First Step Coding

I highly recommend First Step Coding's  "Bootcamp Prep Course " as an introduction to the curriculum, and format you'll experience in a Bootcamp.
Andy and Shlomy were great instructors.  They have both technical expertise and teaching skills. The  final “interview” with Kurt at the end of the class put me on the data science path. The material from this course gave me a good foundation to start prepping for a bootcamp.
I just graduated from Metis' Data Science Bootcamp, and it all started with the Bootcamp Prep Course. Read less

Don't know where to start? Looking to take your first step? First step coding has got your back.

I've always been tech "savvy". I knew my way around a computer and I knew what coding was but I could not for the life of me "code". I'd tried before. I googled here and there and looked at programming subreddits but there's so many places to start that it's daunting for someone with no direction. First Step Coding helped set me on a path. Rather than showing me what to do they showed me how to do it. I can now confidently look at code as more than just a random assortment of words, symbols and numbers. And while there's always more to learn, I know that now it's not a matter of if I can understand it but when.

If you're unsure of whether coding is the right path for you or not, you don't have to go through a full 4-year course or enroll into a bootcamp, first step coding can and will clear any doubts.

I had a great run here and my instructors were both friendly and very helpful.

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Took an online course and learned a lot during the whole program. I recommend it for anyone whos trying to dip their toes into computer programming. 

This course is by no means a walk in the park. It is challenging enough that you need to dedicate time towards homework and reviewing past content to grasp core concepts as classes build on top of each other.
 

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It's tough to attend any in person coding program when you are a parent. Add single parent to the title and it's even more difficult to balance and find an appropriate sitter to watch your kids while you go code for a few hours. The team at First Step Coding is ridiculously accommodating and supportive. I'm a single parent of two and at times, I couldn't make the in person teachings but my instructor made sure to make himself readily available to keep me on track with the rest of the students via a 1 on 1 online tutoring session. This type of flexibility and accommodation is not available in other bootcamps. The way the curriculum is setup with the addition of educational videos and knowledge check points really helped me grasped what I was learning. Their were definitely some challenges, however the support from the instructor, TA and team at First Step Coding, really helped me get through. 

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This is a great course for anyone who is looking for a structured way to get started with coding. As the co-founder of an online language learning startup, I wanted to learn more about fundamental web technologies like HTML, CSS, and Javascript to better understand the technical side of product development. The First Step Coding curriculum met all my expectations. The teachers are great, the programming challenges are wonderfully paced, and the pair-programming method of learning is extremely helpful for creating deeper understanding. After taking it, I now feel much more fluent and confident when communicating with developers. On a personal note, I was also pleasantly surprised by how fun coding can be. If you've ever solved a challenging puzzle or constructed the perfect sentence, then you've experienced a little of the pleasure of coding. Can't recommend this class enough!

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I had always wanted to code, but I knew next to nothing about programming languages, problem-solving, etc. After starting with a few free resources, I looked into finding reputable and structured programs that could help me to the next level. First Step Coding provided me with the opportunity to participate in some live, online classes with helpful teachers and other students also interested in starting their journeys as coders. I felt like the classes were simple to follow and the materials, homework, and projects gave me the knowledge and experience I needed to establish a foothold in programming while guiding me toward my second step. What I learned in First Step Coding not only in terms of languages, but also problem-solving methodology has already helped me to feel empowered and successful in the initial stages of the boot camp I started in the past few weeks. I think what First Step Coding offers is great for people looking to gain skills in web development and further their education for the purposes of enhancing their current career or future career opportunities as well as for their own satisfaction.

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As a business student in Finance and Information Systems, I never had the confidence to enroll in a computer science class. First Step Coding gave me the fundamentals and knowledge to tackle many programming challenges as well as the confidence to apply to top bootcamps around the US. Instructors are there to help you through any problems as well as other questions you might have about programming! 

If you are completely new programming, First Step Coding is definetely a go to! 

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I was a complete coding newbie and really enjoyed First Step Coding! It was a good introduction to the fundamental concepts in coding. The homework and classes helped me solidify my understanding of many of the essential coding functions that I have continued to use while learning Python for data science. The instructor was always available to answer any questions and help me work through problems. I highly recommend it as your first stepping stone to a coding career

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As a Sales Rep in the Greater Boston Area, I’ve had a fair share of hands on experience with technical products and demonstrations in my field. So when it came time to make a switch to a more technical role, theres only so much you can teach yourself about coding from 101 websites or YouTube. Sure there are outstanding bootcamps in the area, but I wasn’t sure if that was something I was ready to invest full time or serioius money in. When I came across First Step Coding, their curriculum checked most if not all of the boxes on the job requirements I was interested in, so it was a no-brainer! Their instructors are experts in the vast amount of material covered in the course, and made themselves available after hours for questions with any assignments or topics. I’m confident having completed the course that it gave me the competitive edge adequate enough to establish myself as a technical sales rep and land a job in that field. 

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First Step Coding was an excellent intro course that helped solidify my interest in coding. The teachers were very encouraging and I found myself motivated to learn more about programming after each lesson. The amazing thing about First Step Coding is that it allows you to get into programming with little or no prior knowledge of how to code. Whether you're interested to learn at home by yourself or through a company, it can be stressful and hard to take that first step to learn how to code. That's where First Step Coding comes in, as they offer an excellent support system to take that plunge and pursue coding. Thanks to everyone at FSC, I am now two months in at an intensive Full Stack Web Development bootcamp based in Tel Aviv.

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I was not sure what to expect when I first signed up for this course. I had been thinking about attending a bootcamp to learn to code and to have a career change but was not sure if it would be a good fit for me. First Step Coding was an excellent way to test out the waters while keeping the current job. They have small classes (we had 5 people in mine) which was also very nice and I felt comfortable asking questions to the instructor during and in between the classroom sessions via Slack.

After the 4 week Intro course, I found coding to be quite fun and enjoyable and now I've signed up for a bootcamp with one of their bootcamp partners (I received a discount off the tuition for being a FSC alumni, amount varies depending on the bootcamp and also seems to be changing constantly so probably should check the FSC website for updated info).

I would highly recommend the course to anybody who is interested in learning to code - I think it gives you a good foundation to work with and also gives you a chance to see if you like coding at all!

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First step coding was a great thing for me, they have created a great environment for entry level coders yet at the same time give you the tools that give you the capability to expand as far as you like.I felt comfortable asking the same question 3 times from 3 different angles If i really had to. My hats off to Andy and everyone for making this program a program with a great student to teacher ratio and also having the one-on-ones which are really helpful. Highly recommend this to anyone interested into learning coding it has been great learning experience. Want to thank Calli for helping me throughout the course and special thanks to my professor Jake an awesome individual with much dedication to make sure you are learning and taking what you need to take from the class. Also want to thank Arthur who was a great ton of help in the moments you need it the most.I had a fun time learning at this program.

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This was a fantastic class. I’m a high school teacher with zero coding experience. I spent a few weeks trying to learn to code on my own through various free online resources and then I found out about First Step Coding. I was initially skeptical about paying for the class, thinking I could learn Javascript on my own for free, but I am so glad I took this course! The instructors are great teachers who are very invested in supporting students (they even offer office hours via video chat for one-on-one support outside of class). I learned a lot really quickly.

TL;DR Totally worth the money if you want to apply to a top bootcamp; it was a much more effective way to prepare than using free online resources.

When I was trying to learn to code on my own, I wasn’t sure what to prioritize and wasted a lot of time bouncing between different resources. First Step Coding has a great beginner-friendly curriculum that helped me build a much stronger foundation in key concepts. The class size is small (my class had 6 students), so you get a ton of one-on-one support during class, and the instructors are available for office hours outside of class. Both instructors--Kurt and Andy--have a great teaching style. As opposed to a lot of online resources where I felt like I was just copying lines of code without understanding why, Kurt and Andy asked a lot of questions about my code to make sure I understood the concepts. When something wasn’t working, they always asked me questions to prompt me to identify bugs on my own and learn to fix them myself. We also did a lot of pair programming during the class. I found that, with all of these opportunities to talk out my thinking as I was coding, I made progress so much more quickly than I ever would have on my own, and now I feel much more prepared for bootcamp interviews.

The class also connects you with tons of high quality online resources to continue learning on your own. Once my First Step Coding course ended, I started working through interview practice problems for Hack Reactor and also learning Ruby (another programming language). I found that I was able to able to progress through the material ten times faster after getting a strong foundation from First Step Coding.

I also highly recommended signing up for the longer class that includes the “bootcamp prep.” This part of the class involves a project where you create your own web application. You also get to participate in a mock interview, which I found incredibly helpful in terms of feeling prepared to apply to bootcamps and knowing what to expect.

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Overall, I learned a whole lot in this course and would highly recommend it to anyone who is "code-curious" (as they say) and looking for a good jumping off point. I really can't believe how much I learned throughout the prep course. Prior to this class, I had tried teaching myself some JavaScript and Python, but never got too far on my own. Then I signed up for this class and in less than three months I have built a web application from the ground up and feel fully prepared to continue learning to code on my own or to apply for a bootcamp.

You will find people with a wide range of backgrounds coming into this class. I personally had substantial experience working with data in excel (as well as some SQL experience) so many of the concepts came easier to me than they did to most of my classmates. This did not turn out to be a problem because the teachers were willing to provide me with more challenging exercises as well as guidance on advanced topics to learn so that I didn't get bored. The more time and effort you put in to this course, the more you will get out of it and the teachers are willing to help you learn as much as you can (even if the concepts extend beyond the core curriculum). It was the quality of the teachers that impressed me most about this course.

For those curious about the online course vs. the in-person, I say go for the online and save your $500. I was signed up for an in person class because I was worried about the online classroom dynamics, but then switched at the last minute and am so happy I did. It allowed me to skip the commute (I just worked from a conference room in my office) and it really did feel like being in a real classroom. I can't imagine that I would have learned any better being in a real classroom.

Final thing: I am extremely happy I took the prep course vs. the intro to coding class. It was the process of building your own web app that makes the big picture come together. Sure, someone who did the intro course can probably build a web app as well, but I'm not sure how easy it would have been for me to connect all the dots without the extra instruction. I found the exposure to APIs was especially helpful.

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There are courses on coding and there's First Step Coding.

Designed for those with zero experience in computer programming-- over the course of the 4 weeks FSC provides a clear, organized, and straightforward introduction on the basics.

But it doesn't stop there. FSC is unique as an introductory course in its immersive and networking-based class model. With FSC you dive in from day one-- working both with peers and teachers while getting the chance to tour and network with people at several bootcamps (Hack Reactor, App Academy, Rithm School, to name a few).

And lastly, you have Andy. One of the reasons Andy does what he does is because he genuinely loves to teach and work with others. You can tell. I'm in the process of applying to programs now and Andy continues to give me advice and help me with interview prep.

If you're looking at getting involved in coding, I promise you, this course might be one of the best decisions you can make!

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I'm at the halfway point in First Step Coding's 8 week bootcamp prep course at the Boston campus, having just completed the JavaScript portion of the curriculum, and I couldn't be happier with my experience. Kurt, Tom, and Alex are great instructors and have managed to pack an enormous amount of information and practical knowledge into short period of time. If you're new to JavaScript, this is a great way to become familiar with the language. After 4 weeks, I'm confident that by the time I've finished the program, I'll be able to get into competitive bootcamps like Fullstack Academy and Flatiron. As an objective measure, I'm about halfway through Rithm School's interview prep problems (they're available on Repl.it) and haven't hit a snag yet.

 

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Getting into coding can be intimidating, and with so many resources available online, it can be difficult to know where to start. Starting with a structured course is a great way to incorporate accountability, join a community, and build confidence. The foundation I got at FSC was not enough for me to apply to bootcamps straight away, but it did give me the confidence and knowledge to sort through the many (free) resources available. 

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I had been contemplating a career change from business to software development for a while. Before committing to a full-time bootcamp, I wanted to make sure that I would enjoy coding as a full-time job. FSC's twice-weekly evening classes fit into my schedule and needs perfectly.   I had a blast in class! I loved that the majority of time was spent pair-programming. Coding is hard, so being able to work with another person helped my understanding of concepts through another person's eyes. Kurt, our instructor was also kind and incredibly patient.

Most importantly, I learned the fundamentals well enough to be able to apply to some top bootcamps. I got into my first choice and will be starting in the fall. I couldn't have done it without FSC!

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I had no experience in programming of any kind before First Step Coding but we got right into learning basic JavaScript. It was certainly tough and I was stumped on things the majority of the time. However, I ended up going on to Startup Institute in Boston in the web design track. We had about two weeks of JavaScript courses which we did together with the web development track. We moved through the JavaScript courses super fast. Almost too fast for anyone to get a real grip on it as we covered the basics of JS so quickly and without much focus on it. This was the point where all but three people in the web design track decided to go the way of design rather than front-end development. If it wasn't for FSC I would have totally fallen flat here.

FSC provided me with a strong understanding of the basics of JavaScript that I was able to build off of that knowledge and understand the more complicated logic. The two other students who remained interested in development also had experience with JavaScript beforehand. I believe that something like FSC before a full on bootcamp is the key to success in the fast paced setting of a bootcamp. Programming logic takes a while to grasp for anyone so if you can spend time on the basics beforehand you'll be more successful moving forward.  

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Towards the end of 2019, I began thinking about a career change into software engineering, but I had no background in coding. I started looking at free resources like Codecademy and freeCodeCamp, but I felt that I needed something more structured; that’s when I came across First Step Coding. 
Everything about the experience in the class was spot-on, from the curriculum structure to the pace of the program to the sense of community among the cohort. It was very clear that Andy and Kurt put together a really thoughtful curriculum given their combined expertise in the industry. We covered a lot of content in the program, and at times it was quite challenging, but the instructors created a really supportive learning environment. I appreciated how FSC is targeted towards beginners so that we were all starting from a similar place. Some people had goals of enrolling in a bootcamp while others were working at tech companies in non-technical roles, but we were all in this class because we were interested in becoming “code literate”.
Since I was interested in enrolling in a bootcamp, I did the 4-week Introduction to Coding in JavaScript plus the additional 4-week Bootcamp Prep through FSC. If a bootcamp is your goal, I would encourage you to consider the additional Bootcamp Prep; I was able to showcase my capstone project in bootcamp applications and I found the mock interviews to be extremely beneficial. After going through FSC, I spent some time working through the pre-application prep courses for a couple of bootcamps and felt very prepared going through that material. Ultimately, I applied to General Assembly, Flatiron School, and Hack Reactor and got into all three! I am so grateful for a program like FSC that was able to help a complete beginner become ready for a bootcamp; I would highly recommend their programs.
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