Makers Academy

- Really felt like I came out the course learning something.
- The course gave me confidence in the skills that I had learnt and I was sure that I could meet the job specifications for the jobs that I was applying for.
- Had a lot of fun playing about with different technologies.
- Improved my table tennis skills.
- GOT A JOB!! :)

Back in September 2017, after learning to code by myself for some time and getting nowhere, I have decided to do a boot camp course in software development. During my research, Makers Academy has always appeared on the top of the list for the top boot camp courses in London. I came to their demo day and I have been amazed by the web/phone apps every group has been able to build in such a short amount of time (the last two weeks of the course). I have decided to apply to Makers Academy and from the beginning, I liked how organised they were/are. You don't just apply and get a place. You have to prepare yourself for the interview and pass it, after studying all the materials they give you, in order to secure a place on the course. I actually didn't pass my first interview and have been as...

I took the Makers course in November 2017 and would thoroughly recommend it as a way of (i) learning the basics of software development and the standards expected in the industry, and (ii) "learn how to learn" new things fast and effectively.

The course is very much a hands-on experience, structured around pair programming and weekly challenges as opposed to formal lessons. I found it exhilarating and extremely effective but also very hard work. The atmosphere was incredible and support was also very good on both the technical side with the passionate coaches, as well as the human side with Dana being a superb joy officer looking our mental and physical wellbeing.

Finally the post-course assistance with job hunting was first class and just what I needed as a new developer

I may have stolen the review title from them, but it could not be more true. My passion for technology has reached a whole new level, and it is pretty much due to this amazing organisation. The whole system works pretty well. You need to be prepared to be challenged and to become a problem-solver. Luckily, you will have a lot of support from coaches and other fellow students, so the same is expected from you when others need it: to be able to help out.

It is a really intense experience, but it is totally worth-it!

The Curriculum:
-Workshops that have been improved with student-feedback for years
-Chances to focus on learning a stack you are into and build your own project with it
-A 'learn-to-learn' -focussed curriculum. This sounds like a cliché, but Makers Academy really teaches you how to approach learning a new language or framework.

The coaches:
-They are there to help you solve your problems, and by that I mean point you in the right direction so that it's you yourself who solves the problem.
-They take every single piece of feedback into account and are constantly updating and trying out new ideas for the curriculum

I think you need to be cautiously optimistic about the fact if i do this course i can get a job straight after. Whilst that did happen to a lot of the folk on my cohort, and my mentor struck up a job literally a day after completing the course! It did not for me. I am also profoundly deaf, so my learning process was slower and my job search even slower! I was still able to obtain a job within 5 months after completing the course! And on top of that I got to move up Yorkshire as a result! Makers teaches you how to code yes, but they were also huge preachers of self learning, self research and pair programming. I found pairing hard at first because of communication issues, however my coach was able to devise new innovative ways to expand on this such as 'silent pairing'. Silent pairing w...

The program is very well structured and is recognised by the industry as being the best of its type. The emphasis on TDD from day one puts the graduates of Makers Academy a cut above the rest of the bootcamps. Yes, it is very hard work and it is quite a fair sum of money. However, both of those things are investments in your future and I can easily recommend Makers Academy as being worth your time and money.

From 40-something crabby accountant to light filled software developer!
The best review I can give is, being made redundant in Jan17 as an accountant (with no programming knowledge), starting Makers Academy in May17 and then getting hired in October 17 as a junior software developer.
I can't recommend the course enough, it's incredibly hard but with effort and focus the investment can really pay off, I'm living proof a new career can be forged from this course (old dogs can learn new tricks!).
If I had to complete the course again I would have prepared a little more and gone in with extra programming knowledge but extremely happy I made the leap when I did.

I could write paragraphs about how great Makers Academy is, but I won't. It's all summed up in the other reviews...and it's all true. What I will say is that Makers enabled me to change my life. I was previously very unhappy in my career. I wanted to do something which I was passionate about, so I made the scary decision to change careers and pursue software development. I now work at one of the hottest tech startups (voted within the FinTech top 10 for 2017 and shortlisted for Best Use of Data & Analytics for 2018 - FStech awards). I work with some of the most brilliant and talented people in tech and psychology, building amazing solutions, learning at an accelerated pace and I love I what do. I never thought I would actually say that I look forward to going work.

It came with a LO...

I'm sure there are going to be a lot of people out there who will relate to my story. I started out coding early on in life and very quickly became disillusioned with the learning paths and degrees out there. The broadness and generality was tedious at best and everyone promised results and a job afterwards. In short I gave up my dream and decided that I would stay a bedroom coder and that was that.

15 years later, with 12 of those years spent in a dead end job, I had a conversation with a family friend who had gone through a bootcamp and walked into a job within weeks. I was sceptical at first but the more I investigated and spoke to people the more I was convinced that this bootcamp could be an option. An opportunity to take voluntary redundancy came up and recklessly I put all o...

If you love to learn, interested in coding and challenge motivates you and want to change careers then Makers Academy is definitely the place to go.
Amazing vibe, knowledgeable and patient coaches and the curriculum is the absolute best. You'll have the chance to learn the best codecrafting principles,
and the course enables you to reach your goals and become a better developer day by day.
Do they really teach you to code? I'd say the course gives you a very strong base that you can further build on. You have to put the work in if want this to work (just like with everything else), the course provides a pragmatic structure and guidance so you won't get lost in the maze of this beautiful new world.
The after course support is outstanding. They help a great deal to find you a job, an...

I can honestly say that Makers Academy was one of the best experiences I've ever had! I spent 3 months learning how to code in an engaging and supportive environment. The course is taught through pair-programming with guidance from coaches when required. I definitely learned far more at Makers than during my time at university, because it was so much fun. Whilst that might seem like a trivial statement, getting into software development (like most things in life) is difficult and is a career path where you have to carry on learning every day on the job, so having fun whilst learning makes it feel light and rewarding. In addition, the careers team at Makers have gone above and beyond to find the right role for me as soon as possible afterwards - I could not be happier with the way my ca...

Like a few other reviewers, my story is a little unusual in that I was a successful programmer in the financial services industry for about twenty years (using VBA & SQL). I was basically self-taught, but with some discipline I became significantly better using VBA than anyone else I'd worked with in years. Unfortunately, I was unable to break out of my comfort zone and I was seriously stagnating as a result. What's more, the jobs market was definitely not favouring my skills. My enjoyment of work and, frankly, my future viability were ebbing away and that's no way to live.

I tried a number of online training sites (both video and more exercised-based) in the evenings and early on weekend mornings. After some time I'd pick up a few keywords / methods in a language before stressi...

Makers Academy was truly life changing for me. I was looking for a career change into software with no previous experience in the role but knowing it was the area I wanted to desperately get into. Makers Academy offered everything necessary for me to go from unsure on where to start my journey into software development to being confident, knowledgeable and writing high quality code . I couldn't recommend it more.

Everyone at Makers Academy, be that the coaches or the other students, are fantastic and friendly which really shines through in their culture. This really creates a friendly collaborative environment where doing anything is encouraged as long as you're having fun and learning while doing it. You aren't treated like a student, but an individual. Everyone comes from div...

Makers Academy is not only one of (or the?) best coding bootcamps, it is also a great life changing experience. They are great in not just teaching how to code, but to approach the task of coding, and write not just a code, but the high quality one.

On top of that they have really great and inspiring atmosphere, these guys do great job getting students to the flow state and completely immerse them into kickstarting a new career. All the additional tools such as meditation, yoga, free coaching sessions are indeed very helpful in achieving outstanding results.

And not to forget about career team, who almost completely relief you from searching for the right company after you are done, but create (a) amazing reputation of Makers amongst the companies (b) entry level for the companie...

When I left my previous job in the arts and joined Makers I was terrified as I had little to no knowledge of computer systems and only 6 months experience of teaching myself to code. The bootcamp is an expensive investment in a career in tech but is worth every penny of the £7,500 fees if you are prepared to put in the effort. The course itself was demanding but I loved the emphasis put on the learning process and really appreciated the excellent support our coach provided over the 3 months.

At the end of the course Makers were fantastic about arranging job opportunities and I got two job offers within two/three weeks of finishing (although I think the average for this may be a bit longer). I can truly say that the Makers bootcamp changed my whole life. I now have a job that I ...

If you're reading this review you're probably in the same place I was; stagnant in one career, eager to level-up, interested in coding... fundamentally needing to change something. Did Makers Academy satisfy that brief? In short, yes it did, but what use is a short review.

Let me start by saying, be under no illusion about the pure intensity of the course. It's really 16weeks long if you count the month-long, remote-learning pre-course. I tried to complete my pre-course whilst working full time. It's not easy. In fact it's foolish to suggest it can be done to any great effect when distracted by the very thing you're looking to leave behind.

In my view, if you're not willing to give 7days to the course for the full 16weeks then don't apply. That may seem harsh but I challenge you...

This is an excellent bootcamp. The course is highly selective so you get to train with an excellent cohort of students who are driven and ambitious. The tutors are supportive and although you learn to work independently you are carefully guided if you experience any more intransigent coding issues. I am absolutely thrilled that I was able to experience this course and it is no exaggeration to say that completing the course has changed my career opportunities. The career support at the end of the course is outstanding and after graduation you automatically become part of a close community of coders who are leading the way in coding in the UK. My advice: Sign up now! You will not regret it!!

I was quite scared of spending £8000 on a 3 month course but after teaching myself to code for about a year and loving it, I decided to apply. I realised as soon as I entered the Makers building that this was worth it. There was no pressure to sign up during the interview process and everyone was completely relaxed as they asked me questions. It didn't feel like a school at all, more like a fun place to hang out.

During the course, I met some great people. My instructor (Mary) was the best teacher I've ever had. Dana (the welfare officer) was extremely helpful and her meditation sessions helped me during the course (it gets pretty hectic!). The rest of the team were great too and really helpful. My fellow students were also really smart and it became evident that Makers looks for a ...

I did Makers Academy intending to learn something crazy hard but equally useful, to challenge myself and to improve my career prospects. Three years later I can say all those boxes were ticked.

I had the time of my life while at Makers and the experience stretched me beyond what I thought I was capable of, and that ethos has stayed alive in me ever since, often stepping out of my comfort zone and overcoming seemingly impossible challenges. I got to enter an industry where we're cognitively challenged every day and I get to work with some of the most talented people I could ever imagine, in a career that's going from strength to strength... and I owe it all to Makers!

My story is a bit different from the average candidate and that is the reason I am leaving this review.

What make's me different from the average student, is a computer science degree.

Now, the first question I am being asked by almost anyone that have an idea of what a coding bootcamp is, is "Why did you take this course since you have a CS degree?".

The quick answer is:
1. I hadn't coded for a while and I thought that would be the fastest track to get me a job as software engineer
2. I am well aware that in the era of free information and the internet, you can teach yourself almost anything and feel any knowledge gaps on your own; but I am also aware of the time it takes to do that in a degree that makes you employable
3. If you do a thorough job search and look for CS o...

Makers enabled me to get that first foothold as a software developer. I did the course as a full career change. I had no previous coding experience.

The course gives you the knowledge and confidence to continue to learn how to develop software once the course is over.

It does not and cannot teach you everything. I am in Week 4 of my first developer role and am working on a micro-service written in a language not touched on the course, using application frameworks and testing frameworks I had never heard of before starting the job. There is also a significant amount of ‘Dev Ops’ in the role (which is great) but not touched on the course. Even though this role feels like the deep end, what I learnt at Makers has allowed me to float not sink. I’ll be adding value and coding independe...

I attended Makers from November 2017 to January 2018, and the course was fantastic. You're pushed to learn for yourself in ways that I've never really experienced before in any previous education. The coaches are friendly, and always ensure to put a big emphasis on your learning, rather than merely providing an answer - there is a real feel that everyone is oriented and aligned around the goal of ensuring people learn how to learn how program, rather than just learning Ruby or JavaScript. The course is well structured, and covers off a wide array of topics in a way that feels natural and makes sense. The careers support on offer is very good - the careers team put together an excellent careers fair for each cohort with a diverse array of companies that are suited to what most people mig...

My time at Makers Academy was genuinely one of the most enjoyable 3 months of my life. Every day, I got to learn a brand new skill set in an open, fun and engaging environment, surrounded by brilliant people who shared my passion for learning, in an institution that cared deeply for both my professional and personal growth. It was intense, challenging and sometimes draining, and I’m sure it’s not for everyone, but personally I couldn’t be happier with my experience at Makers and the path my career has taken since I completed the course.

Makers Academy was a transformative experience for me. Taking into account the course content, the quality of the coaches, the style of teaching, as well as the “experience” side of Makers - yoga, meditation, socials, comfortable physical setting, supply of free snacks - a great effort has been put in to make Makers an environment that’s geared towards quality learning. This is an intense, fast-paced course which requires a lot of personal dedication and resilience, but the rewards are clear. Though the curriculum currently focuses on Ruby and pure JavaScript, there is a great deal of room to differentiate and specialise within the curriculum, and the fundamentals which are thought provide a good springboard to start coding jobs in an array of different languages and technologies. I had...

Makers was an all-round incredible experience. After a couple of months of trying to teach myself to code, I realised I really needed some structure and guidance to make the career change into Software Development, so signed up to the course in November 2016, and haven't looked back.

The course is tough - getting into Software Development takes patience, but through pair-programming every day with different partners and the problem solving skill-set Makers teach you, it's an immensely rewarding feeling when you finally solve the problem you've been stuck on for a while as a pair. Be prepared to learn for yourself under the guidance of some amazing coaches - you won't be taught like you would be in a university degree or at school, but you'll be taught how to learn for yourself, an es...

I'm currently a co-founder at a tech startup. I'm writing this review 1 and half years on from completing the course and now I feel is a good time to reflex.

What happens

- The way they want you to learn is doing (which is perfect for me). Every week you get set a weekly task which you and a partner have to try and complete and this idea is great.

- Once a week you will review with the whole class certain problems

Pros

- They really focus of bringing everyone together and making everyone have the best time of the course by doing loads of social things (which I really enjoyed and most of the group also did)

- You get to work with a lot of people from different backgrounds

- All the teachers and founders really have the best in mind for the students and try there ...

The curriculum seems to be reasonably up-to-date and consists of weekly projects subdivided in small steps (with walkthrough in case you get stuck) you are supposed to pair program over. There are also additional workshops and informal lectures with a coach who is usually at your disposal to help in case you have questions, though you shouldn't expect a direct answer except on a few occasions: more often than not your coach will act as a guide to your incessant googling. This policy is grounded in the fact that MA doesn't want to just teach you how to code, but also how to learn. This might even turn out to be the case for some of the people in attendance but to me it just sounded slightly arrogant, as if they thought their students never faced a more intense intellectual challenge, whi...

I experienced every week to be so well structured - and deepend the knowledge and practice of writing code. I was always surprised by the high quality of program we were going through, the materials, coaches and staff support. I've not had a day regretting the cost of the course.

Job support:

Makers worked out great for me on this front. I got a job that I'm really excited about within 3 weeks of graduating, despite it being over the Christmas holiday period where there was a week holiday for employers. My job hunt comprised of doing two tech tests (which I failed, via Makers), two phone screen interviews (which I passed) and then follow up interviews, followed by two offers. One of these was via Makers which I accepted, one I found myself.

That said, I think I got pretty lucky. I was significantly less excited about the other jobs available when I graduated and so was lucky to score the one I did. If the company didn't happen to be hiring when I was looking, I'd probably be less satisfied. However, my preferences for a job were pretty specific, so I don...