iO Academy

As someone with a computer science degree I worried the course wouldn't provide me with the challenge I needed. How wrong I was! The course was intense, packed full of information and side projects, so much so that I coded late into the night most of the week (for fun and to get the most of the course, not a requirement!) Most importantly it gave me the tools to navigate an extremely complex industry with confidence, teaching good working practices and enforcing a doctrine of work-life balance. All in all I would say the course was a winner for me, my career and my general well being. I would highly recommend it! 

I absolutely loved the course at iO academy. I had looked at quite a few different bootcamps before I decided for this one, and have never regretted the choice for a moment. What made me decide for iO academy was mainly the small classes (only 8 people), and I do think it made all the difference. With classes that small everyone always had the support they needed, and we all really got to know each other. Since the course is definitely not always easy, it was amazing to have such a nice group of people that could help each other through the tough bits.
The support from iO academy was great. We had several teachers and they were all extremely knowledgeable. Towards the end of the course you get a lot of support with the job search as well; they help you out with your cv, portfolio website etc. I was lucky enough to get a job immediately after the course ended. I'm really loving the work and everything I was taught at iO academy has proven itself more than useful already. I really think they did very well with the curriculum and taught us everything you need to know to start your first developer job.

TL, DR - Course good, got job. Believe the hype.

Prior to joining iO Academy (then Mayden Academy), I had no previous development experience other than a few HTML/CSS courses on freeCodeCamp. I'd been working in tech support/retail for longer than I would have liked and needed a change. I'd spent weeks trawling through forums, watching countless YouTube videos espousing (and demonising) bootcamps vs self taught vs university and reading reviews on websites like this one, and after weighing up my options, a bootcamp seemed like the best choice for me.

So, why iO?

• Small cohort sizes. The benefits of this in hindsight have been: more personal teaching, comradery/community and preparation for post-iO life.
• Non-code stuff. Being familiar with Scrum and following the rituals of daily standups, sprint reviews, merge requests (etc) made the transition into my first developer role that much less daunting, and is a huge benefit over going the self-taught/university course route. You don't know to learn what you don't know!
• Easy payment options. Not really having a nest egg to fall back on, the option to pay once employed was a huge plus. Being shorter than a transitional degre
• Support finding a job. The academy Slack job's channel was incredibly hlpful during the search for my first role, and trainers really went above and beyond, helping with my CV, portfolio, tech interviews and just generaly being there for a chat if things were stressful.

Despite the difficulties incurred by Covid, the iO Academy team were nothing but outstanding and professional. The trainers are knowledgable, personable and managed to simultaneously make the single most intense course of my life into the most enjoyable one.

The term "life changing" is thrown around a lot, but this course truly is. Thanks again iO team!

Misc tips:

• Do as much of the pre-course work as possible. Familiarising yourself with some of the vocabulary used will make things easier later.
• Ask for help when you need it (you will need it).

I have been ummming and arring for many years whether I should step into software development.  I was apprehensive about bootcamps in general but I do not regret joining and completing the iO Academy full stack development course.   Our coach Charlie is a great and has the patience for stupid questions!  We completed a number of team projects in an agile environment to get you prepared for the real world. We also had many talks from ex-students and also from engineers from Mayden which they are attached to.

My other advice is to make sure you cover all the pre-course requirements so that concepts are not so foreign when you join the cohort and keep adding projects to your portfolio along the way.

The course at iO Academy has enabled me to transition from a completely unrelated career into tech. Before the course I was an estate agent and had very little coding experience - 5 months later and I have received multiple job offers from really exciting companies. Something I never thought possible beforehand. If you are worried that you may not have any relevant experience, or your technical skills aren't up to scratch, then don't be. This is what you are paying for - and iO will bring you up to speed. Companies you interview for after the course care about your passion, enthusiasm and current skills far more than previous employment. 

The curriculum is curated to give you a solid foundation from which to specialise further. It also caters to different skill levels and the trainers manage to keep those more advanced busy by supplying them with 'stretch goals'. You are exposed to a multitude of different technologies encompassing the full web-development life cycle. This means that you discover more about what you enjoy and the type of position you might choose after the course. In one interview I had, the interviewer mentioned that he was impressed by how much the course covered. The certified Scrum Master certification is a huge competitive advantage as many companies adopt agile methodologies. 

The best part about the course though is the people, both trainers and fellow students. Firstly, your fellow students will go through the same meticulous process as you and this ensures that everybody has similar aspirations, despite coming from wildly different backgrounds. This creates a really fun, tight-knit group of people who are wishing for each other to succeed and will continue to be friends long after the course. 

Secondly, the trainers are all fantastic and are desperate for you to succeed. I was lucky enough to have Charlie for my course who completely made the experience for all of us. He was so welcoming, knowledgeable and encouraging and immediately put us all at ease. The type of bloke who is hard not to like and you want to go for a few pints with. Since the course has finished, he's helped me with job applications etc and really gone above and beyond. We were also lucky enough to be taught by Ash and Rayna and different stages of the course who were amazing and managed to fill Charlie's big shoes. Shout out also to Margaret and Sophie who helped with everything from the onboarding process to editing my CV. 

Overall, an incredible opportunity which will genuinely change your career trajectory in a matter of months. The 4 months is intense, but you will make friendships and massively improve your technical skills. Afterwards, the world's your oyster. 

This was the biggest thing I have committed to in my life so far, and I would do it all again. Coming from a career unrelated to the software developer industry I thought I would be unteachable, but I was wrong. Applying to iO Academy was the best decision I've made, not only did I learn amazing languages & skills, I met fantastic people. The trainers all have insane knowledge and they give so much of their time & commitment to us. The reviews I read before & after applying confirmed for me this was 100% the right decision, so I hope my review also helps others in my position. This was so much fun, if you are considering iO Academy you will not regret your choice. Thank you to all the trainers & staff at iO Academy.

Overall iO boto camp course was excellent,  they offered an incredibly well-structured curriculum that always kept an eye on employability and real-world skills.  Weekly guest lectures gave a sense of the breadth of employment possibilities and project weeks gave a real sense of working on existing codebases and delivering the product within the scrum framework. 
A slight overfocus on front end web development stuff and we didn't get onto the exciting React stuff until right at the end but other wise perfect.
during the course I had an accident that required emergency spinal surgery that meant I took a couple of weeks off to recover. After this, Mike the head of the school, gave me one on one tuition to get me back up to speed. I felt this went above and beyond in terms of student support and made finishing the course despite my accident possible. Incredible levels of care and attention paid to students. 

Curriculum
The curriculum at iO academy is extremely well curated and constantly tweaked to provide students with the most demanded practical skills in industry. It is structured in such a way that enables even a complete novice like myself, to build fundamental skills quickly. Despite covering A LOT of ground in 16 weeks, it also dives deep enough into concepts to allow a necessary understanding - a balance well struck.

The course is a blend of theory and project weeks where you will predominantly complete group projects in a Scrum team. These sprints conclude with sprint reviews, allowing the whole team to present their work to sometimes over 30 people. This aspect of the course helps to supplement the scrum master certification - CSM training (included in the course) with the practical experience of implementing Agile methodologies.

Instructors
One of the defining features of the iO experience is that one instructor will lead your tuition throughout the course. I found that this really helped me to build good rapport with not only the tutor, but with classmates too, as it creates familiarity, trust and continuity within the group interactions throughout. The strong relationships built allowed me to feel comfortable asking what I thought could seem like ‘stupid questions’ (never the case - always important to ask). In fact we were constantly encouraged and challenged with daily recaps to ensure that all students really did understand concepts before we moved on. The patient and thorough answers to my ‘stupid questions’ were definitely moments of key learning when the ‘penny dropped’ and concepts clicked into place.

There are also guest lectures throughout to mix up the learning experience, definitely another well thought out feature of the course.

Job assistance
There is a dedicated day towards the latter part of the course to help ready students to apply for jobs. It covers everything from cv/covering letter workshop, getting your portfolio up to scratch and hosted on their servers, to what to expect during the different stages of application processes. There is ongoing assistance to help you make the strongest applications and to put you in the best position to find a job.   

iO host hiring evenings where they invite hiring partners to meet you, creating a semi-formal opportunity for you to get in front of employers and ask them questions about the company and positions.

There is also a constant feed of filtered jobs aggregated from various job boards as well as pre-advertised job opportunities passed on through the vast network of alumni and tutors. The positions are always screened for relevance to iO grad experience levels and offer a reliable source of opportunity without the overload of hundreds of non-relevant postings, often found on job boards.

I managed to secure a job with a competitive salary within the 1st week of graduating from iO! Testament to the world class bootcamp experience you can expect from iO.

Overall experience
I cannot fault iO. The value for money/return on investment outstrips any other educational experience by a long shot. The genuine culture of support and encouragement, as well as inclusivity is the perfect environment for anyone who wants to kick start a successful career in tech. 

I would and HAVE recommended the course to my nearest and dearest! 

I had a great experience at the academy  and am so glad that I made the decision to do the course.  The way the curriculum was structured meant that you worked on a team project to consolidate the week of learning. You were able to practise the theory during each of the 6 or so projects which was invaluable. The tutors were caring and responsive to different learning styles. I come from a non-coding background but started teaching myself the basics of web development about a year before I started the course which really helped my understanding especially during project week.  The learning never stops, but thanks to the IO academy bootcamp and the team (special shout out to our trainer Ash), it gave me a solid foundation on which to build on and I was offered my first developer job a week after finishing which was amazing!

I am so glad that I took this course! I had no previous coding experience or technical background, so this was a huge switch of mental focus for me. But the support we received during and even after the training is incredible. The atmosphere is very community - like and welcoming. The trainers are amazing - very knowledgeable, approachable and supportive. They are also the most patient people you may ever, ever meet. If I had teachers like that as a teenager, I would be a different person today! I couldn't have chosen better place to start a new career. I am endlessly grateful for the encouragement I received - that definitely helped me to believe in myself and my abilities.
My group started in person and moved remote after a few weeks but it wasn't a problem at all. iO Academy team adapted really well to these circumstances and I found learning on - line even easier. The course is very intense at times but it is manageable and we were actively encouraged to look after ourselves, take our breaks and use our weekends for rest. Trainers are also very adaptable and responsive to any issues or struggles you may experience. I become quite easily overwhelmed and I did it, which means you can do it too! 
I would advice starting preparing for the course as soon as you can - the more you already know, the easier it will be. And taking good notes is also important, as they become handy after the training, when you realize you need to go over it all again!

Having an established career already, it was a bit daunting to say the least to leave employment and retrain. However, the course at iO Academy has given me the best start to launch my new career that I could have hoped for. It was an amazing experience from the start and I honestly wouldn't change a thing.

The course is structured really well, with a general format of one theory week followed by a project week to put your newfound knowledge into practice. You come out with a solid portfolio of work, which is probably the most valuable thing when starting as a new developer. As you might imagine, it is intensive and definitely hard-work at times. However the pace is achievable and the support is always there to help if you need it.

The agile aspects are invaluable for those who haven't worked in a similar environment before, with the Scrum Master certification being a real bonus. There are also regular guest speakers which are really interesting and a great introduction to life in the industry and the dev community in general.

I couldn't have asked for better trainers - they are really friendly and approachable, incredibly knowledgeable, excellent teachers, and always available and eager to help whenever needed. They are very conscious of continuous improvement, asking for feedback after each module. They also offer one-on-one chats (both planned and ad-hoc) where you can go through anything you need. The whole course is underpinned by an excellent office team, who do a great job at supporting students and trainers alike throughout.

Learning remotely for the majority of the course wasn't a problem at all, in fact I think it actually worked better than it would have done in the classroom with social distancing.

Towards the end of the course there are excellent job planning sessions, including support with CVs, interviews, tech tests, hiring partner events, recruiter contacts etc., which are essential to get the best start to the job hunt.

Overall I am really pleased that I decided to go down the bootcamp route and wouldn't hesitate to do so again if I were to start over. It was an amazing experience throughout and I honestly wouldn't change a thing. I now am part of an ever-expanding alumni of like-minded individuals, who continue to provide opportunities as I start my career.

I'm very happy I made the leap and couldn't/wouldn't have done it without the course - thanks to all at iO Academy!

I joined Mayden Academy with some programming experience, but what I learnt over the past sixteen weeks really enhanced the basics.

The team over at Mayden Academy teach you much more than how to program: how to work as a team, how to think like a developer, how to plan your work and much more. You are taught programming principles generically and not to the languages being taught, being made aware of any quirks that do not apply to other languages, allowing you to easily pick up a new programming language(s) after the course. 

Our cohort had to move online, due to COVID-19, this allowed us to learn skills around remote working and being online did not affect our ability to learn at all. The team are willing to chat and adapt at any point to discuss any needs or questions you have and are always there to support you along the way. There is not a single negative thing I can say about the team or the course.

Mayden Academy has given me the confidence to work on applications without questioning my ability.

Like others have mentioned, I was sceptical reading these reviews as it seemed too good to be true, but it really is fab! I thoroughly enjoyed my whole Mayden Academy experience: the wonderful trainers and everyone helping to run the academy; the other students; the course content; the structure of the course (love the alternating project and theory weeks as it helps you solidify the concepts and build up a great portfolio); the small class sizes; and the great place you get to study. Overall I really enjoyed everything I leant and made some great friends; and even though I attended having barely written any code before and from a totally different career path it prepared my for my first developer job - thanks to the number of hiring partners the academy put you in touch with! Thank you Mayden Academy :)

Last year I wanted to change career to become a software developer.  I needed to make that change quickly to minimise my time not earning. My friend recommended this course, so I read the reviews (all absolutely justified) and booked my place on a taster session. I loved the atmosphere that evening: positive, enabling and inclusive.  I started going to tech meet ups in Bath and Bristol, applied for the course and had a wonderful 4 months in Autumn 2019 learning (and playing) at Mayden Academy.  There is tons of support for finding a job and I've been working as a software dev for 4 whole days now: ridiculously exciting! The way the course project weeks are organised is incredibly helpful for the real world and the content is up to date and relevant. Most importantly, the trainers and support staff at Mayden Academy are open-hearted compassionate people who understand what it's like to start from scratch: the support is amazing from them and from the other students. It's life-changing, do it!

My Coding Experience Prior to the course:

Knew I liked coding for several years but didn't have much experience prior to the course apart from a few bits and pieces with Fortran at uni, Swift and very basic HTML and CSS. 

 

Content:

There is a great balance between keeping up with the latest technologies and developments in the industry and teaching content that incorporates the fundamental aspects of programming that can be universally applied across different languages and frameworks. We were taught coding best practices: code reviews, unit testing, properly documenting our code and backing it up regularly on github. We got to work as a team and individually, on brand new and legacy projects.

 

Class Size:

There were 2 different classes in my cohort that ran in parallel. Max size 8 people per class up until the point where you can choose your track in week 14 after which my class was 9 so it still stayed pretty balanced numbers wise. The small class size definitely contributed hugely to my learning, you get a lot of 1-1 time with the trainers which was brilliant for clarifying things we'd just learnt or getting some help with a difficult exercise. I think I would have begun to struggle in a larger group of 12 or more.

 

The Teachers:

I was lucky to get the chance to learn from all the trainers at Mayden who did their best to make us feel welcome and included, accommodating their classroom and teaching style for students different learning needs.

Mike was my trainer for the majority of the course. He taught me not just how to code but how to write code that is good quality, concise and secure. He consistently went above and beyond for his students, sometimes staying late so we could work on our portfolios, giving people help with CV writing, always being approachable for advice or if we had any problems. 

It was great to have Ashley around while he completed his teacher training, he brought a different perspective to problems and was a patient teacher, I think he will fly with his first cohort! :)

I took Charlie’s track for the final two weeks: Charlie is very fun and full of energy, he has a very practical approach to teaching which suited my learning style, the track was very exercise based and felt a lot closer to project weeks but with a bit more structure and guidance. 

 

Classmates:

These people really made the experience amazing! Mayden Academy are very good at putting together a team of people that work well together and get on. I made some great friends from the course and I think we all learnt a lot from each other, everyone has a unique approach to solving a problem or a quicker, neater, more interesting way to write code. We did a lot of pair-programming on the course and I found it invaluable it helped to improve my standards and got me to think problems through and be able to explain my process to another person. 

 

Skills aside from coding:

I felt like the course at Mayden Academy simulated what working in the industry is actually like. We pair-programmed, code reviewed each other’s work, learnt the ins and outs of Git and Github for backing up work, we planned projects from start to finish holding each other accountable for our mistakes and for our achievements, we rallied together and supported each other, it was awesome being a part of such a great team! We learnt Scrum, an organisational framework which is used throughout the industry (not everywhere but a lot of places use it or a variation of it) to estimate the speed at which a team can work through projects and breaking down projects into smaller more manageable chunks of tasks. The had daily quizzes and bi-weekly tests (just for your own reference) that helped us gauge how much of the content we had grasped and what we needed to go over. We had a daily meeting as part of Scrum which meant we were always checking in with each other about how everyone’s learning was going and how each project was progressing. These skills have put me in great stead for a job in the industry. 

 

Career Support:

A full day dedicated to interview skills, CV and cover letter writing as well as ongoing support with job applications for the duration and even following the course. I even got some advice with writing introduction emails as it’s a huge blocker for me and I generally put it off so much the vacancy has been filled by the time I actually apply! 

The hiring event they put on was initially nerve wracking but ultimately exactly what I needed, it was great to just be able to chat face to face with representatives from really great local companies without the communication barrier of phone calls and email conversations and without the intense pressure of an interview situation. I think we all benefited from this stepping stone into the world of technical interviews and I think personally I owe this networking evening to the job I have now. 

 

Attending with a Partner:

My partner and I took the course together, although we were in separate classes on the prior request of the teachers (this is for several reasons but the one that resonated with me most was that you then get to bond with your teammates better and have your own individual experience of the course). So in my cohort there were 2 classes of 8 and we attended in parallel. It was a great getting to share the experience with one another, we learn it quite different ways so we could help when the other one was struggling and we could talk though a problem together. Both of us have come to coding from different industries so it is nice to be able to share that understanding with each other now as we start our new careers. It was difficult financially choosing to attend together and we had to rely on savings as well as loans from family and friends to see us though so I would definitely consider that aspect as well before jumping in. But it was very worth it in the end :)