CodingNomads

CodingNomads is definitely a great experience. They take you to spot which is remote but at the same time very enjoayble to live at. This combo gives you the opportunity to switch off from your old routine and focus fully on learning. At the same time,... Read More the enviroment is amazing (I was in Playa del Carmen, MXN) which allows you to live pretty much stress-free. Ryan, the lead teacher, is highly experienced and good at spreading his knowleadge in a nice fashion. On her side, Kim, takes care of the details around the course which allows you to once again focus on learning.

Overall, I would gladly re-do this course. it was fun, I learned a lot, and it did not ruin my bank account. What more to ask?

Overall Review:
The CodingNomads bootcamp is one of the most unique and rewarding experiences in my life. Traveling to a foreign country and meeting new people from around the world with the common purpose of learning to code creates a common atmosphere... Read More that allows friendships to form over the struggle of learning to code.  Before the bootcamp I was in the process of transitioning from one career to becoming a software engineer and the transition has been rough studying alone.  The distractions of daily life or fatigue from being at work 8-10 hours a day can impede the ability to truly focus on coding.  Struggling on your own learning to code can also leave a negative and overwhelming feeling.  There were aspects of this bootcamp that I enjoyed as well as other aspects that I thought could be improved that I will discuss below.  

Overall the experience was definitely rewarding.  Kim and Ryan are two wonderful people who have the students interest always in mind. Their support in helping students can vary from reassuring students that the overwhelming feeling of learning something new and vast will pass, motivating students to push as much as they can, spending extra time outside of class to help students who seek additional help, or even planning relaxing activities in the foreign country to help destress students at the end of the week and also not miss out on opportunities available in the country.  I feel I learned a lot and am more prepared and motivated to move forward in the next step to becoming a software engineer.



A few things to note in my opinion:
* This is a bootcamp that is directed towards anyone who wants to learn but has no background knowledge of coding.
* The required preparation work before the bootcamp starts is important and will affect how well someone will progress through the course.  
* It is not intended to land you a six figure salary after graduation.

* It still requires time and hardwork to be put in even after class and sometimes on the weekend depending on the situation.
* Be prepared to work hard so you can play hard and enjoy the country of your bootcamp on your off days.
Aspects that I thought this bootcamp excelled in:

* Ryan, the instructor, is truly devoted to making sure everyone learns and is never stagnant.  He will spend the time to make sure everyone understands the material before moving forward. If you are ahead he will have different assignments ready to keep you pushing forward in learning.
* The course material is not set it stone.  If the class learns better with powerpoint presentations vs oral lectures vs a combination of both, the instructor will adjust the material to suit the class's need. If material in Java fundamentals is not as relevant due to the constant evolution of coding, it is noted by the instructor and relayed to the students.
* The material being covered in class is relevant to skills required for current day job opportunities. It is directed more towards real life coding situations and best practices in the industry are taught in class.  It is not about learning theoretical concepts.  
* Being in the presence of other students who are learning/struggling just like myself promoted a camaraderie that extended past the classroom. Study sessions with other students outside of class or even relaxing together during downtime made the struggles of learning to code enjoyable and less alone. Everyone is feeling similar stresses, worries, struggles, etc. throughout the course.
* Studying abroad in a remote country helped remove day to day distractions and worries that would otherwise preoccupy a student's mind (speaking from my personal experience).  This allows a student to really be focused on coding.
* Pricing of this bootcamp is a major plus that may affect which bootcamp future students will choose. The pricing of this bootcamp compared to others is roughly half if not less than half the price of other bootcamps. This is huge with regards to having the opportunity to join a bootcamp.  Living in Mexico for this specific bootcamp reduced the cost of expenses even further during the stay of the onsite bootcamp which helped relieve monetary stresses.

* The small class size allowed more one on one time with the instructor or TA if needed.
* Availability of the instructor extends past class hours.  If I had questions I could message him at any time (within reason) and receive a response within minutes.  If additional tutoring or studying sessions were needed he would make those available to us on the weekend. This availability is also offered beyond the scope of the bootcamp session.

* Job preparation and advice at the end of the onsite bootcamp was useful and informative.  Assistance with these aspects extended beyond the onsite bootcamp timeframe as well as the offer of assistance past the entire bootcamp timeframe.   
* The instructor is always open to suggestions on how to improve the course for future bootcamps. Constructive criticism is not shunned and solutions for improvement were welcomed. The comments for the selection below was voiced personally outside of class as constructive feedback for improvements for future bootcamps.
Aspects that I thought could be improved:
* A stricter enforcement towards class preparations before the class.  Our specific bootcamp spent a bit more time on Java basics to ensure everyone was on the same page but this caused other aspects of our learning to have less coverage towards the end of the bootcamp.
* Overlapping time coverage of the instructor, Ryan, and our TA, Caden, could have been separated out by a few hours.  This would allow more one on one time exposure or in person interaction for students to take advantage of outside of lecture.

This is a review for the CodingNomads cohort taking place in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico between September 23rd, 2017 through January 7th, 2018. The program consisted of 8 weeks on-site learning at a co-working space in the center of Playa Del Carmen, as... Read More well as 5 additional weeks of full-time remote work, where we are still currently working on our final projects.
Overall, I think that this boot camp was a great investment in my both my time and money. I highly encourage anyone that is serious about learning Java to consider attending for the following reasons:

1.) The technologies you learn.

Most coding boot camps are centered around learning web-development, CodingNomads differs in that the course is structured around java, which is the most used back-end language in the world. During the course, you go from learning the java fundamentals all the way up to be able to able to write complex data structures and algorithms. You will also learn spring, a popular Java framework that allows you to create secure web applications, create your own Restful API services, be able to integrate your code with relational databases as well as much more. During the course, you also learn how to use the command line, git, SQL for managing databases, and many services on AWS, including EC2 which allows you to deploy your code on remote servers. Most importantly you will learn to think and solve problems like a developer.

2.) The Instructor.

Ryan is extremely knowledgeable with over a decade of experience working as a professional developer. With his recent real-world experience, he is able to organize the course so that you learn the technologies and best practices currently being used. Ryan is really good at breaking down complex topics so that they can be easily explained. Above all, he is extremely generous with his time. On several occasions, he has spent over 12 hours in class helping students, and he routinely offers time on Sunday’s for students to review the material.

3.) Getting away from distractions.

The concept of traveling to a foreign country to learn computer programming might sound like a pretty strange idea, however, for me it provided the perfect learning environment. Traveling really helped me step away from all the distractions of everyday life, so that I could solely devote my time to learning as much as possible. During the course, you are almost exclusively surrounded by like-minded people who are also trying to learn how to code, which I found was something that was extremely beneficial and something that not every boot camp can offer. The co-working space we used was a short walk from my apartment and Playa del Carmen provided nearly all the everyday comforts of the United States.

4.) The price.

I think that you will be hard-pressed to find a better deal on a boot camp than CodingNomads. The base price for the course was significantly cheaper than all the other boot camps that I researched, with the added benefit of a decreased cost of living from being in a foreign country. Additionally, the cohort I was in was very small, so I was able to get lots of individual attention, something that you might not find in some of the larger more expensive boot camps.

Choosing to attend CodingNomads' course in Koh Tao, Thailand was one of the best decisions I've ever made. It wasn't an easy decision to make, but it paid off completely! The teachers - Ryan and Kim are one of the most lovely people you'll ever meet and... Read More are always willing to go the extra mile for you and provide you with help and assistance for anything you might need. They make sure you have a great time not only in the classroom but also outside! Overall, the price to value ratio was amazing and the whole group learned an unbelievable amount of skills over the course of the 3 months. I was concerned that the environment might make it harder to study and concentrate, but it was actually the other way around, as the calm, sunny and beautiful atmosphere filled us with energy and helped us to work with motivation throughout the whole day. I definitely recommend!

This was an amazing experience! I learned to code while I was in paradise on a small island in Thailand. While I was researching bootcamps, CodingNomads was one of the first ones I discovered and I kept coming back to it as I was researching others. It... Read More was the clear choice due to its curriculum (the fact that it was gonna be in an exotic destination was a bonus, of course), all other bootcamps focused more on front-end web development technologies, where core concepts in software development are never taught. The ones that did focus more on core software development were too expensive, sometimes more than twice as much as this one. Ryan (the instructor) was a great teacher and obviously has had a lot of experience in the field working as a software engineer in San Francisco for a very long time. The one thing I would strongly advise candidates that decide to join this course is to read the first 5-6 chapters of Java: A Beginner's Guide (the official guide by the developer of the Java language, Oracle) before arriving at the destination. It shouldn't take more than a week or two, but will make your learning experience much more effective.
Also, Ryan, Kim (the business manager and his wife), and all the others from the course were awesome! We had a great time together!

Having the opportunity to learn Java, SQL and AWS, traveling to a new place, meeting new people and paying less than in most bootcamp is something you can't miss. The CodingNomads bootcamp is very well organized and teach what you will need to be a successful... Read More junior software engineer. Ryan, the instructor has a lot of experience in software engineer and really love to teach so you can be sure that you will learn even when things get really difficult because Ryan will kindly explain things as much as is needed, you will be studying in your free time, you will be doing a lot of homework and most important you will be coding. It takes a lot of work but you can be sure it will be worthy. I don't have enough words to express my gratitude towards Ryan and Kim. They are successful young people, they have a lot of knowledge and are willing to share that with everyone. If you are looking for an amazing affordable bootcamp to learn to code, you should do this one with CodingNomads.

So I went to a coding bootcamp…
It was awesome!

CodingNomads delivered on so much more than I thought possible.

Here are the reasons to attend:
-Ryan (the instructor) and Kim (admin and wife) are great people and care about your success.

-Ryan is a real life... Read More software engineer with lots of experience, not an intern, not recently graduated. He knows his stuff, and he’s there with you every day.

-You learn Java, SQL, and AWS. These are core technologies that are in demand! Don’t take my word for it, Google it. --> most used programming language, most used database language, most used cloud platform.

-This course is less expensive than most.

-You get to travel to an awesome location with other people that are doing the exact same thing!

-Travelling to a new country (or at least away from where you live) gives you all the opportunity to focus on what you’re there to do.

This isn’t the right place for a life story or the answers to all the questions you most likely have, but I’d be happy to share. CodingNomads has my email and can put you touch. And if you’re interested in a coding bootcamp at all, you should really reach out to Ryan and Kim. They’re super genuine people and will definitely help fill in a lot of the details.

The CodingNomads boot camp is an amazing class that you won't want to miss out on. It is amazing because it is relatively affordable (compared to other boot camps with similar stacks), you get to live and experience another country (also very affordable!),... Read More and Ryan is a fantastic teacher, and his wife, Kim, is a great resource and an inspiring business woman. I am so lucky to have spent so much time with them! They are incredibly smart and talented and I can't imagine doing this kind of thing with anyone else. If you have the drive and the will, take this course!