Sabio

What I appreciated about Sabio was the no nonsense environment. Don't waste our time and we won't waste yours and vise versa. Sabio teaches skills and sometimes more importantly concepts that are crucial to the web development world. These ideas serve as foundations for you to learn new skills with ease. Over all I would say the course is difficult. It is a bootcamp and it is demanding. The reward really pays off when possible employers test your skills and are impressed with your knowledge and comprehension of web development. The only advice I would give future students is to fully prepare for and intense 12 weeks. Other than that, It is definately a course worth taking if you want to change your life.

Plain and simple, this program is worth every penny spent towards getting the skill necessary to enter the workforce head on.

I was introduced to Sabio by a friend of mine that had been looking for bootcamps after I was laid off from my job of 6 years making 15/hr.

I went to the orange county meet up with another friend in a similar situation and we sold on sabio by the amazing orange county instructor Aaron. He supplied us with every detail we needed to know before taking the plunge into the intensive program.

after going through pre work at the culver city location and passing the assessments. we transition to Newport for our cohort and instantly meshed with the team that had already been working together down south.

the program gave everyone the tools they needed to pick up the skill set very effectively. Aarons one on one time was guided specifically to each person's needs and helped everyone crush their goals one after the other.

With the amazing teamwork that was built on top of Aaron's foundation of knowledge, there was no stopping us, and we delivered an amazing MVP to our client after an immersive 3 months.The time flew by and we were well prepared to enter the job market.

While I Felt confident in my skill, I was a little nervous about my opportunities being someone with ZERO programing experience before Sabion, and no college degree to fall back on, but within 1 month. Everyone including myself were hired out of our cohort because we stuck the the plan that Sabio puts in place to effectively get a job.

I was able to find a job that payed me much more than my last job, with a atmosphere and location right where I wanted with only 6 months of pedal to the metal work.

TL;DR - Sabio is 100% worth it and you would only be hurting yourself going somewhere else.

- Employed Sabio Fellow with no college degree or experience

i had a good career in business as an account executive, but chose to change to programming and I am so thankful to have found Sabio. I took the class in OC with Aaron, and let me tell you... this guy was an amazing instructor. He really pushed me to the limits and never was irritated with me. Beyond that, we had amazing cohort, and everyone was helpful and got along great. It was one of the best experiences of my life. If you study and do what Sabio tells you, and you try your best, YOU WILL GET A JOB. Sabio also truly cares about you and wants you to succeed. It's the best Bootcamp ever. I was able to learn a brand new stack for a take home project for a job I wanted, I crushed the project and now I'm hired making 85k, straight out of the Bootcamp, no prior experience, no computer science degree.

Best decision of my life. Sabio really is amazing.

I did a lot of research before I chose to enroll Sabio and I don't regret my decision. My experience at Sabio was simply amazing. I not only learn how to code, but also build a great relationship with amazing people. I loved the culture and this is another thing that differenciates Sabio from the other coding bootcamps. Gregorio and Liliana are very considerate and hard-working, they are always there to support with any needs and they try their best to make the program even better. The instructor was very knowledgeable, patient and encourging, and he was always there to provide hands-on support. I couldn't ask for more. 

The curriculum is well structured. You start from the pre-work where you learn the basics of programming language and this helps you a lot when you get into intensive 12 weeks program. Another great thing about Sabio is that you get to work on the project for a real company. They apply industry standard practices so you get the feel of working as a developer in the real world. 

The intensive program was definitely challenging, it required 70 hours of coding a week, and there were tons of information to absorb in such a short period of time. But it really pays off in the end. I've graduated 3 weeks ago and am already working as a full-time web developer. I am so happy with the outcome and excited about building my new career!

My story is not unlike other stories. I came to coding because I was looking for new opportunities. In my particular case, my career as a freelance music engineer was not providing the security and stability I craved. So a friend suggested that I look at coding bootcamps in the Bay Area where he’d recently found a job working as QA engineer. He was seeing that people without CS degrees could find work in the industry.  I decided to look locally and found, to my surprise, a couple of bootcamps in Los Angeles that looked interesting.

Sabio was the first that I looked at and I was really impressed with Gregorio’s description of the program and his passion.  In fact, I judged each subsequent bootcamp info session by what Gregorio had to say that day.  I was impressed with Sabio’s dedication to inclusiveness. I was impressed with the fact that recent grads are not hired back by the bootcamp.  This was important to me because it meant that they weren’t padding their employment stats and that they cared about the level of instruction and mentorship.  I was also impressed by the commitment to further development, through meet ups and hack-a-thons, after the program was done.  Finally, Gregorio and Liliana truly seemed to care about the welfare of the participants.  Their goal is to build developers and their commitment was palpable.

I began the actual 12 week bootcamp in July and the experience was tremendous. You aren’t just taught syntax and the programming patterns, you are taught to apply and debug.  You are taught best practices and good coding habits.  And being a full stack program, you get to participate in all the layers from front to back.  As someone who has always loved getting under the hood, seeing how it all fit together was one of my biggest thrills.  

As far as coding skills, I feel very confident.  However, there is always more to learn. But part of the program is encouraging curiosity and good investigative skills.  And if you get stuck or need advice, the instructors are there.  John Darragh was extremely knowledgable and really great at directing our efforts towards the best results.  Sabio also fosters a great collaborative environment as well.  My cohort was an integral part of my learning experience.  I could always turn to my neighbor and ask for their opinion and we all learned from each others failures and victories.

There were a lot of long days and tough challenges but the message, to trust the pattern and to stay positive, given by Gregorio on day one, held true. I am now gainfully employed, my financial situation is greatly improved and my career is finally at a place where I feel I can build and grow professionally. I am doing something that interests me and challenges me daily.  I owe everything to this experience, to Gregorio and Liliana, to John and my cohort and to the greater Sabio community, who have really become a second extended family.  

This review is not intended to get you to sign up for Sabio, I'm merely going to state my experience and I’ll leave the decision making up to you. Skip to the bottom if you want the abridged version.

Unlike many people probably reading this, I actually knew someone who went through Sabio (his name is also Brandon and provided one of the reviews below) and I had the opportunity to grill him on his experience, what he thought it was worth, if it was a scam, etc. And after an hour and a half of interrogating him I don’t think he said a single negative thing about his time at Sabio, but even then I was still skeptical because this seemed way too good to be true.

But I gave it a shot and checked out the info session with Aaron. It still sounded good, Aaron seemed like a great guy, and Sabio was extremely transparent about everything including their placement rates, salary expectations and work load which really appealed to me cause it showed they have nothing to hide and are proud of what they’ve accomplished.

After the info session, I looked at the websites for two other nearby coding schools who I won’t list here and ruled them out for the following reasons: 1. One of them had a curriculum that is a waste of time. That bootcamp would waste two weeks of your precious money on HTML/CSS when you can just learn that on your own in a day to be honest (and in Sabio you learn it during prework). 2. The other bootcamp was not really established, didn’t seem to have a good track record, and the students’ final projects were not something I would want to show to a potential employer (compared to in Sabio you work on a real business-ready level application).

So, I started prework with Varr (who is going to now start his first cohort in 3 months) and he was fantastic—he explained everything clearly and concisely, and the man gives the best metaphors and analogies I’ve ever heard besides being a really cool guy. Fast forward several weeks and we start the 3 month intensive.

First, the Newport location is incredible. There is unlimited free coffee, tea, and beer. The common space with the tv, couch, and kitchenette are fantastic for lunch and unwinding. The weather is great and the nearby food is delicious (although expensive, smarter people than I packed their lunches regularly).

Secondly, I was extremely fortunate that I absolutely loved my cohort of 8 people. We all got along together very well, and they made the 3 months go by so quickly. The whole time we were joking and having fun while coding so it never even felt like we were working.

Third, and most importantly, Aaron is a goddamn god of an instructor. Aaron is highly knowledgeable, and is able to phrase everything is such a way that anyone can pick it up. He is beyond patient. I would go up and ask for help on the same problem several times in a row, and he would guide me through the process while leaving the learning up to me while not getting even slightly irked that I basically asked the same question five times. And I think one of the most underrated and best qualities of Aaron as an instructor is his ability to tailor the curriculum and what you’re doing to your skill level. If you’re blazing through everything, he’ll give you a harder feature to implement; if you’re weak at something, he’ll give you a task that will shore up where you’re lacking to get you up to speed. Besides being an awesome, funny, cheerful guy; he really cares about seeing you succeed and that feeling is palpable in your learning environment.

Okay, that’s all nice and great and all, but what about the jobs and your preparedness afterwards? Sabio helps you to a ridiculous extent in your job search. They review your resume several times over, hire a photographer for your LinkedIn headshot, and provide you with unlimited support. I went into interviews and absolutely amazed employers with how much I knew with 3+ months experience. You will be so well prepared if you just follow what they ask you to do. The job market for .net developers is crazy and all of my cohort has had interviews nonstop.

Exactly a week after the last day of class I not only received one offer, but two offers. One for 70k and other for 80k.

Gregorio, Liliana, Aaron, and ALL of the Sabio alumni are so unreal helpful. They are constantly helping everyone, posting jobs, and providing continued support—hell, Gregorio just helped someone debug some code at 1am on slack. And throughout the job search they have been nothing but helpful and responsive. If you have any questions at all they WANT to help you and will answer all your questions.

Honestly, I didn't know what to expect, but I am absolutely so glad I did Sabio. 

SUMMARY

-EXTREMELY worthwhile experience

-Aaron is incredible, Newport location is great, cohort was awesome

-Came out with two job offers for 70k and 80k within a week of finishing

-Continued support is VERY REAL past graduation – they want to see you succeed and keep succeeding

-Just going to class every day isn't going to get you that job; you have to come hungry to learn, bust your ass, and hustle-- but if you follow their guidelines you will come out with a job (or several) and a great community

-If you read all of this, then you should do yourself the the favor and at least check out an info session

MAJOR DISCLAIMER: If you are just looking for a post that validates if you'll learn what you need to learn to be able to get a job then read no further. You will get the skills to be a hireable full stack web developer. You will get a job. You will make more money than you've made before. This post is not intended for you.

This post is intended for the dreamers, the people who are lost looking for a greater purpose in this marathon called life, the people who have no sense of direction in life's course. This post is for you.

6 months ago to this date, I was exactly in the position you're in at this very moment. Feeling inadequate, searching for something that gave your life meaning, working a dead-end job that is tremendously insignificant to you. I was going to school studying Computer Science and I hated it, absolutely despised it. I wasn't learning anything applicable to getting me closer to building the apps that I wanted to create, just learned an abundance of theory, which is fine if that's what you desire, but I needed to gain practical skills. So I began looking for bootcamps after hearing a ton of great things about what they help people achieve.

Then BOOM, a find a bootcamp called SABIO, coincidentally on this very website course report. I began reading reviews, as you are doing right now, and researching further into what exactly this bootcamp provides. After further research, I said screw it and went to an info session and got to meet the man behind it all, one of the Co-Founders of Sabio Gregorio Rojas. The man was very upfront and honest with us about what to expect if you decided to go through with joining the program. As a man who appreciates blunt honesty, I knew this was the place that I needed to be. 

After finishing my semester I jumped right into prework and grinded it out so I could pass the assessment and start the intensive program the following month. Once you're in the program be prepared to be challanged physically, mentally, emotionally. There is no half-assing this program you're going to have to give it your all, 70 hours a week for 12 weeks is not an easy task. However, don't feel like you're alone. Your instructor, who has at least 10+ years experience in the industry, knows their shit and will be there to help guide you. Your cohort, who you'll be going through war with. These people are going to be your family for the next 3 months. Help each other and build each other up because you will all need each other at some point. I was very fortunate because I had a great group who just meshed very well each other and have made lifelong friends because of it. 

So 3 months after I started the intensive program, what has happened? Learned things about myself, about my character that I didn't even know was inside of me, learned the skills to be a full stack web developer and feel I can go to any company and contribute right away, created an awesome web application, learned the skills to create my own web application, had a Q&A with representatives of Snapchat, won a hackathon in my 9th week of training, got a job offer in my 11th week of training, and started my first day of work at my new job 4 days after graduation. 

Words can't even begin to describe how appreciative of Gregorio and Liliana for giving me the opportunity to change my life for the better. I was in a dark place and Sabio helped me find light again, they saved me. I'm not going to try and sell you on why Sabio is better than every other bootcamp out in the SoCal Region and as Gregorio would put it "do whatever that makes you happy", which he doesn't say in a sarcastic manner, he actually means it. However, I will say if you're looking for a bootcamp where the Founders care, the instructors care, even the alumni who graduated prior care, like genuinely care, about your well being and learning and growing to become a fantastic programmer in the industry. 

I want to thank Gregorio and Liliana for creating this program and giving us a chance to change our lives. Your vision has changed the world without you all even realizing it yet. I want to thank John, my instructor, for having the patience and for guiding me through this process. I also want to thank the other instructors Jimmy and Aaron for the help you gave us when we needed it. I want to thank my Cohort for being the best group of people I've worked with, you guys have now become family to me. I say this with an unwavering certainty that there is no one I would have rather gone through this process than you all.

Thank you Sabio for everything.

I wanted a career change and I wanted it fast. Before I join Sabio, I only taken a few intro classes to programming when I was in college. But Sabio Pre-Course was very insightful and got me to up to speed for the main course. The 3 months of bootcamp went by really fast. Sabio is not a boring class that you go to everyday and sit there for hours listening to lectures while you're trying to stay awake. No! You are there to work. There is always something to do, fix, and learn. In the beginning your instructor will give the class a main project. Everyone is doing something different and adding onto that project. We all help each other and learn from each other. At the end you will be able to show employers a completed project and explain the parts that you contribute. Thanks to Sabio I was able to find a job in my first month after the bootcamp and all I can say is I’m make a lot more $ then I was before. I want to thank Liliana Monge and Gregorio Rojas for the support and guidance that they are giving to me to the my path to success.  

I come from a business background and can assure attending Sabio will be one of the best financial decisions you make. When I graduate college it cost me around 40K+ and over four years of my life to land me a job that only makes about 35 thousand a year.  That was about a .87 to 1 ratio.

Attending Sabio, it was a fraction of that price of college, only three months (6 months if you including pre-work) and the result is a position as a Web Developer making quadruple what I paid for the program. That is about a 4.3 to 1 ratio.

About my Experience:

I started the program in mid-May 2016 finished beginning-August 2016, received a job offer a week after the program finished. The program is an intense 70 hours a week of coding, reading documentation, and reviewing other classmate’s code.

A cool thing about the program is it’s not exercises that you do it’s a real life application that you build.

I honestly wish I found Sabio earlier so I could have begun my new life sooner.

Cool things to keep in mind:

• 5 year support after finishing program
• Monthly meetups where we meet leaders in the tech industry
• A community that if you have any problems or question they are just a click away

What you need to survive the program:

• Willingness to follow the path Liliana and Gregorio set  
• 70 hours a week of just coding and reading documentation
• A positive attitude 

Prior to attending Sabio, I was working at a small tech company out in the San Fernando Valley as Business Analysts. During my time there is where I became interested in programming and wanted to see if programming was something I can do. On my free time and weekends, I would spend hours on free coding sites such as codeacademy or freecodecamp tackling their exercises. While I was at work, I would often find myself asking members on our development team for advice and tips on programming and thats when I knew that I wanted to be a developer.

I reached out to a friend who was working as a developer for another company and asked for his advice and he mentioned that I should look into programming bootcamps if I was serious about making a career switch. I did my google search and checked out a couple of programs but ultimately after attending an info session with Gregorio, I was sold and decided that I would attend Sabio.

What came next was 8 weeks of prework with Jimmy. Jimmy is a great instructor and he definitely did a great job preparing us for the full time bootcamp. Jimmy is super patient and incredibly knowledgable and it was a great opportunity to learn from him.

The full time bootcamp was indeed a lot of hard work and the curriculum will definitely challenge you in more ways than one but coming out you will be well prepared for your first job. The instructors at Sabio are extremely intelligent and the knowledge they provide to you is priceless. The skills you will gain during your time at Sabio will help you stand out from other applicants and make you deseriable by employers. 

Attending Sabio was the best decision I've ever made and I want to thank Gregorio, Liliana, Jimmy, John and Kelly for consistanly pushing us to succeed and for creating a positive learning environment for all of us to be in.

So I checked out a few places before deciding on a bootcamp, one wouldn't let me visit their campus until I paid full tuition, another's website was broken, and then there was Sabio.

I first went to the info session with pages of questions that Gregorio gladly addressed one by one, immediately after I went and sat in on the remainder of that night's prework class. The fact that they let me sit in on a few classes before paying made me believe that THEY believed in what they were doing, and not just trying to sell me a product.

First was prework. It was obvious that our instructor, Jimmy, cared immensley about his students' success, after any question he answerd he'd check that you understood, and if not, he'd answer differently until you did (I've definitely had moments where I asked him to explain something at least 4 or 5 times), and not once was he impatient or annoyed.

After prework comes the bootcamp. Expect to spend 70 hours a week studying/coding. Expect to spend up to 45 minutes looking for an error and realizing it was just a missing semi-colon. Expect to struggle and be lost and confused and want to throw your laptop through the window. Then expect it all to get better, less confusion, more "ohh I remember how to fix this error!" and "YES I DID IT!"

Needless to say, here I am just a few days after Sabio, already employed as a full-time developer. One thing that really spoke to me with Sabio was how much Gregorio and Liliana care about your success, they will constantly push you and encourage you to be the best you can.

Worth noting: 

- Sabio also hosts monthly professional development meetups for grads and there is a strong network between alumni which serves as a great resource after you're thrown into the work force. 

- If you want to earn college credits for the bootcamp, you can do so through Antioch University

- They're now approved by the CA BPPE which means you can get a grant to help pay for the program
 

To sum up:

- the instructors care a great deal 

- put in 70 hours a week

- code code code

- take lots of notes

- the payoff will be a shiny new career!

I was sent through the Sabio program by the corporation I work for, as part of an effort to expand the company's internal pool of software developers and provide career growth to employees. Sabio is the only bootcamp in Los Angeles that was able to provide the type of training my company required. When I returned to my job, I felt extremely confident that I could take on my new role in the Technology Department. 

One of the best things about Sabio is that we worked on a real-life application throughout the course of the program. There are no fake projects or long days of lectures. I spent the vast majority of my time actually coding, which is really the best way to learn. The instructors are super knowledgeable and helpful, but they also push and challenge you every single day. If I had a question or didn't know how to do something, rarely was I simply given the answer. Instead, the instructors guide you to the right path of figuring it out for yourself, which is an extremely valuable skill to have.

Support from Sabio continues after graduation. Instructors and graduates provide technical help, job referrals, and tons of other resources to all fellows of the program. There are meet-ups and continuing education lectures. It feels sort of like I joined a fraternity or sorority.

I had a great experience in the program, even though it was one of the toughest things I've gone through in a long time. The program requires a significant time commitment and a sincere work effort, but it's all worth it. 

I received a job offer before I even graduated the program.

It took me 6 months of weighing my options to make the leap to start Sabio. I looked at traditional academic paths to becoming a developer: including degree and certification programs, but factoring in waiting for a semester start date, required classes only being offered certain semesters, prerequisites, etc., the process would have taken years (even though I had already received a Bachelor's degree).

 I couldn't be happier with my decision. I left a stable but dead-end job and was met with some skepticism from friends/coworkers about my choice. Now I'm making nearly double what I earned at my last job, and I'm excited and proud of the career I'm building.

The 12 weeks was definitely hard work, and the curriculum was challenging, but you get out exactly what you put into this program. The instructors are exceptionally knowledgeable and make a point of teaching the skills that make you desirable to employers, including the skills you need to solve your own problems and think for yourself when programming. The job assistance was also high quality and I felt well-prepared to interview when the time came.

Attending Sabio put me in an excellent position to land a job as a developer, I couldn't be happier with the outcome.

Just like everybody else on here, I shopped around for a coding bootcamp in Los Angeles. Spoke to a few reps for various coding camps and their "pitch" just didn't seem real.

I found Sabio, and started reading Gregorio's (CTO/Co-Founder) blog. Talk about passionate. This guy is intense and doesn't F around, he means business.  Automatically fell in love with his mission and his general overview of the industry. The tech industry needs a shake up, and I want to be part of it. Came to an info session and was sold. And to put the cherry on top, I was able to use my GI Bill through Antioch LA to attend Sabio. 

Unlike most people, I was not looking for a career change or employment as a software developer. I came to Sabio with clear intentions of becoming a tech entrepreneur. I am currently pursuing entrepreneurship with the help of Sabio. I feel confident with the skills I've learned at Sabio to creste and develop something from scratch. Everything done at Sabio is methodical and goal oriented. We didn't just learn how to code, we learned how to solve problems and build cool shit. 

I want to thank, Gregorio, Liliana, John, and Jimmy for the patience and the nurturing environment they have created. 

Keep an eye out for optio v1.0. 

I don't normaly write reviews for anything, but this is a special case. Sabio treats their students like family and I want to write this review as a thank you.

I chose Sabio because I vibed with the teachers. Go to one of their intro nights and start taking Pre Work to get a feel for it. 

Before Sabio I had no real experience coding. I was hired for a full time coding gig 2.5 weeks after the course ended. Sabio gave me massive support from learning through getting hired. I was able to ask a lot of questions and got them answered in a way that I can understand. Sabio got me in the flow of coding and learning how to code very fast.

Sabio is a growing network of students, alumni and instructors and I've honestly gotten along with all of them very well. Really great people are apart of this organization. I highly recommend it.

*If you would like a "cut to the chase" description, please scroll to the bottom of this review. I include a part of my life experience in this review as I believe it is a better representation of how Sabio truly changed my life when I thought it wasn't possible.

Before Sabio

I graduated from UC Davis with a Food Science Degree hoping to find a stable, well- paying job that I could stay at for the rest of my life, knowing that I had a degree under my belt. I ended up finding a stable job, but the pay was not equal to the amount of work I performed and I felt miserable. Right across the street from where I worked was a software developing company which had several employees who were seemingly having fun all the time and working leisurely. They would have parties, drive nice cars, and wouldn't have to work fridays. My coworkers would always stare out the windows and say, "Man, how I wish I would have studied to be a software engineer/developer back in the day." That's when I decided I wanted to turn my life around.

Why Sabio?

At the time, I was about ready to quit and thought what am I going to do with my life? How am I going to start learning how to code? Thats when I found out about coding bootcamps and became interested in how they could turn anyone without prior coding experience into a full fledged developer. I attended a few info sessions for several different bootcamps and finally decided on Sabio. Why? Because they believed in me. 

Sabio didn't turn me away because I wasn't a good candidate for their bootcamp, but instead welcomed me with open arms. The instructor, Aaron, constantly piqued my interest while making sure that I was not discouraged in any way. One of the biggest reasons why I respect Sabio so much is that they never allow you to feel left behind nor give up on you. No matter how slow of a pace of learning I was at, Aaron always reassured me that I was not falling behind. Ever. 

They are always there for you even after you complete the program and get a job.

The Program   

The Sabio program is unique from other bootcamps in that they provide 3 stages of learning. There is a period of learning before the actual program called "prework", then the actual 12 week program, with the last two weeks dedicated to helping you find a job.

"Prework", usually on saturdays, is meant to help you ease into the actual intensive program by helping you to learn and understand how to apply the basics of coding, which will be further developed in the oncoming 12 weeks. The actual program itself is an intensive 12 week program in which you work with a team on a real project for a real client. I really enjoyed the idea of working with a team because it simulates how a real world developer job is in the field and allows you to work with teammates to figure out problems together. Most bootcamps do not work in teams, in which case you are stuck developing your own project and cannot utilize your teammates as resources. The last 2 weeks are the most exciting because that is when you start sending out resumes and applying for jobs with the help of the instructor. Sabio provides you with lots of resources from how to format your resume to preparing for an interview. Even after the 12 week program, you become a Sabio alumni and will continue to have all of the available resources open indefinetly.

I was able to get hired one week after the program finished and I am happily making double what I used to make at my old job.

Conclusion

I took a big risk by paying the upfront tuition, which I had to borrow, and also commuting 3 hours (100 miles) a day because I believed the program would pay off and it did. There will be times where you may doubt the program's effectiveness, but if you stick to the plan and believe in the curriculum, you will be successful. Almost like magic, if you don't believe in it, you will never be convinced that miraculous things can happen.

Some people may argue that there is alot of "googling" and "searching" involved, but in reality what do people do when they don't know something and want to find out? This is actually part of the training where the instructors teach you how to find the solution to your problems, because in the real developer world, you don't want to be asking your boss or coworkers every single question.       

If you are tired of what you are doing now or want to turn your life around, I highly recommend you take the program at Sabio.

Cut to the Chase  

- A bootcamp that actually cares about you and will never give up on you

- Hands on learning, not the traditional class with just lectures and powerpoint slides

- Full stack training with real life skills that are in high demand (Job security will no longer be an issue for you)

- Chance to work with fellow teammembers on a real life project for a real life client (real development experience that can go on your resume)

- Resources and connections are still available even after the program ends

Hi there - you must be ready for a change. So was I. I set my life on a new course with the help of Sabio.

I was working a decent job, making a decent wage, being decently fulfilled in my work. However, I wasn't doing as much as I could and I knew it. I had heard about these bootcamp things and decided to look around.

I browsed for Los Angeles programs right here on coursereport. I thought the reviews for Sabio were too good to be true, but decided to check it out. I went to an info session and, very impressed by Gregorio's intensity and dedication to the program, began attending prework.

Prework is mandatory and necessary. Jimmy, my prework instructor, was fantastic. Of course, he is very knowledgeable and experienced in the world of web development. But, much more than that, he is a caring and effective teacher - always willing to sit down with you and help you through whatever you are working on.

I joined the Sabio family as part of Cohort 16 in April 2016. The next three months were a blur of 70+ hours a week of hands-on coding on a real project. I didn't want some candy ass bootcamp for babies, and I was not disappointed. Every time I started to get comfortable I was challenged again. Trust me, this is exactly what you want in a bootcamp. If you are doing your life right, you are being challenged again and again and rising to the occasion. You can read plenty of details in other reviews...just know that this is a serious and effective program. To be succinct: I became a BAMF developer at Sabio.

Before I even finished the program, I received a written offer as a Senior Web Developer. I am currently making 50% more than I have ever made and I have full health benefits, a matching 401k, and three weeks of paid time off. After three months at Sabio, I am getting paid dollar dollar bills to make cool tech in the real world. That is the extra value that should not be overlooked - you aren't just learning to code, you are learning how to get hired and get paid. What's even better is that now I'm part of the crew - we hack the thons, we get invited to expensive tech events, we do our own professional development events, and more (the CIO of facebook presented just for us because that's how much of a boss Gregorio is).

Just do it. What's stopping you?

So if you are in the market for a bootcamp there are plenty of them out there. If you are looking for a community of like minded individuals supporting each other through the ups and downs, look no more. Here's a little glimpse of my journey from selecting a program all the way up to employment. 

Im not going to lie to you and say that Sabio was my first and only choice when selecting a program. Like most, we want to see results and most importantly, that we are not throwing thousands of dollars away. 

 Part 1 - a different bootcamp

I currently reside in orange county but the first bootcamp I took a look at had a month long pre work session in Santa Monica. I was working full time as a collector in anaheim then made the commute mon-thurs and saturdays for their classes. The first thing I noticed was that there were 27 students including myself in this class. Yes there were two instructors but the catch is they were both current college students working towards their computer science degrees. After completing the month long session, I took the exam to to see if I was qualified to enter in the upcoming cohort. I bombed....then i was told to try again in two months.  When I found out that only 4 out of the 27 students made it into the program, I questioned their ability to teach rather than my ability to learn. 

Part 2 - Info Session

I found Sabio on this very website. Reading all the positive reviews in addition to them having a location in orange county (Newport Beach to be exact) fired me up to go to the info session.

I met the orange county instructor Aaron who has 10+ years real world experience. This was already 5x more than the other two instructors at the other place combined! Here are my key take aways from the info session:

Cohorts max out at 10 people meaning plenty of individual attention.

All instructors never have been former students of the program and have atleast a decade of experience in the field.

You have continued support for 5 years where the main goal is to make 100k annually.  

If you dont have a bachelors degree you can apply for Sabio through Antioch University and you will get a TON of credits towards your bachelors, in additon to being able to take advantage of grants and low interest student loans. 

Part 3 - Pre-work 

Pre-work is every saturday for 8 weeks 9am-3pm. Here you will learn all of the fundamentals you need to succeed in the immersion program. I like this set up alot. They pack all this information into your head on Saturday, then you have a whole week to process and implement what you have learned through the exercises and reading. From the first week to the last week, you will already see the difference in your programming capabilities. DONT SLEEP ON PREWORK, this will be the difference maker when immersion comes. My advice is to participate in code reviews early and often, you only do it more and more as the program goes on. Also you will eventually be showing your code to future employers.  At the end of pre-work you are given an assessment and 3 hours to complete it. Its not hard, assuming you have shown up every week and put in work. 

Part 3 - 12 week Immersion

At this point I left my  job as a collector and took the plunge to do the full time training. Over the course of the 12 weeks we worked on a project for a real client (see what I did there with the bold?) this makes all the difference when you put together your portfolio because its not something you just made up for your first project. Where else does this come in handy? When employers want a reference and you have a real person to speak about the awesome job you did on their project. My favorite part was the friends I made during the 12 weeks...lifers. Warning, this is not easy. Dont expect to just breeze thru the program without struggling. This is part of the design. You will have to figure things out on your own from time to time but when you finally solve the problem you will feel amazing.  

Heres some tips if youre going to the Newport location:

- Invest in a monitor and keyboard/mouse. Youre going to be staring at the CPU all day might as well make those letters big. I have a 13in laptop but when I brought my 23in monitor, I was ready to program like a boss. 

- When approaching the instructor with questions, dont just walk up and say this ish doesnt work. Instead, try and google the problem. This way when you walk up you can say, "this isnt working, but ive tried x,y and z" You will not receive the "google it" answer but you will also make yourself more self sufficient in the future. 

- Parking is free, coffee is free, and they restock the kegs in the main lobby every week. This location rocks!

Part 4 - F U pay me. 

At the end of the 12 weeks I had two offers making great money and awesome benefits. I never imagined that I could have no background in coding and turn it around in my 30's with two kids. The founders (Gregorio and Liliana) genuinely care about each and every student in their program. They know who you are as you will know them. They are not the ones to just hide behind the scenes uninvolved. I see Gregorio answering questions very often being the first to respond when someone needs help in the community. 

Trust in the system. When you get discouraged. Trust in the system. When you bomb the first interview. Trust in the system. When you dont understand everything thats going on. Trust in the sytem. 

The system works. They give you what you need to start off with great pay, theyll be there for you when you are stuck in your current position. Theyll invite fellows to come back for private events about new tech. In the community you give, you take, and eventally we laugh all the way to the bank. I was skeptical but now I am proof. And there is no reason I will not be making 100k within 5 years. Im shooting for 2-3 years tho.