Fullstack Academy

I had been planning to go a a coding bootcamps for months before being accepted to Fullstack Academy. I thought I knew what to expect, but the program exceeded my expectations. The first half of the program is dedicated to learning tools and technologies... Read More to build a full stack JS-based application. The pace is fast, but there is ample opportunities to refresh on content and practice more. The second half of the program is all about projects, and in my case, was when I really began to understand how many of the technologies worked when applied. This was the funniest part of the program and the part that truly made me job ready. The Career Success team, through their series of workshops on networking and resume re-writing, as well as the 1-on-1 coaching, helped me prepare and anticipate what I needed to have ready in order to kick start the job search. I am tremendously grateful to all the instructors and program staff. I could not have successfully transitioned into a career in software development without them.

Overall, I think that Fullstack Academy is a very good coding bootcamp, and I am glad that I attended. Fullstack is considered one of the best bootcamps, and I am glad that they have a fairly strict application process, so they only let in people who... Read More have at least a decent amount of coding knowledge. I did a large amount of self-studying before attending Fullstack, probably more so than most other students. I am glad that I did, because then I was able to get the most out of the Fullstack instruction and experience. I thought the instructors and instruction was overall quite good, although there were a few times where I thought it could be a bit better/the instructors could explain things a bit more clearly. Again though, it's tough, because bootcamps have to cram so much material in in such a short period of time. This goes back to my point about preparation and self-studying before attending the bootcamp - I think it's really helpful if you have a good base of knowledge, and have at least looked a bit at the topics and technologies that will be on the syllabus, so you are not completely lost when they introduce some of the topics. In some ways, I think this is a flaw of coding bootcamps in general - it's impossible to teach someone everything they need to know to get a job in tech in 4 months or so. One will have to do a lot of studying before attending, work hard while attending, and probably work a bit after graduation to sure up knowledge/skills in some areas. And ultimately, my other point is that coding bootcamps can be great, but in the end, you can (almost) teach yourself all of this stuff. There are so many resources available online at this point that are either free or very cheap. Is this expensive bootcamp worth it? - it could be, but I would say try to self-study a lot before attending, so you get the most possible out of it. My other slight criticism of Fullstack Academy is that I felt that the size of the class was pretty large. I think my cohort started off being around 37-40 people. Throughout the course, a few people did end up dropping out (and then a few people were held back into the next cohort, since they didn't do that well in the "junior phase", so they didn't get to go to "senior phase"). However, even though the cohort was large, the instructors and teaching fellows nevertheless did a good job of providing individual instruction where needed. In the end, I have a very positive review of Fullstack Academy. Could instruction have been a bit better in a few areas? - probably, but overall it was quite good. Was the cohort size a little big? - yes, somewhat, but not outrageously big and I still felt I was able to get enough help. Can you just teach yourself most of this stuff? yes, for the most part, but Fullstack helped me to get better in a few areas, and the senior phase stuff (working on a team, career services) I thought were very valuable to me. Ultimately, I am a success story, because after graduating (and then after about 3 more months of doing a bit more self-studying and applying to jobs) I got a high-paying software engineer job at a major company.

I attended Fullstack Academy this past Winter/Spring and loved every bit of it. Definitely a great way to get upskilled within the tech industry. The course was great and so were the instructors. The projects were challenging and the curriculum was fun.... Read More This is also a great way to learn how to learn almost anything. The structure of the program slowly develops you into a strong engineer.

This one was one of the best experiences I've had in my adult life. Sounds dramatic, but working with full stack helped me to reawaken the potential from inside of myself that I have not felt since college. Enrolling in FSA was the first step of my career... Read More change into software engineering. The admissions process was tougher than I expected. New students must have a firm grasp of javascript basics, and must pass a coding assessment and interview process to be placed in a cohort. The pace is described as "drinking from a firehose", which sounds intimidating, but is really a blessing in disguise. The staff is very supportive, and students are assigned to Fellows for more individualized help and feedback. I started to fall behind at certain points of the program, but the instructors recognized the pattern, and provided additional resources and weekend lectures to help me catch up. The fast pace really helps to instill confidence in students when it comes to learning new technology. In 12 weeks, I would say I learned at least 15 new technologies. This has built my confidence to the point where I feel that I can handle learning any new tech in just a few days. The post-graduate career success team has been wonderful to work with. There is constant support, and weekly meets to share resources, thoughts, concerns, and successes during the job search. It is a pricy program, but the personal growth, and networking opportunities are well worth it in my opinion. I even stayed on to serve as a Teaching Fellow myself. The experience has been very rewarding.

Fullstack Academy (FSA) transformed me from a beginner of almost zero coding experience to a full-time employed full-stack developer within 10 months. To clarify, the 10 months cover pre-bootcamp preparation, self-paced foundation phase, immersive junior... Read More and senior phases (the main body of FAS), and 3 months of job hunting after graduation. My program focused on web development; the curriculum covered a up-to-date set of full-stack languages and technologies, including Javascript, React, Node.js, Postgresql, and Express. On top of that, the program also strongly encouraged students to explore languages and technologies outside the curriculum through solo and team projects. In my case, my team and I also learned AWS, React Native, Xcode, among many other tools. Although there are always more new technologies to learn, the stack on FSA's curriculum turned out very useful and practical in the current market. In my case, the core technologies and tools I will use for my job are those I learned from FSA. Besides the tech stack, I was able to build three projects, which will constitute an important part of my resumes in the job market. Moreover, FSA operated the program using the method of Agile software development, which is widely used in the tech industry. My classmates and I practiced pair-programming throughout the immersive phases and the pairing changed every single time to make sure most students got to work together. We also built projects starting from writing a user story, to diagraming workflow and using Github Kanban, to attending daily stand-ups and weekly code reviews, and to a final presentation. All these practices prepared me well for the real working environment. The instructors at FSA are AWESOME! My cohort (2009 => 20 means 2020 and 09 means September, I know, it took me a while to figure this out) started during the pandemic. As a previous teacher myself, I totally understand the difficulties to teach online. However, FSA instructors did a wonderful job. They structured their lectures in a clear way. They were knowledgable, attentive and patient. They constantly checked in on everyone and were very willing to pause and answer any questions. Additionally, they all have different personalities, and made the lectures engaging, interesting, and funny in their own ways. (Jessica Bracht, Natalie Lane, Bienvenido Rodriguez, Travis Stratton, and Finn Terdal, thank you so much for being patient and caring!) I also benefited from the fellow system at FSA. Every 6-7 students at FSA were assigned with a teaching fellow who usually graduated a cohort ahead. Our fellow organized group lunch every week to get together, to discuss everyone's process and struggles, to share strategies and resources, and also simply to chat and to get to know each other. My fellow Bobby Ton was super encouraging and supportive throughout the entire process. He was there to support me when my laptop broke down in the middle of the bootcamp, and he also wrote a wonderful recommendation letter for me after my graduation. (Thank you, Bobby! You are the best!) FAS career assistance started during our senior phase and fully kicked in after our graduation. Career advisors gave talks on every crucial steps in job hunting. They also provided one-on-one meetings to help me prepare resume, linkedIn profile, and also a pitch speech (Thank you for helping me and supporting me, Dezzi Rae Marshall). Although I found it hard to do all this while working on my senior projects, it is good to just start. After graduation, they selected and regularly send out job opportunities, job fairs, and various events related to job hunting. I found this very helpful and the two job offers I got were both from the events my career advisor recommended. Moreover, it was very convenient to book a one-on-one meeting with my career advisor to discuss literally anything about job hunting. I discussed with my career advisor to speed up my application, report my progress and figure out what's working and what's not, prepare interviews, and negotiate salary. In addition, the career advisors also reached out to FSA alumni to organized panels, pair newly graduated students with experiences alumni to provide mentorship, and they also offer meditation sessions! (Thank you so much for always being there for me throughout the job hunting process, Trent Rhodes!) I highly recommend FSA. As I said in my title, FSA is an awesome program that is worth your time and money. If I have to say anything for improvement, I wish the class size were smaller and there were more guidances on the Async week. Perhaps these would not have been issues if it were not for the pandemic. Oh oh, one last request, please consider adding digital accessibility into the curriculum!

I really enjoyed the bootcamp, but I was definitely a special case as I was awarded a full-tuition scholarship which heavily influenced my decision to attend. The instruction was top-notch, and my cohort was mostly professional and hard-working. The skills... Read More you'll learn are valuable and marketable, but competition in the job market is intense, and you may struggle after the bootcamp. Most bootcamp grads will find a job in their industry in 6 months to a year after graduating. So, make sure you're in this for the long haul. The only negatives I can think of are that you could potentially leave the bootcamp without any notable projects on your resume. So, work hard to make every project a resume worthy one. You can also revisit them afterward to polish them up. It may also take some commitment on evenings and weekends to really create something impressive, especially in the second half (senior phase) of the bootcamp. Don't get burned out, but give it everything you can so that you're not disappointed after graduating. I did not heavily use career services, but found a job after 6 months anyway. It's a personal decision of how much you use what they have to offer, and personal opinion on how helpful you perceive it to be. Best of luck if you attend, we're nearing the end of Covid, but returning to in person classes in the future may be possible. I attended the bootcamp fully remote in the summer of 2020.

I graduated from Fullstack's Web Development Fellowship in July 2020 (shout out to WDF-2004!!!). I'm currently set to begin an internship this summer at a company that aligns well with my values and interests and will stretch my knowledge and experience... Read More of languages and tools I was exposed to at Fullstack. I had the privilege to begin the bootcamp prep in person with those who would be my cohort mates in January 2020 under the instruction of Sarah Zhao (who is so amazing at what she does). Post-lockdown, the program went remote but smoothly with Orlando Caraballo and Julissa Napoletano as our instructors. They provided a nice balance in the course of or class week, were very encouraging, and kept our learning fun. Retrospectives and check-ins with Oscar Robles were absolutely necessary for us as we were all experiencing the strain of being in lockdown and also the stress and trauma of social injustices happening around us. The curriculum was intense but taught us the full NERDS (Node.js, Express, React & Redux, and Databases using SQL) stack. We got to complete some fun workshops, pair program with our peers, and build some amazing projects during the senior (last) phase of the program. Those projects helped me when interviewing because I was excited to talk about what I've been able to build because of Fullstack. Career Success services and our Flight (post-grad) program were great and definitely instrumental in my job search success. Special thank you to Jolie Dudley, Trent Rhodes, and my remote coach Laura McClernon for being such an instrumental part in my job search and interview readiness prep. You feedback and support were invaluable. Overall, my experience at Fullstack was AMAZING and I would highly recommend them to anyone interested in Web Development. The Web Development Fellowship (WDF), which is in partnership with the NYC Tech Talent Pipeline, is quite competitive but allows you a tuition-free education with the same curriculum as a normal Fullstack student.

I decided to go with FSA because of my sister. Seeing what she built and how quickly she learned things in such a short amount of time was the push I needed to change careers. The course is split up in 2 parts: Junior and Senior. Junior: This is where... Read More you build your foundation with tons of pair programming and gaining the fundamentals. The tech stack: Node.js, express, React, React-redux, PostgreSQL. Senior: 2 projects consisting of 4 teams to expose you to a team environment and to put what you learned in Junior Phase to the test. The course ends with you presenting your capstone as well as launch day where you meet with 2-3 companies and then have the opportunity to speak with more on the open floor. It's a surreal experience. Career Department: I want to shoutout the whole department with providing resources and tirelessly looking for leads. I especially want to shoutout Trent Rhodes who's positivity was instrumental to making it through the applying process. In short, FSA is a perfect way to get your foot in the software engineering world and provides the tools necessary to succeed. My advice is to utilize all the things FSA has to offer, that means frequent meetings with your advisors! Be persistent and keep coding on friends!

I applied to Fullstack Academy though the NYC Tech Talent Pipeline for a chance at a fellowship opportunity. With a degree in computer science and the terrible market due to the corona virus, I knew it was going to take a lot more to stand out. That and... Read More in today's age, a CS degree holds little weight compared to practical skill in today's climate. Anyway, I applied, went through a bootcamp to learn the fundamentals of JavaScript. I had to take a midterm and a final to get a shot at the actual curriculum. In the curriculum we learned advanced JS concepts, frontend and backend frameworks and in the final weeks of the program we had 3 incredible projects in our portfolio. From my experience at FS, I can say that if I could do it all over again I'd go down the bootcamp route instead of getting a degree!! Shout out to Fila, a TA at the bootcamp. He has such an amazing way of teaching and would be available on days he was off! Definitely made me want to give back to the community in a more significant way.