Software Development (Flex, Online)

Having previously worked in the banking and tech industries for many years, I felt jaded and stagnant with the career growth. I held some discussions with people around me and after some thorough introspection I decided to take a leap of faith and joined DigitalCrafts.

Before joining DigitalCrafts, my skill set was only limited to knowing HTML and some CSS and I was quite worried if I would be able to cope and keep up with the extensive nature of the curriculum crammed into a period of 16 weeks. Now that I look back on the last 4 months, I can feel nothing but happy at my decision. As I enter the final days of the course, I am excited and confident about my skills and what lies ahead for me.

The curriculum is designed to take a group of students with varied backgrounds and skill levels, and bring them all to a similar level of knowledge and understanding. Of course, the final outcome for each of the students depend, besides other factors, on their level of motivation, amount of hard work they are willing to put in and how effectively they utilize the tools and help available to them.

Due to the technical nature of the topics that are covered in such a class, it is imperative that the instructor kept it lively and interactive or they risk losing the audience (students). Our instructor, Paul, has been one of the best teachers I have come across in my life. I found his method of teaching to be highly effective and helpful. I was very impressed with his depth of knowledge of not only the material being taught but as well his ability to relate the course content with real life examples and anecdotes. His love for pizza, Pink Panther, cats, funny GIFs and all-things-nerdy made the whole journey so much easier and provided the much needed comic-relief in times of stress and frustration.

Time for some minor quibbles. The only thing I felt throughout the course was that the quality of content-slides and study material could be improved. While they are okay to follow during the lectures, they are not very helpful once you’re on your own and trying to revise or understand a particular topic. A video-recording of the lecture sessions will also go a long way in helping students to revise the course content over the weekends.

As a word of advice for those who are in the process of deciding or about to start life as a developer, I can not stress enough on the importance of taking the preparatory course work seriously. Paying special attention to JavaScript and Python before starting the course is extremely beneficial once classes begin. Otherwise you risk playing catch up all throughout the course because the course content is quite extensive fast paced. There will also be periods where self-doubt and uncertainty are bound to creep in and when you’ll feel that you’re not good enough. It is important that you regain your focus and keep working through these periods.

For those of you who haven’t heard, Digital Crafts hosts intensive 16-week immersive coding bootcamps both in Houston and Atlanta.  Earlier this year I decided that it was time for a change, so I sold my business and began coding full-time in the hopes that I would be able to find a rewarding career as a web developer. 

I had very little real coding experience to speak of staring out. Sure, I had written several blogs using Wordpress and I had played around with some rudimentary HTML, but I hadn't really done any<em> real coding </em>. So I picked up some instructional books and got to coding! I could immediately tell that I was meant to be a coder, and before I knew it, I was practicing coding eight hours a day, working on HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Python.

I started strong, but after a certain point I hit a wall, and I realized that I could do one of two things: I could continue plowing away and gaining ground little by little on my own, or I could get help. After fighting my stubborn instinct to do things on my own, I decided to turn to help. So I started exploring my options, and after spending time researching all of the local boot camps, all of my research kept pointing to Digital Crafts as the best of the best.

A few months later, I found myself joining the September 2017 cohort at Digital Crafts Houston. Our instructor was Paul Bailey, a former aerospace engineer at NASA, developer extraordinaire and all-around awesome guy! Even with all of my preparation, I quickly found that I had my work cut out for me! But Paul was there for me every step of the way. The way he explained complex concepts made them more approachable for us students. He was also very patient with us(and I know I must have put that patience to the test with my endless barrage of questions!). 

We covered a lot of material over the course of the 16-weeks, including but not limited to: HTML, CSS, Bootstrap, JavaScript, Node, Python, React.js, Redux and Django to name a few, but oh so much more! I can honestly say that I have retained the majority of what I have learned and that I am fully confident that I will achieve my goal of becoming a professional web developer…and I couldn’t have done it without Paul!

So, to whoever is reading this, get off the fence and invest your time and money in Digital Crafts, you won’t regret it!

After obtaining my Bachelor's in Criminology and working several jobs in my field, I was not content. I could not see myself 30 years down the road working in some job that did not continually challenge me, bring a sense of satisfaction, and always push me learn. A good friend of mine suggested I look into programming. Thus, I began my coding journey.

I started off with various beginner websites such as codingacademy.com and treehouse. I was hooked. So much that I decided to seriously pursue this as a career. My search for coding bootcamps began. I looked in 3: DigitalCrafts, Iron Yard, and UT's coding bootcamp here in Houston. I spoke with all 3 and visited the campuses. Choosing DigitalCrafts was the easiest decision I made. Not only were they straightforward with the entire program, but Jason was clear, transparent, and genuine throughout the entire process (and still continues to be!). The program, compared to others seemed more well-rounded (it definitely was) and it was the highest-rated bootcamp (now I understand why!).

Paul, our instructor, was super knowledgable, incredibly helpful, and a total geek. Hands down perfect for the job. The course itself is tough. We covered a vast amount of material in 16 weeks. You'll definitely feel overwhelmed. However, it's not impossible. Power through and you'll soon find yourself programming at a level you never thought you'd ever be at. I look back now, before I started the course, a true beginner, and I think to myself how incredibly easy the first week was compared to the last 2. That just goes to show that I have come a long way. This wasn't attained easily though. Be prepared to put in the hours if you aim to not only keep up with the course but also learn the material and retain all the knowledge you gain along the way.

With that said, I've learned so much and become a better and stronger programmer. Undoubtedly, it's all thanks DigitalCrafts. One of the best decisions I have ever made. Period.

Overall, it has been a great experience. The program is challenging, intensive, and covers a wide range of technologies useful in the job market. I found it so crucial to apply extra self study practices throughout the program to keep up and retain everything being taught. It can be so easy to fall behind otherwise.

The Houston campus is still pretty new, and seems to be working the little kinks out. There's still room for improvement in the curriculum pace and structure. Career assistance didn't meet my expectations, but may be different for the Atlanta campus since there seems to be more staff at that location focused on that aspect and seem to have more company relationships established.

Individual student success still, as expected, falls on each one’s shoulders and depends on your background, and willingness to apply themselves.

Additional note: I did not find my cohort's elective (Computer Science) offering to be worth the additional money with other valuable programs available, nor the time to take on additional coursework with the existing load.

This was a great program from the admissions process to the instructor, to my peers, as well as career support. DigitalCrafts is an upfront organization that clearly sets your expectations of what you're getting in to from the get go, lots of hard work, and an intense curriculum, but a very experienced and knowledgeable instructor (Paul was amazing) that has your back. There is no job guaranteed at the end, but Jake, Max, Katy and Jason will be there to support you in your job hunt. 

Some advice: The class is intense. There will be days, maybe weeks, where nothing will make sense. Keep cracking at the exercises and learn to use google and stackoverflow effectively. Do all the pre-work! If you have no coding experience try Free Code Camp even if you are planning on enrolling. If you have programming interests outside of the curriculum now is the time to pursue them; take advantage of the instructor's knowledge to help you overcome those inevitable obstacles. Be open to feedback, as DC is certainly open to yours. They want to see you succeed! 

I'm three weeks in to what feels to be a great job after a roller coaster of a hunt, and couldn't be happier. I'm obviously still learning, but the foundation of skills DC has taught me has already been immediately applicable to my job and allowed me to begin contributing from week one. 

Did I need to go to a coding bootcamp to learn software development?

No. There is more than enough information available through free resources such as freeCodeCamp, edX, Coursera, and Udemy to transition successfully into a software development career.

Would I still make the decision to attend DigitalCrafts if I had to all over again?

Yes. Yes. Yes! What made my DigitalCrafts experience worthwhile wasn't their curriculum (don't get me wrong, that was great too) but rather the mentorship from a Senior Developer whose sole role was to transform me into a competent software developer. I value the confidence I gained at DigitalCrafts tenfolds more than the knowledge I gained here. I was intimidated when applying because of how foreign development felt to me. But little by little, that intimidation transformed into a newfound passion for developing and building applications that can make a substantive impact on people's lives and businesses. 

If you know you want to attend a bootcamp, but aren't sure which one to attend, I strongly recommend DigitalCrafts. Especially if you're in Houston. Every member I've talked to on their staff seems to really care a lot about the students' success. And they're all very approachable! 

My primary concern when deciding to apply was whether a program as new as DigitalCrafts would be able to provide me with a network strong enough to benefit me. It has and I think it will for you too. Their alumni network and their career network is growing by the cohort... so what I had will only be better for you. 

Some tips if you apply: 

Do the prework! You don't have to do all of it, but I recommend at least going through fundamental concepts of programming through a class like CS50x or MIT 6.00.1x on edx.org (both of these classes are free and DC will even reimburse you for their verified certificate). 

And have some experience with Python, JavaScript, HTML, and CSS coming in so you spend your time in class to learn and excel instead of just catching up. They will provide you recommendations to learn the basics in these topics but I recommend freeCodeCamp.com for JS, HTML, and CSS, and automatetheboringstuff.com for Python. Both of these resources are free will be more than adequate to prepare you for class. 

While you're in class, feel free to explore and go into depth of topics that you're interested in! I started learning Machine Learning and Cyber Security while I was in class. I recommend TeachYourselfCS.com to dive deeper into the theory behind the languages you will learn in class.

And lastly, remember to have fun! Sometimes stepping away and taking a break was all I needed to figure out how to solve the problems I was having with my code. 

I hope to see y'all on the Slack channel soon!

Note: This review is in reference to the first Houston cohort from November 2016 - March 2017, also with general thoughts regarding the program.

The Digital Crafts program in retrospect was a great decision and overall I couldn't be happier with that choice.  Initially, I was certainly a bit nervous about being the first cohort since that could possibly include many growing pains as Digital Crafts tries to get a foothold in the Houston market.  But those first few weeks definitely alleviated those concerns.  Be it a bootcamp or even traditional school, the most paramount part of the experience is the instructor.  I can’t even begin to describe how incredible Damian was in not only teaching us the material but understanding how to conduct a classroom with individuals at all different levels, temperament and managing to keep everyone engaged and challenged simultaneously.  We lucked out as a class to have him teach this cohort.  On top of that, he cultivated an environment where we all became closer and actually had fun, which I believe is a necessity in this environment.  A bootcamp by its very nature is intense, difficult, it can be draining and you have to understand knowing when to push or when to back off.  Damian understood this and paced the class perfectly.  I was constantly learning but never felt too overwhelmed.  Again that isn’t to say the material is not difficult but he just intuitively knew how to present it to us and how to push us to work harder when we needed it and how to relax things as necessary.  Damian was just amazing!  I can’t thank him enough for everything.

I will say this, much of what you get as with most things in life, is truly based on what you are willing to put in.  This couldn’t be any more accurate then for a bootcamp.  You have to understand going in that you’re going to sacrifice the next four months of your life to build a new career and that time commitment is non-negotiable if you want to achieve success.  Damian or any other instructor can only present the material and get you off on the right path but it is incumbent upon you to be willing to work hard and go the extra mile to truly find success.  The hours may say 9am-4/5pm but be prepared to work well beyond that and weekend if need be.  If you’re willing to take that sacrifice, Jake, Max and the Digital Crafts team will get you where you want to be.  The same applies for the career services aspect of the bootcamp.  You will not be handed a job coming out and it’s gonna be full time work to find one.  Digital Crafts will try and send out leads but it’s incumbent on you to make it happen.  Being new in Houston there isn’t much of a built in employee network.  I’m hopeful that will change for future cohorts but right now the onus is on the individual to look.  Jake has been incredibly helpful and will go above and beyond to make it happen but you’ve got to be prepared to work hard to land a developer job.  Overall, I was really pleased with the experience I had, I became really close with the cohorts in my class and ended up landing a job in a field that I’m excited about.  It’s a lot of work but it’s well worth it!

I started looking for a change of career early in 2016. By Spring I knew I wanted to get back into Web Design and Development and by July I had narrowed down that I wanted to attend an in-person boot camp.

Digital Crafts was just coming into Houston and they were offering something other code camps weren’t – Full Stack Development.  After the reviews online, speaking with Max and the campus director Jason and checking out other local competitors, I decided that Digital Crafts was the best option for me. It was the best decision I have ever made.

Being the first cohort in Houston I expressed my concerns to them about the instructor – Rob in Atlanta was getting great reviews and I had read other places (some right in Houston) where the instructor just wasn’t right and it ruins the experience. They assured me they are very thorough and selective– they make sure they find someone who fits their culture. And they didn’t disappoint. 

Damian, our instructor, made our cohort what it was. He was very methodical with his code but would explain everything in a way that the entire class would understand. If you didn’t understand something, he would make sure to give other examples or even talk one on one until you understood the topic.  I can’t speak more highly of Damian and the level of professionalism he brought to our class. He would teach us but also do the exercises himself. We would go over the answers and he would show us his thought process and how he would attack each problem. It was awesome to see him work and to be able to base it into the real world – not just the classroom.

Don’t think this is a class you can sit in on and just “get it”. You need to put forth the effort in order to get the most of your experience.  It’s stressful and at times you will feel overwhelmed. But the amount skills you will learn in the 16 weeks will make everything worthwhile.

I will stay though, the Houston cohort is still new, so naturally there are some things they are working out. But between the curriculum, the overall D.C structure and the level of passion the owners, Jake and Max have – it’s an amazing course and I would recommend it to someone that is looking to attend a boot camp.

Last summer, I was in a small beach town in Spain where I was trying to find myself after a devastating breakup. In the midst of all the Eat, Pray, Love -- I found DigitalCrafts. 
 
I applied to a few coding bootcamps, but this one stuck out to me. I could tell Jake (co-founder) really genuinely cares about his little baby coders succeeding. That meant a lot. So I went for it. And what a wild ride it was. 
 
This cohort was like season one of The Real World. There were laughs, there were tears, there were beers, and there were a lot of moments of frustration. There were definitely times where I felt like I couldn't do it and/or I didn't want to do it, but fortunately I had Damian to lean on and my amazing classmates who were also going through the struggle to look to for strength. Which brings me to my next point -- Damian is the Lebron James of teaching people how to code while simultaneously being a great friend and mentor. I absolutely would not be where I am as both a programmer and person without him. And for me, that's where the value in this program was. If I continued trying to do it on my own with online tutorials and such, I never would've gotten the mentorship of someone as brilliant as Damian. I was really fortunate to have been able to have him as my instructor. 
 
Being part of the very first, guinea pig, test-dummy cohort in Houston definitely had a few kinks and quirks and oddities, but being the first to do anything comes with those things. I mistakenly thought that the job assistance would be an active part of the program throughout, but it's something that mostly begins towards the end of the program, and it's mostly resume and portfolio assistance. It wasn't a dealbreaker for me though. Basically, if you apply for jobs and put yourself out there and they'll do the best they can to hype you up and make you look good.

As for my career now, one week post-grad: I've been approached about and hired for several freelance remote design and front-end gigs. I decided that while it's great knowing how to work the back-end, it's not something I'm interested in pursuing as a career right now. That's another cool thing about DigitalCrafts -- they're totally supportive of whatever direction you decide you want to go. 
 
(Sidebar: Digital Crafts teaches full-stack web development, and doesn't do design, UI/UX stuff. They spent probably 2 or 3 days on CSS and Sass, but it was enough to light a fire in my heart that sent me running towards it.) Obviously, your mileage will vary, but if you find something that speaks to you while you're in the course (for me that was front-end stuff) run with it and work on it in your spare time, you'll probably be able to find someone who wants to pay you to do it.
 
Anyway, I think Jake and Max are on to something here, and I'm excited to see what Digital Crafts HTX becomes in the future. If you're considering doing this, I'd say go for it. I know pretty much everyone else has said the same thing, but man, it's true -- this changed my life.

Going to DigitalCrafts was the best decision I've made in regards to career choices.  I came from an I.T. background and quit my job as a Desktop Admin at a major Houston based hospital to attend, and I was terrified.  I spent hours reading reviews, talking with different bootcamps in Houston and Austin, and talked with my wife about where to go and what to do.  I spoke with graduates from the program before making my decision, and every single one of them had a job in the field, and every single one of them said it was the best decision they made. 

Damian, the instructor in Houston, is an amazing teacher.  Every day class was lively, packed full of learning, and tons of laughs.  Damian graduated from a top 5 computer science program, and has been working in the field for over a decade.  The amount of knowledge that he has, and his ability to pass it along to the students is remarkable.  I can’t speak highly enough of him!

I decided on DigitalCrafts because they teach full-stack development, they're placement rate was outstanding, and the reviews were very good.  It was very reassuring how forthcoming Jason, Max, and Jake were in my initial conversations with them.  They are all very honest about how difficult the program is going to be, but how much it can pay off, and it paid off for me!  I got a job offer as a Software Developer at a fast-growing Houston company only 9 weeks into the course.  The salary that was offered to me was a 50% increase to what I was making before DigitalCrafts, and the earning potential as a software developer is exponentially higher.  No matter how you chalk it up, it was a good investment.

If you're considering going to a coding bootcamp, I can't recommend enough DigitalCrafts.  Setup a meeting with Jason, and learn about the program. Talk to graduates of the program, read reviews, do your homework.  For me, the more I dug, the more confident I became that DigitalCrafts was by far the best coding bootcamp in Houston.

-Cody

I am 8+ weeks into my 16 week course at the Houston campus' 1st Cohort. I can't stress enough the amazing value of the DigitalCrafts bootcamp! I already received and accepted an amazing offer from a fantastic company right after the completion of my first capstone project, which was a 2 person full stack project using Python, Flask, MySQL, and Bootstrap. I can honestly say that I have learned more in 8 weeks than I expected to learn in 16 and I feel well prepared to tackle whatever challenges come next. If you are reading this then chances are you are trying to identify the BEST coding bootcamp for you. CourseReport is one of the reasons I decided DigitalCrafts was the one for me and that was hands down the best decision I could have made. I have seen several projects from students of other Houston programs and the depth and breadth of their learning as evidenced by their final projects is not nearly as impressive as our first projects.

Damian, our instructor, is AMAZING! He has decades of experience in the local area and has successfully launched private software as well. He is new to teaching, but you wouldn't know it! You will get stuck and frustrated from time to time and he sometimes let's you sweat it out, but it's for a good cause. He doesn't baby you but he does drive you to push through your frustration and find the answer on the other side. 2 out of 10 of us have already received offers and we are only halfway through the course- what more can I say?

Last thing: Go for it! If you do, the pre-work is extremely important and the people who neglected it have definitely had a harder time so DO IT ALL, but don't be afraid to enroll- its definitely doable. Good Luck!