Coder Camps

What I learned from Coder Camps paid immediate dividends for my company and me. I had very little programming knowledge when my brother and I entered the startup world, and even though I was on the business side of the company, I knew programming experience would be invaluable.

I entered Coding From Scratch with just basic HTML, CSS and JavaScript skills from webmasters in high school and codecademy, and I was able to get everything out of the 9-week .NET course that I expected. But you can’t just show up and put in the minimum amount of effort required – this isn’t a college course for credit, so it’s on you to take the initiative and put in the time to master the material.

CEO David Graham and his staff were eager to see you do well in the course and in your career afterwards, and they did everything they could to help. Coder Camps also did an amazing job of putting a group of highly motivated students together in an environment that facilitated learning from our instructors, and one another.

And one final side note, I didn’t even look for a developer job after I finished camp since I already had my company, and still got emails and phone calls about open positions. There’s no doubt the need for developers is high right now, and Coder Camps is a great place to start if you’re looking to become one. 

i must say that attending Coder Camps was one of the best decisions I've ever made in terms of education. I've never been motivated by the college environment. I would just study to pass tests and slack just because I wasn't interested in what college had to offer. I can say happily that there wasn't a single day that I wasn't engaged or trilled to be there. I would spend 14+ hour a day at Coder Camps for the 12 weeks I was there doing the program.

Now I will say that if you attend Coder Camps you better not take the opportunity lightly. You have to work very hard and absorb as much of the information as possible. Do not go in with the attitude that just because you are sitting there that you'll become a rockstar developer. It's been 2 months since I've graduated and I'm still learning more and more each day. I can say without a shadow of a doubt that Coder Camps has created the foundation for this learning vigor.

The environment at Coder Camp was amazing. I'm still friends with the instructors and most of the people in my troop. Coder Camps made an effort to do events so everyone could get to know each other.  Not only that but they have put the graduates in contact with many job opportunities.

So I want to take this opportunity to say thank you to David Graham and all of the Coder Camp's staff. It was truly an amazing experience and I will never forget it. 

I was super scared coming into Coder Camps.  I had very little experience coding and I almost quit in Coding From Scratch.  Cody, my instructor for Coding From Scratch, was awesome.  He really pumped me up and made me feel like the struggles that I was going through were normal.  It gave me a huge boost in confidence about my code.

While I was there though, I found out just how strong I was.  Whether it was the exhaustive days, or the extremely difficult projects that pushed everyone to their limits of frustration some days, or the compassion that I had to show to my fellow classmates when they weren't quite getting it.  Coder Camps made me a better person along the way.

They say that you never know your limits until you really try... well, I know mine without a doubt. It's funny how the hardest thing I have ever done is also the most rewarding thing.  

Oh, and I got three job offers within two weeks of graduating.  One in Washington, DC, one in Florida, and one in Washington state.  I am from Florida, so that looks like my first choice as of now.

I had a great experience with Coder Camps at their Houston campus. I came in with extremely minimal knowledge of programming; I had only completed HTML, CSS, and half of JS on codecademy before I enrolled and began their Coding From Scratch program online then went on to attend the Full Stack .NET course in-person. Nick was my instructor at Houston, and he is an absolutely amazing professor and resource as well. He was always more than willing to help myself and other students with problems during development, as well as with understanding concepts better from class that day that were hard to grasp. He is able to break hard concepts down to smaller pieces in real-world, not technical ways to help you understand the concept if the technical definition and use was too much. The atmosphere at Coder Camps is incredibly resourceful as well as supportive, and everyone, including my fellow classmates, was always willing to lend a hand if I needed some help. Chris Lipari, a relatively new employee, was absolutely amazing at helping me build a resume that tech companies want to see, as well as with giving good advice for applying and interviewing. Coder Camps also offers mock technical interviews (the CEO, David Graham, is even willing to do this with you), although I didn't take advantage of that myself but I had friends who did and found it extremely helpful. Coder Camps really is a life-changing experience, and you can get as much out of it as you put in. I was skeptical at first of getting burnt-out with the full-time schedule, but you soon find your ideal balance and what works optimally for you. Looking back, I think it would be a lot harder to learn .NET development if it was spread out, since doing it full-time ensured that all details were still fresh and you were ready to keep building from the day before.

I was part of their second troop (started May 04th, 2015, graduated July 24th, 2015), and I'm writing this review to highlight issues not only with Coder Camps but also boot camps in general. I DO NOT RECOMMEND going to a boot camp in the Seattle area because they have not caught on really at all here, unless you have prior experience (atleast some college experience). I was a high school graduate with no coding experience before this, took their CFS and their Full Stack .NET bootcamp, and while they said they can take anyone (who was willing, and I was) from zero to hero, and said prior to my graduation that 'I would have no problem getting a job' as I was commended frequently for my hard work and dedication, yet here I am, less than 2 weeks from paying my first massive payment for an education which so far has served no career purpose whatsoever. I have applied to over 100 jobs in the Seattle area, focusing on Front End Developer, .NET Developer, and any junior positions but have only received communication back from less than 5 companies, 2 of which gave me introductory interviews but nothing after that. I'll admit, I'm not the greatest at interviews because Coder Camps didn't train us on interviews, they trained us on getting a website up and running and well, yet interviewers are not asking these questions, but asking Computer Science questions and notepad coding, something that takes years to do. I think coding bootcamps are feasible, but DON'T go to a Seattle area one, and DON'T go to Coder Camps. Why? Coder Camps doesn't offer to pay (or simply hold) your payments for the non-student loan you have through them, even if you don't have a job. Their 90% placement rate seems bogus because I don't believe anyone in my troop has gotten a job, the previous troop got jobs outside of the Seattle area, and the troop ahead of me only has one who got a job in Alabama.

The problem with a Seattle bootcamp is that there isn't a lot (only Coder Camps and Coding Dojo that I'm aware of), and that doesn't give you the selection like you would have down in San Fran, so apply there, where you can try and get deals and make sure they will hold your payments until you get a job. Coder Camps was a great experience, but I think every coding bootcamp is, so it isn't special, and that's why while I'll recommend going to a coding bootcamp, I don't recommend Coder Camps nor any in the Seattle area, as the job openings are mainly for Senior or Mid-Career developers with years of experience on top of a BS in CS.

I plan on editing this review if I do get a job to accurately portray my experience with Coder Camps and coding bootcamps.

Finally, here's two of the major cons of Coder Camps: 1. Doesn't withhold your payments if you don't get a job, and 2. Doesn't get you hired. I have received zero help (period) from Coder Camps in finding a job. They work with TEKsystems, yet I went in for the set-up interview and they have yet to even get me a single interview, versus just going out on my own has gotten me two.

TLDR; Don't go to Coder Camps anywhere, and don't go to coding bootcamp in Seattle area if you don't have already progress towards a CS degree. Go to a bootcamp in San Francisco and find one that withholds payments for your non-student loan if you don't find a job. I graduated 3 months ago, have been actively looking for a job, applied to over a hundred jobs for modest positions, gotten two interviews, zero help from Coder Camps on getting a job, and in 10 days my first payment of $350 dollars a month will kick in where I have not improved my wage at all. I'll update this review if I get a job. Thanks for reading, and beware!

Before coming to the Coder Camps Greater Seattle (Redmond, WA) location, I also had a chance to go through the curriculum down at Houston.

At first, I was hesitant to go through the program because I wasn't sure if it would be possible to learn ASP.NET+JavaScript Technology stack in just a short period amount of time (9 weeks). I decided to give it a shot since there were such high demand of ASP.NET developers in Seattle and I wanted to get my skill set up as quick as possible without having to go back to school with a 4 year CS program.

Starting day 1, right away, our main instructor, Nick, a senior developer who specialized in the .NET framework for 13 years, guided us and taught us the practical skills we needed to know to be ready for the job market. It was lecture followed by Individual tasks/projects/homework non-stop through out the day. There were times where I felt overwhelmed and frustrated when my project wasn't working properly, but thanks to TAs and senior students, I was able to get the help needed.

At the end of week 2, I found self in the classroom, at night, writing a twitter-like application using JavaScript and Firebase for my homework project. Yes, It did have to study and work hard every day and night to get this project to polish up, but once I finally completed the project, the satisfaction I felt was as much as the hard work and time I had to put into over the last 2 weeks. After week 3, I was able to work with Angular. After week 4 and 5, I was able to use the ASP.NET MVC 5. After week 6, I was able to combine ASP.NET and JavaScript AngularJS. Week 7 to 9, I was able to complete three major projects (one small group project, one big group project, one individual project) and during that time, Nick and other TAs were always around to help out. I have learned a ton. Camp experience was more than I expected. Now I'm craving for more.

For those who are looking to learn the trending technology, ASP.NET + JS, Coder Camps is definitely a place to look into. Especially with Stephen Walther at the Greater Seattle Location, my Instructor/mentor Nick at Houston, and Jeremy at SF bay area, you will be provided with all the knowledge you need to be in the trending job market. I have been taught by all three instructors and they are all truly dedicated and passionate at what they do.

One last thing I would like to comment is that Coder Camps also helped students with now only polishing resumes for students, but also held weekly workshops that helped with how to interview properly, how to polish your linkedin account, and many other tips that helped prepare looking for the right career. (Thanks to the Admin Team!)

I attended Coder Camps from January - March 2015 at their Bay Area location. It was the best decision I've made in my high school/college drop-out career. I worked in sales for a company and made decent money. It wasn't fulfilling, and I knew I could do more with my brain. So I took the leap of faith and enrolled in camp.

Before coming to camp, I was asked to learn and was tested on the basics of HTML, CSS and JavaScript. During the first 3 weeks of camp there is a heavy focus on HTML and JavaScript. CSS is not a primary focus, as a better understanding of it comes naturally as you build out websites during camp. In my humble opinion, understanding JavaScript is much more important unless you want to be a designer but I digress. 

The next phase of camp is learning .NET which is the framework of your web applications. This was a little more difficult for me to grasp. I had to dedicate the entire day (12+ hours a day) to learn the material and do the homework. But hey that's what you are signing up for right?!

The final phase was group and individual projects. This was my favorite part because it was truly amazing to work with my peers; just a few weeks prior we had no idea how to even begin building out web applications and now we were operating like developers on a team. Also, the instructors were constantly coming by to offer assistance if we ran into issues. Instead of just solving the problems they teach you how to dissect the problem and rectify it. This is the way I like to learn - by doing, by trial and error, and by figuring out how to figure it out. The ability to problem solve is invaluable. Also in this phase, you learn source control (allows you to share your code with teammates and open source projects) such as how to use TFS and I taught myself how to use GitHub. I wish this had been introduced at the beginning of our troop. From my understanding, it will be taught at the beginning of the class for future students. 

Overall, I feel confident with the skills I gained from attending Coder Camps. I started applying for jobs during the last two weeks of the course and had two job offers within a month. Caution: Do not come expecting that, come expecting to learn how to program and the job offers will come when they come. If you are someone who feels unfulfilled at your current job and have secretly always wanted to be a software developer, then a development bootcamp is for you. Coder Camps just so happened to be my program of choice. Whichever one you decide - good luck, work hard, ask questions and I know you will be pleased with the results. 

They do not teach you Comp Sci theory in 9 weeks (I don't think it's possible) but they do teach you how to program. For me I tried for a whole year before coming to camp and could never get past the basics. Coder Camps pushes you through that. They teach you how to teach yourself, and how to learn a programming language, which is powerful. More powerful than just memorizing syntax of one language.

I came to Coder camps with zero previous programming experience, and after camp was over I feel confident in my programming skills. The instructors are amazing, and willing to help you with any problem or question you have. Coder camps is just like any other educational institution, you get out what you put in. Instead of leaving at 5 and going about the rest of my day, I stayed till 7 or 8 and then would go back to the apartment with other students and study and practice until atleast 12 every night.

I also had the opportunity to meet some really amazing people, that I still keep in touch with. I learned a lot from these people, and we all helped each other out on every project.

If you are someone who is on the fence about attending, I say go for it. just remember, you need to work hard and study, not just go to class and hang out after if you want to succeed.

I was skeptical that the online experience would live up to the in person reputation, but it turned out to be the best online education experience ever.  I have a BS that I earned from University of Pheonix online and I found that experience to be lack luster.

The real difference here was that the teachers and TAs are in the online session with you all day, every day.  You don't have class, then come back at a different time. They are there to walk you through every phase of the education process, step by step. ( Nick, you are legend, my man! )

Even though I had been a student in CS before coming to camp, this really solidified things for me and made me understand what it really means to be a great programmer.  So glad that I chose to take Coder Camps online, in spite of my bad experience with other online educational programs.

I was really down on my luck and couldn't find a job.  I had taken some computer classes in college, but then couldn't get the money together to finish, so I didn't think there were going to be options available to me so that I could become a programmer.

That's when I called and spoke with Coder Camps.  I told them about my story and how I was ready to change my life.  They listened.  In fact, the owner waved my down payment and extended my deferral just to make things easier on me.  It turned out that I didn't need it though, because I got hired with the City of Austin on the day that I graduated.

Jeremy and Nick were amazing instructors and there were never fewer than 5 TAs at any time.  I always felt that I had help when I needed it.

I have told all of my friends and family about this amazing place and I hope that they go too.

I hate to say anything bad about the school because it's on my resume, but I really hope that people don't spend their life savings at Coder Camps. If money is not an object AND you can only study in Houston AND are only interested in learning the .NET stack, then this might be the place for you. Otherwise, there are better places with a culture of excellence and where quality education (not profit) are the top priority with helping students gain employment as a close second.

The star instructors (Andrew and Alex) are no longer with the school. I believe the owner's 20-year-old nephew is now an instructor (no, he does not have professional programming experience). There is no employment assistance or interview training available.

I went to Coder Camps in May 2014 thru July 2014. It was one of the best learning experiences I have had to date. It was there that I not just learned to program, but I became a programmer. They teach you great skills that will help you learn any programming language or concept, not just specific ones they use. I would recommend anyone to Coder Camps that has a passion for coding, and wanting to accelerate or jumpstart their career. I had been coding for 9 months before I went,  and learned more in the first week than I did the prior nine months. Coder Camps is definitely a great program. Its totally worth it.

I attended Coder Camps last year. In my opinion it had a very fearful atmosphere where you didn't want to ask questions and didn't want to make a bad impression on the owner, lest he made a snap judgment about you. He also has you agree to never be affiliated with another bootcamp or competitor in the future, so it's Coder Camps or bust.

Be critical of their website, these phrases are quoted from the original site: --"You don't pay until you get hired" : Your credit card is charged after 90 days of completing camp regardless of whether you have a job yet.

--"Hire Percentage 100% within 90 days" : The 100% hiring rate is only true if it doesn't count anyone who got kicked out, removed, or not "qualified" to graduate. The owner can/will change your graduation status at any time after camp - so I must post anonymously. I don't know the actual graduation rate.

--"Average Graduate Annual Earnings $70k+" : This statistic doesn't include a median or mode, so who knows if this number is skewed. My experience didn't match this stat, but I could be wrong. The only thing I can figure is that later classes have done better, or many students don't count towards the average.

--Hiring day and hiring partners did not come through to help me find a job.

--I received no technical interview training / very little preparation for interviews. --I was taught by a real developer, but I know at least one of the teachers now was one of my classmates.

--There are no statistics available from Coder Camps that show success over a longer time following camp Students I studied with struggled along with me, and we tried to make the best of a bad situation. I got 3 weeks out of 9 total of active training, most were half days. Things may be better now, but the rest of the time there was very little help. It was up to us to seek help from the owner or an employee. It was up to us to work on a group project with little guidance, and a personal project, also with little help. The students helped each other learn the most in the end.

Look here for other experiences that aren't buried: Victor Hugo's answer to Coder Camps: What is the Coder Camps Web Development program in Houston, TX like?: http://qr.ae/K78U4 How I got kicked out of Codercamps: http://sprky.co/2014/05/14/cod...

Overall, Coder Camps was not what I expected. You may not have the same experience there. You can learn a lot of programming on your own. Don't be naive, ask a lot of questions before you come, and think twice before making such a large financial commitment to such a new bootcamp.

Where to begin...

Instructor quality is grossly exaggerated by admissions officers. As stated in other reviews, they literally employ other bootcamp graduatues that no only severely lack coding skills, but also lack the ability to teach. Additionally, Coder camps, has had difficulty retaining instructors for the duration of even one FULL cohort class. This speaks volumes about not only the instructors themselves, but the management that employs them. GARBAGE. 

The curriculum was so hilariously disorganized and haphazardly put together, that it was difficult not to feel sorry for the person who decided to put it together. From a chonological perspective, the curriculum was completely off base with how a beginner coder should be learning material. Additionally, half of the content was poorly written and grammatically incorrect. It's impossible that, whoever designed this curriculum, was not high as a kite while he/she assembled the course material. GARBAGE

Job Assistance? There was literally none. If you wanted, you could email some lady and have her peruse your linkedin and get some half-witted response that consisted of no substance. The Phoenix location in particular has literally done no networking with local businesses to establish relationships that their students could potentially use as job leads. Not a single person I know has recieved a job coming out of the Phoenix location. GARBAGE

CHALLENGE TIME: CODER CAMPS - I hope you respond to this post because I challenge you to release hiring statistics for your Phoenix cohorts. You advertise 90% hiring rates with average salaries of 70k. If you provide data that even remotely supports these claims (as several other bootcamps do) I will gladly delete this post. But you can't. LIES

Conclusively, Coder camps is a short term money scheme who's primary purpose is to scam a few hundred people of 12k dollars. Once people in the community catch on to this sheisty "bootcamp" they will no longer receive applicants. 

There's a reason they can't fill classroom sizes past 8 students, which is pathetic considering they will literally enroll any mongoloid that happens to wander into that building.  Coder camps doesn't care about it's students, so save your money and check out the plethora of other bootcamps that actually deliver on their claims. There are several opening very soon in the valley and many that you can attend remotely as well.