Tech Talent & Strategy

TTS is expensive. They tell you that you will be able to change your career, but I am in so much debt from TTS obscene prices I ironically have no time to practice my coding. Although TTS is supposed to be for adults, only one other student in the class was working. If you work I recommend community college rather than TTS. it will be cheaper, and community colleges understand that adults pay for their own things. Erin the project manager often made rude and demeaning jokes to other students in the class. I forgot everything I learned, felt like a moron in class, and the final project was laughable. Nobody knew what they were doing except a retired Web developer, and surprise surprise, his wife was footing the bill so he could do the hours of homework. I learned nothing, owe them a ton of money, and felt disillusioned by the lack of collaboration on their messaging program slack. I felt completely left out. Maybe when I pay my 6000 off I can get a book and teach ruby on rails to myself. For now I had to take an additional job. If your parents or spouse are paying, it couldn't hurt. If you want a career change, teaching these things to yourself getting certified and freelancing is the way to go. I'm sure tts will find a way to not publish this. But if it does, google tts reviews and check out the rip off report

Prior to joining the Full Time Code Immersion program offered by Tech Talent South,  I had spent several months learning about WordPress, HTML and CSS and had been training myself using tools like Treehouse classes online, attending local Meetups and was just trying to self teach myself the things I needed to know to land an internship or entry level job.   I really enjoyed the course overall and thought it was really helpful towards the goals I had. I'm no master at Ruby or PHP to be sure, but it did help me to understand Object Oriented Languages better as a whole and gave me a lot of knowledge that it would have taken me months and months to learn on my own! It was also nice to do projects in class that I could then add to my portfolio. The nice thing about the program is that you're in a classroom setting so if you have questions you have the sounding board of the instructor and your classmates, and if the instructor in your class can't answer the question - you have the backing of the whole TTS staff - so someone will be able to get your question resolved pretty quickly. Personally, I found the classroom setting super helpful.   One of my favorite parts of attending Tech Talent South were the networking opportunities set up by our community coordinator. During one of the networking opportunities during my course, I met staff members/owners of a local web shop who are doing exactly what I want to do. At the time, they weren't taking on any new staff/interns, but after several months, they sent out feelers looking to hire someone new, and I was able to reconnect with them and land the job! 

I enjoyed the part time Code Immersion program. The instructors were good and did a good job of presenting the material. They had opportunities for networking and provided information on potential employment opportunities. We didn't get as far in the material as I would have hoped. Before taking the class, 8 weeks seemed like a good amount of class time. However, after attending the program, I wish it had been a little longer. A longer program would have assisted in better retention of information. I did get a solid foundation of coding of which I can build upon. 

Tech Talent South does a great job of creating community and support not just during the course but also after!  I loved that every student's technical experience was different and their journey unique.  I took the course so that I could build some of my own projects and go in a completely differnt direction with my career.  I enjoyed the content that we learned and the continous support they give!  The instructor even took extra time to make sure that I was caught up when I had to miss class.   TTS creates a great framework and what you put in is what you get out!

 

 While I was looking for a new career path, I also needed something challenging. Tech Talent South gave me exactly what I was looking for and more. The Code Immersion Course gives an overview of different code languages (Ruby, Rails, HTML, CSS, JavaScript..etc), daily homework, class projects, and great instructor interaction.

If at any time I needed assistance (which was everyday) all the instructors were very helpful. It was said the first day that they want to see you succeed and it's true.  Their commitment to our learning/success  made me want to dig deeper. 

No one promises anything from taking this course, but with hardwork and dedication anything is possible. Attending the workshops, and tours gives you invaluable information and exposes one to different work options.

If I had to do this again I would! Nothing worth having is easily obtained.  Going from no code exposure prior to this course to being fully stacked in 8 weeks is a testament to TTS. If you're thinking about it, go for it!

In 8 weeks I went from knowing basic HTML and CSS to learning Ruby on Rails, which is one of the hottest languages right now. I went in with 0 expectations, with an open mind, knowing that I had to put in work in order to make it happen. Regardless of the bootcamp of how long it is, you will have to put in work! Our instructor was great and very accessible, even after class hours. The community organizer scheduled some great company tours and guest speakers, but before she did anything she always asked US what we wanted. Our class was divided between front-end and back-end developers so she made sure to schedule things for both groups. 

I loved how Richard Simms, the co-founder, always hung out with us in class and went to lunch with us regularly. TTS really feels like a welcoming family and the coworking space we were in was pretty awesome as well. The curriculum is fast-paced, but very well designed. You will learn a lot as long as you feel passionate about it and do your homework. They connect you with amazing individuals and make sure you attend as many meetup groups and events as possible. Believe me, you will enjoy yourself! 

Learning to code can be challenging. Not only are there a ton of languages, but its tough to wade through all the noise in order to find the skills that you need to know whether you want to make a career change or start your own software company. I started learning to code prior to attending the 8 week full-time program, but TTS helped me to focus on the critical components that I needed to learn in order to switch careers and start my own company. Furthermore, the staff has been awesome about encouraging students to get involved in the Atlanta tech scene outside of class. I encourage you to check TTS out!

In eight weeks, I went from completely new to the mere idea of web development to a full-stack developer equipped with all the resources I need to succeed in a new field. As someone coming to tech from a completely different industry, I knew I wanted a change, but wasn't sure how successful I'd be. The great crew at the Atlanta campus takes you through everything you need to know step-by-step, from HTML & CSS to Ruby and Rails to practical skills like developing on a team and learning git workflow. Aside from the great curriculum, the TTS team goes out of their way to make you feel welcome and make any necessary connections or open any doors to set you on the right path. A coding bootcamp isn't the easiest path to take, sure, but effort and drive combined with Tech Talent South's great resources are a recipe for success. 

Its hard to find teachers who genuinely care for their students anymore. This was the biggest assest I took away from the Ruby on Rails class at Tech Talent South. The after-hours help along with the almost full-time availability of the the staff made it easy to ask questions and not feel like you were lost in a sea of code. Class was much more than just a learning enviorment as I felt at home in the classroom. 

After the didactic portion early in the morning there were always buisnesses to tour. I was able to see the way the tech industry operated in real-time instead of in a classroom. It was invaluable for making networking connections around the city. 

The class did a great job of helping me break the fear factor of learning programing. 

Tech Talent South introduced me to a new way of thinking, problem solving and patience within myself in how Ruby on Rails is used.  As someone who took the class to prepare for a career change, I feel the knowledge was provided and that I have been introduced to a new path of opportunities. TTS taught me the technical creative skills to add to my resume and to keep going! Personally, I wished the daily class length was a full 8 hours and 5 days a week, because I wanted to learn more. 

I took the summer ’15 part-time course and walked out on the last day feeling like I didn’t know a thing.  With exactly half the class time of the full-time class, there was quite a bit of independent learning, and for a subject this in-depth and my lack of exposure (and learning style) that just didn’t work for me.  I went back for the full-time class for fall '15 and the experience was like night and day.  That is not to say I am a proficient coder, but I definitely have a strong foundation to continue my education with.  In 8 weeks, this program is not going to teach you everything you need to know.  What it will do is give you the skills and knowledge to find out if you like this, where your strengths are, and the beginnings of a path that you will create based on what you’d like to do.  

The instructors are not going to hand you easy answers.  They’re going to challenge you to find them yourself, but will absolutely be there for you during office hours, for coffee, or extra help sessions if that’s what you need.  Each instructor has their own style and you will naturally gravitate to some more than others, as it is with any learning situation you are in.

If you are diligent, take the initiative and reach out when you need help, and do all the work and reading you will get something out of this, even if what you learn is that coding is not for you, despite the interest you may have had in it.  And if at the end of it all you feel like you need to do it again to make it all sink in see if there’s room for you to audit the next session.

Failure is only an option if you choose that you want it to be.

Learning to code is something I've always had a love/hate relationship with. I went to college for art and discovered graphic design, something I deeply love and have since pursued as a corporate career. However, I always knew there was something about design that didn't fulfill me, no matter how many Pantone books I shoved my face into, or typefaces I fawned over. Once a piece went to press I always felt a sense of sadness and dread, because the project was over (except if there was an error in press... That's where the dread came in).   Enter web development! I realized that learning to code would elevate my career to the next level and potentially land me new jobs and opportunities. After many failed attempts to teach myself to code after work, I tagged along with my boyfriend to a meeting with Andrew, the Community Organizer, in their coworking space. I was immediately impressed with his professional demeanor and willingness to help. My boyfriend and I decided to take the plunge together, with me taking the part-time track.    I'll be honest; after the first class, I called Andrew for an emergency phone convo regarding my horror at what I was getting myself into. I remember methodically explaining to Andrew that "I just want to make websites" and "surely your front-end development class would be just fine?" but he wouldn't let me quit that easily — and I'm so, so glad he did.   Sure, I got front-end exposure. But what I got beyond that through my teacher, Shane, was the total understanding of what is going into the creation of the problems I would be trying to solve for clients in the future. I learned the fine nuances of Ruby and programming languages, how to weave in the colorful thread of CSS after setting the stage with HTML, and ultimately compounding that knowledge in the final act of creating a real web app with Rails.   Shane, our instructor, was of particular encouragement. He clearly cared about our progress in the class, but showed little mercy to giving up or claiming to "not understand". What most impressed me was the way he answered questions — or rather, returned our questions with another question and forced us to think through the problem with him, rather than allow him to give us the answer. Another interesting facet of his teaching style was to pair us off every class with a partner, and only allowed one of us to "drive". The other partner had to pay rapt attention to the material and help the person on the computer work out problems. Throughout the duration of the class, he supplemented his wisdom and encouragement with real-life anecdotes from his day job as a developer, justifying our struggles to be normal, and that documentation is your friend!   Suffice to say, I thoroughly enjoyed my time in the Tech Talent South Code Immersion course. It has reignited my love for design, given a higher purpose to my career and has even gotten me some freelance work as a front-end developer for an agency just a week after graduating. Booyah.   If you're looking for a challenge and are willing to work hard to learn something <BIG>, I suggest Tech Talent South!"