DevLeague

I was your traditional college student pursuing a computer science degree when in my third year I realized school just wasn't teaching what I wanted to learn CODING. I became bored at school and started to just teach myself how to code. I soon found out... Read More this was not easy and was not getting very far on my own. Main reason being, CODING IS HARD and its a vast ocean of information, I didn't even know where to start. I knew I wanted a career in the tech world and that traditional schooling wasn't giving me what I needed. Thats when I decided to make a change.

I randomly met a guy at the beach that went through a programming bootcamp and talked very highly of how they teach and his experiecne. This peeked my interest right away he told me there is one right here in Hawaii. I instantly began researching bootcamps and decided that Devleague was where I wanted to apply. I chose Devleague because of the amazing communication I experienced when researching the school and could see they just had something the others didn't. So I trusted my gut and applied the next day. They gave me a coding entrance exam which I have to say was very challegning. I worked around the clock on this project teaching myself different mark-up languages and coding languages. I struggled so hard with this, but along the way Devleague was there to answer any questions I had to help me without giving me answers. I knew then that they wanted me to succeed so I worked even harder to prove that I wanted to get into this program. After finally completing this exam I received my acceptance into the program.

After accepting the offer to attend the program, the work began instantly prepping myself before I even step foot in the classroom. And once again, Devleague was there helping me along the way from video conferences, chat, email. Anything I needed I simply had to just ask.

Throughout the duration of the program, we were pushed and challenged everyday with new concepts. The instructors were able to take something very complicated and break it down in a manner that anyone can understand, then solidified these concepts through project-orientated learning. The instructors were so knowledgable and helpful with anything I needed. If I didn't understand something, I just asked and they would sit with me till I understood it. Thats when I really knew I made the right choice coming here. The staff would do anything to help me. To be honest, I wasn't the sharpest student in my class and struggled everyday. I don't know how many times I thought "can I really do this?" But everyday I worked harder, saught help, and came back the next day. Besides the classroom, we were able to attend software developer meetups and participate in some amazing hackathons.

After completing the program, I look back at all my struggles and am happy I went through Devleague. They taught me the skills I needed to be a successful and confident developer and went out of their to ensure I had a great experience. Even after completing the program, the help still flows continously from job assistance, coding questions, interview prep and this list goes on. Devleague's motto is " to have a great experience before, during, and after the program". Well let me be the first to tell you they nailed it. In summary, if you want the complete package then look no further!!!!!! You aren't just another student to them, you are family and I felt that from day one. I would like to thank the entire staff at Devleague for everything you have done for me and continue to do. Happy Coding :)

DevLeague was undoubtedly the best decision of my life and this isn't an overstatement.

My Background:

In college, I originally majored in Computer Science. I enjoyed creating programs and the satisfaction I felt from making a working product. However,... Read More towards the end of the first year, I was beginning to doubt myself because the material was getting more challenging and all my classmates seemed to have been coding long before college started. I ended up changing my major and graduating with a degree in Health Science. I didn't believe in myself, and that was the biggest regret in my life.

I began working at a hospital in Boston performing administrative work. I knew right away that this wasn't the career path for me. I desired a technical challenge and I wanted to gain skills that were both rare and valuable in society. I began learning how to code again online. I enjoyed it a lot and I ultimately decided to quit my job and move home to Hawaii to start DevLeague.

I wanted something more for myself so I decided to believe in my abilities and take a risk. I left my life of comfort and normality in hopes of a brighter and more challenging career.

DevLeague:

Instructors/Job Assistance

extremely helpful, passionate, friendly, and knowledgeable
encourage your problem solving skills by assisting you towards an answer instead of providing you with answers
genuinely cares about your outcomes after the program and are there to help you make connections and prepare you for interviews
Curriculum

large range of topics covered but also covered in depth
many of the topics covered are job requirements or preferred qualifications for software and web development jobs
assignments were both fun and challenging

Summary

I thoroughly enjoyed studying at DevLeague and I would recommend the program to any friends who want to learn about web development. My advice is to believe in yourself and never give up.

Pros:

All aspects of Dev League are positives! All instructors and TA's were very patient with assisting us. With them assisting us, you could definitely feel the passion that they have for web development. Everyday had its challenges and doubts but being... Read More in a room with likeminded individuals helped push me through the entire 12 week course. I have developed friendships that will last a lifetime!

Cons:

Reconfiguring the classroom back to original state. OH THE FEELS! The classroom was my home for the past 3 months, i never wanted to leave!

Pros:
Everything about Dev League is a pro. The instructors were so patient with every single one of us and did not hesitate when help was needed. From the start, you could tell how passionate each one of the instructors were about what they were teaching.... Read More Their enthusiasm was so infectious that it made everyone excited to come to class everyday ready to learn. There is no such thing as a dumb question, and asking questions was encouraged. The curriculum was so relevant to what employers were looking for, and thats what I valued the most.

Cons: That it ended.. I didn't want it to stop.

If you're on the fence about joining Dev League, I would recommend jumping into it. You will enjoy your time in class and dont give up on yourself.

Pros:
The instructors were amazing, they were super supportive and knowledgeable in all topics that we... Read More covered. The classroom environment was amazing as well, I had a ton of fun over 12 weeks and would definitely do it again. In 12 weeks we covered a ton of content, created a bunch of projects, and we also learned how to build a full application from the ground up. Along with all the technical knowledge, you also create life long bonds with your classmates. I enjoyed the challenges that I faced and conquered and look forward to a career in web development.

Cons:
None, the hours are long. But when you and your classmates are figuring out challenges and problems, time flies by so fast that you might not be able to finish solving the problem.

Pros:

The instructors are amazing and they are very knowledge on the subject matter. The teacher student ratio is awesome at DevLeague and there are always there to listen. Not to be taken the wrong way however they really encourage you figure out problems... Read More on your own. Their main goal is teach you how to solve problems and think for yourself. Commitment is an key factor in this program you have to go in with both feet. The teaching goes beyond just technical skills the program also encourages group work and soft skills. At the end of the day no one wants to hire a jerk am I right?

I was expecting to grow technically and I did but I grew personally as well. Hands down this was the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. Programming as a weird way of humbling you and the ego. This was a struggle but I know I'll look back and be grateful for putting myself through it.

Enjoy your fellow students within the cohort they will be a crucial part of your learning experience. If you think you can commit to it and you want to become a better software developer I highly encourage you to take the leap. Not to mention it is in Hawaii a place some people never even get to visit.

Cons:

Sitting in a room for 12+ plus hours a day six days a week for 12 weeks can be hard very hard. You have no life, no exercise regimen and no sunlight. They don't hide this you know this going in. They do encourage you to exercise and try and maintain however this just isn't realistic most of the time. This does depend on what you want your outcome to be and for me I wanted to code as much as possible. This is part of the sacrifice and for me personally it was the hardest part.

The driving force behind my decision to join a coding boot-camp was waking up everyday and not enjoying the career I had. The lucrative salary was the only reason for me getting up in the morning and going to work. I spent many years in the IT field however,... Read More having held various Consultant and Analyst roles, these positions never really allowed me to execute anything myself. I was always promised training and mentor-ship but there was never enough time. I kept taking on more and more work that didn't allow me any room to learn the development side of IT. I wanted to be more creative, I wanted to build things, I wanted to make something that people used but I needed to learn how and college wasn't an option for me.

Decisioning- Before selecting Dev League, I spent many hours researching other boot camps. A few things that stood out to me from Dev League were the class sizes, the selection process, and the involvement of the founders. The smaller sizes appealed to me as I figured I would get more one on one time with instructors and not fade away in the background or be seen as just another student. The selection process is also a bit different from other boot-camps. Dev League requires you to complete a coding challenge that is evaluated for acceptance by the founders. Good thing Dev League also offers a prep course that covers some fundamentals of programming. This really helped me in completing the coding challenge. I liked that Dev League doesn't just accept anyone willing to pay the tuition. I knew upon being accepted that I would be in a class with like minded individuals who also put in the time and effort to complete the challenge and the founders were the ones making that decision not some recruiter or senior developer or anyone else. There was never any mystery of who they were. I would say that was the biggest factor in my decision. So, I sold everything I owned and my husband and I packed two suitcases and we moved to Hawaii!!!

Experience in Dev League- If you're looking for a boot-camp that is just going to feed you lectures and give you homework this will not be a good choice for you. The instructors do a great job of giving you enough information until the light bulbs go off in your head and the rest you have to figure out on your own. A lot of time is spent researching and coding trial and errors. Part of what Dev League strives for is teaching students how to teach themselves. Which was frustrating for me at first, after pounding my head against the wall a few times I really just wanted to yell at the instructors to just give me the answer! However, I think my toughest times were my greatest lessons. I chose to take the full-time course because I wanted to be 110% focused without any distractions. The days were really long, 6 days a week from about 9am to sometimes 10-11pm for me. It definitely takes a lot of self-motivation and drive to complete the course. Do not expect a hand out. Dev League definitely makes you earn your stripes. You are ultimately responsible for your own success. Dev League helps aid to that success by providing a great network of resources and support. Not only did Dev League offer professional advice on my resume, but a Linked In profile/social media review, active email distributions on open positions within the Dev League network all around the world, professional advise from the founders, and an extended "FRAMILY" of Dev League alumni. All of which I was not expecting. Also, from the beginning of the application process, to the Skye interview, to the prep course, the full time class, part time class, prep course, the networking events, the coffee hours, the happy hours, and all the way to after graduation the founders are involved in ALL of it.

Conclusion- Joining Dev League was the best decision I ever made. It was a huge sacrifice for me to leave my family, friends, belongings, and LIFE behind in Austin, Texas. I moved to Hawaii not knowing anyone, I had never lived outside of Texas. The course itself was not easy and it really made me learn how to brand myself as a person verses just making myself marketable just to get a job. It was the best investment that I've made in myself. I've made really great friends and connections that will last a lifetime. Three weeks after Dev League I received my first job offer as a Data Conversion Developer Analyst. A hybrid position that was created for me by an employer in the Dev League network.

If you would like more information about my journey to Hawaii or my experience in Dev League and life after Dev League, please feel free to email me at infonataliemacias@gmail.com.

I'm as "fresh off the boat" as they come when first learning of DevLeague and programming in general. I'm not a gamer, my phone's a S3, prior to DevLeague the closest thing to a laptop was my ASUS tablet, and I had some exposure to html, meaning - I've... Read More heard the term and seen it in Dream Weaver at work lol. Fortunately, DevLeague took a chance with me, my instructors and classmates were not only patient but super supportive, and now I've recently accepted a job offer and am switching career paths. Hopefully this reassures any other F.O.B. aspiring coders out there, that "if I can do it, you can definitely do it."

You graduate the program with a solid foundation as a full-stack developer, allowing you to navigate this huge and constantly changing world of tech, which can be intimidating. Yes, I still feel like a small fish in a huge ocean, BUT now I have a sense of direction, tools to navigate with, and an approach and sense of independence to problem solving that I'll be applying to any problem .. code or non-code related. I really appreciated DevLeague's approach to teaching the material, which was usually - teaching us the hardest way and from ground up, then rewarding us with easier tools, shortcuts even. Yes, torture, but super effective. This solidified our understanding of the material. DevLeague makes you comfortable and confident in addressing and learning the unknown, revealing to yourself on whether you have the grit or not in getting you there. If you were hoping for a 'technical' review, at this point, you probably realize you're not getting one. Because what worked for me in learning the material, completing 6 months in the part-time, and eventually landing a job opportunity .. were the non-technical mantras below, explained to me and my classmates early in the bootcamp. I literally have a sheet of paper in my apartment where I would tally each day of code. One day at a time, One month at a time ..

*ATTITUDE: have a positive attitude
*WORK ETHIC and DISCIPLINE: at least 11 hours outside of the classroom .. and read the docs!!
*ALWAYS BE COMMITTING

In addition to accomplishing your first step to becoming a full-stack developer, you join an extremely talented and generous community, all sharing the same passion to constantly be learning and solving problems :) I'm very lucky to be one of many to say, THANK YOU DevLeague.

I was enrolled in cohort 3. Starting Devleague reminded me of watching one of those war movies where a rookie is dropped into the middle of a war zone, is saved countless times by other experienced soldiers from getting his head blown off and at the end... Read More emerges as formidable force. This feeling is what made Devleague such a great experience for me. It felt more like an adventure than a class. Every second of instruction was consumed with something important and valuable. No filler time. The pace is blistering (seemed that way to me but I had no prior coding experience) but that's because it has to be. Not to finish the curriculum but to always keep us uncomfortable and guard against complacency (the death of skill building). It felt rushed but ultimately I learned much more than I realized I did at the time.

The instructors are top notch and 1000% dedicated to teaching, helping and are accessible at all times in and outside of class. So much so that I worried about their personal health. All have proven themselves on the field of battle prior to instructing.

Additionally, by attending Devleague I was automatically plugged into the tech community in Hawaii and participated in all of the high profile coding events that happened during my cohort. I participated in StartUp Weekend (my team took 1st place), Global Game Jam and the AT&T Hackathon. We also benefitted from numerous talks by local industry leaders and meetups. Thus there were and are many networking opportunities.

I didn't need any job assistance when I finished so I can't give a first hand account of all the details associated with that. What I can say is that the instructors and owners of Devleague worked directly with all students who did need assistance and all that I know of who wanted/needed a job did get one. I myself was contacted by three tech companies about interviewing for front-end dev positions. This is probably due to the fact Devleague announces to their employer network when a cohort graduates (once said they stubled upon my github profile).

What really put my Devleague experience over the top however were the other students in my cohort. There were eight of us and all of us made it. Everyone inherently understood that learning to dev is a team effort. No passengers on spaceship Devleague only crew. This really benefitted me because I was the laggard of the group and it felt like I had seven additional instructors. Inspiring stuff.

My only gripe is that I wish they had an introductory class prior to the start of my cohort. A little more formal instruction on JavaScript, HTML and CSS would have helped. Now there is an intro class for complete noobs such as I was so one can test the waters.

Worth every penny.