Makers Academy

I've really enjoyed my time at Makers and cannot recommend it enough to the ones thinking of joining a bootcamp. Now that I've attended a few hackathons and meetups, and having met some of the other bootcamp graduates, I'm more convinced that Makers is better. 

The philosophy at Makers isn't to teach you a certain technology stack, or framework. Instead, they focus on skills of learning how to learn. They do this with an explicit focus on your process, which leads to progress and results. The sylabbus is designed by some really intelligent people, and it shows because you're still thinking about the things you learn in week 1 when you finish the course (for eg: single responsibility principle) but at a much higher level. 

The careers support you get is also very professional and excellent. They will go above and beyond to make sure you have everything you need to go get yourself a job you really like.

To add to that, I've found the coaches and staff to be extremely helpful and friendly. You really feel it in the vibe and community here. Also, I've found that other Makers who might have graduated years ago will go out of their way to help you, give you advice or give you a job. They're also open and radically honest which really helps build trust. 

All makers also follow the principle of 'trust over fear', which means they trust one another more than doubt or fear them, which generally leads to happier people who want to do a good job and it shows. 

Those are the pros. Here are the cons. It can be difficult to get feedback from coaches and there aren't enough of them. This would be OK, except for the fact that your review process (the process by which you're allowed to apply for jobs through the careers team) depends on getting coach feedback. This is not the coaches fault by any means. 

If you're thinking of joining a bootcamp, just come to one of the demo days and speak to as many students as you can - it's not easy, and it's very intense but you will thank yourself for joining. 

Makers has gifted me with one of the most intense personal journeys I had ever experienced and it's not over yet. As I write, I'm a very recent graduate, about to start her job hunt. I am still coming to the office to get motivated everyday, but I already miss the vibes we had during the course. The academy is very young and friendly, the coaches are approachable, but not too much! They want you to struggle a bit first, to build solid basic skills and forge your ability to learn on your own, which is the actual golden potential we advertise once graduated. The community around you during the course is a real gem, both as a resource of knowledge and also socially speaking.
If I have to mention a con, I would say that the technologies learnt are not of the most popular ones, once one starts applying for jobs, however, as said above, the real goals of the course are having solid basic knowledge and knowing how to learn.
I have just started job hunting and the careers team is available for advices. They do a great job in getting companies in, to meet us. It is still very important to also apply to outside companies in order to get as many answers as possible.
In summary, I would recommend Makers Academy any day or the rest of my life.

TLDR: Tech is great, Makers is great. If you're reading this, change your career and join Makers already.

My previous career was in psychology. I left not because I hated it but because I did not feel fulfilled or challenged in the right way and I couldn't see myself doing it for the rest of my life. Leaving it and joining Makers was the best decision I've ever made. 

Pros:
- Great atmosphere to learn and challenge yourself. They seem to have nailed providing a relaxed environment that encourages you to work your hardest for yourself, not for anyone else.
- Coaches make you really think about the questions you're asking and help you understand the more fundamental issues with whatever your problem is. This can be frustrating at the time but when you're stuck alone on a problem with no one to ask for help, you'll appreciate it.
- The syllabus is excellent. The reasons I know this are 1) people interviewing me for jobs after Makers were often impressed by our experience and understanding of key concepts 2) I now feel completely comfortable picking up new technologies and attaining a job using them.
- The careers team are really something else. A lovely bunch of supportive, enthusiastic and knowledgeable people that go the extra mile every time to keep you motivated and ensure you land the job you're happy with.
- I'm not sure if it's because of the standards Makers set applicants but the vast vast majority of people I've met on this course have been well-grounded, smart and generally very fun to code and learn with.

Cons:
- Getting code reviews from coaches occasionally took an inordinate amount of time. I believe this was a consequence of implementing a Viva process with too few staff or too little organisation. They seem to be remedying this now so maybe it will be less of a problem for future cohorts.
- I think they could do with getting a couple more coaches in general to meet demand.

Having spent my time with a friend deciding what schools would be good for us to learn code, I really gravitated towards Makers and since I made the decision to join the course have not been disappointed. Am really happy with the community feel of the course and the willingness of not only the coaches to help improve you but members of your cohort as well. The 12 weeks can be intense at certain points, but once you have found a rhythm you are comfortable with, you will settle in quite quickly. The activities provided also are very helpful, and I never thought I would take to Yoga as well as I did.

The community feel doesn't stop after Makers and this has been a really great feeling. With them willing to help you by putting on Careers Fairs, as well as chances to meet and talk to other former Alumni really beneficial. Can not recommend it enough. 

Having worked with and spoken to developers who had graduated from Makers Academy, I had very high expectations going into the course. I can safely say the course met my lofty expectations in terms of learning how to code, but easily smashed them when it came to the quality of the coaching and careers teams. The coaches are some of the smartest, most accomplished people I have met; they are genuine top coding talent that has come to Makers due a love of teaching others and the flexibility it gives them as coders to also pursue personal project. The links the careers team has with tech organisations is also incredible - they place into prestigious companies month after month after month. They even have streamlined recruitment processes into their hiring partners, with one hub application providing access to multiple companies. Meanwhile, they have a fantastic support system to keep you going through what will be an intense few months.  Overall - a fantastic, enjoyable curriculum and an organisation that also has the teeth and tenacity to get you hired. 

Makers Academy is quite the experience but it's not for the faint of heart. The course provides a intensive experience covering programming best practises such as pair programming and test-driven development, helping students gain the skills to get a job as a junior software engineer and be an effective member of a team. The support provided from the coaches and Chief Joy Officer throughout the course was fantastic and the careers team were brilliant, helping me find a job within a week of finishing the course. It's a great choice if you want to become a software engineer.

Makers has completely reinvigorated my relationship with learning and instilled within me a belief that I can achieve whatever I set my heart to.

The couse itself is challenging and is designed to acquaint you with the feeling of unknown. If you're looking for a formulaic, spoon-fed experience similar to University/School this may not be for you. You are often given the bare minimum information to fulfill each week's task which can at times be frustrating but empowering at the same time when you ultimately succeed. By the end of the course I felt like I could learn absolutely any language/library/framework independently.

Content-wise there is a huge emphasis on best practices (e.g. test driven development(TDD), pair programming) which, having spoken to people from other bootcamps where TDD is not covered, would perhaps set you apart and better prepare you for life as a software developer.

The coaches at Makers are amazing. They offer plenty code review to push your skills to the next level and are masters of extracting every ounce of learning possible every time you are stuck/need help.

It could not be emphasized more that the Job Assistance that you receive after the course is invaluable. The careers team helps to find you ample opportunities to apply to whilst providing coaching to help keep morale, motivation and belief high until you finally find your first software developer job.

Overally Makers has been the most valuable experience in my adult life and I could not recommend it more. 

Makers Academy lives up to its promises. It has a great community of software developers connected to the place and really encourages you to get involved with it. It has a firm focus on learning to write high quality code, and you end up with a portfolio of a variety of projects built with ruby and javascript.

It is intense, but its not too hard in terms the learning curve and at the end of it many of our cohort got a job within 2 weeks - including me. They have a good careers fair where students can meet employers, who end up hiring many of the students finishing a cohort.

The teachers are very knowledgable and supportive, this course does demand some independent learning as well, but if you ever feel you are struggling there is loads of help. It has a large focus on group and pair work, to prepare you for industry, and helps give you confidence for job interviews. If you are thinking of becoming a software developer and get a job quickly then go for Makers!

I attended Makers in search of a career change, like many others. After quite possibly the most difficult 12 weeks of my life, my search is over.

Makers is difficult. Very, very difficult. It doesn't matter if you've never written a line of code in your life, or if you're a hobbyist developer wanting to take your skills to the next level - Makers will be difficult for you. It is a bootcamp in the purest sense of the word. Expect to put the rest of your life on hold for 3 months.

That being said, it has been a fantastic experience for me. The course content is fantastic, the coaches are fantastic, the staff are fantastic, the careers support is fantastic, and your fellow students will be fantastic as well.

Makers sets itself apart from other bootcamps by its course content. While marketed ostensibly as a web dev bootcamp, there is a strong focus on writing high-quality code, which is valuable to any software developer. The cirriculum at Makers will prepare you for any software development job, which I believe is a huge plus.

You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll probably dream in code as well, but at the end of the course you'll look back with amazement at how much you can learn in 3 months if you put your mind to it.

Makers is a life-changing experience.

Makers was a fantastic experience, albeit very intense! They do a lot to foster a sense of community, I met so many lovely people both in my cohort and staff members. This really pays off during the course as it is difficult and you are really pushed so having a support system within the course makes such a difference. There's also a lot of effort put into student well-being with yoga and meditation classes. The course focuses on helping you to teach yourself, you are not spoon fed very much beyond the very first steps and are taught how to find the answers yourself. Beyond coding, you also learn good practices to use while coding which I found invaluable, this works as a framework for everything you pick up. I think my only criticism would be that there is a lot of self-learning, but with perspective, it has helped me so much after graduating when I'm working on my own.

As for employment the careers team were lovely for me and supported me all through the process. They found me relevant jobs and chased up companies who were dragging their feet.

I came to makers with no tech background and now have a job as a developer! If you can afford it and are a hard worker I would definitely recommend it!

If you're serious about a career change and are up for a challenge then Makers Academy is for you!

The entire course is pretty intense, 3 months of weekly topics followed by weekend challenges to really make sure you learn as much as humanly possible. It was amazing!

This is not to scare you off but equally if the above doesn't excite you then you might struggle because every person who makes it onto the course will have signed up to this and be raring to go!

 

The course: Like many people I wanted to make a switch into development and doing tutorials at home wasn't really cutting it. The course itself is great, every week (well most) your coach starts the week of introducing the next topic. Sometimes this may involve whiteboard sessions, talking through syntax and others just pointing you and your pair to the repository for that topic. That week you then spend working through a specific challenge focused on teaching you about this topic. Each day you switch pairs so you have the benefit of looking at different code, different ways of thinking and learning from one another.

This is ultimately the key thing that makes Makers Academy so good. They get a whole bunch of passionate people from diverse backgrounds together, set them a challenge and support where necessary. Makers isn't an onsite tutorial because if it was you really wouldn't understand the content. If I didn't have to figure things out myself (or with my pair) I honestly don't think I'd remember half of what I do now.

 

Career support: They have a great careers team who do everything they can to support you in your job search afterwards. But just like the course, this is driven by you and you have to be prepared to put the hours in.

I loved Makers Academy, but be warned, this course is not for the faint-hearted! It is really intense - it has to be, it's only 12 weeks long! So you have to be prepared to commit utterly during that time, including weekends, if you want to make progress.

I chose to do Makers Academy because I felt that just doing online tutorials by myself was difficult to find time to do while working, demotivating and left me with a lot of questions. Makers Academy did not disappoint. The way that the course is structured means that you're not spoon fed a 'how to be a developer' syllabus but rather led to discover yourself how to be a developer - you're given signposts, if you will, rather than an actual map. So we were taught concepts, skills and behavioural practices (Agile, XP values) over the concretes of how to actually write code, as the latter is usually quite easy to find yourself.  The focus is put on learning how to learn and learn quickly in order that students can leave with a certain level of self-sufficiency when coming across a new language or coding practice after the course is over. 

We pair programmed throughout the duration of the course - this is great for honing communication skills,  for learning how to talk clearly about unfamiliar concepts and enhancing understanding. Again, this is not for everyone - if you're a lone ranger,  get frustrated at others for being slow or resentful of people being ahead of you, then you should probably look into other courses.

One of the really great things about Makers Academy was that we were being taught best practices on real-world applicable projects from day one. It meant that right from the beginning I knew that what I was learning I could actually use once the course was over - which sounds daft but I did a degree and have not used it since graduating. 

I also appreciated Makers Academy's attention to the wellbeing of their students - it could be easy to burn out in such an environment, but daily meditation, twice weekly yoga and the support of the Coach and Joy Officer kept me simmering at an optimal learning temperature rather than boiling over.

Conclusion: do this course if you want to be a software developer, are happy to put in the time, are cool with self-learning and enjoy collaborating with people to build awesome things. 

I spent a long time weighing up whether to risk up-skilling via a bootcamp, and I'm so glad I did. Not only was the core curriculum well-structured, extensive, and challenging in all the right ways, but more importantly the style of coaching and focus on independent learning have helped instil a mindset that will support me throughout my career. Aside from the technical skills, there's a strong emphasis on learning real world expertise, including effective communication, collaboration, and emotional intelligence. These skills were reinforced by an attentive, down to earth, and diverse group of coaches, who were always accessible if you needed some extra support.

I studied the Quality Engineering specialism, which was a smaller cohort than some of the others so we had plenty of coaching and tailored support. As well as an introduction to programming fundamentals, we covered a wide range of testing methodologies, tools, and automation techniques. There was also a focus on embracing the curious mindset of a tester, and some of the history and context around Quality Assurance vs. Quality Engineering, and what all the different titles really represent.

Upon completing the course there's also a wide range of workshops, sessions and check-ins designed to help you with the job hunt. To be honest, it was quite a shock for me just how relentless the job market was, so having that network of other job seekers was really valuable. They also do a great job of sharing job recommendations, meet ups, events etc. that might help you on your journey, and are very open and attentive to feedback. There are also a few affiliated organisations they work with for apprenticeships etc.

If you're interested, I would certainly recommend attending a taster session to see if it's right for you. I was considering it for ages, and as soon as I went to the taster on Quality Engineering it just clicked. You get a good feel for the field, and have the opportunity to speak with a coach and answer any questions. Whilst I don't think bootcamp experience is for everyone, if you're really motivated and not put off by the pace and challenge, I'd absolutely recommend it. It's a valuable investment where you'll learn to embrace the unknown, and get access to a career where you'll never stop learning.

Makers was a great experience that helped me quickly develop my skills as a software engineer. I got hands-on with various technologies, including JavaScript, Python, and cloud engineering principles. Through test-driven development (TDD), pair programming, and real-world projects, I improved my problem-solving and collaboration skills. The bootcamp gave me a strong foundation in software development and the confidence to keep learning and building.









4o

I recently completed the Makers bootcamp and found it to be an invaluable experience for transitioning into tech. The program was challenging but well-structured, with coaches who excel at both teaching technical skills and developing the mindset needed for software development. As someone who started with no coding experience, I appreciate how the curriculum builds strong foundations while teaching crucial problem-solving skills. The collaborative atmosphere created a strong learning environment where we could support each other through challenges. While demanding, the program delivers on its promise to prepare career changers for the tech industry, as long as you're committed to putting in the necessary work.

Attending Makers was a transformative experience that not only equipped me with practical programming skills but also reshaped my mindset toward problem-solving and continuous learning. This immersive bootcamp excels in cultivating not only technical abilities but also the adaptability and resilience needed in the software industry. I did the Software bootcamp specialisation after the initial general 8 week foundation course, however, there are other specialisms as well - please do check the makers website for more information and they do run some taster sessions (taster tuesdays) to experience a summary of what they cover in these programs for free, so definitely worth checking that out too!

Pros:
Comprehensive Curriculum: The bootcamp covers a wide array of programming fundamentals and practices (OOP etc), from Python, JavaScript (including hands on experience with non-relational and relational databases) to test-driven development (TDD) and pair programming. Every concept builds on the last, ensuring a solid foundation.

Supportive Learning Environment: Makers creates a space where everyone, regardless of their starting point, feels supported. Mentors are not only highly knowledgeable but also approachable, and they genuinely care about your progress.

Emphasis on Real-World Skills: Beyond coding, Makers focuses on essential soft skills, including communication, collaboration, emotional intelligence and problem-solving. By the end, you’re not just a developer—you’re a well-rounded professional.

Strong Alumni Network: Makers has a robust network of graduates who are helpful, and upon graduation this network opens doors to opportunities and mentorship after the bootcamp.

Job Support: The careers team provides invaluable support, including mock interviews, CV workshops, and LinkedIn tips, which continue even after graduation. This support was crucial to me as I entered and manoeuvred the tech  job market - ultimately helping me land my first role.


Cons - not much as negative as it is more considerations to be aware before you get involved:

Intensive Schedule: Makers is an intense 16week program, and balancing the workload can be challenging. Be prepared to put the work in and a high degree of commitment required. The pace can sometimes feel overwhelming, especially if you’re new to coding - I found the pomodoro technique very handy to cope with this.

Cost: Like many coding bootcamps, Makers is an investment - an investment in yourself. While I believe it’s worth it, the cost may be prohibitive for some. The return on investment, however, is strong if you’re committed to a tech career and there are financial options as well (i.e. stepex etc)

Self-Motivation is Key: While Makers provides resources, the bootcamp’s self-directed approach requires a lot of initiative. You’ll get out of it what you put in, so it’s essential to be proactive and ask questions.

In summary, Makers is an outstanding choice for anyone serious about starting a career in software development. It is challenging, but the reward is really worth it. The skills and support from this journey have been invaluable to me, setting me up for a strong start in my first tech job. I wholeheartedly recommend Makers to anyone and everyone looking to career transition to the tech world. 

I attended this bootcamp, and coming from a traditional learning background, it was a bit of a shock to adjust to the Montessori-style approach. There were no grades, so I never knew exactly how well I was doing, which made it challenging at first. However, in hindsight, this method helped me develop strong skills in breaking down and analysing technical requirements, which was especially valuable since I already had some coding experience.I would definitely recommend this bootcamp to anyone looking to sharpen their coding skills and get job-ready. However, for absolute beginners, unless you pick things up very quickly, you should be prepared to spend an additional 3 months to a year perfecting your skills after the bootcamp, especially in today's competitive job market.