Devmountain

This was a fantastic boot camp and I really have no complaints or regrets at all. I originally just wanted some structured format with access to teachers so that I could learn the basics and ask questions. I got way more than I bargained for. The material itself is very well laid out and useful, the teachers were extremely kind and helpful, but I also got ongoing access to reference material, valuable resources, the job prep team, and important network connections from my class. I learned a lot and had fun too. So this was way better than I expected.

I would like to preface with the end of my cohorts experience moved to online due to the covid-19 quarantine.
I already had a good amount of front-end knowledge so learning back-end and how it works using Node was a big help in understanding the whole ecosystem. 
The beginning of the course was more of a recap of basic fundamentals of front-end programming. The basic HTML/CSS and JavaScript was a nice refresher and I felt like it really cemented things I already knew or things I had questions about.
The more advanced parts such as React/Redux were a nice addition to my tool belt and I'm glad I had instructors to walk through examples. 
The main reason I came to the school was to dip my toes into back-end development. We used Node connected to a Heroku database. We also learned authentication using bcrypt and sessions. For the database, the architecture was made by us (the students) using Postgres. Critical thinking and planning was very important in this state of creating tables and cells.
Lastly we spent a day on testing modules for react and a day for job search prep and resume building.
By the last month we were asked to move from in person to remote and out of the 5 instructors/mentors that we started with, only 1 stayed the duration of my cohort.

PROs: 

• I had accountable for all of my work.
• The COVID-19 pandemic was handled very professionally. For each cohort there were special circumstances for partial or full refunds. Along with some refund when moving out of provided housing with a refund of a set amount.
• Planning was very important in the project. Learning how to plan pieces and layout the plan was a skill I didn't know I even needed.
• I feel as though the knowledge they were teaching was very marketable and could be used to branch out to other technologies I would be curious about using or implementing.
• They also provided housing in downtown Dallas with all things needed to cook and a comfortable living space.

CONs:

• The knowledge checks and certification process needs to be more strict to make sure that students are retaining knowledge. Simple things like going line by line in random sections of exercises or projects would highlight students that need additions attention or are not ready to be certified.
• I felt as though the instructors/mentors were checkout because they had jobs lines up and were ready to leave by the time we got there.
• The main knowledge the instructors/mentors provided was mainly aligned with the curriculum or they were fresh graduates from the boot camp with no other experience.
• Final/Group Project: There was a very real chance of having partners with little to no skills to contribute to the project. It was obvious that these partners took credit even though they did not help.
• School is putting values on arbitrary milestones that had nothing to do with skill or knowledge for badge requirements, which is an extra certification step to show additional skills and readiness.

I really had a great time with DevMountain. I had studied on my own for about 3 months prior to attending the school and everything I had studied on my own we went over in the first 2 weeks. It is extremely fast paced but also very powerful. If you need structure to learn and someone to be accountable to this is the course for you. It truly helps you to learn what is important, to be able to ask questions to a live person and get the help you need. Skill checks along the way to help you identify what you don't know, when you think you do, in order to help you focus on your own personal growth. I can't say enough good about this program and how it has helped me feel more confident, acquire the skills I need and pushed me to challenge myself to grow beyond my own expectations.

Ladies and Gentlemen, with all honesty I can say that the DevMountain WebDev Bootcamp in Phoenix has been the best, but also most intense challenge I have encountered in the past years. It has been a real challenge constantly learning new content and coding for more than 10hrs each day, but I have definitively learned more in these three months than in almost two semesters at University for my Master' s Degree. DevMountain is a MUST go to school if you want to become a FullStack WebDev. 

Despite the challenge it was such an incredible hell load of fun and I am so grateful to all the awesome, friendly, laughing and helpful instructors, mentors and staff. If you're not going to DevMountain you're doing something wrong. 

My time at DevMountain was one of the best experiences of my life. The entire staff in Dallas went to great lengths to make sure I had all the support I needed. The instructors and mentors would take the time to make sure I understood the material, when needed. Our Campus Manager made sure I was comfortable in my apartment, as well as on campus. Our Outcomes Staff worked with me on my resume and profiles, as well as coordinating many events on campus to help with interview skills and provide opportunities to speak directly with tech recruiters. 

Graduated about a year ago from the Phoenix Campus. Currently working as an Application Developer for Allstate in Chicago. 

PROS
- Great instructor / mentors 
- Campus and student-housing are literally a stone throw away from each other 
- Light Rail within walking distance, pretty easy to go to Tempe / Downtown Phoenix 
- The apartment complex for student housing is really nice

CONS
- The only food options within walking distance are Ruby Tuesdays and Circle K 
- Utah gets a lot more job fair events than Phoenix, although I believe they are working on that 

The DevMountain IOS bootcamp was a challenging experience.  For the financial cost and time spent, I don't feel that this was right path for me.  There are better layouts, curriculum, and instruction elsewhere for far cheaper and a better use of your time.  The saving grace of this program are the mentors/instructors.  They are a good group that can really help work through any issues in understanding of the curriculum.  One of the main reasons I chose this experience was for the job assistance; which is basically non existent.  Nice people but their setup is designed around those whom have never held a job.  

This was such an intense program, but it was great! I feel like their teaching style of just throwing you into what you'll be doing is one of the best ways of learning. At times I felt like I had no clue what I was trying to do, but the mentors are good at giving just enough feedback to get you on your feet. 

I do wish that they had given us more instruction on how to write case studies. After finishing I feel quite overwhelmed with figuring out how to write good case studies that will help in my job hunting experience. I know it's not their responsibility to build our portfolios and get us jobs, but I would have happily stayed one week longer in class to spend that time building my case studies with the help of the instructors. At least then I would know what the heck hiring managers are looking for.

But in all honesty, that is my only complaint of this program. The mentors are great, the environment is fantastic, and I am so glad I chose DevMountain to get my UX Design knowledge. 

 

 

At the end of 2018, I had begun my search for the perfect Bootcamp for me.  I looked through various other Bootcamps and none of them had really piqued my interest until I found DevMountain.  Once the applications opened up for their end of July start date I applied.  The application process was super simple and I was contacted in a reasonable time.  Prior to my entry into the camp, the administration of DevMountain was super helpful.  they provided me a number that I could text/call with any questions or concerns, and the staff was super friendly and professional with every step of the process.  

A few months prior to the start of the program some pre course work was given.  These activities were challenging and at times difficult.  However, I was not alone.  When I reached this point in the process I was given an invite to join my cohorts slack channel which gave me access to iOS mentors who worked at DevMountain. Any questions I had I could send to them as well as a code snippet of what I was working on.  

Housing in DevMountain is provided free of charge, which was a game-changer for me as it allowed me to focus on the program and not where I was going to sleep that night.  The housing is split between two different locations.  The one I stayed at was a very clean and very nice space.  

The program itself is unlike anything I had ever experienced.  For the first 6 weeks, I felt like I was drinking from a firehose.  Every morning we would work together as a class and build guided projects that would help us understand different topics.  During the Afternoon we would be paired up with another classmate and asked to work on a project together.  This is silently genius because it required me to not only learn from someone else but to also learn to communicate my ideas effectively.  and then after 5 pm we were given our homework, which primarily consisted of videos that would prepare us for the next day.  

After your break week, you begin the last 6 weeks of the program, which is very different than the first but still in a good way.  It's at this point that you are now ready to build your own personal and group apps.  every day you will be working on your app's and I can say that while the first 6 weeks of the program were awesome this is where the real experience comes in.  This project your making is your own and these problems and questions your going to have are unique to your program and how you built your app.  This sounds terrifying but is absolutely brilliant because at this point you now have the skills and the understanding to know what to search for, and what to avoid, and if you get stuck or can't figure it out the mentors are always a few desks away ready to help you learn. 

In conclusion, I can say that DevMountain was an excellent experience and worth my time and investment, and that i would do it all over again in a heartbeat.  

I really appreciated all the preparatory help DevMountain provided. During six weeks of self-learning before the program started, I got to chat with a mentor about my progress and any topics I was having trouble with.

During the actual program, I liked how the mentors were there if we ever needed help with the random bugs and errors we would encounter, but they never stepped on my toes. The curriculum was awesome, and I felt like we were learning the most current top tech skills.

The first few weeks of the course were a good review and knowledge-solidifier. As time went on, we got to focus more and more on learning by doing and putting together personal and group projects. The staff was very knowledgable, the facilities were great, and I have never had so much fun during a school program! If we needed a quick break, the fooseball table was right around the corner. Not to mention the video game systems (thank you Super Smash Bros!).

As we got closer to graduation, the employment specialists gave excellent assistance and feedback on our resumes, portfolios, and LinkedIn profiles.

I felt like my time at DevMountain really helped me learn how to learn, and how to pick up new technologies that I may not have as much experience in. I'm excited to see where things go from here!