Skill Distillery

First off I do want to say that Skill Distillery is definitely not for everyone. If you are willing to put in the time and effort then it can be very rewarding.

I came into the program with probably a lot more to lose than most others that come into the program. I have a wife and 2 young kids, only an Associate Degree in a non-technical field, and no coding experience.

The first part of the program was a deep dive into Java in which I struggled with. The instructors, Steve and Rob, are excellent instructors. They are both very knowledgeable and passionate. Seeing a bad review about Steve upsets me because if it weren't for him I would not be where I am today, a software engineer which I will talk about. With 4 months of instruction from these 2 instructors I was able to take and ...

I was a graduate of SD6 in late 2016. The instruction was clear, and the instructors and teaching assistants were great to learn from and work with. I knew basically nothing about software development when I started there. Fortunately, I received a good amount of help from both the staff as well as my classmates, and I was able to graduate and not only find work but also excel in my new career.

If you work hard and understand that the entry-level market is tough and you need to rise above the competition in order to succeed, Skill Distillery will give you the tools and the jump-start needed to find entry-level work as a developer. The instructors care about your education, so all you need to do is care about it as well. Prepare for a difficult few months as you cram information into ...

I went into this boot camp with zero knowledge of Java, it was a tough road to climb. It is a full-time boot camp, 9-5, but the TAs always stayed later to help answer any question you might have. It was the best resource the school offered. I put in 8-10 hours every day I was in this course and it paid off. I got several jobs offers upon graduation and I've been climbing the tech ladder ever since. The employers were somewhat hesitant about the boot camp, but as soon as we got to whiteboarding or discussing my knowledge of the technologies they knew what I was bringing to the table.
I would never say this boot camp was a magic bullet or that they taught me everything I needed to learn to be a successful developer, but they definitely helped me understand how to think like a developer....

Skill Distillery was probably the most challenging thing I've ever done in my life, but I don't regret it one bit. Having never written a line of code before enrolling in Skill Distillery, I struggled to keep up with the quick pace. Many of my peers had some prior coding experience and were able to catch onto subjects much quicker than I was. I would get frustrated that by the time a subject would finally click in my head, we would already be moving on to the next subject. I felt like I was always a week behind on the subjects we were taught, so it was very important for me to spend the extra time I needed at home or after class to try to catch up. So I grinded. Every day. I was putting in 10 to 12-hour days every day during the week, and about 8-hours each day on weekends working on ou...

Skill distillery is excellent. I felt I was taking a huge risk attending this program as many bootcamps receive polarizing reviews. I can’t speak to the quality of other bootcamps, but skill distillery did such a good job I have a hard time imagining other bootcamps doing any better.

I am not natural to coding, and I had no prior experience. If your situation is similar, the pace of the course will more than likely expose frustrations. But, stick with it and and you will be rewarded!

Speaking for myself, as one of the slower individuals in the course, I was still able to get through some tough technical interviews and received several offers from empoyers seeking an entry level Java developer. So, believe me, you will gain the skills necessary to find a job and be successful in ...

For those hesitant to enter into a boot camp, I understand. I had concerns about my age, my ability to learn a new skill, not graduating with a bachelor’s in computer science, the possible stigma of being a boot camp graduate by employers/companies, and the duration of my job hunt.

A little about me: I was in the military for 8+ years (non-IT related field), 30+ years old, with a bachelor’s degree in social science. Prior to completing Skill Distillery, I left the military during the summer of 2016 to pursue a second undergrad in computer science at a university located in Maryland. After a semester, I couldn’t fathom another 3 ½ years as I would be 33-34 years old by the time I graduated. Looking for an alternative solution, I started looking around for boot camps though it took me ...

Skill Distillery gave us all of the knowledge needed to get started in the software development industry in 16 weeks. Through a combination of hands on practice and lecture, we worked our way from core concepts and basic syntax to developing full stack web applications. They don't just teach you enough to make applications from a standard blueprint. Instead, the instructors work to convey an understanding of all of the parts involved so that you can stretch and grow your skills. At the time that I attended, they didn't do a lot to support people finding jobs after graduation, but my understanding is that they've improved in that area.

I was an electrical engineer who was looking for a career change. I was skeptical about boot camp but skill distillery has changed my mind.

The staffs are friendly and the course is challenging. As long as you are eager to learn and interested in programming you will do well.

First half you will learn Java and get ready to take in lots and lots of information. Personally I though this was the most important and basic part of the class. The instructors are always excited and ready to ask your questions. Always try to come up with questions.

For the second half, we learn front end and in between . It is fun and the instructors make it easy to understand the technologies.

I do recommend skill distillery and I think it is an awesome course as long as you are motivated and ex...

I will start off with saying when I first started my journey at the Skill Distillery, I was skeptical and wary. I had done a lot of research before hand and there were arguments for both sides. I am not skeptical anymore. From Day 1 to Graduation Day, I have had nothing but the best experience.

On to the instructors. From Steve to Rob to Andrew and to Kris, I have to say that the Skill Distillery has the best instructors hands down. I have taken a Java course at a college located in Denver (not naming any names) and the experience was dreadful. Steve taught what I had learned in a semester in two weeks and I was able to retain it all. I would like to take the time now to address the anonymous complaint against Steve by saying that it not only pure nonsense but 100% unfounded. There i...

I'm a veteran who has prior professional experience (not coding related at all) in the corporate world. My prospects were quickly turning into a dead end and I had a family to support. I knew programming was the way of the future but I didn't have the time to dedicate to getting a four year CS degree. If coding boot camps like Skill Distillery didn't exist, I would have been a slave to a less than optimal job outlook.

Skill Distillery has given me the tools I need to successfully break into the software engineering/development market. If you have a clearance you will have an immense number of job opportunities. Those who do not have clearances have plenty of opportunities as well. The market is booming! However, I won't sugar coat it. The process to get hired for positions that don't...

Skill Distillery is the place to join to prepare you to start your dream career as a Software Developer. Before I joined, I researched the various bootcamps available and Skill Distillery stood out for their commitment to effective education and successful career placement.

I joined the school in January, 2017 and graduated in May, 2017. My experience has been life changing. Skill Distillery has a fantastic team of instructors who are highly experienced in what they teach and very passionate about software development and seeing their students succeed.

During the 4 months of the program, I have learned a solid and effective software development skill-set and developed a portfolio of over 7 applications that showcase the value I could provide to future employees.

Close to gradua...

I usually don't leave reviews but I would hate someone to not truly consider this bootcamp. Hands down best money I have spent towards education and my career. I looked into this program because they had one of the more difficult programs (They actually taught difficult concepts that would make you very competitive, as opposed to bootcamps that teach "whatever is easy to learn") HUGE PLUS - they are military friendly.

The Program/ Material -
The program is intense and never leaves you feeling unchallenged. I went into this program already having a degree and some coding experience under my belt. I spent a full year coding in college and during the first 3 weeks here I was already covering things they university had not yet covered. This course is designed to make you grow and becom...

When I was searching for bootcamps in summer 2016 there were only two programs in the nation that accepted the GI Bill, so I can’t really say that my choice of Skill Distillery was based on extensive research. That being said, and knowing what I know now about the industry, I consider myself extremely fortunate to have attended this school.

Some things you should know:

1) Skill Distillery is, to my knowledge, the only bootcamp that teaches the Java programming language. This is a very important fact. Java is a completely different beast than Javascript (which most bootcamps teach, and which you will also learn here). Knowing Java automatically puts you into reach of many thousands of jobs that most bootcamp graduates will never have a shot at. (If you’re new to this, do an Inde...

Skill Distillery is one of the best educational courses I've ever taken.

The content and the execution are both excellent. Maybe these things were lacking in previous cohorts, but at this point it is very polished and is a great learning environment. My cohort is only a month out from graduation and about half are already employed in full time Java developer roles.

What makes Skill Distillery great?

1. The instructors (and admin):

Always someone available. Whether you're having trouble with a concept, or you want some overall wisdom for a particular design decision you're trying to make, they are there and can help you keep moving forward. One of the most valuable things was understanding their debugging process. If I was stuck on something for way too long, they could co...

In just a few months, I was able to acquire the skills necessary to land a job.

Skill Distillery was a challenging course, but I am so thankful to have gone. There were times when I felt ready to give up, times I didn't know what I was even learning only to finally understand it a week later.
I really enjoyed having multiple teachers present information coming from different backgrounds and experiences. The multiple rotating teaching styles helped as well, especially since different students learn in different ways.

As a USAF Veteran who had a bad experience with attending a school that claimed to be "Veteran friendly", I was thankful for the care Skill Distillery gave to its prior service students. It was also fun having Vets from all four branches in my class, providing comrad...

Skill Distillery is much more than a coding bootcamp. They do not want to produce "coders". They want to produce software developers ready for the workforce. How they do it: The class sizes are smaller, allowing an effective student : instructor ratio. The curriculum has great depth and is influenced by market demand. The instructors are all vastly knowledgable and truly love what they do. Every single student is of concern to the entire Skill Distillery team. They have a growing alumni, one of which I am now proud to be part of. The alumni is a key component to obtaining a quality job after the program is over. Companies throughout the United States are growing confident hiring new graduates from Skill Distillery due to the reputation of the alumni. This reputation is a direct reflecti...

Skill Distillery first caught my eye when I saw they accepted the GI Bill, and they happened to be close to home. I'd heard vaguely about coding bootcamps, and dismissed them without much thought, figuring they were all a scam somehow. But all of a sudden I had a relatively low risk option, and decided to check them out.

What I got was far beyond my expectations. I took about a year of computer science back in college, and this program blew through everything I knew in the first two weeks. It was challenging. Java is challenging. And adding in the full stack to build web applications with SQL, JDBC, JPA, JSPs, HTML, and CSS made me wonder if I could grasp it all. And then moving to JavaScript and building these apps using a whole other suite of technologies (Node.js, Express, jQuery,...

I would like to preface this review with the fact that before this bootcamp, I had zero experience and only an extreme interest in the idea of coding.

Application Process/Why I Chose Skill Distillery

After searching for about a week through different bootcamps across the country, I decided on Skill Distillery. I was prior military in Colorado, so going to school in Denver sounded like a great place to be. The fact that they accepted the GI Bill was a bonus factor for me, but not the primary.

The application process was fairly straightforward and quick. After sending an email to them, I heard back within one business day (I had applied on a Saturday evening). They had answered all of my questions and concerns, and within the next two, maybe three days, they had me take a 'crea...

Summary:

Skill Distillery is an intensive training program teaching in-demand technologies. Being successful in the program requires dedication and hard work. Completion of the program and understanding of the curriculum will give you the skills necessary to build and deploy a full stack Java web application (of relatively small scope). These skills are in demand – after one month on the job market I was invited to 6 on-site interviews with different organizations and received 3 job offers. During these interviews, employers were impressed with my knowledge of Java, the architecture of web applications, and how relevant the skills I had been taught were to the jobs they were hiring for. Skill Distillery has enabled me to begin a career in software development and was a great use of m...

I was part of the second cohort at Skill Distillery (SD) and my 19-week program ran from July through November. Of our initial class of 10 (with an additional person who audited some of it), two people dropped out fairly early, and one person joined us halfway to retake the second half of the course. We had a close-knit group where most everyone got along really well, we initiated study groups on weekends, some went to meetups together, hung out socially, and really got to know one another. Our group was dedicated and worked hard, I was impressed with how much each of us learned and I would be happy to work with any of them again in the future.

I tended to go in pretty early each day and often stayed late, plus I was reading and practicing coding for many of my evenings. This is not ...

Skill Distillery will take enormous amounts of both your time and money. Students have been exiting in droves after getting a glimpse into the inner workings of the school - my cohort started with 12 students, went down to 3, and is potentially losing more students before they finish.

Despite advertising decades of experience, we were only their third cohort. The previous cohorts consisted of 5 and 8 students. Skill Distillery hired a couple students out of the previous cohorts, but beyond that they provide no examples or success stories regarding students getting employment. From what I gather, some students have gone back to their previous employment. They refuse to showcase previous cohorts projects, probably due to the fact that one TA described them as 'sucking.'

Simple conc...