Northcoders

I spent a fantastic and intensive 3 months last year learning more than I ever did over the three years of my degree. I'd messed around with JavaScript a bit before but on Day 1 I was learning more and after each week, I couldn't believe how much I had... Read More improved. The teaching is excellent and the community is fantastic but my favourite thing about it is the curriculum design, which is really focused on what underpins good coding, not just the modern frameworks which are also covered. I was happily placed in a job with a decent salary and have already built up on that. They publish their placement data unlike a lot of bootcamps and as they have grown, the percentages have roughly held up (still well over 90% placed) and even quicker now than when I did the course. So if you are looking for a bootcamp in the UK don't feel you have to be in London - there's a thriving tech scene up in the north too.

I was a bit dubious at first - nobody seemed to have a bad word to say on the whole internet (except the bloke below - but you know, the clue is in the name..!) Because of that I went in to meet the team before I applied and it immediately changed my... Read More mind - you can just feel the buzz and scale of the place even when you walk inside the door. The team were beyond friendly and it is composed of good-hearted, ethical people who are trying to do good and help people. Fair play to them.

A friend of mine went to a competitor bootcamp and wound up saying she wished she'd not gone there because they seemed like they were just playing at it and copy-catting everything Northcoders said but didn't deliver the goods. They literally took her money online with no application process what soever so watch out for that. Not all bootcamps are created equal, they say... It's simply true, it seems..!

In terms of the experience it was extraordinary from start to finish and I found work in under 2 weeks. I really, really like my new job and am incredibly grateful to the team at Northcoders for making the match.

I guess my advice would be, watch out for bootcamps trying to copy success and don't be taken in by their cheaper prices or copy cat tactics. Didn't pay off for my friend... I believe Northcoders was worth every single penny three times over and would pay it again every time. Cheers guys.

The best part of the course is the group mentality - you spend 3 months with the same small group and help each other though but as one of the earlier cohorts it was still developing and growing as a course so there were flaws. It was a huge financial... Read More gamble and while levels of learning in a short time are very high the promises of being at a level to be hired and help finding work weren't met. Seems to have a good record of placing people in Manchester jobs but nowhere else.

- A sleek, well-designed curriculum with the introduction of the modular Developer Pathway.
- Great in-person technical support model with a helpdesk during sprints.
- Pastoral care taken very seriously
- No big egos
- Regular contact with industry hiring... Read More partners

18 months ago, I knew nothing about code. 15 months ago, I started the Northcoders bootcamp. 2 months ago, I started my second working at one of the best tech companies in the UK. If that doesn't inspire you I don't know what will! Northcoders is genuinely... Read More a fantastic place to learn and kickstart your career in tech. You'll learn the most cutting-edge tools and be in a better position than most Computer Science graduates by the time the 12 weeks are up. If you're on the fence about doing it, hop off the fence and do it! :)

The pros are you have tutors experienced in all the latest tec, constantly helping and assisting you if you’re stuck or need a bit of guidance.
I knew nothing about code but 2 weeks in I’d built a Node JS console Pokemon game. Fast forward another 2 weeks... Read More id set up a local server with API routes to Post and GET data using a SQL data base. Fast forward another week I’m hosting a site on heroku which allows users to look up a twitter handle and get their tweets, it then sends those to another third party API which reads all of these tweets and outputs what sort of person they are eg. Are they joyful, scared, upset or angry? This was 5 weeks into the boot camp after having no prior experience. I would recommend a boot camp to anyone as it changes your life completely regardless of experience if you have he attitude for it you’ll learn so much so quickly. Also he career support that’s given to its students is incredible there are always hiring partners coming in and speaking to students showcase their businesses, the boot camp will organise interviews with these company’s and a lot of students that finished the course gained Work within 10 days of leaving the course which is amazing!

The cons are that they can be quite expensive and it’s a big life decision to join a boot camp. However I believe that it’s worth every penny.

Difficult to say anything negative about Northcoders - after 3 or 4 weeks on the course I already felt like they deserved every penny and probably more. Simply lifechanging. The team clearly love what they do and that makes all the difference. It's taught... Read More in small groups with great tutor/student ratios (1:5 approx, which is tonnes better than most bootcamps), and you can repeat modules immediately if you don't feel confident yet. These days, NC graduates can expect to be hired in a matter of 10 or 15 days which is pretty crazy.

No surprise then that they've earned such a powerful reputation in the North. Businesses seem to know Northcoders grads are the best..!

Couldn't recommend more highly.

When I originally signed up to attend this bootcamp, I had opted for the part time as I knew that I can sometimes fall behind as things seem to take a little longer to go in with me sometimes. When I decided to switch to the full time, I was apprenhensive... Read More but excited. After a few weeks, I was just about keeping up with the fast pace nature of the course but soon began to slip behind. NC then give me the option to resit the some of the modules and it was honestly the best thing I have ever done. All the lecturers have taken time out to create new challenges and tailored work for my specific needs. All this extra help was fantastic but the most helpful thing they did was spent all the extra time going through the work with me, slowly and carefully to make sure I fully understood it so I was in a confident position to tackle the next module.

Northcoders has prospered at a time when other coding bootcamps sprout up and immediately disappear.
It's for a GOOD reason - this is a truly quality bootcamp, with people who don't just go the extra mile to make sure you have an amazing time and find... Read More work, they go an extra fifty miles.
The teaching team actually know what they are talking about, they're incredible, committed teachers and the team can nearly all code and all clearly love their jobs. It makes a difference.
They're well connected with, and respected by, some SERIOUS companies, and don't rely on recruiters to get you into work, they do all of that in house and set up interviews for you.
I had a humanities degree before coming to Northcoders, no technical background whatsoever just like the majority of their students.
A year later, I'm a Software Developer earning £35K, and that's realistic for Developers.

Just do it. It's the best decision I ever made.

The pros are:
Learning relevant coding skills and JavaScript
Being able to create projects yourself with one to one help available all the way
Hiring partners present to you so you get to know what the companies do and if you would like to work for them... Read More
Northcoders help you write your CV, apply for jobs and prepare for interviews
Final Project means you can use and develop using tech you have not used before