The Iron Yard

The Iron Yard Austin crew know how to craft a curriculum. During my job search, I've realized just how relevant all the technologies they teach are. But more importantly, the instructors and all the campus staff are amazing people. Our instructors are seemingly bottomless vessels of knowledge. The campus staff are kind, wise, always willing to help, and equally willing to accept and act on feedback. Taking the front end engineering course at The Iron Yard was one of the best decisions I've made.

The decision to attend the Iron Yard literally changed my life. I went to school for a music degree, which was an incredible and fulfilling experience but not amazingly lucrative career-wise. I didn't want to teach, so I ended up with a handful of odd-jobs to pay the bills. I quickly started to realize that I was not in a place where I could get a head in life and I needed to take action.

I heard about the Iron Yard through a friend of mine. I was naturally a bit skeptical about the idea of being able to completely switch careers after only 3 months, but after talking with the instructor in a prescreening interview I felt a bit more at ease. I attended the Spring '16 Backend course with my friend that had originally told me about the Iron Yard. Roughly a month after we both graduated, we both received job offers at the first place we applied to. 

The experience I had over the three months there was incredible. The atmosphere is really geared towards intense study and facilitates an excellent mindset towards learning. My teacher was probably among the best teachers I've ever had and I still keep in touch with him to this day. Unlike college classes, everything you learn is 100% geared towards real life job skills without a whole lot of extra pure-theoretical baggage. After I went through the Iron Yard, I was well prepared for the interview and I was able quickly make valuable contributions when I came onboard to my current team.

The one catch is that the workload is pretty big! I don't think that someone just looking for a paycheck would fair too well in an environment like the Iron Yard. However, if you've done a small amount of coding before and think you might have a passion for it, this is definitely something to check in to!! 

So, I graduated from the Front End Engineering program at The Iron Yard not too long ago. I completely loved it there. I had a little coding experience prior to attending the bootcamp but was pleasantly surprised by how much more I was able to pick up during my time there. I'm really happy with the progress that I was able to make and just how much I was able to enhance my coding and programming skills. The staff is totally awesome; everyone working there is extremely helpful, supportive and interested in your success. I was impressed with how knowledgeable and engaging my instructor was, and my TA was always there to help anyone who needed it as well. Not only that but they were really cool too!

I will say that the environment at The Iron Yard is exceptionally challenging; you will encounter inevitable frustrations and may want to give up at times but the instructors and staff are there with you the whole way through, helping you to push through such frustrations and to persevere with the coursework. They just get it; they get the programming industry and are always able to provide helpful information to us as students and 'noobs' to the industry so that by graduation you can be confident about stepping out into the workforce. Even being a graduate, I still pop up on campus sporadically and am welcomed with open arms and still receive assistance from the instructors and staff as far as career support or a project I may be working on. What a fantastic experience this was for me! It was definitely well worth it.

I completed the Front End Engineering course here in Las Vegas, NV. I was stuck working in a dead end job at a casino when I realized it was time for a change. After spending some time looking into the school and getting a tour of the campus, I finally decided to go for it and thats a decision I will always be happy about. The Front End course is lead by a great teacher named Mike and from my first conversation with him I knew he was very knowledgable and yet still approachable. Which made it easy to ask questions and to just have conversations with him. The most important thing I can stress about The Iron Yard is you are only going to get as much out of this course as you put in. The campus became and still is a second home to me from all the time I spent there during the class. From my first day of class till well into my new career, the instructors have proven over and over that they are there for you and will help out in any way they can. The Las Vegas campus has a family vibe that makes it easy for new comers to fit in. There are always alumni working out of the building who are more than happy to help out. I think this really speaks to the community that Gabe Shepherd, the campus director is trying to build out here. He tries to keep the Alumni involved in everything from guest lectures to just random campus activities. I came out of The Iron Yard with friendships that will last a life time and skills and knowledge to keep growing with this industry over time.

I recently graduated from the Front End Engineering program at The Iron Yard Austin in September. The staff is simply amazing. They are extremely supportive and the instructors are so knowledgeable and helpful. The first time that I met the Karly, the Campus Director, I knew that this was a place I wanted to be. When I started, I knew very little about coding. Now, I can say I feel fully confident in my programming skills and entering the work force. This is a challenging environment so you do have to push yourself and persevere through frustrations. In the end, it is worth it. This was an incredible and life changing experience for me.

As many before me have said, I will reiterate - "You get out of it exactly what you put in to it".  The tight-knit staff and students felt like a group of friends getting together on a daily basis to try and attempt something great which was a feeling and experience I will never forget.  Being part of the first Minnesota based TIY Course felt like there were still a few kinks in the system to work out for scheduling purposes but other than that it went very smooth. Like others have said, you can't go into this expecting a job to magically fall in your lap before you graduate or right after you do, but this course does all it can to help you transition into the world of job hunting. 
Overall I am glad to have been a student and to be affiliated with The Iron Yard, now I feel better equipped to dive into the tech scene on a bigger scale than before.

I absolutely loved The Iron Yard. The teachers were very knowledgeable and had great teaching styles. They were also very willing to help and answer my millions of questions. I really enjoyed the structure and class schedule. It was very relaxed and laid back.  There were definitely times where I struggled but the instructors had a good way of helping without doing the work for me. I also loved the class atmosphere and my fellow classmates. We all became very close and worked together each day. I learned more than I could have ever taught myself and felt confident about my skills as a Front End Dev by the time I graduated. 

Moving to Charleston and attempting to join the tech industry proved to be quite a challenge on its own. Despite having a masters degree I could hardly get an interview and found myself working at a job making a fraction of what I used to. Then I went to the Iron Yard, to sharpen my coding skills. Thanks to the great portfolio and job search assistance, I found myself having 3-5 interviews a week and finally landed a great job within a month of starting my search (as opposed to a year of looking prior to the course). The skills I learned had me immediately ready to contribute, and I had code going into production the first week on the job. It definitely was one of the best decisions I've made. 

I've recently graduated the Cincinnati's May 2016 "Cohort" in August and I'll be possibly be starting my first professional Tech Job on Monday. I must say that a 12 week code school seems iffy on the surface, but I've never had a regret since Day One.

I was referred to the Indianapolis Campus by a family member who is part of their legacy board and, due to small class size upon acceptance, I transferred to the Cincy Campus (temporarily in West Chester, currently on E 8th St). I had a great instructor, who not only taught us everything from Git to AngularJS, but also taught us how to teach ourselves. I probably spent 40-60 hours a week learning this skill and the only nitpick I could think of is that we could have learned more. Even after graduating, I've recieved immense help with my job search as I've got into personal contact with almost all of my potential employers, rather than rely on internet job postings and job searches.

If you are on the fence, know that I went from having 0-5% code knowledge with a defunct degree in the arts that now has his foot in the door with a consulting group that is giving me work, which I mentioned above. Last piece: Techies leave the ladder down for others to climb, so start on the first rung and climb.

The Rails Engineering course prepares students to enter the job market as a junior full-stack developer. Instruction focuses on all the basics of web development, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, SQL, and of course Ruby and Rails. My class was also able to spend some time learning the React.js library.

My experience with this course, this school, and the team running the campus has been literally life changing. Over the course of 12 weeks I went from knowing some basic Python to a ready-to-get-to-work junior software developer. Immediately after graduation I built a SaaS application that is currently available and accepting subscribers. Once that was completed I went to work at a start-up working with React.js, and now I work from home as a software developer for a company in Richmond, VA. 

Before going through The Iron Yard I was an automotive technician at the top of my career and hating my job. As a software developer I love my work, and the ability to create new things from scratch is incredibly empowering. Going through The Iron Yard has absolutely been the best career decision I've made, and I'm happy to share my experience.

My only word of caution is this, you will get out of this (and any bootcamp class) exactly what you put into it. Dedicate yourself to learning the material, and learning how to learn and problem solve, and you will excel. If you are not fully committed, wait until you can be.

I graduated from The Iron Yard's Back End Engineering course at the Charleston, SC location on August 5, 2016 and accepted a full-time position eight weeks later. 

You get a solid foundation in the material you choose to study, but really you learn to learn. You learn to go out and research new technologies, experiment with them, and then utilize online resources to resolve your issues. 

That said, finding a job comes down to you, the student. Do not make the mistake of believing that completing this course and using the career support guarantees you a job. You learn marketable skills, but finding a job while you are unemployed isn't the easiest thing in the world to do. Bills add up quickly when you aren't working, so my biggest advice is to potential students is to budget accordingly. 

Personally, I had a blast and learned a lot. I do believe you can kickstart a career with an education at The Iron Yard, but I do feel fortunate to have found a position so quickly.

 

I came from a medical background, and I had got to a point I was no longer happy. I decided I was going to pursue a career in the tech industry, because I've always had a hobby of tinkering with computers, playing with gadgets and being a sort of software savant. But where to start. I was lucky enough to have a friend who had gone to the Iron Yard, and he spoke very highly of his experience. I can now say it's the best decision I've ever made! The instructor was thorough and incredibly helpful, and was always willing to spend extra time helping individuals figure things out. The Campus directors were lifesavers! They were positive and upbeat, and always made me feel like they had my best interest at heart.

I went through The Iron Yard's Front-End Engineering course at the Charleston, SC location.    The school was absolutely the best decision of my life.   I went from painting houses for 10 years, with little computer knowledge, and next to no programming knowledge, to working as a contractor for a large company in the area in under 4 months.   The course work was hard, it was intense, and very much so full time.    However, it was an incredible experience, and really did get my moving in the direction of a career I absolutely love.

From day one you receive incredible support from the campus staff.   They are always available and totally eager to help you with your goals and questions.   If you're looking for a career change into IT, and don't want to spent years going through college (no degree here!),  I highly recommend looking into the courses offered through The Iron Yard.  I have been coding now for just over a year, and am working full time as a Software Engineer at Blackbaud in Charleston.   

Everyday I love my job and look forward to going into work.   Growing up people always said 'If you love what you do, you'll never work a day in your life'.   I always thought they were just full of it,  but now I know first hand it's true.  A great portion of my new career I owe to the incredible instructors and campus director at The Iron Yard, Charleston.  If you decide to go through this course, definitely give it your all.  The more you put into it, the more you will get out of it.   

 

Attending The Iron Yard was the best decision of my life. It was a way for me to live life without regrets, and I can say fully that I no longer regret the journey I took during college. I was originally on a path through a technology degree while attending Purdue University, but due to personal reasons I switched over into a more sales degree. After college was done and I began my career, I knew that the path I was on was not one that I was passionate about. I missed technology. I missed the problem solving and challenges that came with it. I regretted the degree I had.

Then one day I heard about this new "school" in town that seemed like the answer to what I was searching for. I saw a way back into the technology world and I took it. I attended TIY during the summer of 2016 and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. The teachers were personable, knowledgeable, and taught us well. The courses were fast paced, but not at a pace I couldn't keep up with. The networking events that were hosted got me plugged into the tech scene almost immediately. They did everything the right way to ensure my success as long as I worked hard at it. 

I have now been graduated for a little over a month. Five people from my cohort of 10 students total have found jobs, and 1 returned back to school (he basically was here as a summer school). The rest of us (including me!) are in varying stages of the interview process with several companies and will hopefully be having offers shortly. I fully believe that in a few more weeks, we will have a 100% job acceptance rate from our cohort (excluding the continuing student). 

I love The Iron Yard, and you should too. If you have any concerns about attending, I hope this review helps you with your decision. Go meet with the instructors and staff and check out the campus. You won't regret it.