Codeworks

As someone who had a previous career in Finance, I was looking to switch career to becoming a web developer. I attended the Codeworks bootcamp from end-July to end-October 2022. Prior to being admitted to the bootcamp, I went through a screening interview,... Read More built a simple web app and completed pre-course assignments. The bootcamp essentially filters out real beginner who knows nothing about web development and focuses on people who have certain levels of web dev knowledge and are committed to seeking a career as a software engineer. Due to the strict selection process, the bootcamp instructors and syllabus were able to drill down in-depth on various computer science topics such as Data Structures and Algorithms, and discussed various important JavaScript concepts, characteristics and properties and prepared one to be an expert in JavaScript and the relevant libraries and frameworks within 6 weeks. This turned out to be incredibly useful knowledge and preparation for the tech interviews. In the 2nd 6 weeks, I built a solo project, and worked with other participants for 2 other projects. I was able to built a portfolio of projects to showcase my knowledge and experience to potential employers after the completion of the bootcamp. The career service was also outstanding in helping me with my job search following the completion of the bootcamp. I received 3 offers within a month after the bootcamp and was really thrilled with the great outcome. Feel free to look me up on LinkedIn if you wish to verify my review. Pros: - The tutors really drilled down in-depth on JavaScript topics and prepare one to be an expert in JavaScript - Worked on 3 projects to allow one to showcase to potential employers - Worked with a team of other engineers and learnt about collaboration techniques and communication with others - Great support from career service post-bootcamp Cons: One has to be prepared to go through really long hours - 12 hours a day for 6 days a week - but this is also how one can be well-equipped after the bootcamp to handle any technical interviews or coding challenges

Codeworks does a great job of teaching a wide range of topics, in a very short time. I think the primary value their program provides is the projects you work on with other students. In addition to the excellent career support which helped me get a job... Read More much faster! The program is best suited for those with some prior experience, but as with most things if you are willing to work hard I'm sure you will do well!

Bootcamps earn a degree of cult following and I get a feeling that a lot of reviews tend to be influenced by students wanting to stay onside with their boot camp, the staff, and concerned about their job prospects....so thin on criticism. So I'll try... Read More to be as honest as possible in mine, as you should go into this eyes open. If for no other reason than these aren't cheap AND will push you to exhaustion. A major caveat here: I have little to compare Codeworks to. Others may be better. And I attended several open evenings at Makers (I was impressed with them...but more on that later), visited FlatIron (before they shut....and was similarly impressed), and even completed half a comp.sci degree. So, I have a bit of background, but don't feel I'm in a position to rate any one route above another strongly. Anyway, to the point. Graduated late 2021. Took a covid (and course!)-induced break for a month, half-heartedly looked at a few job adverts a few weeks later, and landed the first job I applied for (Front End Engineer, startup, e-commerce) in about two weeks. That was the story for pretty much everyone in both my cohorts - it is a buoyant job market, even for someone like me who I would rate as having solidly inhabited the lower quartile of my class in terms of ability, and was also the oldest at 46. First, Codeworks doesn't lie. It really is 6 days a week, 12 hours a day. You won't have time or energy for anything else. If you fall behind (look after your health!) it gets tough - I repeated the first half of the course, joining the following cohort, for that reason. Second, their claim to take you from "20 to 100", rather than "0 to 80" is probably a pretty good description of the course in general. The pre-course is intense and gives a good taster for the real thing - you are expected to learn yourself, make sense of complex concepts, ask questions, and receive questions back as answers. This is self-learning, learning by doing, and all of it consumed from the proverbial fire-hose. The course is pretty selective. They take a relatively small proportion of those who apply and while no prior experience is required, and students come from all backgrounds, you get the impression they are picking out some pretty sharp individuals from a diverse pool of backgrounds. The guy bored in his retail job, also turns out to have a maths degree. The girl working in admin has smashed a whole load of self-learning code courses and is exceptional. The guy fresh out of school and seemingly unsure of himself turns into (our out to be) a coding genius. Equally, my course had an airline pilot and a doctor also retraining in coding, and there were always some experienced programmers along for the ride as well. So competition getting in is stiff, and once you are in the cohort is impressive still. That said, while this might be offputting, for average folk like myself it has to be emphasised that everyone really does come from a wide range of backgrounds, all struggle at various points, and everyone is in it together. They were fun, inspirational, and all keen to crack on with learning. It should be added that a unique point with Codeworks is the shared experience with the Berlin, Barcelona and online cohorts, attending the same online Zoom lectures together. There was a really good social vibe with them (obviously things will vary from cohort to cohort) and it made it extra international and vibrant. Like all bootcamps, the self-learning component needs to be emphasised. If you are looking to be spoon-fed, or absolutely won't be confident unless you feel you know everything about a subject before moving on, the plethora of online/youtube/Udemy courses or a degree may be more your thing. However, as much as Codeworks has a structure, mini-lectures, and then day-long tasks, I think everyone I was there with would acknowledge the course was as much (if not more) about the collective pressure and structure it imposed on your world, as it was about any tutoring. And Codeworks certainly has abundant pressure. There isn't anything taught on the course you couldn't learn on your own, and to be fair, possibly more in-depth by virtue of having more time to focus. What Codeworks gives you is an intense environment in which you are propelled, by peer pressure and the intensity of the course itself. Culminating in the solo project and near-real-world group project phases. What I learnt in 12 weeks I hadn't learnt in two years of a degree and many subsequent years of "dabbling". I think all of us had been through the process of self-learning coding, buying (and usually never using) Udemy courses, and gaining and losing momentum. There's no option for that at Codeworks (or really bootcamps in general)...you are at speed before you start, confused and unsure from the outset, and hold that 'momentum/uncertainty' for the full duration! Some of the course materials could have been better, but they were updating them when I was there. Yes, some of the tutors are junior and often fresh graduates themselves...but they were all capable and that is a reality of the job market; any tutor who has been there a few months is a shoe-in for a £50k+ starting salary out in the industry, so they won't be retained long (and that could be you). Codeworks doesn't place as strong an emphasis on TDD as some other bootcamps do, though that may or may not be good and may even have changed. The job support was really good. I wasn't expecting to be so impressed by that phase. It is still up to you 100% to make the applications - apart from those who are offered teaching positions (who, to be clear, are evidently NOT being chosen because they are incapable of getting jobs elsewhere, but clearly had the ability to teach and were technically proficient). Everyone was expected to apply for jobs, and many jobs, themselves. This was pushed with the same intensity as the BootCamp itself - they won't let you off the hook until you have landed one. They have a good handle on what the market is looking for, how you need to project yourself, and so on. Having sat on many recruitment panels in my previous life, this was invaluable as while I'd consider myself experienced in this regard, I was clueless as to what THIS sector in particular is looking for. They don't however offer what the likes of Makers appear to have, which is direct connections and appointments... On the topic of Makers, I had planned to join them for several years, prior to going to Codeworks instead. They're clearly a very good and popular choice, with polished presentation and a somewhat hipster environment to study in. I doubt you'd be going wrong with them. However I was swung toward Codeworks, strongly, by the end; the longer course, a JavaScript (rather than Ruby) focus, the intense pre-course resulting in a higher starting/ending benchmark, all being major contributors. On the plus side, Makers places a lot of emphasis on "wellbeing", with lunchtime yoga, a focus on social issues, etc. if that is your thing. Personally though, I got the impression that Makers over-did this to the point (visible in a couple of course reports and clearly in their politicised social media presence at the time) that they strayed from being a coding course into something overtly activist. Fine if that meshes with you. But I got the feeling it might be a less than welcoming environment if you weren't so vocally on-board with the mood-of-the-day and that, ironically, their student cohort would be less diverse as a result. Perhaps a testament to the course, the job market, and coding in general, a lot of us become pretty evangelical for encouraging others to give coding, bootcamps, and Codeworks in particular, some attention. Do not underestimate the pace and workload - it is every bit as bad as you hear. But I'd struggle to think of other sectors (except perhaps the military) where, in a few short months, you really can go from nothing to in-demand in a whole new career. If someone like me, nearing retirement age, with a failed comp.sci degree behind them, and a hitherto unimpressive career, can make it work then it's highly likely, purely on account of you reading this, you can too.

Codeworks is an intensive course with an amazing curriculum. You learn concepts from top to bottom on both frontend and backend topics. I did this course having previous work experience, but I still got to learn so many new things. I definitely recommend... Read More this course to anyone who has no experience or even to people that already have experience.

Coding is very accessible to anyone. There is no shortage of resources online. But learning it in this environment felt definitely right for me personally. The first half was very structured, equipping us with the basic tools and the second half was a... Read More lot more open-ended giving us free rein to put things into practice and just create. Being able to bounce ideas off the others and always have a second or third brain nearby whenever I'd run into wall made for great learning environment.

Codeworks helped me change my career and i had an amazing experience with the instructors, teaching assistants and working with other students. The career / job search support was also helpful as i was able to get a job as a dev after a couple of weeks.... Read More However, it's important to brush up on your programming skills / frameworks before the program as much as you can to get the most out of the program. Goodluck!

I completed the online April-July 2022 Full Stack Development course and received 3 job offers a little over a month after graduation. I am currently working as a FullStack Software Developer. This program is absolutely worth it and I highly recommend... Read More enrolling. The instructors are very knowledgeable and helpful, and the coursework is relevant to today's industry requirements. I can contribute my successful job search to the Student Outcomes team. They really know the job market, and after following their advice, I saw a dramatic increase in the amount of interviews I was offered.

Whether you’re a total newbie or a more experienced programmer, the school ensures that each of the students start from a decent JS knowledge, on which to build then solid programming foundations. The program tries to cover the most popular JS/TS frameworks... Read More on both frontend and backend. Of course the amount of work is enormous and, depending on your level of expertise and addiction, you might find yourself coding and studying even more than the scheduled 11/6 hours/days-per-week. On that note, some of you might end up wishing for additional coverage of certain topics, but the workload is still pretty heavy and the skill level of your classmates will contribute to push you forward (you don’t want to be left behind right?). There’s no difference in the program between the online and campus based cohorts, as the students will all follow the same lessons and studying schedule. The teachers are experienced though they tend to change very frequently, so there’s no guarantee two cohorts will see the same faces. Worth it? Yes. Guaranteed success? There’s no such thing, but it’s still a great school overall for anyone willing to put in the effort.

If you are thinking about joining a bootcamp you should totally go for Codeworks. Keep in mind that Codeworks is an extremely good experience but it's also tough. The course is based on an inmersive program where you do 12 hours per day during 6 days... Read More of the week. It's the reason you can change your career going from zero to hero. You will learn as much as you want, the limit is in your hand. Keep in mind that the joining process is long; you will need a month for it and you need to know some basics (for this, what i did was a free course in Udemy of 80h and then I just enrolled codeworks). After the course, getting a job is a period of time of a month (more or less) where Codeworks helps you with guidances. I can tell you that they don't lie about their stats on jobs after leaving the course. To me it was the best decision I have ever done in my life. All you need is willing to change/learn/work and be a nice person.

Codeworks is an intensive course that makes you a bridge to enter the world of work. For those people who want to make a change in their life or continue to develop in the tech sector, this is their bootcamp. I highly recommend it, specially the 12 weeks... Read More course.