Fullstack Academy

Amazing bootcamp. Having come from a computer science background I thought that it would be easy, that was not the case. The courses were well taught, so much so that the students without any computer science background were on par with myself. The people... Read More there were also so helpful and amazing. I highly recommend this bootcamp to anyone who is interested in a bootcamp, it is clearly a cut above the rest.

Fullstack was truly an amazing experience and I would recommend it to anyone. Coming in with almost no computer science background, I was worried I wouldn't be able to keep up. The instructional team went above and beyond to ensure that I understood the... Read More material and provided every resource I could possibly need to succeed. If you are considering attending a bootcamp, Fullstack should be at the top of your list.

I was in the October 2017 cohort. It’s been over 6 months since we graduated the program, and I’ve tracked the progress of almost everyone from my cohort — maybe 50% max have been able to find jobs in the industry with an average salary of around $50-60k/year... Read More (estimates taken from Paysa and Glassdoor). The rest have mostly returned to their old jobs or moved in with their parents.

Most of the instructors were people who had gone through the bootcamp themselves and had zero real-world software engineering experience. We spent a majority of the time pair programming i.e., having concepts explained to you by people who understand web development possibly even less than you do.

Most of the few people I know who did manage to get decent jobs either had prior experience or a CS degree. Fullstack pestered those people nonstop to respond to the job survey in order to pad their stats and simply didn’t send the survey to anyone didn’t get a job. These bootcamps are constantly churning out people with near-identical resumes and skill sets, so expect there to be a lot of competition in the job market.

I fell for the reviews and really regret spending the $17k that I’ll never get back. There are infinitely better ways to learn software engineering on your own, through books, online tutorials and YouTube videos. Don’t make the same mistake I did.

I've graduated from Fullstack Academy Web Development Fellowship, the program sponsored by NYC Tech Talent Pipeline.

I have an awesome experience with FS, like the most of it graduates and here is why:

Instructors are outstanding. A lot of people complain... Read More that instructors in bootcamps are often don't have much experience in real-world development. It's not the case with FS. First of all, because they do have not only experienced but PASSIONATE teachers. I won't speak for everybody, but give a shout out to Corey Greenwald and Dan Soval who were my instructors. Experience in web development multiplied by the natural ability for outstanding public speaking and great desire to teach other people => that's the recipe to engage you in solving the problems every day, every hour, think about code when you go to sleep and wake up because of the dreams about code. Sure it's information waterfall brings you to that state of the mind, but instructors make this crazy state ENJOYABLE and ENCOURAGING. They really care about you and want you to learn. Thanks Corey and Dan!
Curriculum. It's awesome. Why?
No spread of tech. You need to master your JavaScript before you go further or you'll have a total mess in your head. All stack is based in JS: React.js, Node.js, and other supporting frameworks. If you didn't do development before it's even hard to imagine how COOL is to write your front and back end using THE SAME language. Sure there may certain trade-offs, but it's the fastest way to learn FULL STACK for a beginner.
They listen to the trends. The curriculum is always updating. My cohort was going through the workshops and some of them will be replaced for the next cohort. They curriculum evolve synchronously with the tech trends.
Hands-on experience. You always writing code, even if you don't really understand the topic. A theory was for self-learning and even lectures were mostly based on live code writing sessions.
You work either in a pair or in a group. Only a few assignments were individual. That's how you would work in real life, right? You won't be a lone wolf, you should always communicate, that's the key for learning and for life.
They keep you in shape with checkpoints and exams. No slackers, you gotta work and code to learn something.
Competetive admission. No random unmotivated people, everyone was crazy about learning stuff.
No asshole rules. They were really monitored and enforced.
Support not only in your learning but also in life. It's hard to learn to code from scratch in a short period of time. You will be exhausted, unfocused or tired sometimes. You may think that you stupid or can't learn as fast as your teammates. But they have a special counselor who can help you to overcome such psychological barriers and instructors are always caring and attentive.
Fellows!!!!!!!! Fellows are awesome, that's recent Fullsatck Alums who employed by FS to help you overcome technical challenges and be awesome. They like your older brothers and sisters who will take care of you if you lost :)
Career counseling. The job market is a MARKET. Nobody can guarantee you employment (unless US Army is paying for your education). But you can learn how not to suck in the job search. And FS is fulfilling this. They have a special time in the program dedicated to hiring activities. They teach you how to LinkedIn, write a resume, cover letters, provide you with sessions with a personal career counselor and ongoing support even AFTER graduation. (Like negotiation)
Ability to apply for a FS fellowship. Later to the end of the program, you can apply for the fellowship and become the older brother/sister I mentioned before. It is competitive but most of the people are happy with it, teaching others to solidify acquired skills and give you more confidence in a job search.
Social activities. It may sound silly, but they are VERY important. You spend the time with the people who an in similar circumstances but may be very different than you. Social activities (like a hot seat :) made our cohort solid like a rock and caring for each other.
Reflection. Each week instructors seat in a circle with students and listen to all your complaints and kudos. And they really listen and change stuff! That's amazing for every organization, but not every organization do this.
To draw a line I just want to add that if you want to change your life, change your career FS is definitely what you need.

In Fullstack Academy you will not only to learn how to write code, but how to become the better version of yourself, how to learn to communicate with other people.

Fullstack Academy's part-time Flex immersive was one of the most wonderful, worthwhile, and challenging experiences of my life. While there were some things that could be improved about the course, I can wholeheartedly say that everyone there is dedicated,... Read More intelligent, and fantastic. If you're thinking of applying to Fullstack, don't hesitate--you won't regret it!

Application

Applying to Fullstack was fairly straightforward. After filling out an online form and taking an online assessment, I was then contacted for a one-on-one interview with a teaching fellow. The interview consisted of two parts--behavioral and technical. Don't sweat the technical interview. They're not looking for experts, but rather that you have a good grasp of the fundamentals and can handle instruction/feedback if you get stuck.

Do not go in with 0 experience first, though. You need to, at minimum, understand the basics of JavaScript: variables, functions, arrays, loops, objects, conditionals, some recursion, etc. If you're on Code Wars, you should be able to solve level 6 problems with some regularity.

The Class

The Flex immersive runs twice a week in-person and one weekend a month. A block of time is set aside for remote work/homework on Wednesdays, though there is no lecture during this time. The class runs across two phases: a junior phase, which consists mostly of lectures and workshops, and a senior phase, which is when you'll build applications from scratch.

Eric Katz, the lead Flex instructor, is funny, insightful, and an all-around great guy. He's a brilliant engineer and teacher, and you'll be glad to have him as your mentor.

The curriculum itself is challenging and trying--as it should be. Initially, I had panicked and thought I'd fail, but I realized quickly that I'd be okay so long as I put in the time and effort. Every concept you learn in the curriculum is then reinforced in senior phase, which is when you go from a newbie to a software engineer by building real apps--from a shopping website to your own hackathon project to a fully realized final project.

The curriculum was supplmented by weekend projects Eric assigned, which helped us learn to build projects from scratch far earlier than senior phase.

Career Success

The career success team is great. They provide lectures on interviewing, networking, salary negotiation, and so on. But the lectures are the least of what they do.

First, they organize Launch Day--an event where companies looking for graduates come to the campus and interview students in a "speed dating" style event. Though I wound up not going with any of the Launch Day companies, I did gain several good leads there. It's also a great event and a good introduction to tech interviews.

More importantly, they provide you with actual support during your job search. Jackie Ore, in particular, provided tremendous support during salary negotiations--something that had always terrified me in the past.

Cons

The only cons I'd say are that--at times--the Flex program did not feel like it was part of Fullstack Academy. For example, the curriculum frequently mentions deadlines for the full-time students, a source of confusion for us at times. It also felt sometimes as if the full-time staff had forgotten us. I'm sure this wasn't the case, but occasional checkins through all 6 months of the program would have helped.

Aside from these minor issues, I wholeheartedly recommend Fullstack Academy. If you put in the work, you'll definitely succeed. Two months after graduating, I accepted a job offer to work as a software developer. :-)

I'm a graduate of FSA and it was one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences of my life. The program isn't just designed to teach you to become a (better) developer, it's also designed to help you become a better teammate, public speaker, life-long... Read More learner, and leader.

I came into the program already having some experience with web development and I needed help advancing my career. Even though I had some experience already, I still needed to do a some JS studying before getting accepted. They offer a JavaScript prep course that many people in my cohort took and it worked well for them so if you don't have a coding background already, I would highly recommend that. If there's one thing I give FSA a lot of credit for is that they do a very good job at testing/interviewing candidates before they're accepted. I'm not sure about other cohorts but I was so impressed with every single person in mine not only by their abilities but also their kindness. FSA isn't kidding when they say they have a 'no a-hole' rule.

The program itself is very fast paced and it isn't intended for you to learn everything you could possibly know about softeware development but it does teach you everything you need to know to be successful. You'll learn how to learn and this is the best quality you could possibly have as a developer. Frameworks will come in and out of style but having the ability to learn quickly and apply knowledge is very powerful. Of course, like most things, you can only get out of it what you put into it. They treat you like an adult which means if you're not asking questions or putting in the effort in projects or exercises, they aren't going to chase after you. You need to make the effort.

FSA is also very attunded to what you'll need in order to get attention in the job market afterwards. The senior phase allows you to build projects, explore new technologies (this will help you stand out from other students), get guidance on your resume and interviewing practice. I was particularly impressed with the career guidance I was given by Holly who made me feel like she would literally drop everything to help me if I had a question. I just never expected to get such personalized attention after I graduated but the staff really made me feel like my success mattered to them.

I think the big question everyone has is what it was like during the job search for me. My experience probably isn't going to be what other graduates experienced because I could lean on my background in web dev a bit but by week five, I had two job offers with a third very close. One of those job offers came from a company that attended our Launch Day (previously called Hiring Day). I know there were a few other students who got offers from other Launch Day companies so it's a valuable event that should definitely be taken seriously.

That's not to say those offers came easy though. I didn't take any time off after graduation (which is what they recommend) and rarely took any weekends off too (mostly spent that time doing take-home projects and studying). There were many many applications, cover letters, interviews, take-home projects, and a lot of anxious nights. It takes some hustling and, as good as the FSA program and career counseling is, it's entirely up to you to land that job.

Overall, I have very little criticism of the entire program. It was an incredible journey all the way from the initial application to getting that first job offer. Entirely worth it.

I attended the Fullstack Immersive Program in October 2017 at the Chicago campus. I came from a strong interest in wanting to learn how to code but no actual practical experience. Before joining Fullstack, my background was in psychology and then a year... Read More of sales experience. My strongest recommendation for anyone even remotely interested in joining the immersive program is to attend an information session that they host each month or so. For me, that was the point where I fully decided I wanted to make the jump and pursue applying because it made my perspective on the whole concept much more real. Rather than just being “something with great reviews that I read online”, I actually got to meet the people who run the program, ask questions, and walk inside the campus area.

I signed up for the boot camp prep program, which was great because it helped build up my foundational JS skills and also got me more comfortable with common programming exercises like paired programming and solving coding challenges. If you are new to coding or are even at a beginning level, I also strongly recommend taking the time to join the boot camp prep course yourself before applying for the immersive part.

As for the immersive program itself, I can easily say it was a very tough and challenging experience, but as you can see with many similar reviews, was also one of the most wonderful and memorable experiences I’ve had. There are many reasons for this. The first reason is, of course, going to be because of the peers whom you share the experience with. Fullstack holds strongly to their “no assholes” culture when selecting applicants and also has a somewhat difficult acceptance rate to get in. Therefore, it’s very likely that your cohort is going to be made up of a diverse group of determined people who are eager to learn, respectful, and excited to be in the program. With that, you get to share a lot of “magical” moments such as high fiving your coding partner after solving a bug you were both stuck on for a while, or the camaraderie that comes with doing intense coding sprints with your team to complete a feature before its deadline. These are all experiences that alone make the boot camp worth it and at the end, you will likely realize you are leaving the program with very strong friendships.

The second reason is going to be the learning structure. The curriculum will be very fast-paced and even overwhelming at first, but you will definitely hear from the cohort ahead of you the phrase: “trust the system, work hard, and you will be fine”. The learning process is also highly focused on paired programming exercises, problem solving rather than hand holding, and gaining the ability to look up documentation on your own. The good news is that the instructors are super available and are wanting to help you when you ask questions and need the extra help. Even better, Fullstack provides “teaching fellows” whom are graduated students who stay on for an extra three months and help the newer cohorts of students. These teaching fellows are trained to not give you the immediate answer when you ask, but rather try and guide you towards problem solving techniques that help you solve the issue yourself. Before students realize it, the teaching fellows become more like human rubber ducks and students start solving the problems themselves just by talking out loud the issue. Finally, concepts that you learn each week will be repeated many times and become foundation for future week’s material and what will seem foreign at first will be super familiar by the end of the program.
Overall, on top of a very adaptive curriculum that focuses on popular and in-demand libraries and frameworks, due to Fullstack Academy’s teaching style you will be leaving the program with increased problem solving skills and the ability to effectively communicate code to others, and these will be your most valuable tool sets in the work field.

In the end, I was able to get an offer three weeks after graduating for a front-end developer position with a company I am really enjoying being at. I want to be transparent and say that I was one of those teaching fellows and this helped me stand out in the interview process. I also was able to meet the company in person at the Launch Day event that Fullstack will host for each cohort. Realistically you should expect to have to continue to work hard in applying for at least a few months after graduating before solidifying an offer. You will have access to the career success department and the fullstack alumni community and they will frequently put the word out for networking events and position offerings, so these will help with your journey to getting that first job in the field.

At my job, I am not using all of the frameworks and libraries that I was taught in the program but I am definitely using the problem solving skills that I gained on a daily basis. I have access to a large group of Fullstack alumni for networking, and I have the career success team to reach out to in case I need assistance with salary negotiations or other career related issues in the future. I also got to leave the experience with a great group of friends. My time at Fullstack Academy was very strong and I was happy to write this review because I want to recommend the opportunity of joining to anyone who is interested in making a jumpstart into their career in coding.

II was a part of WDF Fullstack Academy Bootcamp for a period of almost 6 months and when I look back at my journey it still feels unreal sometimes because the growth I have achieved and the amount of knowledge I have gained in such a short period is something... Read More I had been aspiring to achieve for a long time. 

I found my interest for programming during my undergrad and I knew I wanted to pursue it as my career but I faced a lot of hurdles along the way and could not pave a path by myself through online courses and self study. My husband told me about bootcamps and how they provide you with the skillset needed in the job market today in a short interval of time. During my search for bootcamps, I stumbled across many options, all promising to offer the best learning experience and future career goals and i was over whelmed by the number of options I had. I decided to reach out to alums of various programs and ask them how their experience had been first hand during their time at various bootcamps. After hearing back from a number of people praising Fullstack Academy's teaching methods and how their curriculum taught frontend and backend in the same language (Javascript), I was convinced on joining this program.
The next hurdle I faced was to figure out how to pay my tuition for the program and the two options I came across on Fullstack Academy's web-page were:
1) Web Development Fellowship NYC Tech Talent Pipeline Program (free of cost sponsored by the state)

2) Their all female (Grace Hopper) deferred tuition payment program
I applied for the WDF program and gave the Grace Hopper as my second option( in-case i don't make it through to the program i really wanted to join). I was asked to take an online assessment and after a one month long wait time (the longest wait of my life), I was told I have not made it thorough directly to the program and that I have to attend an on-campus Bootcamp Prep Course and if i pass that, i would be officially accepted into the WDF program. How could i say no and honestly it was the best opportunity for me because i like working under pressure. 

Bootcamp Prep was a fast paced one month long course where we were on-campus for 3 hours on weekdays (evening) and were first given a lecture on the topic and then a workshop to be completed in pairs. (Yes pair programming was one of the things we were being tested on in order to qualify for the program) The instructors who taught us during this course (Sean and Corey) were the best I could have asked for. They were very experienced in the course material they were teaching and had a solid grasp on the concepts being taught. They kept us all on our feet and made the lectures were interactive and energetic. In this course, we took 2 exams and their accumulated score along with an individuals attendance and collaboration during pair programming were taken under consideration to decide who would be considered for the interview phase of the program. I was selected and after an online live coding challenge, I was given the news of making it successfully to the WDF program. 

Next came the Foundation phase, this is where all the pure Javascript core features were taught to us via online recorded videos and workshops( for WDF students, it was mandatory to be on-campus for this phase). We had instructors there to guide us and teaching fellows helping us along the way if we got stuck at anything. This phase involved taking a 3 hour long test every week to make sure each student was on track and if not, was provided with full guidance and help to keep up with the curriculum. The end of this phase was marked with a grand test passing which put me through onto the next phase; the Junior Phase. This is where all the major technology and softwares were taught and was the core portion of learning in this bootcamp. We started off with backend first and then moved onto to front end in the later weeks. In this phase, we were given a lecture every morning (sometimes twice a day) by our instructors (Corey and Dan) who by the way brought so much energy every morning that I found it hard to not pay attention to what was being taught and Dan with is funny jokes made sure to keep his audience awake and upbeat. Following the lecture we had to complete a workshop (pair program) based on the topic taught to us. Pair programming provided me with the opportunity to look at problems from another persons perspective which comes in very handy later on when finding jobs because you would be asked to solve questions in many different ways during interview process. The curriculum that was taught and the way it was planned to be taught was something I really found helpful because implementing a topic right after learning about it, really helped me understand it well and once i wrote the code myself, it helped me memorize the syntax as well. This phase also involved weekly tests to check the progress of each student and to provide them with any help needed. Study Saturdays were also implemented to help the individuals who were lagging and to keep them up to pace of the program. 
The last phase is the Senior Phase which revolves around projects and prepping for the job search related material. We had to complete a total of 3 projects during this time and they became a part of my portfolio once i graduated. This phase really hits it home because you actually build and deploy apps and web pages that others can access using the tech taught during the bootcamp and learning and implementing new tech along the way. Career advisers helped me along the way to formulate a resume, update linkedIn profile and  with other career related stuff. This phase is a little hectic with longer working hours but it really pays off since the things that I created during this time were the ones I talked about during many of my job interviews.
All in all, Fullstack Academy really changed my life because it gave me the proper skill set and knowledge that is currently a requirement of the job market and not only that, it also prepared me so that if i want to learn things on my own, I am more than capable of doing it now. The confidence I achieved during this program is huge and I was honored to be a part of an environment where everyone supported each other, no one was left behind and where no question was left un-answered. 

I accepted an offer approximately 2 weeks after graduating from this program and I was fully prepared for the process thanks to the amazing career counseling team and my instructors for being great at their jobs. I recommend this program to anyone who is looking to make a career change and just as I took the word of alums who experienced this first hand, take my word for it and you would not be disappointed.

I have a background as a professional musician and I made websites throughout my music career. I decided to go all-in and teach myself computer science fundamentals. I fell in love with programming and eventually decided that I wanted to learn web development... Read More as fast as possible. I did a lot of research and decided to attend Fullstack Academy. (I also considered the Hack Reactor remote program.) I was hesitant to attend any bootcamp - they're expensive, especially considering you won't be working during and after the program while you search for a job. It wound up exceeding my expectations and I'm so happy that I attended!

I've written a handful of posts about my experiences before, at, and after attending Fullstack Academy here: https://scraggo.github.io/

In a nutshell:

- You learn SO MUCH in a short period of time. I recommend doing a "Hello World" in all the technologies before attending. That way you come in already having gone through a first-touch.

- Time FLIES by! After 3 months, you'll be amazed at the projects you've built.

- My confidence went from a 2 to an 8. You'll be a real full stack developer with the confidence to learn anything new that you need.

- If you worked hard in the program, you'll really be job-ready. It's a monumental task to get an offer for a junior developer, but stick with it. I took an offer just under 3 months after graduating.

Feel free to contact me through my website if you have any questions: https://scraggo.github.io/