Codesmith

Summary: its most likely going to be the hardest thing you've done in your life. None of it is easy. Getting in to Codesmith is hard, graduating Codesmith is hard (the 75+ hour weeks are no joke). Getting HIRED after Codesmith is going to be even HARDER.... Read More Seriously, getting a mid-level engineering role is hard. Don't expect to graduate and easily get hired. That said, I did get hired 10 weeks after graduation with a mid-level engineering role (but that was 10 weeks of 100% effort). If you're serious about moving into engineering, Codesmith should be your top choice. It will be much harder than you're imagining, but it can be done (even in a pandemic..!). Outcome: 10 weeks after graduation, a base salary very close to Codesmith median + equity. My Background: Non-technical major from top 50 public college. 'Prestigious', but non-technical work experience before Codesmith, so I just left it off resume. If youre making a switch to engineering, pretty much nothing you did previously really matters. Don't expect it to help you, it may actually hurt you if its on resume. I had written a little code before prepping to interview at Codesmith, but not much. Took 3 months of prep and 2 interviews to get in. Then had 1 month to prep before immersive. So 4 months pre-Codesmith, 3 months at Codesmith, 2 month job hunt, turns me from zero (pretty much) to mid-level engineer in 9 months. Granted thats prop an average of 45-55hr weeks working towards it.

Best bootcamp out there IMO, but I don’t think there’s anything particularly special about the curriculum. It is mostly taught by (extremely capable) recent grads, and all the stuff that is taught can just as well be self-learned (for a much lower price... Read More tag). However, “hard-learning” and hours and hours (and hours) of pair programming are where a bulk of the growth happens. A lot of people look at the outcome numbers and are skeptical, but they’re 100% legit. This is in part because Codesmith kind of paves its own legacy by making the bar for admission very high compared to other bootcamps. Peeking through the resumes of my peers, there were plenty of UC and Ivy Leaguers in my cohort — the kind of ambitious folks who would probably have been successful without doing a bootcamp. This isn’t to say you have to be a genius to get in, but you need to be dedicated and driven. By getting to the level where you can even get admitted, you should feel encouraged that you can eventually master Javascript land a high paying position in the industry. On the other side of that though, the community that Codesmith cultivates, and their hiring prep program are outstanding. You don’t really graduate until you are hired - that is- you have unfettered access to the staff and can schedule support sessions well after the program ends. These aspects were critical to me landing a high paying job within 3 months of graduation. I would make the decision to enroll every time.

The hiring curriculum after the main coding course was arguably half the value of CodeSmith. Not only does CodeSmith go over the fundamentals like time complexity and data structures - they push you to build countless projects week after week. In an industry... Read More that's constantly changing, you learn how to handle hitting roadblocks and you learn how to overcome them. The capstone project has you building a tool that actually gets used by the general public (my project currently has almost 800 downloads) - these are more than the basic "todo" apps. At the end, you get a 2 week course in how to apply to jobs, write a cover letter, network, and negotiate your salary. They give you all the resources you need - even after the program ends. I've seen rock climbing instructors, video production people, and everyone in between change their careers and earn a six figure salary - to say that this was a life changing experience is an understatement.

I just finished up CS prep with Sophie N. as our teacher for our cohort. I have gained lots of knowledge, developed lots of skills, stretched my limits and surprised to learn that I could do more because the way they have designed the program. ultimately,... Read More it was all worth it. even if its just a 2 week class, I got a lot out of it that i wouldn't get by just studying on my own. Thanks Sophie for being an amazing teacher. I had a wonderful time with your class. I’ve learned a lot and I am so inspired to keep moving on.

I enrolled in CS Prep with the intention of preparing for one of the immersives at Codesmith later this year. I wasn't sure what to expect going in but it was a great experience overall. The whole class (~30 people) was super supportive and encouraging... Read More of everyone. Our instructor, Sophie, was really knowledgable and seemed really invested in helping students and making sure they succeeded in the curriculum. I will add that going in I was surprised by how much pairing there was (every day), but I found it a valuable experience and the final project was a blast. I definitely plan to try to get into one of Codesmith's immersives after this positive experience. I'm only giving zero stars for job support as there isn't any career support with the prep course so it's not applicable to this.

I'm writing this review about one week into my first full-time job ever as a mid-level SWE, where I've been learning something new basically every hour but without feeling overwhelmed or lost. I am comfortable asking questions to my boss and senior software... Read More engineers without feeling like a fraud and offering opinions in discussions and standups. Both of these things are because Codesmith helped me learn how to learn and how to do it with confidence.

Why + how Codesmith is able to accomplish its immersive program outcomes:

You basically have to do the equivalent of a college-level introductory class before entering. I graduated with a computer science degree and Codesmith not only makes you learn valuable computer science fundamentals in order to pass their technical interviews, but also specific JavaScript concepts that I never learned throughout college. Remember this when you feel like the material is too hard and that you're not smart enough to understand it. You feel that way because the material is hard, and you're trying to teach yourself a new skill in the span of a few months instead of four years! You're attempting a huge challenge and you should feel proud of that choice instead.

Codesmith prioritizes cultural fit and learning potential over technical knowledge. I know this because as someone who stayed on as an engineering fellow, I conducted technical interviews for applicants. Here are some important things to understand about the interview process:
When Codesmith rejects you, it is not because you aren't good enough to do the program. Codesmith's curriculum is extremely rigorous and fast-paced, and we don't want residents regretting their decision to spend $18k on a program where they feel completely overwhelmed. In asking applicants to re-interview, we are asking you them reinforce your knowledge and fully prepare themselves for the program, as mentioned in the first point.

What I cared about most in interviews was determining if the person would flourish in the program and would contribute to the supportive + collaborative community that Codesmith works hard to maintain, as opposed to their technical ability. This is also true when interviewing for SWE positions at actual companies (at least ones that would be pleasant to work at): they care more about hiring a competent engineer with good cultural fit and a baseline level of knowledge over hiring a genius that can't work on a team or doesn't care about the work outside of writing code, and this is reflected in Codesmith's interview process.

Codesmith spends time teaching computer science fundamentals, which means data structures, algorithms, and time complexity. In order to progress as an engineer, you need a foundation to stand on and to understand what your code is doing when it is executed instead of just memorizing syntax that can become outdated on a whim. If the bootcamp you are considering does not touch on foundational CS concepts and seems to only be concerned with teaching you some specific "modern" technologies, it is a BIG red flag for the quality of education.

Expanding on the previous point, Codesmith ultimately wants you to become an autonomous, opinionated engineer rather than an expert in some specific tech stack. Especially in web development, frameworks, libraries, and technologies go in and out of style on yearly basis and anything you learn at a bootcamp may be obsolete 2-5 years from now. What really matters is creating a solid foundation in computer science, code design patterns, and system design concepts that allow you to jump off a cliff into learning any new technology with a really sturdy parachute. This is why Codesmith's curriculum places a lot of emphasis on the WHY of what you are doing: why would you use React over Angular or Vue? How does Node.js handle asynchronous JS and why does that make it a good choice for applications that needs non-blocking event processing? These under-the-hood concepts and informed opinions are what makes Codesmith grads stand out and why they can aim for mid-level positions.
The hiring program is almost worth the tuition by itself (I'll get to what really makes the tuition worth it next), as my new salary would easily cover it. The CIRR outcomes really speak for themselves so I won't talk about it too much, but the difference in comfort and confidence I felt when interviewing for junior positions right after college and when interviewing for mid and senior-level positions after finishing Codesmith was hundreds of miles apart. Codesmith gives you a very detailed and specific guide for handling every aspect of the SWE interview, as well as lasting career support post-graduation.

Everything I've listed so far in terms of academic material is stuff that could be found online with some creative Googling (which Codesmith also emphasizes as an important skill). But if I could do this kind of studying on my own, I wouldn't have spent a year unemployed before doing the program. What I really paid for was the incredible community created by the staff and the careful interview process that chooses good engineers that are also good people. In the pressure cooker that is a three-month immersive program, you will need an emotional support system to lift you up when you're doubting your abilities and I definitely found that in my cohortmates and the instructors. When I became a fellow and stayed on another three months to teach, I saw three more cohorts repeat the process of leaning on each other for support and guidance, and shedding tears at final shoutouts when the process ended. The supportive community continues even after the cohort is over as you go into the job search, as all the alums I contacted for advice were friendly and encouraging.

Ultimately, even though I was initially skeptical of Codesmith and it's weirdly high outcomes, I now understand how it is able to accomplish them after having done the program myself. The remote setting did not diminish the value of the experience in any way. If Codesmith doesn't seem like the right fit for you, I would still strongly advise that any bootcamp you pick meets the criteria described above.

I'm writing this review as a newly hired software engineer at an amazing startup 5 months after graduating. At the end of 2019 after I graduated with a non-technical degree, I wouldn't have thought this was possible. Codesmith played the biggest factor... Read More in this, and joining was one of the best decisions I've ever made. I heard about Codesmith through a friend who had already graduated, and so I took a look at CSX and attended a couple of their workshops. I was impressed with both the quality of learning I received and the energy that Codesmith possessed. But it wasn't those aspects of Codesmith that made me really appreciate what they do. The amount of care and support they put into each student, during and after graduation, is what made it worth it to me. I'm probably not going to be sending applications any time soon, but when I do I know the help and support will still be there.

Quick summary: I have no technical background, I studied about 500 hours before being accepted into Codesmith, and 4 months after graduating I landed a full time role with a great company, with a 150% higher salary than my previous job, and high career... Read More satisfaction.

Fiscally speaking, investing in Codesmith's immersive engineering program is worthwhile just for the guidance on salary negotiation, but it's a lot more than that.
The immersive program environment reflects the actual workplace for engineers, establishing professional expectations and building teamwork skills and confidence in technical communication. I knew that I wanted to apply to Codesmith after attending a Hard Parts workshop in NYC, where attendees are expected to technically communicate in a group. It gave me instant confidence in what I had been previously studying entirely on my own with minor interest in participating in any kind of bootcamp situation.
I spent at least 90% of my time at Codesmith working collaboratively with others. These team activities included: reporting regularly to stand-ups, preforming code reviews, mentoring newer engineers as well as receiving mentorship, using git collaboratively, preparing tech talks, and pairing - so I felt completely prepared to step into the professional engineering work environment.
Codesmith's curriculum is progressive and up-to-date. If you're like me and have no technical background, you may have to put in a lot of extra effort before, during, and after the program. I don't think I would have landed a job by doing the bare minimum. However, if you're ready to work hard, this is the best program to support you in your journey to professional Software Engineer.

Through Codesmith’s CS Prep and Full-time Immersive, I made a full career switch into software development.

After researching several immersive programs, CS stood out to me with their distinguished reviews. It was then learning JS through their CSX platform,... Read More attending their workshops and joining CS Prep where I was really captured by their unique curriculum and teaching style.

The full-time program was no exception as it continued to showcase expert-level instruction from guiding you through full stack web technologies to hiring support while fostering a collaborative and communicative learning environment. The curriculum is certainly intense and unapologetic (in a positive way), and it’s up to the students to put in the work in order to get the most out of it - trusting the system and embracing the challenges will set you up for future success in your job search. The solid community of peers and staff support are unique aspects of this program that set it apart from others.

I greatly value the skills, experiences and friends that I obtained through CS, and I recommend this to anyone who is looking for the same.

This ended up being an easy way to test the water before diving in. More importantly it confirmed many things for me. That I am ready to learn software development, that the schedule will be doable with my current life situation (full time job and two... Read More kids), that CodeSmith's teaching format is much easier than me learning on my own. There's absolutely no way I could have learned this much on my own. CSX is great, but doing both CSX and JSB is better, much much better. From what I understand, learning these fundamentals in development will translate to any language I decide to or need to learn in the future.