Full-Time Remote Software Engineering Immersive

Transitioning from a non-technical background to software engineering was a daunting decision for me. The fear of regretting such a significant career change, coupled with the financial investment and uncertainties surrounding immersive programs, made me hesitant. However, in 2020, I took the leap and enrolled in the full-time remote Codesmith immersive, a decision I now cherish as one of the best I've made.My journey with Codesmith began with their free JSX course, which not only provided me with a solid foundation in JavaScript but also introduced me to their supportive community on Slack. Their free online Hard Parts workshops further cemented my decision to join their full-time program, showcasing the community's commitment to building confidence and providing empathetic support to engineers.Enrolling in their CS Prep course was the next step for me, serving not only as preparation for the immersive program's interview but also as a personal gauge of my commitment to the full-time program. The CS Prep course was fantastic, once again immersing me in their supportive community and affirming my decision to pursue software engineering with Codesmith.Ultimately, I committed to their full-time online immersive. Though intense, the curriculum was exceptional, covering TypeScript/JavaScript to React and Redux, and Node and Express. While challenging, the hands-on projects and insightful educational lectures equipped me with the skills crucial for my first role.What truly sets Codesmith apart is its community. Throughout the program, I felt supported, encouraged, and challenged, especially during moments of imposter syndrome. The post-program support, including resume assistance, mock interviews, and career guidance, further underscores their commitment to their students' success.Four months after graduating, I secured a software engineering role with almost double my previous salary. Codesmith equipped me with the foundational knowledge I needed. While there were still gaps in my knowledge (which is expected in any SWE role for any engineer at any level at any point in their career), Codesmith instilled in me the mindset of continuous learning and problem-solving, which has been invaluable in my career.Now, several years outside of the program, I continue to excel in my career as a Software Engineer and utilize Codesmith’s alumni resources. It's a community I know will accompany me for a long time.While Codesmith offers the technical foundation for a software engineering role, achieving success demands dedication and effort. It's essential to recognize that success isn't guaranteed; Codesmith provides the tools and guidance, but it's up to you to put in the work. This entails committing to deepening your skills, practicing rigorously, and actively networking. If you're prepared to roll up your sleeves and fully commit, Codesmith will undoubtedly pave the way for your success. However, if you're expecting a passive experience and hoping to coast through the program effortlessly to land a job, I would advise against taking the leap.If I were to offer one suggestion for improvement, it would be to provide more support on System Design interview preparation. While some time is allocated during the immersive, additional dedicated time in this area would be beneficial. Nonetheless, I was able to supplement my technical knowledge independently to excel in my interviews.I'm genuinely grateful for my decision to join the Codesmith immersive. The strong community, comprehensive curriculum, and post-program support make it an excellent choice for anyone looking to transition into software engineering.

Attending codesmith was easily the best career decision I haver ever made. The curriculum and instruction is truly top notch and the post-grad career support is amazing. You get limitless counseling and advice for life!

I didn’t love every aspect of my Codesmith experience but I will say if you are to do a bootcamp, Codesmith is your best bet.Starting with the positives: The support and community is top-notch. Everyone from instructors to TAs to alumni to support staff go above and beyond to make you feel welcome and battle imposter syndrome. It’s cheesy and borderline cult-like but as much as people rag on it, everyone feels safe, supported, and seen. The emphasis on projects is where you get your money’s worth and is the cornerstone of your resume and interviews. You’ll learn the basics of git and have plenty of options for answers to behavioral questions during interviews. The hiring portion at the end of the program I don’t think is as amazing as everyone puts it out to be, but they really do mean lifelong career support. Plenty of alums still use their postgrad career services. There are also some opportunities to connect with alumni during the program which proved valuable on the job hunt. There’s a lot that I wish were different about my experience. First, the weekly assessments I don’t think were a good measure of what I learned throughout the units. I was able to pass them just by copying a lot of the code from the units and changing them slightly. Just because I’m able to recognize a pattern doesn’t mean I have a deep understanding of the concepts. I felt like I skated by not really knowing the material. The TAs are previous alumni who just finished the program and it was obvious some of them didn’t know the material well enough to teach it and answer questions about it. (I did have some exceptional TAs though that I think deserve the senior engineering roles they landed after TAing.) There’s also no structure for the capstone project that you do. We were left to our own devices, tasked with building a solution to a technology none of us knew nothing about, and no one told us about good coding practices or did code review with us. I’m still proud of my group’s progress on the project and it gave me a lot to talk about during interviews, but I really feel Codesmith is missing out on a great opportunity here to teach us how best to code instead of just scrapping for an MVP.Overall, I’m glad I did Codesmith because it helped me find a SWE job in a pretty brutal market between the career and alumni support but just know what you’re getting into if you go for it. Codesmith isn’t a golden ticket to a well-paying job. You’ll have to work hard to get through the program and you’ll need to supplement that with your own studying. If you’re not afraid of working hard and staying determined, Codesmith will be a good choice for you. 

I initially started looking into a career change after not being happy with my previous career trajectory and consulting with a friend that was in the industry.  After doing some initial research into another program, I noticed that Codesmith had superior analytics in regards to job placement and salary.  It's very important to do your due diligence because you are spending big money so you want to make sure that those funds aren't being wasted. Once I knew that CodeSmith would be my target, I started using their free JS learning resources (at the time called edx) and attending their free workshops.  This gave me an introduction to some of the lead instructors, some of the teaching fellows and the format of the lectures.  I also decided to enroll in both of the prep courses (since the cost was subsidized from the Immersive Tuition) and from there started to prepare for the interviews to get into the immersive itself.  I ended the CS Prep course in mid-july and pretty much studied from then till I got accepted into the course in October of that year.  There were two formal interviews, the first was a character interview where you spoke with someone over the phone to confirm your cultural fit, after you pass that you then need to pass a technical interview, which was done over zoom and was pretty much a coding interview. (One thing here is that this felt very similar to the actual job interview process).  It took me three tries to pass the technical interview but when I did I had a call with the lead instructor who told me I had passed.Once I reserved my place in the cohort (maybe 2 weeks before it started) I was given some pre-course work which was setting up my environment with ide, connecting to github and working on pre-course work to prepare me for some of the upcoming work. (again the whole prep process was very similar to what it would be in a professional environment).At this point the course started, i believe there were 4 weeks of lectures/smaller partner projects, 4 weeks of group projects, 4 weeks of capstone project and 2 weeks of job searching preparation.  I'd say my biggest takeaways from the learning/project side, is that Codesmith didn't necessarily pump all the information into me to make me a capable senior reaCT engineer, instead they more gave me a taste of technologies, and during the project phase, it was up to us to know how to research/read documentation to make things work (again very realistic to a professional setting).  Drilling into us how to research and problem solve was one of the biggest benefits to the program.  I've heard in other programs, people are just coding along and copying the instructor but with Codesmith we were literally building things from the ground up and figuring out how to do that.  When I got my first job I quickly realized that the process of building and problem solving felt very similar to the project phases at Codesmith.  And if you need extra help or are falling behind, the staff is there to help and assist.  During the lecture phases there were weekly assessments and if you struggled during those, you would get 1 on 1 sessions with staff.  I think I had a 1 on 1 session for every assessment I took.The last 2 weeks of the program were also invaluable.  During this portion Codesmith helped us build our Resumes and Social media presence as well as going through interview prep with each other and also Alumni.  It was very similar to what I experienced during the job hunt.  and the Career assistance is for life!In conclusion, I would like to say that the journey through Codesmith and the job hunt were not painfree.  I think I was interviewing and studying for a good 6 months before landing a job and even though there were some embarrassing interviews, I learned from each one and continued to learn and prepare for the next one.  It's very Cliche but you get from Codesmith what you put in.  The harder you work there the easier the transition will be into the workforce.  I stayed at my first job for 1.5 years and recently got referred and hired to another company.  I wouldn't say my life is stress free nor would i say software is easy, but I am in a much better place then before thanks to Codesmith.

Codesmith was great for me. Attending was one of the best decisions I’ve made, and I think it’s a really fantastic option for some one looking for such a program.It’s difficult to review a program like Codesmith because it’s (obviously, explicitly) not right for everyone and will hit students in different ways. For me, it was very good — one of the best uses of my time, money, and work that I’ve ever made.I had a self-taught background coming into Codesmith, with several pretty specific areas of focus. The curriculum reinforced areas of my experience from different perspectives and introduced me to a wide variety of other technologies I hadn’t used before. The material was thoughtfully-chosen, presented with a strong ‘under-the-hood’ focus, and well situated within the wider landscape of competing technologies. The projects went deep into engineering considerations and building well as teams. Overall, it gave me an extremely solid basis and tools for continued growth. I found a good position shortly after graduation and have felt very well prepared in that role.A few considerations of pause / maybe it’s not for you:- The program moves very quickly, often spending 1-2 instructional days on technologies that take months to become strong with. The better your pre-course background, the more you will get out of it. Students who struggled early continued to struggle throughout the course. I would recommend really mastering the pre-course work and maybe doing some other project before starting, in order to get the most out of it.- On the same note, you cover a huge amount of content for the time.  While you are given many tools to go deeper, you should have realistic goals for what’s possible in a few months. It’s a solid basis + survey that trains you to learn and dig in — but it can’t actually replace years of learning and experience.- There’s not as much direct instructor support and evaluation on projects as I would have liked. You can get input, but no one is reviewing the quality of your code or your major design decisions in detail.- The job market is pretty challenging right now and finding a job takes a lot of work and patience. Research this bit and make sure you know what you’re in for. It’s a legitimate path to a challenging and rewarding career, but it takes work and time.

Before Codesmith, I was working on switching out of the medical field through self-learning but I quickly realized that a reliable bootcamp is a much better option. Having done research for months, I decided to go with Codesmith and the decision has been the best one I've ever made. The education I received at Codesmith in the short 3 months I was there made me a stronger dev than I could've become in 3 years of self-learning. I truly owe all of my professional success to the program and would recommend it to anyone I know as the education they provide is second to none. The community of people I met was truly amazing and has helped me still to this day in my coding journey. That support network of other engineers is by itself worth the price of admission. Even with the fast pacing, no one was left behind in learning as well all boosted each other, and the staff truly cares that everyone is learning and growing by providing whatever support is needed. Along with that, the way that the curriculum is taught was outstanding and truly gave me such an in-depth understanding of JavaScript and other frameworks were I feel that I have a better understanding of the technology than most of my coworkers. This is the best bootcamp by far that is out there!

If you are wondering if you should attend a bootcamp for career switch, then I do not have the answer for you. However, if you have already decided to go to a bootcamp, but not sure whether or not Codesmith should be the choice, then my answer is absolutely yes.I was a school teacher before I became a caregiver to my 2 children. One day I was thinking, you know what, maybe I can become a software engineer. So I started to shop around bootcamps online and discovered Codesmith. To get into Codesmith was not as easy as I thought, I started to prepared myself for 4 month and tried twice to finally pass their technical interview. The journey with Codesmith was very pleasant, everyone was so nice and supportive.I am happy that the outcome exceed what I expected, while everyone was talking about how bad the market is this year. After 400+ application and 4 months after graduating from Codesmith, I landed my first role with a large bio-tech company with a salary that's 4 times more than what I made at my last job. I am sure there are other cohort-mates who's got better offer than me, since I am definitely not the smartest one, nor the one with the strongest background.So, if you are a dedicated personal who has great passion for building, I would say just give it a try, it's a life changer for me as it might be for you as well.

Pre Codesmith ProfessionPrior to attending Codesmith, I pursued a career as a healthcare professional, investing seven years of my life to earn an advanced degree. However, upon venturing into the real world, I was taken aback by the rapid pace at which healthcare companies exhaust their professionals for the sake of financial gains. Overbooking, subpar care quality, inadequate compensation, and stymied long-term growth opportunities left me disheartened with healthcare as a whole. The whirlwind of COVID-19 served as the final catalyst, prompting me to seek an alternative path. It was during this time that one of my closest friends, a Senior Software Engineer, recommended a switch in careers. He recommended that I pursue a boot camp, and after conducting thorough research and considering various factors, I found that Codesmith consistently delivered the most exceptional outcomes, making it the clear frontrunner in my rankings.Pre Codesmith PrepDuring my search for programs, I simultaneously pursued Harvard's CS50 course. As I delved deeper into the requirements for admission to Codesmith, I shifted my focus from C to Javascript, immersing myself in the fundamentals through CSX and Eloquent Javascript. Additionally, I dedicated myself to self-teaching data structures and algorithms by solving Leetcode problems, laying the groundwork for a successful job search after graduation. Months of consistent effort in preparation for the technical interview paid off, as I was fortunate enough to secure acceptance on my initial attempt—a noteworthy achievement given the high selectivity of Codesmith. Recognizing the program's rigorous standards, I made the decision to invest in a new Macbook Pro, a decision that proved invaluable, as I encountered no compatibility issues throughout the duration of the program. During CodesmithLife during Codesmith offers a profoundly distinct experience. It demands unwavering dedication and investment in personal growth, as well as a collective commitment to the success of one's peers. It is a journey that requires pushing oneself beyond perceived limitations and persistently striving to overcome obstacles. Days consisting of 10-12 hours of intense learning and perseverance become the norm, with some individuals choosing to extend their efforts beyond the structured schedule. The program unfolds in two distinct phases: the initial half, characterized by structured classes and learning modules, and the latter half, where the true essence of learning emerges through project work. My overall experience with Codesmith was truly exceptional. From day one, the atmosphere fostered empathy and kindness among the cohort, and this sentiment resonated with my personal encounters. Whether offering assistance or receiving help, each interaction was infused with a sense of fulfillment and compassion. The main instructors, mentors, and teaching fellows showcased exemplary skills and dedication. I attribute the extraordinary quality of my experience to Codesmith's meticulous vetting process and the nurturing environment they cultivated. Our class made it a collective goal to ensure that every individual felt comfortable with each topic, readily providing tutoring and support to one another. The unwavering commitment to high standards and positive vibes permeated throughout, leading to a transformative and life-changing experience.Post CodesmithUpon graduating from Codesmith, one swiftly realizes that the journey has only just begun, and it is an exhilarating prospect. The growth potential that lies ahead over the next 3-6 months is nothing short of inspiring. Personally, I was picky with the roles I applied to and only did 200 applications, which ultimately led me to secure my first role. In contrast, some of my peers took a more extensive approach, submitting 2-4 times that number. Unlike traditional universities, Codesmith does not simply hand you a diploma and bid you farewell. It is more akin to an anti-university, placing little emphasis on pedigree, titles, or mere pieces of paper. Instead, Codesmith's core values revolve around tangible outcomes. Remarkably & deservingly, many individuals in my cohort have successfully secured senior positions or are earning annual salaries exceeding $150,000. The support provided by Codesmith extends far beyond your initial job search. They offer comprehensive career assistance, regardless of whether you are seeking your first job or embarking on your third. While there were moments of discouragement during my own job search, they were fleeting thanks to the unwavering encouragement and motivation provided by the support team and my fellow peers. Eric Kirsten was of immense help during the process, providing positive encouragement and real-life stories to aid in the hunt.SummaryOverall, if you are looking to change careers to be a Software Engineer, I give Codesmith my highest review. Keep in mind it will take a long time of grit and grind, but it will pay dividends. If you are interested in pursuing software engineering, I would teach yourself a first language and dig deep into if this is something you want to pursue. Allot at least a year for the full transition, and expect to give it your all each and every day. 

I recently graduated from Codesmith's East Coast Remote Program - the curriculum was extremely grueling and challenging, but the strong sense of community and support made it possible for me to not only get through it but actually enjoy the process of learning so much in such a short time. I chose Codesmith as a bootcamp because of its verified outcomes, and it did not disappoint - I had resigned myself to a longer-than-average job search process because of the downturn in the hiring market, but I got an offer and signed with an amazing company less than two months after my last day at Codesmith. I want to especially shout out Codesmith's Eric Kirsten for his support in the hiring/negotiating process - he is one of those incredible mentors who you feel has your back at every step of the process. Working with him makes you feel like you can do anything! He gave me individual support outside of regular office hours when I was in the thick of the offer/negotiating process, and because of that I was able to negotiate my offer up considerably. I'm incredibly grateful to Eric and the whole Codesmith team!

After dedicating 12 years of my life to nursing, I made a decision to pivot my career and pursue my true passion - technology. The experience provided by the full-time immersive  proved to be both challenging yet immensely fulfilling. It pushed me beyond my limits and helped me realize my true potential, showing that with  determination, I had the potential to be a talented engineer.
For those who are considering a career shift to technology, I highly recommend  Codesmith. The supportive and helpful community offered here is exceptional - before, during, and even after completion of the program. I'm grateful for the lessons learned and the lifelong friendships I developed along the way. They truly changed the trajectory of my life and that of my family.

Attending Codesmith was one of the best things I've ever done in my life. The bottom line I'm sure everyone is looking for (because it's what I was looking for a few months ago when I was scouring these reviews deciding what route to take): I got a fantastic job that surpassed my hopes going into the program.I'm going to start by saying that I believe Software Immersives (including Codesmith) are not for every one. The hours and workload are rigorous and the velocity is FAST. Between the pace of the curriculum and the sheer amount of your daily life it takes up, this is a very demanding program. Like most things in life, you get out of it what you put into it and I put a lot into it. If you're not ready for that commitment, I don't know that the outcome would be beneficial.If you are ready for that commitment, Codesmith is an AMAZING option. Admittedly, I've never attended any of the other Immersives, but my experience at Codesmith was fantastic and I enjoyed just about every bit of it. The staff is incredibly welcoming and supportive (to the point that I joked with a friend that it had a happy cult-like feel in the beginning). But as you start to get into the immersive, you realize you end up needing that support and atmosphere to get through a program like this and Codesmith's faculty are fantastic at that.Codesmith always talks about their curriculum being curated specifically from what is "in demand" these days, and having just completed the job search, I would wholeheartedly agree with this. The reason for the intense pace of the program is to get as many technologies as possible under your belt and although it often (possibly always) felt like I wish I spent more with one or another, I'm glad now to have been exposed to more so I could utilize that in the job search.While virtually every instructor was great, I would like to keep this review as fair as possible, so I will mention that Codesmith does use a Fellow program wherein recent graduates do a lot of the review lectures or one-on-one reviews. I would say sometimes this wasn't ideal, as they were clearly less knowledgable than the instructors, but I will say Codesmith did a good job of always having important or new concepts taught by the instructors first. It does compare in many ways to a Professor/Teaching Fellow relationship in college.When it comes to curriculum, I'm sure many of the people reading this review are considering the self-taught alternative like I was a few months ago. I feel that I'm a fast learner and pretty intelligent, so the self-taught route was one I seriously considered, and when it comes to curriculum, I do think a motivated, intelligent, self-starter could probably teach themselves most of the curriculum with free or cheap resources available online. 3 things ended up making Codesmith more than worth the cost for me in this regard: 1) the speed of the learning. I self-taught for about 3 months in the lead up to Codesmith and by week 2 or 3 in the Codesmith program, I had already surpassed what the amount I managed to self-teach in 3 months. 2) the curation of topics/technologies. There were so many things that I would have never thought to go teach myself, but Codesmith curates all their curriculum from grads see is in demand in the job search, so I learned it at Codesmith and sure enough, it came up in interviews or job postings time and time again.And the third is my final point - the hiring program. I saw someone say that the hiring program itself is worth the full tuition (and let's be honest, with Codesmith's tuition, that's a heck of a statement to make). The hiring program is PHENOMENAL and the one part of Codesmith that I can point to and confidently say it taught me so many things that I would NEVER have come up with on my own. Everything from online profiles to resumes to how you communicate in interviews. They even got me asking for more money than I ever would have dreamed of asking for (and I ended up getting it). I'll shout out two people in the hiring program in particular - Eric and Samantha who were both incredible resources in my job search and the lead up to it.All in all - if you're ready to work hard and devote yourself to this process - I don't think there's a better option than Codesmith.

I attended Codesmith's Full-time Software Engineering Immersive (Central Time) program in January 2022 and it was the best decision I could have ever made. Prior to attending Codesmith, I was working in healthcare and didn't feel fulfilled with what I was doing. After doing some research, I decided to apply to Codesmith and was accepted into the program soon after I passed their interviews.The program itself was about 3 months long with a very rigorous curriculum. I was incredibly nervous going into the program at first since I was coming from a non-technical background. However, the instructors did an amazing job breaking down the topics taught in the lectures and always encouraged students to ask questions if they had trouble understanding anything. Each unit  taught in the program is followed by an assessment where students have the opportunity to work on mini applications in order to demonstrate their understanding of the unit/topic taught that week. There were some assessments that I didn't do too well on but I loved that the fellows/teaching assistants would always go above and beyond by scheduling one-on-one tutoring sessions (we call them APCs) with those students that didn't do too well on the assessments. I also had the opportunity to work on multiple projects, with one of them being an Open-Source project where my group and I built a developer tool that addressed caching issues in software. These group projects were one of the highlights of the program, as you get to learn so many new technologies and see what it's like to work in a team of engineers. Through these group projects, I also made many new lifelong friends and learned other important skills such as agile project management and technical communication.Codesmith also provides their graduates with the opportunity to work as a fellow/teaching assistant, which was what I did after graduation. As a fellow, I was able to teach several approach lectures and hold APCs/tutoring sessions with new students, which helped reinforce a lot of the skills/technologies I had learned in the program.Codesmith also provides their students with extensive hiring support, which I found to be extremely helpful. I was able to improve my resume significantly with their help and learn how to best answer questions asked in an interview setting. With the help of their hiring support, I was able to receive 3 job offers by the end of my fellowship.As someone who transitioned into tech from a non-traditional background, I understand why many people may be hesitant to go through such programs/bootcamps. They are not cheap which is why it's important to find a good program that will truly help you break into tech. Looking back at the past year, I'm glad I enrolled in Codesmith as it has literally changed my life by allowing me to work in a career field that I am genuinely passionate about, earning more than I ever thought I would have. If you are considering attending a software engineering program to help with your transition into tech, Codesmith is a great option!

This is a long review, but I know how intense this process can be for those of you looking at attending a bootcamp. It has now been about a year since I decided to attend a bootcamp to change careers. I looked everywhere online when I settled on going to a bootcamp; I read every review, I watched every video on Youtube, I even messaged alumni of different bootcamps on LinkedIn, and eventually, I found my way to Codesmith. For the last 3 months since the program, I’ve considered myself lucky everyday I made the choice I did.  Codesmith is without question, the best educational environment I’ve had the privilege to learn in. I’ve been lucky enough to go to good schools in the past, but I’m really proud, frankly, to say that this online bootcamp has really left them in the dust in key ways. I’ll make a note here that I was hired as a fellow by the program after my time in the immersive program, so if you need a grain of salt to start, there could be one.   - Admissions: It is worth making a comment right away that getting into Codesmith is not easy, but it is NOT an unjust process like I experienced in other programs. I speak from experience as someone who applied elsewhere, tried to go through admission processes at other places (everyone should have options), and eventually conducted the literal technical interviews for Codesmith myself, the admissions process is doing its job well. I won’t get too lost in the details, but I will say that if you can pass the Codesmith technical interview, you have what it takes to become a software engineer. They test on every quality and detail that I was tested on in a real technical interview for the job I have now. That all said, don’t rush into this process. It is possible, having seen both sides of admissions, to brute force your way through, with time. Do NOT throw $20k into something before you are ready. If you understand, for example, how to add methods to a prototype so they can be inherited by other objects, you could be ready. If you have no idea what I mean by that, do not stress even a little bit; just take your time to learn is my point (:  - Curriculum: The curriculum is fantastic. You will touch all the technologies you need to get a full-stack developer position: Javascript (you’ll be a pro), React, Node.js, Git/Github, etc. However, what you come to appreciate and feel confident in by the end of the program is that you could see any tech, any framework, even any new language, and given realistic timelines / expectations by your team “in the wild” could learn what is needed to solve a problem in whatever tech stack. This is really because — Codesmith doesn’t create cookie-cutter engineers; Codesmith creates first-class problem solvers who communicate empathetically and technically like senior engineers. If you want to understand why outcomes seem so high for this program compared to others, the answer begins with these 2 qualities above all the rest.  - Portfolio: Not a ton to say here, although a ton could be said. It is worth noting that you will have a better time job hunting when you have real open-source products on the resumé. And Codesmith focuses on making you build real, open-source projects before you leave. You don’t want to pay for a program that is tutorial style really, because why not just spend $2k (at most) in Udemy courses and be done with it? Codesmith makes you build in small teams of engineers (like in the real world), on projects that are technically impressive and that are REALLY challenging. You’ll hear “hard learning” thrown around a lot in and out of the program, and there is no form of better learning than solving a bug you’ve been stuck on for 6 hours with a team; this makes a good portfolio for sure.
- Hiring Support: I have so much love for the hiring support team answering every ridiculous, anxious question I ever hit them with, day or night. Codesmith really points you in a direction at the end of the program and teaches you how to carry yourself in interviews in the tech industry. Tech interviews and getting hired generally as a software engineer is honestly very formulaic. It’s almost entirely behavioral / very ceremonial, which was somewhat surprising to me. Codesmith guides you through all of these processes and really do their best to ensure you have support networks (during and after the program) to guide you through the idiosyncrasies of the tech industry. I would NOT have gotten a job as smoothly as I did if it wasn’t for their mentorship.
- Management/Team: This part could be a never-ending rant. I think what you will find, even will find just by attending the free workshops, is that Codesmith is a community of really passionate people that are putting in the work for the right reasons. I truly believe Codesmith only works because the instructors and the management of the organization are people who are passionate about seeing people change their lives. Will Sentance is the founder and owner, and not only will he give your cohort a lecture at the end, but you will get several chances to hear from him throughout the program; could not be any more apparent this person cares about fostering a space for people to change their lives. Eric Kirsten is a senior board advisor that will lead you through the hiring program. Eric is another huge element of the “secret sauce” of success at Codesmith. Takes a certain level of tailored mentorship to get an engineer to negotiate $15k in base salary after only 8-12 months of studying the industry, and Eric will take a hands-on approach to make sure you get that. Phillip Troutman, he’s the chief academic officer, is another key player you’ll hear from often. Let me tell you, part of the secret of Codesmith is convincing students every day they can do everything and anything so that they actually go out and attempt insane feats of engineering; Phillip is the key to that happening. Every program has different instructors, but in the central remote program — Katrina Villanueva and Jared Lewis are *the* reason students understand the core curriculum so well. Their compassion and attention towards student success is without question what makes the CTRI immersive so effective. For the sake of not making this piece of the review endless, I’ll stop here, but yes, there are that many incredible people in this organization.
 - School / Life Balance: There is very little balance. This is my very real, very difficult con for the program that I would not hide from anyone. You will eat, sleep, and breathe Codesmith, which at times will be a lot to handle. This program is hard. You will watch your cohort go lows and highs of imposter syndrome almost daily. It can even feel a bit cult-like, I suppose, at times. But what can I say — you get a room of intelligent people together every day who want to change careers in a (seemingly) impossible time frame into a field that is really challenging and competitive. It isn't crazy to assume that process will be hard, but if you put the work in you’ll be so glad you did it one day. It took me about 10-11 months, from start to finish, from the day I decided to attend Codesmith, to the day I got a job offer.  There are other great programs out there for sure, but if I was to do this all over again, I’d be right back at Codesmith.

Codesmith is the best from the curriculum, instructors, all the way to job support. I was a full-time musician before this and had no technical background. I started by doing CSX challenges and attending workshops, taking JSB and CSPrep, all the way to the immersive. I took on the fellowship after graduation and got a job upon finishing the fellowship, WFH at a tech company in Silicon Vally. Every step of the way, I was supported by the most loving, passionate people, from Codesmith staff to graduates. It’s more of a family than just a community. I received so much love and support here that I want to give back. Many graduates felt the same way as me and went back to giving mock interviews for the current students, sharing their job-searching experiences... If you are on the fence about picking a coding school, I highly highly recommend Codesmith. It’s so beginner friendly. You can start from all the free resources it offers and take the free workshops from its website.

I chose Codesmith for a number of reasons. I was coding as a hobby for a year prior and decided I wanted to "up my game" and attend the best coding boot camp-style program I could find. Codesmith seemed to have the highest ratings (but highest tuition), but I believe that one generally gets what they pay for. And I was very, very right. The tuition is $20k, but I just landed a job that pays $130k. If you look at Codesmith's independent ratings on CIRR.org, you'll see that I'm not really an outlier.Codesmith's program is broken down into three semesters (or, as they call them, "portions"), which are just thirds. The first semester is all lecture. Each week or so, you learn popular frameworks and tools in the following manner: Lecture, pair-programming with a new partner each time, and usually some kind of review lecture (or recitation, to use college terms). There are tons of smaller events and lectures sprinkled in, including coding challenges, approach lectures, code reviews and more. You are given many different types of multifaceted opportunities to continue building and bolstering your coding skills, including hackathons and "hack hours," which are just basically LeetCode challenges; mentorship/menteeship opportunities; tech talks (10+ minute presentations in which you select and present upon a technology/framework/language of your choice), and more. There are social opportunities to make friends and get to better know one another, which builds support and rapport.The second semester is project-based work. You build a few different types of applications on preference-selected teammates. This includes a Solo project (a project you design and build from the ground up, yet you are the only developer); a Scratch project (a project you literally build from the ground up with a team), and an Iteration project (a project you inherit and iterate on, again with a team). Collectively, these projects steadily build skills you'll need in the field. This was my favorite semester because some of the projects I got involved with really gave me memorable experiences I could proudly speak to in interviews following graduation.The third and final semester is a mixed bag. You work on a project called an Open Source Product, or OSP, which is supposed to be your flagship project that you will eventually publicly release and show off on your resume (above your other projects, presumably). This project is supposed to instill skills that mimic the real world as much as possible. Here, you're forced to build a "developer tool" (rather than some random cool idea you might have), so you look extra smart and altruistic building a tool that directly helps the developer community. You're also encouraged to build it using tools and frameworks that haven't been taught in the program thus far, so it's a great opportunity to explore and, essentially, run wild and have fun. Towards the end (and, luckily, after the release of your OSP), you'll build a Reinforcement Project, which is your (and your team's) opportunity to explore more technologies that you either love or wish to explore further. You'll also have a bunch of super fascinating lectures on other tools and such that I found very fun to learn (build tools, TypeScript, CI/CD pipelines, etc). You may or may not have heard of those things, but I will tell you this: If you want a job in this field, you'll have to know what those things are, and Codesmith does a greatjob of preparing you.While this program was incredible and very worth my money/time, I only have two criticisms of it: (1) There is somewhat of a lack of real-world preparation. Sure, Codesmith gives you valuable experiences that help you in the real world, but there are many aspects of being a software engineer that Codesmith simply doesn't teach you about. This includes Agile methodology, scrum meetings, tickets, backlogs, sprints, etc. While you may or may not have heard of these terms, they are absolute backbones to this field, and Codesmith never really spoke about any of them. (2) The other criticism I had is that several of the people delivering "career advice" on software engineer job interviewing and salary negotiation, or who offered career support, weren't even in the field of software engineering. Like, really? While the staff who offered advice on this stuff were helpful -- how can I take advice on software engineering interview best practices and salary negotiation from some 24-year-old who's never had a software engineering role in their lives, and is far less knowledgeable than myself? Not to sound ageist or snobby, but I'd much rather take that kind of advice from someone who not only works in the field, but has for a long time. This is surely not unreasonable, especially considering I'm shelling out $20k, the price of a college degree. And I've noticed that, at least in my cohort, this lack of experienced staff was a bit of a pattern I started to notice towards the end (the guy offering weekly salary negotiation lectures in software engineering never worked a software engineering role in his life and was simply giving "general advice" ... no thanks!).Criticisms aside, this program is the way to go. I've met plenty of people who've come from different programs, and based on what they've all said, this is the best one. You're well-prepared, immersed deeply, and will have a ton of fun becoming an analytical, efficient and empathetic engineer. I wouldn't have done it any other way. Having landed a job after 2 months post-graduation, I can say that the skills I used to interview almost entirely came from my experience at Codesmith.

The results speak for themselves, and luckily it did for me too.I was not hired by Codesmith at any point so I hope my perspective can offer meaningful insight. I’ll be as honest as possible, including the parts I thought were challenging. Nothing is ever perfect, but rest assured - I highly recommend Codesmith, and I’m glad I chose Codesmith over other programs.
Like with any learning institution, simply completing it will not itself guarantee a job. Instead, Codesmith gives you every tool, resource and support you need to push yourself to the place you want - which is no small feat. I’d also give a fair warning that you have to be in a physically and mentally prepared place to complete the program. I couldn't have done this without my partner and family's support. A little background: I started the career transition process a little over a year ago. My path is completely non-traditional (although I was on a STEM/engineering track for a while until I decided against it mid-undergrad... but now, I am at a different point in life). Last June, I started taking some informal computer science classes and tutorials, attending Codesmith's free workshops and their JavaScript for Beginners course. I really liked the teaching style and was impressed by their strong outcomes, so I began preparing to get into Codesmith. I took CS Prep, and completed their online resource CSX which dived deeper into JavaScript. Passed the interview, and was excited to finally begin. A lot of prep work - but necessary! This review will be long, so bear with me. CURRICULUM Codesmith's curriculum uses a modern technology stack and teaches you basically everything you need to get the foot in the door for many mid-senior level places. 
There is zero handholding not only in the curriculum, but throughout the duration of the program. This is both a good and bad thing, but mostly good. Bad because it’s hard, and good because it prepares you to navigate ambiguity in the real world. In other words, Codesmith's teaching style encourages you to learn by doing, which in my opinion allows for the course material to actually stay with you.
Each lesson, you are provided with a short, higher-level overview and demo of a specific topic before being thrown right in. The demo only gives you a taste of what’s to come - the assignments (which you pair program on) is where you struggle the most, but also learn the most. 
After you work through as much as you can with your partner, the instructors hold a session where they walk everyone through the solution, and suddenly things start making a lot more sense. I really liked this approach and I thought it was extremely effective. 
PROJECT PHASE (OPEN SOURCE PRODUCT)The second part of the program (project phase) may require you to put in even more hours, but at the same time is way more fun. You finally get to build things you can be proud of and put on your resume. 
Most projects are team-based (4-5 people per team), and only one (the first one) is solo. The final one - the Open Source Product (OSP) - is an excellent, unique chance to gain some real experience on how to develop and release something that everyday developers will use in a practical sense. 
For the OSP, you can really prioritize software design, infrastructure and best engineering practices here (pipelines, version control, testing, code architecture and system design, Agile methodology, etc.) and learn some additional highly marketable technologies quite deeply to bolster your resume and talk about during your interview. 
I personally poured my heart and soul into the OSP. The results were fruitful and helped plenty down the line during my job search. 
COMMUNITYBesides the curriculum and projects, Codesmith really centers itself around ego-less and empathetic engineering. 
The instructors and staff are extremely kind and truly care about your learning experience and growth as an engineer. 

There were optional fun activities, socials and even a women/non-binary space throughout the program! Codesmith genuinely tries to foster a safe and supportive environment, and I've made wonderful friends through this experience. 
You also get access to the alumni space after you graduate. 
HIRING SUPPORTThe hiring portion is good, but I struggled with this the most. 
What I really loved was the actual resume reviews/edits, hiring support engineers who help you 1-1, negotiation strategies, designing your narrative and practicing it, and the larger alumni network. All incredibly valuable and sealed the deal for me. 
While Codesmith offers you the knowledge you need to build practical engineering skills and have relevant items to list in your resume and talk about in your interviews (which is impressive), it does not provide you the loads of practice you might need to actually get through interviews. I'm emphasizing this because I personally wanted structured practice during the program. In my ideal world, I think Codesmith's hiring portion could have been less “trust the process,” at least a month total with continued structure. But I will say everyone’s experiences vary, so what’s true for me may not be true for someone else.
POST-GRADUATIONAfter the hiring program, you graduate. Now, you have your cohort support group and access to the entire alumni network. You can ask for resources, advice, networking and emotional support. 
I thought I’d put in effort during the program, but it was nowhere as difficult as the job search. This isn't to scare anyone - but it's the reality, especially for those with non-traditional backgrounds. 
I was ready for it, though. At the end of the day, this was a 180 degree career transition for me and I know it could have been so much more difficult otherwise. I was willing to put up with anything. But that doesn’t mean it wasn’t hard and mentally draining!
For me, the "practice" I mentioned earlier spanned across months, unstructured because it was 100% dependent on how many mock interviews I could schedule + how many real phone screens and technicals I could get. The no-handholding part was brutal for me until hire.
You have to seek it all out and learn on your own, especially in areas you're not too confident about (thankfully, your peers and other grads will be on a similar timeline, so you’ll be able to support each other). For instance, for me the data structures and algorithms curriculum was nowhere near enough to be prepared for Leetcode-style interview questions. 
Things you’ll have to do on your own time until you land a job, with resources but without any of Codesmith's programmatic structure:
Grinding Leetcode, diving deeper into system design, or doing code reviews / pair programming / mock interviews with other grads. (My advice: Locate where you're hitting a wall, isolate the issue and learn/practice what to do next time. Debugging in real life.)
Outside of technical prep, I had to edit my narrative many times, which I only knew how by putting myself out there. This meant diving head-first into the phone screenings, failing them and/or realizing "oh I should have said this, not that," debriefing and getting feedback from other grads about my answers, and so on. 
The interviews you do become new sources of learning, iteration and continuous improvement. This is especially relevant for those like me, who may not be the most natural at interviewing. The more you do, the more at ease you become and the better it gets. 
OVERALL -  YES, GO FOR ITAll in all, Codesmith’s approach works. What stood out to me was: 
Learning, but also learning how to learn new technologies
Pair programming, ego-less and empathetic engineering
Sincerely supportive staff who care about your growth during the program, and after you graduate
Adapting, wearing multiple hats, making tough decisions in the face of ambiguity and using best engineering practices while working in teams on a product - reflecting a real engineering work environment
Thorough resume/LinkedIn reviews and job search resources
Designing your narrative for interviews and tips on how to talk about your past projects (especially something as impressive as the OSP)
Alumni network and the option to have 1-1 support from engineers who have hiring experience
Eventually, about five months after graduating the program - after hundreds of applications, countless rejections, and a lot of learning - I was able to land a pretty sweet role that I'm excited about. Looking back, I’m glad to have chosen Codesmith based on the positive experience I had - plus personally experiencing the result it boasts of. It will be HARD but certainly worth it if you're ready to take the leap. Without hesitation, I'd recommend Codesmith to anyone serious about a career change.

After going through the full-time immersive program, I can confidently say that Codesmith was the best choice of bootcamps and it absolutely changed my life. I come from an engineering background and like many others, I shopped around quite a bit before deciding on the right program. Codesmith caught my eye because of its high bar for entry, its curriculum and tech stack, its resources including CSX and hard-parts lectures, and its amazing outcomes from testimonials and CIRR reports. However, what really sold me on Codesmith above all other reasons was its community. I became part of such a welcoming, friendly, and smart community that all had an interest in bettering themselves and everyone around them from my first day of joining the CSX Slack channel. And that community was present throughout my first hard-parts lectures, my CSPrep class, my immersive program graduation, my hiring support, and into today. The community remains a huge part of my life and I have made wonderful connections and friends throughout my time.So much could be said of why Codesmith is so successful, but I truly believe that they have captured lightning in a bottle. The community that I mentioned is the first part of that. The curriculum is intense and focused on modern tech stacks, in-depth topics of learning, and hands-off approaches that force the students to learn to learn.  The program also focuses on building passion projects and involving the students in open source work that is both challenging and teaching moments for the students, but also marketable in the job search as proof of problem-solving at the forefront of the current developer environment. The last piece that brings it all together is the amazing hiring support that Codesmith provides for its alumni. It is for life, on-demand, informed, and invested in the graduates' success. I personally had connections I made through the program willing to help me make connections to secure referrals and get me noticed.Codesmith made me a software engineer. I would not change anything about my experience and would recommend Codesmith to anyone looking to follow the same path.

I graduated from Codesmith three years ago and never really thought about my relationship with Codesmith after securing my first job. I was recently laid off and I can say that Codesmith is still in your corner after graduation. We have access to lots of resources, such as resume reviews and mock interviews. I was also able to successfully negotiate with the help from one of the advisors. Three years ago, I was glad that I picked Codesmith because of their curriculum and how the program grew me as an engineer, but now I am also grateful for the continuing support that I have received from Codesmith!

I had a really positive experience with Codesmith - throughout the program and beyond. I originally was on track with another boot camp that I found to not be challenging enough and lacking in support. I reached out to an academic advisor at Codesmith and immediately felt more welcomed. I switched to Codesmith at the last minute and am so thankful for that. The community is super positive, all the staff is so friendly and helpful. Going through the 3-month immersive is really challenging, but it's much easier to do it with people that care. I felt like I learned a lot of different topics to be able to work in a full-stack role upon graduating. I definitely think that you'll need to continue to study and learn in your role out of Codesmith, as there's just too much you can possibly learn in a 3 month period. But it's definitely enough to get you into a mid-to-senior level role. The hiring support was and still is stellar! Probably one of the biggest reasons I recommend Codesmith. I found a role soon after graduating, and after being there for a month, I found the work environment to be really toxic. I decided to leave and find another role - and the Codesmith hiring team was SO supportive. They continued to check on me, offer me support, and just made me feel not alone through the process. I ended up getting four more offers soon after and joined another company I'm much happier at. My final thoughts: The community of alumni here is a HUGE asset. I still communicate with most of my cohort and have made great friendships online and offline - despite being in the remote program. I cannot recommend Codesmith enough if you're looking to get into Software and land a really solid job. 

I chose Codesmith because I perceived it to be the most rigorous program out there with regards to curriculum, portfolio, and job support, and it absolutely delivered on these promises. Here's a breakdown of how each manifested:– Curriculum: the first part of the program is built around hard learning, challenges, and pair programming. Most units are taught over the course of a few days, which start with lectures and then continue with challenges meant to push you to learn and develop as an engineer. You do these challenges with a pair programming partner and also engage in other common practices like code reviews and collaborative coding. Not only are you developing your coding skills, but you are also learning how to interact with other engineers and problem solve through tough technical challenges. You're killing two birds with one stone.– Portfolio: I believe Codesmith stands out the most from other bootcamps in this area. During my program, I worked on a variety of projects across the full stack (frontend, backend, DevOps, etc.), and this is where you get to put your skills to the test. You learn what it takes to break down complex applications to their component pieces, plan out how to approach the implementation, and then work through bugs and issues. The cornerstone of the program, the Open Source Product, pushes you to solve complicated engineering challenges by finding and solving pain points in the developer community. During this phase, you explore new tech, face challenges you can't just Google away, and gain a deeper understanding of the ambiguous problems professional engineers face.– Job support: you receive career support from the Codesmith team for life which is a fantastic perk. If you feel like you need more resume help, they'll do as many iterations as you need. If you want more mock interviews, they have that covered too. If you just want to talk about the emotional struggle of job searching, you can talk to the staff or you can lean on your cohortmates or post-grad hiring group. They have all the bases covered and will continue to support you as long as you need or want it.For anyone wanting to take the leap into the world of software engineering, this is a rigorous program that delivers on its results and is there to support you in your journey.