Turing School of Software and Design

TL;DR: Turing is a fantastic choice that is extremely challenging but ultimately very rewarding. Be prepared, don't underestimate anything about the process and you'll be happy with the end result.

I consider attending Turing one of the best decision I've made in my life. I spent 10 months in the program and it was extremely challenging. I was by no means a "top" student and repeated modules multiple times. Early on in my time there, I felt like I didn't have the chops to personally succeed in the program. But I had great teachers and a mentor who really supported me when I'm not sure I deserved it. As time progressed through the program, I made some personal life changes that helped me get to the very end. If you're considering this program, I'd highly recommend that you do it but w...

Making the choice to go through Turing's program was one of the best decisions I've ever made. It's hard. That's no joke. But it's also a very good program. I did a lot of research into options when I was making this decision, and there were a number of reasons Turing came out ahead for me. Their status as a nonprofit was a big one. Another was the campus. It's humble. It just has what you need to do the thing, and for me, that was a selling point. It said to me that they are confident enough in the core of what they are doing to let that speak for itself. That assumption was right. The staff is excellent, they genuinely care about every student there. And do their best to help you be successful. I have a new life now because of this program. And it's a far better life than I came in wi...

I very much enjoyed my time at Turing and got an amazing new job a little more than a month out from graduating. I considered several different bootcamps and the thing that sold me on Turing was the staff and the commitment to excellence. Turing isn’t the 20th branch of a corporately owned bootcamp churning students and catering to investors. Turing is a single-location non-profit and the founders are down in the basement day in and day out critically analyzing everything they do and continuously improving the curriculum. I’m actually jealous of the current students because I feel like the curriculum has gotten markedly better even since I was there a few months ago.

Turing also has a very good reputation with employers because their graduates are actually job ready. Turing is very ...

I had the luxury of going through Turing as a white guy with a master's degree and a history of being affirmed in the STEM field. I highlight this to say that my perspective on the challenge of Turing is pretty pure to the work and curriculum itself and not to larger systemic or identity pressures and stressors from things like race, class, gender, education, etc.

That being said, Turing is *really* hard. It really is non stop work for seven months for at least 60 hours a day (and a mellow day at that). The Turing difference is that you develop insane endurance for problem solving and spending all day thinking like a programmer.

I went through the back-end program covering Ruby and Ruby on Rails, but the curriculum and instructors pave a road for students that leads them to a plac...

To preface, I was installing commercial washers and dryers right before starting Turing, I left that job to start the program. I was very unprepared and had done very little before coding before my first day of class. However, I quickly found that by committing enough time and energy I could learn anything. The staff was incredibly helpful in directing the learning and the classmates really made the difference. There is a bond that is formed with your cohort that is hard to describe, they are your grounding throughout the process and essential to any individuals success. I got a job after an extended job search (solely my fault) and it has been truly life changing. I now make more than double what I previously did and I couldn't be happier with the direction my life is now heading. I ha...

I graduated from college in 2011 with a major in Political Science and a minor in "International Studies", whatever that is.

I have never, ever used the "skills" I gained in college. No one has ever asked to look at my resume, or asked me about my college education.

The skills I gained in Turing, on the other hand, are extremely relevant. I'm now a software developer, and I'm about 1.5 years into my first job.

I suspect my entire working career will fall into two categories:

Pre-Turing
Post-Turing

I'm feeling really good about my post-Turing career. I enjoy the work I do every day, and I'm well paid. I have significant growth opportunity in my career, and I have a healthy work-life balance. I can spend time with my wife and family, friends, etc.

I appreciate w...

Turing was more rigorous than my four years of college combined. The difference I've experienced leaving college with a business major vs leaving Turing is when you walk into interviews you can prove that you can do the job or you can translate what you know to perform the job required. That is what I love most about Turing. I will never have to walk into an interview and say things like "I'm a natural leader", "I'm a real go-getter", or any other lines that embarrass me just to type. Walking into interviews with many projects that display you can perform the job, on a tight deadline, working with others or independently, and then prove you can solve difficult problems on the fly in a code challenge, is a far superior way to walk into an interview.

If you choose to go this route, be ...

When I applied at Turing, I was working for the state and in restaurants. I was never paid enough, always living paycheck to paycheck, and often I felt I worked for under qualified or incompetant managers. Initially, I had no strong desire to be a developer, however I knew I was a hard worker who had worked bad jobs and was unhappy. My thought process going into software development was, if I did not like coding then I would still be unhappy, but at least I would be paid well. When I was getting into code I was debating between Galvanize and Turing. My brother (who is a CS degree holder and software developer) was pushing me to learn code and was pushing me to Galvanize as he had heard of it before. Turing had a class that started earlier, and so I made the most fortuitous decision of ...

8 months ago, I was working as a financial aid officer at a small school and I was bored out of my mind. Career growth was small and I knew I wanted to do something that challenged me and elevated my current level of living. Through a lot of research and talking to alumni, I settled on Turing School. I started in June 2018 in the Back End Engineering program and just graduated a few weeks ago (January 2019). The down and dirty is Turing was the most difficult, yet rewarding thing I have ever done.

The work load is intense. I spent the better of 50-70 hours per week working on projects and studying. Stress levels were high, work-life balance was very very hard to maintain and most of us really didn't have much of a life outside of Turing. We were in it together though and the support ...

I write this one year to the day that my Turing journey began, and four months into my first job out of the program. I remember showing up, and being intimidated and nervous about the decision I had made to come to this school in the hopes of launching a career change into tech. Could I make it through this? And if so, was I even going to get a job?

The next seven months were some of the hardest of my life. Consistently spending upwards of 80 hours , 7 days a week in a windowless basement in downtown Denver, putting aside time spent with friends and family takes its toll. However, I can say without any shred of doubt that all that time and effort was 100% worth it. Every. Single. Penny.

The staff at Turing is phenomenal. They know how far they can push you, and they absolutely w...

I get that this is a big decision. I had to decide if I was going to cash out my 401k on top of borrowing a big chunk of money to do this. Luckily, it was the right decision. After going through the Turing School of Software & Design's Front End program I was able to land a job I enjoy making $73k a year. That's a big jump from the $38k I was making as a retail store manager. We're about 8 weeks out from graduation and everyone else in my cohort who has accepted positions are making as much or more than I am. So, is this a path to a better life? Yes. But you have to enjoy it because it's an incredibly intense program. I'd say I spent 60-70 hours a week working hard in Turing (between class time and project work), so it's definitely going to demand your full attention. And it's not just ...

What sets Turing apart from other bootcamps is the amazing community. Most coding bootcamps can teach essentially the same coding skills but you can't get the quality of community that you get at Turing at other bootcamps. The support I received from the staff, alumni, and other students contributed to my success throughout the program and ultimately helped me get a job before graduation.

Staff: Even before my first day of class, I could tell the staff cared deeply about students' success. Throughout the rigorous curriculum, they were supportive and always available to help. They all go above and beyond to make students feel confident and make sure students know what they need to know to be successful engineers (not just get through the program - they want you to be successful as an ...

I thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated my experience at Turing. I've had a lot of formal education over the years (clinical doctorate in physical therapy and a combined BS/MS in biomedical engineering), and I also worked a few years as a middle school teacher. From being involved in many areas of education as both a student and teacher, I was very impressed with how Turing's curriculum (technical and professional development) is designed. You can see they make a strong effort to use best teaching practices and to emphasize key skills in software development throughout the program. It's also quite impressive how quickly the curriculum adapts. Every module, students give feedback to the instructors and often the next module changes are already in place. Turing definitely teaches and follows...

Turing gave me what I needed to start a new career. Before I attended Turing, I was trying to teaching myself web development online when I came home from my teaching job. Eventually I reached a point where I knew I needed to take a leap and commit to a rigorous program in order to gain the skills necessary to get a software engineering job.

I learned more during my seven months at Turing than I ever thought possible. I also really appreciated the community of Turing -- my cohort was amazing and cohesive, and the staff are all invested in helping students succeed.

Turing was definitely stressful, but for me it was 100% worth it. I started my first dev job three weeks after graduation, and am so happy to be working in this industry.

My Turing experience was incredible. The curriculum, and instructors were the absolute best. By far the most challenging thing I'd done academically done, but well worth it. My friend recommend Turing to me and I'm glad he did.

TL;DR - This isn’t a place to get good grades and earn a certificate; this is a place to get job ready. Along the way, you’ll be part of an awesome community and meet some amazing people.

Before going on, I’ll preface my more detailed review with a reminder that this comes from own experiences which, of course, can/will be different from others’.

Regarding the technical curriculum, I think it was generally well structured in that there’s an initial focus on the basics of programming before they dive into more practical and applicable skills. Throughout the program, there’s a common theme that I think worked very well - that is, they often position students to explore a topic on their own before formally teaching it. As difficult as this was, this did two things for me. The first i...

Though the hardest thing I have ever done, I graduated Turing with a job using the React/Redux skills I had learned at Turing. Though I still have much to learn, I feel prepared for my new career as a dev. You will cry, but it will be worth it.

I am who I am today, in large part, because of my experiences at Turing. Coming into the program, I had a very slight "edge", in that I had taught myself some code over the period of about 6 months. By the end of the program, though, that edge was non-existent. We were all equals.

I have never so consistently felt that I was surrounded by individuals (staff and students alike) that wanted nothing more than to better themselves and those around them. It's absolutely infectious and I can guarantee that, if nothing else, Turing will inspire you to transcend your former self and you will try to become something more. As many of the other reviews have stated, you can expect 70-80 hour work weeks here. There will be incredibly intense struggles, moments where you feel like you can't.

B...

Attending Turing was hands-down the most challenging and rewarding educational experience of my life (previously I completed an undergraduate degree and master's degree from a large state university). I chose this program for its strong curriculum, educational integrity, and non-profit mission, and I am so happy I learned to code at Turing. With any immersive/intensive experience, you must go into it expecting to do nothing else while in the program; you cannot work outside of the program, you must line up help with childcare and household duties, you should not plan any trips or weekend getaways over the seven-month period, and you must put your entire focus on your learning (and in many cases relearning how to learn in a context like Turing). I basically told my friends and family, "s...

I absolutely loved my time at Turing and think my decision to enroll was one of the best decisions I've ever made. I came from an organization that was very mission-driven around social justice and really appreciated and still value the schools focus on it's mission to encourage and develop more diversity and inclusion in the tech space. The fact that Turing is a non-profit was also very important to me and I think the school and faculty culture they've built clearly demonstrates the value it brings to the school - all of the money they make goes to making the school a better place to learn and their staff happy and fulfilled with the work they do.

I came out of Turing's FE program with a very strong understanding of JavaScript, React, and Node. I also felt like I got the support I...