MakerSquare

My name is Hudson Carlton and I am an engineering manager at Paypal. We hired two MakerSquare graduates to fill a couple roles: an application engineer role (non-junior) and one junior level role. 

In hiring, I typically look at LinkedIn, local meetups, and recent graduates. I decided to look at MakerSquare and found qualified candidates that have the skills to learn quickly.  

The graduate that I hired has on-boarded and is currently working on a project built with our KrakenJS stack.krakenjs.com

Lastly, I was asked "would I look at MakerSquare for future hiring?" My answer: Yes, I definitely will look at MakerSquare graduates when we are looking to hire again.

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TL/DR: Do it!

I just finished MakerSquare at the end of January and the program was fantastic. It wasn’t perfect, but it continues to evolve. These imperfections, however, are vastly overshadowed by the unmistakable value it offers for those willing to work hard.

I do say ‘offers’ for a reason, because you get what you put into it. 

You can expect to basically live and breath code for 12 weeks. I easily spent 70+ hours either at campus or at home pouring over a project or reading documentation and sleeping every once in a while, haha. You need to dive in head first and just try to absorb anything and everything and the investment will be worth it immediately. 

If you aren't fully committed, you could go each day, be flooded with information and not learn a dang thing. But if you really throw yourself at the program, take everything in like a sponge, digest as much of it as you can and then throw yourself at it even harder as the topics get denser, deeper and more specific, you can't help but learn a ton. I say this because there are some who enter the program with specific things they do/don't want to learn or have preconceived ideas about what would/wouldn't be useful to them, and I think that holds them back in many cases. 

Basically, be the thirstiest sponge you can be, ask questions as you encounter them, but also be willing to trust that the instructors have thought long and hard about what is important to teach you and when. 

We used JavaScript and Ruby on Rails for our lessons, which you will be extremely comfortable with by the end, but the true value comes from gleaning the programming concepts which can be applied to any language/framework. There are lots of people from my cohort who took jobs in languages/frameworks we never even touched during MakerSquare; employers see that although MakerSquare grads might not yet know the syntax of whatever language the company is using, we come out of MakerSquare with a strong conceptual understanding and the ability to learn new technologies incredibly fast.

MakerSquare has promoted really high placement numbers. I am not sure the details of other cohorts, but all I know is that my classmates and I have been landing real jobs earning real paychecks; the salaries in Austin have been anywhere around 50-75k/year, generally in junior level positions. 

And while I understand that all this might sound too good to be true, it's not. Becoming a developer in 12 weeks is not easy, but it's absolutely achievable.

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I attended Makersquare in fall 2015, from August through October. I am a recent grad from college, and I actually studied computer science. I decided to do a coding bootcamp because after a year of working in industry, building web products, I realized I lacked a good understanding of the various frameworks and tools that are specific to web development, and my own efforts at constructing a syllabus for myself and self-learning during my free time, despite my background in comp sci, were proving to be ineffectual. It was important to me to find a coding bootcamp that had a strong syllabus that covered these various frameworks and allowed me to produce a body of work demonstrating my abilities.

Makersquare turned out to be exactly that, and more, and I would highly recommend it to anyone that is in a similar position. Class size is around 20-25 people per cohort, and you can be sure to receive a lot of personal guidance and mentorship. The syllabus is solid - it's being curated by Kyle Simpson, an extremely influential person in the Javascript community, and they are able to iterate incredibly fast. The staff is professional, but also warm, and constantly seeking feedback from people in the program. I'm particularly glad for the community - staff and fellow students alike - the whole time I was there, I felt like I was surrounded by people who were devoting their every last bit of energy towards making themselves better, and it was always positive, never competitive, and I found that to be an incredibly inspiring environment to be in.

I was one of three girls in my twenty two person cohort, and initially, I was a little uncomfortable by this gender ratio, but Makersquare works pretty hard to create an inclusive, no-bullshit environment, and I thought they did a decent job of it. I pretty much spent 11 hours a day, 6 days a week at this place for three months, so it was important for it not to feel like a hostile environment in any way, and I'm very grateful and relieved that this ended up being the case.

Whether you're thinking about a career change, or you're a recent grad who wants to learn a ton of stuff in a short period of time, if you're prepared to put in the hard work and time, I would highly recommend Makersquare. I'm really proud of the things I built while I was there, and looking back on those three months, I realize I achieved a remarkable amount of personal growth thanks to the people, the syllabus, and the environment. I'm really, really glad I did it. :)

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MakerSquare provides its students an abundance of challenging curriculum, hands on learning, and even some help with your career development during and after the program. The school starts you off by learning the fundamentals of JavaScript by re-implementing the code from the popular Underscore.js library and learning about all the hard concepts of JavaScript. After developing a solid foundation you then explore relevant and popular frameworks, libraries, and tools that are commonly used by the software engineering community.

MakerSquare also devotes nearly half of its program to building your own applications. These applications can be on any topic and use any technology you are interested in. The support from the MakerSquare staff does not end here, you will continually have meetings with technical mentors that will help guide you through whatever issues your group is facing and will make recommendations for how you might handle them. 

The most important thing that MakerSquare will provide you during your time here is the ability to become an autonomous learner. You will continually encounter technologies that you aren’t familiar with. You learn to look at the api documentation, books, videos, or online resources. Software Engineering is an industry that is constantly evolving and you often won’t have all of the skills required for a particular job you are interested in; but because of your ability to learn quickly and autonomously you have the confidence to learn those skills which you may be lacking and excel at them.

Career services are also provided to its current students and its alumni. During your time at MakerSquare you will be given time to develop an impressive cover letter and resume, and more importantly an advocate for your job search that will help you through anything and everything during your job search. From formatting emails to a prospective company to salary negotiations, you have the support you need throughout your programming career.

MakerSquare has a great community of truly determined and caring staff. This school measures student outcomes as its beacon for success rather than enrollment rates or profits. The network of friendships that you create and the ever-growing list of alumni are invaluable to have as a software engineer.

MakerSquare is a great school, if you come prepared, willing, and determined they will undoubtedly mold you into an excellent software engineer.

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I attended cohort 24 in Austin, TX

First, a little bit about me. I entered Makersquare with roughly 2 years of Wordpress development experience. I was mainly self taught (aside from Comp Sci 101) through my job at a digital advertising company here in NYC. I was tired of working with Wordpress and wanted to take my dev skills to the next level, and work on some more interesting projects (I was working on click bait websites). I chose MKS because it teaches the Javascript stack, and their interview / application process was much more enjoyable than at Full Stack Academy.

Some advice before applying: Make sure you are serious about becoming an engineer. If you are doing this because you don't know what else to do with your career, or are expecting MKS to baby you every step of the way, this may not be the right place for you. Their methods are very much geared towards "making you a better learner". While there are lectures (Gilbert is a rockstar) and solid course material, it is up to the students to work together and solve problems without very much hand holding. The senior project feels exactly like a job, where you are responsible for the product from start to finish with no set daily schedule.

The program: It is rigorous. You WILL struggle. Do not let it get you down. There WILL be people smarter than you who will make you feel inadequate. Just remember it is not a competition! If someone is catching on faster than you, don't get discouraged... ask them for help! I always say that 95% of being a software engineer is failure. It's that 5% of aha! moments that makes it all worth it. I feel like I had a new aha! moment every single day here. It feels like you're struggling mightily, but when you get to the project phase, it's absolutely astounding how much you've learned in such a short period. Also, don't plan on having a social life during these 3 months!

Outcome: I was able to land a job 3 weeks after i graduated, working for a former boss, making 60% more than my last job with a better title (software engineer). I was able to negotiate using the awesome tactics that student outcomes taught us. I made $10k more in 20 minutes! It's amazing how few people actually negotiate their salary. MKS does a very good job teaching you these skills. I probably have a bit of an advantage over most people coming to MKS since I had 2.5 years experience, and a strong network of former co-workers here in NYC, but with the skills gained at MKS i am confident that every who graduates is strong enough for at least a Junior level job. I joined MKS knowing I would not be using their hiring network (which is mainly Austin, LA, and SF), so I can't really comment on that.

Negatives: MKS is not perfect, but they are always iterating and trying to improve. They are a startup, and it is apparent that they are experiencing typical startup growing pains. Also, your experience could be brought down if your cohort has some bad apples. Pretty much everyone I met was awesome, and I made some great friends, but the student body is very young, and some students are not mature enough to handle the kind of pressure involved with the program. MKS very rarely kicks anyone out, so it's possible that you'll have someone on your team not pulling their weight, dealing with emotional issues, being a jerk, or causing drama. (not all necessarily in my cohort, just what I've observed). MKS likes to spin it and say that you're going to have to deal with difficult people on the job, which is a great point, but not when we're spending a lot of money. Towards the end of my cohort, they hired someone will act as a student mediator to try to deal with these types of situations, which is a testament to how MKS listens to their students and strongly values their input.

My advice: DO IT! It was possibly the best 3 months of my life. I've never learned so much so fast, and the outcomes are real. Just about all of my cohort is employed. Have fun, don't take it too seriously, and Always Be Committing!

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This review is for the MakerPrep program offered by MakerSquare in Feburary 2016, not their full-time immersive program.  I had originally planned to apply to MakerSquare without taking their MakerPrep program. Upon realizing that I needed some more time to prepare for the MakerSquare tech interview, I decided to take MakerPrep on the basis that the $750 fee would be contributed to the MakeSquare tuition - why not, right?  I had already decided on going forward with MakerSquare, but I wanted to get a feel for the MakerSquare environment, which seemed to put an emphasis on paired-programming, so that I could feel good about committing the full tuition and 4 full months of time.  I figured that I'd learn more Javascript and be better prepared for the tech interview in the process. The MakerPrep signup page states, "Classroom time will be split between concept lectures, live-coding along with an instructor, and collaborative, project-based work with other beginner developers."  

The reality was that classroom time was spent with the "teacher" displaying his code on the screen, half-heartedly explaining it, and then stating, "ok, now you try".  We would then work on our own for an hour or longer.  There was no real paired-programming or "work with other beginner developers."  There was no collaborative environment--it felt like I was in Baskets Career College, receiving bad lectures and busy work--but we weren't attending a part time night class to merely pass for a certificate at the end, we were there to actually learn. There wasn't even any legitmate lecturing happening!  The teacher was unorganized and never proactively helped the students, he just sat at his desk making conversation.  Appropriately, half the class stopped attending by the end of it. I spent more time in class working through free online resources, which better prepared me for any tech interview, than working through the class material.  I am not sure if this is a fair assumption, but I decided that the MakerPrep class is a reflection of the MakerSquare program itself, and decided not to interview for their immersive program.  To anyone serious about learning the basics of programming, I'd suggest you take advantage of the numerous free online resources, all of which will do a better job of preparing you for MakerSquare or any other similar bootcamp.   

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Before MKS I was very unhappy with my front-end developer job. I wanted to learn more, and being funneled into a Wodrpess environment with no way or direction out was killing me. I applied and was rejected on my first attempt to get in (this was after 9 months or so of learning and having attended another JavaScript based bootcamp). The second attempt I was finally allowed entrance to their program. I'm so glad that MKS vets their students this way, it made for some really solid students in my cohort. 

I was stressed out the first 3 weeks of the program (as most people are) and felt as though I was an imposter on many many occasions. Then, we had a week break for Thanksgiving 2015 during which I put some of my skills to use and did some self study to review some of the material that I had suffered through during the previous 3 weeks. After the break, I all of the sudden had a few 'ah ha' moments! I was more confident in my ability to come up with solutions to the toy problems, and I started really understanding the material presented. Then one day, during the project phase, I woke up and thought to myself, "I am a software engineer". And it was true.

I was able to get a job after one week of completion of the program at a company in Utah. The company was so impressed with what I had learned in such a short period of time, that they made me the lead of the front end team. I couldn't believe it, and still cant until this day. Someone now pays me to play with code all day. It's un believable. I would say I wasn't even in the top third of my class (all varying backgrounds before MKS) and I have had enormous success post graduation. All thanks to MKS and their amazing system. 

If you're contimplating applying, just do it. Apply. Today. You'll learn something from the interview process and your motivation to become a software engineer will skyrocket. Know that, you will be discouraged, frustrated, and feel like you don't belong throughout the process. But after you get in and start learning, you'll understand quickly that you had just made the best decision of your life! 

Cheers!

-ryan

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This review is for the Part-Time Front-End Web Development Course at MakerSquare.

I started the PT Front-End course this past March (2014) and spent 10 weeks, every Monday and Wednesday evening from 6:30 to 9:30, learning all about Front-End Web Development. I was a little hesitant when I first started the course because I was coming in with what I thought was relatively solid knowledge of HTML and CSS. I was worried the whole course would be one giant review of stuff I already knew and was tired of going over. I was 100% wrong!!

While we did review some things I already knew there was never, ever a moment when I didn't learn something new and valuable - even about something I thought I had already mastered. Whether it was a just a trick or a quick tip I hadn't ever learned, I left each evening feeling so excited about all I had learned and wanting to put it into action immediately. Despite feeling like I knew CSS and HTML already, going through this program at MakerSquare made me feel 100% more confident in my knowledge and skills and reassured me that I had learned from the best.

You can never know everything about front-end programming, or programming in general, because it's constantly evolving. One of the things I valued the most about this program and about MakerSquare in general is that I finally had a group that was involved in the web tech world in Austin (and all over the US). Most of my friends aren't involved in the tech community so MakerSquare was finally a major resource I could turn to in order to keep up with the ever changing tech world. I not only learned from the instructors, I also learned from my fellow classmates.

In the PT front-end program we learned everything you need to know about CSS and HTML. We spent a good deal of time on JavaScript which was fantastic as this was the area I most wanted to learn more about and knew I couldn't learn it on my own (there is no substitute for being able to turn to your instructors or even fellow classmates to ask them a quick question and get help). We also spent time learning about Jekyll, Rails, jQuery, using the command line and mastering GitHub. 

MakerSquare gave me an incredible confidence boost as well as knowledge I legitimately use everyday. I wouldn't have the skills and abilities I have today if it were not for the PT front-end program at MakerSquare. The decision to take this program has been the best decision I've ever made!!

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This review is for the June 2015 MakerPrep course.

For learning to program:
If you're serious about programming/webdevelopment and you're a beginner, then yes!!!  I cannot emphasize enough how much the class helped me on my journey to be a programmer.  I had done Code Academy and was slogging through Eloquent Javascript before class as I couldn't really see how everything fit together.  I didn't really have a solid programming background.  During the course, we covered HTML, CSS, Javascript, Jquery, and AJAX and how they all fit together.  Granted, you COULD learn these on your own, but MakerPrep sped the process along so much faster and the transitions between the technologies were seamless and the need for them became intuitive.  It really helps to have peers in the same position as you to bounce ideas off of and learn from each other.  AND it's comforting to see your peers struggling when you're struggling as well.

However, if you're not paying attention in class, and not actively participating to the fullest extent (this isn't college where you merely cram for the grade and doze off all the other time), then this class will be worthless to you.  This class isn't for getting a certificate or diploma as there is nothing of the sort.  They're not there to tell you to what to do.  You're there to build your own skill and knowledge through actively working and it WILL give you a solid foundation before applying to HackReactor/MakerSquare.

Admin/Personnel:
They are EXTREMELY helpful and many a time they would stay behind class/weekends to help answer any questions that we had - class related or not.  They are constantly iterating feedback from students and modifying the course accordingly.  Any inputs you have are heard and taken seriously.  

They're also patient.  I did ask a lot of dumb questions and I rewarded their fantastic replies like a true politician being grilled on foreign affairs on national television - "Yes!!" with a look that would make a deer in the headlights blush.  But as I mulled over their insightful replies (my same question asked in different ways), the understanding would slowly seep into the crevices of my mind along with an ancient ritual chant intended to improve the common man - "Getting strong now...Won't be long now... Gonna fly now".  With each obstacle and difficulty, I slowly emerged from my shell with a desire to run on a cold Philadelphia morning, double fist pump on top of a flight of stairs, and go the distance with Apollo Creed.  Being a reasonable man, I opted for the fist pump only.

Miscellaneous Details
Parking can be a little bit of a pain, but the metered parking outside only lasts until 6, so you won't have to pay after that!  I have been told that there's also free parking a couple blocks away if you're willing to walk instead.  Also, the food nearby tends to be expensive given that it's in Santa Monica.  It's 15$ across the street for a single burger (organic/grassfed/etc.) I juggled a full-time job and this program AND commuted from the Pasadena area.  So it is possible to do this program with a full-time job in case you're not ready to make a full-time commitment to programming.  Also, if you like beer, there's also free beer for students.

Even if you don't go on to MakerSquare/HR - the value for the tuition is immense because it was fun, educational, left me with a feeling of accomplishment, and I got to meet really cool people :) and I recommend it wholeheartedly - especially if you're still on the border for deciding whether programming is right for you or you need a little push in your journey to becoming a programmer.

As for the results, I did do well on my interviews for MS/HR.  Cheers!

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I took the June MakersPrep course it is perfectly paced for busy people with no little to no coding experience, the staff were all knowledgable and helpful.  You will get ALOT out of this course.  If you are interested in learning javascript and/or attending Makersquare or a coding bootcamp I highly recommend this course. The staff here really passionate about coding, passing on their knowledge and working with you to learn the material.  Our instructor Doug was as knowledgable as he was patient, making sure we understood the material. Shehzan and Michael make themselves always available and are genuinely interested in helping you succeed. If you are interested in Javascript I HIGHLY recommend this course.
 

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I was a part of the August 2015 MakerPrep cohort and I cannot recommend the class enough. If you are planning on applying to MakerSquare (or any of the Hack Reactor schools) but are having trouble getting through the admissions challenge or technical interview, then this class is invaluable. I went in with almost no coding experience (other than intro HTML and CSS) and came out of the class ready to pass my technical interview with MakerSquare. The class is very quickly paced and some of the concepts may be tough for beginners to grasp, but the instructors are do a great job of making sure everyone is moving and learning at the right speed. If you are planning on attending a coding bootcamp, but aren't sure where to start, this class is the answer.

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I graduated from the 09/15 MakerPrep Intro to Web Development and Programming course at MKS LA. I was in the same class as reviewer Andrew H below. I had virtually no prior programming experience before 07/15. As of this writing 11/15 I have been accepted into MakerSquare Immersive starting 01/16. This would absolutely not have been possible had I not taken MakerPrep. The instructors Christoph and Gabriel were stellar. Both brilliant and very helpful and complemented each other in an entertainingly odd couple sort of way. They went out of their way to make everyone feel that there are no dumb questions which is a common hindrance for a beginning programmer. MKS does tell you at several stages that your success in this course is mostly up to you and how much work you put into it. There are no tests or homework required to be turned in. The program curriculum is a continuously evolving organism which can be a confusing annoyance that was easily overcome by good instructors. This is likely due to a few factors: The MakerPrep program itself is only a few months old. The entire MakerSquare curriculum is now based on Hack Reactor's. Programming as discipline changes and updates tools, services, best practices, etc constantly. While they say this class is for absolute beginners, which it is, it is highly recommended to complete the Codecademy HTML/CSS and Javascript tracks beforehand. It starts very gradually but ramps up quickly near the end with advanced functional Javascript. I would highly recommend this course and MakerSquare as a whole.

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Review for June 2015 MakerPrep course

Who this class is NOT for
If you are looking for an easy breezy class that spoon feeds you material step by step without any ambiguity, this class is NOT for you. If you get frustrated easily by new, challenging material and tend to want quick answers instead of earning the answers yourself, this class is NOT for you.  

Who this class IS FOR
You are highly motivated to learning more Javascript than you will ever learn on your own in 4 weeks. You are OK with working through a problem and being frustrated because the euphoria that you get when you finally do figure it out is so worth it! You want to get into the full-time immersive program - the prep class is a great way to get acquainted with MakerSquare and figure out what you need to do for the technical interview.

Content
The lectures and exercises that you will be tasked with will push your limits of problem solving and patience. There will be others in the class who get through the exercises easily - don't let this discourage you. Take your time making sure you understand the concepts behind the exercise and nuances of the code structure. Don't worry about making your mini-projects spectacular - learn the concepts, learn how to execute them, ask questions, then move on to the next one. The pace will be fast. Try to finish at least 60 - 80% of most of the exercises. You can always go back to finish them on Saturdays and Sundays or after the class is over. 

Is it worth money and the time? 
In short, HELL YES. Just suck it up for 4 weeks and do the class. Tell your friends and family that you will be busy for the next month.  When you have a bad coding day (none of your code works, you feel like the stupidest person in class, you feel like you're falling behind) just SHOW UP the next day and the day after that. Just do your best and remember that you are there to learn what you don't know. You will be amazed at how far you've gone in such a short amount of time. Remember that there is a scholarship geared towards women and minorities. Apply! I got 2/3 of my tuition covered. Thanks, MakerSquare! If you have to pay full price, it's still worth it.     

People
The instructors and staff are fantastic. They are 100% invested in your success. Everyone is friendly, approachable and knowledgeable so ASK questions. Most likely you will bond with a lot of your classmates. Get to know as many of them as you can and follow the rule of reciprocity -offer help when you see someone struggling and be willing to accept their help as well. Sometimes you just need someone else to walk through your code with in order to find some minor mistake like a missing bracket. Keep in touch and form study groups.   

Parking
During the week, there is free street parking after 6:00. I never had a problem finding a spot just a block away. On Saturdays, parking is a bit trickier - get there early and park for free near 11th and California (north of Wilshire Blvd). Consider the walk your exercise for the day.

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This review is for the MakerPrep class that I attended in June 2015.  It was 15 hrs/wk of class time for 4 weeks.  I thought it was a fantastic class and really accelerated my learning.  I had been learning JavaScript (JS) on my own using popular online resources but the guidance of MakerSquare staff and curriculum was a phenomenal investment of my time and money.  It was a great balance of learning javascript fundamentals along with html and css to see how it is commonly applied.  I felt the application was key because we were building projects throughout the course that reflected real world projects that use JS and now I feel much more confident diving into projects I've wanted to start but thought they were too much to bite off at my level of experience.  All the people that I worked with (Doug Calhoun, Muhammad Meigooni, Shehzan Devani) were great people and seemed truly interested in our feedback and solicited it throughout the course to ensure that we were getting the education we all wanted.

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I took the Front End Part-Time course at MakerSquare, I had a great experience because I was able to enhance some of the front-end skills I already had but was also able to learn new ones like JavaScript. My favorite part of MakerSquare is that one is not just another student taking their courses, I can say that I became part of the MS family and I can reach out to any of the alumni or instructors for help.

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I took the Part Time Front End course at MakerSquare and absolutely loved it! The instructors are fantastic, knowledgeable and supportive! As a complete beginner I was really encouraged and empowered to learn more about the varied topics handled in the course! Not to mention that all my classmates were incredibly motivated and overall great friends! 

Having a solid understanding of the different aspects of the world of Front End web development, do I have the confidence on working on and creating my own projects! There's still much to learn, but Maker Square provides us with a solid base of knowledge paired with great instructors and a great environment to be in! Highly recommend MKS to any wanting to learn!

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Great school with good instructors, curriculum and exercises that help you evolve from 'newborn to a toddler into programming world'. I am referring to prep course that I am currently attending and enjoying. All immersive students seem to be satisfied with the boot camp program.
If you want to challenge yourself, gain new desired skills for changing job market, enjoy the logic, math ,computer science and more - try it !
( I looked up Yelp before signing up myself )

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I took the Part Time Front End course at MakerSquare and it was one of the best decisions I have ever made. I have been a Designer for several years, but felt that improving my front-end development skills would really take me to the next level in my career. 

Having taken the class, I'm not only taking on rewarding projects that are heavy on web development, but with the help of tools I learned about through the course, I was able to apply those skills directly to enhancing my professional website. I Highly recommend this course as an entry point into coding, especially if you are a designer looking to take the next step into development!

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I just completed MakerSquare's part-time front-end dev program.

A few things sold me on MakerSquare:

- They offered a part-time front-end dev program so I could continue working full-time and attend the evening classes.

- It felt personal. In my research, some dev schools felt more factory-like, while others (e.g. MakerSquare) had much more of a personal touch. The instructors obviously care and are extremely intelligent and helpful. 

- Student/teacher ratio: My cohort had about 20 students and there were almost always ~4 instructors at each class. In addition to in-class help, our instructors were always available via email, office hours, or willing to schedule another time to meet if we requested. During class, there was always at least one instructor available to help me 1 on 1 with any issues, questions, etc. This in itself was one of the most valuable parts of the program for me.

This was a fast-paced program; so much ground is covered in the 10 weeks. It seemed a little intense at times, but I wouldn't have changed a thing. The beginning of the course actually reminded me a bit of the very first day of Spanish class - when the teacher begins class speaking entirely in Spanish to a classroom full of non-Spanish speakers. At first, the students have no idea what the teacher is saying, but over time, it somehow begins to make sense and the students are able to understand exactly what the teacher is saying. 

Similarly, during the first few days of class, I think it's safe to say we were all pretty wide-eyed, hoping all those foreign words would eventually make some sort of sense ...and of course they did! Diving in head first, absorbing, researching and asking questions is the best way to take this course. It's perfectly normal to feel completely flooded with information. I promise, the farther you get into the course, the more everything makes sense. You get out exactly what you put into this program! 

All of the instructors - Elyse, Alex, Mae, Flip - are all wonderful and always willing to explain things, answer questions, help you understand why you've broken the same line of code 276 times, etc. The MakerSquare instructors all seem to have a unique combination of knowledge, high expectations, patience and the ability to (calmly) explain the same thing in 37 different ways when the first 36 explanations somehow aren't registering in your brain. 

Although I still have so much to learn, I learned so much more than I ever expected I would in those 10 weeks. I, without a doubt, walked away from the course with a strong understanding of front end dev and the confidence/ability to work on my own dev projects. Great staff, really impressed with how much I learned and I would take this course again in a heartbeat. Read less

I'm gonna write this on one particular angle of deciding between different bootcamps since I a) think the other folks here give a pretty good run through of the curriculum, and b) I didn't really find good info when I was making my decision.

Ultimately I was torn between MakerSquare, Hack Reactor and App Academy. My constraint was mainly timing and MakerSquare was able to get me into an immediately start date whereas Hack Reactor would have been the next cohort. Debated just waiting since I'd heard that the Hack Reactor name is a bit better known in the Bay Area. Wasn't sure that MakerSquare even though they have the same curriculum would be the same quality.

It ended up being a lot of worrying and back and forth for nothing. The programs are pretty much identical so the difference really comes down to personality. If Hack Reactor is he Harvard of bootcamps then Makersquare is the Stanford--a little bit friendlier, more laid back, but still pretty intense. Pick the one that works best for your personality since ultimately what matters is whether you learn how to code and think like an engineer--literally nothing else matters.

Full disclosure I did my undergrad at Harvard and a masters in math at Stanford.

To the job hunting question, it's hard to tell where MakerSquare starts and my pre existing network begins. No bootcamp will really replace an existing network in the Bay Area from a place like Stanford or Berkeley or already working in tech--and there's a huge selection bias with these bootcamps as they're pretty much taking kids with already impressive backgrounds. Any bootcamp would open doors for these folks, the difference between them is marginal.

I got a job before finishing through friends and now work as a developer, so didn't really use their career services but it was nice knowing there was a safety to rely of if needed.

 

 

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