The Software Guild - CLOSED

This course is no joke! From day 1, you are coding at 100mph. The experience you acquire is amazing, and you cover a ton of material. In 12 weeks, you can go from ZERO coding experience to building full stack, data driven web applications. The Software... Read More Guild atmosphere is a family one, and once you are in, you join 400+ developers who have come before you. With hands on experience from senior developers with 15+ years experience, you have amazing mentors at your disposal.

I attended the Java Cohort in Akron and Pat Toner was my instructor. He is an absolute beast as a developer. His daily stand up meetings keep things fun and light, and really made the course enjoyable for me. You will also have access to dozens of instructors and previous guild graduates that are always eager to help you work through problems via slack. Matt in the front office is going to be your anchor for job placement. I'm not sure how he keeps his ducks in a row, but the guy is invaluable when it comes to looking for a job. With all of these tools at your disposal, and an amazing program that the Software Guild has created, you will no doubt be an outstanding programmer in 12 weeks.

The one thing that I recommend is that you study your chosen language (Java or c#/.NET) as much as you can before your first day. It is easy to fall behind learning new material at what feels like light speed. Even if you can get a basic understanding of the data types, method bodies, and classes, it will make things 10x easier for you while you are there.

I cannot speak highly enough of the training and support I received from The Software Guild. Aside from the rigorous and top-notch training, this bootcamp is like an incredibly tight-knit family--every member of which really wants you to succeed. It was... Read More a very challenging program and with that comes mental and physical exhaustion, but I was prepared for coding in the real world and still have support and answers from the crew at Software Guild when I need them. My instructor was invested in my success and encouraged us all when the challenges of the program mounted along the way. As the title says, I have never doubted my choice to attend Software Guild and would recommend it to anyone.

I was part of the Java cohort at the Software Guild from Feb to May 2016 in Akron, OH.

My background: I got my bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering in 2012 and worked for about 3 years in the offshore construction industry. While working on a side... Read More project, I started to learn web development on my own. My interest in programming grew and I decided to pursue a career in software. I considered the option of going back to school to get a computer science degree but it was way too expensive and time consuming. Luckily, I came across information about software bootcamps and immediately started to research into them.

Why ‘The Software Guild’? I spent a long time looking into several bootcamps but I finally settled on the Guild for 3 main reasons:

One of the few bootcamps that teaches object-oriented programming along with web development. OOP is a very important concept in computer programming and the course is designed in such a way that you will be learn and implement OOP principles.
Awesome instructors and staff. They’re all pros with many years of experience and a passion for programming.
Low cost of tuition. Total cost of studying at the Guild including tuition, accommodation, transport etc. is considerably lower than other bootcamps on the East/West coasts.
Is it hard? Yes and no. You will be bombarded with a lot of information over a short span of time. Some concepts are difficult to understand right away and need time to assimilate. However, if you put in the hours and utilize the resources that are available - you will have the “eureka” moment where all the pieces fall into place and make perfect sense.

What’s the outcome? You will learn and implement OOP concepts, unit testing, n-tiered design, web development using MVC design, agile software development and also various other dev tools and technologies. If your aim is to get a job after the bootcamp - rest assured the skills that you will learn at the Guild will put you in a good position to apply for entry level software developer jobs.

Conclusion: The curriculum at the Guild was cohesive and relevant to the requirements of my first job. This helped me transition into my new career as a Software Developer and has provided with a solid foundation of knowledge and skills. I would recommend the program at the Software Guild to anyone who is serious about a career in software development.

The software guild was a fantastic way to kickstart my software development career. I graduated college with an inkling that I might want to get into development but had no real path to do so without going back to school for another 4 years. Instead I... Read More stumbled upon the software guild and it changed my life. They immerse you for 10 weeks from 9-5 in full stack development which left me feeling prepared and equipped to find and succeed in a career of software development.

I was an apprentice in the Software Craftsmanship Guild's Fall 2013 Java Cohort. The Software Craftsmanship Guild was an excellent experience, and I highly recommend it.

I believe that I am the first of our cohort to review, so I'll share some stats. 7... Read More started, 6 finished. Job seekers who weren't already affiliated with staffing firms all received jobs. 2 received full tuition reimbursement.

Like many of the apprentices who left reviews, I had no background in software development. I had been teaching in a private school in Beachwood, OH for five years and I was looking for a change. I had really wanted to enter the software space, but was having difficulty figuring out how to do it.

I tried to take advantage of online coursework, both free and paid, but they were all lacking. All of those courses could teach me the concepts, but they couldn't provide me with enough exercises to truly reach mastery. These courses could provide experienced and thoughtful instructors who could lecture, but that was about it. I wanted someone who I could interact with, ask questions to, review my work, and coach me. In the online courses, I was all by myself. Forget about instructors, I had no camaraderie. At the guild, I would be working with every member of the cohort as we tried to learn and use this new information. Lastly, the online courses are interested in providing you with information. I wanted to be mentored by experienced developers. I wanted to create a network with other (future) developers.

The Guild provided me with all of those things and more.

Eric Ward, our instructor was, and continues to be, a tremendous teacher and friend. He is at the cutting edge of his discipline and can still make any and all of these concepts accessible to the neophyte. He was supportive but pushed us to get better. He taught us concepts, best practices, and helped us get a feel for the new industry and what employers were looking for.

Eric Wise, although not with our cohort day to day, brought headhunters, career advisors, and other meaningful speakers to help navigate the job search and enrich our experience.

The other apprentices were absolutely fantastic. I am happy to say that over 12 short weeks I have made new friends, coworkers, and network contacts. I hope to stay in touch with them for a long time.

As fantastic as the program is, your success rests in your own hands. It is a lot of work. It can be overwhelming and intimidating at times. However, you can do it, and everyone there will do everything in their power to help you. But you have control your own destiny. You have to put in the time both during hours and after hours. You have to practice and repeat. You can't be bashful about asking for help. I know that I was shameless about doing so.

One last piece of advice: I used something called the "Two Week Rule." I realized that whenever we were learning something new that I would only completely understand it or feel completely comfortable with it after two weeks. By doing this I was able to limit the anxiety and overwhelming confusion of new concepts. If you can convince yourself that this is the case (and you do the requisite work) your life will be much easier (especially in the first four weeks).

Take this course. Be great!

I decided to attend The Software Guild after being fired from a local restaurant as a server. I had given almost 10 years of my life to working in restaurants and was feeling major dissatisfaction with what my future looked like. Not to mention that I... Read More had just had a daughter and now I needed to provide for my family. I knew nothing coming into the pre-work which I was able to navigate through with some effort. My time in the program is something that I will never look back on with anything but pure appreciation. The instructors and staff gave me guidance and the courage to move forward when I felt overwhelmed or not cut out. In the end I graduated with enough working knowledge to land a job at a company that appreciates me and my talents that I gained at the Guild. I am a full stack web developer building an app now that isn't scheduled to be finished until 2020! How's that for job security?! If you're asking yourself if this is the right thing for you take a hard look at the world you live in today. The Software Guild isn't just teaching you to code they're ushering you into a future that is ripe with opportunity and that gives back when you put your time and energy into it. The Software Guild is the greatest investment I've ever made.

This was an intense 12 week course that challenged me every step of the way. I started the course with no coding background and felt like I was always trying to catch up to my peers. In the end I completed the course and after a little de-stressing realize... Read More how much I really learned. Upon landing a job as a software engineer, my solid background in Object Orientated Programming and C# became evident to me.

I would recommend this course to others who are willing to put aside their life for 12 weeks to learn the material so you can launch yourself into a new career.

I recently graduated from the Software Guild's C# online program and I have to say that it was the one course I should have taken years ago and wish I never took! Why? I wish I started learning with these folks years ago. My career would be looking very... Read More different right now. But it was also the toughest course in IT that I've ever taken! It was extremely challenging, and they required me to learn many things. I love it now, because they got me through the 'tough' learning parts to properly teach me OOP, and C#.

Their course is done in such a fashion that every lesson and every assignment is especially challenging. If you try to breeze through, you won't be able too.

Would I recommend this course? Whole heartedly on one condition. You better be serious about learning C#. If you are not, you won't get through it. But if you do graduate, you'll have a well rounded education that will project you into the future!

When I first told people about the Software Guild, I always felt like I was describing a get rich quick scheme, because that's what is sounds like when you say things like "double your salary in only 12 weeks". It was only through a lot of research did... Read More I finally decide to take the plunge, and I'm glad I did.

I attended the guild in February 2016, and was taught by Victor. He was a very good teacher, and, especially in hindsight, extremely patient. He taught the subject matters with efficiency and skill, and actually desired to thoroughly dive into our questions. When the students started to become a little more compentent, he certainly expected us to find more answers for ourselves which was a little frustrating, but I understood (many in my class did not understand this in terms of teaching style, but to each his own).

The coursework is heavy and will require 100% of your attention for the duration. I recommend at least attempting a basic programming online course in either javascript or your course's language before attending, so you are not completely lost. Having done this, I felt at an advantage, and spent a little less time worrying and more time moving on to more advanced topics.
There were a few in the class that either dropped or barely skirted by and never got a job because they didn't put the work in. The work that you do is what will get you the job.

The guild adequately prepared me for an Associate position. A year later, I'm still feeling competent and happy with my decision. The life of a software developer is one of lifelong learning, and people who are ready for that will enjoy the guild despite its difficulty.