The Iron Yard

After nearly a decade in a different career, I decided to attend the 12-week program at The Iron Yard in order to become a programmer.  I can honestly say it was the best three months of my life.  It was challenging, to say the least, but I think it speaks to the quality of the program. At the end, you'll know programming!  I'm really thankful for the opportunity to have attended and for the lifelongs friendships and professional connections I made as a result.  I'm enjoying my new career!

The immersive program was fantastic! The curriculum was rigorous, the pacing was intense, and I learned an amazing amount in a short amount of time. The staff was friendly, supportive, and built a culture of community. There are opportunities for volunteering, networking, and career support consistently throughout the program. I highly recommend The Iron Yard. The instructors were helpful and always available for help. Our cohort had an instructor leave halfway through the program, but the staff handled the transition perfectly. There were no hiccups in instruction or changes.

I joined the Front End course at The Iron Yard with the intention of getting a foundation in how to build websites in order to be a more competitive graphic designer. Over the course of the cohort I discovered that the critical thinking and creative power involved in graphic design was only magnified in the development world and found a new career path that I have loved since.

The course itself was very challenging and fast paced. I had some experience prior to the course in the basics of html and css so I didn't struggle as much at first as some of my classmates, so if you have never tried development before I would definitely encourage reviewing the basics well beforehand so that you don't fall behind. I would describe the style of class as more guided self learning than the lectures of a traditional class at a college. You are given the materials and guidance you need to complete the tasks you are challenged with but the learning comes from running into problem after problem and consistently learning as you work out solutions each time. Because of this I felt I gained way more at the end of this course than I did from my time in traditional school. I didn't learn syntax and simply how to write the code but how to think and problem solve like a developer and not be intimidated by challenges or new more complicated projects. 

Outside of the cirriculum itself, the culture of my cohort was the other big reason I valued my experience so much. We as students taught each other as much as the instructor as we struggled together and supported each other in our work. I feel like I made lifelong friends and colleages from my class and instructors. The instructors and staff also kept us encouraged throughout the tough moments and always drove us to strive for excellence and not settle for medicore in our projects or finding jobs. I was able to find a position within 3months after finishing the course along with most of my classmates.

My only complaints would be that our instructor was fairly new, and we could all tell that he was brilliant but struggled with how to give constructive feedback and communicate concepts that he understood on a much higher level than us. He cared alot though about us as his students and I can only imagine he has improved tremdenously since that first class. I also wish we would have been able to talk more about back-end technologies in our class but I know that the curriculum has already changed to include that since.

I was in the Jan 2017 front end engineering class. I went in with high expectations and they were all exceeded. The entire staff is dedicated to your success and it shows. I went in knowing nothing and left with enough confidence in my technical skills to apply for tech jobs immediately! If you're on the fence, just do it. You won't regret it. 

Classes were well paced with different homework "difficulty levels" to accomodate a range of student abilities. TIY has a "work hard, play hard" mentality. We all grew into a family immediately. Five stars.

If you're finding it hard to work and learn coding on your own, Iron Yard maybe the right place for you. The more prepared your are for the bootcamp, the better it is for you (so try to learn as much before enrolling). UNLESS you're a good and fast learner, DO NOT waste your time coming to TIY with no previous knowledge of coding imho.  

Although I had previous knowledge of Javascript, the instructors at TIY instilled an overall sense of "thinking like a programmer". It's one thing to know the syntax, its another thing to know how it works under the hood. 

Found a job a month and half after graduating and it's been exciting ever since.

The Iron Yard (Dallas) gave me the tools I need to begin my career. The class was intensive both in the classroom and out. I learned how to code but also learned about what it actually means to be a professional in my field. In addition to homework and classtime, networking is encourage. This networking is something I truely value. TIY understands the importance of networking helps to foster new relationships. If you're looking to transition into the tech industry TIY is the place to start. 

The TIY program was exactly what I was looking for to jump start my new career. It was a difficult course that pushed me to grow quickly with my understanding of programming principles. The instructor Eric Sowell was fantastic. His guidance helped me to learn so much in such a short time. 

I finished the front end class in February, and in 3 months I had an offer for a web developer role. The hard work, and sacrifices were well worth the investment. I'd highly recommend this program to any prospective developers in training. 

I took the Front-End Engineering immersive course (full-time for 12 weeks) at the Charlotte, NC campus which focused on JavaScript, API’s and AngularJS.  I was incredibly impressed by the staff and the program.  I’m glad that I decided to take the course, as it was the first and most influential step in my career change.

TL;DR The instructors were outstanding.  I walked away with a solid understanding of web development that I could not have gotten from an online course.  I also have a new network of friends and fellow coders in my area.

As most students have said, the workload is difficult, and you will only get out of the class what you put in.  I researched the curriculum of several bootcamp options before I signed up.  Other code schools promise that they will make you full-stack in the same amount of time. I am skeptical of those programs, as there is too much ground to cover to come close to full-stack in that time frame, especially for new coders.  The Iron Yard’s curriculum seemed much more realistic and honest.  TIY covers the same core topics as other programs, but has a more linear progression that allows you to delve deeper into central concepts rather than only scraping the surface of many.

Our daily schedule usually consisted of a lecture in the morning and homework in the afternoon, allowing time for one-on-one help or group reviews.  Luke, the front-end instructor at Charlotte, is a great lecturer, and truly knowledgeable in programming.  Between their computer science education and programming experience, both instructors are overqualified to teach code to beginners, but they love it, and can answer your simplest to most in-depth questions.

Finding a job after completing the program was just as much work as the course.  In terms of career support, the staff was very responsive when I reached out to them about job prospects.  The Charlotte campus is one of The Iron Yard’s newest locations, but is quickly building a network of connections in the coding community, and it was helpful to have that available to me.

I dabbled with code a bit before I got into TIY. With family life and all, it was really difficult to make time to devote myself to coding. Also it was frustrating when I encountered difficulties while styduing coding without anyone to turn to for help . At times I dreaded getting back to it out of frustration, but the pleasure I got from solving a little piece of code encouraged me to enhance my skills with the 12 week immersive course. Luckily, I had great support from my family and friends, not to mention my new friends from TIY and its wonderful staff and instructors.  I was able to finish the course while I was well into pregnancy with my 2nd child. I call him a hidden Rubyist. 

It was a challenging 12 weeks, but after struggling on my own for so long before coming to TIY, I couldn't be thankful enough for the extremly devoted instructors who went out of their way to help. I still turn to them even after 3 months after the graduation if I have problems that are difficult to solve!

Just to remind you, 12 weeks does not turn you into a coding wizard (or may be it will) but it will give you a great start and solid standing ground to continue to grow as a coder/ programmer. I really enjoyed every single moment at TIY and if you are serious about coding, you will be in the right hands. Listen to the instructors and the staff. They really have your best interest at heart.

I am writing this while I am working remotely as a Jr Ruby on Rails dev contractor with my 1 month old baby sleeping next to me. 

If you're the type of person who walks into an Apple store expecting to order a bacon cheeseburger - then this isn't for you.  The expectations are set up front, the pre-course work is available ahead of the cohorts, and all of the reviews about the various courses being "a challenge" are spot on. It's  3 months of all-day coding, and the challenges you'll face are no different than those in the workplace so it's a very thorough litmus test for what you'll experience in your day-to-day role afterwards.

That being said, this particular cohort and location was phenomenal. From the school admin to the local developers that frequented the space and evening meetups, it was a fantastic experience overall that I'm reaping the benefits of to this day.  I can't say enough about how helpful the instructors were in making me feel comfortable and at home with what I knew. The sped-up pace of learning can be difficult to manage at times, but the instructors were awesome at being understanding and balancing the space of guiding/allowing me to learn vs. just telling me how to complete a block of code. 

Like anything worth doing, it's challenging but extremely rewarding.. just make sure you love code. 

Pros: 
Friendly atmosphere
Knowledgable and Helpful instructors
Great support group
Beautiful open space
Nice location

Cons: 
Cost (though well worth it)
Tough Job Market (not much they can do about that though)

I had an amazing experience at the Iron Yard of Tampa - St. Pete. I met an incredible medley of diverse people, many of whom I'm still very close with almost 3 months later. I know that some of them will remain lifelong friends. This is in stark contrast to what my thoughts were going into the program; I wanted to make friends but I mainly wanted to learn and code, and didn't want to spend too much time on leisure.

As far as the learning went, I felt very motivated and supported. I think a lot of people come into this program expecting to have someone shoving code down their throat until they can make sense of it, but that's not exactly how it is. It's more like they put a pile of code in front of you, and its more-or-less up to you to figure out how to digest it. The Iron Yard will teach you how to be resourceful, but you still have to use those resources.

After I recieved my certificate I looked for jobs for about a month and a half and, despite getting some promising leads, I chose to accept a position as a Teacher's Assistant at the same campus I studied at and recently I've accepted a promotion to Associate Instructor! The fact that the school is so willing to invest in me, offering me a space and position that allows me to continue growing as a developer & educator, learn new languages, frameworks, techniques etc,  AND be paid for it is a testament to this campus' real passion for creating amazing developers. 

I'm not sure if I just lucked out with an awesome staff, but my experience at the Iron yard was amazing. I learned so much in so little time. By the third month, I had developed the crucial habits of setting up my dev environment, writing and debugging code, and deploying to repos, it just became muscle memory. I no longer get intimidated by new languages, libraries, or frameworks. I've learned the skills it takes to not only create awesome web apps, but to approach challenges in ways that allow me to excel so much faster. I can't say enough good things about my experience. Thank you TIY. 

I attended The Iron Yard in 2014 at the Orlando campus and I cannot say enough about the education that I was provided. We not only covered a large amount of Front End Engineering as the course was titled but also what I believe to be the most important part which was learning how to learn. Learning how to problem solve on more than just a software level and at least for me learning to love being faced with those challenges and finding a way to fix it. That was and still is the excitement for me in software, especially in the realm of javascript, there is always something new coming out claiming to be the best, fastest, most performant on all levels new tool, library, or framework and it keeps you on your toes. The Iron Yard prepared me with the most current(at the time) javascript tools, libraries, and frameworks but also this understanding of never being complacent and always being curious. 

During my time as a student our teaching assistant was a huge help in showing the topics at hat in a slightly different light than the instructor which also gave me a more well rounded understanding the subject matter. The environment that is created amongst the students, teaching assistant, and instructor is very like a team/family and that allows for a lot of growth. Working in a team environment allows for learning from people at varying levels and seeing problems from different angles than you may have thought to look at them in. 

I definitely owe The Iron Yard, my instructor, teaching assistant, and cohortmates(thats not a word, but oh well) a lot of credit for my success in software engineering up to this point in my career and into the future because I have been able to continue to adapt with the ever changing landscape of software through what I learned during my time in class at The Iron Yard Orlando. 

I had a great experience taking the Front End Engineering course at the Indianapolis location. This course dove deep into the world of front end development, to include HTML, CSS, Javascript, and React. We also touched on Node and Express to get some backend experience to help for a more rounded education. I found the instructors to be very knowledgeable and helpful. Their vast experience in the local tech scene helped understand how concepts apply to the real world. Of course, you get what you put into this course. Prep work is extremely important prior to starting along with diving into material further on your own. But For the most part, the coursework will have you working from the time you wake up until bed. Overall I enjoyed my time at the Iron Yard- the overall education and environment was just as I expected. 

The Iron Yard has made my dream of becoming a web designer possible! When I first came upon The Iron Yard, I was blown away by how authentic and nice everyone was. I understand that the staff at every coding bootcamp are supposed to be nice to you. After all, they want your business. But, it was different at The Iron Yard Austin. They really care about your journey and progress from start to finish. I graduated from the user interface design course three months ago. Three months later, Karly the campus director, still checks up on me and offers career support. The staff is what make this place great. Learning a new skill in three months is no easy feat, but the support that the TIY Austin team provides makes you feel like anything is possible. 

My experience at Austin TIY was nothing short of exceptional. If you are even considering attending TIY or even just a career in coding. I suggest you attend TIY crash courses. It's a great way to make sure you will like the teaching style and if TIY is a good fit for you, also they are FREE!!  

I can not applaud the staff enough, the professors are very knowledgeable and share great insight with their job experience. They are very caring and do all they can to help all students be successful.

The staff is wonderful and are always looking for tools and resources to help the students be successful. What I wasn't expecting was the soft skill and the tangential topics that were covered by the staff and guest speakers that offered a more well rounded experience that is essential when transitioning from a different career path. Through the dedication of the professors and staff I was able to get a job as apprentice software engineer a week after graduation!! Sounds like a lie I know but it's true.

Coming from non computer science background and having hardly any experience coding, TIY is perfect for someone who is determined to make a career change.

If you come from a background with a lot of knowledge and experience coding this might not be for you. This program is most helpful for those who require to learn a lot in a short amount a time.