Makers Academy

TLDR: Tech is great, Makers is great. If you're reading this, change your career and join Makers already.

My previous career was in psychology. I left not because I hated it but because I did not feel fulfilled or challenged in the right way and I couldn't see myself doing it for the rest of my life. Leaving it and joining Makers was the best decision I've ever made.

Pros:
- Great atmosphere to learn and challenge yourself. They seem to have nailed providing a relaxed environment that encourages you to work your hardest for yourself, not for anyone else.
- Coaches make you really think about the questions you're asking and help you understand the more fundamental issues with whatever your problem is. This can be frustrating at the time but when you're stuck alone on a problem w...

I completed the Makers Academy bootcamp as part of a government software developer apprenticeship scheme. This scheme sought to re-skill existing civil servants into software developers to help grow the talent pool and bring about value for money on large government IT projects. I had no prior professional coding or IT experience before starting the course. This was a complete career change for me and something of a step into the unknown - with all the nerves that accompany such a dramatic upheaval.

I did however have a keen interest in the IT industry which had led me to undertake some web development courses on platforms like Udemy, along with some minor (and largely unsuccessful) dabbling in Java and C++ during my free time. I would strongly recommend that a personal interest or p...

Only 6 months ago I was in a career that I was bored of and looking to career change. Now I have a job as a software developer at a dream company and Makers enabled me to do this! As a result I wouldn't recommend going anywhere else in London and already one of my friends has enrolled on my recommendation!

My general thoughts:

Pros:
- There's a very friendly, supportive, inclusive atmosphere and my cohort have become really good friends for life. It's a wonderful environment to be in everyday.
- There's great support from what is a big and helpful careers team who assist you and prepare you well for interview. I was fortunate to land my dream job through the careers team within 2 weeks of graduating.
- The curriculum is great. It is constantly changing and is improved for every...

Before I started Makers I was in a job I hated, wishing I could be brave enough to change career path. I eventually took a chance, and ended up at Makers, thinking "how on earth can I learn all this and get a job at the end in just a few months?". But then I started the course, and worked with great people every day on tailored projects, and group work to simulate real industry projects. I finished at the end of December, and with the support of the careers team, found an amazing job through one of the hiring partners. That's another thing - Makers now has a great enough reputation that companies want to hire us straight out the end of the course. I would recommend this course if you thrive under pressure, and appreciate not necessarily being always taught the answer, but taught how to ...

I have been to makers to male a career change.
I had some doubt during the course about their process, so the head of makers took the time to speak with me and to listen to my feedback and change thing straight away after it.
This bootcamp is really open and listen to its students. They are really onto the wellbeing of the students as they have the amazing Joy officer Dana, and believe me she brings joy and smile to us when we were tired and down. She is just Amazing !
It also train in the best way to be a developer and to have good processes that you can use in every job.
I will never expect to learn that much and to have the level I have now in only 16 weeks.
It is intense but if you are motivated and have the passion for coding it is really worth it.
It was one of the most int...

Makers is the most successful, renowned, and effective coding Bootcamp in London. They offer an incredibly well-structured course with a large concoction of supporting staff and materials to ensure that they can quench anyone's thirst for knowledge. They won't do the learning for you but they will definitely do everything they can to support you through your journey. I highly recommend this course to anyone looking to transition into software engineering!

A recent graduate of Makers, I accepted a position as a Junior JavaScript Developer within 1 month of completing the course. I am a career-changer and had wanted to make the move into software development for years, and finally took the plunge in late 2018. I am SO glad I did! The course is very intense (it's called a bootcamp for a reason!) but I had a lot of fun and met some awesome people on the same journey as me. The technology they provide instruction on begins with Ruby (including Sinatra and Rails) before moving to JavaScript. This provides a solid groundwork for understanding the key principles of programming and provides a platform for 'learning how to learn' so that transitioning to a different technology or language is a smooth process. It is very much a self-lead learning e...

Having spent my time with a friend deciding what schools would be good for us to learn code, I really gravitated towards Makers and since I made the decision to join the course have not been disappointed. Am really happy with the community feel of the course and the willingness of not only the coaches to help improve you but members of your cohort as well. The 12 weeks can be intense at certain points, but once you have found a rhythm you are comfortable with, you will settle in quite quickly. Learning in Ruby first helped pick up the necessary skills and syntax that has helped me to challenge myself not only in languages taught on the course but languages that are not offered, such as Swift and C#. The activities provided also are very helpful, and I never thought I would take to Yoga ...

Pros:
Great introduction to programming with good learning materials.

Coaches have real industry experience.

Hands-on, interesting practical approach to learning.

Includes relevant working practices like agile working.

Teaches adaptable skills like how to learn new languages.

Cons:
Very intense hard work, may not suit everyone.

A lot of material to cover in only 3 months.

I attended this course as part of my Software Dev Apprenticeship. This means I applied for the course through work, and once I'd finished the course, I returned to where I worked to complete my apprenticeship. Before starting this course, I'd already been interested in being a developer, but it's not the easiest industry to get into, and there's a whole lot of stuff you need to cover before you can really get to work. This course was exceptionally good at explaining that, and in no way avoided the reality of the situation. It forced me to tackle subjects that I'd avoided because I didn't get them easily, and introduced me to things I didn't know existed.

Before starting the course, I'd already done stuff online in order to try and get into development - this involved online courses o...

I'm a career changer who wanted to join Makers for a number of years. I was attracted by their focus on learning methods and their values driven culture.
I had a fantastically intense time, met some great people and ultimately secured a developer role at a fab location.
I wasn't aware when I started that the post-course support was going to be quite as involved as it actually was. I had very regular contact with a great careers team and felt thoroughly supported in my job search - it took me approximately 3 months from graduation to starting my new job.

I recently graduated from Makers Academy and it was a phenomenal experience. It was a three-month journey that trained me to become a world-class developer, who is now specialised in tackling all kinds of problems and able to now work with either Web Development, software, or data.

It's also important to state that because of Makers I am now a full-time full-stack fully-happy software engineer.

The point of Makers and the reason why I wanted to join the boot camp was that essentially they encourage you to self-lead. To be the best you believe you can be, and to gather evidence yourself that proves that you are becoming a better developer. I was instantly in love with this style of teaching since it's so different from traditional schooling and my time in university studying Engli...

A brilliant experience. I would recommend this course to anyone and everyone (unless you're someone who needs a lot of structure and don't do well with self-learning)

PROS:
- Course was free (fellowship programme)
- Job guarantee (with above average salary)
- The people are awesome. Culture of respect and support
- Staff truly care about students. All staff, from admin to facilities to coaches to careers
- Coach support; if you're driven you can ask them anything
- Emphasis on industry best practices (TDD, Agile, pairing, clean code)
- Super fun environment. It really is a pleasure to be there
- Focus on health and happiness (BRILLIANT therapist on campus, Dana Svoboda, who heads meditation, yoga, and group/one-on-one therapy sessions)
- Freedom to learn what you want
- Fas...

I'll try to keep this review as honest and balanced as possible. I relied on the reviews on this site when I looked at bootcamps and I'll do my best to set realistic expectations based on my experience so far. I met with 3 UK bootcamps (We Got Coders, General Assembly and Makers). I whittled it down to We Got Coders and Makers and after attending the final projects demonstration of the latest cohort I settled on Makers.

TLDR; A great bootcamp that taught me the fundamentals of back-end and front-end web development, along with a mindset for how to create good quality, maintainable, changeable code. It has its challenges, and the learning style can feel very uncomfortable at first but worth sticking with. In the end I got 3 offers (2 x front-end and 1 x back-end) within a month of gra...

You’re reluctant to believe all the “it’s the best thing ever” reviews, I get that. But you don’t have to worry.

If you prepare, work hard, focus and are a team player; Makers really will be the career changing utopia nearly everyone is correctly reporting it to be.

The focus on how to work in a development team rather than individuals code bashing is right.
The focus on learning to learn rather than lessons on specific syntax is right.
The focus on group projects rather than individual achievement is right.

It’s OK, you can believe the hype.

I have never worked harder in my life but I enjoyed every day of my time at Makers.
The curriculum is set up to provide enough structure to guide you down the correct learning paths but also provide you with enough freedom to explore what you find interesting in your own way. The amount of new information can feel quite overwhelming at times but the coaches and other Makers staff have seen it all before and have all the tools to help keep you motivated, relaxed and happy.
The variety in the working styles from pair programming sessions, group projects and individual activities is a fantastic way to not only learn new programming languages but also simulate a more realistic professional working environment which would be impossible on your own.
Once you finish the course the careers...

Makers is definitely not a spoon feeding experience. You are thrown in at the deep end regularly, but this is what makes you grow and learn the best. And the coaching team equip you with the tools and offer any additional support you require. I now feel confident in my ability to learn and pick up anything that might be required of me in a job as a software developer.

But beyond learning to code, the emotional intelligence side of the course was life changing for me. I generally feel less anxious and calmer when faced with a challenging situation.

I also met some great people - both fellow cohort members and coaches. Overall it was a hugely fun experience and I really can’t recommend it enough!

I also got offered a great job super quickly with a great deal of help and work be...

I loved my experience at Makers. It's the kind of place that you'd read about existing in a Nordic country and think 'I wish they had something like that here in the U.K'. But it is here, in London. Makers approach to education is very progressive; the focus is on improving your skills and not comparing yourself to others. There is also an emotional intelligence aspect to the course which is very useful for keeping your head in check when faced with the different challenges that arise.

The curriculum is great. The emphasis is on learning by doing, and most of the course involves pair programming and group work, which really helps prepare you for working in a real development environment. There are also plenty of workshops that run throughout and good software development principles ...

I loved the culture of Makers from the very first day, every aspect of the course was thoroughly considered and the staff seemed so dedicated towards a cause that they seemed genuinely passionate about - training the next generation of great software developers. The fact that you don't get awarded a 'formal' qualification allows a responsive curriculum where each new cohort benefits from the feedback of those that have gone before.

Makers has a unique approach, in that rather than focussing on teaching you coding languages, you get taught you how to learn for yourself so that you can learn any language. It wasn't until I started job-hunting that I began to really appreciate how well the curriculum was designed, particularly in terms of working with others, communication and emotiona...

I believe you've heard many Makers graduate saying that they love Makers and those 12 weeks are their best time of their life ever. I heard that too from several of them before I started the course, and I could hardly ever believe it. It almost felt creepy and I rather felt rebellious and decided that I wouldn't be one of those worshippers of Makers Academy. As you could tell, I failed; I genuinely LOVE Makers Academy and I honestly recommend this school to anyone who's considering changing their career.

I was a Pastry Chef before Makers for various reasons, but I had always wanted to work on some intellectual career. I studied Python on my own for a year, but felt like it wasn't going anywhere. I couldn't decide if going to Makers was the best option even after I paid all tuition (I...