Skill Distillery

Skill Distillery provided extremely high quality, well organized content and instruction that trains beginner software developers into becoming fully capable Full Stack web developers in 16 weeks.  The quality of the material and genuine care for our progress from all of the staff is unmatched.  The material has been structured to build from previous lessons and is relatable to real word web application development requirements and experiences.  I highly recommend Skill Distillery as a Full Stack Java Web Development Bootcamp. Read less

I cannot say enough about how incredible Skill DIstillery was. From Briana (Admin), Bruce (Owner) and the instructors (Dee, Anthony, John) I have never been part of an organization this committed to your development and success. This is not a numbers bootcamp this is a course focussed on your journey wherever you are at, as a Developer. I would 100 percent recommend this to anyone who wants to dive head first into this career path. I had almost zero coding background and this course pushed my to my limit but the end result speaks for itself. I believe in my ability as a developer and that is what Skill Distillery did for me.    Private String SkillDistillery == 10OutOf10;  "Coding humor lol"  Read less

As someone with zero prior experience or background in coding or full-stack programming this 16 week program has instilled in me wealth of knowledge and practical experience.  The Instructors provide a vast range of experiences and teach in a way that people with any type of learning stye can comprehend the materials.  Since it is a Bootcamp the rate of learning is steep, however the material is set up in a way that continuous advancement into more complicated coding is seamless.  I would highly recommend this Bootcamp to anyone interested in learning full-stack programming especially since it is 100% virtual and they accept students from anywhere in the world.  Read less

Skill Distillery is a full stack Java/Angular/MySQL coding bootcamp. The curriculum was comprehensive, covering both frontend and backend development using Java, Angular, MySQL, and other technologies, providing a well-rounded understanding of full-stack development. The instructors were not only highly knowledgeable but also incredibly supportive, always willing to go the extra mile to ensure every student grasped the concepts. The hands-on projects were challenging yet rewarding, and provided a great milestone for our development. The collaborative and engaging learning environment fostered a sense of camaraderie among classmates, creating a strong network of aspiring developers. Overall, this bootcamp equipped me with the skills and confidence to pursue a career in full-stack development, and I highly recommend it to anyone looking to kickstart their journey into the world of software development. Read less

This is the boot camp for anyone who is looking for a good start in the software development industry. For anyone who is looking for a good challenge within boot camps, this is the place to be! Great staff who are always behind you and will not leave you behind! Read less

Skill Distillery is an amazing experience with compassionate dedicated instructors who will get you to the finish line when you trust in yourself and the process. While at times it feels like drinking from a fire hose trying to learn 4 years of schooling in 4 months should be impossible but SD seems to have it down to a science and while you may not be an expert when you graduate you will most definitely have what you need to compete for those entry level jobs and even have experience and knowledge that most college graduates will not have. I can not recommend Skill Distillery enough if you are wanting to become a full stack or back end software developer. Read less

Skill Distillery exceeded my expectations. Coming from zero programming experience prior to attending, they make you feel incredibly comfortable asking questions. The instructors are extremely knowledgable and passionate about programming and collectively have multiple decades of experience in software development and teaching. They solidify important programming habits and practices that will be necessary when working in the industry. You can tell right off the bat, they love teaching and want you to succeed. The curriculum is extremely intensive and hard at times, in my opinion, which provides you all of the tools necessary to have the context you need to further your understanding and learning in this field. So be prepared to give it all you got. I did and couldn't be happier with what I've learned.  Read less

I attended Skill Distillery from January to April 2023. The course starts off with you hitting the ground running and ends with you still running. This course teaches you MANY concepts ranging from Backend Development to Frontend Development using Java, JavaScript, Angular, HTML/CSS, and many other technologies in between. If you attend this school, be prepared to make this course your full-time job. There is a lot to learn, but Skill Distillery has plenty of staff instructors and resources to help you understand the concepts or to assist you with your projects. They will hold you accountable for everything you do. The course itself was extremely challenging but also very rewarding. You won't regret choosing this program if you are serious about changing your career. Read less

This is an excellent boot camp to learn Java programming. The instructors are knowledgeable and seasoned, 20+ years of experience, meaning you don't have to worry about them moving to other opportunities during the program. The content is fast-paced, and you must be prepared to dedicate yourself to the program. Resume building and job support leave something to be desired, so if you have little to no job experience, try to find professional development networks (alumni, Linkedin, etc) and resources to complement the course. Finally, be prepared for a considerable amount of lecture vs. coding, which is to be expected with the amount of content and what is covered. Overall, this is an excellent BootCamp where you will learn a desirable programming language and framework from seasoned instructors. Read less

As someone who had taken programming courses in college, I wasn't sure what to expect from Skill Distillery. But I can honestly say that I learned more in the bootcamp than I did in my college courses. The TAs and instructors were all incredibly knowledgeable and were able to explain complex concepts in a way that was easy to understand.
So honestly I can't speak highly enough of the Instructors and TAs. They were always very welcoming and approachable. They always made it clear that they wanted us to ask questions and seek help whenever we needed it, which made for a very supportive learning environment. 
The curriculum was comprehensive and covered all the relevant topics we needed to become proficient in Java full-stack development and although the coursework was challenging,  the instructors were always available to provide guidance and feedback when needed.

Overall, I would highly recommend Skill Distillery to anyone looking to develop their skills in programming. The TAs and instructors were fantastic, the curriculum was comprehensive, and the learning environment was very supportive and engaging.  Read less

Attending Skill Distillery is one of the best decisions I have ever made, while simultaneously being one of the most difficult tasks I have ever accomplished. If you are looking to attend a coding bootcamp this is the one. Everyone at Skill Distillery is extremely dedicated to providing their students with the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in Full-Stack development, but you will need to put in a significant amount of time and effort to be able to complete the course. If you are looking for a challenge and want instructors to help you along every step of the way choose Skill Distillery.  Read less

Before I joined SD, I looked for a coding bootcamp that teach Java and SD is one of very few of them. After reviewing their curriculum, my SWE engineer friends agreed that it covered a solid foundation for  a java developer, which made me feel more confident to join the program. As I joined, I liked how the knowledge was presented, especially quizzes and projects, really helped me solidify my understandings. During the lectures, I asked a lot of questions to cover all of aspects and all of them were answered thoroughly. I was impressed with their patience, communication, and experiences. I also felt supportive post graduation. Their full stack program helped me a lot during the interview at LinkedIn. I would recommend anyone to this coding bootcamp. Also, overall advice, join couple Udemy courses in advance would help expedite the learning process.  Read less

This course is challenging and very worth the effort. If you're the kind of person that picks your education for the challenge and quality of the curriculum, Skill Distillery is the right choice. After reviewing many bootcamps, I chose Skill Distillery because of it's foundation in Java (a more challenging language than JavaScript), focus on back end development (I wanted to make things work more than I wanted to make a webpage look pretty), and its reputation for being a challenging course.

It is definitely challenging. It's a firehose of information and can leave you feeling overwhelmed at times. Even so, as someone who had no background in programming, I was able to complete the course and passed all the assignments. The instructors welcome questions and are always ready to help. There are TA hours on Saturdays to help with the weekend projects.

The days last about 10 hours with a one hour break for lunch. There are 10 minute breaks every few hours. The weekend projects can last anywhere from 4 - 20 hours, depending on how much you're putting into the project, the complexity of that week's project, and how many errant semi-colons or misspellings you might have made. ;-)

After the course, the instructors and staff still check in with you to help you brush up your LinkedIn profile, create a resume, coach on interviews, and give mock interviews. 

The course curriculum sets you up with experience for some of the most popular and in-demand languages and frameworks that large companies are looking for in their job descriptions.

It is difficult to land your first job in software development. The staff helps and offers assistance to keep you motivated during that process after the formal course is over. 

If you're looking for a great programming foundation and have the willingness to put in a lot of hours, this course is highly worth it.


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The technical knowledge, experience, and confidence I gained in 16 weeks was far greater than both a college degree and a career in quality assurance combined. 

I came into the bootcamp with a computer science-related degree, and a prior career in QA automation. Any advantage I had was gone within the first week. I let go of what I thought I knew and started from scratch. It honestly would have been easier if I had absolutely no previous technical experience, which is exactly how this bootcamp is designed.

The scope of Java, SQL, and front-end material is incredibly thorough. The continuous hands-on practice, homework assignments, and group projects all drive it home. The schedule is rigorous. The amount of knowledge consumption will have you dreaming about coding.

If you invest four months of your life into this program and put faith in the instructors, the TAs, and the program itself, you will be the author of your software development career. Read less

Everyone at Skill Distillery is amazing. The knowledgeable and experienced instructors provide lessons that are clear and easy to understand. The instructors, teaching assistants, and other staff members I had the honor to learn from, are the most passionate and patient people I’ve ever met. Everyone at Skill Distillery truly wants to see you not only graduate, but also find employment at a place you truly love. 
I'm so glad that I chose Skill Distillery. It has truly changed my life. Read less

I attended Skill Distillery with about a couple years of (hobbyist) programming/scripting experience and no knowledge of web development.

Preparation
The course was mostly backend oriented at the time of my attendance, focusing on a Java Apache server with just a bit of Javascript/Typescript/Angular towards the end of the bootcamp. I’d highly recommend basic familiarization with the above technology. 
If you want to be more comfortable with Java: you should be familiar with syntax, types, and general object oriented patterns (if you work with any object-oriented language such as Java, you will be forced into these patterns most of the time) at a surface level. Any multitude of the first steps in a Java course (free or paid) can give you this knowledge. Understanding the tools at your disposal is far more important than anticipating where you need to use them.

With Angular and Typescript/Javascript, it’s not hugely critical but helpful in your search for employment. I had no knowledge of these but worked with other dynamic programming languages and frameworks prior. I believe just a cursory understanding of Javascript and using npm packages with your own code will be enough to give you a decent boost.
Also knowing how to use Git (and Github) to: push, pull, make a branch, make a pull request, merge a pull request, and lastly how to deal with merge conflicts, are practical skills that will help you in the course and beyond no matter where you work in the future. It may seem like a lot, but just having a slight understanding of what happens when any of these actions are performed is more than enough.

The Work
Days were about 10 hours in length but decently paced with approximately ten minute breaks at the end of every hour and about an hour for lunch. 
Lecture was most of the day with some small asides to work with things we were learning about on our own or every now and again with one or more other students. These were largely informal and allowed us to (attempt to) exercise what we had just learned in a few minutes. 
There were small projects to accomplish most weekends and one paired project at about the midpoint of the course. Additionally, we had two group projects; a “midterm” and “final” that were significantly more work and involved at least three people creating some form of full-stack web application over several days. These were very practical endeavors in retrospect and certainly what I would say were the most valuable experiences I got from the course.
I felt the program was well balanced and overall about the right amount of time (a few months) for a full-time course if maybe just slightly short, though I didn’t have finances to worry about while attending for any longer than that.
I will say that I immediately began working on serverless architecture with a NOSQL database, which is essentially the opposite paradigm to what I was taught during the course. However, I believe in the long run I was better off learning how to setup my own server in the long run as I understand more of what is "under the hood" with cloud services such as AWS or Google. The transition was not a problem in the slightest.

Conclusion
Skill Distillery gave me a solid foundation for web development. They introduced me to Test-Driven Development, pair-programming, databases, web frameworks, Typescript, Angular, the list goes on. I used Java and TDD to help me get my current job, and I use TS, Angular, and collaborative programming daily as well as numerous other skills I picked up during the course. 

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Like many others attending coding bootcamps I was tired of my previous career and was looking for a rewarding change of pace. After doing a lot of research into bootcamps I decided to go with Skill Distillery. I was lucky to be able to use my GI benefits and take advantage of the VetTec program that covered my tuition to SD. From my initial screening phone call to post-graduation the support from the staff and other alum was outstanding. The course is difficult, and you will get out of it what you put into it. Don't be afraid to speak up and ask questions, the staff is always happy to answer questions. Post graduation the instructors will still provide support with mock interviews, setting up a resume, tweaking LinkedIn pages, and providing any advice towards the job search. The alum channel is active and there to provide referrals and advice to fresh graduates. I was able to land multiple offers 2 months after graduation and the skills I learned at Skill Distillery set me up well as a Jr. dev. I would recommend SD to anyone looking to get into the world of programming.  Read less