iO Academy

I applied for the full-stack track at Mayden Academy after a family member had taken the course and raved about it.

Now I'd spent the last 18 odd years working in restaurants and bars, which is a very untechnical industry, and was understandably nervous about stepping into a new career so vastly different from anything I had previously known, with little to no experience of the tech world and being well beyond the age of the regular student.

But immediately after starting the course I realised I had made an excellent choice. The guys running the course are exemplary teachers with expert knowledge on a very broad curriculum.

The course in itself is geared towards training you to be an employable, productive member of a development team from the moment you start your first job.

Over the course of a very intensive, and incredibly fun 4 months, myself and the other students learnt everything from the basics, like html and css for building a simple web page, to really cool concepts with regards to programming like oop (object oriented programming) and the principles key to writing code that employers (and other developers) look for in a developer, with focus on php, javascript, their frameworks, using different types of databases, and I could go on. And on!

Another big factor in standing out is the way in which you learn during the time there. The course is split into modules consisting of theory and projects where your team works in a way that reflects how a real development team works, thus preparing you for the real world and making sure you're ready and confident once you leave the relative safety of the course and go out to write code in the wild.

On top of that Mayden is associated with a wealth of really cool hiring partners, all totally engaged in the process, and many regularly come along to project / sprint reviews to see what's been happening, which gives you a great chance of walking into a role after you graduate, from having built relationships with many of them with little or no pressure to sell yourself to a potential employer.

I loved the course most of all for the experience though. In the space of 4 months I learnt loads of incredible stuff, met some amazing people who will be friends for life, had a laugh while I was at it and was employed as a junior developer in a great company the month after graduating.

If you're thinking about getting into software or improving on already existing interest or knowledge then you won't go wrong speaking to Mayden about how they could help.

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To put it simply - I cannot recommend Mayden Academy highly enough.

Having researched various coding courses in London I was always put off by the expense of living in London, not working and paying for a course on top of this! I stumbled across Mayden Academy and of course, came here to find out more about the course. The reviews all seemed incredibly positive, almost too positive and I admit I found myself slightly skeptical. It gives me great pleasure to write a similarly positive review now - I am completely convinced!

I won't spend too much time on the course itself as that is covered on the Mayden Academy website. But what really made my 16-week experience so valuable was the: staff, building and job support.

Let's start with the most important thing (in my opinion), the staff. Whilst I was there Mayden Academy had two trainers, Mike and Charlie. My trainer was Mike and he has the knowledge, patience, and ability to make complex concepts understandably that sets apart good teachers. He fostered a relaxed yet focused working environment. Quite apart from this Mike, Charlie and Margaret (the Marketing Manager) were good, friendly people that are a pleasure to be around. An important quality for a 16-week intensive course...

The course takes place in the most incredible Bath townhouse (it must be five floors). It's the nicest place I have worked and will work in future in all probability. The training rooms are in the basement, but it's a very nice environment and opens straight out onto the beautiful garden and you are spoiled by sweeping views of Bath. For all you cyclists out there, there is a secure place to put your bike, a very decent shower, lots of storage for gear and a place to dry wet clothes in the basement. What a bonus!

Mike has been working in tech in the South West for many years and has established excellent connections with tech companies in Bath and Bristol. The Academy itself has a number of hiring partners who come and watch your progress during the two weekly sprint reviews. This is an excellent opportunity to get to know potential employers and for them to get to know you, take it seriously. Mayden Academy also organizes an evening to meet the hiring partners which was another useful opportunity to network. The last few weeks of the course are interspersed with job applications and interviews. Mike is continually posting relevant job opportunities so that by the end of the course 6/7 of the 15 students had confirmed job offers.

Take the Full Stack Track! If you apply yourself and take it seriously you will come out a very employable junior developer. 

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Mayden Academy teach you (among many other things) how to use HTML, CSS, Javascript, PHP and MySQL to a high standard. But much more importantly than that, they will teach you how to use these skills in a professional environment, preparing you to work in a real development team.

You will undertake a three-day course on Scrum methodology, which may be a bit alien to anyone from a non-dev background, but it gives you a great insight into some key aspects of programming and developing products in a team. Also, every block of 'theory' has a corresponding week of 'project', which will ensure that you cement in the skills you have learned by utilising them in a real world project - you'll end up making a game, an e-commerce store and a personal portfolio page to show off all of your projects.

The course does go at a brisk pace, and it may well need some hard work reading your notes or working on solo projects to really bed-in the ideas and concepts that get taught. However, the pace that both Mike and Charlie take throughout the whole course is realistic and it is truly possible to start this course without any programming knowledge at all. I would stress that in order to get the most out of the course to follow the pre-joining instructions and complete the online courses that they recommend - knowing the basics will ensure that you can reserve energy for the really hard-to-grasp concepts.

I joined the course after leaving a job in Retail, and accepted a job offer on the last day of the course. I had always written off my chances of being a developer because I lack both a degree and a technical background, but my experience is that taking a course like Mayden Academy can ensure that neither of these is an issue.

Other than preparing you for a role as a developer, Mayden Academy also help you with actually getting a job - this is done with a CV and interview prep session, professional advice on how to improve the design of your portfolio site, as well as a meet & greet evening with their ever-growing list of hiring-partners (18 at time of writing).

Going from beginner to professional-level as a programmer on your own is entirely possible, but without the expertise, knowledge and tutoring of Mike and Charlie this would have taken me many years, as opposed to the four months of the course. Taking the time to do an intensive course like this is, for me, the most time-efficient way of getting yourself those skills and that job

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This is an intensive course that will definitely require work in your own time. It's tiring but worth it. Make the most of each weekend to get plenty of rest...

It focuses on what businesses look for - practical hands on experience that's relevant to employment. The skills learned build on each other so projects get gradually more advanced during the course. It's great to be able to look back over what we built and see the dramatic advancement.

I couldn't have asked for more supportive and patient trainers. Very encouraging of questions and taking the time to make sure everyone has a good understanding of each topic.

I particularly liked the alternating approach of a week of theory followed by a week of putting it into practice working on a project. The projects really helped me identify things I didn't yet understand fully from the previous week, and embedded the theory more firmly.

I am very impressed with such a well chosen group of students - varied skills and interests but all very capable and all worked really well together. I thoroughly enjoyed collaborating with them, and we're likely to meet up and collaborate on one off Saturday projects in future. The excellent judgement in choosing students stands out as one of the most important aspects to me.

The knowledge and experience gained (particularly working as part of a team) gave me much increased confidence which really helped in applying for a job.

If you're wondering whether this is for you, this is what I would say based on my personal experience: Given enough time, it's perfectly possible to learn software development by teaching yourself at home, but learning with feedback from someone who knows what is important is so much faster and will avoid years studying things you just don't need. Also, half the knowledge is how to develop software effectively with a team in person, which you don't get from learning at home. I also learned just how much more can be done with a deadline to work to...

 

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About teachers:

Mike and Charlie are really great and supportive, every time anyone stuck or can't understand something Mike or Charlie explain in a very simple way so you can understand not just repeat. 
The material is great and the course is quite balanced, so you never feel missed somewhere behind. This course can help you to become a full stack, but for me, I think we spent more time on Backend part, anyway, a month before I found a job as a Frontend developer. 

Originally I am from Ukraine and moved to Bath for this course. And it was very important not just get new skills, but be supported by people when I am settling, and I got the best support that I haven't expected. All people from Mayden are team players and very supportive, and I really appreciate it.  

Recommendations:

If you want to take advantage of this course(actually it is true for any course) you should be prepared. Learn HTML, CSS, JS, and some PHP depends on who you want to be.  Take Freecodecamp, Codecadamy etc. try to build some simple projects(freecodecamp can help you with it) so when you will be in academy all your knowledge become structured and expands drastically. As I mentioned above,  I found the job a month before the course was ended, but it just because I have started my job hunting in the middle of the course(in the end of the second month). Don't be scared of it as it cost you nothing, but it helps you to be hired immediately. 

I definitely recommend this school to everyone.

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To be short and snappy: I gained my ZCE qualification!

In just 5 days, Mike was able to deliver a huge amount of content covering most parts of the PHP knowledge required for the ZCE exam which I had taken in the following week, which was considered rather daunting as the PHP codebase is rather large. I was also able to tackle a practice exam as part of this module in preparation for the main exam to get a feel for what sort of questions could come up and how to answer them. Having completed this, I now feel much more confident in my ability to work with PHP as part of my placement year here at Mayden as a software developer. The ZCE qualification is an invaluable addition to my CV and should help me on as I begin a career after completing my degree at University following this year.

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Long story short:

Despite being a recent graduate with a degree in Computing and IT, I didn’t feel at all prepared for my new career as a web developer.  After just a few short weeks in Mayden Academy, my PHP knowledge went from negligible to good enough to pass the Zend Certified PHP Engineer (ZCE) exam; by all accounts not an easy exam to pass.

After graduating from the Academy I was able to join my new team with a lot more confidence and the knowledge to contribute right from the start.

 

The less short story:

I joined Mayden Academy for the PHP, MVC & Frameworks and ZCE prep modules. I had a fantastic time and wish I had been able to do the whole course!

Each module was structured in two parts. First you’d learn theory and syntax, interspersed with practical exercises and talks from real developers. What struck me most was how relevant the course is; the materials evolve as technologies and the industry do. After a degree full of outdated materials, this was really refreshing! The insight from real developers was great too, you’d hear lots of anecdotal stories about how you can do X, Y, Z but in reality, most people just do A!

In the second week you’d work on a small team project, applying what you’d learnt over the previous week and prior modules. The great thing about this is that you would get to use tools such as Git, and would use an Agile methodology, so you weren’t just learning to code but all these other practical skills that go hand in hand with the reality of being a developer.

The whole culture of the Academy really suited me. Mike, the instructor, is really approachable and there was time each morning to reflect on what we’d learnt the previous day and to ask questions once we’d had the time to digest everything we’d heard. The other students were really enthusiastic and supportive.  Despite quite a diverse group of ages and backgrounds, you could just tell everyone wanted to be there and was passionate about their learning.

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Why I chose this course: I dropped out of school without A-levels because I didn't think it could provide any more value to my future. I wanted to learn relevant job skills, fast, so that I could crack on with life and get a job I love. I wanted to be challenged, taught a lot to a high standard, with support for the "I don't get this at all" moments.
The company that set up the Academy have very high internal standards and started Mayden Academy because they and the UK more developers, with the hope that the graduates would be as good as, or better than, the computer science university graduates that they employ as entry-level developers.
Having met the instructors (real, current developers, not someone with theoretical or outdated knowledge) and discussed the pace of learning and the reasoning behind the course content I knew I would be set in good stead for a career from this course. After all, it was as important to Mayden Academy that I be a good developer as it is to me.

 

What the experience was like:
- Conten and Delivery: As well as how to build and structure things, the content included knowledge on current best practices, why things work the way they do, a history of the internet and each of the languages as we covered them, brief introductions to old practices we might come across in the future and why we no longer use them, specialist guest lectures and discussions on modern tools we weren't using in the course (for lack of time or need). Mike gave balanced overviews of each topic and taught us how to figure things out on our own, too.
- Tools: A special mention goes to the fact that all the tools provided were very good, we learnt to use them very effectively for a fast, personalised workflow.
- Pace and Support: At one point Mike rewrote an entire lesson for us overnight when we didn't get it the first time. He always offered extra support on an individual or team level and continually responded to any feedback we gave him. He also helped me revise for our ZCE exam, gave us all advice when we acted as scrum masters, gave us career advice and at one point helped me solve with some interpersonal issues. Additionally the other developers in the building were always willing to help, they even helped us discover what we loved by teaching us more about their jobs. The nature of the scrum team also meant that we supported each other, we all wanted to help each other move towards our goal of becoming an excellent developer.
- Atmosphere: We had been working in our team in the same way the developer teams around us worked, producing real work that was being submitted to the real world. I grew really close to my team and made great friends with the developers in the building. We came out feeling like software developers.

What I got out of it: In writing? I'm a certified scrum master and a zend certified engineer, which helps demonstrate the standard of my education. The experience I've gained in not just writing code but being a software developer shows through in the technical decisions I make and how I approach new problems, this has been invaluable in interviews. 
I'm now a scrum-master-slash-developer, I currently work in Typescript using the OOP structures I learnt on PHP. I keep learning every day and I'm a valuable resource to my company, providing robust applications and informed opinions.

TL;DR: I'm now a successful developer and scrum master, working effectively in a different language to the one I trained in, using the knowledge from the course daily. I loved the course, every minute of it, it was incredibly valuable to me. But I did get turned down from my first interview for being overqualified... 

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I had an excellent experience at Mayden Academy and would heartily recommend it to anyone wanting to jump start a career in software development. 

The course is equally divided between theoretical learning and practical projects, so that you get a good mix of real development experience, working as a scrum team to write entire applications to requirements and deadlines, along with a strong theoretical background to programming which can be transferred to other languages. 

The curriculum is really relevant and engaging, and the academy instructor and guest lecturers tailor their teaching to your learning style, so it's also a very dynamic program. After trying to self-teach various programming languages over the last few years and struggling to get further than the very basics, I found that being taught in person by instructors with a wealth of experience is the best way to learn, and it definitely helps that everyone is really friendly!

You'll learn more in 16 weeks than you'll imagine is possible, and meet some amazing people along the way!

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I was part of the January 2023 online cohort for Full Stack Track. I had worked with Mike and iO in my previous job and was aware of their excellent programmes and positive outcomes for their students.  I applied for the course with very little programming experience, other than the free materials/courses online (which I would recommend looking into before applying) and doing the free taster course that iO deliver (oh and reading the excellent student reviews!).I had Charlie as my trainer but also had sessions with Mike and Ash. They are all amazing and so knowledgeable. Charlie was able to break things down to relatable subjects which made some challenging content easier to digest.Not only does the course give you a range of industry relevant coding knowledge, but they also teach you about working in Agile and softer skills required (teamwork, team leading, communication skills, presentation skills). The employment/job hunting advice was invaluable. We had support drafting CVs and I had a full portfolio of projects to talk about in applications and at interviews.The course was full on, and you need to be prepared for that but it’s well worth it. You get out of it what you put in. I had interviews during the last few weeks of the course and was offered a job as a Junior Software Developer on my last day.If you are wanting to change career and get in to software development, I would highly recommend iO Academy to help get you there. Read less

I’m so happy I did the Full-Stack Track course at iO Academy. I’m now working as a backend developer and loving it! The course was amazing, I learnt so much and the teaching made it fun and easy to digest. I’ve had some positive feedback about having a good knowledge base since graduating and it’s all from the course! It also sets you up so well for a job, working in Agile and in a small cohort made the transition into working as a developer really smooth. Also the building and surrounding area is beautiful. I grew so much in confidence during the course, all my worries that I couldn’t do it had gone by the end of the course because you get so much support from the tutors. I don’t have anything bad to say, it’s an intense experience but so worth it. I would recommend iO Academy to everyone! Read less

I started the bootcamp with very very little coding experience and initially I was unsure whether I was the right person for the bootcamp. Fortunately, with the guidance of the trainers and knowing that others in my cohort were in the same boat I can wholeheartedly say that this bootcamp is fantastic for getting a solid foundation of what it is like to work as a software developer. Through a well crafted and curated curriculum blending theory with practical exercises, followed up with a mixture of team-based and individual projects to help consolidate the taught content it has prepared me well for interviews and helped me bag my first job as a Junior Software Developer. I thoroughly recommended the course to anyone thinking of a career change or those who just simply want to start a career in tech.  Read less

I had a fantastic time studying at iO Academy in Bath. Moving from a career in education, I was interested to see how it would be on the other side of the desk and iO surpassed my expectations. The curriculum was set out in a great logical order where you would have to go back on learning you had previously done. The ramp up in challenge was just right. I alternating between theory weeks and project based weeks, where we very early on were taught and adopted the SCRUM way of working. Both of the trainers I had were fantastic, shoutout to Neal and Ash. They really help inspire me and keep me going through. I would recommend this course to anyone considering a career in software. Read less

I graduated from IO academy a year ago. It is truly a brilliant course! It is diverse enough for you to collect a range of knowledge and skills to equip you with a great start in software and find your interest. The teachers are really lovely, very professional and clearly take great pride in making the curriculum the best it can be. I found a job within 2 weeks of finishing and have just had my 1st year anniversary - this course was one of the best decisions I’ve made!  Read less

I couldn't be happier with my experience at IO Academy. The instructors are not only knowledgeable but also incredibly supportive. The curriculum is well-structured and up-to-date, ensuring that I gained valuable skills and knowledge. The sense of community among fellow students is fantastic, and the career support they offer is top-notch. The projects are well considered, challenging and enjoyable. IO Academy has truly exceeded my expectations, and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking to kickstart a successful career in tech. Read less

Overall, the course was fantastic. It took me from next to no coding experience to being confidently job-ready. I was initially tempted to attempt joining the industry through solo learning but having completed iO's course I think it would be incredibly difficult to be as confident in the range of languages/frameworks and agile processes I was introduced to. 

The curriculum starts slowly but the pace picks up very quickly and the course is very full on for the full four months. The trainers, in particular, are fantastic. All are ex-developers which gives them great insight into what companies require and expect from new starters and the small class sizes make the learning incredibly hands-on. 

One of the most valuable skills you will learn is working within an Agile team. The class sizes are selected for their similarity to real dev teams and you are introduced early to proper scrum ways of working which you will use on nearly every project. This has helped me bed into the team in my new job as it works in an almost identical way. 

The only slightly negative comment I have is the small number of employers that came to our career meet&greet. Only three employers came to meet our class which isn't a huge number, however, I got an interview with two and a job offer from one of those so the employers who come are serious about hiring iO graduates.  Read less

I came to iO looking for a new challenge in my career and, having started the course, was naturally worried about the gamble.  But the Academy trains you at pace, in the fundamentals you'll need to secure that first job as a junior developer.  The workload is intense but exhilarating, and the course is structured so that each week builds on the accumulated knowledge of earlier ones.  The four months flash past stunningly quickly, but despite the intensity, I looked forward to joining my 5 classmates every morning and approaching that day’s build together.

When we graduated, the majority of my cohort secured exciting development roles within days or weeks of the course ending.  And in my experience, there’s an incredibly supportive culture towards junior devs once you're in post.   After your new job has started, you'll also realise that your time at the Academy was actually about developing a methodology, an approach to problem-solving, that you'll use day in day out, no matter what languages or tools the job involves.

I'd recommend to anyone that they put some time into checking that this is the right path for them before committing.  There are plenty of free resources (Codecademy etc) online, and you need to be confident you enjoy the process and challenge of learning to code - it will be a big part of your career long after the course has ended.  But if development still feels like the right path for you, then go for it! And in my experience, iO Academy can help you get where you’re looking to go. Read less

I joined iO Academy after changing career paths with no coding experience and little confidence. After 16 weeks, I could build applications in multiple languages, solve problems with confidence, and present in sprint reviews. Within a month of graduating, I had a job as a developer in a great company and I had more experience in real industry practices than many colleagues with computer science degrees. The transformation was huge and I am so grateful to Mike and Neal for building and delivering a process that prepared me for the way things are actually done! The bootcamp also ensures that there is good support for women and there are regular check ins along the way. I’m reminded everyday that this bootcamp was the best decision I made and I would recommend it to everyone!  Read less

Returning to software development after a 10 year career break seemed like an impossible feat until I discovered the iO Academy and their bespoke training course.

I was able to easily pick and choose which modules I needed to update my skills. Nothing was set in stone so we could adapt the program as we went. I had a mixture of virtual and in person sessions and both worked equally well. Putting theory immediately into practice was not only a refreshing way to learn, but really effective. 

I had been dreading restarting my career and was actually pretty scared about finding out out how little I still knew and how much things had moved on but… the sessions were fun and Mike was super encouraging and supportive. What had felt impossible rapidly felt completely doable. I’m now working again and really enjoying it. iO has a really friendly team that I know I will be back in touch to top up my skills if needed. Thank you iO! Read less