iO Academy

The Mayden Academy course is more than just a coding bootcamp, It's one of the best things I've done and I would recommend it to anyone considering a career in tech! It was a friendly, fun, and supportive environment and during my time there I felt that... Read More the trainers and everyone involved in running the course wanted the students to do well. I thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience: the wonderful trainers; the team of students; the course content; the structure of the course (love the alternating project and theory weeks as it helps you solidify the concepts and build up a great portfolio); the small class sizes; and the great place you get to study. Overall I really enjoyed everything I learnt and made some great friends; and even though I attended having barely written any code before and from a totally different career path it prepared my for my first developer job - thanks to the number of hiring partners the academy put you in touch with! Thank you Mayden Academy :)

I had a really good time attending Mayden Academy's Full Stack Track. The content is excellent, the staff and students friendly, and the course is structured in such a way that you get a good idea of what it is really like to work in a dev job. The general... Read More principles of programming are covered, so you won't have to fear learning other programming languages to increase your skills.

Where do I start? One of the best experiences I've ever had and in the space of 6 months I left behind an unfulfilling career in admin that I fell into accidentally and started a new career I'm genuinely excited about! On the course I looked forward to... Read More Mondays and was a bit sad on Fridays for the first time in my life.

I first heard about Mayden Academy on a Quora post Mike answered and ended up coming here to look at reviews. With so many glowing reviews I knew I was either applying to an amazing, genuinely life-changing course or a cult. I won't be able to convince you it isn't a cult so won't try but happy to add my voice to the chants of 'do this, it's the best' and 'Mike, Charlie, Ash (trainers), Margaret and Emily (operations team) are my leaders and I will do anything they say and would die for them, er...where was I?'. Anyway...

If you're asking 'is it for me'? My experience:
I applied to the academy late one night when I was off sick from my previous job with flu. My job at the time was so stressful that even with the flu I was working from home to keep on top of it. After years of being unfulfilled, simultaneously stressed, bored and underpaid for the level of work and effort I was putting in, I'd had enough. The highlight of my job at that time was when I got to use Excel. I loved continuously learning (mainly self-taught through Google) and problem-solving using it as a tool and even felt guilty for enjoying it too much, like it wasn't really work because I was having too much fun.

If any of that sounds familiar (maybe note the Excel bit, I know it's not everyone's cup of tea) - being totally fed up and bored in your work because there isn't enough problem-solving and loving to continuously learn/teach yourself new ways to use tools then becoming a developer could be a really great fit for you.

General info
The academy course is very holistic, it's not just teaching you to code but how to become a developer who is able to work well in a team in the real world. It takes you from not knowing what http stands for or what Scrum project methodology means to being ready to start an actual, real life, paid developer role in an Agile team in 16 weeks. You'll learn the technical and the non-technical skills (project management, guest lectures) both in theory (during theory weeks) and in practice (in the project weeks).

One of my favourite things about the course was the spiral learning approach where we would learn about a topic at an introductory or less complex level and then revisit it throughout the course diving deeper each time and furthering our understanding. We also learned how to do things the hard way first rather than using tools which would do everything for us which sounds like a pain but I'm really grateful for this because I think it armed me with way more understanding of what I'm doing. For example, starting writing code in textmate manually to later using a PHPStorm which can complete typing syntax for you and tell you when you're getting it wrong!

People
The trainers were excellent (I had Mike with Ash supporting) and incredibly dedicated to the students' experience and job prospects. I loved being in a small team, 8 students to 1 teacher was a perfect size for the class. Margaret (Business Development and Marketing Manager) and Emily (Office Coordinator) made everything run so smoothly - from onboarding to keeping us stocked up with toast and hot chocolate, to running events like the hiring partner evening and everything in-between. The whole team work very hard to make this this the once-in-a-lifetime experience it is.

Preparing
Before the course you'll be sent information on prep work you can do ahead of the course. I'd done a small amount (3-4 evening classes) of html and css a few years ago and did a big chunk of the suggested JavaScript prep ahead of the course which really helped. I strongly recommend doing as much of the prep as you can - it's not a pre-requisite but it really helped me not feel overwhelmed by all the information and pace of learning.

Money... :(
I didn't have savings before the course so wouldn't have been able to do it without the option of EdAid so it was fantastic to have this option. It's a no-interest loan where you pay a small % admin fee and pay back at the cost of inflation but only begin paying it back when you're working again. I was also lucky enough to be part-funded through WIDJET. The Academy has itself started a scholarship fund which aims to help people who might not otherwise be able to afford doing the course so please don't be discouraged from applying due to the cost if that's what's standing in your way, get in touch with the team to see what your options are.

During
The course is intense. I didn't have much energy outside it to do anything much more than sleep and more learning! I exaggerate a bit but it really did take 100% of me for the duration. I also found it incredibly rewarding; many days I wanted to stay later and would happily get my laptop out on the bus on my commute to cram in more practice.

16 weeks is a good length, more than that would have been too long, less than that and I wouldn't have been ready to get out there and feel confident in my skills. You don't have to learn outside of the course hours but I wanted to and it really helped me to consolidate my learning. I should add that I was commuting from across Bristol so my commute was longer than if you were to live in Bath or near to a station heading into Bath and that took its toll.

During class time ask questions. Lots and lots of questions. The trainers are really friendly and approachable and love getting questions. If you think you're the only one in the class who isn't getting something because no one is asking the question you want to ask, I guarantee you there are others thinking the exact same thing and will be grateful when you ask it so they don't have to! An interesting thing about the academy (and I would think this is universal, not just at Mayden Academy) is that many of us felt underconfident and worried we weren't good enough because we were finding the material hard. I would like to reassure people in advance: the application process is geared to ensure that if you're on the course, the trainers are confident you can do it. It's quite an unusual situation to be an adult learner on an intensive full-time course in an area where everything is so new day-in day-out. As adults we're not used to not knowing/understanding things straight away and this course puts you in that position for 16 weeks - it's ok to not be good at something straight away but it can feel very uncomfortable and make you question your abilities and bring up fears of failure but ride it out because it's a normal reaction and likely not at all reflective of your actual abilities.

After the academy
The academy don't guarantee you a job at the end of the course, however, their training is so comprehensive and of such a high standard, the network of hiring partners so big and the support given to help you with job-hunting so good, that graduates receive job offers in developer roles within three months of graduating. I won't lie - the job-hunting bit is a stressful process, I experienced a lot of imposter syndrome and worried about when I would have money coming in again - but they do try hard to support you during that. I was fortunate enough to be offered a position in my last week in the course and began my new job a couple of weeks later. I'm two weeks in now and loving it, despite the imposter syndrome rearing its head!

I couldn’t have asked for anything more from the Mayden Academy bootcamp, I feel like the skills I’ve learnt over the past 4 months have set me up for a career as a developer

There are so many positives things to say about the course but here are just... Read More some of my highlights:

- Commitment of the trainers
I was in Mike’s class throughout, I found Mike to be extremely knowledgeable with a real ability to explain concepts in a way which was easy to understand. He is also very patient and happy to explain things several times if needed, and was also happy to stay late to cover content 1 to 1.

Ash was also in our class providing support and delivering content, it was great having a second teacher to ask questions and he is very helpful, friendly and approachable.

I wasn’t in any of Charlie’s classes so can’t talk to his teaching skills (which I’ve heard from others is very good) but he is a very funny, energetic and positive person.

- Access to trainers and small class size
Each class consists of 8 students which I think is the perfect ratio of students to trainers. This small size allows you to ask as many questions as you like and form a close bond with others in the class.

Class size is something which I think is really important and Mayden Academy were offering the best student to trainer ratio.

- Ways of working
One of the most important skills I learnt on the bootcamp was how to work as a team in order to build an application. Mayden Academy arranged for us to have two days of Scrum training from an external Scrum trainer, supported us to gain scrum master certification and applied scrum principles throughout project weeks. I think this gives you a big head-start going into your first position as a developer and is something which you can’t teach yourself.

- Getting you hired
The point of a bootcamp is to learn relevant skills so that ultimately you can secure your first position, Mayden did everything they could to support people getting a job at the end of the course including:
o Giving us the skills to build a portfolio website
o Spending a day discussing CVs, covering letters and what to expect from interviews
o Reviewing CVs before sending to employers
o Arranging for a photographer to take professional headshots
o Introducing us to companies actively looking to recruit at a hiring partners evening

I had been thinking about changing career to become a developer for a number of years, having completed the course I just wish I had done it sooner!

A great way to get into the industry. All the teachers were very patient and helpful, the entire course was really well thought out, and teaches you everything you need to know to become a full-stack developer. The various hiring partners they work with... Read More around Bath and Bristol, as well as the help they give towards re-writing your CV also facilitates the job-hunting experience. Would recommend to anyone wanting a career start / change as a software developer.

I joined Mayden Academy after extensively researching bootcamps and assessed that they provided the best emphasis on professional skills and being able to do the job from day one. Needless to say they provided that and more. Working in both the LAMP and... Read More MEAN stacks, we gained an exceptional level of knowledge in just 4 months and left with a technical capability far beyond our expectations.

Charlie and Mike foster a wonderful atmosphere at the Academy full of support and banter in equal measure while keeping everyone focused on the goal in mind. The pace is blistering but you never feel it's beyond you. The support staff were also on hand whenever you needed help, and the meet & greet with the hiring partners they organised yielded a ton of interview offers. I found my job a mere two weeks after graduating.

If you're serious about this change of career and want the best possible springboard into it, you really need to apply here.

Finishing Sixth Form and going onto the course was extremely daunting for me. Within a few days of starting I realised my worries where null and void. I was taught by Charlie, who I knew was a great guy from the second he laughed at the ASCII cows I had... Read More put into my code. All the trainers and staff are friendly and helpful, going out of their way to make sure you get the most out of the course. From hunting for jobs, reviewing and giving advice on your CV to shoving you in a pub with potential employers and booze, or letting you work on you strange coding side projects. You learn great tech and all the stuff you need to come out as a great developer, all while having a great time. If you want to learn to code like a pro and enjoy yourself all the way, you should be here.

My Coding Experience Prior to the course:
Knew I liked coding for several years but didn't have much experience prior to the course apart from a few bits and pieces with Fortran at uni, Swift and very basic HTML and CSS.

Content:
There is a great balance... Read More between keeping up with the latest technologies and developments in the industry and teaching content that incorporates the fundamental aspects of programming that can be universally applied across different languages and frameworks. We were taught coding best practices: code reviews, unit testing, properly documenting our code and backing it up regularly on github. We got to work as a team and individually, on brand new and legacy projects.

Class Size:
There were 2 different classes in my cohort that ran in parallel. Max size 8 people per class up until the point where you can choose your track in week 14 after which my class was 9 so it still stayed pretty balanced numbers wise. The small class size definitely contributed hugely to my learning, you get a lot of 1-1 time with the trainers which was brilliant for clarifying things we'd just learnt or getting some help with a difficult exercise. I think I would have begun to struggle in a larger group of 12 or more.

The Teachers:
I was lucky to get the chance to learn from all the trainers at Mayden who did their best to make us feel welcome and included, accommodating their classroom and teaching style for students different learning needs.
Mike was my trainer for the majority of the course. He taught me not just how to code but how to write code that is good quality, concise and secure. He consistently went above and beyond for his students, sometimes staying late so we could work on our portfolios, giving people help with CV writing, always being approachable for advice or if we had any problems.
It was great to have Ashley around while he completed his teacher training, he brought a different perspective to problems and was a patient teacher, I think he will fly with his first cohort! :)
I took Charlie’s track for the final two weeks: Charlie is very fun and full of energy, he has a very practical approach to teaching which suited my learning style, the track was very exercise based and felt a lot closer to project weeks but with a bit more structure and guidance.

Classmates:
These people really made the experience amazing! Mayden Academy are very good at putting together a team of people that work well together and get on. I made some great friends from the course and I think we all learnt a lot from each other, everyone has a unique approach to solving a problem or a quicker, neater, more interesting way to write code. We did a lot of pair-programming on the course and I found it invaluable it helped to improve my standards and got me to think problems through and be able to explain my process to another person.

Skills aside from coding:
I felt like the course at Mayden Academy simulated what working in the industry is actually like. We pair-programmed, code reviewed each other’s work, learnt the ins and outs of Git and Github for backing up work, we planned projects from start to finish holding each other accountable for our mistakes and for our achievements, we rallied together and supported each other, it was awesome being a part of such a great team! We learnt Scrum, an organisational framework which is used throughout the industry (not everywhere but a lot of places use it or a variation of it) to estimate the speed at which a team can work through projects and breaking down projects into smaller more manageable chunks of tasks. The had daily quizzes and bi-weekly tests (just for your own reference) that helped us gauge how much of the content we had grasped and what we needed to go over. We had a daily meeting as part of Scrum which meant we were always checking in with each other about how everyone’s learning was going and how each project was progressing. These skills have put me in great stead for a job in the industry.

Career Support:
A full day dedicated to interview skills, CV and cover letter writing as well as ongoing support with job applications for the duration and even following the course. I even got some advice with writing introduction emails as it’s a huge blocker for me and I generally put it off so much the vacancy has been filled by the time I actually apply!
The hiring event they put on was initially nerve wracking but ultimately exactly what I needed, it was great to just be able to chat face to face with representatives from really great local companies without the communication barrier of phone calls and email conversations and without the intense pressure of an interview situation. I think we all benefited from this stepping stone into the world of technical interviews and I think personally I owe this networking evening to the job I have now.

Attending with a Partner:
My partner and I took the course together, although we were in separate classes on the prior request of the teachers (this is for several reasons but the one that resonated with me most was that you then get to bond with your teammates better and have your own individual experience of the course). So in my cohort there were 2 classes of 8 and we attended in parallel. It was a great getting to share the experience with one another, we learn it quite different ways so we could help when the other one was struggling and we could talk though a problem together. Both of us have come to coding from different industries so it is nice to be able to share that understanding with each other now as we start our new careers. It was difficult financially choosing to attend together and we had to rely on savings as well as loans from family and friends to see us though so I would definitely consider that aspect as well before jumping in. But it was very worth it in the end :)

For anyone with an interest in software design and programming, this is the course for you. I started the course with little experience, a keen interest in technology and the motivation to jump into something new.

From day 1, all the students were welcomed... Read More and fully supported in the journey to become software developers, from learning the basics of website creation through HTML & CSS, to writing complex Full-Stack applications using PHP & JavaScript frameworks and libraries. The course structure is fantastic, with one week of learning followed by one week of project work. It's a great way to learn the processes involved in software development and build a great portfolio to display your work. Towards the end of the course, we were given a crash course in the job application process, including CV writing help and interview prep, with support being given at every stage when applying for jobs.

I spent the majority of the course being taught by Charlie, who was engaging, knowledgable and would also go that extra mile to make sure the content was interesting and well understood. While the pace of learning is fast, the content is constantly reinforced so that by everything you learnt a week or two before becomes second nature. Over the duration of the course, I found great support in my fellow students and the fantastic team spirit we developed along the way enabled us to end up learning a lot from each other.

If you want to wake up every morning and be excited to learn something new, be surrounded by amazing people and create fantastic opportunities for yourself, Mayden Academy is for you!

You will see that Mayden have almost exclusivly recieved 5 star reviews. This is not by accident. The course is very well put togther to take you from complete novice to a professional standard and get you ready for a career in software development. The... Read More course changes every time so that they can keep it as up to date as possible but fortunately the trainers do not change every time as they are great.

If you want to get into software development I can think of no better way.