The Iron Yard

The Iron Yard was the best career decision that I ever made. I used to struggle to find a graphic design job, but now I get calls and emails constantly from companies looking to hire. The Iron Yard set me up in a position of high demand. It's strange to be in a position in my life where I have to constantly turn down opportunities. 

The Iron Yard challenges you and gives you the necessary information and skills, but it's up to you to continue with it and decide which path you want to take. I more than doubled my salary coming out of the program and wouldn't have been able to do so otherwise. The Iron Yard is definitely worth it.

I wanted to believe.  I wanted a fresh start in a new field, where there was a need for engineers, where I could learn a new skill set and apply myself.  Alas, this was not the case.  I have to say the instructor did his best, by the time we finished the cohort we could build some decent applications, but what failed miserablly were the campus directors and those in positions to build relationships with local tech companies to help find appropriate work.  I have been looking for almost 10 months, and almost a year since the program started.  Nothing.  This is a scam.  Save your money, save your time, it is not worth the sacrifice.  All the atlanta campus managed to do was steal hundreds of thousands of dollars from poor people looking to change their lives.  Shame on them.  

What they teach is borderline useless and is easily accesible and free online. The certificate is valuable, because it proves you studied at an instituition rather than online. However, the reason it is an absolute scam is that you will recieve little to no help getting a job. They will give you a long list of requirements, and hardly, if ever, inform you about jobs or specific job opportunities. While programming schools do often have bad curriculums, there are many better schools to go to that garuntee employment or have better connections. I do not harbor any real malice against them, and I am not trying to rage against them for anything they have done. I accept my mistake and realize I have flushed thousands of dollars down the drain for nothing. I am simply writing this so that others don't do the same.You will save a lot more money trying to get a job on your own, because after all is said and done that is what they will expect you to do. Unless, you need to pay someone thousands of dollars to get someone to tell you if a webpage looks bad or good, or unless, you need to spend thousands of dollars to get someone to help you write a resume, there is nothing in this course you can't learn on your own and there is no help or job opportunities that they can or will present that you can't find on your own.

It has taken me a long time to write this review. I graduated from the Front End Engineering course in Charleston, SC some time ago and have been working as a developer since. Because I do have a job as a developer, I will admit I have been reluctant to give a bad review. But with my experience at The Iron Yard and now also after working as a developer, I am understanding what I learned in The Iron Yard is greatly lacking. So much so, that I am on the verge of leaving the field of development after the significant investment in time and money, along with a ton of hard work and stress.

I've written and deleted a longer review from this space many times, and have decided to keep this brief, and honestly not say everything I could. In my opinion, the teaching was quite bad. Yes, I understand this is a bootcamp and it is fast and it is hard work and all that. I get it. I put in 65-80 hours per week every week. But no matter how they try to explain it, the teaching is incredibly poor in my opinion. The ability of the instructor to break down difficult concepts was just not there, in my opinion, and being able to do that should be important in a setting like The Iron Yard.

If you already know you LOVE to code and already have experience doing it, then you might be able to make The Iron Yard work for you. In fairness, I personally know some people who have made it work out well for them. But, at the cost and time, it is quite a risk given the poor quality I experienced. Please take that into consideration. For me, it was not at all worth it Not at all.

Before attending The Iron Yard I did about 2 weeks worth of Command Line, JavaScript, HTML, and CSS online. We covered everything I learned and were on to new things by day 3. You definitely get out of it what you put into it. Some people put it 60+ hours a week, some didn't and it showed to some extent.

Our instructor put in as many hours as we did. He really went above and beyond to make sure that we understood not just what code to write, but why and how the code works. He didn't give us all the answers but he made sure we knew how to find them. He was always there to help. Your instructor can make or break your experience with the course.  Mine was awesome!

I don't think you're gong to find many people who completed the program who will give it a negative review. They will do a good job of providing you with a positive atmosphere and all the resources you need in order to learn and to get a job. They will treat you like an adult who has a life, but you will still be expected to meet deadlines. The culture is sort of a mix between a school and a job. It's casual, but professional. You're expected to meet deadlines, but at your pace with an emphasis on learning the material rather than just completing assignments.

I am a recent graduate, so I am just starting to experience the job hunt and will come back and update this review on my experience with career support. They've provided me with many resources and avenues to pursue a job. They've helped with everything from setting up and catering a LinkedIn profile, to giving constructive feedback on my online portfolio and cover letter.

Be mindful of the fact that if you expect to complete the program, you will not have time to keep a job while attending. Budget accordingly. They do a good job of emphasizing that fact, but I feel it's worth reiterating here.