Software, Web and Mobile Engineering

I finished Makers in January 2020 and have accepted a job offer about six weeks after graduation - I'm very happy as I thought it would take a lot longer than that! The average time to find a job is more like three to four months.Personally I had an amazing experience at Makers and never doubted for a second that it was the right choice for me. That's not to say that it wasn't a difficult and emotionally intense six months! (From pre-course to securing a job) My advice would be that you need to be sure that you are ready to commit to it and it's what you really want. I started the process of trying out coding, researching learning materials and Makers, looking at job possibilities and planning my finances almost a year before starting the course - not everyone does it this way but I wanted to be sure I was making the right decision.Like plenty of the other reviewers have said, you get out of the course what you put in. You're definitely not spoon-fed the course materials, you need to take initiative and solidify a lot of the concepts yourself, either by self learning or working with fellow cohort members. The coaches were generally lovely and helpful but you need to be proactive and go seek them out when you need them. You're also responsible for setting your own learning goals and deciding how you will reach them. I found this tough at first as it's not at all how I learned in the past, neither at university nor at work.I met some lovely people on the course from all kinds of different backgrounds. I enjoyed the experience of everyone learning together and pairing with different people every day, I think this helped to bring us together and I felt the cohort members really supported one another.A big plus is the course's focus on emotional well-being. It's easy to promote this attitude while not actually living it but I found Makers really do practice what they preach. As well as regular meditation, yoga and table tennis sessions, we also had talks and workshops geared towards working effectively with other people and looking after yourself. If you are struggling whether with technical or non technical issues then help is there when you need it. This attitude and support carries on after you finish the course and begin looking for a job.I think what Makers offer that's unique and worthwhile is that they show you how to go about teaching yourself new tech and concepts and prepare you as best they can for your first job in a professional tech environment.

Taking the plunge into a new career can be extremely daunting, but Makers made my transition from IT consultant to Software engineer near to seamless and enjoyable. From as early as the pre-course Makers encourage you to work with your peers, this was something that didn't come naturally to me but was something that I have been wanting to work on for a long time so I embraced it. You will pair on a daily basis and learn to work with every personality type, and you are guaranteed to make some lasting connections.
I never felt too comfortable, which is a good thing, I was always challenged and felt like I was learning something new every day. You will learn not only how to be a great dev in 12 weeks, but you will be given the tools to continually learn and code anything you can imagine.
The fact that Makers place soft skills on the same level as tech skills was refreshing. Not only did I learn a lot about coding best practices but I learnt a whole heap about myself throughout the process.
I can honestly say that Makers has changed my life, I am starting a dream job and have all the tools to make it an enjoyable experience.

From day 1 Makers creates a very supportive environment conducive to learning while also preparing you well for the working world.  With a curriculum that covers pair programming, agile processes, test driven development, object oriented programming, continuous development/ integration and emotional awareness, it is a uniquely holistic course. Not to mention the yoga, meditation, ping pong, well stocked kitchen and socials! In addition, there are process workshops, external code reviews, talks from hiring partners, CV clinics, 1-1 careers coaching and careers fairs available for you to attend. Maker's self-led learning and language-agnostic philosophy is refreshing, although many felt that the course materials could be updated to be more reflective of the current job market (e.g. React and Node.js instead of Rails).I would highly recommend this course if you are in a financial and mental position to be able to commit fully and make the most of all it has to offer. Makers undoubtedly provides you with the tools you need to succeed but ultimately (as with most things in life) you will only get out of it what you put in.

Before Makers I was working at in a role which gave me very little pleasure and offered little in the form of learning opportunities or technical skill.  Makers Academy has given me the tools to pursue a real career change and find a role that I really enjoy in a very short period of time.  I am grateful for the support of the coaches and career team who are committed to helping you through the course and afterwards.  One of the main benefits of Makers is the environment that is available to you throughout the course, the material is great, but the real advantage is being able to work in teams or pairs with other people who are passionate about becoming developers.   Makers has been a fantastic experience from start to finish and although it was scary leaving a stable job to enroll in the bootcamp, it has been totally worth the risk.  I would reiterate past reviews that the teaching style often follows a hands off approach, which initially may be difficult, but in the long run I have found it a very useful approach to learning.  I would definitely recommend this course for anyone looking to make a career change!

I had a great time studying at Makers and it was exactly the challenge I was looking for, equipping me with the skills to have a complete career change. Great support from coaches and the careers' team, and have met some wonderful people! Highly recommend!

Leaving my job to apply and pay for this course was one of the scariest decisions I've made! It was UTTERLY worth it - it has been the best experience of my life.
The course content taught me so much more than I could ever have learnt at home through online courses. I felt fairly confident about my Ruby syntax before starting, but I still learnt SO much about programming that I would never have been exposed to without the course - things like programming best practices, TDD and thorough testing, deploying projects etc. As well as Agile team processes. The holistic workshops about EQ have also been fascinating and taught me a lot about working styles and personality types, which will be useful with dealing with future colleagues.
The course is very much self-led learning, and all the staff and resources are very open about this from the beginning. In fact, one of the factors in my decision was being told that the course was largely self-led without much hand-holding during my campus tour before I had applied. I personally enjoy the challenge and freedom of the style, but I think some students can find it frustrating or even daunting, so you should consider whether this will suit your learning style when choosing a bootcamp.
There are 4 technical coaches. One coach will work with your cohort each week, leading morning workshops and setting the challenges for the week. All coaches are on-hand in the morning to help with individual challenges, although you are actively encouraged to find solutions yourself before asking for help (as you will be in the industry). The coaches are all very approachable.
I hadn't really considered the post-course careers team and support when choosing a bootcamp, but the team at Makers are fantastic. They take time to sit with you and understand your technical skills, as well as your preferences in what sort of role and company you are looking for. There are many lunchtime talks and careers fairs where hiring companies present their organisation and currently available roles. There is the opportunity throughout and after the course to participate in "reviews", which is like doing a live tech test with a reviewer over Skype. These are daunting but incredibly useful, and definitely take some of the fear out of tech tests in interviews. Finally there are two careers coaches available for graduates during the job-hunt, who are WONDERFUL - always approachable, available, reassuring, full of practical advice for for specific questions about your job-hunt, but also very pragmatic about the experience - for example, I was surprised and delighted to be actively encouraged to take a holiday after I'd graduated, and to make sure to factor in "fun things" into my daily to do list during the job-hunt.
Makers is undoubtedly a very intense experience, with extreme highs and lows. However for me, it is one of the best experiences of my life. I have learnt SO much, which has been very stimulating. I have met wonderful people from diverse backgrounds - both the staff and my fellow students. And in a short period of time, Makers has given me the skills and the opportunity to have a complete career change.

Pros:- Meet lots of great people. - Amazing to see what you can learn in a relatively short space of time.- Freedom to work on your own project in a group at the end of the course. - Compared to other bootcamps, you get a good full stack approach. - TDD approach is drilled into you from day one, which stands you in good stead for interviews. Process reviews with external reviewers are another great way to prep you for interviews. Cons:- Coaches are stretched and as a result,  aren't able to offer as much support as most people would like.- My cohort was let down by the careers fair - only one company turned up to the first fair; 3 to the second a month later, with one of these companies retracting their job openings a few days later. Therefore, there were only 4 job openings for around 2 cohorts worth of people. You need to be motivated and dedicated to finding yourself a job outside of the course. - Some of the course material needs updating or for coaches to check for errors before using the material. 

I attended the Makers Academy Bootcamp from September to December 2019. Being in my 30s and having very little prior knowledge (a smattering of hobby coding from my teen years) I went into the course apprehensive that I wouldn't be able to keep up and end up left behind. How wrong I was! I learned a phenomenal amount in just 3 months!
The learning was approached from a bottom-up perspective with a heavy emphasis on learning the very basics of coding first and then using those basics to expand and extend the knowledge learned in a gradual and manageable way to complete more and more complex projects. In addition to the coding there was a heavy emphasis on emotional learning as well, through meditation, yoga and workshops on how to be a more well-rounded and emotionally healthy person in a tough, fast paced industry.
The only con I can think of from the whole experience was the hands-off approach to teaching. Don't get me wrong, the coaches were there to help and provide advice (and were fantastic), but the learning was not in the same vein as school or college wherein the teaching was more formalised and followed a strict curriculum. This was jarring and somewhat difficult to get used to, and at times rather frustrating, but in hindsight it was actually a positive. They gave me the tools to learn organically and on the go, which (after a month in my placement) is absolutely essential and I am definitely grateful for!

In short: the bootcamp was tough, oftentimes frustrating, but ultimately it was a fantastically valuable experience that has given me the knowledge and skills I needed to take my first steps into the Software Development industry!

Makers is a really interesting programme - I felt empowered to develop my own learning without it being too prescriptive. That being said the coaches were always accessible and happy to help unblock. I feel this mimicked real-life work very well and is great preparation for the real world. I would say that some of the workshops that were run were lacking a bit of direction but coaches were really open to feedback and this situation improved really quickly.

Makers is very much a self driven course. There are coaches available for classes and assistance, but most learning will be done with your peers using the Makers provided curriculum. If this suits your learning style, I would highly recommend the course. If you prefer structured learning, it might be a bit of a challenge but success is still definitely achievable. You'll get out only as much as you are prepared to commit! Be prepared to work 12 hours a day during the course, with weekend work as well. The course is intense and there's a lot to take in, but with the friendly staff and students I highly enjoyed my time and kind of wish I could do it all again!

As someone already working in a team of software engineers for over a year, at first I wasn’t sure what the course would bring to me in terms of knowledge and skills. What can I say, it was simply the most productive learning experience I have ever been involved with. Professional coaches, well designed tasks, and great support and feedback all the way through. Has given me the confidence to become the engineer I always thought I could be. Especially loved the constant focus on test-driven-development, really job-relevant and teaching me the skills I need for my day-to-day work. Having tried a number of different development routes, I could not be more positive about Makers in comparison to the others, they are streets ahead and I will be recommending them to everyone that I speak to over the coming months and years! Great job!

I started the 3 month Academy with absolutely no coding experience.

The course material is well laid out, and whilst daunting at first, the coaches are extremely supportive and  helpful. Putting emphasis on not only learning a coding language, but the principles and techniques on how to self study, assess and develop yourself. 

By the end of the 12 week Bootcamp, I had learned the fundamentals to 3 different languages and build web applications in each of them from scratch!

Being able to see the just how far I have come from the first week to the last in such a short a seemingly short space of time is an incredible feeling.
Makers has set me up with skills I can use for the rest of my life, and within a week of joining a team after the academy I am already working on active tickets and contributing to the team.

I would recommend Makers Academy to anyone looking to take the first, or next step in the coding career.

A really great bootcamp, I learnt so much in 12 weeks. Everything from fundamental concepts and multiple languages to Agile processes and effective pairing techniques. All valuable skills in the workplace. The bootcamp has given me so much confidence in my decision to change career. The coaches are very approachable and always on hand should you need them. Mental health and wellbeing are also taken seriously. It's an intense 12 weeks but well worth it. You'll get out of it what you put in. Would definitely recommend.

Makers ethos is to teach people how to learn rather than teaching them everything there is to know about software development. They deliver this brilliantly. Having undertaken two different courses using both approaches, I can safely say that this approach to learning is preferable. This is because the self-learning element is central to becoming a good software engineer in an ever moving industry and will allow me to continue to develop long after the boot camp finished.

The course itself featured 7 weeks of learning modules, each building upon the previous ones knowledge and skill. The final 5 weeks was split up into 3 self led team projects. I found all 12 weeks to be beneficial but with some previous programming knowledge, I particularly enjoyed the team projects as we were able to use all core development skills in a real working environment.

I would recommend this course to anyone who is looking to kickstart their career in software development as it gives you all the core skills that you need to grow and flourish in the work place.

Yes, I learnt to code in 3 very intensive months (be prepared for all your relationships to take a backseat!). Yes, I got a job within two weeks of graduating from Makers. But really, that doesn't even compare to what really sets Makers apart from other bootcamps - and that's their focus on emotional intelligence, self-care and diversity. I have a few examples...

1. I was meant to start at Makers in February and got struck down by a serious and chronic health condition that took me out of action for 6 months. They allowed me to keep delaying the start of my course every month, were always available for me to talk through any concerns or questions I had. When I started, they were fully supportive to provide me with what I needed to be able to manage my health whilst at the course.
2. On my first day, I had a few experiences (as a woman, and of South Asian descent) which made me feel uncomfortable. Although Makers and the rest of the tech industry have a long way to go when it comes to diversity, I was able to voice my concerns to a member of staff who then heard these concerns and took action to change the course of it. That made me feel really supported.
3. We have yoga twice a week and daily meditation! Seriously going to miss that...

In terms of 'cons', I would say that the quality of coaching could have been better at times, and it did sometimes feel that they had not been trained thoroughly or had that much experience in teaching. I would also say that some of the course material really felt like it hadn't been updated in years. Also, it would have been nice to have some more time on Javascript - we talked a lot about asynchronicity but I didn't get to really put it into practice until we decided to do a Javascript stack on our final project. However, there is flexibility from week 10 onwards to do more Javascript if you prefer.

In saying that, I don't think any course can be perfect but Makers did feel like it gets the balance right and their pedagogy is effective, and they got me a job (I still can't believe I just got a job as a Software Engineer so quickly!). A shout out to the careers team for their support too!

During the 12 weeks you will learn to develop your own form of learning and can ask the coach for help at any time, this is a very useful way to start your career, knowing how to ask for help and being independent. Having people from different backgrounds makes the experience even nicer. I definitely super recommend it!

I've just graduated from Makers Academy and got hired within 2 weeks. I still can't believe that after barely knowing any coding 4 months ago I became someone who can build professional apps in different languages, solve complex technical problems, quickly learn new programming languages or technologies. And become hireable as a full-stack software developer. 

If you want to become a software engineer in a short period of time, it's the best option. Makers teach you not just how to code, but how to learn anything, how to be organised and strategic about your learning, how to push yourself and persevere. They create this intense learning environment where you are constantly pushed out of your comfort zone, so you have to work much harder than you would on your own. It's tough but very effective. 

To alleviate stress and emotional pressure (imposter syndrome, overwhelm, mental fatigue), Makers create a supportive environment & help to deal with those issues. There are workshops on empathy & emotional intelligence, daily meditations, yoga, social event. You can't underestimate the importance of such support.

Another important aspect of becoming a successful software engineer is the ability to work with others. To be a part of a team, to work in pairs, to provide and received feedback. All that was an important part of the curriculum. We had daily pairing sessions in the first part of the course, followed by team projects. We learned and practiced agile, had standups, retros, brainstorming sessions, code reviews. All that can't be learned on your own.

And in the end, it was so much fun! I've met great people and enjoyed the process. I feel a bit sad that it's over, but I've excited about the next chapter. Working as a software engineer, being a coder and the Maker.

Makers helped me realise my dream of becoming a developer.

I really my time at makers. I have met a lot of people who I know I will remain friends with. They have put a lot of effort into making the whole place a positive place to be. They are not purely focussed on coding and they offer things outside of code like yoga, meditation, pizza nights with games, kareoke and more. They have an aim to make you a more well-arounded emplyable developer rather than just a technical champion.

In terms of the coding, the process eases you into the process but each week you are more entrusted to work with less structure and build things as part of groups following the processes you have been taught throughout. Support was still there if needed. I really liked this way of working.

Although I can see the benefits to learning Ruby as a first language due to the way it reads plus the syntax is more forgiving. However it seems maybe Rails/Ruby aren't as relevent in the job world as they once were and the course spends alot of time focussing on them. However we did cover Javascript and some React. And final projects you can choose your own tech stack which meant you can go wild do things like use Python!

They have a big careers team and they have loads of partnerships with all sorts of companies from brand new starts ups to big American companies. Companies come into to give talks and they have careers fairs too.

You can learn the code and technical stuff yourself online. But they teach you things like coding as part of a team and using team processes to developing apps. Which is obviously beneficial for getting a job as real world dev. It is awesome, the fact they have all this careers support and will help you find a job.

The staff at Makers provide a wholistic approach to learning. The coaches are always available for support whether this is in terms of writing better code or personal well-being. There is a very friendly atmosphere with an reliance on self learning. The 16 weeks are well structured, learning the basics in Ruby and applying it to other languages such as Javascript (and another language of your choice for the final project). At the end of the 16 weeks I feel as though I can quickly pick up new languages and apply what I've learnt to produce a decent product.

I was part of 3 months Apprenticeship BootCamp. Never before had a chance to learn brand new technology that way . Makers provided completely new and very effective way to learn how to code . Together with new skills of self learning , effective research and mental health and good life balance . I really missing Makers environment .