App Academy

I decided to enroll in the 6-month full-time online software engineering bootcamp and it was one of the best decisions that I have made. It is an intensive course that requires a time commitment of 60-80 hours per week due to the very fast-paced nature... Read More of the course, but no prior experience is required and I feel like I have a solid foundation of knowledge to enter the tech industry for the first time. The TAs were very helpful in helping me understand some of the more difficult concepts. I have made many friends in the process of taking this course as well. I highly recommend this course if you are trying to enter the tech industry for the first time as a software engineer and don't know where to start.

App Academy is good at what it does, it teaches you how to learn things fast and apply them. The program is very fast paced and you do learn a lot, and when I say a lot I mean a lot. I took the 24 week online program, and it was a good experience especially... Read More during the pandemic. It was hard, but doable if you do the homework and put in effort to study for the assessments. There was only really two weeks that were really hard, but overall I passed without deferring once. The Cons of App Academy are maybe the strike system? I mean if you have 3 alarms for each check in you theoretically should not get any strikes. I am currently in the sprint week, so I do not have any opinion on the job support yet, but so far the leads for jobs are good, the workshops available seem helpful as well. Overall I would recommend App Academy to someone looking into a bootcamp. I do want to say that you should have a general knowledge of coding or take a prep course before starting(not required), but it helps you get through the first few weeks easier.

To anyone considering changing career paths, I couldn’t recommend App Academy enough! Before I applied, I watched countless YouTube videos and read many reviews and reddit forums about whether or not App Academy was for me. I never really heard anything... Read More bad about them so it almost seemed cult-ish but after eventually doing it, I can see why so many people recommend because it changed my life. I was working at a dead-end job as a landscaper, and couldn’t afford to move out of my parents house. I dropped out of college because it was two expensive and didn’t really have any other plan. I knew a few people who attended App Academy and decided to pull the trigger and quit both my jobs. I did the JavaScript Bootcamp prep which was kind of expensive but I did think that it gave me a head start on learning JavaScript. Although, in hindsight, there are many online resources that would’ve made a great alternative as well! I did the 16-week Ruby immerse program and it was tough. Very tough. I for-sure had a few mental breakdowns about passing exams but looking back, there is nothing they teach that it too complicated to learn, it’s just a lot in a short amount of time. You need to know how to pace yourself so you don’t burn out and I recommend getting as far ahead in App Academy Open before starting the official course. And do the homework! It is very important! After the 16 weeks, I was able to get a fully remote frontend developer role paying 90k+ one week after graduating. It seems like it’s almost too good to be true but App Academy really does prepare you for a job not only the curriculum, but also helping prepare your LinkedIn/ social platforms and mock interviewing. If you are uncomfortable with your life, take the leap!!

Even though the program is set up to be a guided course with plenty of staff to help you along the way, I did feel that many times the amount of help needed to understand concepts by my classmates and I was lacking. There were many times where the TA's... Read More or IA's were not knowledgeable in what the subject matter called for and left many students lacking. When you realize that you were not going to be able to get the type of help needed to fully understand the subject it came down to buckling down and be able to teach yourself at the end of the day.

The course is very intense, and requires you to learn a lot in a short time. If you are the type of person who can lock in and persevere through any obstacle, this is definitely for you. You don't need any prior knowledge, I came in directly from working... Read More in a lab with a chemistry background. Everything you need to know, they will teach you, and plenty of help from instructors are provided. However, I definitely recommend, more prep is always best. Also, before starting this journey, please ensure you are financially ready. Though the course is 6 months, it can easily turn into a year. Timeline varies for everyone, if you defer multiple times, or how long the job search lasts for you. Don't be ashamed of deferring, people who were smarter than I deferred, which is why you should plan for it, if taking this course. From this point on, you must plan for any scenario in your life. This will make you a better coder, and person. I definitely would do this course again, and recommend it to those with a creative, and problem solving mind. I wish I would have done something like this sooner.

The curriculum will feel very vigorous and intense just like a daily dose of regretful bloat post-pie-eating contest if you aren't mentally ready to work 80+ hours a week. You can only fail 1 test and have 1 chance to retake, which used to give me nightmares.... Read More Speaking of which, while I know it's tempting, I've regretted every single day I sacrificed sleep. Nothing's worse than a brain trying to focus on multiple lines of code for ~8 hours. Describing learning and retaining the material always gives me a visual of drinking from a fire hose while struggling to hold in stomach contents. You don't need prior coding knowledge (although boot camp prep will help a lot), but you do need to know how to make friends. Or at least... you know that customer in line that likes to brag about having lots of money? That same person who mistreats customer service and wastes the time of other customers even though you're all in the same line together? And then hopefully gets their credit card declined as a gift from karma? Don't be that person! The other students will be trying to drink out of that water hose with you, and if you can help each other, at least you don't have to cry alone. So, put that ego away and get ready to welcome your fellow comrades with open arms~ The TAs are seasoned veterans of said fire hose with big hearts and determination to help you through as they were once students too. If you get through this program, it will feel surreal and humbling. No program is perfect and some materials need a major update, but it was worth it.

I had a good experience while attending App Academy and made strong connections with my cohort mates, allowing me to succeed in this program. Previously, I had been working toward my CS degree and decided that I wanted a more immersive learning experience... Read More where I could utilize the skills I learned to build applications. If you are looking for a Bootcamp to challenge you and allow you to grow then a/A is a great choice. Each week you will be challenged and surprise yourself with how much you can do if you put in the time and effort. Although the program can be difficult at times, it prepares you for what you will need to do on the job.

I graduated from AppAcademy 24 week program in March 2022. It was a great experience for me. I was working in the fashion industry before that and have no coding background. This program taught me how to become an independent programmer and solve problems... Read More (debugging). I was very lucky to be in an awesome class where all my classmates are very nice, smart, professional, and positive. All my classmates became my network after we graduated. It is very important to know that: Do not expect anyone will hold your hand and feed you all the knowledge, the point here is to learn HOW TO LEARN ON YOUR OWN. It is very important in this industry because you will constantly need to learn new things and no one has the time to teach you one-on-one all day. Of course you can ask questions any time during AppAcademy, but try to ask good questions. Try to research or try solving before reaching for help.

After much deliberation between going the self-taught route versus attending a bootcamp, I enrolled in the 16-week online program focused on Javascript and Ruby on Rails. Without a doubt, attending App Academy has been one of the best decisions of my... Read More life. Attending the program gives you a support network of TAs and peers who are with you each step of the way to keep you motivated and to hold you accountable, which is something I would have missed had I decided to teach myself to code. Who knows how long the projects would have taken me to complete had I decided to try to code for X or Y hours each day? The coursework is challenging and for the most part is very hands-off - you get out what you put in. I still recall one review of App Academy that I saw before attending and the punchline read something like "Sure you could teach your self to code, but who knows how long that will take. You'd probably get a job and start making money 1/4 of a year earlier with A/a which would offset the cost of the program very quickly."

My dive into software engineering was very spontaneous, and I chose App Academy almost purely on the fact that I know a few successful graduates. However, I definitely do not regret choosing this bootcamp. I attended their 16 week program and spent 80+... Read More hours a week learning all sorts of skills such as React, Javascript, Ruby, Ruby on Rails, and more. We constructed 3 separate projects with the material we learned, and this really helped cement the skills into my head. My only gripe with the curriculum is that it felt a little outdated. I would have preferred learning Python over Ruby and maybe learned a bit more about React hooks as well. The teaching staff was exceptionally helpful and really did try their best to help you learn. My cohort started at a little over 30 people and ended with about 20, so it definitely is quite the rigorous program. The career coaches have been great so far and they really seem to know what they are doing. Job support seems very well structured and aimed at securing you a job as quickly as possible. Overall, a great bootcamp where you can not only change your life, but meet awesome people along the way!