Full Stack Track

So when I read all of these reviews, I honestly thought that this place sounded like some weird cult, that people were being overly effusive, and I was interested but pretty sceptical. I was definitely wrong. This course was one of the best experiences of my life. The teaching quality is high, the course is incredibly well thought out, and the pacing is perfect. Before I go into more detail, I'll give you a brief outline of who I am and where I am now: 

Previously worked 'management' roles in the charity sector (read: glorified admin)
Terrible at maths, dyslexic, with no background in STEM subjects. My A levels were in Russian, English Lit, and Politics
Did modern languages at uni and was planning to be a lawyer

I decided to go into coding as I was looking for a profession which would offer the flexibility that I wanted, the modern working practices that I'd hear so much about, and (most importantly) intellectually stimulating work with continuous learning. Now I'm a full-stack developer working at a robotics start-up, doing mostly web dev stuff but with a sprinkling of robotics programming. I earn 27k and the whole thing of doing the course was generally a great success. Don't be put off by lacking a background in STEM, code, or anything. If you're switched on, enjoy solving problems, and like to learn, then apply. You will not regret it. The Course: 

Fast-paced: The pace is tough. You can get away without doing homework, but my recommendation is to get your head down and work a bit in your evenings - you will get out what you put in.
You start with the basics, HTML and CSS. The people who turned up not knowing the basics of these struggled more than those who did. Go on freecodecamp and get to grips with the fundamentals to get a nice head start. You'll thank yourself. 
You'll move onto some more complex principles, as you start with your first programming language: PHP. This part of the course will make you think that you're an idiot and have no place trying to be a user of computers, and that you should crawl into a little hovel and weep. That's normal, you'll get over it, and you'll be laughing about how hard you found it within a week or two. 
You'll then move onto Javascript. You'll find this a lot easier than PHP, as you will understand the fundamentals of programming. It all gets better from here on out... as you won't do any new languages, and rather develop what knowledge you've gained. 

The course is structured with 1 week's learning, and 1 week's project, on an on/off basis. It works really well and helps you to consolidate your knowledge.
By the end of the course, you won't recognise yourself. You'll be a pro coder, ready to enter the world of work! The teachers:

Mike: Great teacher, great guy, questionable sense of humour. If you're lucky enough to be taught by Mike then you'll be a happy bunny. Basically half man, half computer, half smiles. 1.5 of a person.
Charlie: Fantastic teacher, his class is good fun. You'll get on with him if you like: jokes, nintendo, jokes. 
Ash: Probably my fave, he was in training on my course and I had the pleasure of being taught by him. Great teacher, man is an encyclopaedia of code. 

My experience: Overall, my experience was amazing. I had a great time, made some good friends, and for the first time in a long time, wanted to work hard. I actually felt a bit sad on Fridays, which is a first. I would also feel knackered. No word of a lie - you will be tired. You will work so hard, melt your brain a few times, and probably have the odd cry. That's fine and normal. The teachers are so supportive, and they only let people in who are nice. You'll be in good hands, and I feel like it was worth more than my entire degree. 
Bells and whistles:

Professional photos for your linkedin/portfolio, etc. etc. Generally pretty useful and a great touch.
Scrum Master training: You'll learn to work in an agile fashion, and this experience is priceless.
Free toast! But don't take the piss. 

My verdict: worth the moneyDO IT

A great way to get into the industry. All the teachers were very patient and helpful, the entire course was really well thought out, and teaches you everything you need to know to become a full-stack developer. The various hiring partners they work with around Bath and Bristol, as well as the help they give towards re-writing your CV also facilitates the job-hunting experience. Would recommend to anyone wanting a career start / change as a software developer.

I joined Mayden Academy after extensively researching bootcamps and assessed that they provided the best emphasis on professional skills and being able to do the job from day one. Needless to say they provided that and more. Working in both the LAMP and MEAN stacks, we gained an exceptional level of knowledge in just 4 months and left with a technical capability far beyond our expectations.

Charlie and Mike foster a wonderful atmosphere at the Academy full of support and banter in equal measure while keeping everyone focused on the goal in mind. The pace is blistering but you never feel it's beyond you. The support staff were also on hand whenever you needed help, and the meet & greet with the hiring partners they organised yielded a ton of interview offers. I found my job a mere two weeks after graduating.

If you're serious about this change of career and want the best possible springboard into it, you really need to apply here.

Finishing Sixth Form and going onto the course was extremly daunting for me. Within a few days of starting I realised my worries where null and void. I was taught by Charlie, who I knew was a great guy from the second he laughed at the ASCII cows I had put into my code. All the trainers and staff are freindly and helpful, going out of their way to make sure you get the most out of the course. From hunting for jobs, reviewing and giving advice on your CV to shoving you in a pub with potential employers and booze, or letting you work on you strange coding side projects. You learn great tech and all the stuff you need to come out as a great developer, all while having a great time. If you want to learn to code like a pro and enjoy yourself all the way, you should be here.

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 :)

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.

[TL;DR]

Joining Mayden Academy was the best decision I made, if you're considering about becoming a developer, go for it. 

[Background]

I worked as a UI/UX designer for few years in the tech industry. I studied fashion in college, worked in graphic design a little bit before that. 

I enjoyed UI development part of my job (mainly HTML/CSS) so I watned to change my career to full time developer for almost 3 years. I never had enough courage to actually do it, but feeling very unhappy doing what didn't interest me anymore, I finally left my work and did a lot of research on bootcamps.

I live in Bristol, so Mayden wasn't the most convenient choice for me, but I really liked their curriculum and the reviews of previous graduates sounded promising, so I decdied to apply. 

I'm really happy to say now, that it's been really great 16 weeks, and that decision I made was the best. 

[Mayden Academy Experience]

The class consists of small number - 8 at the most. They set up the environment as real working environment. There is a product owner, scrum master in project weeks, we did spring planning, review and restro which helped me so much. When I had job interviews, companies value these experiences I had a lot.

Instructors really do care about students. They truely enjoy mentoring others, always helped us when there was any challenge. 

Their curriculm is really well designed. One theory week is followed by one project week where you can actually build stuff with the knowledge you got in the previous week. I also got a lot of practical knowledge as a non-computer-science-background person, as well as good core concept on programming. 

Their course is designed so that you won't get burn-out, there's no "too much work" you need to do after class time. What I was learning was a lot, but I never felt overwhelming. I had a good class/life balance even when I was going to classes everyday 9-5.

The atmosphere in the academy is very friendly and chill. We played Wii or any silly but funny games together during lunch time. We would go to pub on Fridays where we often could meet previous graduates. 

[Job Support]

They are genuinely supportive all the way from the very beginning to the very end (actually even after it ends). I was the last one in my class that accepted an offer, so while my classmates already accepted offers even before the course finished, I spent few weeks applying for places. They were continuously checking on me how I was doing,  shared job opportunities they found with/for me, shared industry contacts, etc. 

I started working for a tech company in Bristol, and I'm enjoying it so much. 

Everything was absolutely brilliant. The quality of the teaching was fantastic, I felt completely supported and the environment was lovely with the academy situated in a beautiful building with a beautiful garden. The curriculum was really well designed to give us a sense of progress while building a solid foundation with which we could go in pretty much any direction, which they help you to do with all manner of help and advice in preparing CVs and playing the job market. Combining tuition with hands-on project work is one of the factors that made me decide on attending Mayden, and it proved really useful - not just for me, but each company I interviewed with were really pleased to see the things we'd created and to hear we'd been working with Scrum and getting experience of coding both individually and in teams. 
Furthermore, I feel the Academy fostered a warm, welcoming, community spirit. I really enjoyed every single day of my course and I miss it enormously!

I really enjoyed attending the Mayden Academy, the small class sizes allow for plenty of trainer support, so nobody gets left behind.

The trainers Mike, Sam and Charlie even offer optional out of hours sessions to revisit any topics students may be struggling with.

Theory is backed up with plenty of hands on coding and mini projects. 

During project weeks your group work collaboratively as a development team. This was my first experience of coding as part of a team and cannot be replicated learning to code on your own as I had done previously.

The Academy prepared me to achieve my goal of becoming a full stack software engineer.

I joined Mayden Academy after 10 years spent in a non-tech industry and 1 year just only to convinced myself that was time for a career change. Now, after the course, if I could go back it won't need 1 year to decide but probably only 1 hour!

It was the best choice of my life, a necessary step to realize dreams and change my lifestyle. It wasn't easy, but thanks to the excellent competence and preparation of the instructors now I have a solid knowledge that allows me to be able to look for a highly qualified job.

And you.... what are you waiting for?!

I was a little bit skeptical with boot camps at the start. I thought that they will be just a way to make money for a company, teaching just a little bit of what you need and throwing you out to find a job. But after I attended Mayden Academy, I have to say, I am convinced!

Coming from a completely different work environment, I decided to change my life and have a more stable situation where I could build a future. After looking at what I wanted to do, I came across Mayden Academy, and I wanted to give it a try. I attended the taster session where they show you what it is that they do with a mini-game. Just after this, I was convinced to participate, as I remembered why I liked coding in high school.

The 16 weeks were one of the best time of my life. Bouncing between theory week, where our trainers were guiding us through new content, and project week, a reproduction of a real project, the time went incredibly fast and I enjoyed every moment of it. From the struggle during projects to get things done, the concepts that had to be repeated a thousand times to the morning where the trainers cooked pancakes for us. We learned a lot of industry standard, best practices and ways to solve problems that are common in companies nowadays.

Another plus point that the academy has is the fact that you around other people that want to do the same thing that you want, trying to achieve the same goal. You create awesome friendships and build a group environment that just makes it so much easier to wake up in the morning to go to "school"!

But this is just an introduction, the best part comes at the end. When we were at the end of our course, the Academy gave us full support in the job hunting process, build of our CVs and preparation of interviews. They are incredibly supportive, giving us a lot of advice on what to do when the school has finished, how to prepare for the real world and setting an example for others. Just to give an example, as part of the last few weeks of the course, they prepare a night with the hiring partners of the Academy (yes, they have hiring partners and a lot of them) and they will introduce you to each one of them, to give you practice for interviews and so on. You might end up with an interview or a job after this! A big thank you to Charlie, Mike, and Sam for everything you have done for us! 

I can't stop recommending the Academy! If you want to get into coding, this is probably the best place to go. You don't need any experience, book or tool because they will provide everything for you! They will guide you during the course and then they will introduce you to the real world, ready to become a developer.

Deciding to do the full-stack track programme at Mayden Academy was one of the best decisions I have ever made.

This course was intensive, incredibly challenging and very comprehensive, everything I was looking for in a developer training course.

The teachers are really passionate and really patient which I appreciated, they had no problem going over things and explaining things multiple times.

The course was structured really well, with a good mix of theory and practical application. We worked in a scrum team and follow an agile methodology which mirrored the way software development teams work in industry as closely as possible.

Mayden Academy also engages with local industry to make sure that the curriculum they are teaching stays relevant and in keeping with what employers are looking for. This was really important to me as it meant that I knew what I was learning was valuable and useful. 

I would recommend Mayden Academy and the full-stack track to anyone who is passionate about learning to code.

Challenging course with fantastic teachers and support throughout and after!

I applied for the full-stack track at Mayden Academy after a family member had taken the course and raved about it.

Now I'd spent the last 18 odd years working in restaurants and bars, which is a very untechnical industry, and was understandably nervous about stepping into a new career so vastly different from anything I had previously known, with little to no experience of the tech world and being well beyond the age of the regular student.

But immediately after starting the course I realised I had made an excellent choice. The guys running the course are exemplary teachers with expert knowledge on a very broad curriculum.

The course in itself is geared towards training you to be an employable, productive member of a development team from the moment you start your first job.

Over the course of a very intensive, and incredibly fun 4 months, myself and the other students learnt everything from the basics, like html and css for building a simple web page, to really cool concepts with regards to programming like oop (object oriented programming) and the principles key to writing code that employers (and other developers) look for in a developer, with focus on php, javascript, their frameworks, using different types of databases, and I could go on. And on!

Another big factor in standing out is the way in which you learn during the time there. The course is split into modules consisting of theory and projects where your team works in a way that reflects how a real development team works, thus preparing you for the real world and making sure you're ready and confident once you leave the relative safety of the course and go out to write code in the wild.

On top of that Mayden is associated with a wealth of really cool hiring partners, all totally engaged in the process, and many regularly come along to project / sprint reviews to see what's been happening, which gives you a great chance of walking into a role after you graduate, from having built relationships with many of them with little or no pressure to sell yourself to a potential employer.

I loved the course most of all for the experience though. In the space of 4 months I learnt loads of incredible stuff, met some amazing people who will be friends for life, had a laugh while I was at it and was employed as a junior developer in a great company the month after graduating.

If you're thinking about getting into software or improving on already existing interest or knowledge then you won't go wrong speaking to Mayden about how they could help.

Mayden Academy was what I wanted my university experience to be.

Before I joined the course, I was stuck in job hunting limbo. I'd learned some programming in my spare time, but the self taught nature meant that I didn't have everything employers wanted in a junior developer. It was there that I learned about Mayden and the Full Stack Track.

The course is suitable for anyone an inclination to learn. In our cohort, we had a wide range of prior experience, from those who had done some programming previously to those who hadn't done any. No matter what your previous ability was Mike and Charlie will teach you everything you need to know, and fill in any gaps in your knowledge. The small class sizes ensure that if you are having trouble with a concept, your trainer can give you the support you need to understand it.

The main two programming languages taught on the course are PHP and JavaScript, but you'll be taught other technologies and frameworks such as Node and React. You'll also learn progamming concepts that are used throughout the industry, as well as developer practices such as Agile and Git. These will help you no matter what languages or technologies you go on to work with after you graduate.

The employment support is fantastic as well. Towards the end of the course, you'll take part in a CV and interview workshop, to help you nail down what employers and recruiters are looking for. You'll also be invited to an event where you'll meet with the Academy's many hiring partners. Further support and guidance is offered after the course ends, so you aren't left hanging in the cold in the event you're initially unsuccessful.

If you're thinking of going to University as your first step into a career, seriously consider this course instead. The overall cost is much cheaper (there is interest-free finance available, which you needn't pay back until you start work), you'll learn much more industry relevant content and you'll meet and make friends with lovely people along the way.

A brilliant coding boot camp that gives you all the skills you need to become a software developer. Crucially, it focusses on replicating the professional environment as much as possible, this means 9-5 working days, sprint reviews and collaboration. Once you finish the course it's up to you what you want to do. Back end, front end or full-stack; It's your choice.

I could finish by saying that the course content has absolutely zero fat on it and is bang-on relevant but the real highlight for me has been the tuteledge from Mike and Charlie and just how much they care and the effort put into just about every aspect of the course. It is this that, for me, takes the course from being simply very good to absolutely great. 

If you're looking for become a developer, I can't recommend this course enough.

To put it simply - I cannot recommend Mayden Academy highly enough.

Having researched various coding courses in London I was always put off by the expense of living in London, not working and paying for a course on top of this! I stumbled across Mayden Academy and of course, came here to find out more about the course. The reviews all seemed incredibly positive, almost too positive and I admit I found myself slightly skeptical. It gives me great pleasure to write a similarly positive review now - I am completely convinced!

I won't spend too much time on the course itself as that is covered on the Mayden Academy website. But what really made my 16-week experience so valuable was the: staff, building and job support.

Let's start with the most important thing (in my opinion), the staff. Whilst I was there Mayden Academy had two trainers, Mike and Charlie. My trainer was Mike and he has the knowledge, patience, and ability to make complex concepts understandably that sets apart good teachers. He fostered a relaxed yet focused working environment. Quite apart from this Mike, Charlie and Margaret (the Marketing Manager) were good, friendly people that are a pleasure to be around. An important quality for a 16-week intensive course...

The course takes place in the most incredible Bath townhouse (it must be five floors). It's the nicest place I have worked and will work in future in all probability. The training rooms are in the basement, but it's a very nice environment and opens straight out onto the beautiful garden and you are spoiled by sweeping views of Bath. For all you cyclists out there, there is a secure place to put your bike, a very decent shower, lots of storage for gear and a place to dry wet clothes in the basement. What a bonus!

Mike has been working in tech in the South West for many years and has established excellent connections with tech companies in Bath and Bristol. The Academy itself has a number of hiring partners who come and watch your progress during the two weekly sprint reviews. This is an excellent opportunity to get to know potential employers and for them to get to know you, take it seriously. Mayden Academy also organizes an evening to meet the hiring partners which was another useful opportunity to network. The last few weeks of the course are interspersed with job applications and interviews. Mike is continually posting relevant job opportunities so that by the end of the course 6/7 of the 15 students had confirmed job offers.

Take the Full Stack Track! If you apply yourself and take it seriously you will come out a very employable junior developer. 

Mayden Academy teach you (among many other things) how to use HTML, CSS, Javascript, PHP and MySQL to a high standard. But much more importantly than that, they will teach you how to use these skills in a professional environment, preparing you to work in a real development team.

You will undertake a three-day course on Scrum methodology, which may be a bit alien to anyone from a non-dev background, but it gives you a great insight into some key aspects of programming and developing products in a team. Also, every block of 'theory' has a corresponding week of 'project', which will ensure that you cement in the skills you have learned by utilising them in a real world project - you'll end up making a game, an e-commerce store and a personal portfolio page to show off all of your projects.

The course does go at a brisk pace, and it may well need some hard work reading your notes or working on solo projects to really bed-in the ideas and concepts that get taught. However, the pace that both Mike and Charlie take throughout the whole course is realistic and it is truly possible to start this course without any programming knowledge at all. I would stress that in order to get the most out of the course to follow the pre-joining instructions and complete the online courses that they recommend - knowing the basics will ensure that you can reserve energy for the really hard-to-grasp concepts.

I joined the course after leaving a job in Retail, and accepted a job offer on the last day of the course. I had always written off my chances of being a developer because I lack both a degree and a technical background, but my experience is that taking a course like Mayden Academy can ensure that neither of these is an issue.

Other than preparing you for a role as a developer, Mayden Academy also help you with actually getting a job - this is done with a CV and interview prep session, professional advice on how to improve the design of your portfolio site, as well as a meet & greet evening with their ever-growing list of hiring-partners (18 at time of writing).

Going from beginner to professional-level as a programmer on your own is entirely possible, but without the expertise, knowledge and tutoring of Mike and Charlie this would have taken me many years, as opposed to the four months of the course. Taking the time to do an intensive course like this is, for me, the most time-efficient way of getting yourself those skills and that job

The course has been designed to hire juniors, not just an education factory. It helped me get my first developer job!

Mayden Academy provides a good base of coding and most importantly the confidence to pick up new technologies.

The practical weeks, working with a team and learning to code collaboratively was hugely beneficial. No other course that I could not find did this on the same scale as Mayden. Also the ancillary skills such as Agile, Git, Compilers, package mangers etc really meant we were learning the full bredth of programming.

I also really enjoyed the hiring partners evening that was organised and found this a really good networking opportunity.