Grace Hopper Program

The Grace Hopper program has been absolutely one of the most unique learning environments I've been in. It is fast-paced, and they expect you to work hard. The first six weeks were FULL of lectures and it was a bit of information overload. But the remainder... Read More of the course was much more project-based, and expands thoroughly upon the topics covered in the lectures. The staff and instructors are very willing and available to answer questions, but it is entirely up to you to ask the questions and get the help you need. They do not coddle people, but they will always set aside time if you ask.
My cohort was ~30 women who were overall very solid teammates and great people to work with, some of which I would consider wonderful friends. The projects are team-focused, and communication skills are essential.
The challenge for me is staying motivated and focused, as it can feel overwhelming at times. However, if i had been self-studying for the same amount of time as the program, I would have NEVER accomplished even close to what I was able to produce within this school. I was pushed beyond what I thought I was capable of, and I am forever changed and thankful for it.
So glad to recommend this program to any women or non-binary people looking to break into web development and programming.

I attended the Grace Hopper (all women) division of Fullstack Academy. I couldn't imagine a better environment to not only to learn but to completely change careers. I had a huge support network, between my three dozen classmates, half a dozen fellows,... Read More the instuctors, directors, and career success team. Additionally, the curriculum is up to date with the current frameworks and technologies most widely used in the industry--javascript, react, redux--which I feel gives me an edge both interviewing and once on the job. I just signed a job offer at an amazing company yesterday, 2 months after graduation, and couldn't be happier :)

Why I LOVED GHA - I made some amazing friendships in my cohort. Since graduating, I've hung out at least one of my classmates every week, and we have monthly get togethers where most of our cohort shows up. They're the most amazing group of women. I love... Read More them so much!

The curriculum - The GHA program is definitely the best educational experience I've ever had. I have many friends in tech recruiting who recognize GHA and want to hire grads from this program. It's one of the reasons I chose GHA. This bootcamp knows the skills that are growing in demand and that's what they teach you. One thing I wish I personally did was prep more before I joined, even before Foundations, because I always felt like I was playing catch up at every point. I loved my instructors, they are so knowledgeable and really want you to succeed. If anyone senses you're struggling they will do everything they can to help you understand the material better. By the end, I completed three projects that I can show to employers, and worked in agile methodology so I have something to talk about during interviews. Before this program, I would never have imagined being able to make any of these projects, but I did! And it was a good time too.

Something they can improve on - interview prep. I'm on the fence about saying this, since the job search is always a crapshoot, but I really wished this program took interview prep more seriously. We were taught the basic approach to white boarding, practiced hard questions 2 times a week in senior phase without much context, and had a 30 min mock technical before hiring day which is like 1/50th of how much time you should actually practice. My personal interview prep took place the weeks after graduation, at real interviews and through supplemental online interview prep courses. I received 2 job offers through hiring day though so I can't totally complain, but there were definitely some great opportunities I missed due to my lack of preparation.

I had some computer science background from school and had just graduated, but there was a 2 year gap between my last front-end engineering internship, so it was hard to talk about an experience from so long ago, without more recent work experience or... Read More projects having to do with web development. I decided to do the bootcamp because it was hard to get an internship having already graduated from college. I was at a crossroads. I knew enough to get a contracting position, where I would be trained for a few weeks, but would have to give a certain percentage of my earnings to the company for a year and a half, with very limited vacation time and benefits. I decided to pay the deposit for the program so that I could get an education that was more geared towards Software Engineering. Also, I figured I could acquire a salary of at least $100,000 with more benefits in just a few months. And that's what ended up happening!

Although, I wasn't really challenged given my background, I really appreciated the workshops and the lectures on the technologies I'd never used before, or dabbled with in the past, because I picked up on it very quickly. I took a quiz on PluralSight, and because of the curriculum, we were at the start of the "Expert" level for React.

I also liked their focus on having us understand what types of problems the technologies we were taught, were solving. We had amazing teachers, and I was lucky to be part of a supportive, and amazing cohort!

If you have a similar background, but want to be taken more seriously as a Full-stack Engineer, I recommend this program.

Finally, I got a lot of feedback on my resume, LinkedIn profile, and my responses to behavioral questions. These were all things I had trouble with on my own. In the alumni slack channel, everyone is so ready to help each other and give input. We set up a community where we could ask each other anything. Such as input on an email to a recruiter, or peoples' favorite resources for studying algorithms. It's a great and supportive community. It improved my confidence as a candidate because I was more prepared.

"If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together."

David Yang, one of Fullstack/Grace Hopper's co-founders, brought up this quote during his parting words to my cohort as we graduated. It resonated so strongly with me and sums up... Read More how I feel about attending Grace Hopper. Despite having majored in computer science as an undergraduate, I never felt confident enough in my skills as a programmer to pursue an engineering career. In addition to the practical skills necessary to land a software engineering job in 2019, Grace Hopper provided a supportive, nurturing environment unlike any I'd experienced before. It was such an incredibly inspiring and fulfilling experience and I can't recommend it highly enough!

I can't begin to express the mountain of gratitude I have for the Grace Hopper Program at Fullstack Academy. I was supported, coached and mentored by not only some of the best instructors I've ever had in my life, but my classmates as well. I was lucky... Read More to be part of a cohort full of women who ceaselessly cheered each other on and kept each other accountable. When one of us struggled, the rest of us were hell-bent on keeping that person afloat and along for the ride. I've met some of the most brilliant, kind and wonderful women that I've ever known in the Grace Hopper program. I am SO lucky to have the network I've forged and the friendships I've made from this program.

The instructors were top-notch, and their boundless enthusiasm for the material was always so infectious. I can say, without a shadow of a doubt, that these are the best teachers I've EVER had. They deserve a world of thanks and appreciation for everything that they do. The curriculum is constantly kept up-to-date with the most relevant frameworks in the web-dev community, and it really gave me an edge in my job search.

The Program Lead: being able to mentally and emotionally support us through one of the most trying experiences in our lives is no small feat. She kept us grounded, and reminded us constantly that our mental/emotional well-being was just as important to our success as studying hard. She's to thank for keeping us all sane.

Last, but not least, the Career Services team. I came into the Grace Hopper program with a Humanities background and a nervous assumption that my soft skills were nowhere near as valuable as what I could learn in this Immersive. They not only assured me that my soft skills and employment history would be an asset, but they taught me how to best sell myself to employers in *light* of this experience. They were quick to respond to every question/concern I had, and persistent in their fight to make me a successful, highly marketable Software Engineer.

It would be remiss of me if I didn't mention how much work and energy you will be required to expend to succeed in this program. You will be eating, breathing and sleeping code for the duration of this course. You will get back every ounce of effort that you put into it. Be sure to set this time aside for yourself to devote solely to the program. I've never worked harder in my life, but I'd do it all again in a heartbeat.

I attended the Grace Hopper (all women) division of Fullstack Academy. I couldn't imagine a better environment to not only to learn but to completely change careers. I had a huge support network, between my three dozen classmates, half a dozen fellows,... Read More the instuctors, directors, and career success team. Additionally, the curriculum is up to date with the current frameworks and technologies most widely used in the industry--javascript, react, redux--which I feel gives me an edge both interviewing and once on the job.

I can't say enough positive things about the Grace Hopper Program. I attended the software engineering immersive program from October 2018-February 2019. It was a challenging experience, but completely worth the stress and occasional overwhelmed tears.... Read More When I started the bootcamp I knew some basic javascript, but now I can build full-stack web applications. The instructors I had were amazing. They were enthusiastic about teaching and sharing their knowledge with us. The instructors were also patient when students didn't understand concepts right away, making the classroom a comfortable/safe environment for students to ask questions. The culture at Grace Hopper is something I think all companies should strive for. My favorite part of the culture at Grace Hopper is that they have an explicit "No asshole" policy, which I think speaks for itself. All of the staff I interacted with at Grace Hopper and Fullstack Academy clearly demonstrated positivity and an overall sense of care for each student. If given the opportunity, I would do the program all over again.

Fullstack takes the time to curate and update its curriculum to best teach its students the most relevant languages, libraries and frameworks. Instructors are always prepared for lectures and willing to meet individually with students to explain concepts.... Read More I was overall impressed with the amount of information that was clearly and effectively presented in such a short period of time. Not only do I feel prepared to enter the industry with relevant knowledge, but also the skills to efficiently learn new material.

Fullstack Academy met and exceeded all of my expectations. I had decided to make a career change to software engineering and was researching different bootcamps. I had heard great things, but it wasn't until I was in the program that I really appreciated... Read More how great it was. All of the instructors are excited to teach and the curriculum was well designed to get someone (like me) who had very little experience in coding up to speed and proficient in the stack they were teaching. Building projects was a great way to learn how to apply the technology and I am extremely grateful for the experience. Everything is taught in a way that is understandable and there is never a feeling that you can't ask questions. I highly recommend Fullstack Academy (and in particular the Grace Hopper Program).