Turing School of Software & Design

Short version:

• Invest in yourself and unlock the amazing skills you’re capable of with the right training and support
• Be a part of a community seeking to make a progressive impact on the world.
• GO TO TURING.

Long version:Working as a bartender at a local brewery, someone wise told me "A day without learning something new is a day wasted". Hearing that, I knew I needed to find a career where I could learn and grow. After doing some exploring I landed on Turing, and I  have never made a better decision in my life. In the world of software development, there is always something new to learn, and at Turing, you learn 50 new things a day!
To say Turing is life-changing is an understatement. After completing a 7-month intensive bootcamp from the only ACCET accredited coding Bootcamp in the US, the opportunities on the other side are staggering. I went from making $20,000 as a bartender to valuing my skills at $75,000 and above.
These opportunities are all the more accessible thanks to Turing's close-knit and supportive community. Turing is devoted to making software development a more progressive and inclusive space. Therefore if an alum has a job opening at their company, they know the Turing community is the best place to look to find a skilled developer who also has a heart for progress.
But your life will also change while you attend Turing. Expect long days... sometimes up to 12-hour days once you combine class-time, group project meetings, and personal study time. Devoting upwards of 2500 hours within 7 months can be challenging, both for you and your loved ones. But there is nothing I've done in my life that paid off better (or faster) than attending Turing.
Prior to attending Turing I completed an undergrad degree, as well as made multiple attempts at a post-grad degree. Turing is without a doubt the most well-designed and ultimately beneficial education I’ve received. 
The main causes of these failed post-grad attempts were that I didn’t believe in my capability to learn the material, and I didn’t have a supportive staff telling me otherwise. I saw other students flourish, and professors reward and celebrate those successes while I was left feeling like I couldn’t succeed and didn’t belong. This is a toxicity that often exists in academia and goes along with the “prestige-mindset” of many universities. 
At Turing, the instructors celebrate students' success, of course, but they also celebrate and reward the learning gained during the moments of failure. They highlight the tenacity and perseverance that their students display while trudging through those failures, and they maintain a belief in their students' potential to grow. These are all things I have not seen to this degree in any other educational setting to date. 
Turing believes that problem-solving and intelligence can be taught and that we all have human potential that can be unlocked. They believe anyone can learn how to code, and anyone can become an expert if they are supported properly and devote their time. They believe that "a day without learning something new is a day wasted". They know that there is no better industry than software development for achieving that goal of learning something new every day. And they know that this industry is in desperate need of progressive people with progressive ideals. Turing is doing the work to change the industry by training a diverse and inclusive community of people who have and will continue to make a positive impact on the world through code. I’m very proud to be a part of that community!
GO TO TURING. 

I landed at Turing after considering 3-4 other schools. What drew me in was the thorough curriculum, the length of the program, the program options, and the community. The length and thoroughness go hand in hand - with Turing being ~2x as long as most other programs I came across, it's inevitable that there will be a wider breath and depth of learning opportunities. Being able to choose between the front- and back-end programs means going even deeper, while also having the option to explore the other side for your capstone project and beyond Turing (several people have learned one side and ended up working on the other side in their careers). As for the community, the support system and resources around you are very strong - including peers, mentors, staff, alumni, and non-Turing grads who've gotten involved in the community because of how much they believe in Turing's mission. The community is what gets you through every step of the way - from mod 0 through graduation and well beyond graduation. There are interest and identity based groups that offer incredible support and guidance, there is mental health support offered by the school, and everyone just wants to help everyone around them succeed and to make it enjoyable to succeed. The key is to get comfortable leaning on people, know how to utilize your resources, and get confident with shamelessly asking for help.

It's necessary to acknowledge that the pace was very fast and intense, with breaks in between quarters just long enough to keep you from drowning before diving back in again. I spent ~60-80 hrs/week on Turing for the duration of the program and was thoroughly burnt out by the end of the 7.5 months. But the rewards were all well worth it. Looking back at where I was a few months before starting Turing, I can say I feel 10x more fulfilled, stable, valued, and invested in my learning, growth, and career than I ever did before.

There is really no comparison in terms of the quality of education in boot camps. 

So many boot camps are 3-4 months and generalized with frontend and backend. There is so much to learn about both that I feel like you could never do a deep dive into anything at one of those programs. You would barely even scratch the surface of anything. Turing makes you dive into frontend or backend for 7 months making you a strong candidate with the necessary fundamentals to learn the other side of programming on the job.

It's a program broken into 4 modules, but it's not uncommon for folks to need to repeat the first or second one. Learning paces can vary! Turing not only accepts this but they encourage making students repeat free of charge as needed! They don't want to push students through their program and take their money when they're not ready to move on. Name another boot camp that does this.

Turing is an amazing experience. I started the Front-end program in November of 2020 and graduated earlier this month, June 2021. I won't lie: it's really hard. But it's doable and you will absolutely leave feeling like you know how to program. Here are some major takeaways:

• You cover a lot of material in a short amount of time, and you implement everything you learn in various projects. 

• You learn industry best practices as well as industry terms of art that really come in handy during the job hunt later. 

• The community at Turing is inclusive and they make it a point to work in classes every week or every other week to discuss various personal identities and abilities and how these things influence our work on web applications. 

• The instructors are amazing and knowledgeable, and are always around to offer help or answer questions (and never make you feel stupid for asking questions). 

• The career support staff are great at assisting with the job hunt and are always around to look over a resume, cover letter, or go over helpful tips.

Again, Turing is hard. You really have to commit a lot of time, effort, and attention to this course to succeed, so keep that in mind if you are thinking about applying. That being said, I think it's definitely worth the 7 months of intense work; you leave feeling confident in your skills and with a portfolio of projects to demonstrate your abilities to potential employers. I would definitely recommend this program.

TL;DR your experience is what you make it :D
I came to Turing after 7 years as an elementary educator with minimal programming knowledge and no technical experience. I started the front-end engineering program in January 2020. Turing also offers a back-end engineering program. I attended one module in person before the school switched to a fully remote model. 
I chose Turing because of the strong in-person community, length of the program, as well as their mission to foster inclusion and diversity in tech. I witnessed the community go online due to the pandemic. Turing instructors and staff adapted to remote learning gracefully and graciously through it all. I was grateful to be immersed in a learning community during that time of isolation, global stress and trauma. 
The curriculum is broken into four six-week modules with 1-week intermissions between each module aka mod. Mod 0 is prework that you must pass to start. Students are able to repeat up to two modules but not the same module twice. I did not repeat any modules. There is no shame in repeating and many of my classmates who repeated had a stronger foundation for their first jobs upon graduation. Modules 1 to 3 are front-end or back-end focused and Module 4 brings both programs together to collaborate on a full-stack project. It is project-based learning, meaning you learn by figuring out how to build things. Knowing how to learn, problem-solve, communicate and work with others are critical skills for the field. You will graduate with an impressive portfolio of projects and hopefully strong collaboration skills. Turing has some sessions on privilege, power, and ethical issues in the tech industry but I would like to see these important topics delved deeper into.
I completed modules 2 to 4 remotely which worked well for me. I appreciated getting back commute time to take care of myself which supported my learning. Remote work skills are valuable in the tech industry even if you end up in a hybrid or in-person role. 
The curriculum also includes professional development for getting your first job. After graduation, mod 5 provides job-seeking support, meaning you have to put in the work but people are there to help. I graduated in August 2020 and was privileged to be able to take an extended job search that included some downtime. I enjoyed getting involved in Women Who Code and mentoring current Turing students during my search. I felt supported by the team throughout and was hired for my first full-time role in June 2021. You can continue to get support from the school and alumni network for your second job and beyond. 
Having a growth mindset is critical to success. Learning anything new comes with some discomfort and struggle. If you decide to attend Turing or any coding bootcamp, know your why and remember it when things are hard. You will always be learning and problem solving as a software developer so get used to it now. Trust in the learning process and practice self-care. Do your best and you will succeed.

Turing is hard, very hard but that is by design to help you be the best developer possible. The challenge is designed to help you learn and help that material stick. It is also designed to help you learn how to learn, so that once you are on the job you have the tools to keep learning and improving. The instructors and the staff are all fantastic. They support and guide you the whole way. The community and network is even better, you'll be hard pressed to find a better group of people. The career support team is great as well. Turing's focus is on getting you into a career not just getting students in the door. So, they are fully committed to supporting your job search after the program.

My husband, who is a software engineer of 15+ years, told me when I asked what bootcamp to attend that Turing was the best. One because of the caliber of people that come out but also because of their mission. I went in head first and don't regret it for a minute. My cohort was my lifeline for 7 months. We learned, fought, and grew together, even on Zoom. I have still not met any of them in person, but I know I have friends for life. 

I didn't technically graduate because I got a job during Mod 3 and withdrew before completing the last module. The faculty and staff were so supportive the whole time. I kept up with my cohort even after I left and went to graduation. This is not just a bootcamp, it is truly a family. 

Even more than that, the program goes above and beyond. This is more than software development. They teach you things that it took me 5+ years to learn in my previous career. The professional development program at Turing is just what is needed to not only produce great engineers, but also great employees and teammates. 

Do yourself a favor and start now. This program will change your life for the better. 

TL;DR - Turing has really changed my life.  Not only has it taught be me a very marketable skill, but it also gave me to the confidence to push forward with my own career growth.  It isn't easy, and nothing is just handed to you at the end, but if you put in the effort Turing will help you get where you want to go.

I did a lot of research when I started looking at Code Bootcamps.  I didn't know how to code but I had enough technical knowledge to know that promises of learning a new advanced skill in a matter of weeks was a pipe dream so I focused on schools that were longer and more in-depth.  Turing is a seven month and in-depth in backend or frontend.  This right way spoke to me because it told me they understood to really prepare a student for this career path it isn't an overnight skill.  When I did more research and learned about their mission of bring diversity into the technical field and being non-profit I was just about sold.  The final piece was going to a Try-Coding weekend - it was each day focusing on one of their programs.  After hearing the stories of alumni who volunteered their time to help I was super excited.

The next part of the process was a series of interviews and I started less then a month later.  You hit the ground running and the information comes at you really fast.  They have structure the course over 4 different modules and they give just enough support to keep you afloat, but the real magic is they teach you to be resourceful.  The answers aren't handed out - you really have to work for them and struggling through that cements the knowledge much better.  

There is a method to their madness.

Since graduating I had a Software Engineering job in two month (during COVID) and building really cool stuff and I have a direct impact on my company's successful and see nothing but a bright future.  Thanks Turing.

When I enrolled for Turing's Front End program I knew nothing about coding or tech in general.  Turing had claimed they could teach anyone, even if you knew nothing.  But I thought, "surely they don't understand that when I say I know nothing I mean literally nothing."  I was terrified about going to Turing and learning to code right up until day 1 of classes.  What if I hate it?  What if I fail? What if taking this risk and huge leap of faith turns out to be the biggest mistake of my life?  And on day 1, we dove right in and it was still terrifying but immediately I could just feel that I was in the right place.  

I chose Turing because I believed in their mission, I believed in their ability to teach me how to code (and code well) in 7 months, and I believed in the infectious magic of their culture - because you can feel it instantly if you do one of their Try Coding weekends.  Every step of the way I saw how right I was to place such trust in them.  

Turing knows software development and Turing knows education.  Much to the benefit of the students, they are equal parts software development experts and expert educators.  If you are considering Turing, do it.  You can't go wrong, no matter your background.  They know what they are doing and if you put in the work and trust the process, you will graduate as a talented developer who is not only ready to get hired, but also ready to excel on the job.   You will know how to write code, work as an effective member of a development team, figure out things you've never even heard of before, ask for help when you need it, and positively contribute to your workplace culture and our industry as a whole.  And if you are like me, you will find a work-life balance you've only dreamed of while still doing satisfying and rewarding work each day.  

I went from environmental consulting, to a thriving career in software engineering all because of Turing. This program is definitely an example of you get out of it what you put in. You can skate by and do the bare minimum, or you can immerse yourself, and learn the key foundational aspects of software development. I have been out of school for about two years and have had great success in my jobs. My managers and team leads have called out that I have a strong understanding of the basics of software development. Most importantly, I'm very strong in the act of learning itself. The most valuable skills I gained through Turing were critical thinking and creative problem solving skills. For me, the investment of 20k was definitely worth it. I tripled my income in less than two years.

The only con I can think of is that they aren't honest enough with people that won't succeed in the industry. There are some folks that just will not do well as software engineers and I feel like they're doing a disservice to those that are investing time and money, yet still won't be successful. From my cohort, graduating in June 2019, there are still 4-5 people that haven't gotten jobs.

I recently graduated from Turing and it was honestly the best decision of my life. I graduated with a job and this career change has improved my life in terms of maximizing my earning potential, but also in terms of self-esteem, job satisfaction, community, and purpose. Turing was incredibly challenging and rigorous, which any graduate can tell you, but it also challenged me to engage in deep self-reflection and transformation. 

The instructors and staff are brilliant and caring, the student and alumni communities are helpful, friendly, and generous. I cannot recommend Turing highly enough.