Epicodus

I was drawn to Epicodus by their low tuition, which I think is outstanding amongst its peers. You never get the feeling that you're being ripped off in any way, which was something I was generally apprehensive about when searching. The school is genuine... Read More and transparent, which as much as anything made my experience there cherished. Staff there was always engaged and helpful - albeit w/ an air of having a lot on their plates!

And that's something you have to understand about Epicouds - it's not an experience that's going to be able to hold your hand the whole way through. You're really working with your fellow students to wade through the world of resources available to you, guided of course by the Epicodus curriculum.

You pair with another student everyday and work through assignments together - so take note that this 'pair programming' is at the core of the experience. There are pros and cons, but personally I'm very appreciative of this system. You really get to know your fellow students and your all a big jolly group of friends by the end of the course, was great for me as I had just moved to town.

Personally I think Epicodus could offer a little more solo time for those like myself who felt like they really needed days to just spread their wings -- you do work on a solo project every Friday, but I did sometimes feel stagnant due to partners at a lower level or a slow curriculum day and it would have been cool to have spent that time wayfaring the didactic playground of the internet. That being said though, I really do dig the system - you develop A LOT of soft skills from working w/ a variety of different partners and it's great for exposure to a diversity of insights & perspectives. If I would offer one other criticism, it's that the teachers can sometimes be a little more rigid than they need to be, focusing more on curriculum grading criteria than what I think is the bigger question: whether we know what we're doing and are learning. But that's definitely small potatoes, and I can also be a bit delightfully mischievous :P

I was hesitant about doing a bootcamp because I'm a big self-starter, so learning to code felt like something I could have done on my own. But the experience of going to that space everyday and coding as part of our community of students really was truly invaluable, I learned a ton while there and can't imagine getting started without something like that. So as an educational experience: A+ (especially because of the program's duration).

Epicodus leads you into an internship as the final part of the expierience, great for me as I'm now working where I interned. The school matchmakes students w/ companies it has relationships w/, which can be kind of hit or miss. But it is a big step forward in terms of experience and finding an internship yourself (or a job of course) is just so harrowing that I'm grateful that process was kind of streamlined for me. I wish I could comment more on job prospects/assistance after Epicdous, but I really can only say that most of my comrades were not hired on by their internships and in the few months since we finished I'd say many of us have found employment and many haven't. I only have a limited experience of the Portland job market, but I really think this is an industry in which you can take advantage of unemployed time to improve yourself as a coder and a candidate. It's hard to stay motivated, especially when you could be getting paid for that self-development, but you really can just progress on your own and make employment more and more inevitable. It may take time, and I'd really want to be able to reserve something between 6-9 months to really focus on it in a patient and engaged way.

TL;DR Epicodus is a fantastic environment to learn to code and kick off your career, you'll meet great people and get great educational exposure. The more ambition you have to immerse yourself deeply into the dark arts of code, the more you'll guarantee your success.

Why Epicodus worked for me:

-great price
-great location and a nice space
-pair programming + group projects (I wanted experience working with others)
-the curriculum gave me direction and motivation i lacked when working on my own
-the cohort (I met and... Read More still am in touch with - so many great people)
-the internship (it was great to get some experience working with a tech company)
-job finding assistance (I actually found my current position through an Epicodus job posting)

Why Epicodus might not work for everyone:

-the curriculum is more broad than deep (that means extra studying if you want to go in depth into anything, which doesn't work for everyone.)
-it's better to think of the instructors as TAs (they'll help you when you get stuck, but there's no direct instruction per se)
-the amount you learn is self-driven (because of time constraints and the fact that Epicodus accepts students at all levels of coding knowledge, it is often up to the student to challenge themselves or follow up with the resources that Epicodus provides)
-your job search is also going to be largely self driven (again, Epicodus offers resources, but in the end it is up to you to follow up on them, do the networking etc)
-not all internships are created equal (it is possible that you will get an internship with a company that is very up and coming or not entirely certain what to do with an intern)

Epicodus is very clear about what it is and is not. From the get-go (as in, these are all things that I was told during my intake interview) they want you to understand that the instructors are more TAs than anything else, that your learning is largely self-driven, and that the goal of Epicodus is as much about teaching you HOW to learn how to code as it is teaching you how to code. This last skill is invaluable given the rate that technology is advancing - it is incredibly unlikely that you will never have to learn a new framework/language for a job. As long as you understand those things, are willing to put in a lot of work yourself, and keep working on improving after you have finished the curriculum, Epicodus will work great for you.

A few years ago I wanted a career change, and I started looking into learning to program. I had a few friends in Portland's tech scene and heard about code bootcamps through them. A lot of them seemed expensive for what you got. Then I discovered Epicodus.... Read More The price seemed reasonable for the curriculum offered, and they also had the best-sounding process for entering students into the job market after classes. I applied right away and was accepted several weeks later. The first week of class was a whirlwind. I began learning immediately. It was difficult, but the teachers and even the other students were extremely supportive. I cannot recommend pair programming strongly enough as a great way to learn how to code. You'll want to have the support, feedback, and knowledge provided by others who are all at various different skill levels. They also set you up with an internship at the end of the program. This is an excellent way to enter the job market - you gain real experience at a company, something you can put on your resume right away. If you're considering a career change, or just want to pick up a new skill, I highly recommend starting your journey at Epicodus!

I had a great time at Epicodus. I was always interested in programming and web development and decided I'd give learning it a shot. My instructor was great - very knowledgeable and supportive, and an all around pleasant guy. I really liked my classmates... Read More as well. I spent a lot of time studying, and made sure my time in class was productive and focused. I received a job offer upon completing the program, as well as an offer to be an intern for a company with the idea of becoming permanent after 3 months. As some of the other reviews say, I think if you are ready to put in a good amount of work and study (and be sure to pair with people, even if you don't really want to every day!), you'll get a well-balanced and valuable background in entry-level web development from Epicodus. The tone at the top seems to be supportive and encouraging, and that shines through with all of the staff that I've interacted with.

Overall I give Epicodus 5 stars. I got what I needed out of the experience, and am now employed in the tech industry.

The most valuable part of the program is being in a room with a large group of people that are at the same level of experience as you.... Read More This is invaluable. The networking, collaboration and pair programming experience really accelerated my skills. Working with a team on final projects and solving problems together added a new level in learning that was lacking in online resources I used previously.

The curriculum is largely very good. The inclusion of text resources to back up videos was awesome. The only frustration I had with it was when it was being updated while I was in a course. Sometimes I would read up for the next week, and by the time I got to working on a project or using a tool the applicable video was missing, or the text had changed. The changes were for the better, but It might be a good idea to only apply changes to the course material for the next class to maintain consistency. That being said, sometimes tools and dependencies change outside Epicodus control and I understand why some updates must be made immediately.

The instructors are hired from graduating classes. This is great because they are familiar with each project and the material being used. The instructors seem to be hit and miss, as with any learning institution. Luckily, mine were mostly hit.

The job assistance was not my favorite part of the program. The person that I was in contact with was really great, but as far as my understanding goes they were only one person supporting probably three different graduating classing at various stages in the job search. There is just no way that one person can provide support to a hundred or so students with different skills and career goals. This is a difficult point, because attending a vocational school and getting a job are not hand-holding situations. The burden of finding a job is on the graduate. I would have liked a more personalized approach however. Look at teachers notes for the student, and maybe send them a job posting or two that is specific to their goals. The support I recieved was mostly just a general check in and reminder to continue applying for jobs and coding.

Epicodus provides a very affordable option as a coding school, and it delivers a ton of value. My only complaints are based on a lack of enough personnel, and people cost money, driving up costs for the student.

My suggestions:

Hire another job search support person and deliver a more personal and less canned interaction. Two or three people in this role would be worth a modest tuition increase and deliver value to the graduate. This would also most likely increase placement rates and reduce the time till students were hired.

Teachers are spread thin, and students need jobs. Hire teaching assistants out of graduating classes. Pay them 12 bucks and hour, a couple days a week. You give instructors more time to address complex questions and work on curriculum. You give graduates valuable resume experience, and some pocket change to last them through the job search. This is how it works at a university. You can also use this as a screening for hiring new instructors. Just hire the best TA's. This is worth a modest tuition increase.

Any time you increase costs, you lose a couple people out of enrollment. I believe the improved outcomes from these two changes would easially offset that.

In Summary:

Great program, great people, no regrets. Got a job.

Increase tuition 5-10%, hire a couple people, improve outcomes.

I went into epicodus because I was curious. They introduced me to programming and I was instantly hooked. You start with the basics of learning a markup language (HTML) and applying basic styles with CSS. You will gloss over a lot of fundamentals of programming... Read More like how to make a for loop, or basic debugging techniques. You will get to know a little bit about everything.

The rest is up to you. You need to study on your own time. You need to make programming your whole life while you are at Epicodus and the only person holding you accountable is yourself. Because Epicodus covers a little bit of everything, you need to take the time a learn a lot about one thing. As an example, they'll teach you basics on JavaScript, but to really harness the full power of JavaScript you're going to need to study a lot.

Don't expect to work while attending epicodus as this is a 40 hour a week program. If you have the talent, you can do contract work while attending Epicodus to help pay for classes.

The coding challenges they have every friday are too easy. I left many of them feeling like they were not pushing me hard enough to learn more and just passing me because they could. I would have liked a more strict coding challenges that would have pushed us to the limits.

The course material was great, however, there was frequently errors in the material. This is ok though, as it will help you identify bugs.

Through epicodus, I was able to land a job at a creative agency and I am finally doing fulfilling work. I do not regret Epicodus at all as they provided an environment for me to learn something new, work with others, and help me achieve my goals. If you are dedicated and are willing to spend many hours outside of this program studying, you will succeed. The work you put in will reflect how soon you obtain a job after the program.

I took courses at Epicodus a while back, and am now working full-time as a developer. The classes offered a personal and effective education and provided a good network and valuable work experience. I got portfolio pieces, an understanding of the industry,... Read More and the tools to find a job all for a much more affordable price than other leading competitors. The staff are beyond friendly and helpful, and they make being successful possible and enjoyable.

You can read all the reviews of the numerous schools, but the Department of Education recently reviewed many coding bootcamps to partner up with traditional educational institutions. Taking from their press release, this was their selection criteria:... Read More

["Innovating to Improve Outcomes: The extent to which the proposed activities will produce innovative, high-quality programs likely to lead to positive student learning and employment outcomes;

Equity and Access: The extent to which the programs will provide equitable access to high-quality postsecondary education programs, particularly for students from low-income backgrounds;

Quality Assurance: The extent to which the proposed quality assurance processes have the potential to address key questions about how best to evaluate and ensure the quality of these programs and nontraditional providers;

Affordability: The extent to which the programs are affordable;

Student and Taxpayer Protections: Particularly for programs in which students will have access to federal student loans, the strength of proposed student and taxpayer protections."]

You can read the whole press release here, https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/fact-sheet-ed-launches-initiative-low-income-students-access-new-generation-higher-education-providers.

I know this is somewhat of an odd review, but I am sure you will read many true stories of those who were dipping into second or third careers and now are making bank as a developer because of their school they went to. I am one of the many living that tale thanks to Epicodus(Portland). But seriously 8 schools out of so many to be chosen. Why not check those out first?

I attended Epicodus earlier this year and ended up finishing the program with a bad taste in my mouth. It wasn't all bad but there are some major concerns for Epicodus ( and programming bootcamps in general ) going forward.

Curriculum:

The curriculum is... Read More okay. They focus alot on the how and very little of the why of things. I commend them for making all curriculum available online but there are a lot of issues as it stands now. You will learn a lot about basic web development and how to use version control, and how to plug and play various frameworks to drive your applications.

What you won't learn is how to actually program. The standards are very lenient when it comes to code review ( the daily peer review didn't really occur in my experience ) and essentially everyone "passes". Code standards are lax, best practices are lax, and I got the impression that they were more interested in keeping students happy and pumping out "developers" than they were quality curriculum.

Staff:

The staff is a mixed bag, and with them rapidly expanding to new locations I have a suspicion that the quality is only going to go down. Most of the teachers are former students, which frankly is terrible. Some of them were shaky on the very curriculum that they were teaching and students often rely upon other more advanced students for help because the teachers won't have a good answer. I understand that the concept behind Epicodus was a peer learning environment, and that may have been the case when they were a smaller institution, but there are far too many students and far too few teachers for it to be an effective learning experience.

Job Assistance:

Basically non-existent. One resume review. One mock interview. and they set you up with an internship ( kind of ). There are too many students, too few internships, and a lot of the companies that they are partnered with offer very low quality internship experiences. I heard directly from a company that I interviewed with that they would never hire an Epicodus graduate from prior experience.

Do not expect to hear from them at all after your internship, once again they will over promise and you will get burned. Be prepared to take on the job search on your own, which is not always a bad thing but anyone who expects to come to Epicodus and be guarunteed a job when they are done is going to have a bad time.

Conclusion:

Overall my experience at Epicodus was lukewarm. I met a lot of good people, and did land a job quickly afterword. But I credit my success to studying long hours after class on topics that were actually relevant and the fundamentals of what actually makes a good programmer. You will not learn these things at Epicodus unless you actively seek them out.

This school, with it's rapid expansion to multiple cities while already being on a shaky foundation, is beginning to look more like a developer farm pumping out under qualified and incompetent programmers with dreams of a completely noncompetitive job market which simply does not exist.

I caution you to do your research before attending any programming bootcamp and to realize that most likely you are getting what you paid for.