Software, Web and Mobile Engineering

I completed the 16 week Makers course 6 weeks ago and have just received an offer for my first role in software engineering. It's impossible to explain how much I have learned in the last 5 months. From not knowing anything about software development before the course, I am now a confident, technically able engineer, with practical and theoretical technical knowledge, sufficient to be hired into a tech driven company. The course material focuses on industry best practices, such as TDD, OOP and agile, meaning you come out with skills and knowledge even some seasoned pros don't have. The careers support after graduation is incredible, with unlimited coaching and resources for anything you need to work on. Choosing Makers was the best decision I have made to date and I highly recommend them to anyone looking to move into tech. 

The experience at Makers taught me a lot about not only how to code but also about myself. I developed lots of soft skills and made some great friendships as well as became good at coding. I highly recommend this course to anyone who wants to become a developer.

Pros:- Enforces habits and rituals of engineering environments that it would be really hard to achieve self-led (e.g. diagramming, TDD, BDD, Agile, CICD). My technical interview questions were based on these! - Amazing emotional support - they want you to challenge yourself but to also practice self-care above all else which is excellent.- Great people; both coaches and jobhunting team - every one who works there is smart, so supportive and keen to help you succeed.- Really is a transformative experience. I knew next-to-nothing about software developing in November, enrolled in February and then got my first dev job in May - three weeks out of the bootcamp, with a Makers hiring partner. Not everyone has been that lucky though and some have been searching a long time for the right role. - Alumni community is amazing. Cons:- Zoom fatigue: you pair every afternoon for 3-4 hours which can be exhausting, and there are a lot of group projects. Also there is little time for you to do self-led learning (which is my personal preference).- Syllabus needs a bit of love - the links are out of date on a lot of the curriculum. 

This program is very well set up, from having daily stand-ups with peers to get to plan your own code reviews (which are a great training exercise to get ready for the job hunt). Overall the focus is to learn full-stack development through ruby and JS, but they give you complete freedom from halfway through the course to decide what tech stack you want to learn within your team and focus on for each project.

Pros- Precourse and entrance interview makes sure you have a decent level before you start- Coaches are very helpful, but the curriculum is designed in such a way that you will need to be proactive and ask for help. It won't be handed to you- Curriculum seemed well designed to cover the fundamentals, but also giving you autonomy to work with technology that you like.- Really supportive environment, all staff and students are very supportive and all seem to share a similar mindset.- Makers have hiring partners that assist you get jobs afterwards, this is a big draw compared with similar bootcamps.Cons- A little on the expensive side, but given the good hiring rates I personally think it is worth the cost- If you're somebody who isn't very proactive and likes for people to supply you with everything you need without doing much work, this may not be the course for you.Overall I had a very positive experience with Makers and would definitely recommend it to others thinking of changing careers and learning to code.

Bootcamps don't suit everybody but I would recommend Makers Academy based on their EI curriculum which separates them from the rest. I found the emotional support on the programme to be excellent, and believe the emphasise on this area is vital when embarking on a career change and learning a new field. With regards to the software development curriculum, I found the majority to be self-taught and due to my large cohort, I felt that we didn't get as much attention from the available coaches as I'd hoped. However, I found the group work and projects in the final weeks invaluable. During the course we did daily pair programming which meant I worked with a different person almost every day. This gave me surplus experience working with a variety of different people and appreciating how others might like to work and program which has proved an invaluable skill in my day to day work as a developer. 

I had seen the effect Makers academy had on my friend's career change and it had stuck with me ever since. The only regret I have is not starting this course sooner and making the switch to software developer sooner. If you have never done any programming before and want to get into software development; this is the bootcamp for you. If you have experience in programming and want to make that breakthrough into software development; this is the bootcamp for you. If you are interested in software development and just want help perfecting your skills; this is still the bootcamp for you. The point is that this bootcamp is accessible from any level and leaves you feeling like an expert at the end, able to jump into any software related role and hit the ground running. This bootcamp is not just about learning to code, but also learning the fundamentals that you will be using everyday in your new career. Most importantly however, this bootcamp will teach you to be able to teach yourself and leave you confident that you can accomplish anything with the right approach or enough research. It's worth the money for a life-changing opportunity.

My experience at Makers was superb and enjoyed every minute of it. Due to COVID the whole course was remote which I was nervous about to begin with but everyone in the cohort and the Makers coaches were all so great it was never awkward or felt like I was missing out from not being in the building. The course was very full on and you should definitely prepare yourself for it - however you quickly learn to find your own pace and the importance of learning compared to completing all the work. Working in groups and every week learning new tech and languages has prepared me for my first job as well as the EI workshops allowing me to comfortably work in teams, giving constructive feedback whilst being aware of others feelings, as well as understanding the different ways in which people learn best and how to adapt to ensure everyone in pairs or teams is learning and enjoying themselves. The con would be the money however it is definitely worth every penny and being able to use the Alumni services forever definitely means you get out much more than that fee. 

Wonderful course. The coaches were very supportive even in a remote setting. They seemed to truly care about what we were getting out of the course and our wellbeing. I feel more confident not only a developer but as a leader and team member. I've finished with improved communication and research skills and a better sense of myself.There was a real focus on how to learn. I thought I was already proficient in this skill but turns out I had a lot of improvements to make - now I feel like I could teach myself any language.I would highly recommend this course.

There are plenty of options when it comes to coding bootcamps! If you're reading this you're probably looking at 5 or more different courses at the same time. I was in the same position last year & I've now finished my Makers experience and feel ready to tackle the software development world! The focus with Makers is very much about you growing as a student, dev & person and less focused on learning the hottest current language or cramming in absolute maxi different languages over a three month period. This might turn some people off, but for me, as a total beginner, this was perfect! It can be overwhelming and by no means is the Makers course simple or easy! But with the tools taught and the lessons followed all of a sudden I found myself coding for fun!

Pros: - The overall experience is great as you learn incredible things and you keep learning even after the course thanks to the coding bases that you learned. - Most of the couches are amazing and you can reach out to them at any moment for advice even if you are feeling low.- Learn how to meditate is key.Cons:- Offer better solutions for financing the course as the one they offer, is highly NOT recommendable.- More prior experience is needed, more than they recommend.- They focused a lot on people who are more skilled and have significant prior experience.- Better feedback on CV and CL as, each of the career coaches have different opinions, and many times, opposite. This makes really hard to get shortlisted.

-  The course material is really good and you can always ask for coaches' help when you feel stuck.- The course puts a lot of focus on TDD, Agile and Pair Programming,  which are required best practices nowadays.  - During the course, there are a lot of opportunities to work in teams and review others' code.  - Chance to do reviews with external company.- Makers community is great and alway willing to help.- After graduation you can get help with your CV  and you can be advised while preparing to different kinds of interviews. 

Had an overall great experience with Makers and would definitely recommend to anyone thinking about switching careers!Pros:- Coaches are excellent support and always try to make themselves available despite difficulties of lockdown and remote working- Good experience of pair programming and supporting/mentoring others- Access to an industry and like minded people that you would not get self-teachingCons:- Remote working made it harder and coaches less accessible. Harder to justify the cost of the course as can sometimes feel a bit isolating

Pros:- The people you meet on the course are fantastic and social life was great- Teaches modern software development practices from the ground up such as TDD and Agile- The working environment encouraged the fast learning required to change career- There was a strong focus on how to do well in tech interviews and loads of practice resources
Cons:- Quite expensive, but office location was prime and after course support and business connections were invaluableNote: I completed the course onsite pre-corona

 I was part of the first part time cohort for Makers' bootcamp, running July 2020 - Feb 2021. Studying part time alongside a day job is really hard work, but Makers' culture puts student wellbeing at the heart of the experience - I don't think I would have made it through without this support. Coaches were sympathetic to the evenings where energy levels were lower, or external commitments meant someone in the cohort was running late, and they always emphasised the importance of taking care of ourselves first and foremost.The course was really enjoyable - fortnightly challenges give a satisfying sense of progress, and it's all structured to let you stretch yourself as much as you want to (or have time for).  I also really appreciated that the course was based more around understanding effective coding practices that apply in any language, rather than technical drills that might be too language-specific. I feel equipped to go out and learn new languages and techniques in my career.The final project module was less satisfying - possibly we were just running out of steam after 6 months, and longer stretches working on the same project dragged a bit, but I expect this might be adapted to for future cohorts. 

I started this course with only two weeks of experience in coding, and now, 5 months later I'm about to start my first role as a software developer. Pros:- The coaches are great, super helpful and keen to ensure you've understood the concepts but you need to reach out and ask for help.- You are in a cohort with like-minded people of all abilities so you'll find yourself sometimes learning from others or taking on a teacher-role. - The job-hunting support is great, lots of workshops on offer with great career coaches. Cons:- The curriculum could use an update, especially the front-end material. We spent about 7 weeks on Ruby/Rails, 2 weeks on Javascript, 1 week on consolidating and 2 weeks on the final project. The 4-week pre course material was also on Ruby. I think a bit more of a back-end/front-end balance would make graduates truly feel like full-stack developers. 

Note: I was a part of a remote cohort due to COVID-19.Pros: - The community at Makers is truly amazing and people always go out of their ways to help each other.- Job support after graduation is great, there are plenty of workshops for people who are at applying stage or interviewing stage. Sometimes coaches take a while to respond, but I had a positive experience most of the time. I got help with my CV, cover letters and advice on preparing to different kinds of interviews.- Almost all of the jobs from the partner scheme were very high quality vacancies that you would want to apply to.- This bootcamp puts a lot of focus on industry best practices, such as TDD and Agile - employers value this a lot!- At Makers, you learn how to learn. By the time of our final project, I was confident that I could pick up any technology that I need. Some teams even managed to build their final projects in completely new languages and frameworks. Cons:- The curriculum has some important areas left uncovered, the most obvious one is working with the cloud. I acknowledge that the course is quite intense anyway, but there is a lot of value in going over the basic stuff, as AWS or Azure are listed in every job description nowadays. - Makers has little learning material of its own, which makes the value for money of the remote course questionable. I think that you are paying for a platform that connects you with like-minded people (your cohort) and job support, which are probably the most important things if you're a motivated career-switcher. However, 99% of the technical information we used is available online for free. I would appreciate if there were more learning materials, especially about explaining different tools and how to set them up. When youre doing the course remotely, it becomes a lot more difficult to reach out to someone next to you and solve a problem quickly, like you would on-campus.- For the majority of the course, you get to work in pairs every day. I really liked pair programming, but I also think that it could be structured in a better way. We would have one big task for the week, but you switch partners every day. If your new pair partner had done less work, you start where they ended. While there are some positive aspects to it, such as consolidating your knowledge by doing something several times, if you're a technically strong student, it will eventually be a frustrating experience repeating the tasks for 8 weeks and never getting far. Personally, I would've liked it better if you had one pair partner per week - this would have made the experience a lot less chaotic, while still getting to work with many different people over the course. For the projects, your team is fixed for the week or two and everyone I talked to liked it that way.

It is a great way of learning how to code and how to find your way in the vast world of software development. The curriculum is very well structured and I found very useful the way they organise solo work, workshops, pair programming and group projects throughout the program.It is very focused on self-learning so don't expect to be guided and told what to do 100% of the time, but you'd always have someone to ask for help or advice whenever needed. This was a bit disappointing for some of my colleagues but for me it was ideal and it definitely represents how your future working as a developer will feel like.Their mental health parallel curriculum is very well structured too and covers all the fundamentals on how to create healthy habits both for your career and your life.After graduation, I felt very supported at all times from the careers team, with some extra technical courses and lots of advice and workshops on how to approach companies and get ready for interviews during your job-hunt.To summarize, a great experience if you are ready to take on a big challenge and willing to put 100% of yourself into it.

Things you'll get experience of at Makers that perhaps self taught courses don't teach you are:-  working in a team on projects in an agile way- how to de-bug your code- the process of problem solving- emotional intelligence and valuable soft skills that you'll need in a job.- growth mindsetPlus you'll gain a whole network of like-minded people to bounce ideas off and help you. 

Overall this was one of the best things I have ever done. I met some amazing people, learned some amazing things, and now just starting my new job as a front-end dev. Short-sighted me sometimes wondered why I was learning a less in-demand language than other Bootcamps,  but now I am working I totally get it. Makers don't teach you syntax, they teach you how to learn and succeed working environment.I came into this Bootcamp thinking I would learn how to code and then try and find a job, instead, I learned the importance of testing your code, how to work properly within a team, how to plan effectively, how to transfer my knowledge of one language to another and the list goes on. Whilst I can't recommend this bootcamp enough one thing to note is its very hard work, luckily Makers take a holistic approach to this and care about your mental health.TLDR: Go for it, it's the best thing I have ever done.