General Assembly

Pros - great sales pitch Cons - weak curriculum and no job support afterwards. I was told they'd help you find a job in the discipline of the course you took. They don't. They set me up with some 3rd party who didn't know anything about the partnership.... Read More When I called GA on it they said they don't actually help with jobs for that course. Really wish I'd have known that 6 months prior so I could have gone with Career Foundry instead.

This course was good in that it covered basic concepts and got you coding and building apps in a quick timeframe. As the term bootcamp implies, this is a very fast-paced crash course on key concepts and gets you building quickly, which is an important... Read More part of developing coding skills. That said, this course leaves a lot to be desired for the price. I took this course remotely and there are limitations to that. We had two great, very knowledgeable lead instructors but also had students in the cohort that constantly asked questions that derailed instruction for the rest of the class. Instructors were clearly stretched thin by the large size of our class and my understanding is that GA intends to continue growing class sizes even more. Toward the end, morale was pretty low and not much was done to improve it. Time is the biggest limiting factor with this course. In my opinion, not enough time was spent on computer science fundamentals, data structures and algorithms, and big O notation, all of which are crucial for interviews. Finally, the Outcomes career coaching support was not helpful for me. I have a few years of professional experience and have worked with recruiters before. My career coach was younger than me and offered little in the way of new information to help me in the job search. Furthermore, I was clear about my expectations to relocate out of the US after the course and requested help connecting with GA schools in my new country for networking. I was never put in touch with anyone. Additionally, I never received GA Alumni newsletters and after requesting twice for that to be fixed, I still do not receive those today. One reason I chose GA was for its continued networking and alumni career support, but at this point the support is nonexistent. For $16,000, this course is far too expensive. General Assembly's problem is that it is a for-profit school trying to expand and maximize profits while the quality of instruction suffers. I would recommend those interested to look into Leon Noel's online boot camp which is identical in structure and concepts covered and is completely free.

We have excellent instructors that are not only good at deliverying the curriculum but also had deep experience in the relevant industries. They are very supporting and provide great encouragement to the students. The curriculum is just right for th amount... Read More of time that we need to spend and sufficiently prepare students for thier next delopvement and growth.

After completing and passing the course, I had to wait over 3 months for the company to provide me my certificate of completion. I had to pester and constantly follow up, and never was provided any more information than, 'we're working on it.' Only until... Read More i resorted to social media did something actually get done about it. For a company that works with industry leaders I was blindsided by such a poor experience. I will not be taking a course from GA again.

The bootcamp was helpful as someone who is new to the tech industry. It helped me learn the lingo and understand new concepts. It’s very general and doesn’t go into much depth, but it’s a good intro class, just very overpriced for what you actually get.... Read More The instructors were really nice, but there is not much support in helping with networking or finding a job after the bootcamp as they advertise.

First of all, the course materials weren't bad, however, the instructors often just read off from the class materials they did not create (You can tell, some time they are as lost as us). The lead instructors for our class also only have a few years of... Read More experience in coding while the IAs have way less experience than that. Whenever a fellow classmate asked any specific questions, the instructors and IAs would just tell you to Google the answer (because that's how SEs do at their job). We have also compared notes from other bootcamps and some sr. Software engineers, we noticed the GA program definitely missed many important concepts. Secondly, many of us got "kicked out" half way through the course after project weeks, because the instructional team don't have a standard way to keep track of attendance. Thousands and thousands of dollars were tricked out of our pockets because of how unorganized they are. Showed the admin proof of us being there during class hours (we also passed all homework and projects), but simply no one cares. I personally would never attend any GA classes or bootcamps moving forward. There are many much bigger name bootcamps out there that offer better class structure and materials. At the end of it, it was just a waste of our hard earn money.

I’m currently enrolled in the Software Engineering Immersive. It’s terrible. The quality of instruction is totally unacceptable given what we’re paying. We get spoon-fed some easy concepts in class, the we get assignments which vastly exceed anything... Read More we we actually taught and we’re told to Google the answer. I would be more content if they just told us to teach ourselves (because that’s what you have to do in these courses) on YouTube and then pay a few grand for their outcomes program, but don’t put me through a Bootcamp with instructors who are either unwilling or unable to provide a level of instruction commensurate with our tuition fees.

If you wonder how GA Data Analytics course compared to TAFE and Master of IT, or self-leaning: I happened to have a chance to undertake all four in different ways almost simultaneously. I can responsibly tell you that GA is superb among all. TAFE is probably... Read More not even as good as watching online videos - its public education, but it will grant you free LinkedIn Learning account, so I can also tell you for sure that what GA taught is at least one level deeper than those online videos - after watching them you will feel have learned something but actually, you really don't know. I watch them AFTER GA's daily course and they are good supplements. I'm also a part-time tutor and happen to have a student who moved on to UON's Master of IT in Business Analytics right after I finished GA, and I had a careful look at what and how they teach - same content, but very academic with minimum guidance, so they will leave you totally on your own assuming you already know everything. Without learning at GA I would have no idea what the subjects were talking about to assist that uni student. From my research and experience with different providers stated above, GA is the only ‘’whole-journey nanny style' training provider for someone who knows nothing about data analytics. The course is very intensive - I had to catch up a bit by watching online videos, and 8 hours a day is physically demanding even though I regard myself as a veteran learner. But that means it is worth the money too.

The instructors were knowledgeable and supportive. They encouraged us to do our own research and to not be afraid to break the code. I became friends with the other students and we worked on deliverables together in groups whenever possible. This is a... Read More great place to start learning about Software Engineering. There was a lot of information crammed into a short period of time, but the lectures are available to view later on.

Pros: 1. Cheaper and Quicker Than a College Degree 2. Practical (Hands-On) Curriculum 3. amazing instructor 4. great content CONS 1. Too Fast to Keep Up 2.Sometimes A Degree is Still King in finding a job 3. Narrow Focus- you have to take other courses... Read More from other websites like udemy to learn more.