iO Academy

I am so glad that I took this course! I had no previous coding experience or technical background, so this was a huge switch of mental focus for me. But the support we received during and even after the training is incredible. The atmosphere is very community - like and welcoming. The trainers are amazing - very knowledgeable, approachable and supportive. They are also the most patient people you may ever, ever meet. If I had teachers like that as a teenager, I would be a different person today! I couldn't have chosen better place to start a new career. I am endlessly grateful for the encouragement I received - that definitely helped me to believe in myself and my abilities.
My group started in person and moved remote after a few weeks but it wasn't a problem at all. iO Academy team adapted really well to these circumstances and I found learning on - line even easier. The course is very intense at times but it is manageable and we were actively encouraged to look after ourselves, take our breaks and use our weekends for rest. Trainers are also very adaptable and responsive to any issues or struggles you may experience. I become quite easily overwhelmed and I did it, which means you can do it too! 
I would advice starting preparing for the course as soon as you can - the more you already know, the easier it will be. And taking good notes is also important, as they become handy after the training, when you realize you need to go over it all again!

Having an established career already, it was a bit daunting to say the least to leave employment and retrain. However, the course at iO Academy has given me the best start to launch my new career that I could have hoped for. It was an amazing experience from the start and I honestly wouldn't change a thing.

The course is structured really well, with a general format of one theory week followed by a project week to put your newfound knowledge into practice. You come out with a solid portfolio of work, which is probably the most valuable thing when starting as a new developer. As you might imagine, it is intensive and definitely hard-work at times. However the pace is achievable and the support is always there to help if you need it.

The agile aspects are invaluable for those who haven't worked in a similar environment before, with the Scrum Master certification being a real bonus. There are also regular guest speakers which are really interesting and a great introduction to life in the industry and the dev community in general.

I couldn't have asked for better trainers - they are really friendly and approachable, incredibly knowledgeable, excellent teachers, and always available and eager to help whenever needed. They are very conscious of continuous improvement, asking for feedback after each module. They also offer one-on-one chats (both planned and ad-hoc) where you can go through anything you need. The whole course is underpinned by an excellent office team, who do a great job at supporting students and trainers alike throughout.

Learning remotely for the majority of the course wasn't a problem at all, in fact I think it actually worked better than it would have done in the classroom with social distancing.

Towards the end of the course there are excellent job planning sessions, including support with CVs, interviews, tech tests, hiring partner events, recruiter contacts etc., which are essential to get the best start to the job hunt.

Overall I am really pleased that I decided to go down the bootcamp route and wouldn't hesitate to do so again if I were to start over. It was an amazing experience throughout and I honestly wouldn't change a thing. I now am part of an ever-expanding alumni of like-minded individuals, who continue to provide opportunities as I start my career.

I'm very happy I made the leap and couldn't/wouldn't have done it without the course - thanks to all at iO Academy!

I joined Mayden Academy with some programming experience, but what I learnt over the past sixteen weeks really enhanced the basics.

The team over at Mayden Academy teach you much more than how to program: how to work as a team, how to think like a developer, how to plan your work and much more. You are taught programming principles generically and not to the languages being taught, being made aware of any quirks that do not apply to other languages, allowing you to easily pick up a new programming language(s) after the course. 

Our cohort had to move online, due to COVID-19, this allowed us to learn skills around remote working and being online did not affect our ability to learn at all. The team are willing to chat and adapt at any point to discuss any needs or questions you have and are always there to support you along the way. There is not a single negative thing I can say about the team or the course.

Mayden Academy has given me the confidence to work on applications without questioning my ability.

Like others have mentioned, I was sceptical reading these reviews as it seemed too good to be true, but it really is fab! I thoroughly enjoyed my whole Mayden Academy experience: the wonderful trainers and everyone helping to run the academy; the other students; the course content; the structure of the course (love the alternating project and theory weeks as it helps you solidify the concepts and build up a great portfolio); the small class sizes; and the great place you get to study. Overall I really enjoyed everything I leant and made some great friends; and even though I attended having barely written any code before and from a totally different career path it prepared my for my first developer job - thanks to the number of hiring partners the academy put you in touch with! Thank you Mayden Academy :)

Last year I wanted to change career to become a software developer.  I needed to make that change quickly to minimise my time not earning. My friend recommended this course, so I read the reviews (all absolutely justified) and booked my place on a taster session. I loved the atmosphere that evening: positive, enabling and inclusive.  I started going to tech meet ups in Bath and Bristol, applied for the course and had a wonderful 4 months in Autumn 2019 learning (and playing) at Mayden Academy.  There is tons of support for finding a job and I've been working as a software dev for 4 whole days now: ridiculously exciting! The way the course project weeks are organised is incredibly helpful for the real world and the content is up to date and relevant. Most importantly, the trainers and support staff at Mayden Academy are open-hearted compassionate people who understand what it's like to start from scratch: the support is amazing from them and from the other students. It's life-changing, do it!

My Coding Experience Prior to the course:

Knew I liked coding for several years but didn't have much experience prior to the course apart from a few bits and pieces with Fortran at uni, Swift and very basic HTML and CSS. 

 

Content:

There is a great balance between keeping up with the latest technologies and developments in the industry and teaching content that incorporates the fundamental aspects of programming that can be universally applied across different languages and frameworks. We were taught coding best practices: code reviews, unit testing, properly documenting our code and backing it up regularly on github. We got to work as a team and individually, on brand new and legacy projects.

 

Class Size:

There were 2 different classes in my cohort that ran in parallel. Max size 8 people per class up until the point where you can choose your track in week 14 after which my class was 9 so it still stayed pretty balanced numbers wise. The small class size definitely contributed hugely to my learning, you get a lot of 1-1 time with the trainers which was brilliant for clarifying things we'd just learnt or getting some help with a difficult exercise. I think I would have begun to struggle in a larger group of 12 or more.

 

The Teachers:

I was lucky to get the chance to learn from all the trainers at Mayden who did their best to make us feel welcome and included, accommodating their classroom and teaching style for students different learning needs.

Mike was my trainer for the majority of the course. He taught me not just how to code but how to write code that is good quality, concise and secure. He consistently went above and beyond for his students, sometimes staying late so we could work on our portfolios, giving people help with CV writing, always being approachable for advice or if we had any problems. 

It was great to have Ashley around while he completed his teacher training, he brought a different perspective to problems and was a patient teacher, I think he will fly with his first cohort! :)

I took Charlie’s track for the final two weeks: Charlie is very fun and full of energy, he has a very practical approach to teaching which suited my learning style, the track was very exercise based and felt a lot closer to project weeks but with a bit more structure and guidance. 

 

Classmates:

These people really made the experience amazing! Mayden Academy are very good at putting together a team of people that work well together and get on. I made some great friends from the course and I think we all learnt a lot from each other, everyone has a unique approach to solving a problem or a quicker, neater, more interesting way to write code. We did a lot of pair-programming on the course and I found it invaluable it helped to improve my standards and got me to think problems through and be able to explain my process to another person. 

 

Skills aside from coding:

I felt like the course at Mayden Academy simulated what working in the industry is actually like. We pair-programmed, code reviewed each other’s work, learnt the ins and outs of Git and Github for backing up work, we planned projects from start to finish holding each other accountable for our mistakes and for our achievements, we rallied together and supported each other, it was awesome being a part of such a great team! We learnt Scrum, an organisational framework which is used throughout the industry (not everywhere but a lot of places use it or a variation of it) to estimate the speed at which a team can work through projects and breaking down projects into smaller more manageable chunks of tasks. The had daily quizzes and bi-weekly tests (just for your own reference) that helped us gauge how much of the content we had grasped and what we needed to go over. We had a daily meeting as part of Scrum which meant we were always checking in with each other about how everyone’s learning was going and how each project was progressing. These skills have put me in great stead for a job in the industry. 

 

Career Support:

A full day dedicated to interview skills, CV and cover letter writing as well as ongoing support with job applications for the duration and even following the course. I even got some advice with writing introduction emails as it’s a huge blocker for me and I generally put it off so much the vacancy has been filled by the time I actually apply! 

The hiring event they put on was initially nerve wracking but ultimately exactly what I needed, it was great to just be able to chat face to face with representatives from really great local companies without the communication barrier of phone calls and email conversations and without the intense pressure of an interview situation. I think we all benefited from this stepping stone into the world of technical interviews and I think personally I owe this networking evening to the job I have now. 

 

Attending with a Partner:

My partner and I took the course together, although we were in separate classes on the prior request of the teachers (this is for several reasons but the one that resonated with me most was that you then get to bond with your teammates better and have your own individual experience of the course). So in my cohort there were 2 classes of 8 and we attended in parallel. It was a great getting to share the experience with one another, we learn it quite different ways so we could help when the other one was struggling and we could talk though a problem together. Both of us have come to coding from different industries so it is nice to be able to share that understanding with each other now as we start our new careers. It was difficult financially choosing to attend together and we had to rely on savings as well as loans from family and friends to see us though so I would definitely consider that aspect as well before jumping in. But it was very worth it in the end :)

 

For anyone with an interest in software design and programming, this is the course for you. I started the course with little experience, a keen interest in technology and the motivation to jump into something new.

From day 1, all the students were welcomed and fully supported in the journey to become software developers, from learning the basics of website creation through HTML & CSS, to writing complex Full-Stack applications using PHP & JavaScript frameworks and libraries. The course structure is fantastic, with one week of learning followed by one week of project work. It's a great way to learn the processes involved in software development and build a great portfolio to display your work. Towards the end of the course, we were given a crash course in the job application process, including CV writing help and interview prep, with support being given at every stage when applying for jobs.

I spent the majority of the course being taught by Charlie, who was engaging, knowledgable and would also go that extra mile to make sure the content was interesting and well understood. While the pace of learning is fast, the content is constantly reinforced so that by everything you learnt a week or two before becomes second nature. Over the duration of the course, I found great support in my fellow students and the fantastic team spirit we developed along the way enabled us to end up learning a lot from each other.

If you want to wake up every morning and be excited to learn something new, be surrounded by amazing people and create fantastic opportunities for yourself, Mayden Academy is for you!

I have finished the full stack course 2 days ago and it was excellent. I have never leant so much in such so quickly. Considering how technical and sometimes complicated the concepts involved are this is testament to how good the trainers are. They all know their stuff and have relevant professional experience and know how to explain it to anybody who will listen.

It felt like a big step and a big risk commiting to the course but now that it is over I do not regret it for a second. I am looking forward to moving into a job that would have been completely out of reach before I attended Mayden and with the help that they give you preparing and looking for work I am sure that it won't be long seeing as many of my classmates had a job offer before they had even finnished. I am looking for jobs in Cardiff which is outside of their usual sphere but the trainers are very knowledgable and able to help.

 

I cannot recomend this course enough. You will learn things every day that you would not even think to teach yourself and meet some great people along the way.

Being on the Mayden Academy bootcamp is like being welcomed into a new family. The trainers go out of their way to make themselves available for anything you might need, from technical questions about the work to any personal struggles along the way. They hunt job sites for you, give advice on CVs, put you in a room with potential employers, and all this while teaching you the skills you need to make it as an entry-level software developer with a solid foundation to build a career.

The course was life-changing and some of the best fun I've had in my life. I'd highly recommend it to anyone unreservedly who might be considering a change in their lives; there's no chance you'll regret it.

I applied to Mayden Academy because I was making a career change from Communications to development. I'd done some learning in my spare time but decided to kickstart my career change by taking a Bootcamp, specifically because even with the hardest work on my own, I couldn't get good first-hand experience of teamwork, or the benefit of teachers who have the knowledge to push me down the right paths and to build the confidence to make the leap into a new role.

The tutors are great - not only knowledgeable and skilled, but also good people who are good teachers with great ability to get across complex ideas.

The students in my cohort had a wide variety of skills - some people had a small amount of professional experience, some (like me) had done some amateur work and learning - and some had little to no prior experience. Everyone was able to contribute. The academy had obviously worked hard to build a good mix of people - we had a good gender mix, a variety of ethnic and nationality backgrounds which all enriched my experience there. This kind of atmosphere takes dedication and work to build and it's something the academy team have really done well.

The curriculum is really well honed to give you a set of skills that will get you a job - I was able to secure offers from 4 different companies after finishing the course - I put this down to the strength of the curriculum, combined with the CV help and tips on finding the right company from the course