Actualize

For anyone on the fence - let this be the sign that you should do it. It is amazing how much you can accomplish in a few short months. 

I thought about attending a bootcamp for a few years, and over that time considered a number of bootcamps that operate in Chicago. Going in, my criteria were:
- Able to attend in person
- Full time
- Focus on a single stack of technologies due to the short duration of a bootcamp

Quite a few bootcamps met these criteria. COVID restrictions meant that no programs were offering in-person, so I went for their live virtual classes and was happy with the experience. What set Actualize apart for me was their focus on education. Their website states that they are educators first. While I can't compare with other bootcamps having only attended Actualize, I can attest that the instructors are excellent at communicating and reinforcing complex topics to people from a wide range of backgrounds. Our cohort had teenagers and people with grandchildren, people with CS backgrounds and folks who had never coded before joining. The instructors are engaging, passionate, knowledgable, and have plenty of real-world experience to share.

The curriculum is well designed for newcomers to writing software: 
- Ruby is a great choice for first-time coders as it is not burdened by verbose syntax - this focuses students on picking up fundamentals like conditionals, arrays, hashes, loops, etc. rather than debugging where they missed a closing punctuation. It is a language designed to read like english, which is super approachable and fun to code in. This gets you started, and further into class you can explore other languages more easily.
- The program focuses on a small set of languages and reinforces fundamentals through repetition, building your knowledge up until you are proficient with a stack. Some other bootcamps promise to teach you many different popular languages, rather than going deep into a few. Actualize equips you with the ability to pick up other languages as needed (aka when you are getting paid at a job). 
- Each week there is "job hacking" - dedicated career advisors coach you through the steps needed to get a job and succeed after bootcamp ends. Resume writing, personal websites, interviewing, types of employers, etc. are all things they help you with.
- Post bootcamp, graduates continue to attend a course dedicated to practicing data structures and algorithms and preparing you for your interviews.

Culture wise, Actualize is a very welcoming, accommodating, and honest place to learn. There were many times that folks from my cohort considered leaving, but the supportive atmosphere and encouragement from teachers and peers kept 100% of my cohort mates through to graduation. It is a small company and the folks who work there all seem like a tight-knit family - they take care of their people, which permeates through to them taking care of their students and alumni. Alumni who have moved on to full-time positions frequently popped into class to say hello and offer their perspective, experiences, and advice. From reviewing other bootcamps there seem to be a few that are patched together to get as many students through so they can get paid - Actualize feels like the opposite of this, that their instructors would do this even if money was no object to them, they love to teach and to see their students succeed.

Actualize doesn't prepare you just to get a job, they set you up to have a career. They teach you to be curious and explore, to be excited to code each day, and to work on whatever you might be interested in. Like pulling the cord to start an engine, you may have tried before this to learn on your own through classes or books, but yet you still haven't found success. Actualize was the pull that got the engines going for me and so many others. You can do it too!

For me, where I am in my life (career pivot, woman, parent, eager to learn and grow), this was absolutely the right decision--no question. And no question that this was the right place to do it. They have their shit together, they are not a scam, and it's a great place to go through a hard, huge thing. For me, this was more than just learning coding. It was learning how I learn, and fighting back against some shitty, mean-ass voices inside my own head that have lived there for too long. Because there are so many variables going into whether or not it's the right decision for you, I am hesitant to recommend the bootcamp model blindly. If you've got specific questions (like I did when I came to CourseReport to read reviews about Actualize) I would be happy to give more detail or answer questions. Find me on LinkedIn and let's chat (unless you're weird or pervy, in which case, please don't).

One specific thing I will say: for women, or anybody who may feel like they don't belong in the dev community, listen up. Get yourself a teacher who looks at you like Amanda. She won't do the work for you, but she'll light a loving fire under your ass to see your own potential and give yourself credit for what you can do. 
 
I am very, very grateful for this experience and proud of myself for taking the leap. 

 

I chose this bootcamp because they were the only bootcamp that I found that had live instruction. This made a huge difference because I learn better when I have someone demonstrating things to me instead of just following instructions or doing just assignments. I like having that feedback, especially when I learn something completely new. I thought it was a great experience, I liked that we actually got to code with our instructor as she was demoing. I would recommend this bootcamp to people who need an actual instructor present to be able to learn. They are a small company, which was a big plus for me especially because bigger companies usually just want your money. The big companies don't really seem like they care about your outcomes but at Actualize you really feel like they care about your success. After graduation, they don't leave you hanging which is great. I'm writing this on my last day of the cohort and I'm planning on extensively using the job hacking resources they provide.

I was referred to this Bootcamp by two former Actualize alumni and the only thing I regret was not joining sooner! My experience and the curriculum were superb! I couldn't imagine learning this much in such a short time. All the instructors were phenomenal, Kevin in prework, Katherine as the lead instructor, and the TAs.All were always more than willing to help and go over anything you were stuck on. It doesn't stop there, Lisa in career services has been super helpful in my job search. I recommend enrolling if you're looking to get into web development!

Actualize was an amazing experience where you learn so much in such a short period of time. The program starts with a month of pre-work where you learn the fundamentals of coding syntax and data types, then from there you start the 3 months of live instruction where you learn to create full stack applications. They do a great job teaching you lots of complex concepts, in their entirety, quickly and effectively. The curriculum is excellent and my instructor was a really great teacher as well. If you are looking for a bootcamp to launch your career in tech, I couldn't think of a better place.

Actualize enabled me to learn an incredible amount in a relatively short amount of time. Before Actualize I was learning as much as I could through self study. I was able to learn about algorithms and other puzzle-solving style coding problems, but I wasn't learning much at all about practical programming and how to BUILD things with a computer! This is where Actualize excels, and I don't think I could have learned how to build a full stack web application in even 1/10th of the time on my own. Actualize gives you the tools you need to transition into a career in web development with actual skills beyond just theoretical computer science knowledge. There's also a great job hacking program where you're guided by career counselors, and there's an extremely supportive network of people who want to see you succeed. If you're like me and are burnt out from a career that doesn't value your skills as highly as you feel you deserve, I can't recommend Actualize highly enough.  

You may be interested in learning to program but confused about what a “Full Stack Developer” actually is.  Let me explain.  A Full Stack Developer is a web developer who works on both client and server software.  This is often referred to as the “Front End” and the “Back End”.  The Front End is what you see when you go to any website, how the page layout looks, how the buttons, menus, and forms all operate.  The Back End is where a lot of the logic and data for the website exists.  This would be where, for example, a website like Twitter would store all of the tweet data.  So if that sounds like a field you’d like to work in, then learning to become a Full Stack Developer would be excellent.  But Actualize also teaches general coding knowledge and just about everything you learn is transferable to another programming language.
It was a great experience and I think the attribute that sets Actualize apart from other, larger coding bootcamp is how much they actually care about you.  I had two friends who before me went to the two largest coding bootcamps and while they also enjoyed their experiences, we all agreed that Actualize cared the most about our personal success.  This is most evident with the “Job Hacking” that takes place at least once a week that really prepares you to step into the world of a programmer after bootcamp.  There are career counselors who meet with you personally 1-on-1 several times after the course of the bootcamp to get to know you and really tailor a plan to help you land a job, because that’s what this is really all about. 

Living in Chicago, but applying to bootcamps in the pandemic, I was curious whether I should wait to apply to Actualize until things opened up back in-person, or if I should apply for the online class. After sitting in and observing a previous remote cohort, I went for it and am glad I did. Our instructor created a great atmosphere where I really got to know other students from around the country, we had inside jokes and met up outside of class to work together on homework. I also enjoyed the format of the curriculum, which consisted of short lectures, then a chance to practice the concept yourself on something different but related, and then a review if you were stuck/didn't quite get it. The whole vibe of the instructors and career advisors matches their pitch deck and you truly feel the Actualize staff is here for you, supporting you on a learning journey and invested in your success. The curriculum focuses on Ruby on Rails and Javascript and Vue.JS, which were great languages and frameworks to learn the concepts quickly and easily. I know I have a lot more to learn, but I left empowered to learn more and keep building things.

Actualize far exceeded my expectations of what I thought I could get out of a bootcamp in such a short amount of time.  If you're someone that has to maintain a job while attending this class remotely let me be an example of how anyone can absolutely do it.  I came into actualize being an insanely burnt out truck driver working roughly 65 hours a week ready to make a career change. Going to school during the week and driving on the weekends is one of the most daunting things I've ever done in my life and I couldn't be any happier in taking the plunge.  Actualizes course is perfect for the student that starts with 0 knowledge of web development and still has a work-life balance to manage outside of school.  Dani is the best teacher i've ever had including high school/college.  Apply to actualize!!!!

I am very pleased to report that Actualize has been a wonderful experience for me as a whole. The people I got to know and the strategies I learned during this camp have already become invaluable to me. The professors here are fantastic, and the TA's as well. They provide excellent help and teaching in all circumstances, the resources provided are incredible. If you are looking to get into the best bootcamp at the best price this is your place! The online aspect also worked perfectly with my schedule and provided me with my first remote experience on a computer for school or work and I really value the online camp for that purpose. If you have read this far you should honestly just go check out the camp and apply.... Actualize for the win!

I just graduated from the Actualize Coding Bootcamp today!! It was honestly such an amazing experience. Actualize will provide you with all the support you need to make that career change to software development. HOWEVER, it is much more important that you yourself have the drive to become a software developer. No bootcamp will do that for you. In my case, I was extremely motivated to do well, and for that reason, I believe I was able to unlock the full potential of Actualize Coding Bootcamp. My instructor Dani was an amazing resource, and I'm grateful she put up with all the questions I asked her throughout my time there. My career advisor Sarah was also fantastic. She helped me through many job applications and a lot of great job-searching advice. My classmates were also a pleasure to work with. I plan to make use of my unlimited access to both Actualize's bootcamp materials and career help to get my first job as a software developer!

I applied to Actualize due to a friend's recommendation. I have an undergraduate degree in Computer Science that I received in 2016 and worked as a Unity3d developer for a year. After that I started playing video games professionally and took a huge break from coding. I signed up for the bootcamp to help me learn new aspects of coding and help me focus in on web development. The bootcamp pushed me to learn about full stack web development in a structured environment and taught you not just coding concepts, but overall important skills to help be successful in anything you do. It was a blast and I immensely enjoyed the experience!

I remember hearing about programming and then having the pleasure of seeing it up close with a family member of mine so, I decided to look on online for a Bootcamp that best fit my schedule whether it be day or night, with great values and just a overall great vibe. And that’s when i came across Actualize. My experience here has been nothing but fast, efficient, friendly and helpful beyond belief. They are attentive, caring and have a excellent curriculum. Thank you very much Actualize!!

Actualize has been more than I could have asked for when I started looking for coding bootcamps! 

What sets them apart is their commitment to you as an individual and their emphasis on teaching you HOW to learn. 
They're also very focused on the fact that most students are here to get a job in this industry. Their "job hacking" program keeps you accountable and is a great way to push through some of the harder moments of the job search. 

On top of that - Peter was just a flat out amazing teacher- I wish he taught me more subjects because at no point were we just "getting through" the material- he really taught it and found ways to relate to every student. I was blown away with their willingness to meet me where I was and be non judgmental throughout the whole process. 

If you're at all considering a coding bootcamp as a way to switch up your career, I could not recommend Actualize enough! 

My experience at Actualize was life changing.
It was such a stressful, arduous  process to find the right bootcamp for myself. I would even go as far as to say, that finding the right bootcamp was and will probably be the hardest part of my coding journey. I researched over 10 bootcamps, and I learned very quickly that most of them have the same business/education model. Which is either being scammy by not properly evaluating students for their program, because they just want your money— and then kick you out when you can’t keep up (Ii.e. App Academy, Coding Dojo), OR are 10-12 hrs a day, 6 days a week, with very little  instructional/teaching assistance and absolutely no mental health support. (I.e. Hack Reactor, Hackbright Academy) 
Being someone who has OCD, ADD, and Complex PTSD— I was freaking out about how I would be able to do a coding bootcamp.  All of these schools had educational models, that set up people like me to fail. I finally found Actualize when I decided to venture outside the west coast for schools. They have been running a remote program way before the pandemic. I was immediately struck by their curriculum, in that it’s 3 months long but half the hours of a traditional bootcamp (normally 12 hrs). After speaking with the school’s Dean Peter Jang— I was beyond inspired to attend this bootcamp. Their education model is revolutionary, in that they prioritize ‘learning how to learn’ first— and coding second. The school is filled with faculty that have educational and mental health backgrounds. And their emphasis is teaching you the skills to teach yourself, which is vital in the tech industry. 
Amanda was the AMAZING, and the best teacher I’ve ever had. I reached out to her pretty early on in the bootcamp, because I was really struggling— and we ended up meeting every single week to check in. She helped me outline study habits, concepts to focus on— and always always encouraged me to take care of myself first, not go into burnout, and prioritize my mental health (something you WILL NOT find at any other bootcamp). It was honestly very difficult to reprogram myself to work in this way, after being conditioned since childhood that the only way to succeed is to work 78372 hrs a day/ 213421 hrs a week, and be a slave to the miserable, endless grind to the top.   Far more valuable than the coding education I got, which was excellent— the most valuable things I learned from Amanda was: getting a framework for how to learn, realizing I can work in a way that supports my wellbeing and still be successful no matter how hard or ambitions the job, goal, or task is— and learning that I don’t have to do everything perfectly in order to accomplish my goal. This was life changing. 
I also want to take the time to mention the job support team at Actualize, which was OUTSTANDING. First of all, the career support was an active part of our curriculum from day one. This is very unusual, as ALL the other bootcamps I researched do not begin job counseling until the last 2 weeks of bootcamp, and in some cases after graduation— and it’s a short-lived process. Lisa and Sarah conducted class with us every week, working with us on everything from resumes, to our LinkedIn pages and personal summaries. They were also accessible throughout the bootcamp to meet one-on-one. I really utilized this resource with Sarah, who I met with frequently during the bootcamp. She went ABOVE & BEYOND to support me not only with my job search experience, but helped me to organize my time at bootcamp in a way that took care of my mental health. In fact, Sarah prioritized my mental health, and every solution we created started with this as a foundation. What’s remarkable is the job support hasn’t even ended… I’ve graduated bootcamp, but this week I begin 3 job hacking classes , and then 4 successive weeks of interview prep classes— all to support and gear me up to secure a job in the new year. In addition, Lisa and Sarah are also making themselves available again to meet one-on-one as needed.  This is the first time in my life that while feeling overwhelmed to begin this process, I feel fully comforted in the support I know I have— and will ultimately emerge successful in the job hunt process, because I have passionate, brilliant, caring people to help me through every aspect of it. 
The last thing I will say, and this is for anyone researching a bootcamp— the support I got from Actualize was fully contingent upon my ability to reach out, advocate for myself, and ask for help.  I’m sure that my experience would differ tremendously from a student who didn’t do this.  In my opinion, succeeding at Actualize requires a keen level of self-awareness, the ability to communicate that, and reaching out to faculty for help when needed. Do not expect to get this level of support from Actualize or any bootcamp for that matter, if you don’t ask for it. This is one of my biggest pieces of advice to anyone looking to do a coding bootcamp.
I could not recommend this school enough, I am so grateful I found Actualize— and believe will forever be reaping the benefits of this choice. 

I spent a fair amount of time researching coding bootcamps before I took the plunge with Actualize.  After all, the cost of these camps vary as much as the technologies offered.  I was certainly proficient with computers, but I had no coding background at all.  I didn't even know how to bring up the terminal.  Let me say, emphatically, this was the best decision I could have possibly made.  This course did not teach me syntax or how to build "X" (Well I mean of course they did, but read on...).  I practiced researching, learning, and apply information directly from documentation.  I learned how to fish in this bootcamp.  It's given me the confidence to build things we never learned in class, and tackle other technologies right out of a 4 month camp.  Don't waste anymore time thinking about all the things you have to do to start, just start and start here.