Grace Hopper Program

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).

I had a great experience at Grace Hopper at Fullstack Academy and I learned a lot. It is expensive but is a good investment in your education. Overall I would recommend, but it’s not perfect.

Grace Hopper vs. Fullstack Academy of Code
The Grace Hopper... Read More Program in NYC is an all women’s program within Fullstack Academy of Code. The curriculum is identical, the instructors and most of the staff are shared (the instructors only teach one cohort at a time, but rotate through both programs). The main difference is the all women environment and the deferred tuition. Another difference is that in the summer, the main Fullstack Academy of Code includes college students who will be returning to school in the fall, which is not the case of the Grace Hopper program. Students from both programs are invited to optional lectures during lunch and other joint activities.

The Curriculum
Fullstack Academy/ Grace Hopper teaches full stack javascript, which sets it apart from most other bootcamps (many teach Ruby on Rails). One advantage of full stack javascript is that you get to do a deep dive into a language (javascript) that you will need to use on the front end anyway. On the other hand a lot of people don’t really take javascript seriously as a server side language, and it has some quirks which make it harder to learn. I am undecided on whether I would recommend a full stack javascript curriculum over a Ruby on Rails curriculum or a curriculum that incorporates Python.

One great thing about Fullstack/Grace Hopper is they are constantly improving/changing their curriculum as technologies change. While I was there we learned Node.js and express on the backend and React with Redux on the front end. We used a sql database (PostgreSQL) for our database. They really take seriously feedback on what works and what doesn’t and are constantly improving/changing the curriculum. I think React with Redux is a good choice for the front end.

Computer science concepts (data structures, algorithms etc.) were incorporated throughout the curriculum, which I really liked.

The schedule
Builders:
Some students (including myself) are accepted to the program on the condition that they complete a two week remote “builders” program which reviews javascript fundamentals. This program does not cost extra. I found it to be very helpful and was glad I was “invited” to do it. I did it while working and it was totally manageable.

Foundations:
Foundations is a remote, part time program to continue developing your foundation in javascript and programming. I found it to be quite good. I continued working while completing this program which was doable but busy. Supposedly the program is 5 weeks, but the last week just setting up your computer and is optional. When I took the course (summer 2018), the bulk of foundations used pre ES6 javascript and then we learned ES6 at the end. I’m guessing this is because they hadn’t yet had time to redo their videos.

Junior Phase: The first 6 weeks of the program is junior phase. This consists of lectures followed by “labs” which are short solo practice assignments and “workshops” which are longer structured assignments completed in assigned pairs. Pair programming is an essential part of the curriculum, and while not every pair will be a positive experience, overall I think it really does help one learn. In junior phase we also had readings/videos to review at home and weekly homework assignments. There were also two tests and a project to help evaluate student progress.

In my cohort there were 5 fellows (teaching assistants who have recently graduated from the program). The fellows answer questions during workshops, help with grading, have office hours, and hold group lunches once a week. The fellows did great work and were a big part of the program being so good. The teachers were also quite good - they varied from pretty good to extremely excellent. Usually you have two teachers for junior phase, but because one of ours had a vacation scheduled we had some “subs” (other instructors in the program) who ended up being excellent.

The students varied in background and I thought the program did a pretty good job accommodating this. There was optional lectures and optional extra work if you wanted to dig deeper into the curriculum, and there were extra study sessions (by invitation) on Saturdays for students who could benefit from more practice. However, if you wanted to slack you could, you need to be self-motivated to get the most out of the program. For the most part the other students in my cohort worked hard and it was a good culture of learning.

Review week: The schedule varies slightly cohort to cohort, but while I was there we had our final exam the first day of “review week” and has the remaining 4 days off. I would have liked if they had been more clear about the schedule upfront. The stated purpose of review week is to review any materials you are weak on, but it is essentially a vacation as you aren’t required to be on campus (although I would recommend doing some review work during this period). During review week the instructors determine which students are ready to move on to “Senior Phase”. If you aren’t ready, you are invited to redo Junior phase (you are charged extra tuition which is also deferred), they call this “replaying”. In my cohort 1 student dropped out in the middle of Junior phase, 1 dropped out between junior and senior phase, and three “replayed”.

Senior Phase: Senior phase is project based. Working on projects is a great way to learn. The instructors did include a few lectures which were good, and I would have liked a few more. The first project is an e-commerce site group project, the second is a solo 4 day “hackathon” project and the last is a 2.5 week capstone project completed in groups. Except for the first project the topic and technology is up to you/your group. I found that in this section of the course you had to be especially self motivated - the resources were there, but if you wanted help from an instructor you had to make sure to request it. I thought the code reviews by the instructors were helpful. Each day in senior phase we also had “REACTOs” which are white boarding practice in pairs. They were great practice although they were different/more difficult than anything I was asked in an interview.

The program does a good job packing in a lot of material in a short time, but I felt that the last week and a half was a bit light in content. They focus on making videos for demo day, which are more of an ad for the school then anything useful for one’s portfolio, and on getting ready for launch day.

Value

The program is expensive.

In terms of an investment, in my opinion it is worth it, you will likely make back the cost of the program in a year (or less) at your first job (not counting the cost of taking time off for the program and the job search).

As compared to other education options I would say the cost is slightly higher but the quality is better. Grace Hopper is a bit more expensive than other bootcamps, but is not the most expensive bootcamp. It costs about the same as a semester at a private college, but prepares you for the workforce better in my opinion. So the price is probably inflated just as most education is these days, in my opinion.

An aside: free bootcamp options
In an effort to increase diversity in software engineering there are some free bootcamp options for people who qualify. Here’s three I have heard of, and I’m sure there’s more.
If you are a New York City resident check out whether you are eligible for the NYC Web Development Fellowship (and whether the city is still funding this program). This is a tuition free program at one of 3 partner schools one of which is Fullstack Academy of Code. While I was at Grace Hopper there was a cohort of Web Development Fellows. They had the same curriculum as Grace Hopper/Fullstack, although there are some (mostly small) differences in the program because it is funded by the city. There aren’t new cohorts as frequently as in Grace Hopper/Fullstack. But basically it is a Fullstack Academy of Code education without the cost.

2. If you are looking for an all women’s experience and would be interested in living in Seattle and pursuing a longer program check out Ada Developers Academy which is tuition free.

3. Resilient Coders in Boston is a free, full-time, 14-week Javascript coding bootcamp that trains young people of color for apprenticeships and careers as software engineers. I met a couple people from this program at a meetup, but don’t have any first hand information about it.

The Job Search

I found that the program had prepared me pretty well for technical interviews, although I did continue to study. I was mostly applying to small and medium sized companies.

Career counselors: Our cohort had a dedicated career counselor. I found her advice (during and after the program) to be helpful, although at times a little generic. I really appreciated that I had someone in my court who I could message on Slack or arrange a call with if i needed advice on what to say to a potential employer in a particular situation, whether an offer was good, how to negotiate, etc. She was very responsive and I really felt that she was in my corner. It made me feel much more comfortable during the negotiation and decision making process. We also each had a remote career counselor who helped us polish our resumes and our “pitches”. Mine was a bit helpful, but I didn’t rely on him very much.

Job search curriculum: The career search portion of the curriculum was ok. The advice on resumes was really helpful - the format they suggested worked for me! The advice for LinkedIn profiles and Github profiles was also helpful. The advice they gave in person was better than the out of date advice in the ‘workshop’ which they admitted needed an update. They put a big emphasis on writing technical blog posts. I think this is the kind of thing that might help you if you do it but isn’t going to hurt you if you don’t (I didn’t).

Launch Day: Launch day (formerly called hiring day) is a career-fair style day to introduce ourselves to companies in New York City. It is combined with the Fullstack cohort. Each student has ten minute interviews with at least 3 companies. The companies are assigned to you. At the end there is a networking session where you can talk to any company you would like to. Because I was primarily looking for jobs in Boston I treated this as a chance to beta test my resume and pitch which was helpful. My classmates who were looking for jobs at Launch Day were somewhat disappointed by the quality and selection of the companies. Our launch day was Labor Day Weekend so that may have made it harder to get top notch companies there. I believe that some people did get jobs from launch day, but not the majority.

Overall Grace Hopper/Fullstack’s network with employers in not strong. Unless you get a job offer from launch day, they are not going to find you a job, or find you jobs to apply to. That is up to you. But they are helpful with advice on how to perform the search, prepare for interviews and negotiate an offer.

Alumni Network:
They don’t provide a directory of alumni, but they do invite you to a slack channel for alumni once you graduate, which is pretty active. Among other things, alumni post job openings, many of these require a few years of experience, but some are looking for junior developers. I found this to be very helpful. I also met up with a few alums in the Boston area in person.

General advice:
Before I chose and attended a bootcamp I had a really clear idea of the gaps in my knowledge that I wished to fill and I found a bootcamp that targeted what I wanted to learn. This helped me get the most out of my experience. As you look for your entry into software engineering I would start by considering what you know and what skills and projects you already have under your belt, and choose a course of study (whether a bootcamp, studying on your own, pursuing a CS degree, working on projects, or something else) that compliments what you know and fills in the gaps. Employers care about what you know and what projects you have made, they don’t care whether you are self taught or went to a bootcamp.

Feel free to find me on LinkedIn if you have any specific questions about Fullstack Academy or Grace Hopper.