. Homework. It's not for anyone but you, the feedback you get is UBER helpful and you might want to refrence it in months to follow the program. It'll let you know what you're struggling with when the instructor isn't holding your hand in a code-along. 4.) Enjoy it- You're doing an amazing thing for yourself! It's super stressful, but don't forget that this is a life-long learning career so if you don't get something you have a lot of time post-course to understand and there's a decent chance no one else understands either (no matter how alone you feel). 5.) If you can't tell from above, you're going to be (should be) investing all of your time here. Prepare for a 12 week intermision from your normal life.

After Graduating: This is the roller coaster no one really prepares you for. You'll go through all of the ups and downs you did while in the course but you'll feel more alone. Cannot emphasize how important it is to KEEP CODING and go to a meetup ever week or so. Meet up with GA friends, software devs you know and read blogs to stay up-to-date on stuff. I applied to quite a few jobs and my success rate was stagaringly low; this is just the numbers game. Try to remember there are a lot of variables in the hiring process (timing, funding, who's currently on the team, luck) so keep in mind that you are employable and that it just takes time.

Summary: Beyond glad I took this leap- I think it's the hardest thing I've ever done and I feel proud to have finished and endlessly grateful to be a part of the General Assebly family!

I recently (as in a week ago) graduated from General Assembly Austin's Web Development Immersive and am over the moon with my whole experience. You can read my mushy love letter to them on medium here: https://medium.com/@bryonymc/a-love-letter-to-my-programming-school-d8cd2f9332bf#.dxdl24xeb

but to highlight some key points for future bootcampers to help you with your search: 

Find a school that embodies the environment you aim to work in post-graduation.

Like follows like, and if you want to work at an open, accepting company with a work hard, play hard mentality, than you should find programs that match that culture. During my search I found a few schools that seemed great on paper, but all their photos showed a bunch of men staring at screens in a sad cramped office...why? Despite a fluke* of being the only woman in my cohort, I still found that the type of people drawn to GA are more diverse, more open-minded and creative, and therefore more supportive - which is what you want when you're halfway through the course and rethinking all your life choices. 

*Special Note: for women interested in bootcamps I strongly recommend GA - it really was a fluke that I was the only woman in my cohort. All the other cohorts, past and present, have women (although it is representative of the ratio of women to men in tech, but that's not a reflection of the school, rather an issue with the industry).  

Don't underestimate the importance of complementary portions of the program.

(1) Coding 24/7 doesn't = fancy new job post-grad. It takes a considerable amount of work to get a job in the tech industry so don't assume tech credentials is a bypass for all the other parts of the application/interview process. The only way to get those fun, slide-in-the-lobby cultures is to hire cool, fun people - which you won't be if you code 24/7. GA does an excellent job of encouraging (or insisting, for those who need tough love) to go to meetups, go to happy hours, network, connect, make friends... aka, be a human. 

(2) Make sure your school actually takes Career coaching seriously (GA calls it Outcomes). Some schools might give face to the topic but don't actually factor it in as an important part of the program. At GA we met with our Outcomes Coach (GA hires a full-time person to take on this role, another sign they take it seriously) once a week for deep-dive sessions on relevant topics for improving our opportunities post-grad from networking and resume/portfolio building to developing a personal brand and more. These are important "soft" skills to understand and practice regardless of what industry you are in. Even better, GA's coach remains available to you post-grad to continue helping you until you get the job you want. (Shout out to our awesome GA coach Nicole, you da best!) 

*Special note: I had a different idea of what I wanted to do for my career post-grad and rather than shutting down my hopes and dreams, Nicole and GA were supportive of my goals and helped tailor the curriculum to meet my objectives. Personalized learning is the hallmark of a great school! 

Research your instructors backgrounds. 

You want instructors who understand current trends in the industry. Work experience in the industry is vitally important (they've been on the frontlines), but also making sure they understand that the tech industry changes every day...so the languages they programmed in a year ago are no longer relevant. There are people, in every industry, who try to insist that the knowledge they have is still important, despite it gradually becoming obselete. You don't want these people as your instructors - they won't teach you the skills or languages you need to be current with today's jobs. At GA they are all about updating the curriculum to match current/future trends (for example, my cohort spent two weeks on React, whereas the group before spent more time on Ruby, and the next one is learning Python). You want a school that adapts and grows with the industry, and instructors who can do the same (happily, not begrudgingly). I had two bad-ass teachers (shoutout to Riley and Britney Jo!) who loved learning new skills and definitely imparted that passion for keeping up with current trends to our class as a vital method for staying relevant in a fast-paced industry. 

The staff at GA Austin is also awesome and provided that external support in hosting happy hours and fun opportunities for bonding (friends-giving! halloween party! oh my!). GA Austin is housed in WeWork which also gets a shoutout for providing an atmosphere conducive to learning - very open, relaxed and friendly. 

If you read this far, thanks! Best of luck in your search and future career in tech! 

My time at GA has been amazing (not to be confused with easy). I came here because I wanted to find a career that would challenge me, and continue to challenge me. It has certanily delivered. GA gave me the opportunity to learn a set of skills that are marketable, but it has also given me a support system. My instructors are my friends, my classmates are my friends, and the alumni are my friends. I was blown away when I realized that, even though I've graduated, I can still be an active part of the GA world. My job assistance help has been phenominal, as well. I simply can't understand how one woman is able to assist so many people at one time, but she does it. And the help she offers is catered to each individual - it must be magic. To sum it up, my experience has been very challenging, but I have never been without support and encouragement. I haven't been handed anything, but rather, shown that I can do it myself with hard work and determination. 

The Web Development Immersive at General Assembly SF was a life-changing experience for me, and really what I needed to make my dream become a reality. To begin with, the space is beautiful and conducive to creativity. The instructors and other staff were always extremely kind and helpful. The curriculum was in-depth, expansive, and pragmatic. We covered core material through the full-stack and also gained valuable knowledge in the interview process, data-structures/algorithms, teamwork, documentation, etc. GA's positive atmosphere attracts great students that I am most glad I had the chance to work with. 

I think the WDI at GA was such a good fit for me because of the preparation I had done before looking into it. I had already been teaching myself the fundamentals of programming and front-end web development beforehand. The course moves fast; the prior knowledge made it manageable for me to pick up new things quickly, debug on my own, and taught me where to look when I got stuck. Also before GA, I was meeting with people in the field to build a strong network I could reach out to when I finally did have the necessary skills. Through this, I was able to get interviews right after graduation from GA and was hired in a software developer position within a few weeks. However, without our WDI lessons on interviewing, using new libraries, and take-home coding challenges ---- I doubt I would have performed well!

If you are looking into bootcamps, I would highly suggest GA. But, I think (pretty much for all bootcamps) you should definitely take a lot of time teaching yourself first; there's lots of free online resources (I'd recommend Udacity courses). For a beginner, I'd say before applying to GA ---- a consistent 20hrs a week of learning on your own for 3-4 months can do wonders for your experience. During that time you can also read up on the field, go to lots of meetups, and grab coffee with people in jobs you're interested in. Regardless though, GA has strong curriculum, amazing instructors, and a dedicated outcomes (jobs) team. If you are just beginning to code, you will still have lots of assistance with the lessons and career development throughout the course. However, the more prepared you are coming in ---- the more exponentially your skills can grow, and the faster you can achieve your dream. 

My company signed me up for this course so that I could pick up some SQL and Tableau skills, but I think I went in knowing more than the instructor already.

She had never even done a read through of the course ppt, and was surprised at things that would come up. She was unsure how to problem solve even small issues that came along, and if you asked her anything that wasn't right there on the screen she would tell you to just google it. 

Further the administration is poorly run, and took 4 months to return my deposit, and only did so after I chased over 5 times.

My company is looking to train more people in Tableau and the one thing I tell them is to NEVER send anyone to GA.

I decided on a career change in my early 30s when I was unhappy with my career in the medical field. I had done some simple HTML and CSS in the past, and so I decided to take General Assembly's part-time Front-End Web Development night class while I was working full time.  Though it was a difficult schedule, I am glad I decided to ease myself into learning the basics of Javascript, HTML and CSS at the time. I decided to quit my job a month later and begin the Web Development Immersive course, a full-time intensive bootcamp that lasts about three months. I took out a private loan and several credit cards in order to finance my studies and life for that period of time. There's a reason they call it a "bootcamp" - it is very difficult, time-consuming, and fast-paced!  I was prepared for all of these things, and I found General Assembly's community really helpful if I encountered any difficulties along the way.  Fellow students were open, kind and encouraging. Teachers were AMAZING - incredibly knowledgeable, supportive and genuinely nice people. The curriculum was well-formed and organized, and I was lucky to have the same organized, knowledgeable and helpful course producer (Mercedes) from my part-time Front-End course.  I felt that the outcomes (how to get a job after the course) was well organized and catered to most of the students who didn't have any experience with things like writing a technical resume and making yourself look like an excellent candidate on LinkedIn.

You will get out what you put in. I studied 7 days a week and used many outside resources (both online and buying books on JavaScript) to help me get the in-depth knowledge I knew I'd need to show that I was competent enough to be an entry-level software developer.  After graduating, I realized what benefited me most by taking the course was the group projects. When learning programming on your own, it's rare to be able to work on a team on GitHub or to use git to the extent you do in the real world. GA's procedure of making everyone learn how to work together on a development project introduced me to how I'd be working and interacting with future coworkers.  It took me approximately 75 days after graduating to get my first contract, and I got my second contract a week after that!  I landed at that second job and I've been working there for three months now and I absolutely love it. 

The job hunt:  It is stressful, it's hard. The days and weeks after graduation are even more difficult and grueling than the actual bootcamp. I applied for literally hundreds of jobs, contacted so many hiring managers and lead software developers on LinkedIn and other places, and I received so many rejections - too many to count! But, I stuck with GA's Outcomes planning and documented everything I did and took advantage of all of the after-graduation meet-ups, talks, etc, to ensure I was networking to the fullest extent.  In addition, I was always on a new project. I refactored my first GA project, and then moved on to teach myself new JavaScript frameworks on my own.

For me, it was a sacrifice of time and finances, but I feel I used the resources GA made available to every student to the greatest extent I possibly could and that made all the difference and my life is entirely different and 100% better than it was just a year ago!

This program was a major financial setback. The price you pay does not match the quality you pay for. There is no set curriculum for each class, I've sat in on an instructor meeting and they typically create it 2-3 weeks before the class launch. This causes a lot of unexpected errors to go in class and makes the whole experience lackluster. 

A lot of the instructors are past students who "know" the curriculum enough to teach it. The presentation of core concepts and fundaments was random. I did not feel like each class connected nor did I feel like my skills were developing throughout the 12 weeks. 

This did not feel like a classroom but more of a "hangout" spot. GA does a good job dressing up their facilities and portraying their environment as "trendy/hip/techy". Although I did build good relationships with the people around me. Mostly because we all had common feelings about how GA was a waste of time.

There were happy hours and hot UX/UI girls walking around all the time, but that's pretty much it. 

You're giving a lot of false hope about becoming a developer from 12 weeks of irrelevant training. The saddest day for me was our Demo Day (graduation day) - there was so much promise of this being the big day for students to present to potential employers. Nope not even one, it was all students.. parents.. instructors.. That point I knew I had took a huge financial burden, yielding nothing but bits and pieces of knowledge.

While I was applying to jobs I was laughed at by every employer. I was not prepared to handle the truth. It took me time to actually develop some skill, but that was all on my own from using resources like udemy/treehouse/lynda.

This is my honest experience at GA, you guys are just another venture backed start up racking up the dollars from the rest of the world. 

I decided to take the class after I was struggling to learn JS by myself. I needed some kind of structure to force me to be more serious about learning the language. I then decided to take this class. I couldn't have been happier to made that decision.

From the first day to the last, the class content was very engaging and practical. That is the key aspect of any educational program now: to teach you something that you can start using or be close to using as soon as you walk out of class. Avand Amiri, our instructor, was probably one of the best instructors I've had in my entire life. He was easygoing, clear in the way he taught, and always bringing his previous experiences with the ways he had used the concepts in the past (box-sizing, flexbox, stylesheets, functions, etc.). Every class I came out knowing something new and something that I could go back home to experiment with.

If you are on the fence on whether to take a class or not you should go for it. Investing 6 hours for ten weeks will go a loooong way in helping you learn the most important language of the future: programming.

General Assembly was an incredible place to kickstart my digital marketing career.  I came from a start-up background where all aspects of digital marketing were more or less "self-taught."  So it was the right place to learn the latest real-world concepts and trends, and actually put them into action with colleages with really diverse experience. 

Keep in mind, DM is such a broad skillset, and the course is a good way to get an OVERVIEW and understanding of digital marketing.  I recommend it for people who want to know "what's out there/where to go next" as opposed to people who've already worked in the industry a couple years.  

But overall, it's a great experience, and everyone's super welcome to an exchange of ideas and resources.  I took the DM course in Los Angeles, and then became an instructional associate when I moved to San Francisco a year later.  You'll always get what you put into it--do the work, ask for help, get involved.  It's worth it!