General Assembly

My experience at General Assembly's Web Development Immersive was life-changing. After I got laid-off from my job teaching public school last year, I decided to take a leap and pursue my interest in computer programming. I researched programs and chose... Read More General Assembly because they are a well-established organization with a well-developed curriculum, teacher-support, and a great track record of graduates finding work in the field.

I learned so much during my twelve weeks there, and afterward I and all of my classmates managed to find entry-level jobs and internships as web developers. My friends who grew up coding were incredulous at how much we were able to learn in twelve weeks, but I really did learn enough to find full-time work in the field, and I've continued to learn more every day on the job, and I'm now contributing to a great software team, writing code and fixing bugs, and loving my work every day.

The teachers were great and devoted, and the organization gives them a lot of support for becoming better teachers, and in general everyone there was incredibly receptive to feedback and working on improving the program every day. It seems like a lot of money until you compare it to a semester at college, or think about the amount of time it would take you to learn this stuff on your own (if you ever could - I tried to teach myself before I got to WDI, but there were so many things that I really just couldn't have learned on my own, so many layers of technology and complexity - the gulf between playing around on codeacademy to actually building web apps is absolutely enormous.

In the six months since I finished my course at WDI, three of my friends have signed up to follow in my footsteps there. I can't think of any other decision I've made that had such a profound and empowering effect on my life.

What you get out of the program really depends on your own place in life and what you want out of it. It is not a magic job placement program. There is a lot of independent learning as the curriculum and instructional methods still need a lot of polish.... Read More However the instructors on personal basis are very helpful. It did provide a space to work, some work targets, and a great network of classmates. The easiest way to figure out if it's for you is to go to events that are organized at the space. Chances are you will find students there, chat them up and see what they think. For my own situation I don't regret it, although it was more expensive than I would have liked. Also note there are part time options now, both at Bitmaker and other competitors in town.

Personally I had a great experience at Bitmakers. I was in the first cohort and I learnt a great deal about creating web applications with Rails. I was lucky when graduating I had a few job opportunities spring up. Overall, its up to the student to learn.... Read More The bitmaker program provides opportunities and supports learning but the student needs to committee time, energy and absolute focus.

I was in the 3rd cohort and have had a successful and exciting experience post-bitmaker. I got hired by a great company, but left to pursue my own business which was actually just a continuation of my final project. Before applying you must understand... Read More that paying money and going through the hoops placed before you does not in itself impress employers. You must use the skills learned and your story to convince people of your value. Nobody gets anything for free, and you still have to hustle. Just yesterday I went to move a couch, I saw a guy programming in the building lobby and asked what he was doing. He showed me his site and I told him about mine, and then he offered me an interview. My point is, Bitmaker is the best way to motivate and accelerate your desire to learn to code, and should be viewed as such rather than a free ride to a dream job. The hiring week is a bonus, and can be used to practice pitching your value proposition and networking. And even still, I know many people who were hired directly from it, including myself. The best part about bitmaker is immersing yourself in the tech community, experiencing the completion of difficult goals amongst like-minded individuals, and sparking your inner programmer/entrepreneur. In the end, as with all things, it's up to you where the experience takes you. Happy coding to all who apply, and don't ever stop giving it your all.

I'm surprised by the reviews below. My experience with GA has been extremely positive. I took the back-end web development class (BEWD). My instructor was Gil and my TA was Justin, both were incredibly helpful inside and outside of class. I really bonded... Read More with a few students in the class as well. Overall, there's always an energetic vibe at GA. Nicole, our course producer, is always available and checks in frequently to ensure that we are getting the most out of the class. Perhaps the quality differs from class to class, but my BEWD experience has been incredibly positive.

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