Galvanize

Joined the free prep course in January 2020, as a complete noob. Had a great chat with an enrollment officer than decided to enroll in premium prep and never looked back. The complete experience from the enrollment officer, to the prep instructors and just overall support, was amazing. You really can't beat the price for the level of attention you get for a prep course (this would apply for any school that delivers the content the way Galvanize did and only charges $495). I was planning on using VET TEC but funding ran out before I attended the course in June but luckily they allowed me to use my 9/11 GI Bill. I was expecting the Data Science Immersive to not be as great since it got pushed to online due to COVID. I leaned into it and was pleasantly surprised that the delviery of the content was EXTREMELY seamless. The course pushes your comfort levels hard and if you're not into that kinda thing when learning then I would definitely say it's not for you, sadly. You should always be pushing your comfort when learning. 

This was one of my reviews during the course....

I am always very critical of people in positions as teachers/educators/instructors. I am the dot product of many not-so-great teachers and have many times felt frustrated that the learning process was either too rigid and/or not conducive to pushing the boundaries of our own understanding, without feeling judged or looked down upon. At every turn, you've always felt approachable, although it seems like you all practice stoicism - it's hard to get a read on what you're thinking or feeling by looking at you, nonetheless, you have created the learning environment that I believe should exist for every student that goes through an education process. I know it’s not easy going through 13-weeks of teaching topics that make complete sense to you and are easy in your minds, while people look at you cluelessly wondering how to do a dot-product, yet the only moments I ever felt uncomfortable were from my own insecurities of my previous teacher/student environments. In short, your approach to teaching is a model for what every teacher/student environment should be. Keep up the amazing work and hope our paths cross many times.

The support from start to end is truly fantastic!

Just graduated so we'll see how the career search goes but I have high hopes. I'll rate after everything is said and done. 

I came into the program with a technical background and had previously done some software development - so please understand this review comes from that point of view.

I believe the data science immersive (DSI) is absolutely a worthwhile program if the fit is right.   There simply is not enough time in three months to go from beginner-programmer to well-rounded data scientist. However, Galvanize does a great job at giving you as much academic load as one can handle, fantastic career services, and sufficient skills to be able to get an entry- level data science job. 

I thought the staff was amazing and the content presented was usually the right balance of breadth and depth.

That said, the program caters to self-starters and problem solvers with a decent handle on Python.  The students who seemed to have less success exhibited at least a couple of common traits: they struggled to write clean code quickly, they struggled with moving on before concepts were thoroughly understood or assignments were completed fully, they didn't enjoy collaborating with their peers, or they struggled with the math. 

I think Galvanize tries to assess incoming students to make sure they are properly prepared and a good fit- but am not sure if this process couldn't be improved to ensure that the students in the class are the students who will get the most out of it. 

If you are confident in your ability to solve problems in Python AND feel prepared to take on the math involved AND are willing to put in a lot of work both in and out of class AND are prepared to make peace with moving on from a topic before you are completely ready AND enjoy working and learning as part of a group- I am sure the program will give you a 5-star experience.  The less of those things that are true, the less you will enjoy what Galvanize has to offer.

Received a bachelor degree in Electrical/Computer Engineering from University of Texas and then served in the Marine Corps for 13 years.  Decided to end my career in the Marine Corps and pursue a new career in Software Engineering/Data Science.  While waiting to separate from the military was introduced to the concept of boot camps in software engineering and based on the reviews of course report and recommendations from others attended Skill DIstillery in Denver, Colorado and The Coding Dojo's online course.  With this training I was able to get my first job as a software engineer at the Washington Post.  While working as an engineer at the Post it was apparent that Software Engineering and Data Science are equally important.  Though I could have attempted to learn Data Science over time while working, I decided to accelerate exposure to this new field by pursuing a master's degree in Data Analytics Engineering and attend Galvanize's Data Science Immersive (DSI).  Over the course of two years I have applied to Galvanize's Data Science course twice (first time in San Francisco, and second time was for remote) passing both technical interviews the first time.  However multiple factors are preventing attendance including the overlap of their courses with the fall and spring semester of  college academic year and funding.  The first time I applied and was accepted and got a scholarship for military veterans covering tuition however no funding for housing leaving me to figure out how to pay $3,000 a month while attending the DSI full time.  Second time around, I decided to attend the remote DSI and was accepted, unfortunately no more scholarships for military veterans, and getting an additional loan as a graduate student also wasn't possible.  My budget is already limited as a full time graduate student so finding this out six months after paying for the prep course and deposit that I was not going to secure funding was a bit of a disappointment.  I was recently emailed a newsletter from Galvanize about an "Opportunity Fund" that will provide financial support for Black Americans so that they can attend their Software Engineering and Data Science courses.  My response to Galvanize is this, as a Marine Corps Veteran, black American, and software engineer if you can't figure out how to get me funding for the DSI in a way that does not force me to stop or delay other academic commitments I would urge you to consider if you are helping the black community or providing lip service like many other Americans on the BLM bandwagon.

I was part of the January Cohort for Data Science in Galvanize NY for 2019. 

During my time at Galvanize, I found the program itself to be intensive. Everyday, I learned lots of applicable ML models for production. For our assignments, we would have to write out how the algorithm really works. Even though most of the time I didn't end up finishing the assignment, the struggle was what made my experience worth it. The fact that I didn't know the answer, made me want to learn more.  Depending on how good your coding skills, you might fall behind, but the pair programming experience does help. 

In terms of job prospects, I was able to speak to my career services manager every week until I found a job. The journey, like any other bootcamp experience, is extremely hard. You will be applying and networking as a full time job. At some points, you wish that you went for that master's degree, but at the end of the day, you do receive many opportunities to get that data scientist job. Companies and recruiters do take a look at your resume loaded with real world projects. 

I heard about the DS program  at Galvanize through an alum and was immediately interested. I was looking to change careers but was not committed to a master’s program. I heard that Galvanize had a great Data Science program and an even better alumni network (which let’s be honest is the reason we want to choose a school - popularity).

 

What I like about the DS Program at Galvanize     is that you learn from really smart instructors who have a lot of industry experience. They know what they are talking about!! Having a program that is relevant and current on industry trends is super important. I also liked that there were multiple projects and case studies throughout the program. The projects allowed me to explore my own interests and at the same time show off skills that I learned. The case studies were really useful to see how Data Science and business interact. We learned how important it is to make your Data Science results interesting and understandable to stakeholders who may not know any technical details.

 

The things that you have to be ready for in this program is the amount of information that you will learn and be accountable to understand in a short amount of time. The days are long but the weeks go by fast. You must be ready for a new challenge every day and stay confident in your ability to problem solve. The lectures are a general guideline but not always direct instructions on how to do the assignments. Thus you have to be self-motivated and willing to keep digging when you get stuck.

 

Since graduation I have met with my career advisor almost weekly, have had multiple meetings with employees, HR managers, recruiters, and even senior management at start-ups and big companies. I am constantly meeting more people and make connections. So if you want to you learn about Data Science, complete projects of your own, and have access to a network on people then join the Galvanize family!!

I'm going to keep this review short, sweet, and to-the-point. Galvanize (Seattle) was an amazing experience for me, and, below, I've listed why.

1) The professors:

I cannot stress this enough. Galvanize Seattle has some of the best teaching instructors I've had in all my years of education. They have an uncanny ability to make complex mathematics easy to understand - an invaluable resource in any data science curriculum. Additionally, one look at their academic and industry background (Microsoft, Allstate, PhD, etc.), and you can be confident that they know what they're talking about.

Having great professors was particularly important for me because I had graduated college a year before taking this class with a degree in Entrepreneurship (yes, that's a degree!). So, as you can imagine, I didn't have a great deal of stats, programming, or math knowledge from college. Most of what I learned came from self-studying for 5 months before applying to Galvanize, and the rest came from taking the Data Science Immersive. I say all of this because, if the reader is in a similar situation, I want them to know that getting into the program and succeeding is beyond achievable - it will just take a healthy dose of effort and discipline, but you can do that! On the other hand, there were students with Masters and Ph.D.'s in my cohort, so the class is by no means all recent graduates. 

 

2) The community:

First, the data science community. This is one of the aspects I loved most about Galvanize. Most of the students were really there to learn as much as possible and were invested in the material. This is HUGE for a productive learning environment. In fact, we have a group chat that is still considerably active for a cohort who graduated 5 months ago. This may sound like it's not a big deal, but having a support network to ask data science questions to and share machine learning blog posts is a game changer. 

PRO TIP!!! After graduation, myself and a couple fellow graduates competed in a couple data science hackathons and won! This led to interviews and job offers for myself and others. In fact, I've heard that we started a movement and that subsequent cohorts have followed suit. So, no matter which bootcamp/school you choose, do hackathons!

Lastly, the Seattle Galvanize community itself is amazing. Between the community manager, career services team, events team, and receptionists, you'll never be more than 5 steps from having a great conversation with somebody. 

Galvanize was an incredible experience for me. The value of a 6-month in-person course is incredibly high in my opinion. Being help accountable for being there every day, 9-5, is a huge part of why I was successful in this journey. Also, being surrounded by a community of people who decided to take the same life leap as I did was also great. Immersing yourself in web-development everyday for 6 months is the best way to do it in my opinion. Not to mention you are also surrounded by resources and instructors that can help you get unstuck and teach along the way. 

The style of instruction is great. There is a guided "curriculum" you have to work through to fulfill graduation requirements. But this was pretty much self-paced. Instructors keep an eye on who is keeping up and who is falling behind and offer instruction to those a little further behind in the coursework. There are regularly scheduled "break-outs" on concepts that students are struggling with and students can request these breakouts as well. The instructors are incredibly smart, helpful, and connected. They have a passion for helping students grow and learn and you can see this in their dedication and attitude.  

The community feel and style of instruction is awesome at Galvanize. That being said, I believe they are moving away from this model in the recent deal with Hack Reactor. Having half (or more) of the course conducted online is a mistake in my opinion. Being there for 6 months straight and putting the rest of my life on hold was what made me successful. They also used to have open beer taps everyday after class which fostered a great community feel within the program, bringing together newer students, older students and employers within the building, but I think they have sadly moved away from this as well. It was a great experience for me, but I believe they are moving away from the system that I loved so much. :(

For over five years, I was a very stereotypical struggling web developer. I worked brutally long hours every day, seven days a week, desperately trying to gain the skills and experience needed to take me to the next level in my career and help me get a job as a full stack web developer.

But despite my best efforts, I was stuck in this plateu that I couldn't get away from. I had heard about Galvanize, but kept telling myself that it was only for inexperienced or brand new developers, and something like that wouldn't add value for where I was. Eventually, I decided to shadow for a day to see what it was about. After sitting in one class, I was hooked.

Less than two weeks later, I started at Galvanize in April 2018. Nothing could've ever prepared me for the experience I embarked on. I learned more than I could've ever hoped for, as well as developed the closest, life-long friends and connections I have ever developed in my life.

Less than one month after graduating, I (along with two of my classmates and closest friends who had no prior programming experience) signed the offer letter to start at not just any development job, but my dream job. I am eternally grateful to everyone at Galvanize. And I couldn't possibly give it a higher recommendation. If you want to change course in life and take on web development, attending Galvanize is an absolute must.

Intro:

I am a graduate from the Galvanize Denver (Platte) Web Development Immersive program. This program was life changing for me coming from Audio Engineering. We were led by Kyle Coberly for the first month of Galvanize and he inspired and set a good trajectory for our cohort.

Curriculum:

Our curriculum is different from the cohorts following us. My cohort, g90, had a drill-based grading system where you had to complete the drills at an acceptable level to be passed. The new Learn curriculum is slightly different. It seems to be designed with an approach that is a lot more problem based with projects thrown in between. Both designs do what I feel is intended. Which is to give you a broad spectrum of knowledge on development. I do, however, prefer the drill based system.

This program is designed in a way that encourages, if not demands, you to work with others. We had many groups in our cohort that would get together and study everyday. Our success and experience in the program was definitely tied to working together.

With that said this program will not teach you in depth concepts. You must search that out yourself. Which is not a bad thing. It teaches you how to learn, and how to find information on your own or collaborate with others to find a solution. In the real world that's what you are going to be doing. 

The Teachers/Staff:

The instructors in the program are very approachable. Every instructor has shaped me in some way and has gone out of their way to inspire me. They are driven and want to see you succeed. 

Career services is something Galvanize offers. We worked with Chris and he gave us an amazing tool set to work with. From networking, to marketing ourselves, and interview advice, this alone made Galvanize worth it. 

Closing:

This program was everything I wanted. I was able to work with many intelligent individuals in a fast paced environment. I learned how to better present myself to employers. As well as be inspired by the many friends I've made and the instructors and staff that surrounded me. This course definitely lived up to the expectation of an immersive program.

I graduated from the Web Development Immersive at the Platte (Denver) Campus on October 5th, 2018. I am currently invterviewing for a React Developer position in downtown Denver.

The Web Development Immersive is a full-time, six-month educational program. With over 700 hours of coding, the Web Development Immersive teaches students how to create innovative, real-world applications using languages, frameworks, and computer science fundamentals.

The experience is very demanding and very rewarding. I learned many different technologies (Javascript, React, Vue, PostgreSQL, Express, Knex, Node). My capstone project was an IoT project that utilized a Raspberry Pi and an image processing library Tracking.js to count items in the refrigerator - technologies outside of the curriculum. I was prepared to take on these challenges thanks to the core of the Galvanize curriculum - learning to learn.

If you're ready for a career change - and you're ready to put in the work - this is the best coding bootcamp out there. I emphasize that this is a difficult program; it takes a lot of focus, self-motivation and grinding. If you're not 100% sure about this, I recommend waiting or finding something else.

I ultimately chose Galvanize over other bootcamps, because I felt that Galvanize's career services were worth the investment. Chris and Angela (Platte campus) are fantastic, and they have prepared me to find a job in the tech field. I am confident I will do well in my interview because of their tutelage.

I highly recommend Galvanize.

 

My time at Galvanize was both fun, and very challenging. After completing the program, I received a job offer as a Software Developer at my top choice company within 3 weeks.

You can learn everything we learned at Galvanize in many other places, and you can even learn it on your own if you're dedicated enough. What you won't get anywhere else is the knowledge and help that a Career Services manager like Maria Montoya will bring. That knowledge, along with going to school in an tech start-up enviroment like Galvanize, will allow you to network and make connections that will make finding your first job much easier. If you continue to apply that knowledge while developing your programming skills, you'll always have a bright future in Software Development.

Maria builds relationships with hiring companies, giving us opportunities to meet/interview with them, which lead to several of us receiving job offers from those companies. While making your decision on which school to attend, make sure that school has a great Career Services program, along with networking opportunities, as they're the reason I'd still pick Galvanize Phoenix if I had to do it again. 

I am a current student here in Denver and the product here sucks.  We've lost so many instructors to the point we are down to 6 instructors (for the last 15 weeks) for over 110 students.  At the worst point, we were down to 4 instructors when 2 of them took vacations.  Half of the instructors are resident instructors, which do not have enough experience to walk through coding questions without them asking for help themselves.  The queue for asking questions on coding blockers takes over 3 days to get a response. 

The lead instructors stopped requiring us to complete all the course work due to the majority of students falling behind, further robbing us of coding experience in other technologies. 

They have decreased our hours of operation because instructors are getting burned out due to being over-worked since there is a lack of instructors.  Many of the students across several cohorts are experiencing learning issues b/c there is a lack of teacher/student interaction. When asking for help we are told to figure it out ourselves in order to prepare ourselves for the working environment, even when we have been stuck on a project for almost 2 weeks.  It is a disgrace b/c this is supposed to be an educational environment and many of the students have been talking about walking out even when they are just 3 weeks into the course. The overall product here has been slowly deteriorating b/c Galvanize spent all their funding acquiring Hack Reactor, their biggest competitor, and can't afford to hire lead instructors from the development field.  Instead of being honest, the lead instructor and program director have lied to us several times about the untimely departure of all the instructors when they tell us they just found out about them leaving just days earlier.  Only to be secretly told through innuendos by resident instructors that they would be leaving 5 weeks earlier.

Not only can they not hire qualified instructors in a timely manner, they cannot resolve internal issues with course support programs, ie: advisory groups.  They just scrapped it b/c instructors could not communicate effectively with the others.  For $21,000, this course has definitely lost its value.  It seems that they have become like the majority of colleges around the country where all they care about is the almighty dollar from student tuition and not care about the quality of education and quality of coders graduating from the course. 

The only people I truly feel like they are doing their job is the career advisors.

I studied in the 6-month Web Development intensive program at the SF Galvanize in 2017. Overall, I had a very positive experience. Here's the break down:

• I started with no programming experience except for what I crammed pre-course.
• There were 13 students at the beginning of the cohort and 10 of us graduated at the end.
• We studied Javascript across the stack (React on the front-end, Node/Express on the back-end).
• Our lead instructor had 20 years of experience in the industry. A serious JavaScript expert.
• Six weeks after graduation, I had a job as a full-stack developer in San Francisco.

More than any other reason, I chose to study at Galvanize because it was a 6-month program (with excellent student/teacher ratios) and I really felt like the 3 month programs wouldn't have given me enough exposure to get to a professional level as a developer.

Would I do it again? Absolutely. Galvanize helped me reach my goal exactly as promised. The only advice I'd give to prospective students is to ask yourself these two questions:

1. Are you ready to put your life on hold and dedicate yourself to studying full time for six months? Like most things, the more you put into it, the more you'll get out of it.
2. Why do you want to be a web developer? The salaries sound great, but if that's your only motivation, it won't keep you in the game.

 

I rate my experience as a student and graduate of Galvanize WDI a 9 out of 10. I give Galvanize a 9 because I believed Galvanize did a great job in teaching me how to build a fullstack web app, unlocked the ability in me to learn and implement new technologies quickly, and strong career services support. Galvanize Web Development Immersive will teach you most of the basics in building a web app, including the front end and back end development. My only complaint in the curriculum was the lack of emphasis on CSS, which is really important in the real world. In the later portions, Galvanize also fostered an environment of self-learning, which is a really important skill required to make it in the real world. Galvanize also provided a strong career service department. They want you to succeed!!