App Academy

Pros - Good career services with not just counselors but a community that pushes you to learn and grow as a software developer. If you're willing to put in the work to not only produce the projects but also understand the concepts and speak intelligently... Read More about approaches to software development, you will get a great job. The classes, with 16 weeks to learn a lot, could sometimes feel a bit dense, but with the amount you're expected to learn in that time period the instructors do a great job of it not seeming too overwhelming or putting too much pressure on the students to learn at a pace they would struggle with Also a huge plus, with the ever-growing industry, people seek out boot camp grads more, and App Academy partnerships are a pre-vetted opportunity to get some great experience under your belt with a good wage. Cons - Very steep learning curve at first - about 65% of our cohort made it to the end. Whether this was a failing on their part to properly understand the material or instructors' inability to pick up on people struggling, this was sad and the process of deferring was handled in a rather macabre way that was needlessly dramatic.

The App Academy 16 week software engineering boot camp was one of the most challenging but rewarding experiences of my life. Comparing my programming knowledge and skill now to when the bootcamp started is truly night and day. You not only learn new programming... Read More languages and skills, but you also learn how to time manage and how to handle your stress.

Over 16 weeks at A/A, I went from knowing hardly any code to being able to develop a full stack web app. The instructional team is great, and I feel the teacher-to-student ratio was appropriate. There was always time to go over any questions I had. I... Read More enjoyed being able to work with other students and improve my soft skills. Once the curriculum winds down, there are many resources provided to students to assist with job placements. I only recently finished the program and am not yet employed but I feel like I am in good hands with the A/A career coaches.

I had a really great experience at App Academy. I attended 16 weeks Full Stack Software Engineering program. Due to the pandemic, it was online. I started with basic knowledge of programming. I remember I used to struggle with loops and variables when... Read More I started the Bootcamp, but in the end, I was able to create a full-stack single-page web application. App Academy's course structure is perfect, it starts with basics and ramp-up to an advanced level. Before starting the Bootcamp you don't have to have previous knowledge of programming, but if you do, it's a plus because it is a fast-paced Bootcamp. The First 2 weeks of the course are the basics of ruby, and there are no lectures, so you have to study by yourself but the TAs are always there to help. After 2 weeks, there are lectures in the morning and pair boarding in the afternoon.I really enjoyed pair boarding, it does improve your social skills and prepare you for the work environment and job interviews, plus you get to learn a lot from your fellow students. I had an amazing team of TAs, they were always ready to help and teach new things. They are also app academy graduates, so you get to learn a lot from their experiences. After graduation, the app academy assigns you to a coach who helps in the job search and prepares you for the job interviews, whether it be technical interviews or behavioral interviews. I highly recommend people to join App Academy if you want to start a career in the software engineering field.

I enrolled in App Academy with some prior programming knowledge hoping to land a software engineer role. The program itself wasn't extremely difficult for me, but I had lots of friends to ask for help and prior exposure. My biggest takeaway from the bootcamp... Read More was that you get out of it what you put in. There were students that dedicated 6 months to learning as much as they could and it showed by the time we presented our capstone projects. I would be hesitant to recommend this program to anyone without prior knowledge or experience with programming. You are making a massive financial commitment and quite frankly this career isn't for everyone. I think App Academy is a great investment if you know you're capable and want to break into the tech industry. If you have any hesitations or doubts about your ability to be a software engineer or to complete this program then I would recommend waiting to enroll until you learn some fundamentals on your own time.

I decided on App Academy for my pivot into software engineering because I had a friend who graduated from their in-person program and now works at Google. I was also drawn by their advertising that you don't need ANY background in coding in order to succeed... Read More at a/A, which applied to me. I am honestly shocked at how much I've learned in just 24 short weeks. I went from knowing ZERO code to being able to confidently create a functioning full stack web application. You definitely need to be self motivated and put the hours in, but the way they have structured their curriculum is really beneficial to learning and understanding the languages they teach (currently JavaScript and Python). My issue with learning how to code on my own was always getting stuck and not knowing how to get unstuck. App Academy's instructors and TA's are invaluable assets to the coding experience, not to mention the growth that comes with pair programming with another person and having to explain your code out loud. It's definitely not a flawless system, and they have a couple bugs to iron out on their curriculum at times, but I'm really thankful for my experience at App Academy. Also, they are constantly improving their curriculum to stay up to date which I respect.

App Academy was a great experience. I attended the 16-week program online due to the pandemic. The first 2 weeks of the course is independent self study of Ruby basics with the AA curriculum. TAs are available for questions if you ever encounter a concept... Read More you don't understand. After the first 2 weeks, a normal day starts with a lecture in the morning and pair boarding in the afternoon. The evenings will consist of homework assignments to prepare for the next day's material. While it isn't always mandatory to complete all the assignments, it does help you get ready for the next day. Be prepared to spend over 90-100 hours a week learning. Since the program is so fast paced, if you fall behind it's very difficult to catch up. Some of the AA material online is out of date from what’s being currently used. For example the curriculum teaches how to use the old React Router syntax instead of the newest one. Overall it does teach you the core concepts of many different technologies in a short amount of time. I think the experience does highly depend on what TAs you get and how much of a self learned you are. The TAs I had were great and really spent the time to go over the material and answer questions. After finishing the bootcamp, App Academy assigns you a coach to help you with your job search. There are also many workshops and resources they have that really do help with the job search. The support they give you after graduating is one of the reasons I chose to go to AA. The system that have keeps you accountable and motivated during your job search. If you are someone who wants a more guided and structured approach to learning coding, AA is a great choice.

App Academy was 6 months of intense study in full-stack web development. I did the online 24 week program and my background was in electrical engineering beforehand but there were plenty of good developers in my cohort who were not from a technical background.... Read More The best part of app academy is having the group of people all studying together trying to pick up new skills quickly. We pair programmed for 4 to 6 hours per day and worked on solo and group projects. The really big advantage of doing app academy over self-study is that you have TAs there live with you and you can ask questions and get help on the spot. The program was lot of work, I would say that it is about the equivalent of working a full-time job and then taking classes in the evening. You are online for the length of a full-time job and then you have a few hours of homework every night. Our cohort started with about 85 people and i think only about 20 or 25 of us made it all the way through so it is definitely difficult. The other really nice thing about app academy is the partnership companies. They were really helpful with the job search and I got a few different offers and a great developer role within a few months of graduating.

I started off with no coding experience prior to App Academy and at the end of the 24 weeks I felt confident in my abilities to break into the field of software engineering. It definitely wasn't easy, those 60 - 80+ hour weeks they tell you about are... Read More true, but with perseverance and hard work it's worth it. I had a great team of instructors and TAs who were patient, knowledgeable, and understood the struggles I was going through. The learning styling during some of the curriculum changed during my time at a/A to the flipped classroom style, which was tough to adjust to, but I eventually saw the benefits of the struggle of problem solving first before lecture. Though at times it was frustrating, I feel like it made me a better problem solver and a stronger developer. After graduating, the career coaching team has been phenomenal at supporting me with the job search so far and I'm looking forward to landing my first job as a SWE. If you're thinking about switching careers and applying to a/A just do it, you never know where life will take you!

If you are interested in coding, I do recommend a/A. I know a lot of people tend to say ruby isn't used in a lot of places, which is the first language you learn - but it def helps to start with ruby because it reads like english, so it makes the transition... Read More and the learning process that much easier. Trust me, someone who went through the course, that this is not easy. Expect to study every waking moment and lose your weekends. If you do that and work hard, you will be in good hands by the end of the program. The curriculum does get increasingly difficult, as with everything you learn in life, but there is great support and the instructors are always available to answer any questions you may have to clarify specific things. Overall, it was a wonderful experience - you meet lots of great people and make friends that'll last a llifetime :)