Ironhack

Oh boy. I haven’t written anything besides code in the past three months, and the longest piece of text I’ve typed recently was a string for a database. So how do I begin with this one…

 

As a foreword of sorts, I didn’t know a thing about coding before I decided to apply for Ironhack’s Web Development Bootcamp. I had seen pieces of code before, and I could understand them just as well as ancient Egyptian. Until then, I had worked in the fields of journalism and communications, but if you have paid any attention to the world and its changes, you won’t need me to tell you about how hard it has become to make a career- and a living- in that sector nowadays.

 

What I’m trying to convey is that, at first, coding was my Plan B, a way to escape unemployment and get back on track- but I had no idea if I could handle it, or if I was going to enjoy it at all. And (to my own surprise), not only did I make it, it also seems that I enjoy coding- although it still gives me the occasional headache.

 

It might feel like I’m rambling, and I apologize- but there is a point in all of this. Like myself, many consider going into coding, but they wonder if it’ll be the right thing for them, if they will struggle trying to understand how code works. And I’ve come to find that you don’t require an intensive technical background to become a web developer or programmer. True, you need to tackle problems with a very different mentality compared to other trades, often needing to examine the task from every angle and understanding exactly what you will require, and what items will be involved, before you write the very first line of code. But once you adopt that mindset, code becomes less of a threat and more of a puzzle that challenges you and ignites your curiosity.

 

Getting used to this new strategic, however, is just the first milestone that you will have to conquer. Our worst enemy during the bootcamp wasn’t Javascript, Angular or any other framework- it was frustration. The pace of the lessons rarely gave us time to catch our breath, and the daily exercises (both individual, and in pairs) would often test our limits. On a couple of evenings, I found myself with my head buried between my hands in a moment of panic, telling myself “I can’t do this, I wasn’t ready for something like this”, and I wasn’t the only one.

 

If I’m painting a bleak picture so far, don’t worry- I’ve resorted to the “bad news, good news” mechanic to save the best for later. Although intensive, the bootcamp (divided in three ‘modules’ of three weeks each, with a final project at the end of each one) helped me understand the basics of code in a very comprehensive way, starting with basic exercises and steadily increasing the number of iterations or the challenge they offered. The bootcamp covers many areas that are key for a developer including Javascript basics and advanced features, layouts and design, database management and package management to expand the possibilities of our frameworks- and yes, all of that sounds like a lot at first glance, but again, even a complete newbie like me managed to successfully complete the bootcamp.

 

Now, my classmates and I are getting ready for the hiring week. For some of them, this will be a ‘level up’ in their career; for others, this is the start of a new one, and although I still have much to learn, I feel prepared to walk into web development with my head up high. And in addition to this, my final project -a website for musicians to find one another and start new bands and projects- became more than just a task to deliver at the end, and I have decided to continue working on it. Who knows, I might be releasing my very own website, made on my own and from scratch, in not too long!

 

Because of work, I had to enroll in the part-time UX/UI Design program at Ironhack and I am so happy I did regardless of the late nights and crammed weekends. Entering this program not only has it provided me with the amazing toolset I need in the UX/UI world, but it also has given me a new network and amazing support system. I'm extremely thankful for my professors for taking the time to coach me and as well as Brito for being so diligent with me in finding the next step for me post-Ironhack. Thanks guys!

I'm 40 years old, I travelled the world and lived very intensely. Trust me if I say that the whole Ironhack bootcamp has been one the highest ranking experiences of my life. Let me explain you why.

Coding is hard. Learning to code in 2 months is very demanding and does seem totally impossible. Believe it or not, the Ironhack campus in BCN is designed at every level (from the location, the building itself, the staff, the teachers, the syllabus, the events and the job opportunities) just to make that happen. It doesn't get more ideal than that. Let's address these points one by one.

Location: Barcelona is one of the most international cities in Europe. You do breath modernity and opportunity here, especially in the Poplenou neighboroud where the campus is located. It has become a kind of tech district, so on the way to class you pass by real tech companies and it gives you a feel of where you might end up working. Feels like you're there already.

The campus: Fantastic open space with glass walls (Kanban boards drawn on them), plants hanging from the ceiling, kitchen, showers, desks, standing desks and tons of architectonic eye candies. It's like your mind expands in there, and you're hooked. You don't want to leave. In fact you don't. You're given the keys and take advantage of the 24/7 access policy. You'll need it on project weeks!!

The staff: They're doing a fantastic job at keeping the place so well organized YET very informal, frienly and welcoming. I felt like I could express myself without having to fit in to any particular mould, and that was very valuable to me, because during the bootcamp you are reinventing yourself and pushing your brain hard on coursework in order to do that. So nobody will judge you if you spend hours by a standing desk coding and dancing looking more like a dj (or a crazy person) than a developer. You're tired? You can take a nap in plain sight. Wanna play? Let's skate or play football, inside of course. Nobody will ask you to stop. The staff is committed in having you become a web developer. They know kicking a ball will help your unconcious brain solve the kata.

The teachers: Andre has been one of the most inspiring and influential professional I ever met. The guy has more than 20 years of experience, and he knows how to deliver it to you. His technical knowledge is so intimate that I'm sure he natively thinks in Javascript then compiles in English for the rest of us. But it's not just that he tought us a programming language (and to love it), he focused a lot on best practices and the workflow and mindset you have to adopt in order to transform your ideas in to products through coding, and having fun in the process.  Then, he passed on us so many insights drawing form his own experience, filtering out for us the most valuable. Maybe not obvious at first, but Andre insights sit on the brain and release value as time passes by. And also, it must be said: he let us appreciate how cool a fully fledged web dev can be. 

The teaching assistants: Ironhack employs the most suited students as teaching assistants for next cohorts. They're three, with different levels of experience depending on how many cohorts they survived. Yes, because it's not easy to stay patient having to debug horrible code by current students still not having a clue!! What you get from them is the closeness of relating with somebody who just finished the bootcamp, as well as accurate code revisions and debugging, directly from somebody who still remembers on what silly thing you're more likely to get stuck on. They were stuck there too just a couple of months before, they know how and where to help.

The sillabus: Javascript is on fire nowadays and Ironhack is one of the few bootcamps to base its entire curriculum on it. Backend, frontend, all JS, because this is the present and the foreseable future of web dev. In fact, anything different would have felt like time wasting. The course is divided in three modules, each module giving you the teaching first and then challenging you on a project. The course material is constantly updated, you get exercises on a git repo to work on all night if you want. You'll get a detailed revision of your code in the morning. In the first module you learn the basics, HTML, CSS and JS, and make a late 90s style JQuerish app with it. Addictive brain gymnastics. Then you're introduced to Node.js in the second module, but server side. Mongo DB, Mongoose, Express. And you make a '00 style server rendered MVC app, which almost feels like a real thing. In the third module you're thought a Javascript framework (this time it was Angular 5), and are given two weeks to complete your own full stack project. At some point while doing it, which happens at different stages for different people, it's guaranteed that you will see the light. Like in the Karate Kid movie you'll see how all they made you do click together. Your fingers begin flying on the keyboard, translating your thoughts in to code as if it was the most natural thing in the world, while you wonder what the hell is happening. That's when a web dev has finally emerged from within you.   

Events and job opportunities: Each week we had at least a couple of talks by external speakers, giving us insights from within the industry. That has been very valuable, the best one was somebody explaining us how to make a bot using Dialogflow, with git repo and all. Fantastic. Unfortunately, you are likely to be very fatigued by all the mental work you're doing in the bootcamp to fully engage in the talks. But it is all meterial you can go back at a later stage, having had direct exposure to it, and maybe even networked with a real tech-industry specimen. And we came to job opportunities. I yet have to attend the hiring week which is organized at the end of the bootcamp and it's supposed to be a kind of speed dating between us graduate and tech companies. BUT, during the last event one of the speakers gained an interest in my final project and we're now exploring the prospect of remote work for his creative, amazing and well established start-up. So yes, nothing concrete yet but I can't beleive the fact I'm actively asked for interviews even BEFORE I start searching for a job. Amazing.

Last point to address is the people. I barely been alone during these two months, the group spirit has been fantastic. From spending the night all together coding, to partying at campus on the weekends, I felt so fortunate to get to meet so many great people. On a personal note, that was even more important given the fact that I lost my father while I was attending the bootcamp. It wasn't an easy decision to stay and learn coding, but it was the right choice. The understanding and support I received from the staff and the other students has been invaluable, don't know what kind of place I would have been without it. 

I do reccomend the course, it delivers on expectations, but be ready to push yourself as hard as you can in the learning process. There's no magic, it all comes through hard work. Ironhack will provide you with the best environment, tools, knowledge, people, it's like a state of the art gym: the sweat is still all yours. As for me, I might take the UX/UI bootcamp, Ironhack is kind of addictive. 

Now, I am 100% sure Ironhack is a scam.

Fyi, this review not meant to be well written; it is meant to show you how angry I am,hence some paragraphs address Ironhack, and some to you, readers,

If you believe you can become a programmer in 6 months for 12,000$, for that same price, I would check out Ivy leagues certificate programs. Trust me, when you go out there in the job market, you will be competing against people with Computer Science degrees and foreign programmers with kick ass programming skills(No one will be leading you by the hands, which is really what you are paying for, or yeah, the friends you will make for that hefty price. Out in the real world, you will have to figure things out on your own).Even if you get through the doors, keeping up with those people (most likely who paid a lot less in a year than your 6 months at Ironhack) will be your biggest challenge, and never mind repaying that loan. Check out that one complaint to BBB from a former student of Ironhack. Me, I am self taught and I am still teaching myself, trust me after this poor experience (have a look at the copies of their emails to me to understand my ill feelings toward them), save your money and try freecodecamp, again no one will lead you by the hands in the real world. In fact, have a read at this BBB complaint about them

BBB Business Profile | Ironhack Inc | Reviews and Complaints

Under Ironhack Reviews with Switchup, I see the tuition cost is $6500, but they they gave me $3500 scholarship a day after my interview, and told me me I had to pay $9500(deposit included, which means my tuition would be $13,000).

Here is the history of my application/interview background with them:

On 02/13/2018, Kevin Dasilva, my interviewer, said I was going to hear from them in a month. On 02/14/2018, Pat de la Guardia said I won a scholarship. Naturally, I thought it was a full ride, because the decision came the day after my interview, plus have a look at my post on Quora with the copies of the emails; the link is below

Why interview me if you had already chosen your 4 recipients for the full ride? The answer is simple, I never had a chance. The interview was simply to see if I had the means to pay ( whether or not I work for a company that offers financial education assistance. I remember Kevin probing me about it) if they gave me 'some' scholarship. I would not feel baited had Kevin Dasilva said to me, we have already chosen our winners, ( even though they had not interviewed me and there were more people to interview after me ).

Ironhack giving me only $3500, the day after my interview, makes me wonder if their business is based on who has the right face to represent their company for a full ride and to tempt the next batch of people, and who has the means to pay them to keep their business going. Something tells me no matter how well I did, I just didnt fit the profile they were looking for, which is not a problem, however, they should let us know what we are competing for. If I had known they had already chosen their 4 recipients for the full ride, I would not have revealed so much about me. I didnt come to them looking for an education, I simply applied for a full ride shot because I got an email through my meetup membership.

Oh, something else I should note, I recently reported to Florida Department of Agriculture And Consumer Services that I was baited/mocked and now cyber bullied. I cced Marisa Bruno, Program Manager, and I got an auto reply stating she resigned on Friday and she went back to Pennsylvania . She is the one who sent me the mocking email giving me the impression I had won a full ride, 2 days after my interview. Hmm, the timing of her resignation is making me wonder.

Anyway, Ironhack you had no right to forged my acceptance to your party today (03/01/2018). I ignored all your party invitations. You reached out to me under 30 minutes after you sent the first general invite, telling me you noticed I had not replied. Okay, your first advertisement said Uber gave you $200,000; 4 people were getting full ride and the rest gets divided. Assuming, you gave the rest of us $3500, I would say, you sent roughly 47 invites.

Why did you notice under less than 30 minutes (mind you on a Friday) I had not replied to your party invitation. Then the next 2 days you keep harassing me to reply by telling me other people reported that they could click on the invitation button. Liars. I can understand making sure I accepted the invite, if you had given me a full ride, but for such a small amount, why does Daniel Brito personally contact me many times to get me to accept the invite. On 02/28, he pressed the acceptance button and sent me a confirmation. That is a forged acceptance by Daniel Brito. On 02/29 after so many emails by you, I wrote to him telling him I would not go to their party nor reply. because I didnt trust Iron hack anymore.

To anyone reading, here is my I am feeling mocked. Again, my interview was on 02/13, with Kevin Dasilva , he said I was going to hear from Ironhack in a month,

***On 02/14/2018, I got this email from Pat de la Guardia***

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Thank you so much for your application to the UBER Scholarship. We interviewed so many impressive candidates and you were among one of them. While UBER and Ironhack couldn't reward scholarships to everyone, we saw a lot of merit in your application. Although you didn't qualify for the UBER Scholarship, we are happy to announce that we were able to secure additional funding to offer you an Ironhack Innovator Scholarship.

Therefore, on behalf of our team, it is my pleasure to offer you admission to Ironhack with a scholarship of $3,500.00 for the March 26th, Part-Time Web Development course. Out of the many applications we received, you excelled in the admissions process and we feel you’ll be a fantastic addition to the Ironhack family!

As a next step, and to accept your scholarship, we ask you that you reserve your spot in the course by making a deposit of $1,000 by Wednesday, February 1st at 5pm EST.

To guarantee your scholarship and reserve your spot, we must receive your deposit as a confirmation. Please keep in mind that spots are limited for your course and we are confirming enrollment on a first-come, first-serve basis. You can make your deposit payment here. (Please review the student enrollment agreement before submitting your deposit).

For more information about financing or other general questions, please do not hesitate to check out our FAQ's and/or reach out to me directly. Congratulations, again!

Best,

Pat

Admissions Director, Miami

----------------------------------------------------------------------

****Then on 02/15 Marisa Bruno wrote:****

I want to apologize. We made an error last night and sent you the wrong email. But don't worry, this is GOOD news! Ignore last night's email because YOU ARE AN UBER SCHOLARSHIP WINNER!!

Pat will be sending out a new email with details about your scholarship shortly.

I hope you will pardon us for the mistake and we’re SO excited to have you join us!!

Marisa

P.S. This was my face this morning when Pat and I realized we sent out the wrong email.... (sorry again!)

Marisa Bruno | Program Manager

+1 (305) 907 7086 ext.712 | marisa@ironhack.com

Miami | Barcelona | Madrid | Paris

***This is the email from Pat, Marisa told me to wait for in the above email:*****

On behalf of our team, it is my pleasure to offer you admission to Ironhack with an UBER Scholarship of $3,500.00 for the course. We had 2,500 applications and winning this award means that you are in the top 5% of all the applications we received.

As a next step, and to accept your scholarship, we ask you that you reserve your spot in the course by making a deposit of $1,000 by Friday, March 2nd. 
To guarantee your scholarship and reserve your spot, we must receive your deposit as a confirmation. Please keep in mind that spots are limited for your course and we are confirming enrollments on a first-come, first-serve basis. You can make your deposit payment here. (Please review the student enrollment agreement before submitting your deposit).

For more information about financing or other general questions, please do not hesitate to check out our FAQ's and/or reach out to me directly. Congratulations, again! We're SO EXCITED to help you start your career in tech.

Best,
Pat de la Guardia 
Admissions Director, Miami

P.S. SAVE THE DATE- We are holding a cocktail party for you (and the rest of the winners) on March 1st at 6:30 pm on our campus. We'd love for you to join us- you will receive an invitation to your email shortly :)

Readers do you see why I feel mocked and that they wasted my time.

As for the great reviews you see about them, I am pretty sure friends rating friends/ manipulated to their favor. I remember the first time, I gave them a 3 star rating on Google, and I posted the details would when I was sure of what I was experiencing, that same day, I got an invite to their welcome party, Now here is the odd thing, on 02/14 when Pat told me I had won a scholarship, he also invited me to the Welcome party. Then I replied sounding like I was not sure I was going to take the scholarship, he then changed his mind saying he was not sure I could go to the Welcome party and said he needed to ask. I thought to myself, ask whom? You are a Director. Feeling manipulated, on 02/15 I changed my rating to 1 start, and next you know, they sent me a nice paperlesspost invite to the Welcome / Cocktail party. Yeah, those rating are influenced.

Take a look at all the sites that rate them, notice how high their ratings are. Do you think that is normal that there are barely any low ratings? Please read the complain filed against them, the reviewer clearly says a lot of people could not find jobs after completing Ironhack. It should be clear to any reader, that Ironhack encouraged their friends to write reviews, hence all the 5stars. If you attend their info session, you will see over 10 staff members; each one of them gets their friends to write reviews and give 5 stars, there is your formula for incredible high rating on Google, Course Report, SwitchUP…

Readers, after reading my post, if you decide to give Ironhack a try, I would encourage you to ask programmers who have been in the industry well over 15 years and learned either on their own or from school. Ask an experienced programmer if it is worth paying $6500, or $12,000 (whatever their real price is: they told me $12,000, but on Switchup, 6500 is posted) to become a productive programmer.

Two very intensive months worth it to understand how the industry around UX and UI works. I would say that the learning environment is the best part of it because you surround yourself with people from all over the world, different backgrounds and ages... and push together towards the same goal. 

The instalations are amazing and the availability from staff memebers is always there. Very interesting to network since Ironhack Barcelona hosts several events through the year.

Things to improve: I would say that the communication between teachers (since we didnt have a lead teacher) before giving the classes was needed. Also, on hiring day I would do a little bit of effort to connect the students to the companies. But all this is already being achieved since those problems were communicated and now they are improving everything that was shaky last year.

Overall, I've never learned this much knowledge before like in Ironhack. 

Love to be part of the Ironhack family. 

Spending almost 3 months at Ironhack was a great experience which I would I definitely recommend. After years of working in SaaS sales, I wanted to learn more about some of the technologies that are driving the industry.

Ironhack's Web Development Bootcamp gives you the opportunity to become an autonomous full stack developer. Whether you are looking for a career change or you just want to update the tools you work with as a software developer, Ironhack invites you to a dynamic tech ecosystem full of opportunities providing you with the right tools to pursue your career in the software industry.

Champion team, good content and an amazing space in Madrid where you'll be able to build your network in some of the best events in the city.

Es lunes, hace un frío del carajo en la calle y tengo los cojones por corbata. Llevo yendo unos días antes a IH y he conocido a unos cuantos alumnos que me acompañarán en las clases por lo que no estoy tan nervioso como podría ser ir desde cero, cosa que muchos de mis compañeros no podrán decir pero ahí están todos sentados en la grada escuchando recitar al cabrón de Mark la bienvenida y a los teachers reforzando su lengua afilada con los nuevos. ¿Mi primera impresión?, tenemos un Dr. House por profesor, ¡genial! Una vez acabado el discurso de bienvenida nos metimos en la clase en la que permaneceríamos los 2 próximos meses viviendo, comiendo, trabajando con nuestros compañeros en pair programming, sufriendo por poder alcanzar la meta de los 3 proyectos…pero es curioso, porque la primera semana piensas que es eterno, la segunda te plantas pensando que en una semana tendrás que hacer…¡¡¡¿¿¿UN VIDEOJUEGO???!!!, pero como si de un río que te arrastra se tratase te plantas en esa famosa semana, ¡y sorpresa! Consigues acabar un juego cuando 15 días antes no sabías ni lo que era un DOM y mucho menos un canvas. Fin de semana después del proyecto, mucha cerveza y algo de estudio el domingo intentando no llevarte la ostia que te dieron en el primer módulo rezando para que el mantra de lo que los antiguos alumnos no sea verdad “el segundo módulo es lo peor”, y ahí estas en el segundo módulo mirando como las vacas al tren, sólo eres capaz de pensar WTF? Cuando te empiezan a hablar de Express (si, express me voy a venir abajo), Node y Mongo. Cada vez que toca hacer un pair programming miras a la pareja que te toca intentando averiguar si eres el único que no ha entendido ‘na de na’, pero según dicen ‘es el proceso natural’ te dan de ostias y luego esperan que aprendas ¿pero que coño me estás contando?, así no se aprende ni pa…espera un momento, si me paro a pensar se que es un constructor, una instancia, una query, un ejs…si van a tener razón y todo estos cabrones y voy a estar aprendiendo, escocido, pero lo más importante, aprendiendo. Llegamos al final de las dos semanas y nos toca hacer un proyecto con una pareja, me tocó con una persona muy afín a mi por lo que me sentí como pez en el agua y ofrecimos un buen trabajo. Es el final del segundo módulo, tengo una sensación de tristeza porque queda una semana de clase y después el proyecto de 2 semanas, más cerveza y relajando motores porque el segundo módulo fue muy arduo y doloroso.
 

Finalmente atacamos la tercera semana, sentimos como si nos estuvieran metiendo a presión deprisa y corriendo Angular sin ser capaces de entender que significa la palabra ‘reutilizable’ pero ahí estamos en una semana aprendiendo todo lo posible aplicando Passport a nuestro proyecto, juntando todos los conocimientos que tuvimos para dar a luz a un proyecto que representaría el top de nuestro aprendizaje dejándote el sudor y rezando para que no te salga un ‘unexpected token fatal error’, para una vez más presentar tu proyecto, recibir un aplauso y…se acabó.

¿De verdad, y las vivencias, gente, profesores, amigos?
Si te contase las picarescas y las vivencias tanto positivas como negativas, ¿vivirías realmente lo que tienes que vivir o intentarías vivir lo que yo te contase?

Sólo te daré un consejo nuevo alumno, no tengas prisa después de la hiring week, tardarán en contactarte porque así funcionan las empresas, pero finalmente te aseguro que conseguirás esa meta ansiada como es la de conseguir un buen puesto de trabajo, palabra de ironhacker.

I graduated from the Full-time Web Development Bootcamp in Madrid and I am very satisfied with the results. I learned more there than the previous 6 months learning Javascript by my own and now I have a good understanding of all the processes that are required to build a web app and a much deeper understanding of Javascript language.
In this 9 weeks you will have to overcome a lot of frustration and understand a lot of complicated new concepts and put them into practice on the same day but I can assure you at the end all will make sense  and you will feel able to face any challenge in a real world web development project.

My prior experience was mostly on the graphic/digital design side but I always been interested in the most technical part of the web (the code), in your class you will find people with very different backgrounds, many of them with no prior knowledge of any programming language so don't doubt and go for it! 

An excellent first step to boost your career o start a new one.

De las mejores experiencias que he tenido en la vida. Han sido dos meses intensísimos en los que lo único que hemos hecho ha sido programar y aprender muchísimo. Desde el primer día te empiezas a enfrentar a nuevas tecnologías, lo que hace que aprendas muchísimo. El temario muy completo y los ejercicios te ayudan muchísimo a ir asentando lo que vas aprendiendo cada día. En cuanto a la organización, inmejorable. Para mí ha sido un gran impulso profesional. Encantada de haber tomado la decisión de hacerlo. Mi consejo: just do it! No lo pienses!