Bitmaker Labs

Very new grad and very unhappy. This place did not did things the right way and they promised me it was the best but in the end not delivered at all. Moved here to Canada and I have huge regrets.

Coming from marketing and sales background with the tech field, I've always been interested in the industry.

I didn't think it could be possible until I began my research. Based on that, Bitmaker was the only place that offered both web development and user experience curriculum so I enrolled in both.

Turns out, it was a good decision that I made for two things:

1. When you enter the tech world that might seem daunting to you, Bitmaker has a solid community of people who support each other. They help you out literally. For example, you can ask alumni questions who are in the field that you couldn't solve, they will take the time out of your day to help you out whether it is a career related or the coding related. As the saying goes, if you want to go fast, go alone. If you ...

I'm a UX designer and I had known a bit of HTML/CSS before starting, but this class gave me plenty of material to explore and insight into a development mindset, allowing me to better communicate with my developers and for me to do a bit of front end work myself. There's still plenty to be learnt but I was surprised by how much was covered in the 12 weeks and loved how practical the material was.

I had a great time with Bitmaker. Mina was a fantastic instructor and the TAs were incredibly patient and were enthusiastic to answer any questions I had, even if it's sometimes beyond the scope of the class.

My time at Bitmaker was great. I took a part-time course and we covered a lot of what I would need to later use the skills in a professional environment. Those are things which I was hoping and planning to learn but you can never learn everything you'll need in such a short period of time. Bu I was shown where to continue learning and how to know what I might need. I was shown how to find and use the tools which I would eventually require.

The instructors were wonderful. They were fun, helpful and knowledgeable. I felt I was learning from the best there was.

I work as a Graphic and Web Designer in a small marketing company. We have to be very versatile and have many skillsets since we are a small department of a big company. My Front-End Developments skills were pretty intermediate but I was looking to become faster and work cleaner. So I recently took the Front-End Web Development night course at Bitmaker in Toronto to advance my skill sets and discover new resources to assist in my job. I had minimal expectations as my understanding of HTML/CSS was already very advanced. The first 2 weeks were a little redundant for me, but after the first 2 weeks, I was learning tricks and skills that I didn't even know existed. In 12 short weeks I went from a novice to a professional. The professors were extremely helpful, and even stayed till 11p...

I enrolled into Bitmaker Labs as a part of the October 2014 Web Development cohort, and since then I was hired and now continue to work at Kobo as a Web Developer/Producer. Starting out, I had my concerns that my only real formal education in web development was through an after school program in beginner level HTML. I knew I wanted to learn more and so before coming to Bitmaker Labs, I spent many hours going through tutorials like CodeSchool, Lynda, and even Youtube. However, I often found the learning experience to be completely one-sided.

Bitmaker Labs is a platform for learning that pushes you to challenge yourself in being better prepared for the tech industry. Of course, the lessons with the instructors are awesome but I felt like one of the most invaluable resources was the ...

Bitmaker Labs promotes preparing you to step into a new role as a web developer seamlessly in just nine weeks. Can you really learn to be a developer in just nine weeks? I quickly learned by the end of week two that this highly depends on what you’re willing to put into the program. The intent isn’t to teach you everything there is to learn about programming, it’s to equip you with the right amount of both technical and problem solving skills to take your own learning further. Learning how to learn is just as valuable as a technical skill, especially in an industry or environment where things are changing so quickly.

I took the January 2015 cohort and found a full time job as a Jr. Full Stack Developer within a week of finishing the program, where I still work today. At work I'm buil...

I recently completed the 9-week web development course at Bitmaker. After doing a lot of research, I choose Bitmaker because I wanted to learn both front and back end skills, and I they offer the opportunity to accelerate the learning process.

At first I was a little skeptical about the schedule because when you have four hours every afternoon, it is easy to get distracted and be unproductive, however, as long as you are willing to remain focused and dedicated, and put the time into the program, this was the best part of the day. It was during this time I was able to work on the assignments and figure out what concepts I understood and where I was struggling.

I quickly learned that the true value in the course is the instructors and TA's. They all have a wealth of knowledge and ex...

A graduate of Bitmaker Labs fourth cohort, I joined the program to follow my passion for web development. I chose Bitmaker because I felt it had the most comprehensive exposure to help build a solid foundation for entering the web development world. This included:

- Teaching both front- and backend web development in tandem, focusing on Ruby on Rails, an excellent framework for building a career (and apps!) off of. I felt that other programs in Toronto didn't have as comprehensive a career and instead focused on front-end development.
- A flipped classroom which focused on instructor interactions, of whom there were many. Very approachable and always willing to go the distance to ensure concepts were understood for students. My personal favourite was when students didn't fully under...

Loved the location as well as the office space we were in. We brushed shoulders with the professionals working in the field during lunch and that in itself was a great opportunity to learn more about the industry.

I was in the very first cohort so a lot of things were changed on the fly, but the amount of heart and insight put into this program was impressive. Also the price is reasonable.

I decided in May to quit my full time job and take the 9 week immersive web development course at Bitmaker Labs as I had a strong interest in learning Ruby on Rails. The course provided much more detail on the lifecycle of the HTTP request than I had anticipated and also an introduction to TDD as well. The instructors are very knowledgable and helpful, and the entire environment was very fun and welcoming! I'd definitely recommend it to anyone looking to learn web development with no prior experience in programming.

In October, I took the Bitmaker Lab's Web Development course. Before taking the program I had no coding experience outside of a course I took years before in high school.
By the end of the course I had the proficiency to code some pretty awesome web apps and equally importantly - the ability to also learn other languages.
They did a great job of balancing teaching with hands on work. It really solidified the things we were taught.

I'm sure it's been said before but much of my success at Bitmaker was a result of their super helpful lead and assistant Instructors.
It was such a jazzy-energetic environment, where everyone just wants to be there to learn and build great things.

I spent time after each class really learning and absorbing what was taught, and it was absolutely the r...

I was a part of the very first cohort at Bitmaker Labs, as a student of their flagship web development course, and as of July 2015, it’s been a little over two years since I graduated. I am currently a full-time employee at Shopify. Perhaps you haven’t heard of Shopify if you’ve just been looking into web development and you’re not familiar with the tech industry yet. Here is a great article about the company: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/rob-magazine/meet-our-ceo-of-the-year/article21734931/

I want to share this article because I know without a shadow of doubt I would have not been able to be where I am today if it weren’t for Bitmaker Labs. After my experience as a student, I was brought on by the team and I worked at Bitmaker Labs for a year. I filled a role a...

I recently completed an Ad Optimization part time course with Bitmaker Labs in Toronto and couldn’t have more positive things to say about my experience. The course focused on building ads on Facebook and Google Ads by learning about copy writing, demographics and tricks and tips for each of the platforms. We had an industry expert from a high profile company lead our 12 week program. He offered incredible insights and support throughout the entire course. Another element of the course I really enjoyed was the networking opportunities. Our instructor was very well connected in the digital marketing and Toronto community and was able to bring in several guest speakers to share their insights with the class as well. Not only did this make the content diverse but again exposed us to insigh...

I had a great experience at Bitmaker Labs. I went in with little to no expectations and had a very positive experience. The course was very manageable, being that it was only part-time and occurred once a week. I knew there was no obligation towards, assignments or attendance yet I still took the class very seriously, it was because of this attention and determination I felt that I was able to get the most out of the course. It is quite costly, but if you are serious and want to pursue your course (or program) as a career, it's worth it, because with a course like this one; you get out, what you put in. I took advantage of my talented instructor and the awesome guest speakers that came in, it's not everyday you come across, highly talented, skilled and experienced individuals like ...

I wouldn't say that Bitmaker was a bad experience, it was just not what I thought it would be. Having had friends that went to other bootcamps I decided to go to one in Toronto where I live. There were 2 that I found and Bitmaker was definitely awesome in looking at it from the outside. Great space, really cool people and interesting curriculum.

The problem is this place is all about the money and has some pretty backwards policies. First off, compared to what I have heard from other schools, their career side is abysmal. Their '9 weeks' include 1 hiring week where they set you up with some interviews and that's it. They don't help you beyond the 9 weeks and once you are done the program they really do nothing for their alumni. I know bootcamps like Hack Reactor, MakerSquare, Hacker...

I have mixed reactions coming out of Bitmakers.

Although I achieved what I wanted to do, which was to learn how to program, it was more or less self taught between the students.

I have found great success after Bitmakers but not through their help as much as through how I marketed myself as Ryan stated in his review. It was through portfolio building and relentless networking outside Bitmakers where I succeeded.

The best part of Bitmakers is not really the course but the student community. Within the community, we attend hackathons to try to market ourselves and build networks otherwise not available to us through the course. Those that did the extracurriculars are the ones who have succeeded outside Bitmakers.

Aside from the hilarious 'interview' process, there are some...

I went to Bitmaker knowing absolutely nothing about Rails and while I did have some other programming experience, it wasn't much. The program is tailored to be for raw beginners with the goal being to give you the skills to be an entry level junior web dev in 9 weeks. For most of the students, it was successful.

For me on the other hand, it gave me a base but my skills were still too weak to get a junior dev job even after the program. I ended up going to the online bootcamp "bloc.io" and there was able to get my skills to where they should have been when leaving Bitmaker.

I absolutely would recommend Bitmaker to anybody who wants to learn web development and can afford the time and financial investment, but if you are a slow learner there is a good chance that you will still n...

What you get out of the program really depends on your own place in life and what you want out of it.

It is not a magic job placement program.

There is a lot of independent learning as the curriculum and instructional methods still need a lot of polish. However the instructors on personal basis are very helpful.

It did provide a space to work, some work targets, and a great network of classmates.

The easiest way to figure out if it's for you is to go to events that are organized at the space. Chances are you will find students there, chat them up and see what they think.

For my own situation I don't regret it, although it was more expensive than I would have liked. Also note there are part time options now, both at Bitmaker and other competitors in town.

Personally I had a great experience at Bitmakers. I was in the first cohort and I learnt a great deal about creating web applications with Rails. I was lucky when graduating I had a few job opportunities spring up.

Overall, its up to the student to learn. The bitmaker program provides opportunities and supports learning but the student needs to committee time, energy and absolute focus.

I was in the 3rd cohort and have had a successful and exciting experience post-bitmaker. I got hired by a great company, but left to pursue my own business which was actually just a continuation of my final project.

Before applying you must understand that paying money and going through the hoops placed before you does not in itself impress employers. You must use the skills learned and your story to convince people of your value. Nobody gets anything for free, and you still have to hustle.

Just yesterday I went to move a couch, I saw a guy programming in the building lobby and asked what he was doing. He showed me his site and I told him about mine, and then he offered me an interview.

My point is, Bitmaker is the best way to motivate and accelerate your desire to learn to c...