Codesmith

If you’re looking for a software engineering bootcamp, look elsewhere!
Codesmith is not a software engineering bootcamp. I even hesitate to use the word program. These words sound cold and impersonal. Bootcamp makes me think about cut throat competition, blind obedience, and a lack of creativity. Codesmith is the exact opposite. Discovering Codesmith is like discovering a second family!

The Codesmith team has managed to create a community of the most passionate, driven and empathetic engineers you will ever meet. A lot of the credit goes to Will Sentance whose passion and indefatigable work ethic infects everyone he meets. I know this might sound too good to be true. I was in the same place a few months ago. I was researching for the most efficient way, both in time and money, to ...

I joined Codesmith in NYC at beginning of 2018 and it's by far the best decision I have ever made in my life. I came in with a technical background but minimal coding experience in Javascript. I have to say the first 6 weeks is challenging but all the team members and my cohort mates are so supportive and I would never make it through without them. After I graduated, the support never stopped. The team checks in with me regularly and there's a career coach available 24/7 and willing to answer any questions you have. I am so thankful that I made the decision to join Codesmith and it was really a life-changing experience.

I have always had a passion for computers, hardware and software, but never had the training, encouragement, or courage to take the leap of faith in switching careers. I was looking at other schools in the LA area and was referred to Codesmith by a friend who had graduated and gone on to do very well. I feel blessed having gone in that way, as it helps to know beforehand that the program really works. It's incredibly demanding and it will make you doubt yourself at every turn -- overcoming those doubts is the very core of the program -- but with the support of passionate and caring mentors, you will come out the other end as the best software engineer you could possibly become in the time given. This crucible of overcoming blocks in understanding is one of many things that set Codesmit...

Codesmith was the best decision that I could have made for myself. I dropped out of NYU at 20 years old because I knew I could do what I wanted without paying $60K more for a degree. I wanted to be a software engineer. It didn't just teach me how to use frameworks and how to solve algorithms. It taught me how to learn efficiently. I left with a life long skill of adaptation.

I also left with really good friends, my cohort was like a big family. The whole team is such an amazing source of support. The instructors and the fellows don't give you the answer but they help guide you into figuring it out on your own. The environment just encourages support and learning together. I looked into a lot of programs that offered similar curriculum but I went to a hard parts and I knew that this w...

What set Codesmith out from the other similiar programs is that you had to be at least a junior level engineer before you entered the program. This process made sure you were prepared for the intense 12 week program that changes the way you approach coding and empowers you to be a mid to senior level engineer. The focus on communication was the missing block in my approach to becoming a great engineer and Codesmith fostered that approach in a very effective way.

I just graduated from the most recent April '18 cohort and had a really amazing experience at Codesmith.

Many reviews on here have described the amount of work that is demanded from Codesmith residents, to which I would say it's a given that if you're looking for a complete career change in three months, you're going to have to put in a lot of time and effort. That being said, the community and the support that you get from both staff and other students makes that process much, much easier. It's obviously possible to learn technologies like React and Redux on your own, but coding is a collaborative process. And that's not something you can learn sitting on your couch with a laptop. I remember all the time I spent on Codewars, FreeCodeCamp, and CodeAcademy prior to Codesmith, studyin...

I didn't think a place like this could be real. Reading all the reviews before I came seemed fake but my friend decided to take the chance and it worked for him. After seeing him succeed, I decided to go for it myself and I have no regrets. I am so happy that I found this place and it has truly changed my life. It was not an easy or instant magical change, but after all the work i've put in, I've produced the outcome I came here to achieve. I am also glad that the program does not end when it ends; the constant job support after the program is amazing. I am thankful for the opportunity I was given to attend Codesmith, it was a lot of work but gave me exactly what I was looking for: a career in software engineering.

I am posting this to let people know how I got tricked into thinking I can be job ready for the tech industry with only 3 months of classes, which is EXACTLY what Codesmith advertised...

Let me just start by saying that you will learn a good amount of knowledge from this program, I don't want to take away how rigorous this 12 week bootcamp actually is, and I actually learned a lot about programming and made a lot of friends at Codesmith.

That said, I am extremely disappointed in Codesmith, and felt like they scammed me out of 17k in tuition. I'll just go right ahead and say it:

Codesmith tells you to LIE when looking for jobs! They want you to put your so called "production project" in your resume as WORK EXPERIENCE!!!! They ask you to NOT put Codesmith in your resume, creat...

I had heard about coding camps prior to Codesmith but I never really had the intention of signing up for one. I figured I could learn web development on my own and apply to junior positions with that knowledge. I didn’t realize how difficult the industry was to break into though, even for a junior developer. It was near impossible to even get an interview.

Then I attended a Hard Parts class Will was teaching. I was impressed with his knowledge and how engaging the class was. Then I explored the Codesmith campus and saw the current students working and talked to a couple of them, and it seemed like such a great and inclusive atmosphere. My positive impression along with my disappointment in finding a job pushed me to apply for Codesmith where I ended up being accepted.

The experi...

Codesmith was the right decision for me. I graduated with a Math/CS degree and was unsure about whether any of these coding programs would be useful for me, but I eventually decided on attending Codesmith and I'm so glad I did! The vibe and energy from the people there was always positive, always friendly, and always collaborative. I was free to ask for help and work with others on what I had trouble with and at the same time others could always come to me with their questions as well. And that was important because the program was dense and without that kind of community, I couldn't learned what I did, and I wouldn't have been able to built what I did. It felt like we were all in this together and trying to raise each other up to become the best engineers possible!

My experience in ...

I went through Codesmith a few months ago and it was absolutely one of the best and most enriching experiences of my life. It's a challenging environment and a stretch of time that completely absorbs you. In that regard, it’s not for the faint of heart. But you absolutely get what you give; the education and career support at Codesmith delivers.

I was initially very suspect because of the sad reality that many bootcamps take prospective coders for a ride. I went to a ‘bootcamp’ in 2016, Beach Coders, and felt I walked away with nothing to show at all for my investment of time and money. Prior to Codesmith, I spent a year at a company working as a junior engineer and I felt that my day to day did little to move me towards software engineering autonomy. At Codesmith that all changed in...

I took a risk and moved all the way from San Francisco to attend Codesmith's August 2016 cohort. At the time, Codesmith was still a relatively new Software Engineer program and trying to build its reputation as the best in the nation. There were already well established and reputable programs like Hack Reactor and App Academy. I got into all 3 programs, but I chose Codesmith for the following reasons:

1) Small, intimate cohort size (15-20 students max). You will get a chance to pair with everyone in your cohort and connect on a deeper level beyond the curriculum. The staff and peers will not let you fall behind.
2) Very selective. Codesmith only admits smart, motivated, empathetic, and thoughtful peers. You will meet amazing people from all walks of life and build relationships th...

I'm very grateful to Codesmith as it accelerated me from junior to mid level in my time there and provided me the tools and mindset to jump from mid level to senior at my first full time job in the time span of 2 months. YMMV but you will at least be a mid level developer out of Codesmith.

From what I know, the hiring support and tips and tricks to get mid level positions even without any developer experience puts Codesmith head and shoulders above any other bootcamp out there.

The only downside is having to listen to the CEO's speeches every Thursday night. But in spite of that, it still makes Codesmith more than worth the cost and the 12 weeks of intense learning.

I have a very strange situation.

The first week of attending Codesmith, I was invited to interview onsite at a few companies. This was because of some resumes I had sent around before Codesmith.

During that first week, we reviewed a lot of JavaScript and CS fundamentals. During my lunch breaks, I went and did those interviews.

I did so well that many of the interviewers said they've interviewed developers with 5 or 6 years of experience, but never seen them get so many of the questions right.

A lot of that was due to Codesmith's great way of teaching fundamentals that many bootcamps don't teach, and many engineers don't know very well.

A lot of my success in these interviews is due to Codesmith. Thanks!

Me, before: Technical, non-software-engineering role at a software company. Engineering (non-CS) MS and BS from UCLA (Go Bruins). Very very little JS web dev experience.

Me, now: Software Engineer in LA. Making 67% more than I was before. Doing lots of JS web dev and kicking ass.

Thoughts: Codesmith is an amzing way to get 1000+ hours of guided, designed, supported time learning a useful, in-demand set of skills to get hired as a software engineer. It's super fun, too.

I think Codesmith's effectiveness is shown in my hiring experience. We set up profiles for platforms like AngelList near the end of the program and I got a handful of outreach messages from companies nearly immediately. Two turned into interviews, one into an onsite and an senior dev offer before I even graduated...

Coming from a .Net background I was looking for a way to accelerate my training of using Javascript throughout the full stack and to familiarize myself with modern frontend frameworks. After attending a couple of Meetups hosted at Codesmith including the wonderful, ‘JS: The Hard Parts’ lead by Will Sentance, I knew that Codesmith was the place for me. Even as a guest, I could already feel the genuine excitement for tech and self-improvement just by walking around the space.

From day one, the support from the staff and fellow students was outstanding. Whether there be a technical issue or something else there was ALWAYS someone there to pick you right back up and steer you in the right direction. I really loved hanging out with my cohort mates and to be honest asked myself more th...

I began looking into software immersion programs in the winter of 2016. In searching for pair program partner to study with for technical interviews, I came across a person on Reddit, who was at the time a Codesmith student, who offered to help me study. Only at the end of our studies did he ask what program I was shooting for. I told him Hack Reactor, since it had a solid rep, and I was already living in the Bay Area. He pushed me to look into Codesmith, telling me he too had looked into HR. He moved all the way from Florida to LA to attend.

I applied to both, and got into both. I chose Codesmith, because my Reddit buddy praised the school so highly, and believed in the program so strongly. Since graduating, I firmly share his beliefs, and know I made the correct choice. There are ...

TL;DR Codesmith is dificult from start to finish. It is not easy, but for every hour you spend it will reward you 10 fold. It will take serious time, determination, and motivation, but it is worth it in the long run.

Codesmith was without a doubt the best decision I have made in a very long time. It was not an easy process or stress free. This program is not for the feint of heart. It is a fight to get admitted. Then it is an even bigger fight to make it through. But this is what makes Codesmith the amazing place that it is.

First getting in requires lots of time and dedication. I was previously a juniorish or lower front end developer. Just to get in, I was working 30 hours a week studying and teaching myself. Trying to make sure I hit the bar. When it happened I was ecstati...

Are you stuck in a career that you aren't passionate about? Are you thinking about making a career change? Are you skeptical that a 12-week immersive coding bootcamp can transform you into a software engineer that is capable of being hired after graduation? Well, until I made the best decision of my life by attending Codesmith, so was I.

I had no prior experience in Computer Science aside from a basic computer class in high school. I even failed my first interview at Codesmith after studying my butt off for several months. But my determination went a long way. I cut nearly everything out of my life (would take time to stay physically fit by going to the gym, which I highly recommend after grueling programming sessions) to focus on my career change. I knew these sacrifices needed to h...

Codesmith's focus on creating talented engineers cause it to truly stand out among the rest. Before joining, I was coding as a side hobby while working. After some months I decided that I wanted to make a serious career change. I chose to look into some programs in the Los Angeles area, and noticed that there were weekly meetups held at Codesmith HQ, so I thought I would check it out. I was extremely impressed. Not only was the community full of energy and passion for what they do, but the focus on advanced topics like closures and execution context proved to me that Codesmith was the real .

I joined the July cohort in 2017. Joining the program was one of the best decisions I've made in my life. The intensive program was extremely challenging, but with hard work, you will beco...