Kickstart Coding

I recently completed Kickstart Coding’s 6-month coding bootcamp, and I can honestly say it was one of the most transformative experiences of my life. The instructors, especially Michael Bethencourt, were extremely knowledgeable and approachable, and they... Read More always made themselves available to answer any questions I had. The curriculum covered a wide range of topics, from front-end development to back-end engineering. The hands-on approach to learning was amazing, and I appreciated the opportunities we had to work on collaborative real-world projects with classmates. Thanks to Kickstart Coding, I now feel confident and well-prepared to tackle any Python or JavaScript coding challenge that comes my way! The job and alumni support was awesome; I can’t wait to see where my newfound skills take me in my new career!

I found Kickstart Coding’s course content, instruction, and involvement in my learning process to be really amazing. They totally exceeded my expectations every step of the way! After graduating from college, I really felt lost and anxious about not being... Read More able to find a job. I was looking for a coding bootcamp to review the knowledge I picked up in college and improve my skills. Kickstart Coding looked like it had a solid curriculum at a reasonable price so I decided to give it a try after attending some of their information sessions. I recently landed my first front-end developer job two months after starting the course. I can confidently say that I was shocked at how quickly they prepared me for the transition. The lessons were really easy to follow along with, and the approach is totally different from anything I experienced before. Instead of overloading me with all kinds of theoretical stuff, Michael focused on the fundamentals of programming, and provided a lot of activities to solidify my knowledge. He covered everything that was required to become a full-stack software engineer, starting with the basics like HTML, CSS, GIT, and Bash, to back-end technologies such as Heroku, Python, and Django, and finished with front-end projects using JavaScript and React. The 1-on-1 lessons were awesome, even if I didn’t always come with questions ahead of time about the course material. We also talked about the tech industry itself, their previous experience as software engineers, their and my current projects, and a lot more. The custom-pacing structure was definitely a key factor of my success in landing my first developer job. At my request, Liam started my career activities within the first month of my start date alongside my coding lessons. This was crucial to landing an interview after sending out my first application! Liam walked me through how to write resumes and cover letters, how to prepare for interviews, and basically everything I needed to know to feel prepared for the process. Michael would also dedicate time to preparing me for technical interviews. Even after I failed the last round at the first company, Michael and Liam were always encouraging me and pushing me to go beyond my limits and stay motivated. With that said, I landed my first developer job with less than a dozen applications, which I never had been able to do without the help of Michael and Liam. I can’t stress this strongly enough, the Kickstart Coding bootcamp was worth every penny! It was such an amazing and inclusive environment. There were people totally new to programming alongside more experienced coders who were there to review their skills, and people who had asked for a more tailored curriculum to help them build their passion projects. It was a really special experience for me. I can’t thank them enough.

I joined Kickstart Coding with a technical background consisting of a 101-level college course which culminated in programing a Lego Mindstorms set to circumnavigate a desk. By the time I was done I had gained a familiarity with programming, through lectures,... Read More activities and best of all one-on-one tutoring, which has given me the ability to connect and collaborate with my co-workers in a way I wouldn't have thought possible. The staff at Kickstart have constructed a curriculum which directly addressed my concerns with other bootcamp programs. From day one I was encouraged by the self-paced approach working around my schedule and I was free to learn without the added pressure of larger programs' "sink or swim" rigidity (not to mention Kickstart's comparative affordability). Instructors are invested in your education, and are not only happy to field your questions, but introduce you to the tools which will enable you to continue to grow as a programmer. I'd recommend Kickstart to anyone thinking of taking the plunge into programming but are dissuaded by larger bootcamps' unforgiving intensity or considerable price-point. Let Michael and the crew ease you into the wild world of coding!

Kickstart Coding offered a great part-time bootcamp that allowed me to continue working on my full time job. Classes were challenging and engaging with weekly homework assignments that kept you accountable for the skills learned in the previous week.... Read More This culminates in a group project that will let you apply all the skills that you learned from the previous weeks to create an application. Michael, Mark, and Maddy were great in providing support and instruction especially when we were forced to convert to an online format because of the covid pandemic. They made sure that each student understood the material and went above and beyond to make sure that everyone in the class finished the program strong. I highly recommend kickstart coding as a start to your coding journey.

Kickstart Coding was a truly an exceptional course. It is far more affordable than many other bootcamps, and the part-time schedule allowed me to continue working full time while enrolled. Classes were always engaging and hands-on, with numerous activities... Read More to reinforce previous material and apply new coding concepts. Weekly homeworks fit perfectly with the curriculum, and final group projects provided a great opportunity to create something exciting in a collaborative setting. While the course is both challenging and fast-paced, the instructors provided excellent support, from one-on-one help and review sessions to walk-through solutions of class material. I highly recommend this course to anyone interested in coding!

Kickstart Coding was an awesome experience, and I would recommend it to anyone seriously interested in learning to code. I went in only knowing a few very basic things, and by the end I had learned more material than I thought was possible in a four month... Read More period. Even after the course is over, there are still tons of activities and alternative assignments for you to revisit to strengthen your portfolio. After finishing the program, I redid assignments that we were initially given a full week complete. To my surprise, I discovered that I could now accomplish them in under an hour, which is a testament to how much I learned at Kickstart, and how the gaps in your knowledge are bridged quicker than you'll realize. Michael is super passionate about teaching and it really shows. The lectures were informative, fun and always challenging.

Kickstart Coding provided a great programming bootcamp experience and was a great option for me as the part-time course structure allowed me to continue with my full time job, while paying a fraction of the price of the other programming boot-camps in... Read More the area.

The classes were structured to be very hands on, with multiple instructors present every lecture to help as needed. All of the instructors were very knowledgeable and friendly. Class material was structured in a way that people of all skill levels could succeeded, while more advanced students would stay challenged. Lessons consisted of a short lecture time, then hands on problem solving for the new materials. Each lesson would be 3-4 lecture blocks, and 3-4 activities. Activities would start with simple hello world types of problems and increase in difficulty. In addition to the lectures, there was weekly homework and reading, followed by a group project at the end of the course. Looking back, I am amazed at the amount of material we learned in 4 months. Overall, I feel like the course material was very applicable for anyone wanting to do software development, and it was clear that the curriculum is a labor of love for Michael B.

If you are motivated to learn, I would highly recommend Kickstart Coding

I have been in tech for couple of years in a QA role prior to going to this bootcamp. And now transitioning into an engineering role. Kickstart’s curriculum gave me technical understanding of all the moving parts involved in building a software product... Read More as well as practice of building those parts in group projects and individual projects which is extremely valuable experience. The curriculum overall is very well structured in a way that after every topic is introduced students had to apply it in their homeworks right away as well as final projects at the end of each course. Program also includes industry insights and job prep material. Michael, Mark and Maddy are very passionate about their students to succeed in the career transitions. You do have to work a lot during the course, so be ready, but you’ll also have amazing support. Support also doesn’t end after the course, you can come to their hack&learns to get help or guidance.

After spending years as a software project and product manager flirting with the idea of becoming a software engineer, I finally got up the courage to sign up for a coding bootcamp. I looked at many different options and chose Kickstart Coding because... Read More it provides excellent value and is staffed by people that are clearly passionate about teaching technology. I enjoyed the in-class lessons which are an engaging mix of lecture, live-coding walkthroughs, and activities. The homework assignments and group projects built nicely on the stuff we learned in class and helped to reinforce the concepts with very practical examples. The curriculum does a masterful job of challenging people with some coding experience while also being accessible to people with no coding background at all. While the vast majority of the curriculum is very focused on teaching specific languages and frameworks, the last couple lessons of the Front-End portion of the course are focused on some more general concepts that were extremely helpful in preparing me for interviews. Using my newly acquired skills, I got a great new job as a Data Engineer just a couple of weeks after finishing the Kickstart Coding course. I would recommend Kickstart Coding to everyone, even if you don't want a job as a software engineer. Learning to code in this setting was really fun!

I completed the Kickstart Coding backend programming module and in 8 weeks, we covered a lot. They have the most up-to-date full-stack curriculum (python and react-focused), comprehensive didactic structure, and impact-oriented mission of inclusivity,... Read More affordability, diversity, and collaboration. It is the most industry-attuned and most accessible coding boot camp in the Bay Area. The program was founded by Michael Bethencourt who was a former coding boot camp instructor at UC Berkeley Extension.

Program Structure:

The full-stack program is divided into two sequential modules: backend programming for 8 weeks and front-end programming for the next 8 weeks.

Prework:

Prior to the actual lectures, Kickstart gave us a pre-work assignment to get familiarized with basic computer programming terminologies/concepts. We had to set-up accounts in various online channels such as github, heroku, stack overflow, mattermost, live syllabus, and other social media accounts. We conducted brief research on the job market for coders, principles behind open-source / free software, and basic coding concepts (i.e. html/css/python).

Curriculum for Backend Module:

The program provided a comprehensive foundation of backend web development and core programming concepts including Python, Django, Bootstrap, HTML, CSS, Object-Oriented Programming (OOP), Model-View-Controller Framework (MVC), Command Line Interface (CLI), Graphical User Interface (GUI), Application Programming Interface (API), Servers, Create-Read-Update-Delete (CRUD API), Pipenv, Virtualenv, Jinja2, Modules, Templating, Forms, Automated Testing, Postgresql, SQL, Git, Bash, Github, Heroku.

Live Lectures, Live Exercises, and individual Homework for Backend Module:

Once classes have begun, the pace became really fast and rigorous. For each class, there were assigned pre-class readings and activities to prepare us for the live lectures and live coding exercises. Each lecture is recorded and we have the opportunity to review them at our own time. Each week, there were individual homework projects and pop quiz. I learned so much when I applied the concepts and exercises into real homework projects utilizing various programming methods every week. I built both a static and dynamic responsive web apps using coding tools such as Python, Bash, HTML, CSS, Jinja2, Templating, and Bootstrap.

Capstone Group Project for Backend Module:

The capstone group project enabled us to employ new skills learned in backend programming. We utilized Python, Django, HTML, CSS, and identified appropriate APIs to collaboratively build an app from ground-up using GitHub and Heroku collaborative platforms.

The Kickstart Coding Team:

Kickstart Coding has a "lean-and-mean" and remarkable team composed of Michael, Mark, and Maddy. Most recently, they brought in Kevin as the academic success manager. They care about their students and are truly devoted to everyone's success.

Michael, the founder and lead instructor, is a Python guru with full of information. He's an open-source and free-software activist. He is very passionate about teaching and he came to class always prepared. He simplified the delivery of complicated computer science concepts and made the sessions lively and fun. He answered questions thrown at him with practical examples to make them more understandable. He always reminded us to never give up when a new concept gets tough as it is part of the learning process. I've learned so much from him in such a short time and he always made sure that everyone feels welcome regardless of anyone's background. He provided us with weekly review sheets enabling us to focus on the most important topics. His teammates, Mark and Maddy were always there to help us if there were blurry things that needed to be clarified. Mark, the associate instructor, was super patient and helped us tremendously during the review sessions. He gave us tips on how we can approach a problem to develop better solutions. Maddy, the Kickstart Coding teaching assistant, was always there to assist and help us to understand the project assignments.

TL;DR

I completed the backend programming module and, in 8 weeks, I learned a lot. I originally planned to continue the front-end programming module focusing on React and Javascript. However, after completing the backend module, I received a 1-year contract job at a top tech company and I had to put on hold taking the front-end programming module. Michael willingly became a professional reference.

The Kickstart Coding Team created an inclusive, accessible, diverse, and collaborative learning environment enabling us to push our capacity to learn new things. Aside from the technical training in backend programming, the key takeaways that I will remember are the methods and processes of developing solutions to coding problems and the ability to "learn how to learn" as a way of growing professionally in the tech industry. I am so glad that I took the leap to enroll at Kickstart Coding and I am grateful for the opportunities that this course has provided me. It is the most affordable, inclusive, and industry-attuned coding boot camp in the Bay Area. Thank you Kickstart Coding!