Codesmith

Codesmith is the cutting edge of what education ought to be. Prior to this, I had a Computer Engineering and Economics background, though in reality at University I had very little idea of what I really wanted to do, with both an entrepreneurial spirit... Read More and also liking the technical side and hands-on work. I needed a way to master and apply these goals. I soon realized that Codesmith was my proof of concept; it gave me drive and focus and you will learn how to embark specialization in the engineering field to acquire the strongest competitive advantage in a constantly tidal industry.

The first time I attended one of Codesmith’s free workshops was in NYC, prior to permanently moving to LA and entering the Venice chapter. It was one of Will’s lectures on the hard parts and examining industry trends. Aside from having the ability to clearly explain complex concepts to many non-traditional crowds with backgrounds ranging from Ex-Finance, Ex-Law to Ex-Biology and applying them to modern applications, Will is also extremely energetic and inspiring; in a way he is much like a motivational tech speaker as well as an entertaining and informative lecturer who advocates for dynamic learning. After attending the free events and preparing for a month and a half, I applied and got into the Venice cohort for Autumn.

The entire Codesmith team and existing students were extremely warm and welcoming and ensured we had access to the best resources and mentorship. The daily programming had a fluid and well thought out schedule and the team is extremely approachable when any trepidations arise. Unlike my past encounters in engineering classes or even engineering sororities/frats, I did not feel excluded or minute anymore. I felt that I had a voice and a true impact. I felt level on the playing field if not leveraged, and I felt empowered.

The culture at Codesmith is what every tech firm’s culture aspires to be like; it is hosted by a community of intelligent, enlightened, tolerant people which allows you to diversify your network outlook. The culture there will become your greatest advocate as you make the advance through pair programming and project based learning. You realize that there are many different methods to the same goal, the same problem, but raining on new ideas, constant brainstorming, feedback and examination is what will make you quick to adapt and highly performant to the environment. You also acquire an ability to skillfully embed creativity into the applications and systems you build, to ideate as well as decide on the key trade-offs behind design choice. Pursuing this is what will cultivate the depth of knowledge and leadership skills to thrive with any company.

Codesmith is not just a Software Engineering training program and its experience extends beyond the bounds of the 3 month immersive. It teaches you micro and macro career planning, careful decision making, and how to design and implement scalable, efficient systems in computers and in life. We learn to constantly pivot and to feed into our curiosity to grow in the direction of personal and professional development.

The hiring support is exceptional. The team consists of former alumni from Ivy Leagues, successful Entrepreneurs, Angel Investors and a range of well versed backgrounds both in and out of the field who were committed to my success every step of the way. Amid the rise of the global pandemic, Annie from the alumni support team remained just as resourceful, available, and was extremely adept at checking up on us in our job exploration and interview process. The team gave us the roadmap to success using industry knowledge and best practices to achieve our highest potential and held us at very high standards.

After I received offers from different companies, Eric gave me advice and key insights on negotiation strategies for salary, benefits, equity and pushed me to have the courage and confidence to do so. As a woman and minority in STEM, I have always felt the very present stigma of imposter syndrome and the victim mentality. I’ve felt discouraged from negotiating a contract at times, that I should just willfully accept the best offer presented to me as many women who have been conditioned to feel this way can relate. However, this time was different. After having the guidance from Eric and the entire hiring support team as well as many CS(CodeSmith) Alumni who have been at the exact same position, I was able to finally realize the value of having a different background than the majority and to see that as an asset. I ended up successfully negotiating an extra $10K on an offer and accepting a Software Engineer position at my dream company!

I have to say, I am equally as proud to be an Alumni of Codesmith as I am of my Alma Mater, and in many ways I have grown more professionally and industrially from Codesmith’s impact than I have from any other traditional schooling, organization or institution. This program outlines an extraordinary blueprint for modernizing education and the way it impacts career viability, professional progression, and is an archetype of education for the future. With that being said, I think it’s time to change your future now and let no time go to waste.

I come from a completely non-technical background, and started my coding journey with Codesmith from the very beginning--attending workshops, JSB, CS Prep, then the immersive program. The tuition for these programs all roll over to the immersive, and... Read More they also offer scholarship opportunities to those who are minorities in the tech industry. It's a great place to learn and grow as a self-driven, empathetic engineer, but it's also a lot of work, probably more than you would expect. Codesmith will offer you the structure, community, content, and guidance you need, but ultimately it'll be up to how much you invest and believe in yourself! Ultimately I'm glad I took this journey and thankful for everyone I met along the way.

The experience going through the Software Engineering Immersive program is extremely difficult. The hours are long, you're being pushed to grow in so many more ways than just coding and technical ability. But that's what makes it a unique bootcamp amongst... Read More all the others. Of course, Codesmith teaches all the technical stuff, but its true value comes in teaching you how to learn on your own. The course is structured so that you run into blocks, and learn as you push through them. There's plenty of help and support along the way, making sure that when you leave Codesmith you have the confidence and ability to tackle any problem.

I attended the Beginner JS Course through CodeSmith. Overall, the experience was really good. Typically, the workshop spans over 2 weeks, however, this particular session was crammed over a weekend. It was intense. I think it gave a flavor for how the... Read More immersive program would feel like.

I'm familiar with some of the basic aspects of JS like loops and functions. During the course, I was able to ask detailed/ specific questions. I like how the lectures are designed. Each student will get multiple opportunity to explain how JS would work in a given scenario - the responses are technical. This is great because communication is a huge part of programming.

The pair programming was a great experience as well. I got to work with a few folks that were more experience than I was and some that were less experience. I choose CodeSmith because of the format and strongly recommend it.

Curriculum: 10/10
My Instructor was Sophie Nye. I have nothing but superlatives to describe Sophie. She was knowledgeable, extremely thoughtful and, patient. She had an infectious energy that radiated over the entire course. Spend six hours in class is... Read More an uphill battle even for the highly motivated(which the cohort was), but Sophie made us feel safe, and serious but not too serious. The depth with which she answered each question was thoughtful, and without spoon-feeding. She constantly challenged us over the three days and we are all better because of it. I know I am.

Instructors: 10/10
This course will help you to solidify the foundational concepts of Javascript, but takes it further. This course pushes you to be able to upgrade your technical communication. Most of us could answer questions, but when asked to not only answer but explain your full understanding of what is happening is where we all grew. You can easily find courses that can teach you the basics of Javascript, but I was unable to find one that really pushed me to understand what was going on with every line of code I executed. The best part of my CodeSmith experience (so far, more on this later) is the people I was able to meet and form fast friendships with. You get the opportunity to meet people from all walks of life, who are highly motivated and very welcoming. These are bonds that I hope to keep throughout my CodeSmith journey and well after.

Overall Experience: 10/10

If you are on the fence let me share some more information that may help:

After completing JSB, if you are accepted into CS Prep, & later into one of the Software Engineering Immersive programs, your JavaScript for Beginners tuition will be applied to the next program you take. (This was huge in my initial decision making) If costs is a deterrent like it is for me. CodeSmith has very good scholarship programs (fingers crossed).

I was extremely satisfied with the JSB experience, and I highly recommend this course for anyone who wants to really learn on a higher level. I believe so much in every word I just wrote that based on my experience in JavaScript for Beginners, I have applied for the CSPrep and then will apply for the Full-time software engineering immersive.

I started this course knowing next to nothing about coding besides a few small lessons (ie what a variable is). This class goes over all of that and more, providing a foundation for more advanced courses. More importantly, this course gives a great taste... Read More of what coding is like and whether it may be the right path for you. The final assignment is a fun group project where you create a text-based game. I got really into it and along with my partner ended up creating one that was pretty advanced for my level, which encouraged me to keep going forward with my journey. If you're just starting out and not sure where you should start, this is the course for you!

This review is for working professionals considering the pivot into Software Engineering

My Background:

Located in NYC - Previously working in a Fortune 50 company as a tech-adjacent manager for over 4 years in the Financial Risk industry. In May 2019 I... Read More was notified that my role was being outsourced and was given a choice of relocating to another state with a pay cut or get laid off. My dream was to someday be in command of my own career and have skills that employers sought after instead being a budget item that needed to undergo annual cost-reduction.

CodeSmith Experience:

I started off by attending free meetups and found myself at CodeSmith to attend JavaScript the Hard Parts. I am the first person to go through the trifecta, (JS for Beginners, CS Prep, and the Immersive program) It wasn’t easy. CodeSmith was one of the most challenging endeavors I signed up for in my career. There are plenty of reviews online that will go into detail on the curriculum but the main take away is that there is no real secret. There are hundreds of learning material available online for free. What I’ve gotten out of CodeSmith as an experienced professional is a room full of people from multiple industries leveraging their prior work experiences to constantly push each other to consider multiple perspectives and solve problems in ways I could not have done via tutorials or coding on my own. This is why CodeSmith is able to grow residents into mature senior engineers.

CodeSmith isn’t a place to pay money to sit down and coast to a high paying career. I relate CodeSmith to giving me a map, but I still had to manually drive down the road and figure out where to turn along the way.

Afterwards/Summary:

From being laid off back in May, to learning JavaScript and going through Hard Parts, JSB, and CS Prep in June-July, to the Immersive program from July-October, I’ve put in over 80 hours of work per week to improve myself. This wasn’t easy for me nor for my loved ones whom would only see me for a few hours on a good week. (The community was caring and ensured I got enough sleep)

5 weeks after graduation and two offers later, I will be starting my first job as a Senior Software Engineer next week with an above average 6-figure salary. My most valuable asset is my software engineering knowledge which I’ve sharpened and grown throughout CodeSmith. I am confident now in my job security and the ability to find more work in the future when the time comes. The tech and skill set I’ve learned are highly sought after in the job market. A major selling point for CodeSmith - If certain frameworks or libraries are no longer in demand, CodeSmith tends to remove older content in favor of newer content that is more competitive in the job market.

I came from zero JavaScript knowledge working at an unfulfilling job to taking my first step into Software Engineering. I truly believe that it doesn’t matter how you learn or what program you take if you put in the hard work, but CodeSmith definitely expedited the process and made me never give up.

(Personal Back Ground Information - if you just want the review, then you can skip this part :D)

To start off, my background was actually in Business and Marketing. However, I was interested in coding when I started my own business during my senior year... Read More in college. It was a professor evaluation website. Of course, I made the website by hiring an engineer, but it was a very good opportunity for me even though I was just giving them directions. I very much wanted to learn about coding at the time, but I didn't have many opportunities or time to learn it because I was already in my senior year of business management. When I could, I would watch coding tutorials on YouTube or blogs in my spare time, but it was hard to stay consistent due to my schoolwork After I graduated I worked for a fashion company, and it was difficult to study in the evening because the fashion industry demanded a lot of commitment with a lot of overtime.

But my engineer friend, who knew that I was interested in coding, told me he would be willing to help me learn about HTML. After I learned the basic elements of HTML and how HTML works on webs, I found it very interesting and fun and I wanted to learn more. Then I studied CSS and decided that I wanted to become a software engineer. The most attractive thing to me about coding is that what I do is visual and produces immediate results. It is the same reason I liked math since I was young. They both produce immediate answers and I'm able to check if the answer is right or not when I put the formula in. Although I've just started learning to code, even if it becomes too difficult or frustrating I am confident that I can solve those difficult problems and hopefully feel a sense of accomplishment when I solve them.

(CodeSmith Experience)

Overall Experience: 10/10
I think the most important thing is the basics. This class will help you to solidify the foundation of Javascript. You can easily find courses of basic Javascript, but they don't talk about every detail of concepts. Not only it explains concepts and terms more specifically, but also it gives you endless example problems and challenges. If you want, challenges are endless. Also, you can ask a question whenever you want!! This is the best part of CodeSmith. Through CSX or JSB Slack, you can get help from many other students or instructors.

Instructors: 10/10
My Instructor was MICHELLE HERRERA!! First of all, she's full of energy. She makes our class energetic. As you know 6 hours class is not easy, but she makes me feel like 'I can study more than 6 hours!!'. Also, she's always very welcome if we have questions. She helps me until I really understand the concept or question. I can feel like she really loves to teach us and it certainly motivated me to work more hard.

Curriculum: 9/10
I had 2 weeks and a day class. 1st, 2nd Saturday(9 AM/PST-3 PM/PST) and Monday(9 AM/PST: Assessment&6 PM/PST:Group Challenge Presentation). Curriculum wise it's great but I would say I needed more time to solve the challenges or problems. I understand the concepts 100% but it doesn't mean that I can solve the challenge. I hope I could learn how to apply the concepts that I learned in the class in challenges. I really hope CodeSmith have workshops that solve CSX challenges together from an overview of CSX to Chrome Extension!!! or please upload the videos! That would help A LOT!!!

(+ Tip)
If you are accepted into CS Prep, & later into one of our Software Engineering Immersive programs, your JavaScript for Beginners tuition will be applied to the next program you take.

CodeSmith have very good scholarship programs!!

Since I passed the assessment, I receive automatic acceptance into CS Prep.

I'm very satisfied with the JSB experience, and I highly recommend this course if you don't have a computer science background! I'm sure that I would apply for CSPrep and Full-time software engineering immersive!!!

I had been doing a lot of work on my own and felt like I was cutting through frozen butter. I was making progress but every step took a lot of work and I had some bruises on my forehead from my desk. CS Prep gave me a glowing hot knife. I have a much... Read More better foundation and toolset for moving forward. It's hard to know what you don't know but CS Prep and my cohort helped shine a light on the foundations.

The pair-programming we did was also fantastic. I learned the most from these sessions. Whether it was with someone more advanced than myself or someone struggling to understand the concepts, I walked away miles ahead of where I started. The pedagogy of the assignments was also great at creating those lasting "aha!" moments.

I definitely recommend the program, especially if you are aiming to get into a bootcamp (especially Codesmith).

So you should go into the Codesmith program already knowing about some Javascript. It's a good thing they talk to you beforehand and have many free tutorials online that you can study before immersing your into the CS prep. They teach you a lot of valuable... Read More tools, give you ample time to pair program, and really get you set for the whole coding process. Always there for you and do a great job of community building. Highly recommended.