Lighthouse Labs

Simply put, the Wed Dev Bootcamp I attended at Lighthouse Labs Toronto was exactly what I was looking for, exactly what I'd been lead to expect through reviews, interactions with them, and the admissions process, and one of the best decisions I've ever made! If you're serious about learning to be a developer and want to be a part of an awesome community, then you can't go wrong by attending Lighthouse Labs!

I spent a lot of time comparing the various organizations offering Web Developer Bootcamps in Toronto - even geeking out and creating a big spreadsheet weighing the pros and cons of each - and Lighthouse came out as the clear front-runner. Not long after that I was signed up, deposit paid, and giving my notice at my job.

My time at Lighthouse was great. The environment was c...

By far the most valuable part part of Lighthouse is the community mentors that are available at all times to help you through the course material and with any other questions you may have. Without getting to long winded the best advice/warning I can give is that this course rewards hard work. Say goodbye to your friends and your partner for the next 8 weeks because if you're not putting in your all you will be disappointed.

I had a great time learning different web technologies at lighthouse labs and working hands-on on the project work. It would be great if they also include algorithm design and PHP, c# in their curriculum.

I decided to do Lighthouse Labs' Web Development bootcamp after realizing I didn't want to work in the field that I had just graduated university from. The whole experience was great - I have nothing negative to say. I really loved how it was fast paced and practise-based. It was definitely an intense course (they don't exaggerate), but I learned so much, made some really good friends, and most importantly I got a whole new career that I love out of it. I would recommend doing the in-person course if possible (vs. satellite) only because you'd get to interact with the instructors more. In the satellite location, I could still message/video chat with them, but it'd be so much easier in person.

My favourite part of the Web Development bootcamp was definitely having access to top-tier mentors who have been working in the industry for years. Learning to code on your own can be frustrating mainly because you can get stuck for hours and not know which way to turn. Having mentors to talk you through your thought process as well as sharing how they would go about solving the problem was extremely valuable to me.

The curriculum was thorough and touched on a wide range of modern web development practices. The projects allowed me to dig into different languages and frameworks just enough to get a taste of it, and opened the doors for learning more if I chose to. I enjoyed the focus on modern JavaScript because of how relevant it is in today's job market.

Lighthouse Labs did a g...

It was intense but the community there was very supportive in helping you learn and find a job afterwards.

The Full Stack Web development Bootcamp is I attended was 500+ hours of project-based and mentor-assisted programming experience with focus on JavaScript, Node.js, Ruby, Rails, React, SQL.

My biggest personal learnings from bootcamp -
1) Getting familiar and comfortable with reading documentation
2) Using Git to work with teams
3) Learn by doing. Always play with the code while learning
4) Asking for help, using the 20 minute rule (If I don't figure something out on my own within 20 mins, ask for help from one of the mentors)
5) Keep Calm and Keep On Coding

PRO's - You are learning alongside a great community of experienced tech mentors, motivated students and tech start-ups working at their Development Hub. It's a great way of building your tech network. There are also regul...

This program really pushes you to your limits and forces you to get learning! The rate at which they introduce concepts is great, and the topics themselves are the result of a curriculum that has been fine-tuned by experts. The best part of it all is the backbone that they have, I was able to get a job I loved right after graduation, and they have an entire community that is active for those wishing to grow.

Pros: Everything you learn.

Cons: Can only spend a short amount of time on everything you're learning during the bootcamp. Likewise, if you're brand new to programming, the program is that much more difficult and you'll find yourself spending many extra hours learning. Try learning some javascript for a couple of months before entering, it'll make the first two weeks much easier.
Also, the interview speed dating/ demo day may not have a lot of employees show up, which kind of lowers your chances of getting more interviews/ getting hired right out of bootcamp. On top of that, December as a grad month is pretty poopy, since not many people are hiring right at the end of the year.

Lighthouse Labs Web Development Bootcamp was an amazing experience. I had little experience in coding prior to taking the course, and was a bit hesitant on how I'd do, but the instructors and mentors at LHL were some of the best teachers I've ever had. The amount of support provided at LHL was so helpful, and I found their curriculum to be quite up to date. They really give you all the tools you need to start your career, and I'm so grateful for them!!

After years of changing industries, I decided to look into coding bootcamps to go from a job to a career. Lighthouse Labs fit my needs closest out of all of the options available to me in Vancouver. I had previous experience in development from junior high/high school and some very basic passion projects.
Having this previous experience I feel helped me along my way through the course as I already had basic understanding of if statements and things like this.

PROS:
Extremely knowledgeable instructors.
A vast curriculum that covers a ton of projects.
Passionate Mentors with real world knowledge.
Once you complete the course you still have access to all curriculum past and future.
All the coffee you could ever need.
Foosball.
Great culture and classmates.
Job placement and res...

Pros:
- Awesome mentors
- Great Curriculum

Cons:
- Mice everywhere
- Dogs come in all the time
- Job support isn't that great
- Not enough information on automated testing, EX. Mocha/Chai/RSpec

I came to lighthouse with little coding experience, and was able leave with confidence in my ability to code and pick up new skills and languages quickly (although, I know I've only scratched the surface). The bootcamp experience was intense and times push me to the limits of my ability and sanity, but was completely worth it.

While looking for a bootcamp, I wanted something fast-paced and quick since I had just graduated university, and a program that included some networking since I wanted my best chance at landing a job at the end of it. Lighthouse Labs fit all my criteria! And their website is beautiful.
* Their project-based curriculum and "try-in-on-your-own-and-then-we'll-teach-you-how-to-do-it" method of teaching really made me learn and understand the material, instead of just memorizing facts short-term
* The instructors and mentors were great (albeit I did get frustrated a few times, since the course is intense)
* And, I ended up getting a job after one of the networking events! I'm now a full time Software Engineer Level 1
Some constructive criticism: my cohort didn't get to see many tech offi...

There are very few negatives to choosing Lighthouse Labs. I will get them out of the way first. A lot of the time the temperature inside was either too hot or too cold, and they would often host events in the evenings, which would leave you with little space left to work. Other than that, my experience could not have been better. They quickly force you to start to figure things out on your own, which is the best way to learn to code, and the way that you will continue to grow as a developer once you are finished. That being said, there is always support and, although they never straight up give you the answers, they will point you in the right direction which is far more valuable. The teaching staff were knowledgeable, friendly, and always willing to answer questions. The biggest plus t...

8 years ago I moved to Canada as a student to pursue a degree in one of the best university in Canada and spent 6 years completing my business degree in management information system and computer science and did some coop/internship. All these 6 years made me realize that I like to code, solving problem but I need something practical. My degree helped me to understand the theory but I do not understand how to code properly. I decided to join Lighthouse Labs in Vancouver, BC, Canada and here is my review:

There are at least 5 advantages taking a bootcamp (or Lighthouse Labs I would say):

1. The community is fantastic. You are surrounded with people who have experience in coding and they are coming from the industry. Some even come from a background that you never know. It shows div...

I attended Lighthouse Labs in Vancouver in the fall of 2016 and overall had a very positive experience. I came into the program with essentially no experience in the field other than some Codecademy courses, and was offered a job the day I graduated (a happy coincidence).

Some thoughts: The mentor and community support at Lighthouse is very good. They advertise a 7-to-1 student to mentor ratio, which is met very consistently. The mentors range in talent/experience/personality, and while for some it is very clearly a side gig that they can kind of just show up to, others become very invested in the program and attached to their students. The only downside is that because everyone's learning style is different, you sometimes find yourself being helped by a mentor that doesn't gel very...

The bootcamp took 8 weeks on a class of 8 students and all of us was working after 2 months. 2 received a job offer before the end of the course. The price is high, but we had a great support for learn and for our job hunting. They book interviews, review our curriculum, do job interviews practices and this helped us a lot. After the bootcamp they didn't forget us, we could send emails or book a call to get help if needed.

I started the camp with modest programming experience, which helped me keep on top of the curriculum. If you don't have experience, find a free site online and learn as much as you can before Day 1. It's called bootcamp for a reason.

That said, we learned pretty much exactly what I'm using on the job. A couple months is not enough to become great at anything, but they do a good job of cramming a lot about relevant technologies into the curriculum while keeping it pretty broad.

The career services alone were worth the tuition. You might be able to learn to code by yourself but good luck getting a job if you're not good at marketing yourself.

Pros : Get to learn things what I have never learnt in 4yrs degree program.
Cons: if you won't catch up too quick they will push you to quit as well.

The bootcamp I attended met my expectations. Reflecting back, my instructors were top notch. 85% of the TAs I received help from more than answered my questions. Working along-side peers who were all highly motivated also helped. None of these things particularly came as a surprise. Looking back, I probably would have taken more out of the program if I came in prepared each with better questions for instructors. Also, I would have learned more if I requested more feedback from my peers as well as code-reviews from instructors. The third thing I would have done differently is applying each week's material to side-projects on the weekends. This would have enforced some key concepts/principles better. Lastly, I would have looked for more teaching opportunities. Forcing oneself...

I went through Lighthouse Lab's Web Development Bootcamp without any prior CS knowledge. A quick logic assessment was the only technical prerequisite. The course had a steady ramp up from fundamentals to more advanced topics, and there was a midterm project and a final project. Typical bootcamp format, a few hours of classes per day, followed largely by student collaboration, and interaction with TAs.

What I found the most valuable was the environment and the TAs. Being in the space where everyone was doing their best to learn, made it easier for me to concentrate as well. Of course there was foosball, coffee, and the likes. Good restaurants nearby for students to socialize in between tackling problems. The TAs were the real value-add to this program. Whenever I had a question, they ...

If you don't know how to code - do not take this course.
If you do know how to code - why do it in the first place?
The mentors are mostly great, but everything seems to be rushed and if you fall even a little bit behind because you are struggling with something, you will not be able to recover. Again, what is the point of the course if the only way to complete it is when you actually know how to code in the first place.

I just stayed for one month during the bootcamp in Calgary, and their GM recommended that I withdraw because I am too slow, lucky for me that I only paid half of the fees. While their instructors in Vancouver are good and some of them are very good but their curriculum requires a lot of work. I also got attracted that I would get to learn a lot of technologies but in reality its a lot to learn in such short time. Their prep work does not prepare enough to be ready for the first week. While I did learn a lot in the first month but they made little effort to provide the required support in Calgary, because they do not have staff in Calgary and most of them are in Vancouver and stream the lectures and communicate online.

I also relied on those reviews before making the decision to join ...

Studying at Lighthouse Labs was the first time I really dove into writing code. I had been learning on my own for several months prior on Treehouse, but I wasn't able to take that knowledge and apply it elsewhere.
At the end of the 8 week program, I got a job at a startup. Despite this, I was not very confident. I did not feel that I could provide much of any value at a company or startup, and certainly not confident in building components and an app that would be ideal for a future developer to take over. I was right.
Lighthouse Labs was a great way to start learning software development, get comfortable with UIKit, Xcode and to be mentored by more senior developers. Granted, some of the mentors / instructors were actually very junior as well, having only recently graduated from th...

is a great experience overall. They put a lot of effort into their course content and their community.

I entered as a hobbyist web dev and general interested in programming. Professionally I was working in live production for shows and events, so I'm no stranger to technology, however Lighthouse Labs enabled me to expand my knowledge into a brand new career.

The bootcamp is tough. Some of the material is tough. However, for me the big value in taking the time to do the course was the access to mentorship. If you got stuck, you could have a mentor explain things to you until you understood. Or if you were simply stuck with a technical hurdle, they were there to help.

I am glad I've done the program and knowledge gained from the program has helped me land my first job as ...

A person must know some aspect of coding / programming: front-end (HTML, CSS, JavaScript) or back-end (databases, logic, architecture) before a person enters Lighthouse.

Otherwise, a person is overwhelmed and gains nothing. It is, after all, 8 weeks. In that time, a person can compliment one's existing skills, not learn an entirely new profession.

If they claim otherwise, one must think very carefully about this, and question them in as much detail as possible.

In 2015, their curriculum and half of their TA's were absolute rubbish, their exercises, assignments and tests utterly pointless and useless towards the meaningful projects.

Bear in mind, Lighthouse is a commercial, business entity. A student's fees is their source of revenue, not their post-Lighthouse success or fail...

I'm so glad I stopped self-teaching and took on this bootcamp. I had a comfy but low-paying job before this. I researched online a lot at first and found Lighthouse Labs was the most available with resources about their curriculum and their student outcome report. Since it's a full time (60-80 hrs a week to be expected) curriculum, I quit my job and took out a loan. I believe they're accredited for student loans now (a month after I started the course), so that's awesome.

One of the best things about this program is that they teach you to become a polyglot and an autodidact - fluent in multiple languages and able to learn new languages on your own. Due to this, my group went with building our final project with two main technologies that we hadn't touched on throughout the course. I ...

I applied at Lighthouse not fully knowing much at all about programming. The first week was rough; tons of new information to take in, mostly concepts and a huge workload. Every week only got harder. There was less work to do; but much harder assignments as time went on. Week after week was non-stop working; I dreamed about code and then woke up to do even more code... I'd say that if you are to take this course, DEDICATE yourself to it because your whole life for the next 8/9 weeks will be Lighthouse Labs. Also, please make sure you do like coding before starting this bootcamp. Quite a few people left due to realizing that this type of work is not for them.

I am a big fan of the way they did the curriculum (mostly). The cohort I was in focused on JavaScript for 6 weeks, then Ruby o...

Attending Lighthouse Labs' bootcamp was a serious kick in the butt. It's an unconventional approach to teaching, but very rewarding.
It's no stroll in the park, hence why they call it a bootcamp. However, if you're committed to learning and are serious about taking your education in your own hands, and make the effort, the instructors will go above and beyond to help you.