Coder Academy

Coder Academy far exceeded all my expectations. The teachers and all the staff are fantastic, I was lucky to be in a great group of students and I learnt a ridiculous amount in such a short amount of time. The workload is definitely large, especially towards the end, and the timeframe is quite short (even though it's a longer course than most) but they definitely try their best to make you feel job ready. Group work does get hard at times, but you don't often work solo on a large project in the industry so I think the experience is worthwhile.

I have just graduated from the Sydney Coder Academy Fast-track web deveopment course. This course has been very influential in changing my perspective on the process of studying, getting experience and getting a job.

The course covers a very wide range of skills, and can be quite intense. Skills are updated to the latest industry standards (with some things changing from one cohort to the next, which has a distinct advantage over a 3-4 year uni degree, in which a lot of the information you learn may be irellevant by the end. The immersion into coding 9-5, monday to friday, ensures that students' mindframes are firmly rooted in programming. The friendships gained here are very important to me, and it is hard not to bond with people over these 6 months, as you are with them all the time.

The course also has a good focus on networking, going to meetups and otherwise immersing yourself in the industry, which I found to be a valuable asset in getting out there and meeting potential employers.

Coder Academy's fast track bootcamp promises to teach you to be a full-stack web developer in 6 months. It does that, but I thought the course could have been better. I'll start with the good, and then get onto my gripes.

The cirriculum is well designed. You start with Ruby, a good language for beginners, for a few weeks. Just when you a feeling overwhelmed, they teach HTML and CSS, which provides relief, and then its onto Ruby on Rails. After that, its onto Javascript and MERN stack.

The instructors are good, for the most part. In my course we had issues with our lead teacher, but he was eventually replaced towards the end. Both the replacement teacher, and the subsitute teacher we had were excellent. The assistents were great, if a little overworked.

Now for the bad.

Too many frills. During the course we were given multiple afternoon sessions on mindfulness, and assertiveness/positivity. This isn't something that should be included in the course. We're paying Coder Academy to teach us to code, not meditate. Given that students are studying full time through the entire 6 months, I would have liked none of the self-help stuff, and less of the course costs. The Latin woman who took us through the assertiveness "training" (or whatever it was called) was atrocious.

To much pair programming, and group assignments. CA were reallly pushing pair programming during my study there. I prefer learning on my own, rather than working with another person. If the other person knows more than you, or less that you, it slows down one person from being able to learn at their own speed. Obviously its good to talk with other students and discuss solutions/ideas, but it should be infomal. Also its just plain distracting having someone look over your shoulder when you are trying to code.

The main term projects were done in groups of 2, then 3, then 4. In the batch before us, the students did the assignments individually. This would have been preferable, as the group projects inevitably end up in drama and conflict. Its easier for the staff to assist the groups, but harder on the students. Maybe keeping assignments to pairs would be a good compromise. CA will argue that they are getting you "job ready" by doing this, but student projects aren't the same as work projects, as you can't get fired, and there isn't a boss in a student project.

The classroom is pretty small with all the students (hope you aren't claustraphobic), and you'll need to get all your own equipment, adding to the cost of the course. 

Afterwards, CA did help me find a job. But be aware that it will be very hard for you to get a job as a junior dev, after you graduate.

Having just finished the course, I'd like to note a few key points to any potential students:

Their curriculum is constantly being updated to maximise your learning outcomes. They get feedback from industry hirers on knowledge gaps of junior devs as well, meaning that everything you learn is directly applicable in the workforce.

The current lead educator, Garret, is probably the best teacher I've had throughout my years through school and university. Not only does he know his shit, he is very empathetic and is always available to help.

Compared to self-learning, being able to be guided in the right direction as well as being able to share the pains with an entire class of like-minded people is a great motivator to excel in the course.

The internship process is extremely useful since being able to get experience interviewing for positions as well as having the option to vet your potential internship companies would be very useful for applying for actual junior dev positions

As mentioned by others, please note that this bootcamp is intense. There are 40 contact hours a week, in addition to self-study. Even though there is a lot of support if you feel like you are struggling, to maximise what you get out of it, make sure you can prioritise your commitments so that you give yourself ample time outside of class to solidify what you learn in class. If this is a problem, maybe check out the CoderAcademy Gentech part-time course.

Just graduated from Coder Academy's Fast Track Coding Bootcamp after sitting on the fence for months. And hands down was so worth it. After 6 months of coding full-time and I can finally see the light. Before coding, I tried to self-teach web development but quickly plateau. Garret was our class's main instructor and we all learn so much. Not just coding but many other important skills relevant in the work force. How to learn, solve problems, and work in industry. I felt it perfectly prepared me to transition from my career in real estate into development. The program also includes an internship and I am excited to start my in a week!!

My experience at CA was fantastic - I went from zero to hero in 6 months and learned way more in this fast period than I thought possible. We started out in HTML/CSS, went into Ruby and Rails, and finished with Javascript, and the MERN stack. I feel extremely capable of coming out and I'm looking forward to my internship that CA helped organize as promised. I feel confident in my ability going forward and have no worries about my ability to find employment after. Coding is much more fun than I expected and I highly recommend these guys if you're on the fence.

- signed, a previously uncertain potential student

Adam Demirel

Excellent for learning base fundamentals when it comes to programming. Essentially setting you to go out on your own and understand, read and develop skillls in any programming language.

The course structure needs to be improved, as it seems teachers seem to be winging it from day to day based on any given subject. Outstanding set curriclum and layout is required.

Regarding teachers, for the whole they are very committed and accesible, always willing to help, educate and take one on one time do some white boarding so you can understand a concept in your own specific way of learning. Matt <3. 

Also, only for donuts.

One of the best learning experiences I've ever had the pleasure to be part of. I've learned more than I could have ever imagined in the past 6 months, and it's been hard at times but totally worth it. The instructors really care about seeing you make it and are more than willing to spend time after class or whenever to help if you're stuck. There is a strong emphasis on being comfortable if you don't get something straight away, it'll click eventually, and that's ok. 100% recommend this course and environment for anyone who is interested in coding, great people, and a 5-star learning environment. Thanks Coder Academy, I couldn't have done it without you!

 I am very happy with my decision to get started with my tech journey at Coder Academy. I am a risk-taker, but at the same time I always believe that everything would go well if there's something I really want. When I found Fast track Coding bootcamp running at Coder Academy at first, I had a feeling that this is going to be a good opportunity for me to get a guide on a daily basis and make friends who have similar dreams. Yes, it was!! Every day I've found myself struggling and making a progress in the end. You will have amazing peers and teachers who are helping you be happy with your coding journey. Lots of motivations and team tasks would make you strong as time goes by. After the end of the whole classes, the internship opportunity is invaluable. I have been lucky enough to get two job offers at the end of the internship. You will find how much support you are getting from Coder Academy even when the course ends. Don't be surprised at seeing you being vulnerable if you take things hard. That's totally fine. There are always people around you at CA. I really value the course. Remember that you are not going to give up and continue to work hard even though you think it's super challenging for now. One day you will look back your past and see how amazing you are.