Grace Hopper Program

    I'd recommend the Grace Hopper Program as a good place for women and non-binary people to learn web development. The instructors are well-informed and caring. They even spent time with us outside of class to give us advice and tutoring. About 1/3 of the co-ed cohort dropped out during the boot camp due to the challenges of learning coding but no-one from my Grace Hopper cohort dropped out due to the support offered by the staff and other students. Be aware that the don't pay unless you get a job within a year policy is no longer in play. 
     This bootcamp teaches a full-stack Javascript curriculum with React/Redux on the front-end and Express/Node on the backend. I found that in applying for jobs, many companies actually prefer Python, Java, Go, or C++ on the backend so it's easier to find a front-end job after than a full-stack or back-end position. That said, I've learned from the program how to learn new technologies so I've spent time trying to learn some on my own. 
     I graduated near the end of 2022 right when the tech companies were starting mass layoffs so it took me about 7-8 months to find a job. The career success team was very supportive during that time and offered insights on how to improve my job search process. Overall, I'm very thankful to all the staff that I interacted with. 

Although the curriculum itself was great for job hunting with a very up-to-date tech stack, the Fullstack Academy administrators were bad at communication with the Grace Hopper cohort, we had a new instructor who was not great at the job, and although my cohort gave regular feedback, nothing was done about the issues we faced. As the women and non-binary school, we were continuously made to feel second tier to the all-gender group. Although not the worst choice of bootcamp by far, as I did manage to get a job fairly quickly after graduation, there are probably better bootcamps out there. 

They use a very different approach to "teach" you the basics (quotes because it's not taught - by the time you get into the pre-work course they will assume you know everything). 

Instead of simply asking "Make a function that repeats a string num times" they present the problem as a Jasmine testing spec. Imagine trying to decipher this test and trying to determine what they're asking, THEN coming up with a solution. 

Yeah, it makes no sense. What a steep learning curve! It really felt like they were trying to weed us out. And the fact they don't provide internship placements? Nah. I left and just got a placement at a top-10 company through a different all-women boot camp that was free. 

My experience at the Grace Hopper Program changed my life in a myriad of ways. Their curriculum is extremely thorough and as they say, "they will not let you fail." I think though, that besides teaching me their specific stack, GHP really taught me how to think like a programmer. Since graduating I've been able to teach myself so many new languages and technologies because of this experience. I chose the program because I'm a nonbinary student and wanted to go somewhere where my identity would be respected, and I absolutely felt that throughout my experience. My cohortmates, fellows, and instructors were so supportive and still are even now after I've graduated. The pair programming enabled me to learn to speak technically and work with others in this new environment, and the workshops are still useful for me to go through even now that I'm an employed software engineer. I cannot recommend the Grace Hopper Program enough for any woman or nonbinary person looking to get into the technical field.

I had a fantastic time at GHP and wouldn't have chosen any other bootcamp. They don't just give you experience with development, they also prepare you for pair programming, agile methodology, the interviewing/job search process, and for whiteboarding exercises. That being said, there is always room for improvement. The fellows need more guidelines on how to do their jobs, since some fellows were diligent with their grading and their advice, while others were just scraping by.  Instructors tell you to embrace the "productive struggle", which is fair if you have an idea of what you're doing, but sometimes students would get 100% lost and wouldn't even know how to search for a solution. At that point, some instructors need to learn how to identify what is best for the student, rather than expect them to figure it out on their own. It's a tough program, especially if you don't have a CS background, but I'm glad I went through it and love the community I'm now surrounded by.

The Grace Hopper Program at Fullstack Academy in NYC helped me make a successful career transition into software development. Before starting at Grace Hopper in the fall of 2019, I was working in a different industry in a non-tech role and had been coding in my free time for about 6 months on and off. To prepare for admission to Grace Hopper, I taught myself some Javascript basics, and then attended the Fullstack Academy online Bootcamp Prep course. By the time I graduated from Grace Hopper, I had built several full-stack web apps, including a capstone project that I could showcase during job interviews. Through the curriculum and additional self-study of algorithms and data structures, I learned core skills that made me a competitive applicant for software engineer roles.

One of the most valuable parts of my experience was joining a highly welcoming, collaborative, and empathetic community of women and non-binary software developers. My classmates not only challenged each other in the classroom, but also cheered each other on through the extremely fast-paced curriculum and into the job search process. I'm grateful to be part of such a strong community to navigate a new career in tech with. 

Pros:
- Deferred tuition
- Challenging and rewarding curriculum
- Inclusive, supportive community
- Opportunity to attend the school's 'Launch Day' near graduation, which can provide networking and interview leads
- Career counselor available throughout the job search process

Cons:
- Large class size (almost 40 students) sometimes seemed to overstretch instructors, teaching assistants, and career counselors

I am so thankful to Fullstack Academy and Grace Hopper for giving me the skills and confidence to find a job with a company that I love. Let me start by giving you a little background. I studied electrical engineering in college and worked as teacher after graduating, so I had some coding background but I was mostly self-taught. Before Fullstack, I was able to build simple apps by following youtube tutorials or searching stack overflow, but I felt like I was lacking a lot of foundational knowledge. It turns out that, yes, I was lacking foundational knowledge, but there was so much more that I had been missing. After Fullstack, I have a much clearer understanding of the full stack data flow and best practices. Beyond that, I also met some amazing people and found the most loving, supportive community. Anyone who went through the Grace Hopper Program would agree that it is a wonderful, safe bubble, where you feel comfortable asking questions and seeking help. Everyone is genuinely interested in your success, and do their best to help you reach your goals. This is true of both teachers and students. In a field as competitive and intimidating as software engineering, the Grace Hopper program was a wonderful oasis that made learning easy and enjoyable.

I have so much gratitude and love for my Grace Hopper fam. The instructors are super knowledgable (S/O NATALIE LANE  AND DAVID ADEWOYIN), the career success coaches, my cohort mates, just the ENTIRE staff. You are set up for success the minute you enter the program. Despite the challenging pace and the jam-packed curriculum, I had the time of my life building web apps with teammates that I could later talk about in interviews. Staying engaged with the material and vocalizing your concerns will get you the personalized support you need to get up to speed in learning the newest technologies. The program is aptly named as an "immersive" course - there are workshops, lectures, office hours, panels, review sessions, and checkpoints to test your mastery of the material. The cohort sizes may vary depending on the time of the year but there are smaller learning teams with a dedicated teaching fellow who will help you navigate through the bootcamp's material. There is also a program lead that checks in with the cohort to address any real-time improvements that can be made to the learning environment. I put in my all, and as a result I've gained lifelong friends, robust projects that make me a competitive software engineer applicant, and a network of fierce women software engineers. 

If you are thinking about making the switch into a tech career, I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND the Grace Hopper program. You learn so much, so fast, while being surrounded by an amazing group of supportive women! Everyone at GH is looking out for you, and rooting for you to do your best. I remember looking over the curriculum when I was considering applying, and thinking about how foreign all these terms were, it seemed like an impossible task to learn so much in so little time. When I saw the capstone videos from previous grads, it felt so out of reach, seeing the amazing things that people had created. But now, after completing the program, I can say that I completed these tasks that seemed so insurmountable at first. I worked really hard, and it all paid off. There are a lot of bootcamps out there, but if you are going to pick one, the Grace Hopper program really is something special.

The bootcamp-prep curriculum is free. Please go check it out and see if it matches your learning style. I just graduated from the Grace Hopper program at Fullstack Academy in New York. 

I can't tell you how much I appriecated every aspect of the program. The instructors went above and beyond to make sure that everyone understood. The fellows were a little less helpful but at least we had immediate help when we needed it during workshops. Any time a fellow could not help they were always guided by the instructor, and we always had access to the instructors when we requested office hours. The curriculum is strong, understandable, comprehensive, and extremely relevant to what I see I need to know, now that i'm on my job search. The instructors have pre-made slides that help in case you need to review a concept. Every single task that you are asked to do has a counterpart sample that has been done inside of some part of a past workshop or past lecture. You are guided to the answers and instead of expecting you to just google the answer, you are able to sift through their curriculum and find it there. 

Even though I did not get to meet the founders, I really appreciate them for their obvious care and planning they put into this school. I feel that the Fullstack & GraceHopper schools are masters at lesson design and pedagogy. 

I can't say enough positive things about my time at the Grace Hopper program. My cohort's team of teachers did a great job of teaching us a lot of new technologies very quickly while making us feel supported and confident in our skills the entire time. We were encouraged to ask questions, and the team was very availible to hold office hours and provide extra help on the curriculum when needed. In addition, the cohort was under the supervision of a program lead, who checked in frequently to address our concerns or frustrations, and fellows, recent graduates who stay on to help the next cohort. The team at Fullstack/Grace Hopper is absolutely dedicated to providing a holistic education. They understand that bootcamp is rigourous, and the support they provide goes much deeper than technical. 

The second half of the program focuses on using the skills and technologies learned in the first half to actually build applications. Along with improving our technical skills, this process is essential for teaching teamwork and working collaboratively, which are essential skills for a software engineer. I loved working alongside the amazing women in my cohort, and learned so much about communication, delegation, and writing understandable and consistent code during these projects. We also followed the kind of agile workflow we could expect in the 'real world', and were encouraged to adopt new technologies during project work.

Finally, the career success team was so helpful during the second half of the program and beyond. In addition to providing resume reviews and interview prep, they hosted a series of panels and extra events to help ensure we left the program prepared for interviews and networking.  After the program, the team provided help and support throughout the job search and negotiation process. I was lucky enough to be hired by one of the companies they paired me with during our cohort's interview day!

I am so proud to be a Grace Hopper graduate and I highly recommend this program to anyone looking to start a career in Software Engineering.