Makers Academy

There are plenty of options when it comes to coding bootcamps! If you're reading this you're probably looking at 5 or more different courses at the same time. I was in the same position last year & I've now finished my Makers experience and feel ready... Read More to tackle the software development world! The focus with Makers is very much about you growing as a student, dev & person and less focused on learning the hottest current language or cramming in absolute maxi different languages over a three month period. This might turn some people off, but for me, as a total beginner, this was perfect! It can be overwhelming and by no means is the Makers course simple or easy! But with the tools taught and the lessons followed all of a sudden I found myself coding for fun!

Wonderful course. The coaches were very supportive even in a remote setting. They seemed to truly care about what we were getting out of the course and our wellbeing. I feel more confident not only a developer but as a leader and team member. I've finished... Read More with improved communication and research skills and a better sense of myself. There was a real focus on how to learn. I thought I was already proficient in this skill but turns out I had a lot of improvements to make - now I feel like I could teach myself any language. I would highly recommend this course.

I am a career changer, so it was with a lot of excitement, but with no little trepidation that I embarked on a software development bootcamp with Makers Academy. I needn't have worried. The course is fantastic. Demanding, challenging, intense, yes. But... Read More also incredible. The coaches, are superb, and mindful that they are there to teach students 'how to learn', not 'what to learn'. With this in mind, some of the most powerful takeaways from the course are not just technical, but more profound life lessons; the ability to drive self directed learning, emotional intelligence, and effective team working. This course rewards investment; the more you put in, the more you get out. And bonding, and collaborating with your cohort, is were the real joy is. I undertook this course remotely from Bristol, and thoroughly enjoyed, and felt engaged with the course at all points. Would recommend.

- The course material is really good and you can always ask for coaches' help when you feel stuck. - The course puts a lot of focus on TDD, Agile and Pair Programming, which are required best practices nowadays. - During the course, there are a lot of... Read More opportunities to work in teams and review others' code. - Chance to do reviews with external company. - Makers community is great and alway willing to help. - After graduation you can get help with your CV and you can be advised while preparing to different kinds of interviews.

I attended a fully remote bootcamp, which I think makes it more difficult to assess whether you get value for money. Pros: - Whilst most of the materials is available, doing a bootcamp like makers means that you are likely working alongside a group of... Read More people as dedicated as you to succeed. It also opens up avenues for future career support and gives access to an industry that would otherwise be very difficult to break into. - The course is balanced and tries it's best to ensure that it is supportive to both "stronger" and "weaker" students - Good careers support afterwards with access to hiring partners Cons: - Hard to justify the same cost for doing the course remotely as it would have been in person. Makes getting hold of coaches harder, and can often feel quite alienated I would definitely recommend the course for anyone thinking about changing career or starting out fresh. I would have struggled to get into the industry otherwise, but with Makers I've now changed careers and got my first developer role in the space of 5 months!

I have been keeping an eye on Makers Academy for a few years, I subscribed to their newsletter, went to demo days and events at their office. Unfortunately, I could not afford to give up my job and enrol in the full-time course so when the opportunity... Read More came to be part of the first part-time cohort, I had to take it! The application process was easy, I had a phone call interview followed by a pair-progamming session with the future coach, and I was told on the spot that I am in. My cohort was a small one, there were only 5 of us but it worked to our advantage. We were all employed full-time and doing the course for 3 hours in the evening Mon-Thursday, a longer session of 5 hours on Sunday and individual study on Fri-Sat when we usually had projects to finish. It was intense, not only because of the curriculum but because of the schedule as well, we didn't have a lot of time to ourselves and that's why the support that Makers offered was so important. We had wellbeing workshops and our coaches were highly empathic and patient. There were also meditation and yoga sessions that some of my colleagues who were working from home attended regularly - unfortunately, not my case as I had to commute. The curriculum is interesting, I enjoyed all the projects that I worked on. You get to learn a little bit of everything but the experience is not your usual conventional education. There is a big emphasis on teaching you how to learn for yourself. We were encouraged to do our own research, to learn through practice. If someone wanted to learn another programming language or a different technology, they could do so during the individual learning days. If someone felt like they needed more challenging tasks or exercises to practice outside of our sessions, our coaches were able to provide that. But we could also reach out to them for emotional support. A month after finishing the course, I have already had an interview and the future looks good! Makers offers job support after finishing the course and I know that if I have any questions, there is someone who can help me. I can honestly say that this experience has changed my life and I am sooo glad that I chose Makers.

Pros: - The people you meet on the course are fantastic and social life was great - Teaches modern software development practices from the ground up such as TDD and Agile - The working environment encouraged the fast learning required to change career... Read More - There was a strong focus on how to do well in tech interviews and loads of practice resources Cons: - Quite expensive, but office location was prime and after course support and business connections were invaluable Note: I completed the course onsite pre-corona

I was part of the first part time cohort for Makers' bootcamp, running July 2020 - Feb 2021. Studying part time alongside a day job is really hard work, but Makers' culture puts student wellbeing at the heart of the experience - I don't think I would... Read More have made it through without this support. Coaches were sympathetic to the evenings where energy levels were lower, or external commitments meant someone in the cohort was running late, and they always emphasised the importance of taking care of ourselves first and foremost. The course was really enjoyable - fortnightly challenges give a satisfying sense of progress, and it's all structured to let you stretch yourself as much as you want to (or have time for). I also really appreciated that the course was based more around understanding effective coding practices that apply in any language, rather than technical drills that might be too language-specific. I feel equipped to go out and learn new languages and techniques in my career. The final project module was less satisfying - possibly we were just running out of steam after 6 months, and longer stretches working on the same project dragged a bit, but I expect this might be adapted to for future cohorts.

I started this course with only two weeks of experience in coding, and now, 5 months later I'm about to start my first role as a software developer. Pros: - The coaches are great, super helpful and keen to ensure you've understood the concepts but you... Read More need to reach out and ask for help. - You are in a cohort with like-minded people of all abilities so you'll find yourself sometimes learning from others or taking on a teacher-role. - The job-hunting support is great, lots of workshops on offer with great career coaches. Cons: - The curriculum could use an update, especially the front-end material. We spent about 7 weeks on Ruby/Rails, 2 weeks on Javascript, 1 week on consolidating and 2 weeks on the final project. The 4-week pre course material was also on Ruby. I think a bit more of a back-end/front-end balance would make graduates truly feel like full-stack developers.

Coming straight out of a uni course I didn't want to do professionally, I felt lost. I joined onto Makers after a sizable investment, with little idea what to expect beyond having been interviewed by a course coach. I was nervous for the first week, but... Read More during the first weekend I came to the conclusion that I was really, seriously learning. The course does a fantastic job of getting you up to speed with not only the tools required to succeed in a tech environment, but also teaching you to learn and motivate yourself. I came out of Makers with my skepticism completely gone and a great developer skillset. There is a huge amount of support for your money, however, you must actively seek the support out. This is an issue I had with the latter end of the course, as once the teaching had finished I felt that I had, somewhat, been left to figure things out for myself. With no exposure to the professional world of tech, I was unsure of the differences between job descriptions and role requirements. I found what I wanted after much self-motivated research, but I would love to see more structure around the jobseeking portion of the Makers course. That being said, there is a huge amount provided in both learning and mental health support. I had been told the course would be intense and while it was fast and covered a huge amount, I found that the wellness support provided by the Makers staff went above and beyond in making me feel confident and comfortable. Makers helped set me on a path and they are very worthy of all praise. As I move into the Makers Alumni part of my experience, I hope that the fantastic support they've shown throughout continues.