NYC Onsite Software Engineering Immersive

Having done a TON of research on ALL the bootcamps, I feel very confident that 1) the Codesmith residency is the best 'bootcamp' availabile, and 2) I made the correct decision in choosing Codesmith (I applied and got into all the major alternatives). Here are the main reasons:

1) It's the hardest to get into. A lot of the program is pair-programming and projects. You have to struggle and build, and if you don't have smart, capable people around you, you won't get as much out of it,

2) The curriculum is geared towards projects. Not just 'build a commerce website', but projects that are impressive, applicable to developers, and look good on resumes,

3) Phil - the main instructor in New York, and Will - the founder - are both natural teachers and speakers that keep you engaged and help make complicated concepts digestable and relatable. But maybe even more importantly, they're both genuinely invested in you and your development and success. 

4) The culture - it's a fun place to be, and if you're going to be spending 80 hours a week somewhere, that's pretty important.

I just want to mention how phenomenal Codesmith was during my time there. 

Codesmith was my second bootcamp and it was an absolutely different experience compared to my first. The reason I'm writing this review is because I feel that Codesmith is a bootcamp that doesn't get the exposure it deserves in terms of their absolute dedication to software engineering excellence.

During my time as a resident, I had the pleasure of working on a major production project with three other engineers, one who graduated from Harvard in Data Science, specializing in Python and SQL databases, another who was the lead marketing manager for a technology startup, and the third had 10 years professional work experience as a DevOps engineer. Needless to say it was a different feeling here in terms of the type of residents/students coming to study here.

I was "partly" surprised about how patient all of my other cohort-mates/colleagues were, especially coming from their prestigious backgrounds. But the reason I say "partly" is because this is what makes the Codesmith community amazing. The community at Codesmith is as much about the culture as it is about the level of engineering. And that was something that made this bootcamp experience much more memorable and worth every penny and minute!!

The production project for me was the most rewarding piece because we built a developer tool to test the interoperability between a developer's different microservices. If someone was to tell me that I would have been technically able to build this before the program, I would have said they're crazy. But not only did I feel technically able to take on bigger challenges like this, I felt emotionally empowered too. 

Lastly, I just want to say everything, from top to bottom was amazing. Who would of thought someone like me, who started to learn how to code less than a year ago would be able to say I am a Codesmith graduate and a newly hired Software Engineer within the same week of graduating the program.

Hey All,

I wanted to give a review of Codesmith, because I've had such an amazing experience there - completing my immersive this Friday.

I'll go into details later, but I think there are two things about Codesmith that are inarguably better than other boot camps, instructors and job assistance.

Instructors

 Your lead instructor in New York is Phil Troutman with ample lessons also provided by the founder, Will Sentance.   They are two of the most charismatic speakers I've ever listened to, and they know what they're talking about.  They're also the same two people giving hard parts talks, what I sampled for free and convinced me to join the camp is exactly what I got when I was in the immersive.  I highly recommend attending hardparts to get a feel yourself.   

Curriculum

Codesmith focused on Front-end(React, Redux), Back-end (Node, Express), Testing (Jest), Devops (Amazon).  Their technologies are chosen based on the job market, which is exactly what I wanted.  Their style of teaching is very much "hard learning", meaning they give you the 50,000ft overview of a technology and then ask you to start working in it.  The goal is push students into those corners where you need to figure things out yourself and that is... hard.  However, everytime you hit one of those blocks and push through your ability (to understand documents and programming concepts) as well as your technical skillset grows immensely.  They will finally close out a particular technology with an in-depth lesson that clarifies any of the things you weren't able to solve on your own or had an incomplete understanding of.

Job Assistance

One of the two things, I think Codesmith does incredibly well is help you get a job.  The assistance with structuring your resume, understanding how to properly interview and present yourself, those things aren't happening in the same way at other boot camps.  It's integral that you actually learn how to code, but equally important that you're able to convince others of the same once your program is complete.  The job assistance is the secret sauce that puts Codesmith over the edge, it's an entirely different skillset from coding an absolute must to be successful.  Whether you're fresh out of high-school or have 15 years of experience, they take the time to provide actionable steps to getting phone interviews and ultimately, offers (9 years of non-technical experience myself).  

Overall

I can't say enough how great the experience at Codesmith has been. I've exculsively focused on the actual work thus far, but the community is just as great.  They preach "empathetic coding" and it shows.  I've had many nights when people have stayed until midnight to help me understand concepts I've been stuck on (Redux!) and vice versa.  The instructors, curriculum, the community all top notch, my strong recommendation is to check it out yourself and see if feels right.    

One of the best parts about codesmith, in my mind, that separates it from other bootcamps is the culture of engineering excellence. Technical communication, and engineering empathy (not being a dick) is a big part of the screening process on who they accept into the program, so when I started with my co-hort, I was surrounded by incredibly talented peers to work alongside. That being said, it is incredibly challenging. There is little to no hand-holding, which makes the struggle all the more satisfying when you make it out on the other side, and ultimately is what forged me into the engineer I am now. Can't say enough about this place, the people, and how it has changed my life. 

I was at Cohort 9 NY (January - April 2019). I've had an Associates Degree in CS before I started the program but wanted to accelerate myself into the field, so I decided to join Codesmith. It wasn't an easy decision - $18k is A LOT of money, but I couldn't be happier about it. Studying was very hard - first half of the program you jump into a new topic every day, spending about 80 hours on campus, many including myself spend a few nights here. Still, every step of the program you feel tremendous support from every single person surrounding you: form a cohort-mate to the CEO (thanks, Will!) 

RESULT: I got my first offer precisely two weeks after graduation, two more the week after. I started my first software engineer job less than a month after finishing the program.

CONCLUSION: as for a person who only worked at the restaurants it was hard for me to imagine that in less than half a year I'd be able to turn my life upside-down: do things I enjoy every day and earn way above $100k. 

CODESMITH, THANK YOU!

I'm writing this review as I finally cleared my background check for my mid-level offer after 1 month of graduating from Codesmith in order to shine light for those who are in my position 4 months ago.

In that sense, I'll speak to what I wish I would have read before making the leap to Codesmith. If you're reading this, you've probably narrowed down your choices to the top bootcamps - Fullstack, HR, App Academy - but maybe you've heard of Codesmith or went to JS the Hard Parts. That was me and I was ready to go to Fullstack until I went to one workshop and immediately changed my mind. 

To me the big 3 differentiators of Codesmith are:

1. Results.

In the end, that's what we care about right? Codesmith has been consistently getting its graduates 6 figure salaries and now they have the audited data to prove it. If you go to CIRR, you can see their average salary way over any bootcamp in NY, and I believe the US. Some bootcamps even started leaving off their results because of how bad it's gotten. As I recently interviewed, I can speak to why - the industry is getting fierce as bootcamps and colleges are churning out more and more grads. While other bootcamps stayed complacent, Codesmith innovated - as the hiring program is phenomenal and is not comparable to anything else offered. Other bootcamps just tell you to make your resume look pretty and give you mock interviews but Codesmith's hiring program seriously prepares you to not only pass the interviews, but to get the interviews - which is the most important part. Coming out of a bootcamp, especially with no experience, you're already going to have a hard time getting interviews but not Codesmith grads. Some people in my cohort had to disable their notifications because they were getting spammed with interview requests by recruiters.

2. Community

Well, now you're probably wondering if Codesmith has such great results, why aren't they as well known as all the others? Well, its because Codesmith doesn't go for guerilla marketing like others. When I was googling coding terms, and even now, I couldn't go 5 minutes without seeing a Fullstack Academy ad. When I finished Hack Reactor Prep, I couldn't go 5 days without seeing an email reminder telling me to sign up for the next cohort. Why? Because those bootcamps were acquired and are incentivized work to increase their bottom line and churn out grads. I didn't want to feel like I was just another face in a sea of students. Codesmith doesn't do guerilla marketing and keeps its cohorts small, having only 2 in person running at each time. One in their senior phase, to mentor the juniors, who are in the beginning phase. That way education quality is upheld, more individual attention can be given, and everyone forms lasting relationships.

3. Project

If you check out the Codesmith projects, you'll realize why grads get only mid level offers or higher. Instead of building some slack/airbnb clone or some random thing no one will ever use, grads are building developer tools that people actually use. Trust me - when your interviewer hears that your project was starred by core team members of the framework you're USING - I promise you they'll be impressed.

In the end, if you work hard enough, you can join the Codesmith family of software engineers, all whose lives have been changed by this experience. I encourage anyone out there learning to code to keep working hard, and come to a Thursday night workshop at Codesmith and see what it really is all about!

As a veteran in the software industry, I'd highly recommend Codesmith's Software Engineering Immersive Program to anyone who wishes to learn more about coding. Looking back at my period there, I was able to learn more about what it means to be as a software engineer.

Before I joined the program, I had planned on enjoying while being in the program and simultaneously looking for jobs. However, throughout the program, although I had fun, it really took a lot out of me even if I were to disregard to my job as a software engineer that I attended to after everyday at Codesmith. Although the program is just 3 months, the program can be very intense if you are not fully ready to get indulged in the program. I thought it was intensive beecause of all the challenges I specifically looked for and the challenges that were unexpectedly thrown at me. BUT I enjoyed them still regardless. I enjoyed them because it was an experience that I did not encounter anywhere else and it allowed myself to grow as a more cultured software engineer. Even as a student whom with prior software engineering experience, multiple hackathon winner, and a bachelors in software engineering from a pretty prestigious university, I felt that Codesmith was a valuable experience for me. In terms of techncality and learning materials, they are pretty up to date with the technologies that are being sought to be used by a lot of companies, especially startups. You can still aim for bigger companies, but a lot of the bigger companies have slower adoptions with modern technologies (except for like the big 5 such as Google, Microsoft, and etc) that they teach. However, it really doesn't matter what technologies you use or they teach you because the main goal of this program is teach you how to think programmatically and from a software engineer's perspective. And really, this is a mandatory skill in software engineering and a lot of the big companies like Google mainly look at this and how strong you are at it during the hiring process. As well, in cultural perspective, I think Codesmith has an alright culture going on. They like to keep the atmosphere very positive and encouraging, but I think it is a good choice since they know that a lot of the students and applicants that come here are coming from a variety of background. They would like to encourage that anyone can do it, regardless of the background!

My overall suggestion is that you get what you put into this program. In my honest opinion, look for challenges that actually makes you go nuts. While being in the program, a lot of people will go crazy over a framework or library, but in my opinion that's normal. That is what the program is intended to do to their students. So that everyone can be challenged. However, if that is not enough challenge for you or you would like to add more complexity, go for it even if it is just for fun becasuse at the end, you will get more out of it in my honest opinion. Also, in the progarm, there is a portion called Production Project. I'd reccomend doing something really really crazy because this is where you will get most of it. Again just challenge youself above your limits. Overall, I think this was an interesting experience that I did go through and I wouldn't mind recommending to the readers who are reading this review right now!

If you're looking for a purely objective criteria for figuring out whether to attend to Codesmith, then you can easily find the average salary of its graduates on the website. It's a little over 110k. I just recently graduated and about half of my cohort has signed or is in the process of signing offers with cool companies with great salaries (in line with or above the average) within 1 month of graduation and I am highly confident the rest will have signed offers within 3-6 months.

Now that we have gotten that out of the way, I am going to highlight some of the other aspects of Codesmith that are also important in making Codesmith an invaluable experience and setting it apart from other programs.

1. The curriculum

Over the course of the program you will dive into technologies including but not limited to React, Redux, Node, Express, Mongo, Postgres. Also, Codesmith is devoted to continually updating the curriculum and adding value based on alumni feedback. They added an AWS module to the curriculum (my cohort was the first to receive it), after hearing that most of their graduates are interfacing with AWS in some way. 

Pair-programming is one of the main pillars of learning and growing as a resident at Codesmith and you will be engaging in it for the majority of your first six-weeks at Codesmith. So if you don't work well with others then Codesmith might not be the program for you.

2. The staff

The instructors at Codesmith are all super knowledgable, super passionate, and can break down complex topics into manageable chunks really well, but don't take my word for it. Every Thursday night Codesmith hosts a free meetup called Javascript The Hard Parts, where they deep dive into advanced javascript concept such as closures, or higher-order functions. I was blown away by the level of detail, how much I learned, and the amount of clarity I left with by just attending their free workshop. Phill (The lead of NY) and Will (CEO) who usually teach the meetup are also instructors during the residency so you know you will be getting that same great experience throughout the program as well.

The fellows are also very hardworking and help round out the experience by providing help sometimes even long after the day has "officially ended". Examples range from helping you to understand that concept/algorithm/technology to providing guidance on whipping your resume into shape. The fellows are all instances of empathy in engineering and a big part of the reason that the community is so great.

Can’t forget the non-technical staff as well. Software engineering is mostly technical but there is a value in soft skills as well. And it’s very helpful in having people there to help in those areas as well.

3. Amazing Cohorts

The class sizes are small. My cohort had a total of 16 residents - all with varying technical backgrounds, from less technical (on paper) to computer science degrees. Going through a program like Codesmith with a small class size allows you to really connect with your fellow cohort-mates. It's really easy to bond with your fellow residents after struggling and challenging one another to push and continually break through each other's limits to get to the next level over the course of three months. I have made connections and bonds with my cohort that I will foster for the rest of my career as a software engineer.

4. Projects / Production Project

Codesmith is fast paced. Most of the lectures take place within the first four weeks and after that you will working mostly on projects moving forward. You will work on solo, scratch, iteration, production, and reinforcement projects.  Each of these projects allow you to gain greater experience and depth with technologies learned in the earlier part of the program as well as those technologies that are not covered but you might have an interest it.

The most important project out of these is the production project. For the production project you will have about 4-5 weeks to dive deep into certain technologies with a group of residents. It really is amazing what the cohort can accomplish in this time. Again, don't take my word for it, you can check out some of them at https://www.codesmith.io/software-engineering-immersive-projects. I don't think other programs are producing these types of projects.

4. The community

A new cohort starts every six weeks. Your first six weeks is your junior phase, and the next six weeks after that is the senior phase. Juniors and seniors utilize the same space. When you just start the program it helps to have a group of people who just went through the same process that you are about to through as well. Not only do you have your own cohort mates to network and connect with you have the one before you, when you are in the junior phase as well, as the one after you, when you enter the senior phase as well. Of course, you also have access to all of the other Codesmith alumni working at great companies as well.

5.  Hiring Support

The hiring program at Codesmith might be worth about half of the cost of the program alone. As you progress through the latter half of the program you will start the hiring phase. This includes countless resume iterations that will get your resume in the best shape it probably has ever been, how to negotiate your salary, and how to approach the job search, and more. 

Even after you graduate there are check-ins every two weeks to see how things are going in your job search and they will help you iterate on your approach based on your feedback. You can even schedule mock interviews with Codesmith as well.

All that being said, it feels weird calling Codesmith a bootcamp. Codesmith, is a software engineering residency that will undoubtly change the course of your life.

Shout outs to Will, Phil, Ryan, Dave, Olivia, Kyle, Victoria, Joel, Christine, Raphael, and Altai and cohorts 8,9 and 10.

There are already a lot of reviews that focus on what the program is like and why they personally enjoyed it. So instead I will just make two points that I believe are important:

​1. Who Should Go To Codesmith

There is a reason why Will (the founder) markets CS as a residency for experienced engineers — it is because the value that the program provides grows exponentially with the more experience you have.

I wanna stress this because I feel that a lot of people might fall for this narrative: "I feel like I already know too much to join a bootcamp". And this could not be more false when it comes to CS. If you do not have a job that pays 120k+, then this program is for you (assuming you want one of course). And the reason is that the core value of CS is NOT the technical knowledge it provides: we all have access to the Internet, you can learn everything here. The value lies on the engineering narrative you will build while being exposed 14hrs+/day in a structured way to modern technologies that companies value nowadays. 

2. How Codesmith Gets You A Job

I will reason about this from my personal narrative. So I finished the program and I start following the very specific and detailed instructions on how to apply for jobs. I started getting phone screens, then a few take homes, but it wasn't after a few onsite interviews that I realized how CS had actually prepared me for this process.

Looking back to the interviews, I started noticing that a lot of the questions I was asked were in the shape of "have you ever heard of this technology?" or "do you have any experience working with X". And that is where the CS experience comes into play: having spent over 14hrs/day being exposed to modern technologies and "living" with people that share your same interest, I could instantly relate those questions to my experience in CS. Whether it was during a morning coffee chat or during one of the exercise units, I had indeed heard of it.

So tldr: I highly recommend Codesmith to anyone that is really passionate about software engineering. It will be tough, but — as they say — trust the process and the rewards are very real. 

I came across Codesmith after attending one of their free Javascript the Hard Parts Thursday classes and I was immediately hooked. The instructors such as Will and Phil are outstanding, their ability to break down these giant topics into smaller chunks in a form that anyone can understand is phenomenal. The community is also very inviting and determined in the growth of everyone in the class. After attending several JSHP classes, I decided it was time to enroll in their next cohort and this was one of the best decisions of my life.

To define Codesmith as just a coding boot camp would be an understatement. It is a software engineering residency. The first six weeks of the program are the junior phase where you learn new topics in two-day units. The units consist of about 10% lecture and 90% programming with a partner. I was a little put off by this idea at first, but as the days went on I realized that the best way to learn is to struggle through the material together with less hand-holding as possible. You can still request help from the existing fellows and seniors in the program if you ever get stuck but they are there to help you think and guide you rather than blatantly give you the answer. The topics that are covered are always current with the latest and greatest. During my time we covered algorithms, data structures, DOM Manipulation, React, Node, PostgreSQL, Mongo, and Testing, to name a few. Near the end of the junior phase, you will have an opportunity to work on different projects using the technologies you have learned thus far. In addition to all of these units, we had a number of extra activities like weekly family dinners, circles, hackathons, and Thursday night drinks. This all helped bring the cohorts together and made it feel like we were all part of one team.

The six weeks of the course focus a big production project that you and your group come up with during ideation week of the program and hiring support. During this time you are encouraged to include technologies that you have not learned thus far to include in your project. It was a bit overwhelming at first to apply new technologies to our projects, but the first six weeks taught me a very valuable lesson which is learning how to learn, knowing what to do when you get stuck. Through our research were able to overcome any blocks that we encountered at a much faster pace than I thought we could.

Comparing myself to before I started this program and I realized how much I have grown as an engineer, a mentor, and just overall being okay with not knowing everything but also having the ability to overcome blocks. Now I'm not saying it's easy, there were very long strenuous days and a lot of material to go over, but if you're committed to growing as an empathetic and confident engineer then there is no better place than Codesmith. If you're still on the fence I would recommend attending their JavaScipt the Hard Parts classes and I will promise you will not be disappointed.

Given that one understands the personal commitment required, I reccomend Codesmith wholeheartedly. Five reasons why:

1. There's a hiring day. Nothing compares to sitting down and doing a real interview. Eight companies came by.  A hiring day gives you incomparable experience.

2. I got to work on specific cutting-edge technologies. Of note: testing with Jest and Enzyme. Dockerization. Learning to navigate AWS.

3. The production project. The project ideas come from the students themselves. The teachers approve ideas, but do not supply them. I worked on a testing and mocking tool for gRPCs. I worked at least 13 hours a day, six days a week, for 5 weeks. Usually about 15 hours. I learned a ton, and I'm proud of what I made. We self-learned about RPC systems, protobufs, HTTP2 - all sorts of nonsense. There is no course for these things. Only documentation. Reading it gave me depth and experience. We wanted a professional, responsive UI and our team broke our backs make it clean and fast.

4. The people. I put in an insane amount of time. My teammates matched me hour-for-hour. The level of dedication and commitment is very very high.

5. Sensitivity is valued. There is strong support for underrepresented groups in tech. Codesmith tries very hard to foster a positive environment for its students, and I think it shows. Instructors and staff explicitly make themselves available when students feel uncomfortable or stressed. Staff check in with each student individually on a regular basis.

You get what you put into the program. It is not for everyone. There was laughter, tears. It was usually fun and very hard. An absurd experience, and intense. For me, absolutely worth it. For most, the Codesmith system works. People are getting good jobs coming out of the program.

Some cons - the program is getting too large. Cohorts in LA are much too large, in my opinion. It is too loud and they need more bathrooms. You need a certain amount of self-reliance. The instructors do the best they can, but they can not be there for everyone. The program heavily benefits people who thrive in situations where questions are vague and demand that people seek their own solutions. You are paying 17k to be asked questions - not to be given answers. This seems like poor teaching practice. As someone who has real, formal training in the classroom - I vouch for approach to teaching, with reservations. It fosters creativity, but it is badly frustrating, and it feels awful to fail constantly.

A very high reccomendation with strong reservations.

I was pushed to my limits and beyond. They taught me data structures, React/Redux, Node/Express, SQL and NoSQL databases, and much more. It's crazy how far I've come from no technical experience to now being a fullstack Software Engineer. I'm grateful for the opportunity I was given here and will never forget the experience. 

This is not a typical bootcamp - it's literally a residency. I've gained invaluable skills here and developed a close relationship with each of my classmates in my cohort.

Their hiring program is amazing - they really want you to get the best offer possible - and as with everything else they teach, it's a very in-depth program.

Looking back on the last 3 months, I can safely say that joining the Codesmith community has been one of the best experiences of my life. It was a remarkable journey of rewarding challenges that taught me so much not just about programming, but about myself.

When I first decided to pursue coding, I did a lot of research looking into the many programs New York City had to offer. I remember the pivotal moment when a friend of mine suggested Codesmith’s “JavaScript the Hard Parts” class offered every Thursday evening, because attending that first class changed everything.

I found a community of supportive, passionate people who fostered an environment of collaboration and growth, the likes of which I had never seen anywhere else.

When I was accepted into the 3 month program, I found the excitement and passion for problem solving to be infectious, and I felt invigorated every day to push myself harder, and learn as much as I possibly could.

The instructors are amazing. Not only do they have an incredible wealth of knowledge, but they also possess the ability to dynamically teach it to others, and I think that’s very important to note.  The most important thing you gain from your Codesmith residency though, is the tool chest to learn anything. You are fundamentally trained to be able to figure your way through any technical block, and this is an invaluable skill.

Maybe you’re wondering… does it really work? Can I really get a job afterwards? The numbers don’t lie, and the answer is yes. The average salary is around 120k and my cohort is seeing these offers and better ones already. It’s only been a few weeks since we graduated.

My advice to you: Go for a visit on a Thursday evening and meet everyone. You’ll see what I mean. I can’t recommend it enough!

Sometimes it's hard to know if you made the right choice until you look back on it and I can say for 100% certainty that going Codesmith was one of the best decisions I made!

Of course, I didn't go through all the other schools/bootcamps but I did a lot of extensive research on all the options before deciding on Codesmith. Why I ultimately decided Codesmith was the right fit for me was... 1. The smaller class sizes allow you to receive more attention and bond with classmates 2. The production project (building projects that help the developer community) 3. Phil, Will, Dave, and all the other Instructors/fellows... you can replace curriculum but you can't replace great instructors!

When I was initially interviewing for other bootcamps, I felt like I was one of just another person of incoming students. Phil and Will, on the other hand, made me feel like I was part of a community and I really felt they cared about my personal growth above all else. 

The curriculum was amazing but more than that the community was the best thing about Codesmith! I've learned a lot from my fellow classmates and the energy that everyone brings is what Codesmith strives to cultivate.

Was it worth the price? Well, whether you find a job or not, you grow in every way possible. So in short answer... yes! What are you waiting for? ;)

If you're in a rush here is the information you want:
After completing the residency at Codesmith I received multiple offers of which the lowest was $120k. This is an objective fact. No smoke, no mirrors.

Another objective fact: my first offer was 13 days after I entered the market.

With that said, I want to be very clear about the end goal here. It is not about money. The end goal is mastery of your craft. It just so happens that companies will pay well for people who can demonstrate dedication to their craft. I couldn't command a 100k+ salary before completing the Codesmith residency. Afterwards I had a few options to choose from.
_______
About Codesmith:

Codesmith is about finding your limits and pushing past them. If you can consistently do that every day for the duration of the program and continue doing so in the job market then you can expect great offers. You get out what you put in. If you don’t put in the effort don’t expect stellar results.

With that said, there is no version of the universe where I earned as many offers without the team at Codesmith. From the top down Will and his team will prepare you for the demands of a job market that wants mid and senior level engineers. Codesmith is three-fold; it is one part becoming a better engineer, another part becoming a better person, and third part becoming a better interviewee. Each aspect of that is assessed before you’re admitted, and each part is worked on during the residency. You have the opportunity and the support to improve but again it is up to you to act on it.

Secondly, Codesmith is not a bootcamp.

I know because I went to a bootcamp prior to Codesmith, as have many Codesmith residents.

There is nothing else out there like Codesmith. It gets lumped into the pile with the rest because bootcamps are the closest thing. Codesmith is a residency. Unlike other residencies Codesmith makes sure that all of it’s engineers are on the same page. There is a 4 week curriculum in which you are thrown into the deep-end of full-stack Javascript. This is so that each engineer there has the same toolkit to collaborate and build projects together. And building projects is what you do for the remainder of the residency. Even during the 4 week curriculum you are building applications, just piecemeal with each piece of technology building upon previous units.

The day to day at codesmith is: you show up at 9am and keep coding until 8pm. It is not uncommon to see people stay even later and in fact most do. You get practical hands on experience building scalable applications and even more important you get hands on experience collaborating with other engineers with varying degrees of experience. It is truly a transformative experience.

At a bootcamp you spend 75% or more of your time observing or coding along to something. Of the 1000+ hours at Codesmith less than 5% of that is spent in a lecture setting. You are actively building products the entire time. There is support for when you need help but the majority of the time you are working in pods to build scalable applications. The goal is to overcome problems yourself with the help of your team, just how you would in the real world. That may sound intimidating or intense but know that the team at Codesmith is incredibly supportive. 

From the beginning they are highly selective about who is allowed into the program. Codesmith doesn’t just screen for determined and talented engineers, it also screens for nice people. A very talented engineer who is rude or hard to get along with will not be able to join a cohort at Codesmith. This is something that makes the 3 months in this environment not just bearable, but outright enjoyable. The staff go above and beyond to make sure the environment remains a positive one and there are activities built into the schedule to help prevent residents from burning out. 

So how are the results overall?
Well, from my Cohort of 12 only 3 have spent more than 3 months looking for jobs.
Compare that to my bootcamp experience where I had a cohort of 23 and after 6 months only 4 people had full-time jobs in tech. Nobody from my previous bootcamp cohort got offered more than 70k. Not one. The lowest offer from my Codesmith cohort was 80k and that same person also got a 90k offer.
I don’t want it to seem like I am only focused on money. I bring it up because Codesmith costs money to join, it is an investment in yourself and I want to show that it pays off financially. 

Beyond the financial payoff my confidence to create, collaborate, and contribute as an engineer have increased exponentially. Before Codesmith I had some difficulty learning new libraries or technologies. I didn’t know how to get information from documentation. If I had to learn something new I had to watch somebody on Youtube or Udemy teach me and then try my best to replicate that. Then once I replicated it perfectly I would branch out slowly until something broke and then I’d have to watch more youtube videos until I figured it out. Now I just read the documentation and figure it out in a few minutes. 

Everything is excellent from start to finish. Once you finish the program at Codesmith there is unparalleled support. There is staff available to polish your interviewing skills and even negotiate offers. There is nothing else like it. 

I remember being in my previous bootcamp and talking to alums who were in the market after graduating. Some of them had been in the market for months. The bootcamp I attended said the job search could take up to a year after finishing the program. The grads I talked to were looking for junior roles in the 60- 80k range. Anything higher than that was unheard of and many, fatigued emotionally and financially from the long job search, were willing to go even lower than that.

My first Hard Parts meetup was on recursion being lead by the Senior Engineer at Codesmith. At the time I had a vague idea about how recursion works but by the time I walked out it was clear as day. I knew I had to learn more. I started talking to some of the residents and graduates and they started talking about their job processes. Some of them were getting offers the same week they graduated for more than 100k. I didn’t think that it was possible but the more people I talked to the more I kept hearing the same things. At that point I decided to apply. I figured if I didn’t get in then at least I knew that I tried. I was rejected on my first attempt but on my second attempt (a month later, studying the whole time) I was offered a spot in one of the cohorts.

Before starting the program I thought that Codesmith residents must have been super-human engineers. But now that I've completed it I know they weren’t, they were just dedicated to their craft. Being a part of my cohort at Codesmith was the first time in my life I was surrounded by people equally as driven as I am. I’m a little spoiled now as a result.
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Shoutout to Will, Phil, Ryan, Olivia, Jac, Dave, Sam, Schno, Haley, Jenny, Mircea, Saim, Chris, Alesi, Ryan, Christine, & Joel. 10/10 would recommend.

Background: absolutely no software engineering or coding background 

pros: My resume says it all. I did not have any experience in software engineering but now I have so many products on my resume. The products are not simple CRUD apps (not saying that they are bad, but it is nice to solve more developer problems), but developer tools that other developer uses. For example, our team created 1. a dedicated React IDE in VS Code, 2. Automated Containerization CLI Tool (Docker), 3. D3 Chart generator, and 4. CSS to Styled components converter. Due to the solid understanding of JavaScript that I gained through Codesmith, I easily picked up other languages along the way, such as TypeScript. 

cons: The hours might be a bit tough if you are not prepared. Mandatory hours are from 9 am to 8 pm, but no one leaves at 8 pm, by choice. That being said, if I decided to invest my time and resources to learn software engineering, I would rather be surrounded by hardworking software engineers that are willing to learn.

It’s real, it works, and it can work for you.

The purpose of this review is to give a little inside to the program, but mostly explain how it’s possible that you can enter this program without a previous software related job and leave with job offers on average of $105,000. For me looking into the program it was something I truly believed in, but now on the other side it makes a lot of sense.

A little inside to myself so you can put this in perspective. Before I started my pursuit for Codesmith, I worked in Construction Management and had no previous coding experience, but after two months of applying (post graduation) and over 100 applications I got the offer I wanted at Capital One. And I wouldn’t say I’m the exception, but more so, the norm of a Codesmith student. One that hasn’t really coded before. One of the cooler things of this program is seeing people from all different walks of life. But regardless of their previous coding experience, they’ve all had success.

I’m sure you have the same thought I did, this is too good to be true… But let me explain. First off, you’re not becoming a software developer in three months, the journey is a bit longer than that. To get into Codesmith you need to already have solid Javascript skills, but nothing you can’t teach yourself. I spent a few hours after work a couple times a week until I was strong enough to get into the program. For some, this could be a few weeks (if you studied heavily), for others it could take months (if you studied more intermittently like I did), it really depends how much time you put into it. If you have any questions for what to study, visit Codesmith or one of their easy/hard part sessions. They’ll point you in the right direction and you can get a better feel for the program. To be honest, if you have any interest in this program, you probably should stop reading these reviews and just GO to one of those sessions. You’ll learn a lot more about the experience, why I loved this place, and how this is all true.

But... if you’re still reading, I’ll continue explaining.

Once you get into this program you already have a solid understanding of Javascript, which is more than a lot of the people in the industry know about Javascript. And I’m serious about this. The rise of Javascript is pretty recent, especially front end frameworks like React, and there’s a BIG demand for developers who know this. Most people in the industry just haven’t had the time to pick this up these skills and keep up with them. At my work I’m lucky if I get to spend an hour a day trying to pick up new tech, and even luckier if I get to work on a new language. Meanwhile by the time you’ve got into Codesmith you’ll have no problem writing Javascript algorithms. And THEN the next three months at Codesmith you REALLY dive into the language. Like twelve hours a day of coding and learning at the fastest rate of your life. Once you’ve considered this, it doesn’t seem to crazy that someone would hire you as a front-end developer building in React or full-stack with Node. In my case, I got a company to hire me to build in Angular and Java (even though I had NO experience in either, they were confident I could learn both).

That brings me to my last point.. Codesmith teaches you how to get hired and be hirable. After the program ends they organize meet ups, mock interviews, and follow ups with you. There’s also great interactive lectures, and lessons on how to get hired and succeed in interviews. This may seem weird or you could question the necessity of this, but trust me it makes the jump from being a good coder to getting hired. Unfortunately, knowing how to code and being a successful interviewer are almost two different skills. Honestly, the challenge of getting hired out of this program isn’t the lack of knowledge, it's the perception that there’s no way you could have that knowledge after “three months,” or going to a “boot camp.” With Codesmith’s emphasis on being hirable, you’re able to past this perception, and get back to whats important, your software knowledge and being able to work with a team. One of the things I haven’t mentioned yet but is important to note, Codesmith has a strong culture on being a team player and focusing on technical communication. This not only makes you a good candidate, but again will help you shine a bit more in your interviews.

Overall though, this program was one of the best things I’ve ever done. I was able to switch from an industry I didn’t want to be in, to an amazing one I wanted to be a part of. It was three of the hardest months, but honestly, three of the best months as well. I had a lot of hesitation joining a program that was so intense, thinking.. how the hell could I code for over 12 hours a day? But the community and culture there is so strong its easy to love it there.

If you’re thinking about this program, please go to their easy / hard parts lessons. Also feel free to ask me any questions, I’m more than happy to help.

I'm writing the review I would like to have seen here before making my decision. If you're skeptical about the idea of attending a three month program like Codesmith after graduating with a technical degree, I hope this review helps you.

Before attending Codesmith at NYC, I was a fresh graduate looking for work. I studied Computer Science as an undergrad and I had finished with a general set of skills. However I never learned about software engineering or the ways to approach building a project on my own. I never learned about best coding practices. I didn't have a body of work that showcased what I had been learning for the past four years.

I spent a couple of months self-studying. I took courses on Udemy learning JavaScript libraries like React and Redux, and was able to build some small projects. However, I hit a block where I wasn't learning as quickly as I was when I started. So I reached out to find other developers through Meetup and found myself at Hard Parts. The consistent delivery of energy and extensive explanation of fundamental concepts had me coming back every week. At some point, I had attended all of the workshops they had to offer, and during my time there I was seriously considering attending Codesmith as a resident. I was on the fence about it for a while, because I felt that it wouldn't have been necessary given my background. I wanted some more information about the program so I hung around and spoke with the current cohorts and engineering fellows. Everyone I asked was very receptive and gave me the ins and outs of the program and its potential tradeoffs. I really admired the community Codesmith fostered. I finally decided for that I wanted to be a resident, and ultimately a part of a community of developers who were driven and loved to build things.

Codesmith is all about collective learning. For the first six weeks we pair program every day, switching pairs every two days. The first thing I had noticed about the material is how quickly information was introduced. We spent the first week learning fundamental algorithms and data structures (subjects I wasn't exposed to until two years into university). After that week, my cohort mates, without any exposure to algorithms coming in, were already taking time and space complexity into consideration when solving coding problems. They were also thinking about how to optimize their solutions. What also got me going was constantly being around people who enjoyed discussing JavaScript concepts, web development and project ideas they had.

After the first six weeks, we get to ideate on a production project idea with a team. In my opinion this is the most important phase in the course. You spend the first six weeks learning all about and using web libraries like React, Redux, MongoDB, Node and Express, and you’re given an opportunity to use those tools to build an application from scratch. Most importantly, you do so with the cohort mates you’ve been growing and learning with. I learned the most during the production phase because it provided me with experience of being on a team, and working in a Git flow. For my team, we had common disagreements about the problems we wanted to solve, the technologies we wanted to use, and our workflow. Meeting up as a team, discussing these issues and resolving them are important experiences that both help you grow as a developer, and as a team player.

You can only learn so much by sitting at home and developing projects on your own. I’d say the most important things I got out of the program were the experiences I had with other developers that I could speak to. I believe that being able to talk about problems you were introduced to with other people and how you overcame them as a team can take you a long way. Codesmith was definitely the right choice for me. It definitely provided me with exactly the components I needed to land the job that I have now. Even after graduating Codesmith, I have the support of the mentors and the students I’ve built relationships with during my time there.

Let me start my review by saying if you are considering switching your career to tech, or debating which program to take, just trust all the amazing reviews here and choose Codesmith. I think the result speakers for itself. I finished the program in late Jan 2019. Within  6 weeks, I received 2 offers and more leads in the pipeline.

I started going to Codesmith’s Hard Parts for about 4 months learning JS fundamentals before enrolling into the program. I studied and worked in finance for many years with no prior computer science or coding experience whatsoever. One thing that makes Codesmith different from all the other programs is the high technical requirement. I was actually accepted by another reputable program when I didn’t even think I was ready. Setting the enrollment bar high showed me that they truly cared about students’ success, not about making money! Everyone from my cohort mates, to the fellows, to the leaders at Codesmith was so involved and caring about each other.

Another thing I’d like to point out is that yes, you can learn everything by yourself or go to take some courses elsewhere, but what really set Codesmith apart from any other programs is the EXCEPTIONAL hiring support - this is priceless in my opinion. You learn how to interview - technically and culturally, you get 3 one-on-one help/feedback sessions on your resume and online profiles, you learn how to negotiate offers and so much more! After graduation, you still have ongoing support for job hunting. I have some friends who have gone to other programs at the same time. They were amazed by the level of support and commitment that Codesmith offered to its graduates.

This whole experience was so rewarding and humbling. I could have never dreamt of switching my career this smoothly. There is no way I could have done it without everyone's support at Codesmith.

I had a really good experience at Codesmith.  I came from an electrical engineering background with some programming experience.  Going through Codesmith's program accelerated my learning rate and improved my technical communication.  

Getting into the program is similar to interviewing for a job where they select you based on culture fit and technical knowledge.  The curriculum is great as it touches on a lot of different technology and concepts.  You'll be going through 2 day challenges through pair programming developing your knowledge in different tech stacks and working in group projects to reinforce what was taught. 

What makes Codesmith such an enoyable experience is the environment they create.  They created an environment for you to work alongside others who have the same passion and drive as you, allowing you to grow and thrive.  I can personally say that I would not be able to put in that many hours on a daily basis if I had done that kind of work just by myself.  I looked forward to working with my classmates/cohort every day.  Everyone there, including the staff, are so positive and encouraging that you tend to lose track of time because you're having a good time there.

The job outreach program is there for you during and after the program.  They provide mock interviews, phone screens, and check your progress as you're applying and provide support if/when needed.