Grace Hopper Program

The Grace Hopper program has been absolutely one of the most unique learning environments I've been in.  It is fast-paced, and they expect you to work hard.  The first six weeks were FULL of lectures and it was a bit of information overload.  But the remainder of the course was much more project-based, and expands thoroughly upon the topics covered in the lectures.  The staff and instructors are very willing and available to answer questions, but it is entirely up to you to ask the questions and get the help you need.  They do not coddle people, but they will always set aside time if you ask.
My cohort was ~30 women who were overall very solid teammates and great people to work with, some of which I would consider wonderful friends.  The projects are team-focused, and communication skills are essential.
The challenge for me is staying motivated and focused, as it can feel overwhelming at times.  However, if i had been self-studying for the same amount of time as the program, I would have NEVER accomplished even close to what I was able to produce within this school.  I was pushed beyond what I thought I was capable of, and I am forever changed and thankful for it.
So glad to recommend this program to any women or non-binary people looking to break into web development and programming.

"If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together." 

David Yang, one of Fullstack/Grace Hopper's co-founders, brought up this quote during his parting words to my cohort as we graduated. It resonated so strongly with me and sums up how I feel about attending Grace Hopper. Despite having majored in computer science as an undergraduate, I never felt confident enough in my skills as a programmer to pursue an engineering career. In addition to the practical skills necessary to land a software engineering job in 2019, Grace Hopper provided a supportive, nurturing environment unlike any I'd experienced before. It was such an incredibly inspiring and fulfilling experience and I can't recommend it highly enough!

TL;DR

I had a great experience at Grace Hopper at Fullstack Academy and I learned a lot. It is expensive but is a good investment in your education. Overall I would recommend it, but it’s not perfect.

Grace Hopper vs. Fullstack Academy of Code

The Grace Hopper Program in NYC is an all women’s program within Fullstack Academy of Code. The curriculum is identical, the instructors and most of the staff are shared (the instructors only teach one cohort at a time, but rotate through both programs). The main difference is the all women environment and the deferred tuition. Another difference is that in the summer, the main Fullstack Academy of Code includes college students who will be returning to school in the fall, which is not the case of the Grace Hopper program. Students from both programs are invited to optional lectures during lunch and other joint activities.

The Curriculum

Fullstack Academy/ Grace Hopper teaches full stack javascript, which sets it apart from most other bootcamps (many teach Ruby on Rails). One advantage of full stack javascript is that you get to do a deep dive into a language (javascript) that you will need to use on the front end anyway. On the other hand  a lot of people don’t really take javascript seriously as a server side language, and it has some quirks which make it harder to learn. I am undecided on whether I would recommend a full stack javascript curriculum over a Ruby on Rails curriculum or a curriculum that incorporates Python.

One great thing about Fullstack/Grace Hopper is they are constantly improving/changing their curriculum as technologies change. While I was there we learned Node.js and express on the backend and React with Redux on the front end. We used a sql database (PostgreSQL) for our database. They really take seriously feedback on what works and what doesn’t and are constantly improving/changing the curriculum. I think React with Redux is a good choice for the front end.

Computer science concepts (data structures, algorithms etc.) were incorporated throughout the curriculum, which I really liked.

The schedule

Builders

Some students (including myself) are accepted to the program on the condition that they complete a two week  remote “builders” program which reviews javascript fundamentals. This program does not cost extra. I found it to be very helpful and was glad I was “invited” to do it. I did it while working and it was totally manageable.

Foundations:

Foundations is a remote, part time program to continue developing your foundation in javascript and programming. I found it to be quite good. I continued working while completing this program which was doable but busy. Supposedly the program is 5 weeks, but the last week just setting up your computer and is optional. When I took the course (summer 2018), the bulk of foundations used pre ES6 javascript and then we learned ES6 at the end. I’m guessing this is because they hadn’t yet had time to redo their videos.

Junior Phase: The first 6 weeks of the program is junior phase. This consists of lectures followed by “labs” which are short solo practice assignments and “workshops” which are longer structured assignments completed in assigned pairs. Pair programming is an essential part of the curriculum, and while not every pair will be a positive experience, overall I think it really does help one learn. In junior phase we also had readings/videos to review at home and weekly homework assignments. There were also two tests and a project to help evaluate student progress.

In my cohort there were 5 fellows (teaching assistants who have recently graduated from the program). The fellows answer questions during workshops, help with grading, have office hours, and hold group lunches once a week. The fellows did great work and were a big part of the program being so good. The teachers were also quite good - they varied from pretty good to extremely excellent. Usually you have two teachers for junior phase, but because one of ours had a vacation scheduled we had some “subs” (other instructors in the program) who ended up being excellent.

The students varied in background and I thought the program did a pretty good job accommodating this. There was optional lectures and optional extra work if you wanted to dig deeper into the curriculum, and there were extra study sessions (by invitation) on Saturdays for students who could benefit from more practice. However, if you wanted to slack you could, you need to be self-motivated to get the most out of the program. For the most part the other students in my cohort worked hard and it was a good culture of learning.

Review week: The schedule varies slightly cohort to cohort, but while I was there we had our final exam the first day of “review week” and has the remaining 4 days off. I would have liked if they had been more clear about the schedule upfront. The stated purpose of review week is to review any materials you are weak on, but it is essentially a vacation as you aren’t required to be on campus (although I would recommend doing some review work during this period). During review week the instructors determine which students are ready to move on to “Senior Phase”. If you aren’t ready, you are invited to redo Junior phase (you are charged extra tuition which is also deferred), they call this “replaying”. In my cohort 1 student dropped out in the middle of Junior phase, 1 dropped out  between junior and senior phase, and three “replayed”.

Senior Phase: Senior phase is project based. Working on projects is a great way to learn. The instructors did include a few lectures which were good, and I would have liked a few more. The first project is an e-commerce site group project, the second is a solo 4 day “hackathon” project and the last is a 2.5 week capstone project completed in groups. Except for the first project the topic and technology is up to you/your group. I found that in this section of the course you had to be especially self motivated - the resources were there, but if you wanted help from an instructor you had to make sure to request it. I thought the code reviews by the instructors were helpful. Each day in senior phase we also had “REACTOs” which are white boarding practice in pairs. They were great practice although they were different/more difficult  than anything I was asked in an interview.

The program does a good job packing in a lot of material in a short time, but I felt that the last week and a half was a bit light in content. They focus on making videos for demo day, which are more of an ad for the school then anything useful for one’s portfolio, and on getting ready for launch day.

Value

The program is expensive.

In terms of an investment, in my opinion it is worth it, you will likely make back the cost of the program in a year (or less) at your first job (not counting the cost of taking time off for the program and the job search).

As compared to other education options I would say the cost is slightly higher but the quality is better. Grace Hopper is a bit more expensive than other bootcamps, but is not the most expensive bootcamp. It costs about the same as a semester at a private college, but prepares you for the workforce better in my opinion. So the price is probably inflated just as most education is these days, in my opinion.

An aside: free bootcamp options

In an effort to increase diversity in software engineering there are some free bootcamp options for people who qualify. Here’s three I have heard of, and I’m sure there’s more.

1. If you are a New York City resident check out whether you are eligible for the NYC Web Development Fellowship (and whether the city is still funding this program). This is a tuition free program at one of 3 partner schools one of which is Fullstack Academy of Code. While I was at Grace Hopper there was a cohort of Web Development Fellows. They had the same curriculum as Grace Hopper/Fullstack, although there are some (mostly small) differences in the program because it is funded by the city. There aren’t new cohorts as frequently as in Grace Hopper/Fullstack. But basically it is a Fullstack Academy of Code education without the cost.

2. If you are looking for an all women’s experience and would be interested in living in Seattle and pursuing a longer program check out Ada Developers Academy which is tuition free.
3. Resilient Coders in Boston is a free, full-time, 14-week Javascript coding bootcamp that trains young people of color for apprenticeships and careers as software engineers. I met a couple people from this program at a meetup, but don’t have any first hand information about it.

The Job Search

I found that the program had prepared me pretty well for technical interviews, although I did continue to study. I was mostly applying to small and medium sized companies.

Career counselors: Our cohort had a dedicated career counselor. I found her advice (during and after the program) to be helpful, although at times a little generic. I really appreciated that I had  someone in my court who I could message on Slack or arrange a call with if i needed advice on what to say to a potential employer in a particular situation, whether an offer was good, how to negotiate, etc. She was very responsive and I really felt that she was in my corner. It made me feel much more comfortable during the negotiation and decision making process. We also each had a remote career counselor who helped us polish our resumes and our “pitches”. Mine was a bit helpful, but I didn’t rely on him very much.

Job search curriculum: The career search portion of the curriculum was ok.  The advice on resumes was really helpful - the format they suggested worked for me! The advice for LinkedIn profiles and Github profiles was also helpful. The advice they gave in person was better than the out of date advice in the ‘workshop’ which they admitted needed an update. They put a big emphasis on writing technical blog posts. I think this is the kind of thing that might help you if you do it but isn’t going to hurt you if you don’t (I didn’t).

Launch Day: Launch day (formerly called hiring day) is a career-fair style day to introduce ourselves to companies in New York City. It is combined with the Fullstack cohort. Each student has ten minute interviews with at least 3 companies. The companies are assigned to you. At the end there is a networking session where you can talk to any company you would like to. Because I was primarily looking for jobs in Boston I treated this as a chance to beta test my resume and pitch which was helpful. My classmates who were looking for jobs at Launch Day were somewhat disappointed by the quality and selection of the companies. Our launch day was Labor Day Weekend so that may have made it harder to get top notch companies there. I believe that some people did get jobs from launch day, but not the majority.

Overall Grace Hopper/Fullstack’s network with employers in not strong. Unless you get a job offer from launch day, they are not going to find you a job, or find you jobs to apply to. That is up to you. But they are helpful with advice on how to perform the search, prepare  for interviews and negotiate an offer.

Alumni Network:

They don’t provide a directory of alumni, but they do invite you to a slack channel for alumni once you graduate, which is pretty active. Among other things, alumni post job openings, many of these require a few years of experience, but some are looking for junior developers. I found this to be very helpful. I also met up with a few alums in the Boston area in person.

General advice:

Before I chose and attended a bootcamp I had a really clear idea of the gaps in my knowledge that I wished to fill and I found a bootcamp that targeted what I wanted to learn. This helped me get the most out of my experience. As you look for your entry into software engineering I would start by considering what you know and what skills and projects you already have under your belt, and choose a course of study (whether a bootcamp, studying on your own, pursuing a CS degree, working on projects, or something else) that compliments what you know and fills in the gaps. Employers care about what you know and what projects you have made, they don’t care whether you are self taught or went to a bootcamp.

Feel free to find me on LinkedIn if you have any specific questions about Fullstack Academy or Grace Hopper.

My summer at the Grace Hopper program was without a doubt the most intense and most fruitful learning experience of my life. It wasn't easy, but it was absolutely worthwhile.

I had previous coding experience, in Python with a focus on data analysis and machine learning, and I decided to complete a bootcamp to gain software engineering skills that I could combine with my data science skills in order to be able to a) actually make cool stuff that people can use, and b) have the skills to be considered for a wider variety of jobs. This prior experience definitely helped, but many of my most talented cohort-mates hadn't had any coding experience before preparing to apply for the bootcamp. I would recommend Grace Hopper for people with any level of prior experience.

I'll lay out some of the highlights that defined my experience at Grace Hopper in terms of pros and cons.

---------------------------------------------------- 
Pros 
---------------------------------------------------- 
Preparation resources: Fullstack Academy (the umbrella bootcamp that Grace Hopper is a part of) has a great array of resources to help you prepare to apply and get in. I used a combination of one of their in-person bootcamp prep classes, and their online "JavaScript Jumpstart" course. These are both great as opposed to using outside resources because they prepare you specifically for what you'll be assessed on in the application process.

Program content: The Fullstack/Grace Hopper team do an amazing job strategically creating, honing, and constantly improving their curriculum. Talking to graduates from previous cohorts, it's easy to tell that every cohort gets an updated, carefully edited iteration of the curriculum. This applies to everything from small details such as what order workshops are presented in, all the way up to major changes like teaching completely different frameworks (e.g. switching from Angular to React), if they assess that a newer technology will be more in demand on the job market.

Program structure: The program is split up into three phases (one remote preparation section, then six weeks of Junior phase, then six weeks of Senior phase). This was really helpful in terms of making things more digestible. The one week break between Junior and Senior phase is something that I think all bootcamps should implement! In Junior phase your time will be spent on a mix of lectures, labs, and workshops. In Senior phase it's a mix of team projects, individual projects, interview prep, and career success prep. I really appreciated this structure. You consume and process a TON of information in Junior phase, and practice using it through small projects. Then in Senior phase you put it all together through bigger, longer-term projects. I really appreciated this structure and found it very conducive to learning and mastering skills.

All-female environment: Learning software engineering with a group of thirty women was a wonderful experience. My favorite part about it was actually that day-to-day I never really thought about the fact that we were all women. I was just able to completely focus on learning, rather than spending mental or emotional energy on dealing with interactions tinged by gender bias. Coming from tech education experiences where I was one of very few women in the room, there was an incredible difference in how much better and more unhindered my learning experience was.

Location: The bootcamp is located in the financial district, which is much less crowded and tourist-ridden than midtown. If you live in Brooklyn, I highly recommend commuting via ferry. The building is five minutes from the Wall St/Pier 11 ferry terminal. I barely had to go to midtown or take the subway all summer!

Deferred tuition: An obvious draw!

---------------------------------------------------- 
Cons (Really just one thing to be aware of going in - not necessarily a true con.) 
---------------------------------------------------- 
This applies to any bootcamp, but make sure you're willing to fully commit 100% mentally, emotionally, physically, and logistically. Most of your waking hours will be spent coding or thinking about code, and you will dream in code at night. This is only a con if you're not prepared for it/willing to embrace it! The total immersion of a bootcamp is a PRO in terms of learning, even if it's challenging and requires a lot of stamina! Also, if you've worked for a startup before and that's a helpful point of comparison, I found that working for a startup was similar to bootcamp in terms of the time required. However, startup life was actually a lot more stressful than bootcamp life because with a bootcamp you have an end date, and the experience has been carefully engineered and honed over multiple iterations to make sure you have the best possible experience. With a startup you have neither of those things!

---------------------------------------------------- 
Conclusion 
---------------------------------------------------- 
Get in the right mindset, do the preparation necessary to get in and do well, and take the plunge!

I first took the bootcamp prep course while working to see if I loved this new field enough to quit my old job. I enjoyed BCP so I continued to study and told myself once I was accepted into Fullstacks emmersive program I would quit. It was a big change but one of the smarted decisions I have made. I chose to attend Grace Hopper but debated back and forth some -- between GH and Fullstack.

The students in my cohort had a wide range of backgrounds - from CS degrees to just learning enough to get into the program. Regardless we were all in it together which makes the atmosphere supportive. In addition, the instructors are extremely skilled and helpful, usually there are two at a time teaching a cohort which is great because you get exposed to a variety of teaching skills. The ciriculum is dense.. I worked every day and weekend to keep up (as you can imagine I had no social life during the program). It is not a long program and it really has to be as dense as it is for you to go in knowing very little then graduating expecting to get a job. I busted my ass but it was very rewarding. After the program, because I loved the atmosphere so much and wasnt confident about looking for a job I became a fellow. This was great because you gain confidence as you help the new students, also you essentally get to go through the program again.

I would definitely reccommend Fullstack/Grace Hopper to anyone who is interested in learning to code likely looking to get a job as a developer. It is challenging but if you enjoy coding/learning it is very rewarding. If you arent sure then I would suggest the bootcamp prep course to get a taste of what will be taught in the full time program.

I did the Grace Hopper program, which is the same curriculum as Fullstack Academy but has deferred tuition and is for women only. The curriculum is STRONG!!!! Before you get to campus and during your very first week, you will coding and learning very advanced computer science topics. They truly ensure that every student knows their stuff and is prepared for the job search ahead including whiteboarding interviews. I never had a doubt throughout the program that I would have any trouble finding a job because of what and how they were teaching.

One of the great things Fullstack did was make sure from the beginning that students are ready and that everyone is on the same page. Just to get into the bootcamp, you need to know javascript and be able to solve somewhat diffucult problems as well as be familiar with recursion. However, they have a lot of great resources to get you accepted such as the online bootcamp prep course. Foundations covered some pretty advanced topics but they provided a mentor for each student and paced the work over 5 weeks so that everyone could master it and there were some tests along the way to make sure everyone was learning the material. I learned so much before I even got to campus and I was pleasantly surprised that I was able to converse about code and solve quite challenging problems on the very first day.

I realize that talking about the material in light of how advanced it is could scare some people away, but I just want to say that I found the program extremely friendly and not scary at all. They just want to make sure everyone is ready and on the same page, and they provide a lot of resources to get you there. If you ever feel like you are falling behind, they will not kick you out like some bootcamps will. Instead, they will get you the help that you need, and even allow you to repeat the first half of the program (junior phase) if you are struggling. Everything they do is to make sure you succeed.

I also found they focus a good amount on soft skills, which was amazing to see. They make sure students learn to communicate about issues that arise during pair programming before these issues ever arise, they talk about unconscious bias, they have retrospectives to reflect on different parts of the program, make sure students are taking care of themselves emotionally, etc. I found that students are able to give feedback about the program and the feedback is taken seriously and changes are implemented almost immediately as a result of student feedback.

The career success program is very strong as well. They don't just teach you how to code and build projects on this program. A big portion of the second half of the program was focused on getting students hireable. We had regular mandatory meetings with the career success team, practiced interviews (behavioral, technical, and whiteboarding), received feedback on resumes and linkedIn profiles, and so many presentations on job hunting. The career success team really sticks with you throughout the process and after you graduate to make sure you get hired.

Overall, this program was amazing for me. I went to a different bootcamp before this program to turn around my career, felt like I didn't learn enough to be hireable, and I constantly felt anxious and unready to find a job. Grace Hopper/Fullstack Academy was a night and day difference. It eased my worries and I never once doubted that I could find a job in the end. At first I was concerned because Fullstack teaches pure JavaScript instead of mixing in some of the other competing languages, but I truly believe that it served me well. I was able to learn really complex topics in depth and branch out past just web development. I also believe that now I can learn anything. In a nutshell, I learned amazing things, I built amazing projects including web apps, a mobile app and VR app with AI, I made amazing friendships with the women there, I constantly felt uplifted, and I had a job offer 10 days at the end of the program.

When I decided to switch fields and become a software engineer, I knew HTML, CSS and had very little confidence in my own abilities outside of that. Grace Hopper provided a learning environment that was supportive and encouraging while also pushing me outside of my comfort zone with a challenging, rigorous curriculum that prepared me extremely well for a career in software engineering. I left with a strong understanding of foundational CS and JavaScript concepts as well as the ability to dive into new technologies quickly. I also made so many friends and professional connections, building a network that helped anchor me in a new field. All of this meant that I was able to move into a full-time role in a new career with confidence.

I immensely enjoyed my time at Grace Hopper Academy. Make no mistake, the cirriculum moves quickly and it's a huge time commitment to keep up with the material. Self-study beforehand helped me a lot and the intstructors were always around to clarify and provide additional support. Over the course of the program, my skills as a programmer improved dramatically and I got comfortable at being able to dive into new technologies (after all it's all the same kind of problem solving). I had a few projects that I wanted to code before the program and it was immensely satisfying to be able to bring them to life based on what I learned at Grace Hopper.

Honestly, I found the job search incredibly frustrating and incredibly stressful. However, I think that's part of the nature of landing a developer job in tech and not Fullstack Academy's fault. Networking was crucial for me and it was a network that Grace Hopper helped me form. I was lucky enough to land a role about two months after graduation but if you need remote work or visa sponsorship your job search is likely to be more difficult. My review is for my own experience. It's definitely helpful to have your cohort going through the job search at the same time for support and/or commiseration. Grace Hopper's program gave me skills, confidence, and helped open a lot of doors. If this is what you're looking for, I would highly recomment it!

The best way I can summarize my time at Grace Hopper is that, apart from being a parent, it was the most intense, most rewarding experience I have ever had.  I have a B.S. and an M.S. and found the curriculum very challenging, at times overwhelming, but never beyond my ability to rise to the challenge.  The curriculum is very well designed and clearly very carefullly and intentionally constructed, and individuals at every level of the organization frequently request and act on feedback.  The staff and instructors are warm and supportive while demanding excellence, and the overall culture is one of championing your fellow classmates.  

I loved my experience at GH and would have highly recommended it to anyone before I knew my outcome.  I am even more thrilled to recommend it after landing a 6 figure salary within one week of graduating!  

The instructors, staff and students at Grace Hopper create a wonderfully supportive, encouraging, positive environment, which is crucial because there's no doubt it's an intense experience. Learning so much information in such a short amount of time can be mentally exhausting, but Fullstack/Grace Hopper has an established system that works, and the terrific atmosphere makes it much easier to get through those days when you're tired and feeling a bit overwhelmed. If you're struggling with a concept, there are many opportunities for one-on-one office hours with fellows (recent GH grads who serve as teaching assistants) and instructors, and everyone is patient and accessible - and committed to ensuring you're comfortable asking questions and seeking out help.

The job search services are strong as well, though it's good to know going in what they are and what they aren't. The program will supply you with the tools and support to be effective, but you will mostly be conducting the job search yourself as far as finding openings for which to apply. Fullstack/Grace Hopper hosts a "Hiring Day" where students interview with potential employers, but typically only a small percentage of each cohort gets a job through that. The Career Success staff will also occasionally send out listings they've received; most likely, though, the job you get will come through your own networking or perusing of online listings. But you'll be well-positioned to do that because of the general instruction and individualized advice they provide on everything from how to structure a tech resume to how to negotiate for a higher salary.

I attended the Grace Hopper (GH) Program as a student, then became a teaching fellow for Remote Cohort #1, and still teach an occasional preparatory class when demand is high. Needless to say, GH has got me hooked! 

If you want to learn to code, GH knows how to get the job done and are constantly iterating on it to up the success of future cohorts. In a field where the "next big thing" changes pretty much every week, keeping up with the technology is hard to do as an individual, let alone an entire school! GH is committed to making sure its students learn the most widespread and promising technologies: as a student, I watched instructors learning React just in time to teach it to incoming students when we switched from Angular, and then I did the same as a teaching fellow 6 weeks later.

The instructors are all top-notch, and they each have their own quirky teaching styles, which makes coming to class all day, every day fun and exciting. There's always coffee and cereal to fight off the afternoon coding lull or feed the I-just-rolled-out-of-bedders. 

The career success team is out of this world and go above and beyond their job descriptions to help grads get exceptional jobs all over the country. They have placed GH grads at companies as bootcamp grad #1 (myself included!) and built up some pretty sweet networks along the way. Seriously, they're committed to getting you a job after graduation and have often given me advice and action plans way outside of work hours. I just finished my first month at my new job and I think GH did an EXTREMELY good job of preparing me for the professional software engineering world. I feel more comfortable with the daily engineering practices, startup life, and quick turnover of technologies than many of my peers -- who have traditional CS backgrounds.

The *immersive* part of the curriculum is no joke, but I never could have learned so much, built such strong lifelong friendships, or appreciated the sunshine so wholeheartedly in any other program! GH is certainly one of a kind, and I chose to attend because of stellar reviews like these!

#trusttheprocess