App Academy

I attended the 24-week online program in 2021-2022 and it was the best decision I have ever made! I will not lie, it is a lot of work (60-80 hours a week). While I was attending, we learned Python, Javascript, React, and many more of the most used technologies... Read More in the industry. They are constantly updating the curriculum, so you are always learning the most up-to-date technologies and practices. There are weekly assessments for the majority of the course, so be prepared to study quite a bit. Along with the great curriculum, you get access to amazing instructors and TA's to answer any questions you may have. During the 24 week program, we built 4 full-stack projects (2 group projects and 2 solo projects) that we are able to gain experience from and to put on our resume. Once you graduate, you get a career coach whose sole job is to make sure that you get a job, which is the main part I personally chose App Academy over other bootcamps.

I did App Academy's 16-week program and got a job that pays $110k within a few weeks of graduating. What more do you need to know? In all seriousness, this program is legit. I consider myself a strong learner with a good work ethic, but a/A pushed me... Read More further than I would ever have been able to go on my own. Personally, I think the high pressure of App Academy alone is worth the price. Do some back-of-the-envelope math for yourself, but, for me, the opportunity to get a job as a software engineer 4-5 months faster than it would've taken me if I were self-teaching (just a guess; it might've taken much longer) was easily worth more money than the cost of tuition. But the bootcamp isn't just about "structure and accountability", which is what people usually talk about when they're explaining why they did a bootcamp. The team project was extremely helpful when I was interviewing, and the job search support is A+, too. (Again, they push you to do far more than you probably would do on your own, like applying to 40 jobs in your first week on the market. They can also connect you to "partner" employers, though YMMV.) Are there downsides? You bet! The time commitment is extreme. I gave up my social life for 4 months (plus a month of job-hunting). By the end, I was pretty ragged and feeling overworked. Also, the lectures in the morning were sometimes pretty awful, since many of the instructors are not great teachers and are reading from someone else's lecture notes. In their defense, most university-level teaching is awful, too, so it's not like you're going to find a better alternative. The upshot is that you need to be extremely self-motivated: Hit every target they give you, and compensate for any weaknesses in the curriculum/teaching by doing your own research. Is the lecture confusing or the assignment vague? Ask for help, scour the internet for other resources, and don't settle for being confused. One more thing: Make sure you're ready. A number of students in my cohort didn't finish the program. As part of applying to a/A you need to complete their introductory curriculum, but I would recommend doing additional work (e.g. at least a few weeks of CS50x) just to make sure you really love this stuff enough to do it even when it's exhausting/difficult. Don't quit your job until you're sure you can take whatever a/A throws at you (and more)! In sum, though, I loved App Academy, and there's no way I would be where I am today without their guidance and support! If you're serious about switching careers and becoming a software engineer, I strongly recommend App Academy.

This program was one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences I've been through. Coming from an Entertainment & Music Industry background I hadn't coded much. It was definitely much harder than I thought at times, and it kept me on my toes throughout... Read More the course. There is a beauty in their curriculum style and teaching methods, from the start they instill the kind of self-reliance that it takes to solve real-world problems on the job. The pair programming was a great way to take in the material, learn to work with all types of people, and make friends. I would say it's really important to make friends and study with other students, that is probably what helped me most when I was struggling was the support system I created there. The teachers are amazing and really go above and beyond. Another part of the course I rarely see mentioned by other reviewers is the Career Quest portion for 3 months following completion. The resume, portfolio, learning session, and partnership resources are really what sets App Academy apart. I was super impressed with the job support and career coaches. If you're considering a Bootcamp, App Academy is stellar!

Pros: - Great TAs to help you along the way - Daily projects to practice the concepts you learn - Three major projects for your portfolio towards the end of the course - They are honest when they say 'expect to work 80-90+ hours a week'. Cons: - They... Read More move through the material really fast and it always feels like you never completely learn everything - There are weekly assessments - two fails result in a dismissal, which adds a lot of stress in addition to the course load I did feel fulfilled and satisfied by the overwhelming topics that we have to read and understand because it is also probably one of the few way we could improve ourselves rapidly

In theory, app Academy doesn't provide you with anything you can't otherwise get for free to land a job as a software engineer. They do provide with things that make it a lot easier. They provide job support: coaches that will meet with you to debug your... Read More projects, slack channels with people who will help you debug, connections to partnership companies, but most importantly: motivation and direction. It's possible that you are perfectly motivated all by yourself, in which case skip a coding bootcamp such as aA. If you're anything like me though, app Academy gives you all of the directions, you follow them, and eventually you have a job in software engineering. They give you deadlines during the curriculum and are always over your shoulder making sure you apply to jobs during the job search. You are with a cohort is both your emotional support system and competition, the perfect recipe for motivation. Feel free to skip app Acedmy if you can cultivate these qualities yourself. If not, it's worth joining.

I was stuck with nowhere to go. I was a photographer in the middle of a pandemic... so there wasn't much work. I started searching online for coding programs and after not making much progress teaching myself, I found App Academy. It seemed too good to... Read More be true. Don't pay tuition until you get a job? Graduate in 4 months and be READY for a job? It sounded crazy but I asked around and it seemed like it was actually true. App Academy was the hardest thing i've ever done and by far the most rewarding. I put in 14 hour days but to be honest, I never even noticed. I was so locked in to the curriculum and my projects that I never noticed the time passing, sometimes I would even forget to eat. If you're willing to put in the effort, App Academy can change your life. Turns out putting in the effort wasn't actually that hard.

I attended the 24-week course which taught Python and Javascript. My experience with this program was fairly laidback possible because of my awesome instructor. I think the first 3 weeks is rather rigorous and demanding but afterward, it was like attending... Read More school and putting in the right amount of effort. I may have had a harder time with the first 3 weeks because I did not have a CompSci or tech background. If I had a chance to go back to before I started boot camp, I may have wanted to do the 16 weeks only because I would probably have a job by now. Pros: 24 Weeks is a generous amount of time a/A is handholding Allows for deferred payment/salary share a/A culture is incredible a/A is always attempting to improve upon itself a/A has a very up to date curriculum(teaches current relevant tech) Plenty of job support if an alum actively puts in the effort Cons: Focuses on Web Dev because of ease of entry There are some days where it felt like nothing was done Overall verdict: 4.5

App Academy is no joke when it comes to how hard the program is. I've seen reviews before I joined that mentioned how your life during the program will basically only consist of eat, breathe, and sleep coding. And honestly it pretty much did feel like... Read More that. However, if you've got the drive and will to pick up coding skills in a short amount of time, you're not going to really mind it too much. All this to say, that I feel the reward was certainly worth the challenge. Nothing felt more rewarding than finally understanding a concept, passing a test, or getting over an insurmountable blocker during a project. For the short time that you spend here, you definitely pick up a whole lot of knowledge. For me personally, I never would have gotten this far on my own within 6 months time and I have App Academy to thank for that. Everyone from the staff to the cohort-mates were amazing and supportive. If you're hesitant on joining but you know you've been wanting to get into coding for a while, I'd say just do it. I haven't regretted my decision ever since.

Over the course of four months, I learned so much material with the support of my fellow cohort mates and instructors. The instructors were incredibly nice, and knowledgable as they had gone through the course themselves and understood the stress of the... Read More bootcamp. It actually wasn't as stressful as I expected it to be, but you definitely have to put in the work or else you'll fall behind. The best part of the bootcamp are the people you meet. My cohort was full of incredibly intelligent individuals who all had the same goal as I did. The curriculum is mostly good at AppAcademy. You'll learn Ruby and then move to Javascript and React, which were the harder parts of the curriculum. Some parts of the curriculum felt dated, and could definitely be renovated to modern standards. Unfortunately, we were not taught React hooks, which I highly hope they add to the in-person curriculum due to the increasing importance of hook-based development. Overall, I enjoyed my time at AppAcademy, but definitely be prepared to put in the work.

Pros: - Get to learn in demand skills. - Great support from cohort-mates and most instructors - Fast-paced learning environment that forces you to focus on the material on a daily basis. - Structured learning schedule - Promotes pair programming on a... Read More daily basis Cons: - Very fast paced, not fit for people who are not able to devote 100% of their attention to the curriculum and learning new material daily - Some instructors take a while to answer questions, or they kind of brush off your questions.